A. Planting-For container stock planting prepare hole same depth as dirt in container and width 4-6" bigger than diameter of container. Remove plant from container (if root bound score roots lightly with a knife in several places) and gently place in hole. Backfill hole halfway then water with a slow stream until saturated. Finish backfilling hole to ground level and water with slow stream. Build a well around the plant to hold water and mulch with about 3 inches of shredded bark or other mulch. Water as needed until plant is established. Trees that are balled and burlaped are planted in the same manner except you never remove the burlap or wire completely. After placing tree in hole remove string from around trunk and gently pull burlap away from the trunk. Backfill and water as with containers. Build a well and mulch. If in an area where water collects- slope soil away from trunk to shed. Do not plant anything on top of the ball, including flowers or sod. Many of our trees are grown here in New Castle and are used to our soils and water therefore should not need amendments at time of planting. If you are in a new construction area or have poor soil for some other reason adding 1/3 organic matter to 2/3 soil in your backfill will help. A root stimulator at planting and a general fertilizer each year thereafter in spring or early summer is also recommended.

Q. Should I fertilize my lawn now and how do I get rid of all these dandelions?

A. Spring Lawn Care-Now is the time to start your fertilizing program for your lawn. There are several choices for you depending on conditions and weeds. If soil pH is high enough that iron is hard for the grass to absorb, then using something with chelated iron added is best. If you have just a few weeds hand digging them is best, if however you’ve got too many to dig, a fertilizer with weed control is recommended. There are also fertilizers specially designed for new lawns.

Q. I like to start a small orchard, what apples do okay here?

A. Apples-This is actually a very good area to grow apples and there are many that will grow here. All apples need pollinators – another tree blooming at the same time to cross pollinate with. So you would need to get at least two trees blooming at the same time. Keep in mind that a crabapple blooming at the same time will pollinate your apples too. These are the apples we regularly carry that we’ve found the most popular and work well here.
Early Blooming Midseason Bloom Late Blooming
Yellow Transparent Honeycrisp Haralson
Jonathan Red Delicious
McIntosh Yellow Delicious
Sweet Sixteen Fuji

Q. I want a nice hedge put in between my neighbor’s and my front lawns, it should grow to be about 5’ and can be 4’ wide or so. What can I use and how many do I need for 60’ of hedge?

A. Hedges-There are many shrubs that will take the pruning required for hedges. Some of the ones that will get big enough for your requirements are: Hedge Cotoneaster, Elder, Burning Bush, Forsythia, Lilac, Mockorange, Ninebark, Peashrub, Privet, Purpleleaf Sandcherry, Arrowwood Viburnum, Nannyberry Viburnum or one of a number of different shrub roses. Once you pick the shrub or shrubs you want to use, decide how much money you can spend and how quickly you need the hedge to fill in and close. Our shrubs are anywhere from 2-4’ in height and 2-4 years of age, they’re pretty good size and if spaced 5’ apart would fill in very quickly. An odd number of plants always look better than even numbers so I’d recommend either 11 or 13 plants in a 60’ hedge.