Take Splendor in Maples

What is better than sitting in the shade under a large maple tree on  a hot summer day drinking lemonade? 

Or taking splendor in the yellows, oranges, and reds of a maple tree in the fall? 

Maple trees have stood the test of time. And now there are new varieties available that will help you choose a maple best suited for your yard.

Here are some of our best selling maples:

Amur Maple: Small maple in single or multi stems, beautiful red fall color, grows 15’

Autumn Blaze – Stunning bright red color in fall – cross between a silver and a red maple, fast growing but not as sturdy as a sugar maple, upright grower 50-60’

Brandywine – beautiful deep red/burgundy color in fall, Seedless, oval shape, 30-45’

Burgundy Belle – beautiful deep red foliage in fall, 45’

Crimson King or Royal Red – deep burgundy color all year, slow growing but worth the wait, grow 35’

Deborah- Foliage has red cast in spring, turns deep green in summer, grows 40-50’

Emerald Luster – a Norway maple, fast growing but sturdy, bright green leaves in summer, resistant to leaf tater, yellow in fall, grows 45’

Matador: beautiful red fall color, grows 40-50’

Red Sunset- Early fall color of bright orange/red, fast growing, 40-50’

Silver Maple- if you had a lot of seeds this spring you may have a silver maple, fast growing but not as sturdy or long lived as sugar maples, good for windbreaks, grow 50-60’

Sugar Maples:  Sugar maples bring us some of the most beautiful colors of fall.  We carry

·      Fall Fiesta – this variety is very resistant to winter sun scald on the bark grow 50-75’

·      Green Mountain -  Beautiful orange/red fall color, grow 40-60’

·      Majesty – Beautiful orange/red color in fall, grow 60’

Sun Valley – a small maple if your space is limited, beautiful red fall color, grows 25’

 MORE: 10 Reason to Plant a Tree HERE

Our Top 3 Flowering Crab Tree Picks

One of the rewards for living through long Iowa winters is the delight of spring blooming flowering crab trees.

If you have memories of flowering crab trees that dropped very large apples, or that lost all their leaves by the end of June – No Worries!  New varieties of crabs no longer have these characteristics. They have either no berries(apples) or very small berries that birds will clean. The old varieties that lost their leaves by July were susceptible to a disease called cedar apple rust fungus. New varieties are resistant to this as well.

Our Top 3 Flowering Crab Tree Picks

Spring Snow -  Deep green foliage with white blooms, fruitless, Grow 12-15’ 

Prairie Fire – Green foliage with the deepest red/pink blooms currently available, small berries that birds will clean, grow 20-25’ 

Camelot – A wonderful dwarf variety. Buds deep pink with blooms pink fading to white along the entire stems of the tree, small berries that birds will clean, grow 10-12’

More on Crab Trees HERE.

Linda's Top 5 Plants

What makes you LOVE a certain plant? Do you look for COLOR? Texture? The shape? Do certain plants have special meaning for you? Or maybe you have memories of plants that your grandparents had in their yard growing up?

All of us here at Natural Plus love helping you find the perfect plants for your yard that you will love for years to come. And, after being in business for 42 years, we have figured out what plants do well and are our favorites!

If you’re in the market for some new trees, shrubs, or perennials, you’re going to want to follow along with these blog posts, I’ll be sharing each of our top 5 favorite plants with all of you!

1.    Sugar Maples – Sugar maples are majestic, sturdy, and long lived.  They also have stunning fall colors of oranges, yellows, and reds.  A couple varieties now available are Fall Fiesta and Green Mountain.

Photo from Bailey’s Nursery

2.    Flowering crabs – After long Iowa winters, there is nothing more beautiful than the spring blooming flowering crabs.  There are many varieties available and the newer varieties are disease resistant. My top 2 picks are Spring Snow (white blooming and fruitless) and Prairie Fire (deep red blooms and small berries).

3.    Exochorda Lotus Moon – Commonly known as “Pearl Bush” this is a newer shrub recently added to our inventory. It is a beautiful green upright bush that grows 4-5’ tall. What sets it apart are the white “string of pearls” blooms in June. Truly beautiful.

4.    Hardy Hibiscus – These hardy perennials emerge from the ground mid-June and by August are 4-5’ tall and are covered with very large tropical looking blooms that are about the size of a dinner plates. These come in various colors of white, pinks, and reds.

5.    Coral Bells – These perennials are by far my favorite. They grow in sun or shade and don’t require a lot of attention. Flowers are insignificant, but leaf colors are vibrant from spring through fall and they especially add color to shade gardens.  Depending on variety, leaf colors include yellow, gold, peach colors, red, and burgundy

And, in case you missed them, here are owner Dave’s Top 5 Plant Picks and employee Mike Watson’s and Ree’s.

Mike's Top 5 Plants

What makes you LOVE a certain plant? Do you look for COLOR? Texture? The shape? Do certain plants have special meaning for you? Or maybe you have memories of plants that your grandparents had in their yard growing up?

All of us here at Natural Plus love helping you find the perfect plants for your yard that you will love for years to come. And, after being in business for 42 years, we have figured out what plants do well and are our favorites!

If you’re in the market for some new trees, shrubs, or perennials, you’re going to want to follow along with these blog posts, I’ll be sharing each of our top 5 favorite plants with all of you!

Next up is Mike Watson, who has been employed at Natural Plus for 36 years. He is drawn more towards trees because they are stately and he enjoys the longevity.

And now here are Mike’s top 5 plant picks:

1. Gingko: It’s one of the oldest trees known. It has few pests and problems. Nice yellow fall color and once you get a freeze the majority of the leaves drop within 24 hours.

   Fun fact: Mike’s license plate used to say GINGKO

Photo from Nature Hills Nursery

2. White Oak: because of the beautiful fall red color

image from Bailey’s Nursery

3. Weeping White Spruce: it’s very tall and narrow and unusual, takes up little space

photo from monrovia.com

4. Kentucky Coffeetree: Mike loves the picturesque branching habit that is highlighted in wintertime, native to parts of Iowa

Photo from The Morton Arboretum

5. Shagbark hickory because of the interesting bark

image from Illinois Wildflowers

And, in case you missed it, here are owner Dave’s Top 5 Plant Picks.