Archive for the ‘Kyle’s Plant Korner’ Category
Fall is for Planting!
By Kyle B. Brown
Design Consultant/Sales Associate
Tussey Mtn Mulch Landscape Center
Hello, I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the rain showers that we have been blessed with the past few days. As the summer is winding down and fall is just around the corner, I want to take some time and remind you that the optimal time to get plant material in the ground is quickly approaching. Fall provides the best time for planting any tree, shrub, or perennial. During the fall, the cool temperatures and the lack of scolding sun rays greatly reduce the chance of transplant shock, which is the number one culprit of new plant installation death. The fall planting window runs roughly from the middle of August until the beginning of October. This allows your new plant to properly root in before old man winter rolls around. Planting during this time will still follow the same rules of thumb for the planting process, also water and fertilizer properly. Also, stop in the landscape center and check out the Plant Nursery and see the wide selection of trees, shrubs, and other plant material we have in stock! Keep your eyes on our website for some upcoming plant specials as we get later into the season and remember that you can call in to the landscape center(814-696-1920) with any plant health question!
Also, register for our Grow-N-Go workshop, scheduled for this Saturday at 10am, where we will discuss the benefits of fall planting. Click here to find out more about the event and register!
Keep your plants looking gorgeous during the heat!
Summer Plant Care Tips
By: Kyle B Brown
Design Consultant/Sales Associate
I hope this post finds you all well, and staying cool during these hazy, hot summer days. Hopefully you have found a cool place inside to shade yourself from the extreme temperatures, however, what about your plants though, out there braving the heat. Just because of the extreme heat, doesn’t mean your plants have to look unsightly. Follow these simple steps and your beds can be popping with color throughout this hot, dry season!
1. MULCH! Keep a layer of mulch over your beds, this will retain the moisture of the morning dew and the brief rain showers we do receive. Mulch will hold the water and allow the plant roots to absorb it as it is needed.
2. WATER! Water your plants in the morning, or evening. Watering in the afternoon heat is hard on a plant and also very inefficient. Irrigating during the heat can put a plant in shock, this is because of the plant’s root system being hot in the midday sun, and then cold water being applied to the root system. It is comparable to jumping in a freezing cold shower. Also, it is inefficient, most of the water used during a midday watering will evaporate before the plant can ever use the water.
3. FERTILIZE! Give your plants an extra shot of Miracle Grow or Plant-tone during these hot days. This will stress the plant a little less because the plant will have better access to the nutrients in which they need to produce chlorophyll they need to stay healthy. It is best to fertilize directly before watering, so that you water the fertilizer into the soil, making it easier for the roots to absorb the nutrients.
Follow these simple steps and you will be enjoying lush green gardens and bountiful blooms all summer long. Please feel free to contact us here at Tussey Mtn Mulch to answer any of your plant health and plant care questions!
These Roses on Sale this weekend!
by: Kyle Brown
These beautiful, blooming roses are all going on sale this Memorial Day weekend. Stop by and receive 10% off all your plant purchases including these roses! They look and smell beautiful right now!!! Click here to see all the specials!
TMMLC Nursery Update!
By: Kyle Brown
Summer is just around the corner, and we are very excited about our new arrivals in the nursery. Come today to see our fresh arrival of trees and shrubs. Also a broad selection of Star Roses! New to the nursery this week is a full selection of Japanese Maples with many different cultivars that will fill anyone’s fancy. Also a new arrival that I am very excited about here in the nursery are the Pee Gee Hydrangea trees. This ornamental tree will provide you with white and pink showy flowers all summer long and can take a variety of different soil conditions. We also have Forest Pansy Redbuds in stock. These trees provide outstanding lavender blooms in early May and have showy purple foliage throughout the growing season. Also, we have a new shipment of Lavender Twist Weeping Redbud trees in! We also have a great selection of vegetable plants and growing products available.
We also have a full line of fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides available. Give your plants the summer boost they need with a full line-up of plant fertilizers, rose fertilizers, and plant health products. Also, come in to the landscape center with any plant pest problem and I will be sure to send you home with a resolution.
As you come in to see our nursery, please be sure to ask about joining me for our Grow-N-Go workshops. Here I will provide a short horticultural based lecture and then open the floor to questions from those in attendance. Please join us for these fun, educational, and inspirational events!
Lavender Twist Redbud Beni Schichihenge Japanese Maple Pee Gee Hydrangea
Discover Gardening-A Family Activity
By: Kyle B Brown
Sales Associate/Design Consultant at Tussey Mountain Mulch Landscape Center
You find yourself stuck with nothing to do, children restless while waiting for an activity to consume them. You could just stick a video game system or a television in front of them, but what about a change? Why not do something that the whole family will love and take satisfaction in for a long time to come? Why not get the kids outdoors, teach them about nature, and create something beautiful. The activity I am talking about is gardening.
Gardening is an activity that the whole family can participate in. It’s not something that is going to require expensive tickets or fancy electronics to complete. Grab a shovel, some eager hands to help, some plant material, and a useable area and you have everything you need to spend a Saturday afternoon with the entire family. Gardening is a much cheaper alternative to most Saturday afternoon activities and will provide hours of good clean, well, slightly dirty fun. It also doesn’t require an instruction manual, just read the plant labels or seed packets and you will find everything you need to know. Where to plant, how deep to plant, how big the plant will get, and what other care practices you will need to provide will all be there right before your eyes.
Gardening will also be fun. Pull the children away from the television and get them moving. Gardening will teach your children about plants, hard work, and responsibility. However, make it fun for them, let them pick what to plant, bring them out to Tussey Mtn Mulch and allow them to choose what they like. This will allow them to stay interested and develop their own green thumb. The children will stay much more enthusiastic and involved if they are working with something they enjoy. Also, shrug off the natural reaction to keep the children clean and let them dive right into the soil and get their hands dirty. What child doesn’t want to be covered in dirt up to their necks and not get in trouble for it? A child will love getting dressed up in worn-out clothes and being allowed to help their parents with such a project. A hands-on project will keep everyone’s attention; have them dig planting holes, plant flowers, and pull weeds. Let the children create something they can be proud of every time they walk by the garden.
The best part of gardening as a family will be the satisfaction. When you see something grow that you planted with your own hands, your face will light up. Seeing this reaction from a child will make all the hard work that was involved worth it. By using perennials, shrubs, and trees, you and your family can watch the plants grow just as the small hands that helped plant them grow.
Get outside, get the family involved, and get gardening. Allow the kids to get their hands dirty and be filled with wonderment, excitement, and satisfaction. Bring your children to Tussey Mountain Mulch Landscape Center where they can enjoy walking through our many displays, visit our fish tanks, and pick out everything you and your family will need to create something beautiful at home.
