How to Transplant Established Evergreen Trees
In a perfect world, every plant we put in the ground would be in exactly the right place, and stay there forever. Hah! Back in the real word, despite our best intentions, it…
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Pruning Young Trees for Future Strength and Long Life – Part 3, Getting the Job Done
This is the third part of an extended blog about the pruning of young trees. Many people just plant a new tree and expect it to develop perfectly all by itself. Sometimes that…
Pruning Young Trees for Future Strength and Long Life – Part 2, Equipment and pruning techniques
This is the second part of an extended blog about the pruning of young trees. Many people just plant a new tree and expect it to develop perfectly all by itself. Sometimes that…
Pruning Young Trees for Future Strength and Long Life – Part 1, The Basics
This is the first part of a three-part blog on tree pruning. Not the big stuff, handling mature trees, but what to do with that young tree you just planted, or maybe you…
How Fast Will My New Plants Grow?
Buying plants for your garden, anything from a load of hedging bushes to a single perennial, always has a little bit of nervousness with it. The newer you are to gardening, the more…
Some Evergreen Trees of Japan – Matsu, the pines
If one image instantly says, ‘Japanese Garden’, it is the twisted pine tree. Dominating most gardens, you could make a garden with just one, and nothing else. Trained to resemble a natural tree…
Some Evergreen Trees of Japan – Hinoki, Sawara and Sugu
In this blog, and those that will follow, we are going to explore the conifers (evergreens) that grow in Japan. Not so much to learn more about garden varieties that can be grown…
How Big Does That Tree Really Get?
I was talking in a previous post about planting trees with the future in mind, and some thoughts on how to have a better chance the tree you plant today will reach its…
Plant Trees for the Future – Here’s How to Succeed
Economists tell us that the further away a reward is, the less we will pay for it today. Our world, and modern economy, is built on having it now, as soon as possible,…
Everything you need to know about Japanese Cedar – Cryptomeria
Evergreens are among the most important plants in any garden. They bring a look of permanence and structure, with forms that are with us every day of the year. The garden will still…
Arborvitae Privacy Trees – Pick the Right Tree
Privacy trees are almost always at the top of list for gardeners moving into a new home, or when new buildings go up around you. We all want to feel our house and…
Choosing Screening Trees and Shrubs
Most of us want privacy in our gardens, so we can relax and enjoy ourselves, free from the noise and dust of a highway, the curiosity of passersby, or the scrutiny of neighbors….
Kathleen Meserve – the Holly Lady
Plant breeding is one of the few areas where amateur, hobby gardeners have made at least as much of a contribution to the plants we grow as professionals – and sometimes even more….
Jean Iseli – King of the Conifers
The world of conifers is an enormous and diverse one, from the many hedges of Green Giant to the tiniest miniature collector’s tree, and from towering redwoods to flat groundcovers – there is…
Trees and Shrubs for Alkaline Soils – Part 1
The Right Plant in the Right Place is a slogan that you will often hear from professional landscape designers and horticulturists. It’s a simple principle, but one often ignored in the rush to…
How To Grow A Blue Spruce Tree From A Seed
Growing trees from seed is not difficult, and the pleasure of seeing – in just a few years – that thriving young tree that you brought to life, is a great joy, for…
Beautiful Trees for Wet Ground
It doesn’t take much looking for plants to meet the dreaded phrase – grow in ‘well-drained’ soil. It sometimes seems like every tree or bush needs these mythic conditions. Look at many gardens,…
Eastern Red Cedar – the toughest Juniper There Is
America was built on the Pioneer Spirit – the ability to persevere in difficult situations, and survive adversity, thriving in the toughest situation. If you want a plant for those situations, it makes…
America’s Very Own Holly Tree
Nothing says “Christmas” like holly. Those iconic deep-green spiny leaves and clusters of bright-red berries might be featured on almost every greetings-card, but their beauty never tires. In the garden too they are…
Why are So Many Trees Called ‘Cedar’?
You know how it goes – a quick trip to the garden center, real or online, for a few plants. You get there and ask for what you want. Now sometimes it’s no…
Montezuma Cypress – a Gift from the Aztecs
If asked what the largest living thing on the planet is, most people will answer, “Whales.” The more adventurous might talk about the enormous soil fungi that cover acres of woodland, as wispy…
Eastern Arborvitae – the Tree for Cold Seasons
North America is a vast land, and the seasons are very different, depending on what climate zones you are. This seems obvious, but when it comes to gardening, that variation means making different…
8 Fall Cleanup Tips for a Better Spring Garden
November will soon arrive, and that means increasing cold and shorter days in the garden. Especially in the north, some preparation is needed, although in warmer zones this is also a good month…
Will My Plants Die Over the Winter?
As the days shorten, and the nights turn cold, gardeners in cold zones start to worry about their plants. Will they survive the winter? Will they flower next year? There are lots of…
Will My Potted Shrubs Survive Winter?
