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.

WHAT’S NEW FOR TREES

What’s NEW for Trees

The number of new varieties of plants coming on the market is literally exploding!! We struggle to keep up with all of the new options. Growers are propagating new varieties of old favorites that are now more disease resistant, less finicky about watering, grow faster, bloom longer, have more vibrant colors, and are dwarf versions of the parent plants.

At Natural Plus we carry a large collection of some of these newer varieties, as well as the “old favorites”.  Here are a few of the newer varieties that might interest you:

 Shade/Larger Trees:

Elms – Elms are back! The elms that survived Dutch Elm Disease have now been propagated and are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. Elms have a beautiful upright vase shape and would add a nice option to your yard.

Maples– Some maples are selected for fast growth, some for vibrant fall colors, etc. Many of these have now been crossed and have both characteristics. Some newer varieties of maples include:

Autumn Blaze: A cross between a silver and red maple. Upright growth. Vibrant red fall color. Fast growing but not as sturdy as hard maples.

Brandywine: A cross between October Glory and Autumn Flame. A small seedless maple (25’). Outstanding fall color from red to red/purple.

Burgundy Belle: Oval shape. Grows to 45’. Fall color brilliant red changing to intense burgundy.

Fall Fiesta Sugar Maple: Leathery green leaves, resistant to sun scald and frost cracks. 50-75’. Fall color oranges and reds.

Red Sunset:  2000 Tree of the Year, A Rubrum Maple, upright, brilliant red fall color, grows 50’

Magnolias – We are offering some varieties this spring that are hardy for our zone:

Royal Star: Small tree 10-15’, Small white fragrant blooms spring

Gold Star: Grows 20-30’, Light yellow flowers spring

Sunburst: Grows 30’, Lemon yellow flowers spring

Crab trees add spring color to your landscape

Smaller/Dwarf Trees:

 For people with small spaces, there is now a wider selection of dwarf trees.

Crabs are now resistant to Cedar Apple Rust (which caused the trees to lose their leaves mid-summer). The apples are very small and will be cleaned by birds.  Some newer selections of crabs include :

Camelot: A very small crab with blossoms changing from red buds to pink to white, very small berries, grows 10’

Prairie Fire: One of the deepest pink/red blooms, small berries, 15-20’

Royal Raindrops: Burgandy red foliage with deep pink blossoms, grows 20’

 Tree Hydrangeas : These are basically a hydrangea bush on a stem and grow only 8-12’ tall! We carry several varieties including:

Limelight: Lime green/white large blooms in summer, grows 8’

Quick Fire: Large white blooms turning deep pink/red, grows 6-8’

Vanilla Strawberry: Large white blooms turning pink, grows 6-8’

Tree Lilacs: These are basically a Dwarf Korean Lilac or a Miss Kim Lilac on a stem. These will bloom in early June and the fragrance will fill your entire yard.  Grow 5-6’.

Read more about what we recommend for SPRING FLOWERING TREES.  

Pruning Evergreens and Boxwoods

Pruning evergreens and Boxwoods

I hope you have enjoyed some of our other articles on pruning (click the title below to view the other articles!)

• Pruning Leafy Shrubs

• 4 Reasons to Prune Your Plants

Today’s topic is all about pruning your evergreens (shrubs and trees) and your boxwoods.

Evergreen shrubs and Boxwoods

A few of the varieties of evergreen shrubs require little or no pruning.

Some of these include Hetz Midget and Danica Arborvitae, Blue Star Junipers, and Dwarf Japanese Garden Junipers.

Most other evergreen shrubs will benefit from trimming. These would include plants such as Boxwoods, Yews, Mint Julep Junipers, Mugo Pines, upright evergreens, and many others. 

Generally trim once or twice a year in early spring and/or in early fall. Trim just to shape the plant. Do not do extreme pruning.

If evergreen plants have become very overgrown, you may have to trim severely to get them back in to a good shape. However, they may not look good for a season or two. Avoid this problem by trimming once or twice a year.

Evergreen Trees

Young evergreen trees can be trimmed to help shape them. Trimming will also cause them to be more full and dense.

Check the leader (top branch ) of the tree. If there are 2 main leaders, trim out the weakest of the 2. This will allow 1 strong leader to take over.

Generally the best time to trim evergreen trees is just after the new growth, or the “candle” has emerged (usually early June). Trim off about ½ of each candle. You may also trim as needed to shape the tree.

ADDING FRAGRANT PLANTS TO YOUR LANDSCAPE

Most of us are familiar with the wonderful sweet fragrance of an old fashioned lilac in the spring. A gentle breeze carries the fragrance through out a whole neighborhood.

 Would you like to add some other varieties of plants that add fragrance to your yard?

Here are some Natural Plus favorites:

Trees:

All fruit trees (apples, pears, cherries, plums) have a wonderful fragrance in the spring when blooming. Plums are especially fragrant. 

Some other ornamental trees that give a sweet fragrance in spring when in bloom are flowering crabs, serviceberries, hawthorns, Japanese tree lilacs, fringe trees, and dwarf Korean tree lilacs.

Lindens are an upright pyramidal shaped shade tree with a heart shaped leaf. In June they produce very small yellow blooms that are barely visible unless you get up close to the tree. However, those blooms are very fragrant and you may be able to smell them from a half a block away.

 Shrubs:

Many shrubs are fragrant when in bloom. Some you may want to consider are: lilacs, (bloomerang lilacs rebloom to give a second set of fragrant blossoms mid-summer), mockorange (dwarf and standard size), snowberry, and elderberries.

Roses may or may not be fragrant. Newer hybridized varieties often have beautiful bloom colors and are more disease resistant, but have little fragrance. Older varieties such as rugosa roses bring back memories of fragrant rose gardens. One of our favorites is Purple Pavement.

 Perennials:

Most people are aware of the fragrance of peonies – a sturdy perennial that goes back generations. At Natural Plus we have a row of peonies that are over 50 years old and still produce hearty blooms every year.

Some other perennials that will add fragrance to your yard include:

Garden phlox (come in many colors), lavender (there is now a variety hardy for zone 4), iris, hyssop, astilbe, dianthus, most coneflowers, helleborus, bee balm, and sweet autumn clematis.  

Bulbs and Woodland Plants

Hyacinths (bulbs) and Lily of the Valley are spring bloomers that are particularly fragrant.