Winter's Embrace

It's time now to put our leafy pals to sleep for a long winter's nap. With container gardens this is particularly important since our green friends don't have the warmth of the earth to protect them from the ravages of old man winter. 

1. Wrapping your pots with burlap will give the root systems of your plants added insulation. Cold air that swirls around the container can freeze any roots that come in contact with the sides. Mulching the surface will also protect our verdant companions from winter's icy embrace.

2. For those extremely cold nights, put a tent of burlap or bubble wrap over the pots to trap heat, but remove as soon as the temperatures begin to rise. When using bubble wrap for this purpose, do not leave on too long as it does not breath like natural bires do and can promote fungle growth. If you are worried about your potted trees, wrapping the truck with burlap will help them manage those bitter winds in January, especially outdoor palms.

3. Moving your pots against the wall of the building will also help, as it will both shelter them from the weather and provide a bit of radiated heat from the building itself.

So there you have it, tuck your container garden to bed and wish it sweet dreams through the long night of winter.

Time to break out the Suet Blocks

With winter soon approaching, it’s time to get out our suet cages and hang some suet blocks for our wee feathered friends. Suet is traditionally used as a substitute for insects birds would normally eat during the summer. It is a lard based quick source of high energy and heat. It is very clean with no feeders to clean and no mess left underneath. It will attract Jays, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Nuthatches and more to your yard. Prices start at $1.97 per block. We currently stock 4 varieties: Nutty Mix, Berry Punch, Woodpecker Mix, and Raisin Crunch.

Winterizing Bananas and Palms

Now is the time to winterize your hardy palms (windmill variety) and bananas. Bananas should always be protected regardless of age or size. Windmill palms should be protected as long as they are still a manageable size to do so. Older, well established tall palms are nearly impossible to wrap but by this stage they are strong enough to withstand our winters.

Bananas
• Cut the stalk underneath the lowest leaf. On tall bananas this could be quite high. Compost leaves.
• Using rebar or wooden stakes, tall enough to go above the stalks, surround the banana.
• Use chicken wire or strong plastic netting to go around the stakes making a round cage.
• Back fill with dry straw or leaves raked from your property. Fill the cage all the way over the top of
the tallest stalk.
• Some people do this only and others will cover the whole cage with a tarp. If you use a tarp be sure to weight it down so it stays in place during strong winter winds.
• You may opt out of building a cage and instead mound your dry filler over the stalks and underneath
over the roots. Then use a landscape fabric over top to keep it all in place and again, weight it down to prevent it from blowing off.

 
Hardy Palms in the ground
• Begin by gathering all the palm fronds together in your arms so they point to the sky. This means a
great big bear hug! Often it can take two people. Tie them securely with a non-binding tie such as
panty hose or a knitted scarf. This will prevent the tie from cutting into the fronds and damaging them.
• Using long sections of burlap, begin from the bottom of the trunk wrapping doing 3 revolutions all the way up to the top including all the fronds. Secure the top well to prevent it from unraveling.
• Mulch underneath around the roots with straw or lawn raked leaves. Cover this with landscape fabric to prevent it from blowing away.

Hardy Palms in containers
• Move the pot to a spot sheltered from wind. In a corner or under deck roofs are good choices.
• Fronds can still be gathered together and burlap wrapped.
• Purchase a large sheet of bubble wrap and wrap the pot only. This helps insulate the roots from the
effects of winter freezing.
• Water only as needed over the winter months. This will be probably only 2 or 3 times. Water well
when you do.

These steps should protect your plants in the months ahead. In early spring the wraps can be removed. Usually this is any where from late March to mid April weather depending.

Adding seasonal colour to your planters with perennials

Don’t despair if your pots are looking dim and grim. There are plenty of options for you that do not involve the basic winter pansies, like wonderful perennials. While most perennials will not bloom during the winter months, there are many with dazzling foliage that has the ability to spice up your dull pots just in time for the holidays.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Heucheras for partial sun/shade:
Key Lime Pie: ruffled chartreuse leaves that will really pop on those dull winter days.
Electra: similar to Key Lime Pie, only with scarlet red veins in the leaf.
Peach Crisp: well, just peachy!
Blackout: black as night and just as dramatic.

