Twig Tips by Jodie

Pretty, Pretty Pots!!!

The holidays are upon us, and one of my very favorite things to do this time of year to get into the holiday spirit is to decorate with evergreen cuttings.  I run around with my pruners, trimming off short branches of any interesting plants I can find, then I pull the old dead flowers out of my outside pots (if I haven't already) and start sticking cuttings into it in some sort of organized fashion.  This is WAY better than looking at empty pots all winter and it can really add a lot of holiday cheer.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Fruity in the Fall

Ok, you just knew I was going to write a little something about fruits and berries this fall.  Had to.  What would fall be without them?  It seems we have a tendency to focus on blooms when choosing plants for our landscape, obsessing about when they bloom, what color, how long .....it's ALL about the flowers.  BUT, in some cases, the fruits of a shrub or tree can far surpass the beauty of its flowers and should be taken into consideration.  The color of the fruit and the length of time that they remain on the plant is important.  Often times, the effect of the fruit lasts much longer than the flowers. 

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: NOVEMBER

     Colorado Blue Spruce

The beautiful Colorado Blue Spruce is the Official Tree of the Month for November for a couple of reasons.  The first is because they look SO fabulous in the fall.  Why the fall?  Because if you really take notice, you will see how incredible that blue color of theirs looks when it has a background of the oranges, yellows, and golds of fall.  That is when they REALLY stand out.  The other reason is because we are approaching winter, and we all appreciate some color during the drab months of that season.  And let's not forget how nice they look nice all "dolled" up for the holidays, with sparkling lights and their traditional pyramidal form.  Blue Spruce are hardy in this area, but they do not LOVE it here. (they are from Colorado, remember?  That is where they are really happy)  They need full sun, well-drained soil and do not tolerate drought well at all.  They are susceptible to several cankers and blights, which seem to affect them most  severely when they are stressed so it is important to keep them healthy by watering during dry periods while being careful not to allow them to sit in any water, and fertilizing them in late fall to make sure they have adequate nutrition to keep them healthy and strong.  They are worth the extra work and can add a lot of interest and beauty to your yard throughout the year.  We have a nice selection here at the nursery, they make a great live Christmas tree!!!

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Falling into Winter.....

Falling into winter.  These seasonal transitions add a lot of things to our "to do" list.  The main thing "to do" is rake of course, which can be a fun little project for the kids.  Leaves can be composted or burned or can be used as a mulch for tender plants that can use more protection during the winter months.   I have seen leaves pile up on areas in the lawn and kill it out over the winter and wet spring months, so it really is best to get the majority of the leaves up if you can.  After leaf removal, an application of a good fall fertilizer is beneficial for the lawn and your woody ornamentals and trees.  Here at Price Nurseries, we use Fertilome's Winterizer which is a granular product with a 25-0-6 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.  Fertilization promotes root growth and helps the plants and lawn recover from the summer heat while preparing it for the next growing season. 

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Still Talking 'Bout Bulbs

Well, I guess I'm not done talking about bulbs yet.  I was reading a book from my hort library about Fallscaping and the author, Stephanie Cohen (who I have seen speak, she is a quite an interesting lady) had a page in her book about planting bulbs in pots which I want to pass on to you.  I have never done this particular thing but am going to try it this year.  Maybe we can compare notes next spring.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

A Bit about Bulbs

Sitting here looking out the window at a cold, rainy, VERY dreary fall day, it is hard to think about next spring.  But now IS the time to think about it if you want lots of color when it finally gets here.  Flowerbulbs can add so much unbelievable excitement and beauty to the spring landscape.  We all look forward to buying our summer annuals in May but we can't plant those until after the danger of frost has passed.  If we plan ahead and spend a little $ and time now, we can enjoy another month or so of color when that blessed season arrives. 

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Fall is for Planting!!!

