Dense evergreens make perfect living fence

Fences make good neighbors, according to the old saying. This can be particularly true for homeowners living on relatively small lots in urban or suburban neighborhoods or in so-called “cluster home” developments.

“Living fences” of fairly dense shrubs and evergreen trees can disguise existing wood or chain-link fences or even replace them altogether. Cheryl and I planted a stand of Thuja Cedar Green Giants several years ago and they are growing by leaps and bounds, robust and healthy, creating a natural perimeter between our lawn and an expanse of wilder woodland.

Cedar Green Giants can be pruned annually to keep them at a manageable height, but left to their own devices, Cedar Green Giants can reach heights of 30 to 50 feet, growing three to five feet a year. Another benefit is that Cedar Green Giants are without serious pest or disease problems, giving them an advantage over Hemlocks and the disease-prone Leyland Cypress. Plant Cedar Green Giants three to five feet apart and you’ll soon have a natural screen for added privacy and as a sound barrier if traffic noise is an issue.

Another fine choice would be the arborvitae “Emerald Green” with its dense foliage and pyramidal shape. Arborvitae Emerald Green has a very bright green color and appears to have a tinge of gold to it if the sun hits it just right. Arborvitae Emerald Green grows to a height of 10 - 15 feet, with a spread of 3 - 4 feet. Emerald Green displays its bright lustrous green color all year and does not discolor in winter, adding a feeling of life to what might be an otherwise barren landscape. Its very compact and tight growth pattern make it an excellent choice for a screen when spaced 2 - 3 feet apart in the row.

Here’s a reader looking for some guidance with her arborvitae.

QUESTION: “We have a row of emerald green arborvitae across the back of our yard. We use it as a screen between our yard and the neighbors’ yard behind us.

“Starting last year six evergreens in a row started to get all brown, mostly on our side, which faces SE. We have a maple tree shading them some that has really started to grow in the last few years.

“We don't know if it's the shade or nutrients or what, but if they can't grow there, do you have a suggestion as to what would thrive there, and not look so out of place because of being something different in the row?” – Elaine

ANSWER: There are a number of reasons why this could happen to your arborvitae. Here are some of the most common:

• Dogs urinating on the plants
  
• Spider mites
  
• Not mulching enough
  
• Wind burn
  
• Over fertilizing
  
• Not hardening off before winter
  

As for the last two potential reasons, bear in mind that you should fertilize only one time during the year (with something such as Hollytone) and spring would be the best time to do it.

Do not water regularly after fall frost. Watering should begin to gradually taper off in late summer (such as late August to September depending on your location) so that the plant can harden off for winter. Arborvitae are not drought tolerant so when tapering off, simply stretch the number of days between watering. Should there be no regular rainfall during that period, supplemental watering will be necessary, just less frequently.

From the photographs you e-mailed to me, most of your plants look fine, just the ones on the inside look somewhat stressed. Take a look at the possible list of causes, above, and taking into account your local weather conditions, you should be able to narrow it down.

If you identify and rectify the problem, there should be no need to replace your arborvitae.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

Never too early to plan fall planting

Fall planting? But it’s only just summer! It’s way too early to be thinking about fall planting, isn’t it?

Nope.

This is an excellent time to be thinking ahead to the cooler days of fall and what you can plant to enhance your landscape. What makes “right now” so special?

Right now your landscape is probably at its high point. The foliage on shrubs and trees is full and lush. Many of your late spring and early summer plants are in bloom. Take a look around your landscape. Walk around and see it as if with fresh eyes. This is the best time of year to see where the gaps are. Later in the year, and of course in winter, this is less obvious as deciduous trees have shed their leaves and even evergreens are more dormant.

What do I mean by “gaps” in your landscape? I don’t mean to suggest you should necessarily fill every square foot of soil with plants. But when you look at your landscape, as if for the first time, you’ll see areas that don’t look complete, somehow.

Perhaps there’s an awkward space between plants that looks empty, like a smile with a missing tooth. Maybe a dead plant had been removed and never replaced. Or perhaps an older plant has outgrown its usefulness, dwarfing smaller plants around it and preventing sunlight and rainwater from reaching them.

