ANNUALS & CONTAINERS

What is the difference between annuals, perennials and bi-annuals?
Annuals only last the one season. Perennials will come up year after year. Bi-annuals will come back up every other year, or flower every other year.

Which annuals take the sun?
Some of the more common annuals for sun include; Petunias, Geraniums, Marigolds, Dianthus, Ageratum, Allyssum, Portulacca, Zinneas, Dahlias, Salvia, Snapdragon, but there are many, many other kinds you can plant in the sun. When in doubt read the sign for any specific plant.

What kind of bedding plants take the hot sun?
Some of the best ones for hot sun include: Portulacca, Geraniums, Salvia, Snapdragon, Petunias, Agenatum, Allysum.

Why does lobelia dry out by August?
The nature of lobelia is that they fill out really nicely in the spring and early summer, but unfortunately by the time we hit August and the summer full of hot temperatures and sunny days, they just cannot handle it. They seem to have a shorter life span that way, shorter than other annuals.

What fertilizer should I use on my bedding plants?
To get them off to a good start and to get the roots to develop nicely you should water in with 10-52-10 fertilizer. Once they have had two or three applications of the 10-52-10, then you should switch to the 15-30-15 fertilizer for the rest of the summer. This will work on the health of the plants as well as the flowers.

I want to do up my own baskets, what do I need for plants?
For sunny locations, use Geraniums, Petunias, Trailing Dusty Miller, Verbena, Bacopa, New Hanging Petunias, etc. For shady locations, use Begonias, Fuschias, New Guinea Impatiens, Trailing Lobelia, Trailing Dusty Miller, Impatiens, etc.

What basket is best for full sun?
For full sun, you should have a basket containing things like petunias, upright geraniums, etc. You want to stay away from Impatiens, New Guinea Impatiens, Ivy Geraniums, Fuschias, etc.

How do I fill moss baskets?
You want to start by laying out the moss around the outer walls of the basket. Once that is done, then you should place a layer of well moist potting soil over the moss on the inside of the basket. Once the layer of moss is in place and there is a layer of soil over it, then you can start by filling the bottom with soil. Plant by using your fingers to poke a hole from the outside in. As you are moving up the basket with plants, fill the inside with soil to cover the roots at each layer. Once the basket is full of soil and the sides are planted, then you can finish the top by planting the last few flowers on top. Water it well after finishing.

FERTILIZERS

Do I need fertilizer? How often?
For the most part, yes you do need to fertilize. Just as we need food, so do plants. For trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, in a garden, you should fertilize every two weeks during the season until mid august. At that time you want your trees & perennials to slow down for winter. For baskets and planters, you should fertilize every 10 days with flowering plant food (water soluble 15-30-15). Or you can use slow release 14-14-14 once in the spring to last you all summer long.

Which is better, bonemeal or 10-52-10?
When it comes right down to it, they both do the same thing which is they both build a root system. The bonemeal however is easier to use when planting shrubs and trees because it is in a granular form and there is no water needed as you are working. However, the 10-52-10 is much easier when planting a flower or vegetable bed because you can go over the entire bed much easier after it is planted. It is much easier than putting a little bit of bonemeal in each hole you dig for a plant. When you use bonemeal, make sure it is mixed into the soil right next to the roots. When applying 10-52-10, be sure to water in well so that all the roots are watered in well.

What kind of fertilizer do I use for my trees?
For trees that are already in the ground, you should use either 30-10-10 or 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer. When mixed up with water, the soluble fertilizer will get down to the roots better than granular fertilizer or fertilizer spikes. When fertilizing, you should feed the tree along the drip line of the tree. This means don't feed them next to the trunk, but rather put it along the edge of the canopy or the width of the top of the tree. That is where all the fine roots are gathered for feeding.

What kind of fertilizer do you recommend for this shrub?
When planting, use bonemeal for all trees and shrubs. This gets the roots off to a good start. Once they are established, use either 30-10-10 (for trees and evergreens), 15-30-15 (for flowering shrubs & perennials) or 20-20-20 (can be used for everything, it's all purpose).

When is the best time to fertilize and what do I use?
The best time to fertilize existing trees, shrubs and perennials is starting in late April and going all season. Fertilizer should be applied every two weeks for best results until about mid-August.

HOUSE PLANTS

Can house plants be put outside?
Most actually can. You would treat them like annuals. This means they DO NOT like cold nights at all. If you place houseplants outside, when you bring them in during the late summer or early fall, be sure to spray for insects before they come in. By bringing plants inside after the summer outside, they can quite often bring in an array of insects along with them. They can just use any general purpose houseplant spray when doing this.