Oh, the glory of October.  Wow, that sounds like a good name for a tree....hey, what do you know, it already is!  Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month is the October Glory Maple.  We love all of the maples for their fall color, and this week I want to tell you why you should plant one now to enjoy its beauty next year at this time. 

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: OCTOBER

 October Glory Maple

What else could this month's tree be?  It had to be the spectacular October Glory Maple.  This is a cultivar of our native Red Maple, along with many other named cultivars that you may be familiar with....Red Sunset, Autumn Flame, and the new Redpointe.  All of them turn such a bright red, where as a native red maple might not be as dependable for fall color.  Red Maples will become good shade trees, they seem to be a bit slow growing and have been crossed with Silver Maples to increase their growth rates.  The popular Autumn Blaze Maple is one of those crosses.  Red Maples prefer heavier soil and do not tolerate drought very well.  They fare well in lower spots in the yard or irrigated lawns that receive plenty of moisture.  Eventual height and width can be around 40'.  We have some very nice larger balled and burlapped specimens here at the nursery as well as smaller potted ones.  Come out and take a look while they are in their full "glory"!!!!!!!

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Twig Tips by Jodie

This Grass is a Gas!

Really!  It could be.....our native switch grass could be a gas!  It is one of the organic materials that can be used (like corn) to make ethanol.  I am not, however, going to launch into a dissertation about alternative energy.  I wouldn't be able to tell you a darn thing about the use of switch grass as a fuel, but I can sure tell you what it can do for our landscape plantings!  Along with a couple of other native grasses, switch grass lends it's beauty and adaptability to a low-maintenance garden.  I want to tell you all about it and a couple of other awesome native grasses.

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: SEPTEMBER

       Blackhaw Viburnum

The Price Nurseries Official Tree of the month for September is one of our favorite trees here at Price Nurseries for a number of reasons.  The Blackhaw Viburnum is a native tree that is extremely adaptable to different soil types and conditions and will grow in partial shade to full sun.  As you can see in the picture, it is well known for its fabulous fall color and it has fruit that starts to show up this time of year which is edible and was used in preserves back in colonial times.  It is disease and insect resistant which is always a big plus.  The flowers are borne in May and are a creamy white.  It reaches a height of 15-20' with nearly as much width.  They can be pruned into interesting multiple-stem trees or can be left to be large shrubs good for screening.  Blackhaws are just a great native plant, well-known for their interesting form and outstanding fall color. The birds will thank you for planting one of these beauties, so do them a favor and plant one today!

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Twig Tips by Jodie

NOT a Pain in the Grass!

Oh, it's that time of year when the ornamental grasses are coming into their glory, and boy do we love 'em.....ok, some of us love them. If you are not a fan of a natural-looking planting and prefer your boxwoods pruned into perfect balls, I'm going to guess you don't care for them (I'm not going to say "hate", I HATE that word).   To each his own.  But for those of you who appreciate what grasses can bring to a landscape planting with their texture and form, I've decided to spend a little time and talk about the different grasses we use in this part of the state.  Maybe it will help you decide on which ones are good for your situation.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Take Time to Design!

I was out and about today and went to visit a homeowner who had purchased a lot of pretty plants and placed them in a bed between the sidewalk and her house.  It didn't look bad. It had a nice variety of color and texture and looked nice enough....today.  And tomorrow, and maybe next year and the year after.  BUT some plants were used that are going to get big and either a lot of pruning is going to have to be done in the future or they will be replacing the entire thing in 5-10 years.  That is a lot of money to be spent on a home improvement project that has to be re-done because of lack of planning and/or design.  Why do so many people landscape their homes this way? 

