The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is warning consumers to check houseplants purchased this winter for a new pest called Spotted Lanternfly. Evidently, a single dead pest was found in a home near Boston and reported to officials. Experts believe the pest may have arrived on a shipment of poinsettia plants that arrived from Pennsylvania. Spotted…
The Korean Spice Viburnum shrub sports some of the most fragrant flowers of spring. Typically its pinkish-white blooms appear just before the leaves, perfuming the air with the most wonderful aroma! From a distance, the blossoms look like snowballs, hence its nickname of “snowball viburnum.” This shrub is very easy care, but unfortunately, it is…
It will soon be time for the first Spot Spraying of the year. In an organic program, proper timing is everything! We will be spraying horticultural oil on Korean Spice Viburnum, Viburnum carlesii, as soon as the leaves begin to unfurl. This prevents snowball aphids from damaging the leaves. See the photo below for an…
The answer to this question changes from year to year. In general, we wait until the threat of snow is over. Levels of snow differ widely in our service area and depend greatly on the amount of shade and the altitude. We like to see the snow mostly gone from your yard and a good…
Shear ornamental grasses and root prune or divide if they have grown too big for their space Continue dormant pruning of fruit trees, deciduous shrubs, inkberry, holly, and any overgrown shrub you want to contain Prune honeysuckle vines hard as they bloom on new wood Reduce girth of yew, privet and arborvitae now as a…
We are available this winter to help you with your garden design and renovation needs. No need to wait until April. We like to plan ahead and get the design and planning stages finished before the snow melts. Then you can be among the first on our list for a spring project installation. Contact Priscilla…
Following up on last month’s article about creating a winter garden for birds, a friend forwarded me an article about the link between the northward spread of red birds (namely, robins and cardinals) who dine on red berries. Evidently, the red berries help keep the red pigment in feathers for these birds. When growing up,…
One of my favorite winter rituals is a visit to an indoor plant show. In our area, we are blessed with plentiful attractions that make perfect day trips. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s courtyard in Boston’s Fenway is a welcome haven on a winter day. Greenhouses provide tender orchids, ferns, blooming jade plants, and the first…
Stuck indoors a lot in winter? Let’s plant something interesting to view from your windows! Most broadleaf evergreens like rhododendrons curl their leaves tightly in the cold for self-preservation. This isn’t that attractive over time. Why not try something different? Textured bark might be one solution. One of my favorite native woodland plants…
Snow is a great insulator, and for the short term will provide the needed protection of David Austin and hybrid tea roses. We plan to get out to make cones of compost around the root zones of these plants as usual, once we can determine that the ground is frozen, even if there is a…