Winter is the time for gardeners to sit back, relax and dream about next year’s garden. Look through pinterest, garden books, the internet and get ideas for improving or changing your garden. This is a fun time to dream. Visit our website as we have so many photos and descriptions of most of the plants we carry. Remember, when dreaming, that sunlight or shade and soil type play a very important part of garden design. Have fun dreaming and see you in spring!

Fall is a beautiful time of the year when the outdoors is changed into shades of reds, oranges and yellows.  Some fall shrubs and trees with their attributes for fall and winter are:

SHRUBS:
Dogwoods: red stems in winter
Viburnums:   leaf color
Chokeberry:  red leaves
Fothergilla: various leaf color
Serviceberry:  leaf color
St. John’s wort:  berries
Sumac:  colorful leaves
Winterberry:  Red berries

TREES:
Aspen:  yellow leaves
Beech:  red leaves
Birch:  yellow leaves
Gingko:  yellow leaves
Maples:  various leaf color, red to yellow
Oaks:  leaf color
Serviceberry:  leaf color

Below are some photos:  For more photos, go to Trees Today Nursery home page and select Plants and Products, then select trees or shrubs and that will take you to the individual shrubs and trees which you can then click on to take you to that specific page.

Berry Poppins
Photo courtesy of www.provenwinners.com

Arctic Fire Dogwood
Photo compliments Bailey Nursery

Firedance Dogwood

Blue Beech
Photo compliments Bailey Nursery

Fall Fiesta Maple
Photo by Trees Today

Hydrangeas have become almost the number one selling plant.  This is due to their easy maintenance and the many colors that have been developed.  Rather then go into the various kinds of hydrangeas, this article is just going to talk about the woody kind (they are shrubs that lose their leaves in fall but do not die back to the ground) and the ones that have soft stems (not woody) and generally have lots of die back over winter.  The shrub kind can grow in full sun and sun with some shade.  They can get 2.5 ft tall to over 8 ft, depending on the variety.  Generally this hydrangea has more subtle colors, like white with pink or a tinge of green.  The soft stems ones have more brilliant colors and want morning sun but definitely afternoon shade.  They come in shades from white to pink to dark pink to blue to purple and various other shades.  Generally this type of hydrangea gets only about 2 ft to 4 ft high.  The woody ones are super easy to grow and the only maintenance is shaping them or trimming them if you wish to keep them more uniform looking.   The soft stems ones  should be mulched for winter protection and cut back to about 12″ in fall and in spring cut back stems that do not turn green.

Take a look at all the landscaping ideas on the Internet.   Just type in something like “Landscaping with Hydrangeas” or go to Pinterest and look for hydrangeas.  You will get so many ideas of how to add interest and color to your yard or foundation.  Presently we have the following hydrangeas in stock.  Just click on the name and you will be taken to a page with further descriptions.  Please ask our staff if you are new to planting hydrangeas and they will help you find the perfect one for your area.  Also ask for a sheet on hydrangeas that will give you additional information.

Annabelle
Berry White
Bloomstruck
Bobo
Candy Apple
Early Evolution
Little Lime
Little Quickfire
Quickfire
Razzlberri
Strawberry Shake
Strawberry Sundae
Summer Crush
Twist n Shout

What is a pollinator?   A pollinator is an insect or any agent that conveys pollen from one plant to another for fertilization.  Without fertilization, plants would not have any fruits or seeds.   Simply put, if we want apples, we need pollinators.  If we want sweet corn, we need pollinators.  What are some pollinators?   Bees, birds, moths, butterflies, wind and any insects that transfer pollen from one plant to another. So what can we do?  We can plant plants that attract pollinators.  Clover, milkweed, coneflowers, Joe Pye Weed, bee balms, etc. are great pollinator plants.  If you are unsure, please ask our staff to help you find some good pollinator plants. As more and more homes are being built, these pollinators are losing their undeveloped land with wildflowers and clover to pristine lawns.   Every homeowner should plant at least a small garden with some pollinator plants to help keep these pollinators around for successful crops. 

There are 13 planting zones in the U.S., each are divided into two segments, a and b, with 5 degrees separating the two segments. We are now Zone 5a but not Zone 5B.  Zone 5a’s average annual extreme low temperature, between years 1991 and 2020, is -20 to -15 with Zone 5b average low temperatures of -15 to -10.  The very northern part of La Crosse County is Zone 4b, with -25 to -20 temperatures.  These temperatures are based on 30 year averages.

So what does this mean?   You now have an opportunity to plant some of those  Zone 5 plants you have been drooling over the past years.  However, be careful.  Do not overdo it.  Winters are unpredictable and we still may experience some really cold winters.   Some plants have information tags on them.  Read them and if the tag lists the minimum temperature for the plant, choose the plants that are in  Zone 5a, not Zone 5b.  In the past we have carried some Zone 5 plants that have proven to survive in this area.  This year more Zone 5 plants will be added so PLEASE ask staff if you are uncertain about what zone that plant is in.   Occasionally we do carry Zone 5B or higher Zone plants as customers ask for them.  

Most trees and shrubs are warranted for one year.    Staff should inform you if that particular plant is not warranted.     We do not warrantee any perennials.

Happy planting and please ask staff for Assistance if you are unsure about any plant.  

Hydrangeas have become a top seller for many nurseries.  The newer generations are looking for color in their yard with easy maintenance.   Growers are steadily working on improving hydrangeas so that they blossom more and survive Zone 4 winters.   In the last few years several new varieties have been developed for our zone.  We currently have over 400 hydrangeas in stock, with about 20 varieties to choose from.   If you are unsure of what will grow best in your yard and location of the sun, please talk to the staff and they will put you in the right direction of the ones that will do best.   Following is a slideshow of some of our hydrangeas in stock.

Blue Enchantress

Pink Splendor

Seaside Fire Island Hydrangea
Photo courtesy of Monrovia Nursery

Berry White

Incrediball

Quick Fire

Vanilla Strawberry

Twist & Shout

Summer Crush Hydrangea
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Pink & blue hydrangeas
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Sea of Hydrangeas
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Have you ever thought about adding a vertical plant to your garden? A clematis on a fun obelisk, on a trellis or on a simple piece of chicken wire attached to a couple posts will provide a beautiful vertical accent to your garden. Clematis’s come in all colors from blue to purple, from pink to red and even white. Some will bloom from spring to fall while others only bloom in select months. Our staff will tell you the pruning technique for the clematis you are interested in and how to plant it. Once establihed, they do not like to be moved. Some of the varieties we have in stock are H F Young, Tranquilite, Corrine, Issy, Edda, Roouge Cardinal, Sapphire Indigo, Rebecca, Garlland Tekia, Bernadine, Nubia, Sally, Boulevard Zara and Avante Garde, along with the ever popular Jack Manii. We also carry several obelisks and trellises. Stop in soon while you can still select the color you want.

Silver Moon
Photo by Trees Today Nurse

Nellie Moser Clematis Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Stop in before selections are gone.  We still have a variety of porch pots, boughs, dogwood twigs, Christmas trees, wreaths, and other greenery in stock.