Not only that, but at this time of year you can look at your landscape and see some of your favorite plants at their best and decide if it would be a good idea to invest in one or two more. At our nursery, it is not unusual for Cheryl and me to hear from customers who bought shrubs from us one or two seasons ago and want to buy more of the same, once they’ve seen how well those plants enhance their particular garden plan.

As a general rule, it makes sense to place low-growing plants at the front of the beds with medium sized plants behind them and the taller shrubs in back. Now is the time to look at your beds and determine if there are some plants that are “out of whack” in your landscape. Instead of waiting until fall or next spring, decide now if any plants need to be retired and replaced, and which ones you’d like to see more of next summer.

Need some idea starters? Here are some plants you can research right now and probably pre-order for fall planting. Let’s start with the low-growers…

Ajuga Black Scallop PW http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/87441
A neat little fast-growing ground cover with deep, dark burgundy leaves and blue blossoms in spring, lingering into summer. I prefer this one to regular Ajuga bronze due to its larger leaves and deeper color.

Creeping Red Thyme http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/13373
(Thymus praecox subsp. Arcticus) This is a fast-growing evergreen ground cover with wonderfully aromatic foliage. If you’d planted it last season, right now you could be enjoying a profusion of lovely red flowers. Easy to grow and good between pavers, too.

Moving back to some medium-height plants…

Heuchera Lime Ricky PPAF http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/87490
This would be superb choice to plant behind the Ajuga Black Scallop (or adjacent to any dark foliage plant such as Black Elephant Ears or Black Mondo grass) because the scalloped leaves are a glowing chartreuse in spring turning lemon-lime in summer, emphasizing the contrast with black Ajuga foliage. Mature height: around 2 feet.

Heuchera villosa Tiramisu PPAF
Imagine these splashes of brick red color spattered around your garden, lightening to chartreuse in summer with a light silver overlay.

And now some taller plants…

Carolina Allspice http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/11681
(Calycanthus floridus) A dense, deciduous shrub that can grow to 5 or 6 feet (or more) at maturity, Carolina Allspice has lustrous dark green foliage and very fragrant, brown to reddish-brown flowers.

Buddleia Bi-Color http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/47058
Easy to grow and extremely fragrant, this variety sports two different colors on the same bloom stalk: rich lavender and butterscotch yellow. It will bloom all summer and attract swarms of colorful butterflies to your garden. Mature height: 5 to 6 feet.

Survey your landscape, plan for improvements and pre-order plants now for fall planting. Let me know if you need some more suggestions.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

White spots on leaves could be powdery mildew fungus

QUESTION: “I just planted some salvia in my garden and noticed some white spots on the leaves. Any suggestions?” – M.

ANSWER: The white spots could be from mineral deposits from watering, fertilizer residue or a fungus known as powdery mildew.

You will need to determine what is causing them before you can take any action. Fortunately, the first two wouldn’t require any action, but if they are caused by a fungus, you might want to apply a fungicide.

Powdery mildew is one of the most common landscape fungus problems. The first sign is often curled and twisted leaves before the white or grey powder is apparent. When the mildew appears, you might see the grey patches gradually enlarge and spread until they cover large areas on one or both sides of the leaf. If you are seeing that, then you have powdery mildew.

Severe infection can result in yellow or dry brown leaves and disfigured shoots. Although powdery mildew is not usually fatal, it can bring on early defoliation and unsightly plants.

Powdery mildew fungi are most likely to produce airborne spores and infect plants when temperatures are moderate and will not be present during hot summer days. When plants are overcrowded and shaded, creating a cool, humid environment, they are at greatest risk for powdery mildew infection.

Pick up any fallen infected leaves and pick off any severely damaged or dead leaves and destroy them, preferably by burning. If it’s any consolation, powdery mildew generally won’t adversely affect a plant’s overall health, so if it appears to be quite mild, or if you can live with unsightly plants, you could probably ignore it, other than destroying the infected leaves.

However, you can use a fungicide to treat the problem. For best results, begin to spray the plants as soon as the mildew is detected. Repeat the spraying as needed, which is usually during the cooler weather seasons. Not all fungicides are suitable for all plants, so be sure to check on the recommended usage before you spray. Read the package directions!