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: AUGUST

Japanese Maple

The Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month for August is one of the most popular ornamental trees used here in Indiana and for good reason.....the lovely Japanese Maple comes in a variety of forms and is most well-known for its fabulous burgandy leaf color.  Many people are not aware that it also comes in several green forms which are equally as beautiful and have spectacular fall color.   There are too many varieties to mention but pictured is Bloodgood Japanese Maple, which can reach a height of 20-25'.  There are also some weeping types, such as Tamukeyama, that are slower growing and easily maintained at a smaller size.  Jap Maples prefer a sunny, protected location and adapt well to most soil conditions.  We have a great selection of Japanese Maples here at the nursery and have a limited number of 4/5' Bloodgoods that we are offering for $130.00.  That is a great deal, so come out and see us and take home a beautiful Japanese Maple.  They also make a great gift!

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Whack Those Bushes, Part Deux

Well, I blabbed a little bit about pruning earlier this summer, mentioning the importance of pruning spring-flowering plants right after they bloom so that you don't mess with next year's blooms.  BUT this is an extensive subject and so I have another "chapter" to add.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

It's in the Bag!!!

The bug, the worm, the nasty creature that is chewing on your evergreen......it's in the BAG!!!!!  The BAGWORMS are here.  I tolda you back in May that they would come later in the summer, and now they are here and the phone calls are starting.  "My arborvitae are turning brown, first one, then the next, is it a disease?"  NO.  Look closer.  REALLY close.  You will see a lot of things that look like little brown pods, they almost look like part of the tree. They are not!  They are the bags made by the bagworm and you may even see them moving.  YUK!!!

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Those Darn Hydrangeas!!!

Those darn hydrangeas, why won't they bloom?  Why aren't they blue?  Why, why, why.  Hydangeas seem to confuse the heck out of many of my customers.  There are too many varieties of 4 main species that grow in our neck of the woods.  Some of them are great, some of them are worthless.  I'm going to try to 'splain which ones are which so that you don't waste your time and money on the duds.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

A Black Thumb, Part Deux

Do YOU have a black thumb?  Last week I tried to help you get rid of it with some pointers about growing plants in pots....this week I will talk about trees and woody ornamentals that are growing in the ground. Why did I divide it up?  Plants are plants, right?  Nope.  Plants in the ground require very little care once established but this is where the black thumbs seem to show up.  When we think we are helping them get established, we often times are killing them with kindness. 

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: JULY

 TREE HYDRANGEA

This month's Official Tree is not actually a tree, but a shrub that has been pruned into a small tree form.  Hydrangeas come in a bazillion varieties and forms which can all be quite confusing but take our word for it, these are just awesome and can do a great job where you want a "dwarf" tree.  Tree Hydrangeas grow in the sun or the shade and are quite tolerant of various soil types but prefer moist, well-drained soil.  Popular varieties include Limelight, Pink Diamond and Quickfire.  Some bloom white and stay that way, others turn varying shades of pink.  The blooms appear in mid-summer, often lasting until frost. Since they are actually shrubs and can be pruned heavily without damage to future flowering, they are easily controlled and can be kept in 6-8' size range.  We've got some balled and burlap specimens or start with a smaller one in a pot, they make a great gift. 

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Twig Tips by Jodie

Do YOU have a black thumb?

Having a black thumb is not funny, this is a very serious malady.  I've heard it many times from people over the years.  "I can't grow plants, I have a black thumb".   I'm here to tell you that you don't.  Not really, you just have a mental block and need some encouragement.  There are only a couple of factors that seriously affect the survival of a plant and if you can get those right, most plants will not only survive, they will flourish. Today I am going to talk about plants in containers because they are a little trickier than plants in the ground.  Next week I will cover woody ornamentals and perennials.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

A REAL PAIN IN THE GRASS!

