Wordless Wednesday

Hardy hibiscus now in bloom! Great for Northwest yards.

Hydrangea Pruning: A Photo Primer

It's late summer--not the time you're exactly thinking of doing pruning around your yard, is it? Unless you're battling a shrub that's taking over your front porch, chances are you won't think much about pruning until at least this fall (or maybe even next spring). But did you know that late summer is a great time to prune many varieties of hydrangea? It's true!

Older varieties of hydrangeas--standard mophead and lacecap types--bloom only on old wood, so you'll need to prune them in late summer or early fall in order to ensure blooms the following season. But unless you're familiar with the specifics on hydrangeas, you might not even know what the terms "mophead" and "lacecap" mean, much less how to prune them!

Below are the basic types of hydrangea and photo examples of each, along with a brief description of when they should be pruned. 

Mophead

Mophead

These are the good ol' fashioned type of hydrangea. If asked to picture one, you'll probably imagine something like this. Prune this type (color doesn't matter) in mid-August to early September to ensure they'll bloom next year.





Lacecap

Lacecap

 

Like Mophead hydrangeas, lacecaps are well-known and have been around for a long time, too. Also like mopheads, lacecaps should be pruned in late summer.





Oakleaf

Oakleaf

Not as common, but very striking in their foliage size and shape, oakleaf hydrangeas have white flowers and large leaves shaped like (what else) oak leaves! Treat these like the above two varieties--prune in late summer.




Paniculata

Paniculata

 

Have you heard of "PeeGee," "Limelight," or "Bombshell" hydrangeas? These are some of the more popular paniculata types. Unlike most mopheads, they have cone-shaped flowers in shades of white or light green, although some new varieties are starting to show more color ('Fire & Ice' is one example that turns burgundy red). These can be pruned anytime until late spring (at which point they'll be budded for summer blooming) and again after they bloom in late summer.

Arborescens 

Arborescens

Some common varieties are 'Annabelle' or 'Invincibelle Spirit.' They typically have very large flower heads comprised of delicate, almost lacy blossoms. Like paniculata types, these can be pruned any time except late spring and summer.








Now, how hard you prune your hydrangeas will vary depending on how big you want them to get, whether you mind the look of bare branches in winter, etc. The best method for pruning if you need to give your hydrangeas more than a light haircut is the "thirds" rule: prune 1/3 of the branches nearly back to the ground this year, 1/3 next year and 1/3 the following year. If you're not that patient, however (or your plants grow too fast for your liking), most hydrangeas can be pruned nearly down to the ground without much harm. Keep in mind that if you prune hard, the following year's stems may be weak and flop over when the flowers are fully developed.

Hydrangeas are beautiful shrubs and easy to grow. With a little attention to what type you have in your yard, you can enjoy loads of flowers each year while also keeping the size of your plants in check. And don't forget to feed your hydrangeas--we recommend Jack's Hydrangea Blue once a month to keep them healthy and colorful!

Fresh Color for Your Containers

It’s hard to believe, but in just a couple weeks, summer will be over—at least for those of you who have children going back to school. In reality, though, summer in our corner of the world typically runs from July through September, so summer is only halfway over. Now the big question: are your flowers looking up to the challenge of the second half of summer weather? If not, here are a few ways to freshen things up. 

First, you may have a pot or two that falls into the “hopeless” category. Fortunately, there are plenty of great summer-blooming perennials just coming into color to help fill your containers.

'Little Goldstar' Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia, commonly known as “black-eyed susan,” is a great choice for landscape plantings, but for containers, an excellent dwarf option is ‘Little Goldstar.’ This brand-new rudbeckia is well-branched, blooms prolifically in late summer and tops out at just over a foot tall. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out at Vander Giessen's—‘Little Goldstar’ is sure to become a must-have for perennial lovers.

Another great option for your plantings that will add plenty of color for late summer is echinacea, or coneflower. Traditionally, this perennial was only available in varied shades of pink; however, recent innovations have greatly broadened the color selections. With names like ‘Salsa Red,’ ‘Sandy Yellow,’ and ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry,’ there are plenty of fun, colorful choices available. My favorite this summer is another new introduction called ‘Solar Flare.’ Boasting huge neon red flowers that age to a dusky rose, this echinacea will liven up even the most sad-looking container.