Here are two very useful sites with photos to help you identify powdery mildew and helpful instructions on how to treat the problem and create an environment that will discourage the fungus from returning. One article is posted by Cornell University’s Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic and the other is from Ohio State University’s Extension Service.

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Cucurbits_PM.htm

http://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-3081


QUESTION: “I have a very steep slope in my back yard leading from a patio down to our lake front. There is a retaining wall at the top and a retaining wall at the bottom. I would guess that the incline is about 45 degrees in some areas. There are trees on one side leaving part of the slope in deep shade, part is dappled shade and a few areas get a
good bit of sun, but the bulk of the area is pretty shady.

“Since it is so steep, we have concerns about erosion control. It's steep enough to be difficult to get out there and weed or do any other normal garden "tending", so it has to be very self sufficient. Can you give any advice on types of plants to use?” – W.

ANSWER: Anything you try to plant will most likely take several years to fill in at best. Vinca, pachysandra, purple wintercreeper and liriope will grow well on sloped shaded areas. Ivy might grow well, too, but may be a bit too invasive for your landscape.

If there is a problem with erosion now, I would recommend putting down erosion netting first and then planting. You can plant right through the netting, just cut an X out where you want to insert each plant. Erosion netting decomposes over 5 or so years allowing the ground cover time to take hold and spread. In the meantime, it does a good job at keeping weeds at bay. I hope this gives you some ideas to build on.

Landscape tips for a faster home sale

If you are hoping to sell your house during these challenging economic times, remember the old saying: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

When it comes to real estate, that’s always been true. But in a tough economy, there are more houses than usual on the market and fewer buyers. Those buyers that are out there are almost spoiled for choice: a large number of available homes, probably offered at fairly competitive prices.

To make matters worse, slow home sales mean that houses that might have been snapped up quite quickly a couple of years ago and languishing on the market much longer now. If you’ve decided to sell your home, take a look around your neighborhood. You will probably notice quite a number of For Sale signs in the front yards. These homes all share the same basic benefits as yours, such as the same school district, proximity to the same transportation or commuter drive times. They might even have been built by the same builder in a very similar style to yours.

Frankly, you’ve got a lot of competition.

Potential buyers will drive around neighborhoods that interest them. They will glance at a home with a yard sign for perhaps 3 to 5 seconds before moving on. Unless they see a reason to linger. In those few seconds, they have formed opinions as to whether the home meets their personal definition of ‘attractive.’

Is it neat and well-kept? Is the lawn lush and nicely trimmed? Are the shrubs neatly shaped and not obscuring the windows? Is the walkway clean and weed-free? Is the entryway welcoming? Could we live there without having to invest in landscape upgrades? Most of all, they are deciding if this home could provide them with pride of ownership. Would we feel proud to have friends and family visit us here?

And all this in about 3 to 5 seconds… before they pass by your home without ever looking inside and move on down the street!

But there IS good news. You can make your home stand out from the crowd and you don’t have to spend a fortune to do it.

First of all, go out and look at your home from the street, they way a prospective buyer would see it.

If shrubs have grown to the point where they are obscuring the front of the house, trim them back. If necessary, remove them altogether and replace them with fresh, attractive evergreen shrubs, such as Boxwood Winter Gem, colorful hydrangeas or the dense rounded Red Barberry.

Add some annuals to put splashes of bright color in front of the shrubs. Pick up a few bags of dark mulch and carefully layer it around the shrubs and annuals. The contrast will make the colors pop!

How about the lawn? Keep it mowed (no shorter than three inches) and watered (about once or twice a week) so it looks green and lush. Edging the lawn, where it meets the flower beds, is worthwhile as it projects the impression that this house has been well cared for, so the inside should be as neat as the exterior.

Look at the entryway and front porch. Place a couple of containers there and add some economical plants. Pick containers that match the scale of your porch, neither too small and insignificant nor too large and overpowering. Plant some perennials such as geraniums, daylilies and varieties of Achillea including Summer Berries and Moonshine. Add a few annuals for instant color.

Look down at the walkway. Keep it swept and clean. If weeds are growing up through the pavers pull them out or kill them by spraying with vinegar.