I need a plant for an office, low light?
Well some for low light are Chinese Evergreen, Peace Lily, Philodendron basket, Rubber Tree (med light), Schefflera (med light), etc. Some for high light include Fig Trees, Croton, Pothos basket, Palm Trees, Schrfflera (med light), etc.

How do I make my African Violet flower?
One of the secretes to making an African Violet flower for you in the spring and summer months is to add a pinch of Epson salts to the water before watering it. You only have to do this once in the early spring and it will kick start it into blooming for you all summer. It is also very important to fertilize your violets with special 'African Violet Fertilizer'.

LAWNS

Which do I use first, lime or fertilizer?
When fertilizing your lawn or garden, the rule of thumb is to spread your lime first then the fertilizer. In reality, lime works so slowly (it is a long term maintenance project) that it doesn't make that much difference if you put it on first or not.

How much lime do I need for my lawn?
For maintenance purposes, you need one bag of granular lime for every 3,600 sq. ft and one bag of powder lime for every 3,000 sq.ft. That is only for maintenance purposes. If you want to change the PH in the soil, you need to apply more than that. The amount will depend upon how much you want to change the PH.

How do I get rid of the moss on my lawn?
The only thing available to kill moss is the 'Safer's De-Moss Spray'. It is a completely organic way to kill off moss. The cause of moss is usually poor drainage, therefore the only long term solution is to cure the slow drainage problem. This would mean that the lawn would have to be built up.

What type of lawn fertilizer do I use?
During the spring and summer months, you should use a fertilizer high in nitrogen (the first number). ie. 21-7-7. This will give the lawn a nice green color and encourage strong growth all summer. This also has slow release fertilizer so that it will last for about 6 weeks instead of just one or two weeks.

How much grass seed do I need per square foot?
A good rule of thumb to remember is that 1kg of lawn seed will cover about 350-400 sq. ft. Therefore, to cover 1000 sq. ft. you would need 2 ½ - 2 ¾ kg of seed.

PERENNIALS & BULBS

What is the difference between annuals, perennials and bi-annuals?
Annuals only last the one season. Perennials will come up year after year. Bi-annuals will come back up every other year, or flower every other year.

Can perennials be planted in containers?
Perennials can be planted in containers. The problem arises if the container is too small. With small containers, the sun will thaw out the soil very quickly in the early spring, sometimes before the ground is thawed out. What this does is it encourages the perennial to think it is summer too early and makes it want to start growing too early. The danger lies in when we get a hard frost mid-spring and the perennial is actively growing. This can be really hard on the plant. Therefore, if someone wants to put perennials in a container, it is no problem as long as the container is large enough that it will not thaw out much before the natural ground will thaw in the spring.

What perennials will stay low to the ground?
These would include: Rock-cress, Lily of the Valley, Crownvetch, Candytufts, Dianthus (Pink), Creeping Potentilla, Soapwort, Tonecrops, Thyme, Vinca Minor, etc.

When do I cut back my Clematis, in the spring or in the fall?
In reality, you can do it either time and people have great luck with it. Clematis will die back on it's own anyway, so many people do cut back to about 12' - 18' from the ground in late fall (late October). But if you would prefer to leave it until spring and do a clean up at that time, it's OK to do that as well.

How do I care for my clematis?
Clematis will bloom profusely all summer if the following steps are followed. They like a sunny location, but cool roots.What should be done, if they should be in a sunny location, but the roots should be kept cool with the aid of a good layer of mulch (2" deep) or a ground cover, or shrub. The plant life right in front of the Clematis will grow and shade the ground right around the base of the vine. If there is nothing there, the clematis will tend to dry up and never really perform like it should. To keep it blooming it needs lots of sun and Clematis and Vine Fertilizer or 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer.

What perennials bloom all summer?
There are not many perennials that bloom all summer at all. Some of the longer lasting perennials include Creeping Potentilla, Chrysanthemum, Day Lilies.

What is the best fertilizer for perennials?
The best fertilizer for perennials include the So-Green Perennial Food or you can use the 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer. Anything with a high middle number (phosphorus) will be a good fertilizer for them.

How deep should I plant this?
When in doubt, plant it at the same level that it is in the pot. With shade trees you just want to cover the roots. If the roots have been grafted on, you do not want to plant the graft at all. Leave this exposed. For some of the taller perennials, like the lilies, you can plant them deeper than what they are in the pot so that they get a good base to grow from. With everything else, just plant it at the same level that it is in the pot.

