Ten Minute Gardening » Trees and Shrubs

Over Wintering Potted Plants

Bert — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:37:02 +0000

A few of the new shrubs waiting to be heeled in

Though the 2009 gardening season is quickly winding down, there is still a lot of gardening to be enjoyed.

For instance, fall has become one of my favourite times of year not because of the colours and cooler temperatures, but because of the deals to be had at the local greenhouses and nurseries!

We have one local grower that is offering all, yes, all, four inch pots of perennials for $.99! Even those regularly priced at $5.99 and $6.99!! Makes resisting the urge to squeeze more plants into an already overflowing bed very difficult. And of you have decided to renovate your perennial gardens, you can do so without spending a fortune. Check out your local growers for awesome bargains in late fall.

Trees and shrubs are also dirt cheap these days. Matter of fact, yesterday I succumbed to the lure of a great deal on several shrubs that have long been on my wish list. What is a great deal? Less than wholesale! And they were purchased from a grower not a reseller, so I know I’m getting quality plants, not the beaten up ones that they couldn’t sell during the height of the season.

Will I (we) get all these plants into the ground before freeze-up? No, especially now that my other half has decided to get in on the landscape design. So what will happen to the plants over winter? We’ll heel them in and hold them over until next spring. That will give “himself” and me time to hash out a compromise over the winter.

For new gardeners that have never attempted to heel-in plants, here’s how we do it:

Dig a trench in a protected area of your yard as wide and deep as the plants’ pots. If you have several different sized pots, put all the same sized together. Yes, you may end up digging a few trenches, but just think of the work out you’ll be getting!

Set the plant, pot and all in the trench leaving a few inches between the pots.

Backfill around the pots with soil to the top of the pot.(Do not bury the stem of the plant.)

Cover the entire trench including the tops of the pots with at least two inches of mulch.

Water them in and keep them watered until they are covered with a blanket of snow. Top up the mulch as it settles.

Next spring as them temperature begins to warm up, slowly remove the mulch.

Water regularly once the snow is gone until you are ready to plant them in beds.

Pagoda Dogwood

Bert — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:09:58 +0000

Young tree planted in front of plain brick wall. In time the tree will fill the space and soften the look of the wall. Note the shredded red cedar mulch that helps with acidity levels of the soil.

Close up of Pagoda Dogwood flowers

Cornus alternifolia

This is an interesting but under utilized small tree, perfect for smaller landscapes.

A native dogwood, with horizontal branching . White flowers in the spring followed in the fall by dark blue berries. Alternating light green foliage turning red in the fall.

Height 15’ – 25’

Width 1 ½ times its height

Flowers 1 ½” – 2 ½” creamy white clusters that last approximately

7 – 10 days from May until early June

Fruit ¼” berries born in July – August changing from green to red

to dark blue as the fruit matures

Location Prefers partial shade though will perform well in full sun given enough moisture and protection

Soil Likes acidic, mois,t well drained soil

Insects Scale, borers (several species), leaf miner

Diseases Powdery mildew, crown canker, blights, root rot

Uses As specimen plant or in shrub border where horizontal

lines are needed to break up vertical lines of surrounding architecture

NOTES: Must be planted in the spring. Young transplants have better success rates than older trees. Fibrous spreading root system must have acidic, moist soil

Cutleaf Sumac

Bert — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:15:14 +0000

More than half of my daily 40+ kilometre commute to work is spent driving along country roads, giving me the opportunity to observe nature’s continuing mood changes. Most of the land I pass is wide open farm land, but there are enough wooded areas, even a small hill or two, to keep it interesting. I have seen black clouds rolling across the fields, high winds bending and twisting the trees lining the roads. I have watched the lambs of spring playing, the summer crops growing daily, wild animals running about (testing the brakes and my reflexes) and flocks of birds flying south in autumn. Every day affords a new vista for me to take in. At this time of year, I am treated to bursts of colour provided by the wildflowers growing on the side of the road: White and purple asters, goldenrod, Queen Anne’s lace, thistles and some chickweed. Toss in wild rose hips and apples, brilliant red Virginia creeper, the golden leaves of wild grape, the rainbow of reds, yellows and oranges of sumac and the varied assortment of other trees, and the vibrant show is non-stop. The trip home is seldom long when Nature is providing such delightful entertainment.

Autumn is certainly not my favourite season, but I cannot help but be taken by the beauty of this time of year. In particular, sumac entrances me. So much so, that when we moved to this house, cutleaf sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Dissecta’) was on the list of “must have” plants.

Having spent a couple of years in our heeling-in garden, last year one sumac was moved to the shrub border. This spring, two more were planted in the same border. Already they have begun to sucker, and we are torn between wanting to control them, and wanting them to control the border. None of the suckers have been removed as yet. We have decided to wait and see what happens. If we like the look of dozens of sumac growing throughout the bed, they will stay. Until they become nuisances. Or interfere with my (most favourite) weeping false cypress (Chamaepcyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’)

Rhus typhina ‘Dissecta’ Cutleaf Sumac

Height: 6’

Width: 10’

Location: Full sun for best fall colour

Soil: Moist, well drained

Propagation:From softwood cuttings in summer,

From seed in fall

From suckers in winter or early spring

Male and female plants required to produce fruit

Pests: Scale

Diseases: Powdery Mildew

Leaf spot

Verticillium wilt

Uses: Well suited as specimen plant, in borders or to fill large areas quickly

Other: Can become quite invasive

Young stems are velvety

Low maintenance plant other than its invasive tendency