The quickest cause of plant failure is insufficient or incorrect watering. With my blog last week I discussed the sunlight requirements of plants and how choosing the right plant for the right location is so important. Now, once the correct plant is chosen and properly planted, the cultural care of the plant is also vital … Read more
I know…you are thinking “here goes Doug again getting on his soapbox talking about choosing the right plant for the right location”. But, in my defense, with working at a retail garden center and working with customers for so many years, this question about light and proper choosing of plants is more of a challenge … Read more
Everyone knows and has heard of mulch. But, how many of you are familiar with the product PREEN? There are a few good reasons why we mulch our garden beds. One is simple. We like the fresh look of mulch on our gardens. Another good reason for mulching is that it aids in the health of … Read more
Like me, many of you may have read the most recent news article claiming that the active ingredient in the widely used weed killer Roundup can cause cancer. Some studies have shown that there is a higher risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for people exposed to glyphosate-based formulas. Conversely, there are many studies –scientific and medical – which … Read more
I know it is only the beginning of March. Spring is not officially here for another two weeks. And, yes, I realize that we could still have more cold days and snow this month. But, have you spent some time outside lately to take advantage of some of these spring-like days? I sure have. And, … Read more
March is the month that we, gardeners, have been looking forward to. For some of us, it has been a long, boring winter. March means that hibernation is finally over and we can spend more time outside. Just like with meteorology, the green industry looks at the first of March as the beginning of spring … Read more
It is only mid-February and many customers have come into the garden center or called the store with concerns about seeing their lawns being torn up with mole tunnels. The customers are wondering, why now? With the cold winter we are having, aren’t the grub worms still down deep in our soil? A COMMON QUESTION … Read more
February is finally here. Sure, we are still in winter and will have some cold days and maybe some more snow days. But, on the nice days, there are plenty of outdoor chores to get done this month. Hold off on pruning your shrubs just because they look bad. A lot of our evergreens, such … Read more
Hellebores are truly winter’s most interesting evergreen perennial. We can have color from any time between December through April when nothing else is growing let alone in bloom. Not only do hellebores bloom at a time of year when we are desperate for some color, they are also deer resistant. We just experienced our coldest … Read more
These past three weeks sure has taken a toll on us gardeners. It is hard to spend any time outside. But, most of all, we are all concerned about the health of some of our outdoor plants. Here we are on the 24th of January. One bright side to all of this worrisome is that spring … Read more