Are pansies a perennial?
Pansies are not actually a perennial, but quite often the seed from the pansy flower will reseed itself if the winter has not been to harsh on it. They are not supposed to be perennial, but quite often they are.

Can I divide my perennials now?
No. The only time you would want to divide your perennials is either is the early spring, before they really start growing (late April), or in the fall after they are finished growing (late Sept. or early Oct.)

What can I do for rust on my Hollyhocks?
The best solution to rust problems is Benomyl. Benomly is a very effective tool against many types of diseases. Use on a regular basis, it will serve as a preventative measure.

What kind of ground covers are good in shade?
Some of the best ground covers for shade include; Ground Elder, Bugle Flowers & Lily of the Valley.

How do I cut back tulips?
When tulips are blooming during the spring they are actively gathering up food for next year. For that reason, if possible you should leave them and let them die back naturally. If you cannot wait and want to plant over them, then once they are done blooming, wait for about one week and then cut them back to the ground.

PESTS

How do I get rid of ants?
If you want to get rid of them in the lawn or garden, the most effective way is by using diazinon. You can either use the powder diazinon or the liquid applicator (called Bug-B-Gon). If you want an organic way of killing them, use diatemacious earth. This is not as effective, but should do the job. If you have ants in the house, the best way to get rid of them is with Borax. Borax is found in Wilson's Antex and Green Cross Bug-B-Gon Ant Killer. You just place a few drops on some wax paper and the ants will take it back to their colony and kill all of them off. This works very well. Just keep replenishing the wax paper until they stop taking it anymore.

What is eating my shrub leaves?
If you have insect problems on your shrubs or trees it could be various problems. Some of the symptoms look like this: 1. Large chunks or holes eaten away from the leaves. Leaves are close to the ground. Look during the daylight and can never find any insects at all. This is probably slugs. Slugs come out at night so you rarely see them. They eat larger leaves with clean cuts. To kill them use 'Slug-Em' in the orange containers. You just sprinkle this around the garden in strips, and when the slub travels across it at night, they will pick this up and it will end up killing the problem. 2. Holes in leaves. Quite often found on trees and larger shrubs. When inspecting the leaves you find caterpillars or beetles crawling over them. This is exactly what you saw, caterpillars or beetles. Again this is easy to care for. You just need to spray the tree or shrub with either Ambush or Tree & Shrub Spray to correct it.

What do I use on roses, leaves are being eaten?
Roses are prone to insects and diseases, therefore, you should spray them once a week to every 10 days. For best results use CIL Floritect, or for an organic alternative, use Safer's Twin Rose Care Kit. They both contain an insect killer as well as a fungicide to prevent diseases.

How do I keep animals out of my garden?
One of the best repellents for rodents, cats, dogs and deer is the Critter Ridder from Chemfree. This is totally non-poisonous to the animal. What it is, is a strong pepper which they cannot stand. Works quite well.

How do I deep deer away from my garden?
One of the best products out there is 'Skoot'. Skoot uses an ingredient called Thyram and it is a very effective repellent against many types of animals including deer, mice, squirrels, raccoons & rabbits.

What is an organic alternative when dealing with insect problems?
If you have an insect such as a beetle or a caterpillar eating away at the leaves, you can spray with Safer's Yard & Garden Trounce, or Safer's Insecticidal soap. Both of these are very effective products. If you want to get rid of slugs, snails or crawling insects, use any kind of diotomacious earth. You will find this in any of the Insectagon and the Mother Earth dusts put out by CIL. (CIL Crawling Insect Killer, Ant & Grub Killer, etc.)

ROSES

Which roses can be planted and left there?
Any of the Rugosa roses, or the explorer series is very safe to leave for the winter without protection. Some examples include Hansa, Theresa Bugnet, Henry Kelsey, Hudson, Jens Munk, John Cabot, Persion Yellow, Pink and Red Grootendorst, etc.

SOIL

What can I add to my soil to make it better?
For clay soil, add gypsum, sand, compost and lots of black earth or peat moss. For rocky or sandy soil, add lots of black earth, peat moss and compost.

How do I start a new bed?
When starting a new garden bed you must follow these few simple steps. First cut out all the sod and weeds in the area. You want it to be completely bare. Then mix in lots of peat moss, compost or manure, good top soil and some garden fertilizer. This should all be tilled in together so that it makes a good rich soil. All these ingredients should be worked into the top 8-12 inches for best results.

How can I enhance my garden fertility?
To enhance garden fertility, mulch the entire garden with a one inch coverage of composted sheep manure. This will add a lot of natural nutrients to the soil and make it perform better.

