Houseplants, Tropicals, Citrus, and Figs

As the days get shorter it is now time to start thinking about what we need to do to over-winter our plants. While your plants have enjoyed being outside this summer they need to come in before the temperatures dip below 50 degrees.

The proper way to handle the transition is to slowly inch their way back inside, from being out in the full sun to under a tree or a covered porch. This will give your plant time to acclimate slowly to the changing temperatures.

Houseplants, tropicals, and citrus are the plants that require this method. By transitioning slowly, you will help your plants in a big way. They are less likely to stress out and cause leaves to drop from your treasured plants. Before bringing them inside there are a few things you should do.

Now that covers most plants.
But there is one plant that over-winters very differently.

Fig

The fruit-bearing fig tree you will over-winter is completely the opposite of those plants we discussed above.

Follow these simple rules.

We are always here to help, any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to call or email us.

October has arrived and with it comes the flavors and colors of fall. Pumpkin spice pops up practically wherever you go. And there’s nothing like a freshly picked apple or glass of apple cider.

Pollinators know it‘s fall too and they could use some help from your garden. This time of year is known as nectar flow, where many major nectar sources are blooming. They want their own fall fixes as they prepare to hibernate or migrate.

Fall is a fantastic time to add late-blooming flowers that will provide food for traveling pollinators, and extend the color of your garden. Plant them in groups so bees will have no trouble finding them. Be sure to select native plants with bloom times overlapping throughout the growing season to ensure pollinators will always have a variety of foraging options. Some plants are better pollinators than others, so choose types that grow well in your area. Remember to add varieties that provide year-round beauty like hydrangeas and dogwood. Zinnias are a great option too, as they are laden with nectar and thrive across the vast majority of the growth zones — they also bloom late into the fall.

You may also want to plant perennials in your autumn garden, as these plants will come back year after year. Some of our favorite varieties include Aster, Autumn Joy Sedum, Black-Eyed Susans, Catmint, Daffodils, Daylilies, Echinacea, Joe Pye Weed, Shasta Daisies, and Verbena Bonariensis.

Gardens and fields are taking on a new look, foliage is changing color and leaves are falling. Welcome to Fall!

Autumn is one of the busier seasons in the garden, not only are flowers still growing and vegetables need to be harvested, but it’s also time to begin fall cleanup. While you’re working in the garden and enjoying the changing colors, remember that it’s bulb planting season, too. Planning ahead is critical for your Spring blossoms.

You will see dozens of boxes full of bulbs arriving in garden centers just in time to plant so you can enjoy their beauty in the spring!

Here are some spring blooming favorites for planting this fall:

Growing and planting bulbs is simple, if you’ve got soil and sunlight you can grow them. Bulbs will look fantastic blooming in a large landscape, small garden or simply in a pretty pot. They can be planted around trees and bushes, alongside driveways or sidewalks, or even in broad, flowing beds. Because they require very little care and maintenance, bulbs are ideal for busy gardeners or anyone who wants to try gardening but may not have much time to devote to an intensive flower garden or elaborate layout. There are just three steps to growing bulbs:

  1. Dig the hole of an appropriate depth for the bulb size. (Approx. 3x the height of the bulb)
  2. Place the bulb in the hole, covering it firmly with soil and a layer of mulch if desired. (Add gravel or ground seashells on top to help deter squirrels if needed)
  3. Done! That’s it – the bulb will do the rest with the nutrients it has stored. Just be sure it has water at the appropriate time, and the blooms will amaze you.

Ask our friendly and knowledgeable garden center staff for ideas and the best bulbs to suit your landscape.

Here are some recipes to try when you harvest your new plants!

These are perfect Citrus trees – especially in terms of ease of care and large fruit set, Meyer Lemons are the number one citrus grown worldwide!

It’s easy to grow your own! If you live where winter temps dip below 20°F, simply plant it in a container! You’ll bring the trees indoors, and put them in front of your sunniest window during the winter months! Plus you’ll enjoy a fantastic houseplant and summer patio accent! You’ll love the compact, upright growth habit, glossy, dark green evergreen leaves give a tropical flair to your landscape.

Meyer Lemon trees are said to have a Mandarin Orange parent That’s why the fruit’s rind is more orange than yellow. It’s also why the ripe fruit is sweeter than a true lemon and has a hint of orange flavor. The Meyer is a winner for fresh eating and lemonade.

Meyer Lemons are not reliably available in grocery stores. Even though they win taste tests, they just don’t ship well with their thin rind. Meyer Lemons are rounder than traditional lemons and are slightly less acidic, though they maintain their tart lemon quality while the skin is yellow. Once the skin turns light orange, it’ll get even sweeter. The flesh, juice, and rind are all highly prized by chefs. The Meyer Lemon is included with most all recipes requiring lemons. Good with fish, great in marinades, with tea and to make a fresh lemon pie. .

