Dayton "Dirt" - January 18, 2013

After the wild ride of spring temperatures late last week, it’s a relief to have the return of the cold weather. Well do I remember the unusually warm temperatures in the early part of the winter of 2006-2007 only to have the temperature fall quickly to below zero with 40 mph winds and no snow cover. The damage to the nursery stock in containers became apparent early that spring as tender new roots growing all winter were suddenly freeze-dried by the severe, sudden cold. Some timely “to do’s” coming up are to spray weeds with glypsophate (roundup) when the temperature rises to just above freezing. Taking action at the next thaw will alleviate massive weed problems in spring such as those caused by having hairy bittercress, sow thistle, henbit and, if your unlucky enough to have it, the “invasive” garlic mustard. Another chore to do is to overseed the lawn when the ground is frozen so that the seed will germinate in spring when April arrives. Frozen ground is the key word as walking on wet ground on the lawn or garden will compact the soil while walking on hard frozen ground with no snow in order to sow grass seed will have no compaction problems of the soil. Now is the time to plan the vegetable garden in order to ready for spring. Seriously think about trying at least one new vegetable to break up the monotony of beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Greens such as collards, kale, swiss chard, turnip greens are great supplements to anyone’s diet as they are loaded with nutrients and lack the empty calories of sugars and starches. Most ‘greens’ flourish in cool weather so that they may be planted in early spring, late summer and early fall and extend the garden season beyond the heat loving tomatoes and peppers. Get going as winter is flying by. Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - January 11, 2013

This past week of entering the so called “depth of winter” has been more like spring which at least will aid the birds and other animals to search for food. How many times I have watched the birds pick at the small fruit of the flowering crabapples and flowering pears around the nursery. While watching the bird activity, the thought came into my mind that we humans tend to slow down in winter with the cold temperatures and short days and thus require less food and less calories. On the other hand, birds and other wildlife would require more food and calories in winter then spring and summer because of their body’s heat loss from the cold temperatures. Its vitally important to think about birds and other wildlife in the planning of any landscape for winter wildlife food. Just a few of the trees and shrubs that have berries and/or seeds that are a benefit to the wildlife would be oaks, flowering crabapples, deciduous holly, flowering pears, chokeberries, tulip poplar, certain viburnums and so on. Many of the wildlife friendly trees and shrubs have ornamental qualities as well which add interest to an otherwise “dead” landscape in winter. All seasons of the landscape must be considered if one is to maximize the pleasures of nature throughout the year. As the daylight hours slowly increase, the magic time of February 15th will be here soon in which the average temperatures begin to rise to finally open into a beautiful and life giving spring. Hope spring’s eternal. Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - January 4, 2013

January 4, 2013 With the snow and cold this past week, deer food must be in short supply as trails of deer tracks are everywhere at the nursery from the north garden, between the winter storage huts and even around the old house. Last Friday I began inspecting the property for signs of feeding in which I found a few bites taken out of some of the azaleas. Over the past two years, the animals seemed to prefer feeding on one of the most winter hardy evergreen azaleas called ‘Herbert’ but this time all of the varieties had to endure a taste test. The garden was sprayed with Liquid Fence around November 20th but apparently has worn off enough with the result of deer feeding. Luckily around noon last Friday, the temperatures rose to just above freezing with a moderate wind so that I was able to apply 5 gallons of Liquid Fence solution to the foliage and stems of the rhododendron, azalea, mountain laurel and fragrant viburnums. In about another week, another application of Liquid Fence will do well to prevent more feeding for at least another month. Liquid Fence is the answer to prevent deer feeding on tulips as they shy away from the foliage that has been sprayed with the product when the foliage emerges out of the ground about 3 inches in spring. Another chore at the nursery has been the protection of some of the perennials and other plants from extreme cold. Even with temperatures of 0 degrees and a light wind, a single layer of white polyethylene plastic will maintain a temperature of 20 degrees inside a quonset type storage hut. For most plants in pots, 20 degrees inside the house is fine except for evergreen azaleas which are only hardy to 27 degrees as far as the roots are concerned. The other plants that may not fair well in extreme cold are various perennials, excluding hostas, daylilies, creeping phlox and German iris. In order to mimic the perennials and azaleas being planted in the ground instead of above ground in pots an additional layer of cover called microfoam is rolled over the plants to insulate them from the extreme cold which could be deadly to the roots. Even though extreme cold may cause problems for everyone, it may cause the death of some of the insects that had survived the mild winter last year. There is a cloud with the silver lining even when a cold winter is upon us. Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - December 21, 2012

