Tree of the Week: Autumn Blaze Maple

The Autumn Blaze Maple 'Acer x freemanii' is a traffic stopping, perfect choice of a deciduous shade tree!  It is a popular tree of choice for parks and landscapes because of their brilliant red color in fall!  It is one of the fastest growing maples reaching heights of 50' tall and 30-40' wide.

Common Uses:
Shade Tree
Feature tree in landscape

Requirements:
Full to partial Sun
Will tolerate a variety of soil conditions such as high clay soils, wet & dry sites.


Foliage:

Leaves are deep green all summer
Brilliant, long lasting fiery orange-red color in fall

The Autumn Blaze Maple is a strong, well branched tree that resists ice and wind damage. It is a hybrid of the Red Maple and Silver Maple taking on the best features of both of these trees being its dynamite color and strength! Because it is a nearly seedless tree, there are no messy seedlings to clean up and minimal mess after its leaves drop in the fall. Additionally, it is virtually insect and diseases resistant.



Noteworthy fact:
The Autumn Blaze Maple has received numerous awards such as:
2004 & 2003 - Urban tree of the Year
1997 - Tree of the Year

Visit our online store for more information on the Autumn Blaze Maple

Labor Day Weekend Sale!

Get a jump on Fall with our 4-Day Labor Day Weekend Sale!

35 - 50% Off Nursery Stock!

Friday - Monday

September 3 - 6, 2010

9:00am - 6:00pm

Free Gift for the first 50 customers

Free Seminar - Landscaping with Foliage Shrubs & Care 
 Begins at 11:00

Have a Ball Planting this Fall!

Take advantage of the cooler weather and do some of that yard work you've been putting off all summer long! Although Spring is a time when most think about sprucing up their landscapes, Fall is actually the most preferred time to plant, especially September through November! Thus, the slogan "Fall is for Planting" is so appropriate as we enter the Fall Equinox.

Fall is the best time to plant for many reasons!

The heat of summer has passed

The roots of new tree plantings will have time to grow and become stronger, thus when spring comes, the root system is ready to support the tree and its new growth and flowers that will occur.

Minimal watering required

Fall plantings are 80% more successful than spring plantings (We've measured these results since 1986!)

Not to mention the great sales that take place in fall! Plus, at Rutgers Nursery we extend all our warranties until 6/30/11 for all trees and shrubs that you plant!

What else does one plant in the fall? 

Overseeding Lawns
September is the ideal month for over-seeding 'tired' or drought damaged lawns.

Spring Flowering Bulbs
These bulbs are typically the most familiar and looked forward to in early spring! They are daffodils, hyacinth, allium, iris, crocus, fritillaria, and muscari. A good rule of thumb to follow when planting these bulbs is to wait until the nighttime temperatures are consistently between 40°F and 50°F. In most areas, October is a pretty good month to safely plant your fall bulbs. Just be sure to get the bulbs in the ground prior to a severe frost but not too early that they sprout pre-maturely.

Plant Garlic
Fall is the ideal time to plant fresh garlic for harvesting in early summer!  Stay tuned for another post in the coming weeks on how to plant garlic!

Fall Vegetables
Cold crops struggle less with weed control and when compared to the hot and dry summers, fall usually brings an increase in the amount of precipitation, eliminating another time consuming garden chore of irrigating the garden. Some great choices are:
Lettuce
Cauliflower
Leek
Broccoli
Cabbage
Spinach
Turnips
Arugula
Endive

Fall Perennials & Annuals

There's a great selection of colorful plants that can still be added into your perennial and annual beds. Try adding:

Asters
Black Eyed Susans
Autumn Joy Sedum
Pin cushion flower
Joe Pye Weed
Anemone
Toad Lily
Montauk Daisy
Liriope
Great foliage plants such as Coral bells!

Mums
Asters
Pansies
Cabbage & Kale
Ornamental peppers
Millet
Annual Salvia

Now, aren't ya'll excited about planting this fall!

Passionate About Purple!

If you have a passion for gardening you are surely seeing some of your summer blooming plants starting to show signs of rest and the thrill of fall blooming plants on their way. While there are numerous choices of beautiful colors one can incorporate in the garden, the color purple has become a highly demanded addition.  Of course there are hundreds of purple flowers that can add color into any landscape, but what about purple-leaved plants? One of the great things about purple-leaved foliage is that they are showy regardless if they are in bloom or not.

First, let's define the meaning of the color purple:
- Do you remember opening your box of crayola crayons and coloring with stimulating red and calming blue? What color did it make? Passionate Purple!

