My Private Plant Growing Station

I have been growing and experimenting with plants for a while. I have an outdoor area on the side of my house where I grow and experiment with perennials, trees, and shrubs. Sometimes I buy them, and sometimes I propagate them mostly by cuttings or digging them up from the wild. I rarely do seeds, but sometimes I do. In the winter even the most cold hardy plants can not survive in pots. When plants are above ground the cold wind burns the roots and kills the plant. So either each and every pot needs extreme protection and some kind of heater, or put them in a greenhouse or cool garage. I use a special storage shelf in my garage. Their is a major problem with that though. I have a heated garage. So it is room temperature in my garage. It is extremely difficult to keep my plants dormant for a long enough time. Last winter I was only able to keep them dormant for maybe about 3 months or so. Most have survived and are still thriving. What I do to keep them dormant is in extremely cold days like below zero days or at least temps below freezing keep the garage door up for 10-30 minutes per day so that the bitter cold air counteracts the heat. Also when ever there is snow on the ground I place a lot of snow over each plant to keep them cold and from drying out too much. Yes, snow does insulate, but it is also freezing, and helps stay cold enough to help counteract the heat of the garage as well. Both of these methods help in keeping them dormant for at least a long enough time. I left all my plants outside unprotected for at least several frost's/freezes, making sure not to leave them out when it dips below 25°F or so. This helps guarantee the go dormant before placing them in the garage. Last year they went completely dormant the first week of November or so. Our first average freeze is mid-October. They awoke from dormancy in early/mid February. It was still freezing out and they would die if they were placed outside. So I kept them in my indoor propagation room with plenty of sunlight untill they could go outisde. The last freeze in Indy is Mid-May. This Bringd me to my propagation room. I overwinter annuals and Tropicals, grow houseplants, and propagate plants in here. It keeps me busy during the winter months as well. I hope to invest more into this hobby and get more space!

NatureMan

LAST WINTER

'Edith Bogue' Southern Magnolia Large Leaf

On my 'Edith Bogue' Southern Magnolia I have found a huge leaf, bigger than all the others. This may be the biggest Southern Magnolia leaf I have ever seen! I measuered it at over 10.5 inches long. Just shy of a foot long! I am curious just to how large Southern Magnolia leaves can get. What is the largest one you have ever seen? Please let me know, is it just me or is this abnormally large for a Southern Magnolia? Let me know if you have found any bigger this. If so please share pictures! Thanks!

NatureMan

Best Blue Spruce Varieties

The Colorado Blue Spruce is an amazing tree! It's blue frosted needles present themselves all year round! Adds great color to the landscape and will bring eyes to your yard!

Blue Spruce USDA Zone Hardiness: 2-7

"Globosa" Blue Spruce: a dwarf shrub only maturing to 4-5' tall by 3-4' wide. Has a "globe" shape to it with little maintenance required.

"Sester Dwarf" Blue Spruce: Dwarf tree maturing to 10' tall by 3-5' wide.

"Fat Albert" Blue Spruce: Wide growing spruce maturing to 40' tall by 20-25' wide.

"Hoopsi" Blue Spruce: Considered the most blue form. Maturing to 30-50' tall by 10-20' wide.

"Blue Totem" Blue Spruce: Extremely upright maturing to 20' tall by 3-5' wide.

"Iseli Fastigiate" bigger growing extremely upright maturing to 40' tall by 10' wide. 

Needlecast Alternatives: The Blue Spruce in some areas are extremely susceptible and lots die from the disease. 

Blue Atlas Cedar: Not pyramidal like most Conifers outward uneven branches adds a really cool unique texture to the landscape. Not as hardy as blue spruce. Hardy in USDA Zones: 5-9. Columnar version does exist to add a more pyramidal shape.

"Paul's Select" Norway Spruce: semi-dwarf tree maturing to 15-20' tall by 10-15' wide. 

Dwarf Blue Spruce's are rarely susceptible to needlecast, due to smaller form and low weak branches. So "Sester Dwarf" and "Globosa" are good varieties to not have to worry about needlecast. 

