In the garden, yellow captures our attention more than any other color. Daffodils, marigolds and sunflowers draw the eye with their cheerful colors and Sugar Maples and Ginkgo trees stop traffic with their brilliant hues in fall

While sunny annuals and golden fall foliage make us all smile, sudden or unexpected yellowing of leaves can also cause concern for gardeners.

Of all the plants in the garden, we don’t expect to see our evergreens take on a yellow shade. This time of year, however, yellowing on evergreen trees and shrubs is part of the normal growth process.

Conifers, such as pines, arborvitae, cypress, firs, and junipers undergo a process called “needle cast”. Needles on the interior of the tree are the oldest, and as fall approaches, they turn yellow or brown, and shed. The tips of the branches remain flexible and green, with needles firmly attached.

This shedding allows evergreen plants to lighten their branches, which will help them endure the weight of snow and ice in the winter.

This change in color is especially dramatic in new plantings, whose roots aren’t fully established yet. We also find shedding to be more prevalent after a drought or a particularly dry year as we’ve just experienced.

“Broadleaf” evergreens, such as Rhododendron, Hollies and Skip Laurel, experience seasonal leaf drop as well. In autumn they will shed their old foliage to make room for new growth in the spring. These types of evergreens will often shed again in the spring to flush out any leaves that have “burnt” or dried up over the winter.

Keep in mind that we still recommend watering twice a week in autumn. This will prepare your plants for winter and help them have a healthy growing season next spring.

What’s not to love? Buddleia is a prolific-blooming perennial shrub prized for its ability to attract butterflies with its sweet nectar. Though it is showy, and seems an ideal choice for butterfly-lovers, there are some unsavory aspects of Butterfly Bush that are worth considering.

For one, most varities of this plant (native to Asia) are very invasive, spreading easily through the yard by seed. If you’re concerned about it popping up all over, remove the blooms right as they are going to seed to prevent them from spreading. Also, check into sterile varieties (some are listed below).

Secondly, though they provide a nectar source for adult pollinators, they do not provide a food source for larvae. So while you may be attracting butterflies to the garden, it will not help support future generations. Therefore, if you simply must have butterfly bush in your yard, it’s best to plant native plants in the vicinity that will indeed help fuel future generations like common milkweed, butterfly weed, joe pie weed, or golden rod. Better yet, let the edges of your property go wild to encourage the native plants that are meant to be there, or if space permits, create a natural meadow for all pollinators to enjoy!

If you love butterfly bush, consider these sterile, low-seed producing varieties:

Buddleia Lo & Behold® ‘Blue Chip’ Buddleia ‘Asian Moon’ Buddleia Lo & Behold®‘Purple Haze’ Buddleia Lo & Behold® ‘Ice Chip’ (formerly ‘White Icing’) Buddleia Lo & Behold® ‘Lilac Chip’ Buddleia ‘Miss Molly’ Buddleia ‘Miss Ruby’ Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Blueberry Cobbler Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™Peach Cobbler Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Sweet Marmalade Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Tangerine Dream Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Vanilla Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Petite™ Snow White Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby™ Pink Nectar Bush

You just planted your new garden bed and it looks lovely. Being attentive to your new plants is important to help keep them looking that way. Proper planting is foremost, as is proper watering. You will want to follow a watering schedule for the first year of planting to help the plant get established. After that, less maintenance is required (but it always pays off to notice what your plants need!). Our recommendations for watering throughout the year are as follows:

Recommended Watering Schedule

For the first year, we recommend different watering schedules for certain seasons:

SPRING (approximately April 1 – May 31) 2 times per week for 30–40 minutes

SUMMER (approximately June 1 – August 31) 3 times per week for 30–40 minutes

FALL (approximately September 1 – November 30) 2 times per week for 30–40 minutes

WINTER (approximately December 1 – March 31) as needed during warm dry spells

Reduce amounts of watering by one day for each signifcant natural rainfall that we receive. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@rutgersln.com, or 908-788-2600.

It’s February! Every day brings us closer to spring and to getting our hands back into the lovely dirt! Though the ground is still frozen and snow covered, that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start making notes about the changes you’d like to make to your garden. Though you may be antsy (like us!) to prepare for a new growing season, now is an excellent opportunity to use the stillness of winter to prepare.

Think about how your garden fared last year. What did you love about it, and what would you like to change? Are there any plants your friends or neighbors grew that you’d like to try in your own garden? If you have a vegetable garden, now is a wonderful time to figure out your beds and place your seed orders.

Also, start to think about hardscape and bulk material. It’s good to take an early assessment if you can see bits of the ground even though all the snow has yet to melt. What is quality of your mulch — will you need a fresh application in the late spring? Have you assessed walkways for loose pavers or gravel, or seen any driveway stone wash out?

Making a checklist and taking early inventory can help you prepare. That way, if spring comes early or on time (fingers crossed!) you’ll already be a few steps ahead of the game.

In some areas of New Jersey, forsythia, cherry trees, and bulbs have begun to emerge.  Spring seems to have come early this year – way too early.  What does this mean for plants and trees that should be blooming closer to April?

The duration of warm weather we’ve been having hasn’t been seen in quite some time, so one can only speculate how Mother Nature will respond.

Some say that the warm, humid temperatures can increase the growth of fungus, which can perhaps be difficult for dormant trees and shrubs to fend off, which could cause damage.

If there are buds or flowers present and we get a hard freeze, there will be far fewer spring flowers, and new growth.  Flowering trees, shrubs, and bulbs need a dormancy period of about 115 days to produce a full flush of flowers.  For bulbs, if the tips have emerged but no flower, you will most likely still see a spring bloom, but the edges of the leaves may look cut off from ‘winter burn.’

Aside from the potential lackluster spring blooms, another important thing to consider is our pollinators. Fewer spring blooms means less pollination, and less food for honeybees that may have used up more honey reserves in their hive due to being more active in the warm temperatures.  For a  list of plants for pollinators, click here.

Are your flowers blooming?  Post your pictures on our Facebook page!