The GREENLEAF. If you wait too long, you will be up against the high temps and water restrictions that make it hard on a new plant or tree to survive.

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1 Happy Saint Patrick s Day!! Open House... March 15th! Join Us!... See Pg. 3 for Details!! March 2014 The GREENLEAF N E W S L E T T E R HOURS: MON - SAT 8:00 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M.** (** Spring Hours Start March 10th... Then Open till 6:30PM!) SUN 10:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M (972) FAX (972) info@shadesofgreeninc.com By Jeff McCauley Has Spring really Sprung?? Well,... not really. Those 70-degree days in February tempted us, but we have to remember that last year in Collin County on April 23rd, we had a hard frost. I know many of us had our spring flowers and veggies well under way. If you didn t cover them, they were badly damaged. Weather here in north Texas is really a hard thing to predict. Even though I am tempted by the weather to plant my spring flowers early, my disciplined side makes me wait until at least April Fools Day or later. In fact, I usually turn to the trusty Farmers Almanac just to make sure they agree with my last frost of the winter predictions. Now, if you want to indulge your gardening urge when the weather is 70-degrees before April 1st, you can plant any (and all) shrubs, trees, and perennials (which may still be dormant) until your Green Thumb is tired and happy. They will all do so much better if planted now -- with the cooler temperatures and the spring rains helping them get established. 70-DEGREE DAYS ALREADY?? ( Makes you want to plant something doesn t it?! ) If you wait too long, you will be up against the high temps and water restrictions that make it hard on a new plant or tree to survive. After April 1st, once you have done your most famous and effective April Fools Day joke on your favorite person, come to Shades of Green and buy all the spring flowers your car, truck, or SUV can hold! We will be happy to satisfy your Spring gardening urges. Happy Spring Trails To You! ~Jeff

2 PLANT FERTILIZE PRUNE WATER PESTS 2

3 D o o r P r i z e s & R a f f l e s! S p e c i a l S a v i n g s o f t h e D a y! OPEN HOUSE MARCH 15TH, 2014 C O ME JOIN IN THE FUN!! 10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Rose Rosette Discussion with Tony Dennis 10:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Urban Nature Walk with Rob Wier 11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Container Gardens with Tammie Jost 11:30 a.m. 12:00 noon Perennials To Plant This Year with Brice Creelman 12:00 noon 1:-00 p.m. ** Break for Lunch ** 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. Open Session Q & A s with Brice Creelman Information Booths! Refreshments Available! R e m e m b e r T o V i s i t w w w. S h a d e s O f G r e e n I n c. c o m F o r P r o m o t i o n s a n d E v e n t s! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! Myers Park and Event Ce nter 7117 County Road 166 McKinney, TX ( I n s i d e t h e S h o w B a r n ) March 22nd March 23rd 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Get all the Show Details at 3

4 Notes From Brillo Verde By Brice Creelman W e can t figure out what is eating our 3-gallon Red Yuccas. Someone (!) has come in and eaten the heart out of the plants this winter. Too spotty to be from deer. Possibly Armadillos or Rats. Jo-Jo, the Barn Cat, has apparently been sleeping on the job. Can t blame him it s been so cold. Deer are to blame for pulling newly planted 1-gallon plants out their buckets, but they haven t found anything they like so they re just leaving them on top of the pots to dry out. Good news is Grasshoppers won t show up until April or so! Tree plantings have been done for fall. Chinese Pistachio will plant this spring because they came in small. These will be the trees for We have planted trees each year since This gives us a constant supply of new trees each year. Three or four dry years have slowed the growth of Red Oaks, but all other trees are doing fine. Chinese Pistachio loves it when it s hot and dry. We dug some Pistachio that were 4 and 5 this year, leaving some 3 Pistachio spaced out in the field to grow larger over the next couple years. The greenhouses are full of newly potted perennials. Again, cold weather slows their growth through the winter. All 1-gallon perennials are in un-heated greenhouses or outside. I know that nice warm March will make everyone start putting on new growth and get caught up for April. Some small plants (liners) come in actively growing, so we have to protect them for a couple of weeks. We try to grow only winter-hardy plants, so no problem with losses. It s hard to see those little salvias out in the 10 weather frozen solid. Usually by March 1st there are very few below 28 nights so they start growing quite fast. One little cut-back and off they ll go! Some new plants that were potted up recently (available for sale in the nursery come April) include: Echinacea Fatal Attraction... better heat tolerance, strong stems, good color. Echinacea Cherokee Spirit... grown from seed so gives a good mix of colors. Echinacea Mac & Cheese... fell for a name again. Hope it does well! Salvia greggi Lilac & Persimmon... a nice bi-color from Austin s Natural Gardener. Lavender Phenomenal... a hybrid with better heat tolerance. Salvia Amistad... better Black and Blue Salvia for shade. Verbena Seabrook s Lavender and Peach Schnapps... Does any Verbena grow as well as Homestead Purple?? We keep trying. (There are lots of others, but we ll go over those next month!) 4

