Companion Planting: Herbs Instead of Insecticides

Using herbs and flowers in this way can keep your garden "green" and prevent tears when you find your prized tomato plant cut off at the root by some nasty bug!





Petunias, marigolds and geraniums can be planted in a border around the garden or trees. If you want the benefit of catnip without digging it out of your garden for years to come, put in a large clay pot and place nearby. For other pest preventers, thoughtful interplanting of vegetables can help with the process.

Underlined items can be found at Beier's Greenhouse.

Ants: Pennyroyal, spearmint, southernwood, tansy
Aphids: Garlic, chives and other onions, coriander, anise, nasturtium and petunia around fruit trees
Borer: garlic, onion, tansy
Cabbage moth: mint, hyssop, rosemary, southernwood, thyme, sage, celery, catnip, nasturtium
Colorado potato beetle: green beans, horseradish, dead nettle, flax, catnip, coriander, tansy, nasturtium
Cucumber beetle: tansy, radish
Cutworm: tansy
Flea beetle: wormwood, mint, catnip, interplant crops with tomato
Japanese beetle: garlic, larkspur, tansy, rue, white geranium
Leafhopper: petunia, geranium
Mexican bean beetle: marigold, potato, rosemary, savory, petunia
Mites: garlic, onion, chives
Nematodes: marigold, salvia, dahlia, calendula, asparagus
Rose chafer: geranium, petunia, onion
Slug: rosemary, wormwood
Squash bug: tansy, nasturtium, catnip
Tomato hornworm: borage, marigold, opal basil
Whitefly: nasturtium, marigold

Photo Corner with Janna Salmela Photography: Dreary Day Session Options

This spring I took a high school senior to Beier's Greenhouse because it was cold and there wasn't any green in sight. Remember how miserable our winter & spring was? My client was thrilled with her colorful pictures and it felt so good to be in the warm, moist air!  

Some things to remember:  

• Call the owner to see if you can shoot in their greenhouse (and don't assume that it's free). 
• Be courteous to the staff and customers, and always put back anything that you might have to move.  
• Say thank you with social media shout-outs and promoting their business (in person and online).

Janna Salmela Photography
www.jannasalmelaphotography.com

Hardy Mums: Garden Gems

Hardy Chrysanthemums, or Garden Mums, are popular plants that have been used in the gardens of China since before 550B.C.Their blooms brighten garden beds and borders from early August through November with blooms that often last for many weeks.Some varieties begin blooming earlier than others. Mums come in a wide assortment of colors including white, many shades of yellow, pink, lavender, red and bronze.

Today,Mums are a large part of the fall harvest season and are a great way to brighten and bring color to any spot in the garden. Mums are also great for use in containers, window boxes and around front entryways. 

How to plant and enjoy these garden treasures

·         Select a sunny, well-drained spot in the garden or choose an appropriate container. 

·         If planting in the ground, enrich the soil by mixing in a generous quantity of compost or peat moss, a cup of bone meal and lime (if needed, mums like a pH of 6.2-7.0). Work it all into the soil to a depth of 8 – 12 ½”. In window boxes or containers, use a good potting mix such as Dr. Earth’s Premium. 

·         Plant mums no deeper than they were in their container. If the root mass is dense, gently tease apart the outer roots so they can more readily grow into the new soil. 

·         Never let newly planted mums in bloom or bud dry out. 

Pruning (Pinching) and Deadheading

To keep plants dense and for maximum flower production, mums should be pinched occasionally. Pinching is a form of pruning used to remove the end or terminal buds.

Just place your thumb and index finger below a terminal bus and squeeze until the bud is removed. Do this all over the top and sides of the plant. Start when plants are 4-6” all, repeating every 4-6 weeks or as needed until around July 4^th. Flower buds will begin to form shortly thereafter so no more pinching is needed. 

For larger individual flowers, when the flower buds form, selectively remove all stems except 4 or 5 of the strongest ones. Energy will be redirected to these buds, resulting in fewer but larger flowers per plant. 

After Blooming

After the flowers fade and the foliage dies back (mid to late-December) cut your mums down to the grown and mark or label the location of each individual plant. 

Apply a 3-4” layer of organic mulch (shredded cedar, pine bark, wood chips, ect) to protect the roots during the winter and to prevent them from heaving in the freezing and thawing of the earth.

In the Spring

When the snow has melted, remove the mulch from the base of each plant to allow the sun to warm the soil and trigger new growth. Fertilize with a good granular fertilizer like 5-10-5. Continue to fertilize every 4-6 weeks through September.

Making New Plants

For best appearance and productivity mums should be dug and divided every 2 or 3 years. This can be done in late-March or April when new growth is 4 – 6 ½” high. 

Dig up the mum clumps with a form or shovel. Separate the shoots from the mother plant with a sharp knife. Each shoot should include 1 – 2 ½” of roots. Plant the new plants following instructions outlined above; discard the old clump. Pinch the plants when they become established. 

Mums are also easily propagated (rooted) from stem cuttings taken in the spring from new, vigorous growth.

