Dwarf Conifers for Containers

Add year-round interest with dwarf conifers!

When it comes to container gardening, most people think of spring and summer annuals--and with good reason. Nothing adds quite the splash of color to a pot like trailing million bells or brightly-colored impatiens. Unfortunately, though, annuals alone in a pot are a fleeting pleasure--come winter, your pots stand empty.

If you've struggled with the "what-to-do-with-my-pots-in-winter" conundrum, have you ever considered dressing them up with some year-round interest? Of course, I'm talking about dwarf conifers!

'Jean's Dilly' Alberta Spruce

Often overlooked, dwarf and miniature conifers--the slow-growing cousins to many of your typical evergreen shrubs and trees--are an excellent choice for the centerpiece of just about any container garden. They can even be used in combination with one another to form a completely evergreen container garden.

With a wide variety of colors, shapes and textures, there are plenty of options to match just about any setting
or preference. One of my favorite dwarf conifers is 'Jean's Dilly' (pronounced 'John's Dilly') dwarf Alberta spruce. Like the traditional dwarf Alberta spruce, it has a narrow, upright form. Unique, however, is its incredibly slow growth rate--just an inch or two a year--and its ultimate size of 3-4 feet tall. Because it's so cold-hardy, it's an excellent selection for pots you plan to leave outside year-round.

'Blue Moon' Boulevard Cypress

Another great dwarf conifer is 'Blue Moon' boulevard cypress. This beautiful evergreen has silvery-blue foliage year-round but is especially vibrant in mid- to late spring with its flush of new growth. Standard boulevard cypress grow to 8-10 feet tall; 'Blue Moon,' however, stays incredibly small, filling out to an ultimate size of just 2 feet tall and wide--without pruning.

I'll continue my review of dwarf conifers for container gardens next month with more great options for your pots. In the meantime, stop in to Vander Giessen's to see what excellent dwarf and miniature conifers we have to fill your containers this season. You'll love them for years to come!

Welcome Spring with New Plants

Simply put, I love new plants. Whether it’s a different flower color, dwarf version of a classic favorite or a hybrid that’s produced some other interesting characteristic, new plants are just fun. With spring weather upon us (it may not be all sun, but it is spring!), it’s time to get outside. And what’s more fun to look forward to in the garden than new plants? As you get started in your yard, here are a few of my favorite plants this spring. 

'Pistachio' hydrangea

In recent years, hydrangea growers have debuted dozens of great new varieties, and while they all have unique characteristics, none is quite like ‘Pistachio.’ This new dwarf hydrangea tops out at three to four feet tall and about as wide, so it’s much more compact than older varieties.

‘Pistachio’ is a re-blooming variety, so you don’t have to worry about when to prune it. But most interesting is the flower color: mottled lime green and hot pink. Had I not seen one last summer at a nursery trade show, I wouldn’t have believed the pictures I saw—the color combination is simply stunning. Plant it where it receives morning sun and afternoon shade and you’ll enjoy attention-grabbing flowers for years to come. 

A second great new plant—and one already in bloom if you’re eager for color—is ‘Snow Fever’ hellebore. Breeding breakthroughs in recent years have produced hellebores with upright (rather than drooping) flowers. ‘Ivory Prince’ is a great example of one such variety. But what makes ‘Snow Fever’ so great is its unique variegated foliage to complement the greenish-white flowers. Each leaf is speckled with cream coloring on a green background like paint splattered on a canvas. Hellebores are great for shade, so bring more year-round color to a dark spot in your yard with this great new introduction. 

'Ketchup & Mustard' floribunda rose

My third pick this spring is not a single plant but rather an entire category: roses. With the demise of Jackson & Perkins a couple of years ago, the entire rose industry has changed, so if you haven’t looked at roses recently, look again! One great new introduction this year is ‘Twilight Zone,’ a fragrant deep purple grandiflora variety. Another relatively new rose sure to be popular again this year is ‘Ketchup & Mustard,’ a floribunda boasting bold red flowers with a distinct mustard-yellow reverse. 

Whether you’re planting roses or fruit trees, now is a great time to plant them bareroot. Not only will you save money buying bareroot at your local nursery, your new plants will make the move into your yard with nearly zero transplant stress. 

As you gear up for a new season of gardening this month, don’t forget to take care of the basics, either. Now is the time to kill moss with ferrous sulfate as well as spread lime on your lawn to discourage moss re-growth. Additionally, when you finish up your spring pruning, spread a fresh layer of bark mulch throughout your flowerbeds. Not only will it create a perfect backdrop to set off your shrubs and trees, it will keep moisture in the ground and weeds out all year long. 

Finally, take some time this month to fertilize the plants in your yard. While most shrubs and trees aren’t as nutrient-hungry as annuals, they’ll benefit from a balanced slow-release fertilizer like Jack’s Classicote.

With spring upon us, now is a great time to stop in at Vander Giessen's and check out what’s new for the upcoming year. Chances are you’ll find something perfect for your yard to enjoy for years to come!

Bareroot Fruit Trees on Sale

Next week, spring officially arrives, but after a mild winter in our corner of the world, in reality it's already here. As you get started with working in your yard this spring, right now is a great time to plant fruit trees and shrubs.