Grasses/Sedges for full sun and partial sun:
Carex “Blue Zinger”- graceful light blue strap like leaves.
Sweet Flag - glossy golden leaves with a slight green stripe down the centre. Absolutely glows this time of year.
Carex “Ice Ballet”- subtle green and gold variegated strap like leaves.
Black Mondo Grass - while not technically being a grass, this member of the lily family has striking black leaves with a green underside and blooms purple.
Blue Fescue Grass - Spiky intensely blue leaves with a flowing growing habit.

Euphorbias for full sun and partial sun: 
Glacier Blue - one of my new favourites! Blue leaves with white edges. A combination of great colour and great texture, all in one plant.
Blackbird - dramatic purple and green leaves.

Other perennials worthy of mentioning:
Wintergreen - this partial sun and shade evergreen ground cover produces red berries in fall and winter along with green and bronze leaves.
Skimmia japonica - this shade and partial sun plant actually flowers in winter! Some varieties have white or dark pink flowers in November and December.
Golden Club Moss - this shade plant is just as it sounds a moss. Like a golden carpet, it is great for under planting existing shrubs.

So there you have it! There are plenty of plants that can liven up your pots beside pansies. So think outside the pot, and use perennials to colour your world.
~Wade Hunter, Nursery Manager

End of the Month Checklist

I’ve compiled a general list of tasks that should be completed by the end of the month. These are the final steps necessary to ‘put your garden to bed’ for the winter. I find this always bittersweet as it is saying farewell to my favorite place, my garden, for the long winter. Time spent now will pay off next spring!

• Bring in fuchsias, begonias and geraniums
• Cut back raspberry canes that have grown too long
• Dig up dahlias and gladiolas before the first frost and store in a cool, dry place
• Divide large clumps of rhubarb
• Mulch root crops like carrots, onions and parsnips and they will last much longer in the ground
• Keep the lawn raked and clear of debris, compost any leaves
• Winterize your roses
• Have all bird feeders cleaned, filled and ready for our feathered friends
• Allow ornamental grasses to die back and don’t cut back until spring
• Have tools cleaned, oiled and stored
• Lime your lawn if haven’t already, this is very important!
• Mulch flower beds with mild mushroom manure
• Drain and turn off underground sprinkler system. It can be very expensive if you forget!
• Second to last thing: wrap and mulch bananas and hardy palms
• Last thing: take all hoses off and store for the winter

The root of the Problem

To mulch or not to mulch, that is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of bad soil quality, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles, including the long run, poor plant health and winter damaged roots.

The benefits of mulching in the fall are two-fold; it will protect root systems from frost and it will retain soil heat. For evergreen shrubs, mulching will help retain moisture over the winter which in turn will protect from the plant drying out in the springtime.

There are many different types of mulch, as much as the birds in the air. Okay… well maybe that’s an exaggeration, but here are a few: pine needles, straw, chopped leaves, wood chips, and compost. If you are so inclined to use wood chips or bark mulch, use a composted one. Straight bark mulch or wood chips tend to steal nitrogen from the soil like a thief in the night as they break down.

Regardless of which medium you may choose, apply it in a two to three inch layer only. Any more and you could smother the plant’s root system. Also, pull away any excess mulch piled against the trunks of woody plants, as this can lead to rot and ultimately death. When the sun comes back ‘round and shines it’s happy light in the spring, pull the mulch away from more delicate perennials. This will help to not smother the roots, but for those woody perennials, leave it in place.

So there you have it! Do not go gently into that good night, fight the good fight on behalf of your leafy companions and mulch them as you like it.

Halloween Fun

Have you been in lately to see our Halloween department? If not then you must come see it soon!
We are loaded with all kinds of fun and unique Halloween decorations perfect for parties, front porch
decorating, gifts, you name it! The selection is second to none for unusual items not seen in box stores or discount chain stores. If you enjoy adding a little fun Halloween in your decorating, check out our black wire spider webs (over 24 inches wide) for only $10.99 or our glass novelty bottles of mystery potions guaranteed to send chills down your guests spines! We have ladies gloves complete with scary fingernails and spider headpieces (that are a big hit with the under 12 crowd). Drop in soon as stock is moving fast!