Using shrubs in planters and pots is a great idea, and widely suggested, not just for anyone with limited garden space, but also in larger gardens, to decorate terraces, frame garage doors, or…
Which Spruce Tree Should I Plant?
For most people, a ‘spruce tree’ is a silvery-blue pyramidal tree on a lawn in front of your house, that is also good for a Christmas tree. Very true, but there is a…
Insect Pests of Pine Trees
Pines – big and small – were the subject of a recent blog, and they are beautiful trees that bring a unique look to any garden, with so many to choose from. Pine…
Pine Trees – Some Great Choices for Your Garden
Pines are certainly the most easily recognized evergreen, with their distinctive long and thin needle-like leaves and large cones. For the garden they offer a wide range of trees and shrubs, that fit…
Junipers – Tough and Rugged Evergreens
Junipers can be confusing plants when you first start gardening. Someone will casually say, “It’s a juniper” when pointing at almost anything from a tall tree or a narrow, upright shrub, to something…
Understanding the Cypress Trees
In everyday talk around our gardens, we often talk about cypress trees, but that name seems to cover many trees that look very different from each other. So what is going on with…
Plum Yew – a Shade Evergreen You Should Grow
Shade is the gardener’s perpetual problem – just what can I grow in those inevitable shady spots that are found in every garden. Beneath trees or in the shade of buildings, it is…
Native American Holly Trees
Winter is the time when evergreen trees are most noticeable in our gardens, and few stand out more than holly does. These handsome trees and bushes, with their rich-green leathery leaves, bring structure…
Holly – the Perfect Tree for Christmas
While the perfect Christmas Tree might be a Spruce or Fir, the perfect tree to have growing in your yard at Christmas is a Holly Tree. This classic tree for Christmas is perhaps…
Protect Your Evergreens the Way the Pros Do
Protecting newly-planted trees – especially evergreens – in their first winter is a real issue for gardeners who live in cold parts of the country. Every fall and winter it comes up and…
Meet the True Cedars – the Genus Cedrus
Across most of the country, you will see, and probably have in your garden, cedar trees. The name ‘cedar’ was given by the early settlers to several tall evergreen trees they found in…
Diseases of Pine Trees
Planting a tree is an action full of hope. We hope that our tree will grow and flourish, living out its life – which will certainly be decades, and perhaps even a hundred…
Give Them Room! Spacing Trees Correctly
A drive around any older neighborhood will quickly show you giant trees right up against houses, blocking windows, damaging foundations and drains, and making rooms dark and gloomy. Bad decisions about planting distances…
It’s Plant a Pine Tree Time
Spring is the big season in the garden, and this is when we all go out and look at our gardens, to see what we can grow that will make them more beautiful….
7 Great Evergreens for Winter Interest
As the first snow settles in northern areas of the country, and the fall colors become a memory everywhere, the smart gardener has by now cut down or dug up their flowering plants,…
Garden Plants for Holiday Decorating
The ideal garden is one for all seasons, and that includes the most important one of all – the Holiday Season. Many people decorate a spruce or fir in their garden with lights…
Tips on Protecting Your Evergreens for Winter
In the north the snow is already beginning to swirl, and the first heavy falls are not far away. New gardeners are often surprised to see that their evergreens can look fine all…
Flowering Evergreens for Year-Round Interest
Winter is a time when the garden is quiet. Few shrubs or trees bloom, although in warmer areas there are a number that do – the fascinating Paperbush (Edgeworthia) for one. But for…
Some Interesting Evergreens for Gardens
Gardeners fall into two camps when it comes to evergreens – those that love ‘em, and those that hate ‘em. Some people find them boring, since they don’t flower, and mostly keep their…
Fir Trees – An Attractive Alternative to Spruce
In colder areas, spruce trees are a common sight, and they are widely used in landscaping. Despite their beauty, the fact that they are so widely used can make them slightly boring options….
The Fiddle Leaf Fig – the Latest Indoor Hit
Flip through the pages of any interior décor magazine these days, and the chances are you will see a tall plant, with large leaves, being used as an accessory to the latest furniture…
Some Unusual Evergreens for Your Garden
Evergreen trees make the structure of most gardens, giving permanence to what designers call the ‘bones’ of your garden, while flowering plants come and go through the seasons. Many are used for neutral…
Types Of Evergreen Trees
A big part of what makes trees attractive to many gardeners is the glorious display of colors they put on in fall. Deciduous trees are a sort of living calendar, keeping track of…
Pruning Leyland Cypress Trees
Leyland cypress trees are great if you want a fast-growing screen. They can be shaped into an excellent hedge, or used to protect your property from the wind or curious eyes. They also…
Planting Leyland Cypress Trees
Leyland cypress, or leylandii, are extremely useful trees. They’re fast growing, and can be used to quickly create an effective hedge or screen. They’re also easy to look after, needing little or no…
Growing Leyland Cypress Trees
Leyland cypress (often called leylandii) is one of the more spectacular evergreens, and also a very useful one for gardeners. Its tall, columnar shape and fast growth make it ideal if you want…