Fighting Brown Patch

The goal is to never have Brown Patch to begin with. Brown Patch is an environmental expression. If the environment is altered the disease will go away. It must be recognized that Brown Patch likes compacted clay soils with too much water, coupled with cool temperatures. Improve the soil, reduce the water and Brown Patch is no longer a problem. Organics improve soils; chemicals don’t.

Refer to the fall equinox September 23rd as a major date. Around this time St. Augustine under goes a physiological change as it enters into a dormant state. The St. Augustine grows slower; mowing is twice a month rather than weekly. The fall temperatures are lower, there is less ambient heat and so less water is needed. It is time to turn the irrigation systems way down which many people forget and run them like its still summer. Keep in mind the rain that God gives as well. We want to avoid over watering the soil.

Compacted soils will improve with Organics and won’t improve with chemicals. As Organic fertilizers and Humates are applied through out the year, compacted clay soils will become more friable. This means better drainage and oxygen flow which is the opposite of what Brown Patch wants. Finally, if applying a fungicide, make sure it’s MicroGro biological fungicide and not a chemical fungicide. Chemical fungicides are dangerous, expensive and only compound the problem as they destroy the soil microorganisms that improve the soil and fight Brown Patch. Good healthy soils mean adios to Brown Patch.

Stop Brown Patch Before It Happens!

Why does my Saint Augustine have Athlete’s Foot?

Stopping Brown Patch fungus on Grass before it happens, The Anti-Disease Preventative!

MicroLife Brown Patch is a good antifungal for our humid and rainy days ahead. September’s cooler evenings combined with daily rainfall are the perfect combination for activating rhizoctonia, better known as brown patch. From September through January, we recommend not using strong nitrogen fertilizers that actually speed up the growth of brown patch. Now is the time to harden off your root systems so they establish well through winter. Microlife Brown Patch is also great when mixed in flower beds to enhance your fall petunias, dianthus and snapdragons.

Use biology to its best advantage by picking up this mild organic fall fertilizer with living organisms ready to prevent brown patch. These antifungal disease microbes are easily spread, use one bag per 2,000 square feet. If you choose to mix in the soil for flower beds, use one bag for 1,000 square feet.

Taishan Dwarf African Marigold

Looking for a high impact in your fall color beds?

We saw a super new standout at the Ball Seed landscape trials this year, Taishan Marigold. This new improved Marigold, some say Mari-Mum that we are fortunate enough to have just received is the Taishan double dwarf African Marigold. Taishan is fuller, with more branching than your everyday Inca or Discovery series Marigolds. Up to 20% larger and have many more petals causing Taishan to shed water and not get the nasty brown rot you’re used to.
The key to Taishan’s success is its breeding for shorter more rigid stems giving it an improved weather and overhead water tolerance. Growing 12”-18” with equal spread in Yellow, Orange or mixed colors. Performance is so spectacular that the Taishan series was the featured color plant throughout the landscapes at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Happy Labor Day!!

This weekend, Labor Day Fireworks!

Not the kind of Fireworks you may be thinking of at Labor Day, but a tough as nails flower, Gomphrena Fireworks.

Not your traditional Gomphrena, but a taller accent plant for annual color beds. (see above, background) Growing to 36”h x 24” wide covered in magenta-pink flowers in hot full sun all Spring-Summer-Fall, shooting out yellow stamens like tiny fireworks. A New Nursery Top 10 Miserable Day Heat Tolerant plant that thrives through heavy summer rains, humidity and drought.

This is the bomb-proof color you need for your customer that wants a lot of show for little money. These are available in 4” pots but their coverage is immense. They grow so big, you actually use fewer plants for more coverage.

Plant Fireworks Gomphrena as your tall accent with a lower planting of yellow Zahara Zinnias, Pentas or Melampodium, and a base planting of ornamental sweet potato. Your homeowner may enjoy the fact that this hummingbird, butterfly magnet is also an excellent cut flower and preserves dry as well.

Fall Foliage

A Secret to Fall Foliage in Texas?

Why Heck Yes!!!
Who thinks of Fall foliage Texas? Its often overlooked, but now is the perfect time for Fall foliage color plantings.

Crotons in every color, Ornamental Sweet Potato Vines in yellow or purple, even tones of bronzy chocolate. Purple and silver Persian Shield with Coleus.

But there seems to be so much confusion over the right coleus, some look great while other coleus look like scrappy weeds after 6 weeks. Let us share with you a secret:

There are seed grown coleus and there are cutting crown. Seed grown are what is easiest to find because of their inexpensive plant cost. A seed plug to start a 4” pot is only a few cents. A cutting grown coleus is 5 to 10 times the cost BUT OH WHAT A DIFFERENCE A FEW CENTS MAKES!

