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Start planning now for Spring Color!
The winter season is fast approaching. Cold weather and long, sleepy months of frost and ice are upon us so now is a good time to plan ahead for spring. After all, winter lasts only three short months! The beautiful colors of spring are then upon us again. Look ahead to the coming spring, and the beautiful new flowers you can plant now in anticipation. Since you do have a three month period in which to plan for your spring garden, it’s best to plant flowering shrubs and trees now so that your landscape is ready for the warmer weather.
What sort of specimens should you plant? Fall is the perfect time to plant. Why not start off with adding plants that will survive the winter cold, and bloom at the first sign of the spring thaw? Ornamental trees and shrubs such as cherry trees, dogwoods, red buds, forsythia, and spirea make excellent choices that will reward your careful preparation with spectacular results in spring. Not only will flowering trees and shrubs provide early spring color, they will also attract wildlife and provide food for the birds. Flowering trees may also had value to your home as they are a desirable landscape element.
Azaleas also make an excellent choice for a flowering shrub. Nothing is more beautiful than an azalea blooming in the spring. They can be planted in mass or used as a standalone shrub to a backdrop of other spring blooming flowers. They are easy to grow if planted and maintained correctly. New variety of azaleas will also bloom in the fall. Known as Encore azaleas, they provide fall color and will enhance the color of your fall landscape. Cousin to the azalea is the Rhododendron. Also an early spring bloomer and maintained similarly to the azalea.
Planting flowering shrubs to complement and enhance your bulbs, trees and flowers will make your early spring garden dazzle. These early season bloomers are normally the first herald of spring.
Landscape Associates can help you plan your spring landscape. Now is the time to call us for an appointment.
Deciphering Zone Maps
Have you purchased an outdoor plant recently and noticed the Hardiness Zone number on the care tag? What is this and what does it mean? The USDA has divided the United States and southern Canada into 11 planting zones (“USDA Plant Hardiness Zones”). These zones are regions which are defined by a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in the average annual minimum temperature. The higher the average numbers in each zone, the warmer temperatures for gardening. So if a certain plant requires a 60 degree temperature by a certain time of the year in order to thrive, it makes no sense to plant it in a region which has been defined as 50 degrees at that time of year.
Using the Hardiness zones as a guide will help you select plants that should thrive in your zone. The zones are good guidelines to help determine plant hardiness. The best determination is what will actually grow in your garden. Since some areas have “micro climates” the map is only a guideline.
Most of our area is in zone 7 which is an average minimum temperature of 0 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Zone 7 is divided into zone 7a and zone 7b. The lower in the state you live, the higher the number. The zone map is also an average of over 30 years. Our winters may have occasional colder periods however, a few short days below the averages should not affect your trees and shrubs.
Landscape Associates are very knowledgeable with what works in our zones. We will be happy to design a landscape and gardens that will thrive in our hardiness zones. November is the best time to start planning your landscape projects for the spring.
Cinnamon Bun Popcorn
12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C pecan halves, roughly chopped
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
3 squares almond bark (about 4 oz)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside.
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a 2 liter capacity microwave safe bowl. Mix well. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.
Remove from microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Stir to combine. Mixture will foam and rise. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and pecans and stir very well so everything is well coated.
Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread out on a large piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil. Melt almond bark according to package instructions. Drizzle over popcorn mixture. When almond bark is hardened and popcorn is cool, break into chunks and enjoy! PS: Great for holiday gifts too!
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Pest of the Month: Slugs
One of the most disgusting and damaging pests on our valuable fall flower and garden crops are Slugs. They attack under cover of darkness and cause unsightly damage to tender plants and flowers. Cool weather fruits, vegetables (cabbage, kale, strawberries, etc.) and pansies are some of their popular targets. Hostas and leafy perennials can also be victims. Slugs love cool and moist weather so autumn and early spring are the prime feeding and reproductive seasons. During hot dry weather they move into the soil or seal themselves off in a protective parchment like membrane. Plant damage shows chewing of irregular holes with smooth edges in leaves and flowers and can clip succulent growing tips. And then the true test of identification – THE SLIME! This silvery trail leads the way back for the next nights’ meal.
A good pest management program for slugs (and snails) begins with a clean-up of hiding places like boards, debris, weeds; this can begin the reduction of adult populations. Handpicking the slugs can be very effective if done thoroughly and on a regular basis. Water the infested area in the late afternoon to draw them out. Search with a flashlight and pick off the slugs. A bucket of water or plastic bag is handy to dispose of them. After a few diligent searches your infestation will be greatly diminished and weekly checks will take care of most of the adults. Another method is to create traps. Examples are boards, inverted tilted flower pots, a piece of wet carpet and citrus rinds. Check daily and scrape accumulated slugs off and destroy.
Slug Baits can also be used to eradicate your slug problem. Iron phosphate based products are safe around children and pets. This product causes the slugs to stop feeding. Metaldehyde baits are more common and causing slug death by desiccation and dehydration, but do not use where children and pets will have access.
Plant Bulbs Now For Beautiful Spring Flowers
Fall is the perfect time for planting your spring bulbs and Mother Nature has everything you need for a beautiful spring garden. She’s made sure that spring bulbs come prepackaged with everything they need to grow to a successful bloom. As long as you pay attention to a few special gardening rules, you really can’t go wrong. Plant your garden with tulips and daffodils, starting now in the fall season, and you can look forward to an excellent result in the spring time.
Depending on which types of tulips and daffodils you choose to cultivate, you can expect them to bloom in the early (February), middle (April), or late (May) portion of spring, so plan ahead accordingly as to just when you want them to bloom. In general, you’ll find that daffodils are much hardier and more reliable to cultivate than tulips. This is because tulip beds tend to diminish over an extended period of time. The number of flowers the bed sends up will lessen, even as stems and leaves continue to shoot up. In order to obtain the best possible display, most planters of tulips tend to plant fresh beds of tulips every year or two.
When planting bulbs in the fall, make sure you plant them at least one month before the freezing season begins. You want to give them plenty of time to adjust to the ground you’ve placed them in. When choosing which bulbs to plant, make sure you’re selecting the ones that are firm and round. Throw away any that look malnourished by comparison with the others. Discard any that look bruised, or covered in algae, or have any other sort of disease or disorder. Remember, survival of the fittest is the rule here. Follow these simple, easy rules, and in a few months’ time, you’ll have a beautiful garden of tulips and daffodils to enjoy.
Bulbs are a wonderful start to the spring season and an integral part of a well planned landscape. Landscape Associates designers are on call and ready to start now to help you plan your spring and summer landscape.
Landscape Tip of the Month
Mulching in the fall is just as important as mulching in the spring. Mulching keeps your tree and shrub roots protected during the cold winters. As temperatures in the south can fluctuate dramatically and as the ground freezes and thaws, it can move to expose roots to the elements. Mulching with fallen, shredded leaves, pine straw or commercial bagged mulch will protect the root systems during the cold weather months while still allowing air to circulate. Don’t have time to mulch? Call Landscape Associates today and let us help you with this landscape chore.
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