Planting for Fall

Fall is great time to plant to plant your trees, shrubs and perennials. It gives them the boost they need to have a great start in the spring. When you plant in the fall, they develop larger, more established root systems and they take off more rapidly than the same sized plant transplanted in the spring. As plants go dormant they require less water but be sure to water transplants during the winter (once every 3-4 weeks). We do have cold winters here and sometimes don't get much snow to irrigate our plants. To sum this up, it makes sense to get out there and plant some of your favorites before the snow flies.

I have a list of a few of my favorite perennials to plant:

Centhranthus (Jupiters Beard)
Salvia (May Night Meadow Sage) always a winner and lasts a long time
Nepeta (Blue Catmint) the bees love this
Coreopsis (Sunray Tickseed) many varities of this plant and if you dead head, it will keep blooming
Artemesia (Silver Sage) a great filler
Agastache (Desert Sunrise) the hummingbirds love this one
Perovskia (Blue Spires) works well as backdrop and gets quite large, loves the heat
Lavandula (too many varieties to list)
Hemerocallis (so many to choose from)

I could go on and on but I need to start planning for planting bulbs.

Trevor and I attended an OLCA (Oregon Landscape Contractors Association) and learned about organic and man made fertilizers. It was very interesting and I learned a lot.

Many fertilizer regimens push top growth at the expense of root development, making plants vulnerable to stressful environments. Frequent, high levels of fertilizer produce an unbalanced and often unsustainable shot-to-root ration. Mycorrhizae, on the other hand, feed your plants and stimulate root growth. Unlike mycorrhizae, fertilizer cannot help prevent root disease, improve soil structure or promote other beneficial microbes. Fertilizers can lead to other side effects, such as deteriotaionof water quality, soil structure and excess soil salinity. The mycorrhizal relationship improves feeder-root production, and a mycorrhizal plant can better utilize added fertilizer.1

So that is my plug for mycorrhizae products, I have used it and it is wonderful. Over time it has proven faithful and has great results

1. Declaration of interdependence; Mike Amaranthus

I cannot believe this weather! Our guys were mowing the lawn out in the snow yesterday, what dedication. Due to the extreme weather conditions, we haven't been able to do much of the fun stuff. For me the fun stuff is planting and creating, I know May is going to be very busy, weather permitting. If you have any questions or landscape needs, give us a call.

Container Gardening

Container gardening continues to one of the most popular gardening techniques. Growing plants outdoors save time and water and it allows you to grow plants that might not do well in your native soil or are too cold tender to overwinter in the the ground. It also allows those living in smaller dwellings to enjoy a bit of beauty.

Here are some how to grow techniques:

1. Pick the right sized pot. Go big! If the pot is too small for larger growing plants, you'll never be able to keep it adequately watered.

2. Use a good quality potting soil. Never fill your pots with soil straight from your yard, it will cause problems as it compacts.

3. Don't fill the bottom portion of the pot with rocks, Styrofoam peanuts or other materials. This technique is supposed to save soil and make the pot lighter in weight. But it creates a soil that becomes water-logged and sour. Just put a piece of screen or a piece of broken pottery over the whole in the bottom of the pot to prevent soil from falling out of the pot while allowing water to flow out of the bottom.

4. Use water absorbent crystals. These crystals absorb many times their weight in water and slowly release it to the tiny roots that grow into them.

5. Use pot feet under the pot or saucer. This promotes good drainage and prevents staining of sidewalks and patios.

6. Where possible, place containers so they are in the shade after 1 or 2 pm in the afternoon. This helps prevent "fried" plants when the soil becomes too dry. It also reduces the frequency of watering, especially for hanging basket containers.

7. Use succulents for containers in the hot afternoon sun.

I know it may be a little early to be planting container pots but now is a great time to plan. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call us.

Thanks to Sharon Miller we have our new website done. So if you have time, please look us up at www.4alandscape.com.

We have been busy turning on sprinkler systems in this freezing cold weather, thanks guys for all of your hard work. We have also been aerating lawns. Aeration has several benefits: it increases soil oxygen and water penetration, it encourages root growth, it reduces compaction, it increases germination of overseeded grasses, it increases fertilizer movement in the soil and it reduces thatch.

We planted over 1500 bulbs at Cascade Village and I see that the daffodils have poked out their pretty little heads. It is so wonderful to see color this time of year. I am looking forward to seeing another yellow bloom and that would be the Forsythia.

Well, that is all for now and if you have any landscape needs give us a call!

We have been very busy planting sixteen hundred ornamental grasses, turning on sprinkler systems, maintaining landscape properties and installing outdoor living.
I was at a nursery yesterday shopping for annuals and they said this growing season is six weeks behind. So if you want to plant your petunias, you may want to cover them on cold nights and if you have hanging baskets put them in your garage.

Here we are doing our very own backyard. We have made some great progress and I will keep you updated on how we are doing.