Of course, you’ll want to be sure that the area is free of toys, bicycles and any items that distract the eye.

If you feel that some of these tasks are beyond your capabilities, such as mulching and lawn edging, call in a local landscaping service. A one-time service would not be too expensive and would be seen as a real investment when your home sells.

Remember, all you can really do is “put the odds in your favor” by giving your home a slight edge in the eyes of prospective buyers.

Visit GreenwoodNursery.com for a great selection of landscape and garden plants. Plus check out our garden ideas for theme and specific plants to meet your planting needs.

Never too early to plan fall planting

Fall planting? But it’s only just summer! It’s way too early to be thinking about fall planting, isn’t it?

Nope.

This is an excellent time to be thinking ahead to the cooler days of fall and what you can plant to enhance your landscape. What makes “right now” so special?

Right now your landscape is probably at its high point. The foliage on shrubs and trees is full and lush. Many of your late spring and early summer plants are in bloom. Take a look around your landscape. Walk around and see it as if with fresh eyes. This is the best time of year to see where the gaps are. Later in the year, and of course in winter, this is less obvious as deciduous trees have shed their leaves and even evergreens are more dormant.

What do I mean by “gaps” in your landscape? I don’t mean to suggest you should necessarily fill every square foot of soil with plants. But when you look at your landscape, as if for the first time, you’ll see areas that don’t look complete, somehow.

Perhaps there’s an awkward space between plants that looks empty, like a smile with a missing tooth. Maybe a dead plant had been removed and never replaced. Or perhaps an older plant has outgrown its usefulness, dwarfing smaller plants around it and preventing sunlight and rainwater from reaching them.

Not only that, but at this time of year you can look at your landscape and see some of your favorite plants at their best and decide if it would be a good idea to invest in one or two more. At our nursery, it is not unusual for Cheryl and me to hear from customers who bought shrubs from us one or two seasons ago and want to buy more of the same, once they’ve seen how well those plants enhance their particular garden plan.

As a general rule, it makes sense to place low-growing plants at the front of the beds with medium sized plants behind them and the taller shrubs in back. Now is the time to look at your beds and determine if there are some plants that are “out of whack” in your landscape. Instead of waiting until fall or next spring, decide now if any plants need to be retired and replaced, and which ones you’d like to see more of next summer.

Need some idea starters? Here are some plants you can research right now and probably pre-order for fall planting. Let’s start with the low-growers…

Ajuga Black Scallop PW

A neat little fast-growing ground cover with deep, dark burgundy leaves and blue blossoms in spring, lingering into summer. I prefer this one to regular Ajuga bronze due to its larger leaves and deeper color.

Creeping Red Thyme

(Thymus praecox subsp. Arcticus) This is a fast-growing evergreen ground cover with wonderfully aromatic foliage. If you’d planted it last season, right now you could be enjoying a profusion of lovely red flowers. Easy to grow and good between pavers, too.

Moving back to some medium-height plants…

Heuchera Lime Ricky PPAF

This would be superb choice to plant behind the Ajuga Black Scallop (or adjacent to any dark foliage plant such as Black Elephant Ears or Black Mondo grass) because the scalloped leaves are a glowing chartreuse in spring turning lemon-lime in summer, emphasizing the contrast with black Ajuga foliage. Mature height: around 2 feet.

Heuchera villosa Tiramisu PPAF

Imagine these splashes of brick red color spattered around your garden, lightening to chartreuse in summer with a light silver overlay.

And now some taller plants…

Carolina Allspice

(Calycanthus floridus) A dense, deciduous shrub that can grow to 5 or 6 feet (or more) at maturity, Carolina Allspice has lustrous dark green foliage and very fragrant, brown to reddish-brown flowers.

Buddleia Bi-Color

Easy to grow and extremely fragrant, this variety sports two different colors on the same bloom stalk: rich lavender and butterscotch yellow. It will bloom all summer and attract swarms of colorful butterflies to your garden. Mature height: 5 to 6 feet.

Survey your landscape, plan for improvements and pre-order plants now for fall planting. Let me know if you need some more suggestions.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org