- It's known for its unique qualities of being uplifting, calming to the mind & nerves, offers a sense of spirituality and encourages creativity! Of course, creativity! Gardeners are always being creative with unique garden designs, container plantings, and ideas! Thus, the color purple is such a fitting color in your landscape!  The color purple also embodies a sense of mystical and royal qualities.

Purple leafed plants are best when incorporated into borders and backgrounds which creates a sense of drama. Visually it helps to make a small space feel larger.

What colors partner well with purple?



Yellow - the combination of purple and yellow announce the arrival of spring and brightens the scene!

White - contrasts well with purple especially in shady gardens.

Orange - Want some sophistication and sultry? Add orange flowers next to purple and watch the sparks fly!

Lime Green - The addition of lime green, especially in containers with Marguerite potato vines will make your purple pop!

Purple-leaved plants are available in trees, perennials, shrubs and basically everything in between!

Here are some brilliant purple foliage plants for you to consider:

Trees

Crimson King Norway Maple

Schubert Cherry

Some varieties of Crabapples

Purple Beech

Forest Pansy Redbud

Some varieties of Japanese Maples
Thundercloud Plum

Shrubs

Barberry

Smokebush
Sand Cherry
Red Majestic Walking Stick
Hypericum
Sambucus
Summer Wine Ninebark
Midnight Wine Weigela
Wine & Roses Weigela

Perennials
Kopper King Hibiscus
Bronze Beauty Ajuga
Bugbane (Cimcifuga)
Euphorbia
Palace Purple Heuchera (Coral Bells)
Ornamental Rhubarb
Chocolate Joe-Pye Weed

In feng shui the color purple is used in healing rooms and meditation spaces.

If you're passionate about gardening and you often find yourself meditating in your garden, increase the pleasure and add purple to your space!

Tree of the Week: Pink Weeping Cherry

The Pink Weeping Cherry 'Prunus Subhirtella' is a much sought after spring flowering tree. This beautiful, deciduous tree has a medium growth habit for its arching vertical trunk, however the weeping stems are rapid growing.

Looking for an ornamental tree that will provide all season interest? Strongly consider this tree! Reaching a maximum growth of 20-30' tall and 15-25' wide this specimen has a graceful weeping habit that will not disappoint!  Fall is the absolute best time to plant a Weeping Cherry tree as the root system will get established during fall and winter and will surprise you the following spring with fragrant light pink flowers covering the branches. 

Common uses:

Ornamental tree

Flowering tree

Shade tree

Requirements:
Full Sun
Prefers well-drained soil
Will accept clay and sandy soils
Once established is moderately accepting of drought conditions

Bark  &  Foliage

Has bronzy-brown bark which is smooth and attractive

Leaves are glossy green and serrated which turn yellow in fall.

Winter Interest:

Pendulous branches will provide character.

Freshly fallen snow on Weeping Cherries is an interesting sight!

Visit our online store for more information on the Pink Weeping Cherry

Leafing It Up To You!

If I were a leaf on a majestic tall tree,

And I had the choice, of which I could be,

I’d be a maple to turn orange, yellow, gold

When the cool autumn winds turned warm nights cold. 

Written by Sharon P. Pinnick 

Leaves come in all shapes, sizes, colors & textures. It is rare that two leaves are ever exactly the same making each and every leaf unique! Studying trees is an enjoyable challenge for nature lovers! 

In this post we are 'leafing' it up to you to guess what trees are these leaves from?  Look at the leaves and give us your best guess! The reader that guesses the most correct amount of leaves/trees will win a prize!

There are (12) pictures in total, how many can you guess? Give us your guess by August 30th!  

Check this blog on August 31st for the winning guess and how to claim your prize!  

Do you need a little hint? Some of the trees are great for shade, some show their beauty in the spring with beautiful flowers, while others are glorious in fall and then we have the ornamentals! 

In combination, many of these trees can fill a variety of these descriptions being first a flowering tree, than provides shade and can provide ornamental interest as well!

All these trees but one looses their leaves in late fall, can you pick out that one?  

 

Still need some help? Come in to the nursery and look around as you can find all the leaves and trees

here!

Good luck!

Like contests? We'll be 'needling' you soon with another one.. Can you guess on what?

Tree of the Week: Green Weeping Willow

The Green Weeping Willow "Salix Babylonica" is a popular tree due to its many features and uses.  Weeping Willows are rapid growing trees that exhibit graceful, wide spreading branches that weep. This deciduous tree has leaves that are thin and narrow while its trunk is short and its crown being broad and rounded. Weeping Willows can grow as high as 40-50' and 35' wide.

