Plant Care/FAQ
What services do we offer?
We try to be an all-inclusive landscape service company. Our goal is to offer ‘One-stop Shopping’ for all of your landscape needs. We can provide you with a landscaping design consultation, all of your plant material, irrigation system, water features, brick work, retaining walls and lawn. And then through our maintenance division we are able to maintain every aspect of your lawn and landscape, including fertilization, weed control, mowing, pruning, aeration, leaf clean-up, spring and fall irrigation service, mulching plant beds and more. In addition, we offer seasonal services like snowplowing and spring and fall curbside leaf vacuuming. Contact us today for any of your landscape or lawn needs.
How Do I Prune My Hydrangea?
Another question we often hear is how do I prune my hydrangea? The first thing you need to do is identify what type of hydrangea you have. If you are uncertain you can always stop by our office with a cutting from your plant (or even better a flower) and we would be happy to identify it for you.
Macrophylla: Nikko Blue, Blue Bird, All Summer Beauty, Forever Pink, Blue Wave, Variegated.
This variety blooms on second year wood. They should be pruned in the summer after they finish blooming. Because they bloom on second year wood, and the flower buds are often not cold hardy enough for our winters it is often necessary to insulate the stems of the plants during the winter by wrapping the plant in burlap or burying it in leaves for the duration of the winter. Do not prune Macrophylla variety hydrangeas in late fall or early spring as you would be pruning off your next crop of flowers.
Arborescens: Annabelle, Grandiflora.
These bloom on new wood, so feel free to cut to the ground in late fall. Pruning after they bloom in summer will sometimes allow for a second crop of flowers in late summer or fall.
Quercifolia: Oakleaf, Alice, Sikes Dwarf, Snow Queen.
These bloom on the previous season's wood, so minimal pruning is required. Prune for shape after it has finished blooming in summer. If it does not bloom consistently, you may consider mulching the plant to protect the flower buds during the winter months or spraying to prevent winter deer damage.
Paniculata: Tardiva, Pee Gee.
Flowers bloom on new wood, so it can be pruned either in the fall or early spring. Plants often benefit from a rejuvenating prune that cuts the plant back to one - two feet from the ground every few years.
New Hybrids: Endless Summer and Forever & Ever.
These new cultivars of hydrangea are hybrid forms that cross one or more types of hydrangea in the hope of gaining the positive aspects of both. These new forms are ever-blooming varieties that set new flower buds every time they push new growth. They can be pruned at virtually any time of the year, but really only require it for shape or to remove old flowers.
If this all seems overwhelming, we do offer seasonal pruning services. We would be happy to have our experienced professionals prune not only your hydrangeas, but all of the plants in your landscape the proper way at the appropriate time.
How do I keep the deer from eating my plants?
Two of the most frequently asked and difficult to answer questions that we hear is which plants are deer resistant or how do I keep the deer from eating my plants? There are a couple of different ways to address these problems. We can design a landscape for you that only includes plantings that are less attractive to deer or we can spray your exsisting plants with a one time per year application of a product called Deer Pro. We have had good success with each method and can tailor our approach to your situation. Learn more...
How do I know how much mulch I need for my yard?
We are often asked how to figure out how much mulch is needed for a given job. The first step is to measure your beds and determine your square footage. When possible try to break beds into rough shapes that are easy to measure. The basic formula is to determine square footage in feet, multiply that times depth and then divide by 27 (the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard) to convert those numbers to cubic yards.
Let's look at that formula more in depth: Square and rectangle beds are easy to measure and figure square footage. Just take the length, times the width to determine square footage. A circular bed's square footage is determined by using the formula pi x r squared. In other words, the radius (half the diameter of the circle) multiplied by itself (r squared) then multiplied by 3.14 (pi) to get the square footage. A triangle bed with a right angle can be determined by taking the length of the sides on either side of the right angle, multiplying them together and then dividing that number in half. By using these basic shapes you should be able to determine the rough square footage of virtually any bed around your house.
Once you have determined the total square footage you must then determine how deep you want to spread this material. For most mulch products depth is usually somewhere between two inches (a top dressing to freshen up color) to four inches (a heavy layer for weed suppression or to fill new beds with no prior mulch in them). Because these depths are in inches (less than a foot) we will end up multiplying our square footage by a fraction. For example four inches is a third of a foot so we would multiply our square footage total by .33 to determine our total cubic feet needed. (Three inches works out to .25 and two inches works out to .17)
Finally, you need to convert your number which is currently in cubic feet to cubic yards (almost all mulch products are sold exclusively by the yard). This is done by dividing your number by 27 (the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard). This will give you the total number of cubic yards of any given product you may need for your house. If all this seems confusing, we are always willing to help you determine the appropriate amount you need. Just measure your beds and then call or stop by our office, we'll take it from there.