To help you get started, right now we're offering our entire selection of fruit trees $10 off when you buy them bareroot. From apples and pears to cherries and plums, we have varieties well-suited for your yard--and since they're all grown on semi-dwarf rootstocks, they're great for any size space.

Stop in soon to pick up bareroot fruit trees for yourself--this sale is only on for a limited time!

All in a Day's Work

We're blessed to have enjoyable, hardworking employees at the nursery--and we're blessed to get to work with such beautiful plants each year. Today was exciting--our small crew planted nearly 4000 geraniums, 500 gerberas and 500 New Guinea impatiens...and that's just the start. We believe quality plants deserve the best care from the start, so we grow all of our own annuals in our own greenhouses. And on a day like today, that adds up to a big accomplishment. Now for the joy of watching them grow!

Start Spring Right This Year

It's time to spread ferrous sulfate to kill lawn moss!

Remember the long-range weather forecasts last fall? Some said to expect a colder, wetter winter than normal. Others made predictions entirely to the other end of the spectrum. As it’s turned out—at least thus far—our winter has been quite mild, with only a couple of dustings of snow and just a week where the temperatures dipped into the 20s. And with the mild weather comes just one thing: an early spring. So how can you get ready?

Now, in the last couple of years we’ve had beautiful early spring weather, only to find out later it was too good to be true—either we’ve had a late winter storm roll through or later spring has turned out cold and rainy. But that doesn’t mean there’s not work you can get done outside regardless! 

First things first: before the season gets too busy, get your lawn mower into a local shop for a tune-up and blade sharpening. While a mower with a dull blade may still appear to cut grass fine, in reality, dull blades tear grass, leaving ragged, open wounds on the ends of each blade that can result in more lawn fungus problems and an unsightly lawn. Remember the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and save yourself the headache of dealing with lawn fungus this year.

One thing you almost certainly will have to deal with, however, is moss. Mild, wet weather is ideal for moss growth, and although we’ve had plenty of dry and even nice weather this winter, we’ve had our share of rain, too—enough, anyway, for moss to really take hold in our lawns and flowerbeds. To take care of the problem, skip the Moss Out or other similar products and spread ferrous sulfate—available at Vander Giessen’s—on your yard to kill the moss quickly.

While products like Moss Out can offer some benefit in the battle against moss, generic ferrous sulfate does a much better job killing the moss outright. Between the higher quality ingredients and finer granule size, ferrous sulfate will wipe out moss quickly and easily. 

After you’ve killed the moss in your lawn, follow up with a dose of Lilly Miller Super Sweet. You may remember hearing about it last fall—and autumn is a great time to apply it—but because of the acidity of our soils in the Pacific Northwest, it’s a good idea to treat at least twice a year. Using Super Sweet again in spring will help keep moss from re-growing in your lawn and allow your first lawn fertilizing to be its most effective. 

Prune many shrubs and trees now

With an early spring well on its way, a final major task to put on your to-do list in the next few weeks is spring pruning. For many shrubs, trees and perennials, it’s best to prune them back before they start to put out too much growth—and it’s certainly easiest to see what you’re pruning when there aren’t leaves all over!

When pruning woody shrubs and trees, the task can seem daunting—but start with the basics. One of the most important steps you can take is to eliminate crossing or rubbing branches, so look first for any branches that may pose a problem. By removing one or both offending branches, you’ll eliminate the source of many future problems such as rot and other diseases.

This time of year is also important for pruning roses—and like pruning trees, it can at first appear challenging. For a primer on rose pruning, click here. And remember this: roses are generally hard to kill, so if in doubt, prune harder! 

Finally, take a few minutes in the coming weeks to plan. What are your hopes for your yard in the coming year? Do you want to create a new flowerbed or plant a tree? Maybe you want to keep your lawn looking nicer. Or maybe it’s time for a complete landscape redo. Whatever your dreams, be intentional. The best landscapes start with a plan, so sketch some ideas on paper—you’ll be glad you did!

As we begin a new year of gardening, take some time in the coming weeks to stop in at Vander Giessen’s and check out what’s rolling in. Over the next few weeks, thousands of shrubs, trees and perennials will be arriving—and already we’re well underway with planting annuals in our greenhouses. Whether you’re looking for plants or just need advice or help with a gardening question, we’re here to help.

 

Primroses are in!

Nothing says spring quite like the cheerful, bright colors of primroses. And they're now available at Vander Giessen's! We're fully stocked with a great assortment of colors in primroses--and we have a couple types of beautiful double primroses available as well.

With mild weather, spring will be here before we know it. Welcome it with primroses from the nursery today. Remember, we're back to our normal hours, which means we're open 9-5 Monday-Saturday.

Normal Hours are Back!

Spring is coming--have you noticed? The days are noticeably longer (finally!), crocuses are starting to bloom and if you look closely, trees and shrubs are starting to bud once again.

With the changing weather comes the change back to our normal hours. We invite you to stop in Monday-Saturday 9:00-5:00 to pick up primroses, flower and vegetable seeds, ferrous sulfate to kill your lawn moss and any other products or help you need to start the season right.

As always--and now in our 75th year--we look forward to serving you!