5 I must admit, I never paid too much attention to cedars. But the last couple of weeks all I have done is think about them. They are being used more and more as the evergreen screen easily getting 15 feet tall and 8 feet wide. We planted some in our field two years ago and recently dug them out as 6-8 trees. We need to plant some more, so I ve been trying to find some 1-gallon and 3-gallon to bring in now to replant. Usually Eastern Red Cedars are collected on ranches around Texas which meant quality was spotty. Nursery grown Eastern Reds are more uniform, and with a trim or two can be much fuller. Plus, I collected seed on the Tree Farm property to try to germinate our own. Seed was cleaned with orange oil and put in a blender (with blades covered with a piece of tape). Now they will go in the fridge for cold stratification for a month or so. As soon as they start to sprout, I will plant them in pots. Sounds easy enough, but I have never had much luck in the past. Eastern Red Cedar are sustainable, native, drought tolerant, and long lived. I m glad they are being used more and more. So think of them next time you need a fast growing evergreen screen. Try not to think about all that pollen... Gesundheit! Juniperus virginiana Eastern Red Cedar by Brice Creelman $10.00 OFF Purchases Over $50.00! $5.00 OFF Purchases Over $25.00! Must Present Coupon Not Valid With Any Other Offer Expires March 31,

6 Suggestions for a Stress-less Spring by The Roving Horticulturist ~ Rob Wier March is a month of nice days mixed with cool and even cold days. We all want to plant something and that s ok, it s a natural behavior. We survey our yard and want it to be blooming and beautiful at the snap of a finger. The good gardeners have already prepared, but don't stress out, just do so some planning and get after it! Here are some of my suggestions: 1. Trim up those plants and clean up those beds. 2. Apply Greensand, Gardenville 7-2-2, and Molasses if you have not already. 3. Need mulching? First apply a layer of compost a half inch to one inch sprinkled around your existing plantings, then top over it with new mulch. Hardwood is the best and most economical mulch. The earthworms will blend the compost in and improve your soil for you. (Did I ever mention I'm a lazy gardener!) 4. Pull out and replace dead or weak plants in your containers. Find something that looks striking now (You deserve it) and brighten those containers up! Even if flowers last a couple months they are a bargain compared to cut flowers for a week. 5. Walk the yard and make notes on any improvements you (and perhaps your significant other) would like. Our yards are never really ever finished, kind of like how we update our interior living spaces new colors, furniture, etc. 6. Do get professional help and prioritize for the budget you have. Take on what you can take care of. Be realistic and remember in the spring all contractors that are any good are busy, so be patient. Need help? The fine folks at the nursery can help you. They have the knowledge, and gardening passion to help you get the right plant for the right place. On a personal note, this is the first spring in forty years I have not been working in the nursery. So this will be a stress-less spring for me. I did all of the above in my own yard while in town briefly -- I'm writing this article from out of town. Only regret was our Daffodils were just opening up as we left. But spending time on a tropical island is a fair trade. As a horticulturist, I'll always value spring and the resurgence of life it brings to our gardens. I will be at the Shades of Green Open House in March doing a Nature Walk of the nursery. Hopefully I'll see you then! C onsider updating your sprinkler system, install Drip Irrigation around the foundation of your house and planting beds. Most systems can easily be retrofitted by licensed irrigators. Sure, there are some upfront costs involved, but the savings in the long run are endless! Your water bill and your landscape will both thank you! 6