Why do some plants die when they are planted under or near a Black Walnut tree?
The Black Walnut tree contains a chemical (the phytotoxin juglone) which causes damage and even death in many plants. As anyone who has tried to plant under or near a Black Walnut tree knows, there are only certain plants that will thrive when juglone is present in the soil. Click Here for the Michigan State University list of plants that are susceptible or resistant to walnut toxicity.
How can I get rid of the Moles destroying my yard?
If you are like most homeowners, you are probably confused by all of the conflicting "advice" on mole control. You may believe that every rumor, home remedy, or control method is worth trying. A common example is when homeowners try to control lawn grubs and insects to reduce mole activity. However, this is often unsuccessful because the mole's primary food source is earthworms. Moles can quickly colonize and spread if not handled properly. Because they need a well-established tunnel network to survive, control will be more difficult the longer they are allowed to become habituated. It is common for mole activity to come and go throughout the season. New moles will move into existing deserted tunnels. Mole control is a continuous process and there is no one time cure for moles.
After years of research, trial and error, Thornapple River Nursery has built a program consisting predominately of mechanical traps and occasional, proven effective mole baits to kill moles. The price for this highly successful program is $150.00 per month and can be implemented anytime the moles are active. Call today for your free analysis.
Facts
- Moles consume 80-90 percent of their bodyweight per day
- Moles do not eat trees or roots
- Earthworms are 90% of their diet
- Each year a mole can have one litter of two to six young anywhere from mid April through May
- Moles can dig surface tunnels at 100 yards per day
- Moles can travel through existing tunnels at about 80 feet/minute
- Mechanical traps do not harm pets
- Moles do not hibernate (they just go deeper)
Facts about Lawn Fertilization:
Spring is the time for fertilization of your lawn. But, when do you fertilize? Right after the early spring cleanup is a good time to start the annual fertilizing program for the lawn. This early application is one of the most important of the season because grass soon will be utilizing nutrients when the weather warms. Fertilizer will help it to grow vigorously at a time when growing conditions are most favorable. And since a dense stand of grass is one of the best ways of keeping down weeds, lawns should be given every opportunity to grow with vigor, fertilizer is a key requirement.
There are a number of very good lawn fertilizers, these should be used according to recommendations of the manufacturer. A good standard rule for the amount to use is to apply one pound of actual nitrogen for each thousand square feet of lawn surface. The first number in a fertilizer formula refers to the percent of nitrogen. Divide this number into 100 and the answer will be the number of pounds of that fertilizer to use for each one thousand feet of lawn surface. Some turf specialists recommend a combination of fifty percent organic and fifty percent inorganic fertilizer. As a rule, lawn fertilizers do not have to be watered if they are applied in early spring. Spring rains and the moist condition of the earth make it unnecessary to follow an otherwise strict rule to always water right after applying fertilizer on a lawn. If you need a maintenance program to help get your lawn in shape contact us today. We'll be glad to come out, inspect your lawn and landscaping and put you on a shape up plan that will WOW your neighbors!
Landscaping on a budget:
Another budget landscaping tip is to purchase well-known, high quality varieties that have been in commerce for a long time. Old varieties may sell for far less than some of the newer patented varieties. Unless you are a collector intent on owning the newest plants, you can be well satisfied with the proven varieties. Occasionally a new variety will be such a great improvement over existing varieties that it is no longer practical to purchase the old cultivars.
Whether you buy old or new, top quality is of utmost importance. Top quality means stock (or seeds) grown under the best prescribed conditions- healthy, free of disease or insects and given the best possible care as the plant matures. This does not mean that the variety must be new and expensive. One can often get great bargains in beauty for the garden by selecting the top plants of years past. They may have been scarce when first introduced but are now in full supply and often at a fraction of their original cost. Chances are they will still be considered as beautiful as when they were first introduced.
Buy at the Right Time:
Before you start any landscape project it's always a good idea to ask questions and research your current landscaping needs. Try to learn what trees, shrubs and perennials best fit your needs. Also learn when is the right time for you to order them for prime time planting in your yard. Another good idea is to do your shopping early in the season (usually before you think you should!), and either early in the morning or on a rainy Saturday when the crowd stays home. By doing this you will find that our experts will have more time to answer questions and show you a wide range of plant choices. If you wait until a sunny Saturday afternoon in May when everyone in town is crowding the parking lot you'll have to make most of the decisions by yourself. Finally, ask our experts questions. It takes an experienced plant care specialist to know proper placement, watering and care of growing or dormant trees, shrubs and perennials. We're here to help.
© Copyright 2008-2012 Thornapple River Nursery . 8080 28th Street . Ada, MI 49301 . Phone: (616) 676-0102 . Fax: (616) 676-1599 . info@thornapplerivernursery.com
