Helicopters!
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me if I thought any of the frosty nights we’d been experiencing might have taken out the Silver Maple seed crop for the year.
I told him that was wishful thinking, and only time would tell. Well, a little time has gone by and I think we’ve gotten our answer...
Nope!
Recent winds have done a great job distributing this year’s crop. My yard and my driveway are full of them. Yours probably are, too. It looks like we’ll all be pulling out unwanted volunteer maple seedlings again this season.
And, I’ll probably be cleaning out clogged gutters soon, too! (Remember what happened last time?!)
A lot of people complain about all the Silver Maple seeds. Unless you’re interested in planting a few thousand new trees, they’re basically an unwanted nuisance... unless, you’re into this...
If that’s the case... well... you’ve got hours of play time ahead of you!
The man in this picture is Bob.
Cameron Rees, General Manager
Bob and I both worked as college interns many years ago at an arboretum on Long Island—The Planting Fields Arboretum. It’s an amazing 400-acre estate garden in Oyster Bay, Long Island. (Maybe I’ll tell some stories about that in the future.)
He shared this bit of horticultural knowledge with me that summer. He told me it was something he’d learned during one of his plant material classes.
A good education pays off in so many ways!
So, while you’re out there cleaning up all those Silver Maple seeds off the driveway, grab a few and stick them on your nose. Your kids, grandkids or neighbor kids will get a good laugh. Your spouse on the other hand...
The garden center is hitting on all cylinders now. If you need anything for your lawn, landscape or garden—come see us!
— Cameron
What’s New?
Pop Star Bigleaf Hydrangea!
This is the latest introduction from the Endless Summer collection. It’s a compact plant, with a strong reblooming tendency. Flowers are lacecap in structure and pink to blue in color. Its short stature makes it a good choice for foundation plantings and containers.
“Thymely” Advice
It’s time to fertilize
For many things, it’s all about the timing; and, this is definitely true when it comes to your landscape.
The trees, shrubs and evergreens we grow in our landscapes benefit from fertilizer—if it’s applied at the right time.
There are two target dates, late-fall and mid-spring.
The late fall application goes down around late October or early November, and it’s the most important. It’s what helps things produce stronger growth in the spring. Mark your calendars now and don’t forget it!
The mid-spring application helps keep things growing nicely into the summer and should go down right now, especially if you didn’t fertilize last fall.
We use Fertilome Tree and Shrub Food for both. Just follow label directions, scattering it on top, and let rainfall take care of the rest!
Mother’s Day
Misty Brown, Lath House Manager
It is that time of year again, people! Time to show your mom, mother-in-law, step-mom, grandma, or that special lady that helped raise you just how much you love and appreciate her!
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14 and Skinner’s is here to help!
We have beautiful hanging baskets bursting with color and patio containers with an array of foliage and flowers. We are filled to the brim with amazing houseplants, too! Air plants are another unique gift to give—low maintenance and easy to take care of for that super busy mom! At Skinner’s you can always customize any container you find to make that gift even more special.
Stop by today and we will help make your mom’s heart melt…
Garden Roses are Ready
Every kid should have a garden.
I had several. I know... I’m a plant nerd!
One was a flower bed. Each spring, I got to plan it, plant it and care for it. My mom would help, but the responsibility for its success (or failure) was mine. It taught me a lot.
One was for veggies. The veggie garden was dad’s domain, but he always let me help him and always gave me a corner to experiment with. I learned so much from him.
The other was a rose bed.
But why a rose bed?
I started my time here at Skinner’s as a young kid looking to earn some gas money. One of my first jobs back then was restocking the garden rose display. That meant hauling cartload after cartload of garden roses from the growing houses out back to the sales area out front.
That up-close interaction with garden roses made an impression on me. It also left my forearms looking like I’d been mauled by a mountain lion! Despite the thorns, the rainbow of colors and intoxicating fragrances were hard to resist. It wasn’t long before dad was carving out a space next to the patio for me to plant my very own plants.
And I’ve loved roses ever since.
Each spring we grow a new crop of garden roses—a diverse mix of hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, and climbers... and they’re budded up and ready to go.
It’s time to pick out your favorites!
-Cameron Rees