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Showing posts from January, 2013

Tired of the Browns & Yellows of Your Winter Landscape?

Are you tired of your dead looking winter landscape? Wish you had something more than leafless trees and shrubs to look out at? Are you longing for the green foliage of spring and summer? If you want something more than Trees That Please Nursery can help! Trees That Please Nursery propagates evergreen trees and shrubs that can add color and winter interest to your home or business landscape. All of the following photos were taken during winter on January 28, 2013 in Los Lunas, NM. Gray Oak is a native evergreen oak that retains its gray-green foliage through winter, as a close-up of its foliage reveals. Leaves will sometimes turn brown during the coldest winters. New Mexico Live Oak is another native evergreen oak that is green through most winters. Leaves remain green or may have some browning during late winter. Turbinella Oak (native) is also evergreen (blue-green) through winter as seen in these specimens pruned into shrubs. Leav

Time to Burn the Weeds – Feel the Heat!

There is always something to do at the nursery. This week we did property clean-up which included picking weeds. Nobody enjoys picking weeds but we do enjoy a nice warm fire in winter. The weeds were picked and piled in anticipation. We called the local fire marshal first to confirm it was a burn day and it was. Then we gathered our shovels and water hoses just in case. We gathered around the weeds we had piled and the fire was started. It began small. It roared to life. It burned hot. Can you feel the heat? As the weeds were consumed we had more smoke than fire. The fire diminished, then was thoroughly extinguished with water Picking weeds has its rewards! Photos & Narrative By: Stephen Sain Staff Plant Physiologist

Winter Tree and Shrub Planting

How many of us put off our landscape planting needs until the growing season resumes with warmer spring temperatures? How many of us think we cannot plant in winter? How many of us think winter is a bad time to plant? You don’t need to wait for spring to plant! Winter is actually an ideal time for planting because there is no water stress on newly planted trees and shrubs. Sometimes when we plant a containerized tree or shrub during the growing season we may inadvertently damage some roots as we remove it from its pot. During the growing season plants are actively pulling water in through their roots. If roots are damaged during planting your tree or shrub may wilt. A tree or shrub with damaged roots may take some time to recover and may look “wilted” for a couple days.   As long as you keep the soil well watered it generally recovers in a couple days. Planting a dormant tree or shrub during winter avoids this water stress issue. If roots are damaged during winter planting you