Cutting grown coleus have been developed by breeders for a consistent look, color, form. Most available today are selected for their availability to not set seed, so they never require pinching, no maintenance, never that ugly period. So what we need to understand and teach our customer is that by spending more in the initial planting for the cutting variety, THEY ARE SAVING MORE in maintenance, with a much longer time of looking good.

Big Redhead and Henna are two New Nursery favorites. Combine them together, or great in mass. Both look great with Pot O’ Gold Lantana or Taishan Marigolds

Big Redhead Coleus

Henna Coleus

Vista Bubblegum Petunia

Q: Help! My Petunias have male pattern baldness, what do I do?

A: Buy all female.

(Well, when you work in a nursery, you collect these bizarre questions)

Supertunia, Vista Bubblegum from Proven Winners. Supertunia? A Super Petunia? If you have ever experiences the bare stem growth of an old Petunia, no more!

Yep, Supertunias are an improved "cutting grown" Petunia. We visited the Proven Winners growing grounds last summer near San Diego and studied their trials. We also potted our own to compare their perfect coastal conditions against our heat and humidity in Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Vista Bubblegum is far above all seeding Petunias in performance. It's right up there with Amazon Dianthus in the bombproof division of top 10 Fall Annuals.

Vista Bubblegum was a top performer at Jimmy Turner's Dallas Arboretum Plant Trial Field Day. Link here for some great info: http://www.dallasplanttrials.org/20102.htm Notice the picture of Vista Bubblegum in the Petunia trials above.

Recent pictures from the nursery

Check these out:

What do you get for Valentines Day????

You’re asking me?  Something to make Margaritas of course!

New cold hardy citrus just in at all New Nurseries, for pots on your patio or ornamental trees…

But what do you mean cold hardy?  Well, to the untrained eye, you can’t see it.  But to the experts, the only citrus worth growing are grafted on to the most cold hardy rootstock.

Why spend time growing an inferior tree?  The best Citrus are grown on ‘trifoliate’ or ‘flying dragon’ rootstock.  The cheaper inferior plants are grown on ‘sour orange’ rootstock.  Trifoliate and Flying Dragon (flying dragon intentionally dwarfs the tree) are more disease resistant and up to 5 degrees more cold hardy.

The best varieties?

Meyer Lemon for taste (actually not a lemon, it’s a yellow orange with lemon flavor)

Bloomsweet or Rio Red Grapefruit for the scent of the blooms

Kumquat for year round ornamental color

Satsuma for good eating.

And finally….Mexican Limes for Margaritas!!!

What blooms in the deep shade after weeks of cloudy weather? Nothing? Nope...something......

The never ending question….would you like the foolproof answer?

It takes two to (Blue) Tango!

Blue Tango is a relatively new subtropical plant, along with Loie’s Pride, Del Mar and a few other choice hybrid bromeliads. 

These guys are easy…just place them in the garden, don’t worry about the roots, in fact they’re best remaining in the pots.  Certain varieties have colored foliage, some spiky blooms, but all exotic.  They’re even a striking houseplant.  The “pups” babies may be removed and planted for next years crop.  So care free even dummies can do it. 

Loie’s Pride…a perfect houseplant.

How do you decide which Loropetalum?

Not too many years ago, we old timers never heard of the word Loropetalum.  (At least these purple ones)

Along came Barry Yinger from the USDA and trips to Korea, China and Japan and now Loropetalum is a household name.

But now we have the question, “Which One?”

Let New Nurseries help you with choosing the best.

LOW GROWING

Pixie- new patent from PDSI and in the Southern Living Collection, Pixie stays almost flat, 6”-12” prostrate ground hugging.  Makes a great accent in a container flowing over the sides.  Keep Pixie dry, dry, dry.  He’s very touchy to overwatering which makes a great plant for containers.  I have even seen a few in large hanging baskets with accent color that look unexpected and elegant.  Mix the purple of Pixie with whites, or even Spanish Moss for a tropical look.  Available at all New Nurseries in 3 gallon and 7 gallon.

MEDIUM GROWING

Plum Delight- trademarked by Hines Nursery in the early 90’s, Plum Delight is a robust medium grower that keeps the purple foliage better than others.  (Many turn to a muted dingy brown-purple as the weather gets warmer)  Plum Delight is the best foundation shrub of all the Loropetalum varieties because he’s (or she???) more dense and compact than others.  Part shade or full sun.   Looks great with white caladiums or impatiens. 

Purple Diamond- this little boy has the manners your mother tried to teach you.  Tidy, uniform and compact.  Good color, great performer.   Not always easy to find at most wholsale nurseries….until you try The New Nurseries.

