Spring 2008
Volume 9, Issue 1
Inside this issue:
Must haves for Spring ’08 Mountain Laurels Herb Chicken Recipe Rare Rhododendrons The Scoop on Organics
Make a “Green” Promise
Dear Friends,
Well, we never did get to “take it easy” this winter as we were busy as bees making improvements to the nursery. Take a look at our expanded website of new plants, weekly and timely blogs on gardening advice, new “green” blogs and our internet catalog from which you can shop and order although please remember that not everything is in stock at all times.
Another of your requests we have been working on all winter and we’ll always continuously be working on is educating more of our team to give you the information you want at the right time! Many of us have been attending “nursery school” right here at Dayton’s with follow-up tests, that when finished, the students will have answered more than 1000 questions to hone their knowledge and skills.
Of course, we planted more daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and other bulbs for our ever expanding Holland bulb gardens. When you visit this spring, you’ll see new, wider walks, a new display area, under more customer friendly signange and the grounds and greenhouses just bursting with old and the latest new, exciting varieties.
See you soon!
Tom Dayton
Must haves for Spring ’08
Sunny Knockout Rose – At last, a medium yellow Knockout rose with all the disease resistance, winter hardiness and easiness to grow you’d expect from the Knockout family! Available early May.
Fantastic Hybrid Heucheras – Midnight Rose, Georgia Peach and Tiramisu are all the rage with such unusual and beautiful coloration! Available early May.
Geranium Rozanne – This perennial favorite blooms and blooms with lavender-blue flowers all summer into late fall. Received the Perennial Plant of the Year award for 2008. Available early May.
Mountain Laurels – For extended spring blooms and great variety of colors, these babies are the perfect companion of Rhododendrons & Azaleas. You’ll find over 10 varieties in our shade house. Available now.
Mountain Laurels
Mountain Laurels grow naturally in a wide range in the United States throughout the Appalachian mountain chain from Maine to Georgia.
It is only recently that named varieties have become available for home landscapers as Mountain Laurel, notoriously difficult to propagate from cuttings, are now propagated by tissue culture.
Mountain Laurels deserve a place in Northeast Ohio landscapes as they are available in varying ultimate growing sizes from two feet to six feet, have gorgeous clusters of bell-like flowers of different colors and beautiful, rich evergreen foliage.
Mountain Laurels are companion plants of Rhododendrons and Azaleas and work well to extend the blooming season of this group of acid-loving soil plants as their bloom ranges from May 15th through June 15th.
For success with Mountain Laurels in your landscape, follow a few simple steps:
- Choose a site preferably with shade in the middle of the day without overhangs or invasive tree roots
- Prepare the planting hold with a mixture of 25% pine bark mulch, 25% pre-moistened sphagnum peat moss and 50% ordinary, well-drained topsoil.
- Perform root wash *
- Mulch with 2” of pine bark mulch and water in well
*For a description of root wash, please see Dayton’s Rhododendron/Azalea planting instructions on our website or pick up a tip sheet from our store
Mountain Laurels are very light feeders and can be damaged from too much fertilizer. Feed with Holly-tone early spring and late fall and never use a commercial liquid or granular fertilizer as the excess salts are harmful to the Laurel’s root system.
Once started, they are relatively problem-free and will give you years of enjoyment.
Crispy Chicken with Fresh Herbs Recipe
courtesy of Pillsbury
Whether you are an annual herb grower or just trying it out for the first time, try this easy, tasty chicken recipe.
Ingredients: 1 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (thyme, tarragon, oregano and/or chives) or 1 TBSP dried herbs 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken (8 pieces) 1 cup plain bread crumbs 2 TBSP butter or margarine, melted 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine buttermilk and herbs; mix well. Add chicken pieces; turn to coat. Seal bag. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight to marinate.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow dish or pie pan, combine bread crumbs, melted butter, salt, paprika and pepper; mix well. Roll chicken in crumb mixture until well coated; place on ungreased broiler pan.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear.