Bearrs or Persian Lime Trees

With the Persian Bearss, you get the distinct flavor, delicious, seedless fruit, and a great patio plant that will produce indoors. So, no matter your climate, you’ll have large limes the size of lemons and a hardy tree that’s drought tolerant and pest resistant, indoors or out.

Also known as the Tahiti Lime or Bearss Lime, the Persian Lime is the most popular lime around…and for good reason. Trademark lime-green fruit, dripping with citrus flavor, will populate your tree season after season. Persian Limes combine the savory blend of a Key Lime and a lemon, but without the seeds, bitterness, or acidity. Its full size practically weighs down the branches, giving you a lime that’s simply unbeatable.

But the best part is you can harvest your limes right inside your home. Pot up your Persian Lime and place it by a sunny window in your favorite room, and you’ll be amazed at all the limes that arrive each winter!

Mexican or Key Lime Trees

One of the most noticeable differences between regular limes and key limes is the size and color of the limes. More often than not, key lime is smaller and more yellow than regular lime. When sliced in half, you’ll also notice that the key lime has thinner skin and contains more seeds.

Look in any bartender’s tray across the country and you’ll probably find neat triangles of squeezable cut limes. These are Mexican Key Limesand they add a wonderful boost of flavor when spritzing a cocktail, a glass of sparkling water, or a taco. And don’t get us started on the sweet-tart taste of Key Lime pie.

The fragrant flower buds are purple-tinged and open to pure, waxy white. They’ll perfume the air with a wonderfully fresh citrus scent. Even the leaves release a marvelous lime scent when crushed. Try them in potpourri or homemade soaps and shampoo bars.

Mexican Key Lime is also known as Bartenders Lime, due to its great flavor and high juice content. It’s also called the West Indian Lime, to recognize where this lime was first propagated in the West Indies. Smaller, sweeter, and thinner skinned than Persian lime varieties, Mexican Key Limes are true limes. Even though their thin skin can be green or yellow-green, they are packed with juice. The small, tart fruit has a wonderful flavor with outstanding floral hints.

Brown Turkey Fig

An attractive deciduous tree with an intriguing winter silhouette. Produces very tasty, brownish purple fruit in late spring and again in late summer. A beautiful specimen for garden or landscape, requiring only light annual pruning.

 

 

 

 

Chicago Hardy Fig tree

Known for being especially cold-hardy and producing small, brown to purple colored figs. The inside of the fruit is colored a lovely shade that looks like strawberry jam.

This is the perfect plant to accent your patio—with the bonus of fresh figs! The cheerful foliage has attractive broad leaves, and the figs grow green until ripening into darker fruit. When planted in containers, the fig can be brought indoors during the winter months.

Lavender

A bushy, strong-scented perennial herb with lavender flower spikes rising above its gray to green foliage. It not only is a beautiful garden plant but also has culinary and medicinal value. The commonly-cultivated lavender is the common or English lavender and its presence attracts pollinators to the garden. Plant lavender along a walkway or near a seating area.

Rosemary

A fragrant herb that grows as a perennial rounded evergreen shrub. It features slender, needle-like, gray-green leaves on erect woody stems. And it produces clusters of small, light blue to white flowers typically in the late spring to early summer, though it can bloom at other points of the year as well. Plant rosemary in the spring after any threat of frost has passed. The shrub has a moderate growth rate. It will reach its mature size and begin flowering in its second season.

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is all about being outdoors!

 

Questions about watering? The biggest thing is knowing when and how much to water your plants. We’ve compiled some tips to help you know when and how to water during those hot summer months.

SIGNS YOU NEED TO WATER:

Wilting: One of the very simple to spot and most obvious ways to tell your plant needs water is whether the flowers and leaves are wilted. Wilting can also be an indicator of heat stress.

Yellow Leaves: When your plant’s leaves start to yellow around the edges AND the soil is dry, you need to water. Yellowing in leaves can mean one of two things. One, your soil is too wet, and the roots are suffocating. Or, two, your soil is too dry, and the plant is starving for water. Be sure to check the soil when you see yellowing leaves before grabbing the watering can.

Stunted Growth: If there is a change in the rate of growth of your plant, it could be time to water. Another indicator of stunted growth is seeing fewer blooms than you’d expect on an otherwise healthy plant.

Weight: When you are watering potted plants or hanging baskets, be sure to test the weight before and after you water to note the difference. The next time your plant needs water you can check the weight to determine how much water you may need.