TOMATOES

Which tomatoes are best for gardens?
A few of the best tomatoes for the garden include; Scotia, Early Girl, Tiny Tim, and Beafsteak. Some of the best ones for patio pots include the patio tomato & Husky tomatoes.

Where can I plant my tomatoes?
Tomatoes should be planted where they can have access to lots of sun. The more sun they receive, the more tomatoes you will get from a plant. Patio tomatoes (including Husky Red and Cherry tomatoes) can be planted in a pot for the top of a patio. Others can go directly in the ground.

Which tomatoes are the earliest?
Some of the earlier ones include: Early Girl and Scotia.

TREES & SHRUBS

What shrubs bloom all the time?
About the only one that blooms all summer long is the Potenillas. Other long lasting blossoms can be found on Spireas and many types of roses.

What is the best tree for shade?
Some of the best shade trees are in the maple family. Maples are faster growing than Oak and are larger growing than Birch, Silver Queen, Sugar, Norway, Rubrum, and any of the Red Maples are the best performers.

What kind of fertilizer do I use for my trees?
For trees that are already in the ground, you should use either 30-10-10 or 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer. When mixed up with water, the soluble fertilizer will get down to the roots better than granular fertilizer or fertilizer spikes. When fertilizing, you should feed the tree along the drip line of the tree. This means don't feed them next to the trunk, but rather put it along the edge of the canopy or the width of the top of the tree. That is where all the fine roots are gathered for feeding.

What is the best kind of apple tree?
The 'golden oldies' include the MacIntoshes and Cortlands which are always a good kind. Some of the newer varieties which are much more disease resistant than others include the NovaMac and Paula Red. Another good one is the Yellow Transpanent apple which is also one of the earliest ones.

How long until this tree will produce fruit?
For apple, pear and plum trees a good rule of thumb is between 2-4 years before they will get any great amount of fruit off a tree. Some varieties are faster to produce, such as the Paula Red apples and Yellow Transparent, while others are slower to produce, such as Cortland and MacIntosh.

When do I spray my fruit trees?
The best thing to do is to spray them in April of each year with dormant oil and lime sulpher. This will kill off any over wintering insects and diseases that may be in the tree. After that, you should use Fruit Tree Spray every two weeks. This is an insect killer as well as a fungicide to prevent diseases. Do not spray anything while the tree is in blossom.

How long before these flowering crab trees get big and flower?
Flowering crab trees usually take a good 3 years to flower any great deal. As far as size, they will take several years until they reach maturity (20-25 ft.). To help with the speed of growth, make sure they are in a well drained area of the property and make sure they are properly fed with flowering plant & shrub food 15-30-15 or fruit tree fertilizer.

What type of Blue Spruce tree is the best?
There are true Blue Spruces and there are the Colorado Blue Spruce. The Colorado Blue spruce will need Aluminum sulphate on a regular basis to keep its color. The nicest ones are the true blue ones. These include Bakkeri, Fat Albert Spruce and of course the Hoopsi. Blue Spruce which is the Cadilac of spruces. The one out in our nursery yard is a Hoopsi.

What fertilizer do I use on my Blue Spruce?
For blue spruce, what we suggest is the following. Use 30-10-10 fertilizer for the growth and use Aluminum Sulphate to help bring out the blue tinge that they are so famous for and the 30-10-10 will grow them nice and healthy.

What kind of fertilizer do you recommend for this shrub?
When planting, use bonemeal for all trees and shrubs. This gets the roots off to a good start. Once they are established, use either 30-10-10 (for trees and evergreens), 15-30-15 (for flowering shrubs & perennials) or 20-20-20 (can be used for everything, it's all purpose).

Can I plant….. next to my foundation?
Besides a few of the really aggressive root systems, most all plants and shrubs you can grow close to foundations. It is a good idea to keep shrubs and small trees a minimum of 2 ft. away from the house. The aggressive roots belong to Willows, and poplars mostly.

General questions about pruning?
Remember the 4 D's; prune off the Damaged, Diseased, Dead and Deformed.

How deep should I plant this?
When in doubt, plant it at the same level that it is in the pot. With shade trees you just want to cover the roots. If the roots have been grafted on, you do not want to plant the graft at all. Leave this exposed. For some of the taller perennials, like the lilies, you can plant them deeper than what they are in the pot so that they get a good base to grow from. With everything else, just plant it at the same level that it is in the pot.

Why are my lilacs not blooming yet?
Lilacs take a little while before the root system is strong enough so that the shrub will produce blossoms. To speed up the process, you should fertilize with 15-30-15 every two weeks.