Dicentra 'Luxuriant'

Dicentra (Bleeding Hearts) is an old time favorite for the shade garden characterized by dangling heart-

shaped flowers in spring. Dicentra grows best in filtered sunlight in well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Plants have a tendency to go dormant in the heat of summer or if the soil becomes too dry. To help maintain summer foliage, keep soil evenly moist and provide more shade.
Dicentra ‘Luxuriant’ features deeply-cut, fern-like, grayish-green foliage which persists throught the growing season and cherry red, nodding, heart-shaped flowers carried above the foliage on long, leafless, leaning stems. This variety typically grows to 15” tall. Blooming begins in late spring. With cool weather, this variety will continue to bloom or re-bloom. ‘Luxuriant’ is deer resistant, shade tolerant, and attracts hummingbirds making it a great addition to any garden. 

Photo Corner with Janna Salmela Photography: Flowering Trees

Flowering trees make beautiful but tricky backdrops!  

We photographers start drooling as soon as the

buds open up on the flowering trees and bushes, so you can easily talk us into spring sessions. Unfortunately, there's such a short window of opportunity.  I talked to a client over Memorial weekend about their upcoming session and she showed me a picture of a beautiful ornamental plum tree in their yard.  When I arrived, 7 days later, there were no blooms left!

Here's some tips to make your spring flowering tree session a success.

1.  Find a tree with branches that hang low to the ground.  

2.  Ideally, we'd like to see sun on the branches in the late afternoon/early evening.

3.  Contact your photographer in March or April and let them know you are interested in a session (family, engagement, High School Senior, etc).  Find out if they have locations they use already and let them know that you've found one too.

4.  Work out a plan with your photographer.  I would give you a list of dates that work for me over a period of a few weeks so that we can be very flexible.  AT THE FIRST SIGN OF BUDS, CALL!   

5.  Evening light is the absolute best light for beautiful images.  I like to start between 6:00 and 7:00pm.  

With a little bit of work, you can have stunning and unique photos that capture the essence of spring.  

Janna Salmela Photography

Tree & Shrub Care Guide

Watering: Newly planted trees and shrubs will require you to water them periodically for another 2 to 3 years.  In general, most trees will need to be watered weekly the first years, every two weeks the second year, and every three weeks the third year.   As with at planting, place a hose at the base of the plant and turn the water on at a trickle.  Each tree should be watered in this manner for approximately 1 to 2 hours.  It is essential to water slowly enough to allow the water to penetrate the soil without running off.  Be sure to water your tree or shrub before the first hard frost.  This may help eliminate winter kill on the roots.

Fertilizing: You should fertilize your tree with granular fertilizers such as 10-10-10 at a rate of 1 cup per 2 caliper inches of trunk (diameter of trunk one foot above the ground).   Ensure that the fertilizer has at least 50% slow release Nitrogen.  Spread fertilizer around tree at the drip line or at the outer edge of the root ball.  Fertilize in early April-June.  Water well after fertilizing.  

Mulching: Wood and other organic mulches will decompose over time and it is essential to replenish the mulch ever 1 to 3 years.  Mulch provides insulation for the roots, aides in holding moisture, helps prevent weed germination, and provides nutrition as it decomposes.

Insect, Disease and Pest Control: It is recommended that you monitor your plants for insect and disease pressures.  A few insects or a little powdery mildew will not decimate you tree, however high numbers of certain pest can severely stress and harm your tree.  Once you have determined or had a professional determine if the pest is detrimental, you can have it treated professionally.  Or you may pick up the right product for the right pest from our Garden Center. 

To protect your tree or shrub from mice and moles, put wire mesh around the trunk and into the ground about two inches.  Have the mesh wire go approximately two feet up the tree. Put tree wrap around the base and up to the first branch before winter. Be sure to remove the tree wrap in the spring. 

Insect, Disease and Pest Control for Apple Trees: When buds first show green but before leaves are ½” long, spray with Dormant Oil Volick Spray. This controls mites, scales, and aphids.  When flowers first show pink tips but before blooming, spray with an all purpose spray. Home and Orchid Spray. This controls apple scab.  After petals fall, spray with the same all-purpose fruit spray. 

Pruning: Your Beier’s Greenhouse tree is a nursery cultivated tree and should already have a desired shape at installation.  However, you will always need to be on the lookout for crossing branches that rub on each other.  It is also a good idea to thin out the tree ever 3 to 5 years.  This invigorates new growth and fullness. Be sure not to cut out the “leader” of the tree. Prune shade and apple trees in late March or early April.  Prune evergreens in late June through July.  Remembering the three “D’s”- dead, dying or diseased; these are the branches to look for and prune out anytime.

Pollination for Apple Trees: Apple trees generally are not self-fertile.  Two varieties are needed to be productive. Two varieties should be used in each apple tree planting to serve as a source of pollen for the other variety. Cross-pollination is possible only when varieties bloom approximately at the same time.  Length of bloom is usually 7 to 15 days. Early bloomers should be planted with early to mid-season bloomers and late bloomers should be planted with mid-season to late bloomers.