LARGE GROWING

Ever Red Sunset – WOW!  Best blooms ever, Clear red and luminous foliage.  Undoubtedly the best color.  A bit untidy if allowed to go unpruned. 

ZhouZhou Fuchsia- Can’t say that too many times without a tongue twisting.  Z-Z gets big, which in turn makes one of the BEST small ornamental trees.  Very picturesque, almost a poor Southerner’s Japanese Maple.  However, don’t feel too sorry for the poor southerner, this Big Daddy blooms its head off and makes a stunning accent if pruned to a small tree.  30 gallon specimen trees arrive at New Nursery Central and New Nursery West March 1.

BEST BLOOMER

Emerald Snow- a white selection of green foliaged Loropetalum that blooms, blooms….blooms.  Want another bloom cycle?  Just tip the plant lightly with pruning shears and in 3 weeks here comes another set of blooms.  Emerald Snow is another superior selection from the Southern Living Collection.  Looks great combined with Plum Delight or Purple Diamond.

Purple Pixie

So confusing are all these iris....

Don’t be confused, whether “Butterfly, Bicolor, African”   Use the best one you can…Use only Katrina.

Perino’s Garden Center in New Orleans was devastated by flooding in Hurricane Katrina that lasted for weeks.  The Perino brothers, Peter and Buddy found one lone survivor in a bed of thousands of dead Butterfly Iris.  This tough new survivor, appropriately named ‘Katrina’ was studied and patented for its hardiness traits by Monrovia Nurseries.  We are proud to say that The New Nurseries helped introduce ‘Katrina’ three years ago and we find it to be a much better proven performer. 

Root rot resistant, vertical evergreen to 24”, almost always blooming white with a hint of yellow and orange.

Patent royalties for ‘Katrina’ go to preserving America’s wetlands. 

Autumn Lilac Encore Azalea

You’ve never seen this color before in the South….

A new hybrid Encore everblooming Azalea, Lilac was just released to a few exclusive nurseries.  Come check ours out, ready for your landscapes in 3 gallon.  Lilac is a low grower, to 24”.  Tolerates full sun to light shade.  Shape and fertilize after each blooming and you’ll have a great performer for your customer

What's all the buzz about Southern Living Plant Collection?

Well, lots of buzz actually!   www.southernlivingplants.com

A great resource, Southern Living has been working with leading plant innovators, breeders and growers to select the best plants for the South.  New Early Blooming Crape Myrtles will be here later this year, and more exciting is a Lilac colored blooming Encore Azalea.  No azalea before has ever had this color, so perfect for Easter themed gardens.  Lilac Encore Azalea coordinates with almost every color, whether a traditional Southern Colonial or a stark white contemporary home. 

New Nurseries continues to carry the Southern Living line, look for the Southern Living Pots.

www.southernlivingplants.com

Cold Hardy Palms

Looking for the Tropical Vibe but want hardy plants?

Each of the New Nurseries carry a full line of hardy palms.  This year has taken its toll on many Pigmy Dates and Queen Palms.  Replace these with Windmill Palms, Pindo, Sabal, Med Fan and the most hardy Needle Palm.  

Rhapidophyllum histrix, Needle Palm, hardy to 10 degrees.   One of the few palms that survive in to Oklahoma and even Kansas.  Slow growing and tough.  Create a tropical feel and never worry about freezing.

Needle Palm  Rhapidophyllum histrix.  Suffer no damage in snow or ice.  Evergreen to 6’, grows in a bush form or small trunk.  Very unique and tough as nails…or needles!

Southern Living Collection

Southern Living is endorsing a few great plants for Sourthern gardeners.

Tested and trialed at PDSI, Inc, in Loxley, AL and leading growers, The New Nurseries will be part of each year’s introductions.  This year’s most exciting are Early Blooming Crape Myrtles.  Two-toned Agapanthus, “Queen Mum” are here.  Check them out by stopping by and preview this year’s plants at www.southernlivingplants.com    

               

 

       

Blog insert-Encore Lilac Azalea

Encore Lilac Reblooming Azaleas just arrived at New Nursery West and Central this morning.

This new patent has a glossy foliage, semi-dwarf habit and Lilac to Lavender blooms.

Never before has there been an Azalea this color that blooms well in the South.  A perfect Easter color combination with Silhouette Mix pansies, alyssum, dianthus.  Great foundation planting for the Southern traditional home or white modern contemporary.  Great contrast with white blooming plants or pastels.  Imagine a mass of these with Bridalwreath spirea.

Available in 3 gallon and quantities are limited.  Give your landscapes a more unique look.  The Encores take a good bit of sun to part shade and bloom more than your traditional azaleas.