NatureMan

Street Landscaping

When planting next to the road it is best to choose an upright or columnar tree. Having a regular tree that may get very big and especially wide is bad. For the first several years it won't be a problem. But once the tree matures it widens and half the tree is leaning over the road with roots cracking the pavement. That is a lot of money in damage the government has to pay for. Imagine street after street of this landscaping nightmare. Yikes! Also my main tip for landscaping jobs. NEVER PLANT TREES UNDER POWER LINES! That is a big no no when landscaping. Unfortunately you see many landscaping companies do this. Unless you are planting a dwarf tree that stays under 15' tall don't do it. Plant a tree at least 10' away from power lines. Some types of popular upright/columnar trees great for street sides and medians are "Frans Fontaine" Hornbeam,  "Arnold" Tulip, "Armstrong" Red Maple, Columnar Oak's like "Crimson Spire" or "Skinny Genes" varieties, another favorite tree of mine is the Ginkgo, my favorite varieties stay more upright unlike the traditional version and other popular varieties, the best varieties are "Fastigiata" and "Princeton Sentry". These are only some of the many species of upright trees to choose from for street landscaping.

Here are some pictures of non-upright street trees VS columnar street trees: (First two VS last three)

NatureMan

Best Boxwood Varieties

Boxwood's are fabulous broadleaf evergreen shrubs. Their tiny green leaves in compact form keeps it's almost artificial look all year round! They can be grown to be small trees or screening. Boxwoods are hardy to USDA Zone 5 (-20°F) a few varieties may grow in USDA Zone 4 (-30°F).

1. "Green Tower" Boxwood. Upright columnar screening tree/shrub growing to 9' tall by 1'-2' wide. 

2. "Green Mountain" Boxwood grows as a shrub, but can be grown into a pyramidal shrub/dwarf tree. It grows 5' tall by 3'-4' wide.

3. "Green Velvet" Boxwood grows as a shrub, only maturing to 3' tall by 2'-3' wide. 

4. "Winter Gem" Boxwood. Grows 4'-6' tall and 3'-5' wide at maturity without pruning (natural form). It has much larger leaves than other varieties and has that more tropical look with it's bigger bushier form.

2 of the Most Cold Hardy Southern Magnolia Varieties

Southern Magnolia's can simply not grow farther north than USDA Zone 6. But there are 2 varieties that can grow successfully into USDA Zone 5. The "Edith Bogue" variety and the "Bracken's Brown Beauty" variety. The "Edith Bogue" variety holds the title for the most cold hardy Southern Magnolia hardy to a whopping -20°F. The "Bracken's Brown Beauty" variety is hardy to -15°F to -10°F slightly less cold tolerant but should take zone 5 fine like the "Edith Bogue".

NatureMan

"Edith Bogue" Southern Magnolia Update 7/14/18

My "Edith Bogue" Southern Magnolia has grown over 2 feet since I planted it not even 2 months ago! I hope this successful growing season leads to good winter hardiness! ❄️🌿

Unique Herbs You can Grow!

Purple Basil: It has the same scent and use as regular Basil but has dark purple foliage making this not only good for cooking, but great for looks too!

Variegated Basil: It's scent not as strong as traditional Basil, but still has a great scent that is fabulous in cooking. Has a great look and "spices" up the landscape!

Purple Sage: It has the same scent and use as regular herbal Sage, this adds great color contrast to your garden!

Tricolor Sage: This variegatd Sage has the same scent and use as regular Sage. It adds great color and design to the landscape and can be mixed with Flowers or simply make your herbal garden more colorful!

Creeping Rosemary: This herb is an evergreen vine or groundcover hardy To 10°F. It has the same scent and use as regular Rosemary. Now you can have a vining herb in your garden or landscape!

How to Deal with Dead Bush with Suckers

It's happened to a lot of us. Bushes die due to colder than normal Winters, or maybe it was drought. Whatever it was sometimes it is not completely dead and the roots may send up new shoots. Don't waste money riping the so called "dead bush" out and buying a new one. Only do that if you are impatient for the new growth to fill in, or it really is dead and has no new growth.

1. Cut back all the dead branches.

2. Water the new suckers more often.

3 It will fill in during the rest of the summer.

Growing Corn 2018

I planted Corn back in early May after the last chance of frost I planted mostly Sweet Corn, but I planted some Indian Corn for Fall decor. You know the old saying you will have a good harvest if your corn is "Knee high by the fourth of July". Well, mine is "Waist high by the sixteenth of June"! I should excpect a fantastic harvest this year!

NatureMan