Huntree Newsletter June 2023

Happy Summer Solstice to You!

Hi there, fellow gardeners! It’s June… and it’s hot! LETS ALL DO A RAIN DANCE!!!! This is a CRAZY and highly unusual June. Mother Nature is very stingy with the water and this drought makes us very nervous.

Here are top watering tips for you:
• Please get out your hoses and soak your precious plants…even your established ones… Daily for new plantings.
• Oscillating sprinklers work great because they cover a larger surface. Watering 20-30 minutes at a time is a good idea to give the plants a chance to drink.
• Remember that large trees have a lot of roots way beyond the trunks. (Don’t just lay the hose next to the tree and dribble out. The roots that take in the water are closer to the end of the branches so align your drip hose accordingly. Note: Don’t be concerned if your tree starts dropping a few leaves. A tree can lose up to a third of it’s leaves without adverse affect on the tree.)
• If you see leaves drooping, that’s a sign that the tree or plant is in stress, a good time to water – immediately!
• Watering in the morning and evening are good times of day.
• In the event that we do get rain, don’t think that just any rain is enough. We would need many inches of rain to get us to where we need to be at this time of the year. Continue to water.
• If you wonder about whether you need to water, just water some more.
• We are getting more sprinklers in the store if you need to stop by and pick up another one.

When plants are stressed, the insects know it. (They are smart, too). A weakened plant is easy prey. The heat is a trigger for the little insect eggs that we don’t even notice, to hatch out… in profusion. Soft bodied insects, like aphids, are easy to treat by spraying with our favorite – Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew- which is organic. It disrupts the digestive system of those little buggers and kills them dead.

Viburnum Leaf Beetle – Be on the lookout. Right now, the worms are crawling around on the leaves making them look like lace. Varieties susceptible are Viburnum Arrowwood, (Blue Muffin, Autumn Jazz); Cranberry bush Viburnum (Snowball bush). If untreated, it may mean death to your plant in as little as 2 or 3 years. Use on worms and eggs; horticultural oil, pyrethrins, and Captain Jacks Dead Bug Brew or apply Annual Tree & Shrub Soil Drench in April which will be effective for one year.
Resistant varieties are Carlesii (Korean Spice) and Shasta.

It’s Ziplock baggy week. We are glad to try and figure out your plant and pest problems. Bring in a sample, and also take a picture – close up and one of the whole plant. That will help us in our detective work.

A popular topic of discussion is the DEER. So sad and frustrating. We can offer you 3 brands of deer spray, in ready to use and concentrate. As soon as you place new plants, use a spray to give the deer a ‘memo’ that this is not for them. Usually spraying every two weeks helps in shooing them away. There’s also deer netting when you need to get serious. A tip from a customer: lay down deer netting in bunches in front of plants and flower beds will deter them from getting to your plants.

Are you looking for an out-of-the-ordinary tree? We have some suggestions for you:

Amur maackie
Fernleaf Beech
Crabapple Ivory Spear
Cryptomeria Yoshino – really fast growing, can take wet soil.
American Dogwood Cherokee Sunset – variegated leaves, green and yellow
Redbud Ruby Falls – weeping Redbud getting only 8 ft. high and 6 ft. wide with purple leaves
Redbud Golden Falls – weeping Redbud with yellow leaves all summer
Yellowwood – unusual and lovely shade tree

Blooming Now:
Itea Little Henry – full of white pendulous spires which are fragrant and grow in ordinary soil and wet
Butterfly Bush Miss Violet – it’s full of deep purple flowers… and fragrant. Good addition to your pollinator garden
Japanese Tree Lilac ‘Ivory Silk’ – great 20 ft. tree, shiny dark green leaves, fast growing, lovely fragrant white flowers
Catalpa
Linden Redmond (A great food source for bees!)

The Monarch Butterflies need all the help they can get! Don’t forget to plant these fabulous, powerful, perennials for the Monarchs and other pollinators:

Agastache
Yarrow
Calamintha
Monarda
Penstemon
Echinacea
Ironweed (Vernonia)
Veronicastrum
Solidago
Butterfly Weed
Swamp Milkweed

Seven Sons Flower, which grows into a lovely small tree (15 ft. tall), attracts a multitude of Monarchs in September when it blooms lovely white fragrant flowers. All the pollinators have a hayday in it, sucking up its delicious juices.

Do you know someone who would like to get our newsletter? Our yahoo account was hacked awhile ago and we lost our email list. So we have to rebuild it. Grrr. Call us or email us to be added to the mailing list.

We wish you a great summer!

Jan and the Huntree Gang
(269) 543-3761
Huntreenursery2@yahoo.com
Store hours: Monday – Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sunday and Holidays (July 4) 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Categorised in: Newsletter

This post was written by MHarrison9