'Firefly' summer heather

If you like the look of summer flowers but want to also enjoy evergreen foliage, summer-blooming heathers might be a great choice. Bloom times vary, but most summer heather varieties bloom during August and September—a time of year when most evergreens don’t. Summer heather blooms in many different shades but also has great variety in foliage color. ‘Winter Chocolate’ has pink flowers set on lime-green foliage that turns beautiful bronze in winter. ‘Spring Torch’ has mauve flowers on bright green foliage; in early spring, the new growth turns bright pink or red at the tips. ‘Firefly’ is another great option for year-round color with lavender flowers in summer followed by brick-red foliage in winter and orange-yellow tones in spring. 

Now, if you’re not ready to give up on the plants you have, there are some great ways to bring them around. If you haven’t already, switch from all-purpose fertilizer to Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster or Petunia Feed to give your flowers an added boost and bring on bigger, healthier flowers. If you’re battling bugs in your pots, skip the spraying and use Bayer Insect Control spikes. These easy-to-use plant spikes can be pushed into the soil of your pots to provide up to eight weeks of systemic insect control, which will easily carry you through the rest of the growing season. 

Finally, whatever you do to freshen up your containers, keep up on watering. On warm days, soak your plants early in the morning to sustain them through the heat of the day; if needed, supplement your containers with a second watering in evening. As long as you have good, well-drained potting soil, the chances of overwatering on sunny August days are pretty slim. 

Soon enough, summer’s warm days will be behind us and a new season will begin. In the meantime, though, make the most of the nice weather with a trip to Vander Giessen Nursery to see what options you have for fresh summer color in your containers.

Pink Blueberries: They're Real!

When a new product comes out, marketers work hard to promote the great aspects that make it "must-have." Whether it's a new car, the latest iPhone or the next great style in clothing, it often takes some time before we know whether it's just hype or really a product worth having.

The same rings true in the plant world--while most new plants do usually live up to the marketing hype (after all, they're usually grown for years in commercial settings before coming out in garden centers), occasionally we find plants that are all talk and ultimately, have little to show for it.

Not so with 'Pink Lemonade' blueberry! About two years ago, this revolutionary pink blueberry (should we call it a pinkberry?) hit the market and customers snatched them up, excited to enjoy rose-hued berries from their garden each summer. Like other blueberries, however, 'Pink Lemonade' takes a couple of years to mature and start berry production. So, we waited.

Last summer, I got a few berries off my bush, but because I had recently transplanted it, the few berries I watched start to ripen dropped off the bush before they turned very pink. This summer, however, has been different. As you can see in the picture, these berries have a beautiful bright pink color. In taste, they're slightly sweeter than your standard blueberry, making them a great addition to a fruit salad or topping for yogurt or waffles.

It's taken a couple years of patience, but I'm loving my 'Pink Lemonade' blueberries! Planted alone or with other varieties, it's a great landscaping shrub, and the fruit it produces is sweet, firm and beautiful. If you're looking for a unique plant you can enjoy in your yard--and wouldn't mind something tasty!--I can highly recommend 'Pink Lemonade.' Pick one up at Vander Giessen's today!

Wordless Wednesday

Daylily 'Exotic Candy'

Evergreens on Sale!

Right now, we've got a great sale going on many of the evergreen trees we carry at the nursery. While supplies last, save 40% off the following:

• Noble Fir
• Grand Fir
• Serbian Spruce
• Norway Spruce
• Colorado Green Spruce

These trees are all beautifully shaped and showed significant healthy growth this spring--they're in great shape for transplant into your yard! While you're in, be sure to take home a quart of Vitamin B-1 or some tree starter throw packs to ensure your new-found treasures get rapidly established. 

Speaking of getting rapidly established, is it really safe to plant this time of year? Yes it is--check out this blog post from last year to find out more.