Common uses:

Shade Tree
Feature plant in landscape
Has the ability to absorb standing water, thus planting in trouble spots where water puddles can be beneficial
Helps prevent soil erosion

Requirements:
Full to Part Sun
Very adaptable to a wide variety of soils and growing conditions

Weeping Willows are one of the first trees to leaf out in the spring and one of the last to drop their leaves in the fall. They provide excellent green color in spring and summer and yellow leaves in fall. You may recall that Weeping Willows are a famous tree that is referenced in many poems and songs and in noteworthy literature from the time of Shakespeare.

Visit our online store for more information on the Green Weeping Willow

Early Signs of Autumn

The month of August has often been called the 'bridge between summer and autumn'. After a long hot summer, many relish the onset of the cooler, dew filled mornings and cool crisp nights. It's the perfect time to get back in the garden and enjoy all of what mother nature provides.

Have you noticed the many signs of early Autumn beginning?

Fall Blooming Perennials

Looking for some long lasting color in your perennial garden this fall? There are plenty to chose from as the onset of cooler weather provides a longer bloom time for these wonderful choices. To further increase their bloom time don't forget to deadhead the spent flowers!

Black Eyed Susan
Balloon Flower
Hardy Mum
Aster
Anemone
Joe Pye Weed
Upright phlox
Russian Sage
Stonecrop
Turtlehead Chelone
Toad lily
Montauk Daisy

Fall Vegetable Crops

Have you seen signs that your summer vegetable crops have slowed in production or perhaps their foliage is starting to die back. No problem! There is still time to plant more vegetables for you to enjoy through fall!  Cold weather vegetables should be started in late summer and will be ready to harvest in late fall.  Often, fall crops will be more productive as the threat of insects and weeds are less!  Try adding the following vegetables into your garden this summer.

Broccoli

Cauliflower
Cabbage
Lettuce
Arugula
Spinach
Swiss chard
Early varieties of beans such as Tendercrop,  Top Crop or Early Bush Italian

Mums - A sure sign of Autumn

A sure sign of autumn is the availability of early flowering Chrysanthemums. While they are not the longest fall blooming plant, there are other varieties that will bloom mid into late season to keep your beds looking alive with color. Did you know that the Chrysanthemum flower is a beneficial component in many insecticidal soaps? When pulverized the flower extracts an ingredient called pyrethrins which is a natural source of insecticide.

Fall Foliage

Have you noticed the leaves starting to turn color?  Fall foliage is unstoppable as the cooler weather approaches. It's a great reason to get in your car and take a drive through NJ or PA where we have some of the best fall foliage around.  Have you ever wondered why the leaves turn color in the fall?  Leaves have a products called chlorophyll and carotenoids in their leaf cells which remains green through the growing season. However, as fall approaches the production of these sugars slow down and then eventually stops. It's at this point that the true colors of the leaves are unmasked and provide a color show like no other.

Kousa Dogwoods

Have you seen the red ball like fruit on Kousa Dogwoods yet? While this tree is beautiful through its growing season and produces masses of white stunning flowers, it's got a few surprises for you in fall as well.  After the flowers fade, it produces green then red fruits that hang in splendor off the leaves. It's a beautiful sight for sure, but are they really edible?  While some will eat the fruits, they have little taste to them. They are best left for the birds who will enjoy them just as much for their food as you will enjoy them for their color!  But wait! This specimen has one last surprise for you! It has a fantastic fall colored leaf as well!

Spiders

Spider webs are another indication that autumn is on its way. Have you noticed an abundance of webs around your property? While most domestic spiders are around all year, we seem to notice their webs more in fall. One of the reasons is the early morning dew will highlight them more, but it is also because spiders primarily mate in the fall thus the female spiders are spinning their webs in hopes to attract a male spider!

Acorns

Acorns have already started dropping off mature Oak trees. While a nuisance to clean up in lawns, they are one of the most important food sources for wildlife. Inside each nut is a single oak tree seed which has taken between 6-24 months to mature.  Did you know that an acorn is a sign of 'patience'. Why you ask? Because it can take up to 20 years for an Oak tree to produce acorns.

Woolly Bear Caterpillars

These fuzzy looking caterpillars make their way out of their eggs in fall as they are searching for a nice cozy place to rest for the winter such as bark, inside rocks or logs. While pretty to watch, they are not so nice to touch.  Have you heard of the legend of them predicting the onset of winter? Folklore has it that if the Woolly bear has a wide middle brown section the milder the coming winter will be. Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter.  If you see a Woolly bear caterpillar write us and tell us what kind of band you see!

Are you ready for Autumn yet? What is your favorite part of Autumn?