Helpful Hints:

If you water your hanging baskets in the morning, you may want to check them again in the afternoons of July and August. In many cases, it is not uncommon to water your hanging baskets more than once per day, especially if it is very hot outside and your plant is in direct sunlight. Each time you water a hanging basket you must be sure you’re giving them enough. You need to make sure that you’re saturating the entire root system until water drains out the bottom of the pot.

There are ways to tell if your plants are dry as we’ve mentioned before, but what about your soil? The weight test is always good for hanging baskets or potted plants. Once you see the watering draining from the pot in a steady stream, lift the basket and test the weight. You can also use a barbeque skewer or stick and put it down in the soil at least 3 or 4 inches deep. With a dry basket, your stick will come out clean. If your plant is fully saturated, it will come out dirty.

Here is a printable guide to help you. Watering Guide_2022

Types of roses

Picking a rose plant is a matter of personal preference. Do you want fragrance, a climber, lots of blooms, a certain bloom size, or a compact plant? Here are the types of roses and their basic differences so you choose the type that fits your gardening plan:

 

Stop in and ask any of our knowledgeable, friendly staff to assist in choosing the perfect roses for your garden.

Ways to extend your enjoyment

Roses carry an air of elegance and romance. You might catch a whiff of an incredible fragrance or just a touch of luxury. Try one of these many ideas to extend your enjoyment inside the house!

 

Drying Petals
Collect petals from unsprayed plants. Avoid wilted or browned petals. Air dry in single layers on paper towels or screens until completely dry. Store dried petals in paper bags or glass jars out of sunlight for 9 to 12 months. Freeze rose petal tea in ice trays, and use it within 3 to 6 months.

Potpourri:
You can make your own potpourri by blending dried rose petals with complementary scents like cinnamon sticks, dried ginger, or whole vanilla beans, and put the mixture anywhere you want to freshen up. Sock drawers, linen closets, and the bathroom are all ideal options, and you can let the scents soothe you to sleep by slipping a small sachet into your pillowcase.

Lotion Bars:
Melt together 1/4 cup of each: infused oil, beeswax, shea, or mango butter, and pour into small molds

Salve:
Melt 3.5 oz infused oil with 0.5 oz beeswax.

Infused oil:
1 part dried flowers covered with 2 to 3 times as much oil

– Use infused oil for lip balm, salves, lotion bars, creams, scrubs, soap

Vinegar:
Fill jar 1/2 to 3/4 with fresh petals, top with vinegar, infuse for several weeks

– Use vinegar for hair rinse, cleaning spray, bug bites, vinaigrette

Witch Hazel:
Make just like vinegar, but for external use only

Tea:
Fill a jar with fresh rose petals, cover with simmering water, and steep 5 to 10 minutes for drinking, or until cooled for skin care projects

Rose Bath Salts

These rose petal bath salts are quick and easy to make and smell wonderful! They make a great gift too!

You’ll need:

Combine the Epsom salt with sea salt, if using. Rub the dried rose petals between your fingers to crush them into tiny pieces. Stir into the salt. Add several drops of rose or geranium essential oil. Stir well and pour into a pretty jar.

To use: Pour into a cotton muslin bag or tie up in a clean sock. Drop the bag into comfortably warm water as it fills your tub.

Summer is almost here and our perennials are blooming, attracting butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Perennials bring beauty to our gardens for years at a time. All they ask for in return is proper care! Part of that care is cutting them back minimally once a year. This process rids perennials of their old foliage to make room for new growth and flowers and will keep pollinators happy all summer long.

Removing spent blooms will keep your plants reblooming faster and heavier. Depending on your goal and the condition of the plant, the two types of pruning are heading and thinning.

Heading:

Heading promotes new blooms and a fuller appearance. Pinching or cutting off dead and spent flowers and foliage gets rid of the unsightly growth while forcing the production of new stems, leaves, and flowers. For some plants, new flowers will not grow until spent flowers are removed. When the plant has multiple buds growing along the stems, cut just below spent flowers to create blooms further down the stems. If the plant has stems with singular flowers, you can cut the stem to the base of the plant. Heading annuals and perennials will produce more flowers that bloom for a longer period of time, and for perennials, this carries over to the next growing season.

Thinning:

Thinning greatly improves appearance and flower size, and helps prevent disease. Shape and reduce the size of overgrown and bulky plants by cutting unwanted stems to the base of the plant or where stems meet. Typically, it is good to remove up to one-third of the stems, especially in overcrowded areas where the foliage is beginning to discolor or die. If the plant is simply invading the space of surrounding plants in a bed, just cut outside stems to keep the plant in its place.