A Real Pain in the Grass. OK, I admit I said that to get your attention.  What I really want to talk about is grass that becomes a problem for us, specifically when it ends up where we don't want it.  It then becomes a weed because a weed, by description, is ANY plant that is growing where we don't want it....even our precious, coddled turfgass.  So when it shows up in our flower beds and groundcovers, it is officially a WEED.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

A DEEP SUBJECT

A deep subject?  NO, I'm not going to expound about the meaning of life.  I am going to discuss the topic of planting depth.  A friend was helping me plant a small tree this past weekend and he took a little too much soil out of the hole.  As we were discussing whether to keep raising up the tree, he recited a little verse. "Plant it low, it won't grow.  Plant it high, it won't die".  Mmmm....that's an easy way to remember a gardening rule-of-thumb.  Another little saying about planting dictates to "Never plant a $10 plant in a 10 cent hole".  I should update that to "Never plant a $100 plant in a $10 hole" to account for inflation.  Well, I'm here to tell you a EXACTLY how big that hole for your new plant needs to be. 

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: JUNE

    JAPANESE TREE LILAC

Japanese Tree Lilac blooms a creamy white in the early summer, like...RIGHT NOW!!!!  Unlike a lilac shrub, it doesn't have a fragrance but it makes up for that with flowers that show up after most other trees are done blooming.  It is very adaptable to a variety of soil conditions but requires full sun to bloom well and will grow to about 20-25' in height with a 15' spread.  This is a great small tree and we have some beautiful specimens here at the nursery.  Come out and see us and we will be happy to show them to you.  Retail hours are 8-4:30 Monday through Friday and Saturdays 'til noon. 

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Twig Tips by Jodie

SORRY, SUCKERS!

I hate suckers, don't you?  And I'm not talking about some guys that are easily duped.  I'm talking about plant suckers, those little shoots of growth that come up from the base of your trees, most notably your crabapples, and many other woody ornamental plants.  They can also be the side shoots or underground runners that come up near the original plant. If the suckers are coming from the base of a plant that was grafted, they will turn out to be a completely different plant than the original, which I'm sure some of you have experienced.  Many plants are grafted onto the roots of a strong related species and if left unpruned, will totally take over the original plant.  This is not a good thing.

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Twig Tips by Jodie

TO MULCH OR NOT TO MULCH.....

That is the question.  Sounds a little like Shakespeare.  Ok, not quite.  But anyway, it is a question we ask ourselves every spring when contemplating our gardening to-do lists.  I'm going to try to help you make that decision by giving you a little info about mulch in general. First of all, it has a PURPOSE. 

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Twig Tips by Jodie

WHACK THOSE BUSHES!!!

Pruning?  Now?  Yep.  As soon as those spring-blooming plants are done with their lovely floral displays, get out those pruners and nip them back. (if they need it, that is...more on that later).  Forsythia, magnolias, crabapples, viburnums, weigelas, lilacs, quince, spireas, rhododendrons, and azaleas can all be trimmed now and it will not affect the blooms for next spring since they set flower buds on the previous year's growth.  Don't wait until the middle of the summer when they are bothering you because they have gotten bigger than you want them to be.  Or if you do wait and trim them late in the year, don't whine when they don't bloom worth a hoot next spring because you trimmed off their bloom buds.  I can't tell you how many phone calls I receive in the spring when people can't figure out why their lilacs didn't bloom this year.  Now you know!

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Twig Tips by Jodie

 SOMETHING'S BUGGING ME!

I just wanted to let you know that the something that is bugging me is soon going to be bugging you, if it hasn't already.  It's the caterpillars!!!  They will drive us all crazy in May.  First it is those disgusting Eastern Tent Caterpillars that you will find in your crabapples and other fruit trees (they love anything in the Cherry family, ornamental or otherwise).  Now, a lot of you mistakenly refer to these dudes as bagworms because they make a "tent" in the branches of the trees and shrubs, but PULEEEEEZE....stop that!!!  Bagworms are another despicable bug that will show up in your evergreens later in the summer and I will talk more on that when it's time. To learn more about the Eastern Tent Caterpillar, the Purdue Extension Service Department of Entomology has a great flier about them http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/HN-68.pdf.