Today is the first day of winter that is starting to feel like winter although the winters of the late 1970's were much colder with some days sporting a high for the day in the single digits! Besides the Christmas season winding down, this week has been finalizing the inventory of hard goods and plants so that when our new software is up and running, a live inventory will be available on line. With the constant and instant updating of inventory, what is currently “on hand” will be much more accurate; that is, as long as everyone cooperates as far as committing and deleting inventory with accuracy. Most inventory line items will then have a “thumb nail” icon next to each listing in which the viewer can click on to produce a clear, enlarged color photograph and a brief description of the plant. The amount of cut Christmas trees has dwindled although the Scotch Pine and Fraser Fir available are still quite nice. We’re now discounting the trees in the amount of $10 less for the Scotch Pine and $20 less for the more expensive Fraser Fir. Grave blankets will still be available for pick up or delivery until 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve. In 4 days Christmas will arrive bringing in a day of joy, togetherness, peace and quiet and excitement all mixed together. Joyeux Noel Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - December 14, 2012

With only 11 days until Christmas, the weather has been more like spring than December. The slow soft rain has rehydrated the ground from last summer’s drought which will do well for the water table especially important for all of us that depend upon wells. Already the Christmas season is slowing up somewhat at the nursery as our tree selection is starting to thin and the grave blanket production is winding down. In just the past 10 days though the colored brachts on the poinsettias seem to have enlarged so much so that only a limited amount of foliage is visible. Bulb planting is still continuing after we planted 2,000 tulip bulbs last week only to be followed by more hyacinths and another 1,000 bulbs to go elsewhere on the grounds for late April and early May bloom. This past week while the weather turned warmer and sunny, we did apply some fungicide to the plant storage houses as well as a 20% bleach solution to the German Iris to prevent bacterial infections caused by the humid conditions. More improvements are still going on the grounds and building so that they may be completed before the busy spring which for us starts the last week of February due to our growing operation. Remember that since our selection of plants is limited at this time of year, a gift idea would be a gift certificate from Dayton’s that never expires and never has a “service” fee that reduces its value. Stop by soon. Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - December 7, 2012

With the weather so mild for this time of year problems can arise in our plant overwintering huts from the fungus known as Botrytis. The disease is a gray mold that will grow on plants when the temperature is 29º F or greater and relative humidity is at 50% or more. The damage this fungus causes is quite severe from the destruction of foliage as well as the flower beds of some of the flowering plants. In order to check the spread of Botrytis, we ventilate the houses when temperatures will not drop to less then 25º F overnight. In addition, fungicides that prevent the fungus from growing are sprayed monthly as long as the temperature is just above freezing. More planting and construction is going on at the nursery before we are forced to move inside because of the inclement weather. Another relatively good weather project is the annual planting of between 1,000 and 2,000 flower bulbs of hyacinths, tulips and narcissus to our growing collection. One fall, winter came early and we were left with 10,000 daffodils that were packed in crates until February. If the bulbs were not planted by the first of March, they would need to be thrown away as the cold period required for growth and bloom in spring could not be achieved. The result was a sod cutter on a grassy muddy hill where the snow melted and three of us digging trenches 6" deep to plant the bulbs in long rows of about 100 feet each. What a miserable venture it was! The result in early May was a spectacular show of golden yellow daffodils and white narcissus with their cheerful orange colored trumpets making all the hard work worthwhile. Christmas trees, grave blankets, poinsettias are the norm right now before we close the last day of December until March 1st. The slow period is just what we need to get ready for the next spring. Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - November 30, 2012

Next week will seem like the shortest days of the year as the sun sets earlier in the day than it does on the shortest day , the winter solstice. It’s no wonder that our traditions and many religious rituals have to do with light and some type of evergreens. Just yesterday we cut some of the most beautiful 10 foot Canaan Fir that only differ from the Fraser Fir in that they do not have the silvery sheen to the underside of the needles. Canaan Firs have needle retention every bit as good as the Fraser as long as they are cut late in the season; that is, around Thanksgiving or later. Other nursery work consists of the mundane task of emptying the mouse traps in the plant storage houses in order to keep the mice damage to a minimum. A new variety of flower we just planted last week is the Anenome with its fuchsia and blue flowers appearing like miniature poppies. Another new item for next spring will be the robust Gerbera daisies that we’ll transfer to a 10 inch diameter pot that can be placed on the deck or patio for an all summer display of radiant color. Soon it will be time to take cuttings from the new Calliope geraniums that we planted in September. These geraniums grow well in full sun or moderate shade and make gorgeous hanging baskets as they are more compact than the regular vining geraniums which require more trimming and deadheading thus, a lot more work! Enough talk about getting ready for spring. Grave blankets, poinsettias and cut trees are the norm right now before we head into the long winter doldrums after the holidays. Enjoy the cold winter days and they’ll seem to fly by until those hints of spring appear. Tom