We stick our softwood cuttings in June in a bed of sand outdoors. In a matter of weeks they are fully rooted Using this Plant Propagation System. We can pull them from the bed and pot them in the summer but I don’t unless I absolutely need them because summer potting can be stressful for… Click here to read more…
Digging and storing bare root trees for later potting.
These are rules for digging trees and other plants. Only dig trees or plants when they are dormant. Here in Ohio dormancy occurs usually right before Thanksgiving, after we’ve had at least on night with temps down around 28 degrees F. or lower. That’s when digging season begins, and for us it usually ends about… Click here to read more…
Storing bare root trees/plants over the winter.
Transplanting is a winter sport! Transplanting season typically begins around Thanksgiving in most northern states. It lasts all winter and ends in very early spring before plants leaf out. Usually around mid April in cold states, earlier in warmer states. Once plants make leaves in the spring, digging/transplanting is over. That means that if we… Click here to read more…
Beautiful Snow Covered Plants.
There are some plants that are absolutely breathtaking when covered with fresh snow. I have a few favorites that I’ll share with you here. Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick is one of them! Weeping Nootka Cypress! When I share photos of this plant online I get two reactions. People love it or they hate it. But… Click here to read more…
A Simple Way to Build an Underground Root Cellar.
Why would you need an underground root cellar? An underground root cellar can provide you a place to store plants, or plant bulbs, anything that you want to protect from freezing. I build mine to store rare Japanese maples that I’d get shipped in during the winter months but couldn’t plant out until spring. One… Click here to read more…
Creating Winter Storage for Canna Lilly’s or other roots, bulbs or seeds.
Some growers stratify seeds like dogwoods or Japanese maple seeds in a cold, but not freezing space. Some actually put them in a cloth bag and hang them in the well, far above the water level but at least a few feet down because the air in the well is never cold enough to freeze…. Click here to read more…
Tips on Over Wintering Ornamental Grasses.
I’ve always had a difficult time over wintering ornamental grasses in containers so last fall I decided to try something different. We pulled the grasses out of the pots and heeled them in an above ground, but not really raised bed. Then we mulched around them with potting soil to make the roots were not… Click here to read more…
Over Wintering Ornamental Grasses.
Ornamental grasses can be really challenging to over winter in pots. If you cover the pots with white plastic like I show here that helps a great deal because it keeps them dry so they don’t rot. But uncovered, they don’t do well in pots over the winter here in the north. So this year… Click here to read more…
How to Over Winter Ornamental Grasses in Containers.
Recently Duston and I traveled to Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa, only about a 37 mile drive for us and took a tour of Roger’s Backyard Nursery. Roger is One of Our Members. He showed us why he is successful over winter ornamental grasses when others are not. In the photo you can see… Click here to read more…
Heeling in Japanese Maple Trees, Rooted Cuttings and other Plants.
Heeling in? What do you mean by that? I’m telling people that they can temporarily “heel in” plants until they are ready to deal with them and this often confuses people. Why do I need to do that? There are a lot of reasons for heeling plants in, but the reason that we do it… Click here to read more…