Rare Rhododendrons
Re-introductions in our line-up of Rhododendrons include ‘Caroline’ and ‘Summer Glow’. These rare beauties will add color to your spring landscape.
Caroline, one of the first varieties we planted in 1973, grows to 4 feet with lilac-pink flower trusses in spring. Not only pleasing to the eye, the subtle fragrance will lightly perfume the garden while in bloom. The best part of this new Rhododendron is that it is not bothered by the deadly root-rot fungus called phytophthora.
Summer Glow is a maximum type Rhododendron hybrid flowering with a bright pink “glow” in mid-June which works well as a season extender. Unfortunately, this rare and beautiful variety will only be available in trade one gallon size this year.
Be sure to walk our Rhododendron “allee” in May to get a breadth of all the delightful rainbow of colors available.
The Scoop on Organics
Organic fertilizer and pest and disease control have been vastly improved over the last few years. However, gardeners must be patient with using organics as they tend to work more slowly than the chemicals with their complex molecular structures we’re used to. For example, an organic fertilizer like Plant-tone or Dr. Earth works slower than Miracle Gro because microbes must break down the organic fertilizer to release its nutrients – sort of like a slow release fertilizer. The advantage of the organic fertilizers is that they are lower in salts than chemical fertilizers and therefore are easier on beneficial soil microbes that help plants to thrive.
Organic disease controls such as Bi-Carb for powdery mildew and Serenade, which is a bacteria, tend to stay more effective over time as the pathogens build up a resistance to these remedies slowly, if at all. Many of the organic insecticides have been “under our noses” for years such as cinnamon oil for spider mites, insecticidal soap for aphids and the now famous Neem Oil for almost everything under the sun including some plant diseases.
At Dayton’s this year, our staff has been drilled and re-drilled to give you the right information using organics with success in your gardens and even on your lawns!
Please be aware that we won’t recommend organic treatments for everything as every situation is different, however, the efficiency of many organic products seems to be getting better and better over the years and is making our nursery “greener” as well as your backyard, too.
Make a “Green” Promise
We can play an important role in helping slow and moderate the effects of global climate change. All of the dire news about extended droughts and devastating hurricanes can make anyone feel powerless, but, if we all do a little to green up our yards, we can make a difference.
* Use manual or electric-powered tools instead of gas-powered equipment
* Replace some turf with a diversity of low-maintenance trees, shrubs and perennials * Buy as much food as possible from local growers. Buying food locally can reduce the amount of fossil fuel devoted to your food supply. * Use mulch around trees and shrubs to conserve soil moisture * Collect rain water to use in the garden. * Make the most of your water supply by installing efficient drip irrigation hoses
* Plant trees! Trees absorb lots of carbon dioxide, keeping it from entering the atmosphere.
* Strategically plant trees and shrubs to reduce your home heating costs. Try planting a tall-growing deciduous tree on the SW or W side of your house. The tree’s leaves will provide cooling shade in summer and winter sun to help warm your home.
* Use organic gardening products whenever possible. Non-organic products can runoff and pollute our lakes, streams and water supplies.
Operations to make our nursery “green” have been in
full swing since 1998!
Although we produce plants that beautify and enhance our surroundings, the production process of such products can lead to a wide variety of environmental problems. Such problems include the use of dangerous chemicals to control insects, diseases and weeds, reliance on and heavy use of scarce water resources and the run off of this water from the land and into waterways.
In 1999, we installed an additional water pump in order to collect rain water, that would normally run off into nearby streams, into a one acre lake that is used for irrigation of the plants. This rain water has increased the quality of the plant material because of the water purity.
We have also installed ebb-and-flow benches in our greenhouses to control the amount of run-off water that leaves the property to pollute creeks and streams. In addition, a gas chlorinator has been installed in our irrigation system to help eliminate algae and certain diseases that can build up in our recycled water.
To cut down on energy usage, we are using roll-up sides on our greenhouses to cut down the energy needed to run large fans for ventilation.
See all of the ways we are helping to make a more “greener” environment online at daytonnursery.com