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Price Nurseries Official Tree of the Month: MAY

Crabapples come in a variety of forms and color of bloom.  There are weeping, upright and spreading forms, and blooms in May range from a dark reddish-pink to white.  Crabapples usually have very showy fruit, red, orange or yellow in color, and there is also a fruitless variety available.  They need to be planted in full sun to maximize bloom and fruiting and look their best.  They tolerate a wide range of soil types but do require good drainage.  Mature sizes can vary also.  There are dwarf varieties that mature near 8' and other types that will get 20' tall and wide. Crabapples require very little care once planted, especially if the correct variety is chosen for the site.  Spring would not be spring without the beauty that Crabapples bring to our community.  

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Twig Tips By Jodie

IN THE WEEDS!

Huh? In the weeds, what in the heck am I talking about.....we don't want weeds in this business. I am taking this phrase from my old days back in the restaurant business (my OTHER profession, have to do something in the winter-time, ya know) when we would have too many tables to take care of and we wouldn't be able to keep up. Well, that's how most of us feel right now, trying to get to all of the things in our landscape plantings and yards that need to be done RIGHT NOW. Yesterday, in fact. 

Well, with all of this rain, it ain't easy, folks. But today is the beginning of May, and I am going to help you prioritize. So, since we are on the subject of weeds....two things need to be done and quickly.

1. Get that crabgrass preventer on your lawn. Crabgrass is an annual weed and if you don't get it under control in the spring before it comes up, you might be out of luck for the rest of the summer since post-emergence control is not nearly as effective. Now this is assuming you care that there is crabgrass in your lawn. Personally, if it's green and I can mow it, I am OK with it but that's just me.  

2. Another thing to do in the fight against weeds is to apply a pre-emergent in your landscape beds called Treflan. It is commercially available as Preen and is safe to use around most landscape plants. For a list of plants that is safe to use, check out their web site > I DO care about weeds in my beds, they drive me nuts and this step does help with their demise.You will need to make sure that all of your leaves are out of your beds before putting down your Preen, so if you haven't done that, DO IT and start that compost pile that you have been thinking about making. This leads us to the third tip for you to start working on now.

3. Composting is a great way to make your own fertilizer and soil enhancer not to mention an environmently-friendly way to get rid of organic waste. Check out this website for help getting started http://www.howtocompost.org/.  It is easy. When in doubt, "compost" happens.

So this is my first blog entry, good luck to me with this endeavor. I'm actually thinking after a few months of this, I will be ready for my debut on HGTV and a new career as the host of a reality series called The Hasty Horticulturist for those that don't have time to do everything exactly right. 

Hey...I try and so should you. 

Off to hug my tree.   - Jodie 

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Meet Jodie Overmyer

Jodie Overmyer is a self-proclaimed tree-hugger and graduate from Purdue University where she attended in the late 70s to pursue her dream of a career in Forestry. That is, until she realized that most foresters grow trees for the shear purpose of cutting them down. The field of Landscape Horticulture was introduced to Jodie and she found herself smitten and has been in love with her career path ever since. The best part of her job of thirty years is helping people improve their homes and properties with her creative designs and planting trees that provide shade and growing beauty for future generations. 

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Membership in Indiana Nursery and Landscape Association

Price Nurseries has been a member and active participant in the Indiana Nursery and Landscape Association since the early 1950's. Three past employees and owners have been president of the INLA over the years. (Robert Price, 1983; Tom McGee, 1994 and James Kenny, 2005 and 2006). Price's celebrated its 75th anniversary in business by hosting the 2002 INLA summer meeting in Plymouth, Indiana.

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Tri-Way Mini Golf Course Project Overview

In 2006, we were contacted by the owner of one of the few remaining drive-in theaters in the state of Indiana. He had decided to build a Mini-golf course on the adjoining property, and was working with a firm that specialized in Mini-Golf constuction. The owner had been a good customer of ours for a number of years and wanted us to be involved with the Landscape portion of the project. He shared our vision of what the course could look like, and we came up with a design that would create a unique botanical atmosphere.

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