I love trees, and every year I plant hundreds, sometimes thousands, here at my farm.
Trees are crucial. They are the world’s single largest source of breathable oxygen, they absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and they create an ecosystem to provide needed habitat and food for birds and other animals. Recently, we received a shipment of bare-root tree cuttings and other young shrubs from Musser Forests, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based company specializing in conifer and hardwood seedlings and transplants. Once the young specimens arrived, my gardeners placed them in buckets and tubs to soak overnight and then hurried to pot them up, so their root systems can strengthen and develop before they're planted in more permanent locations.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This fenced in area at one end of my middle field was once used as a pumpkin patch, but it is now where we store and nurture hundreds of young potted seedlings.
Here is our latest order from Musser. I’ve bought many trees from Musser Forests Inc. over the years and have always been very pleased with their specimens. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while dormant and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. Soaking the roots right away gives them all a strong start.
Musser Forests, Inc. was established in 1928. Every year, Musser produces more than 35-million conifer and hardwood seedlings and transplants – plus, ground covers, landscaping shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. They offer one of the broadest selections of plant material available from one nursery.
All the plants are either shipped in bare-root bundles, or smaller pots like these – always in great condition.
Our NYBG intern, Matthew Orego, and new gardener Josh Casalli, are tasked with potting up all the new specimens – 1000 of them. The trees will only remain in these pots temporarily – eventually, they will be transplanted in various locations around the farm.
Healthy bare-root cuttings should not have any mold or mildew on the plants or on the packaging.
The branches should be mostly unbroken, and roots, rhizomes, and other parts should feel heavy – not light and dried out. Each bare-root cutting is placed into an appropriately sized pot. The root section should fit into the pot without bing crowded at the bottom.
Josh plants each specimen carefully, so it is straight and centered in the container, with soil filling it up to where the roots start and the top shoots begin.
We save pots whenever we can – they always come in handy for projects like this, and I always encourage the crew to reuse supplies whenever possible. In an assembly line process, each pot is prepared with a small layer of soil ready for the tree and backfill.
Once filled it is tamped down lightly so there is good contact between the tree roots and the surrounding soil.
Then each potted specimen is sprinkled with fertilizer. Not too much – just a sprinkling for each pot.
We use Scotts Evergreen, Flowering Tree & Shrub fertilizer – an 11-7-7 formula that’s great for evergreens and many other acid-loving trees and shrubs.
Some of the evergreens include Mugho pines, Pinus mugo pumilio, also known as Swiss Mountain Pine. It’s a dwarf, low growing spreading pine with dark green, stiff needles.
Pinus thunbergii, the black pine, Japanese black pine, or Japanese pine, is native to coastal areas of Japan and South Korea. It is called gomsol in Korean and kuromatsu in Japanese. It grows 20- to 60-feet tall and 12- to 20-feet wide and features a flat-topped pyramidal form.
Picea abies ‘Nidiformis’ is the Bird’s Nest Spruce, a dwarf, needled evergreen shrub in the Pinaceae family. This shrub is called the Bird’s Nest Spruce because of the depression or “nest” in the middle of its compact, mounded habit once mature. It has light green or gray green foliage and grows up to eight feet tall and 12-feet wide over 30-years.
These trees are Austrian pines, Pinus nigra, or black pine, a medium to large-sized evergreen conifer that grows 40- to 60-feet tall and 20- to 40-feet wide. The dark green needles are longer than most – about four-inches in length.
This French strain of Scotch pine grows to 70-feet with a 15-foot spread. It’s a hardy tree with blue-green needles.
The Douglas fir is among the nation’s most important lumber species, making up half of all Christmas trees grown in the United States. It is a handsome tree with bluish-green needles.
These are the branches of the Golden Fernleaf False Cypress, a dense evergreen conifer with rich, textured foliage that is golden-yellow to bold green.
And these are Gold Thread Cypress shrubs, which will mature to large pyramidal evergreen conifers with fine textured medium green needles.
Many of the bare-root trees do not have leaves, so they are difficult to identify at this time. It is important to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked. These newest specimens will remain here for about a year until they are planted into the ground. Earth Day is coming up April 22nd. I hope you’ll consider planting a tree to celebrate.
So many brightly colored daffodils are blooming at my farm - different forms of white, yellow, cream, and orange Narcissi. It's quite a sight to see.
When I moved to my farm, I knew I wanted to grow a continuous swath of daffodils. After lots of planning and planting over the years, I now have a border that extends the length of one side of my property from my Summer House, past the stable, and down to the Japanese maple grove. Over time, some have faded away and are being replaced with other varieties, while others continue to flourish. I’ve also planted daffodils in the garden beds outside my Tenant House, across from my chicken coops, near my main greenhouse, in patches through the woodland, and in various tree pits around my home, including those underneath the majestic allée of pin oaks where I planted a variety of Narcissi named after me, Narcissus ‘Martha Stewart.'
Enjoy these photos.
My long daffodil border is broken up into various groupings – different varieties, different shapes and sizes, and different blooming times. This provides a longer splash of color through the season. This view is from one end of my allée of lindens. We planted this section in 2019 and the flowers continue to blooms profusely every year.
Narcissus is a genus of spring perennials in the Amaryllidaceae family. They’re known by the common name daffodil.
These are some of the first daffodils to bloom at the farm. Daffodil species are native to meadows and woods in southwest Europe and North Africa. They tend to be long lived bulbs and are popular ornamental plants in public and private gardens.
There are up to 40-species of daffodils, and more than 27-thousand registered daffodil hybrids.
The flowers are generally white or yellow with either uniform or contrasting colored tepals and coronas. This white daffodil has a bold contrasting orange center.
Yellow is the most common color for daffodils, but they also bloom in white, cream, orange and even pink. They also come in a variety of flower forms, including trumpets, doubles, split-cups, large-cups, and jonquils.