Why are my Rhododendrons not blooming? How do I care for them during the winter? Rhododendrons set their buds in the fall of the year. For that reason, if they have been exposed to a hard winter (lots of sun beating on them or winds) it will kill off the buds, therefore, no blossoms will appear in the spring. To protect them from this, they should not be in a sunny location and to protect from winds, you can drive down stakes around the shrub and wrap burlap around them. This will create a wind break which is not touching or disturbing the leaves of the Rhododendron.

When is the best time to do pruning?
For flowering shrubs, you want to prune just after they are finished flowering, whenever that is. If you do it at another time, you are running the risk of cutting off young buds. For shade trees, you should prune anytime during the summer or early fall. For fruit trees, you should prune either in November or early in April. For evergreens, you should prune and trim no earlier than late June. Pine and Spruce should only be pruned once late June/early July. Cedars, Yews and Junipers can be pruned anytime between mid-June and Mid-August.

WATERING

How often do I need to water?
For bedding plants, you should water every other day when we are not receiving any rain. For hanging baskets and planters, you should water every day during hot sunny days. For shrubs & trees, you should water whenever we are going through dry spell. This only has to be done during the first year, until they grow enough roots so that they can pick up moisture for themselves.

WATER PLANTS

Water garden plants? Which ones bloom?
The most common blooming water plants include; Water Lilies (various colors most of the summer), Water Hyacinths (purple flowers all summer), Water Iris (purple or yellow late spring), Arrowhead (white flowers), & Cattails (have the 'cat tails' during the summer).

WEEDS
What can I use to get rid of dandelions?
Any of the lawn weed killers do a good job getting rid of the dandelions. Some examples include; So-Green weed and feed (21-7-7 with weed killer), Tri-Kill (selective weed killer) and Killex (selective weed killer).

WHERE & WHAT TO PLANT
What can I use to cover my trellis?
Some of the nicest flowering ones include Clematis, Flowering Honeysuckle Vine and Climbing Hydrangeas. For annual flowering vines, try Morning Glory or Sweet Peas. If you just want greenery, try Engleman's Ivy, Virginia Creeper, Boston Ivy or English Ivy.

What can I plant in a wet area?
Things that like wet areas include: Trees: Cedars, Red Maples, Ash Poplars, & Pin Oak. Shrubs: Dogwood, Winterberry, Willows, Cranberry & Snowball Bush. Perennials: Columbine, Astilbe, Bleeding Hearts, Lily of the Valley, Ferns, Daylilies, Iris, Primroses & Globe Flowers.

What can I plant in a dry area?
Things that like dry areas include: Trees: Junipers, Yuccas, Ash & Locust. Shrubs: Amur Maples, Peashrubs, Quince, Russian Olive, Beautybush, Privets, Ninebark, Potentilla, Sumac, Rugosa Roses & Tamarisk. Perennials: Anemones, Rock-Cress, Thrift, Silver Mound, Asters, Dianthus, Blanket Flower, Baby's Breath, Candytrfts, Dw. Irises, Creeping Potentilla, Saxifragwes, Stonecrops, Hens & Chicks & Thyme.

What can I plant in a sunny area?
Trees: Junipers, Cedars, Spruce, Pine, & all the Shade Trees. Shrubs: Potentilla, Dogwood, Sandcherry Hudrangea, etc. almost all of them.

What can I plant in a shady area?
Trees: Yews, Boxwood, Euonymus, Wintergreen English Ivy, Rhododendrons, Norway Maple, Crimson King Maple, Deborah Maple, Emeral Queen Maple, Red Maples, Sugar Maples, Ash, English Oak, Red Oak & Glenleven Lindens. Shrubs: Azaleas, Serviceberry, Dogwoods, Wintergreen Winterberry, Annabelle Hydangea, Privet, Honeysuckles, Mock-Oranges, Alpine Currant, Flowering Currant, Elders, Spreas, Lilacs, Tamarisk, Vibernums & Weigelas. Perennials: Bugle Flower, Columbine, Astilbe, Bleeding Hearts, Lily of the Valley, Ferns, Daylilies, Irises, Hostas, Primroses & Globeflowers.

What kind of ground covers are good in shade?
Some of the best ground covers for shade include; Ground Elder, Bugle Flowers & Lily of the Valley.

Can I plant….. next to my foundation?
Besides a few of the really aggressive root systems, most all plants and shrubs you can grow close to foundations. It is a good idea to keep shrubs and small trees a minimum of 2 ft. away from the house. The aggressive roots belong to Willows, and poplars mostly.