Daffodil plants prefer a neutral to slightly acidic soil. When planting, be sure there is room for them to spread, but not where the soil is water-logged.
Planted in clusters instead of rows will provide a fuller, more natural look.
Normal rainfall will typically take care of any watering requirements during the spring flowering season. The most important care tip is to provide daffodils with rich, well-drained soil.
I take stock of my daffodils every year to see what is growing well and what is not, so I can learn what to remove, where to add more, and what to plant next.
When choosing where to plant daffodils, select an area that gets at least half a day of sun. Hillsides and raised beds do nicely.
Cultivars with bold colored cups generally retain better color when planted in a little shade to protect them from the hot afternoon rays.
And remember what I always say about all plants and flowers – if you eat, so should your plants. Fertilize daffodils with extra phosphorous to encourage good root development, especially when they’re young.
Few pests bother daffodils. The bulbs are actually quite unappetizing to most insects and animals, including deer and voles.
After daffodils bloom in the spring, allow the plants to continue growing until they die off on their own. They need the time after blooming to store energy in their bulbs for next year.
When cutting daffodils, they should be kept alone in the vase as their stems secrete a fluid that promotes wilting in other flowers. If you need to combine flowers, soak them alone first and then add them to the arrangements last.
One of the more interesting daffodils blooming right now is this Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle’, an heirloom double daffodil dating before 1884 with whorls of narrow, pale greenish yellow petals, some with a slight twist.
Narcissus ‘Martha Stewart’ is a Karel van der Veek hybrid with a three-inch white perianth surrounding a pale yellow cup. These flowers are reliable bloomers and can continue to produce each spring for decades.
In full bloom, these flowers grow up to about 16 to 18 inches tall. Daffodil season is a great time of year, and there are many more beautiful blooms to come…
For impassioned gardeners, it's so rewarding to plant interesting specimens and watch them grow and flourish.
Yesterday, I received a large assortment of beautiful plants grown by Monrovia, a wholesale plant nursery specializing in well-nurtured shrubs, perennials, annuals, ferns, grasses, and conifers with several nursery locations across the country. Soon, we'll be adding beautiful lilacs, holly, peonies, and other lush evergreens to my Cantitoe Corners gardens.
Enjoy these photos.
As a serious and diligent gardener, I am always looking for ways to add more beauty and texture to all my garden beds. I was so excited when these plants arrived from Monrovia.
Once plants arrive here at the farm, we always organize them in rows according to type so they are easy to see, count, and access when it is time to plant. Creating a garden takes time. Add a few specimens every year and keep track of what grows well and what doesn’t.
I grow many berries here at the farm – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and currants. These additions will ensure even bigger, sweeter summer harvests.
I love lilacs and have an allée dedicated to white, and shades of purple, blue, and pink colored flowers. This is Lavender Lady Lilac, Syringa vulgaris ‘Lavender Lady’.
And this is Betsy Ross Lilac, Syringa x oblata ‘Betsy Ross’. It’s an early spring bloomer with very large, sweet-smelling, pure white flower panicles.
Little Darling® Lilac
Syringa ‘SMSDTL’ also features large clusters. The dark-purple buds open to lilac-hue flowers. And, it blooms twice – heavily in spring, with a second, lighter bloom set in fall.
Gold Coast® English Holly, Ilex aquifolium ‘Monvila’ is a small evergreen shrub with many branches of dense, small, toothy, dark green leaves edged in bright golden yellow. This is a male form, so it has no berries, but it will act as a pollenizer for other female English holly varieties.
Red Beauty® Holly, Ilex x ‘Rutzan’, has bright red berries and glossy, dark green foliage.
Luxus® Compact Japanese Holly
Ilex crenata ‘Annys5’ looks very similar to boxwood and can make a nice replacement option. It has dark green foliage and a naturally dense, rounded shrub form with leaves that keep their color year-round.
I am also very fond of peonies – herbaceous, tree and Itoh peonies. This is Magical Mystery Ride Itoh Peony,
Paeonia x ‘R6P5’. This peony flower is just beginning to open, but when blooming its petals range from peachy orange to creamy white and fade to pink towards the edges.
Itoh peonies have finely divided leaves which grow close to the ground in an elegant mounded shape.
This is Paul’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress,
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Paul’s Gold’. With its year-round golden green foliage and tight growing habit, this conifer adds an excellent contrast to darker green shrubs and trees.
If you’re looking for an excellent tall hedge plant, consider Hicks Yew, Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’. Its long, upright-growing branches and dense, glossy, dark green foliage naturally form a narrow, columnar habit and can provide good privacy screening where needed.
Dense Spreading Yew, Taxus x media ‘Densiformis’, is an excellent low spreading plant for a hedge or border.
Another yew is the Emerald Spreader® Japanese Yew. It is a cold hardy, evergreen shrub that works well as a ground cover, border, or a low hedge.
Many may recognize the foliage of arborvitae. This Monrovia exclusive is Tiny Tower® Green Giant Arborvitae Thuja x ‘MonRig’. It is great for its upright, more compact habit and lively green foliage.
Tight Squeeze™ Western Red Cedar is a low maintenance conical tree with shiny foliage that retains its green color well in the winter.
Magnolias are stunning in any color. This is Black Tulip™ Magnolia, Magnolia x soulangiana ‘Jurmag1’, the darkest, most dramatic tulip magnolia, with rich, deep burgundy-red six-inch-wide blooms that appear before the foliage emerges in early spring.
Yellow Bird Magnolia, Magnolia acuminata ‘Yellow Bird’ has bright canary yellow flowers that appear later in spring after the danger of frosts. If planting in multiples, try to find those that are early, mid- and late blooming, so there is color all season long.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
