Category: Plant health

25 Sep 2010
September 25, 2010 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin battling the Minnesota climate, garden seasons, Plant health, shrubs and trees

Autumn Yellowing of Conifer Foliage

It's almost October.  In our Northland this is the time dramatic changes take place in the outdoors.  Actually, the changes begin  in late  June when the days begin to shorten.....The changes go  unnoticed until "autumn". ....Until  this past week.  Visually, "the  fall" is here. Every fall we get calls from friends regarding changes they notice on the foliage of  their pines or arborvitaes.....or on any of our conifers, for that matter, the trees and shrubs commonly called evergreens. ...

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01 Jul 2010
July 1, 2010 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin garden maintenance, Plant health, The Art of Landscaping

The Importance of Being Artificially Watered

We at Masterpiece Landscaping install grounds irrigation for the landscape garden.    Nearly all of the folks trained to install irrigation systems know nothing about installing  such systems in the classical landscape garden. What is the difference? Imagine a half acre of lawn.  Only lawn....nothing but lawn; no maple trees here, arborvitaes and pine there, viburnum and magnolia, anemone and heuchera, sedum and "Hot Lips" turtlehead in sight.  Only lawn, with or without dandelions.  Here installantion...

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18 Feb 2010
February 18, 2010 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin Plant health

Conifers in Your Landscape: Overgrown? Priceless?

Nearly every year a list of new plants appear on the market  for home landscpape use.  Most disappear after only a few years on the planting schedules.    Most of these plants are perennials.  Hostas, aquilegias,  heucheras come and go like revolving doors.  Some are better than others either in hardiness, fussiness, life expectancy, disease resistance, or assets such as flower or foliage color  or strength of stems or general form. Among shrubs, Endless Summer Hydrangea has been...

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11 Aug 2009
August 11, 2009 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin Plant health

Acid in the Landscape Garden

By August landscape gardeners may begin to notice certain woody plants....both evergreen and deciduous... have developed a yellow look.  Yes, the foliage is decidedly not the green true to the plant's healthier past.  What's going on? Unless the plant is in death mood, by which one might already notice leaf drop, what is going on ....is,  the plant is going chlorotic, meaning turning yellow due to chlorosis, the inability of the plant to take in certain nutrients.  The...

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07 Aug 2009
August 7, 2009 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin Plant health

The Winter Burn on Conifers Mystery

One of the great mysteries of landscaping in Minnesota is knowing all of the elements involved which cause so-called "winter burn" on our garden coniferous evergreens.  We do know exposure to the winter sun especially in mid to late winter, the location and genus of the "victim" are all contributing factors. We also noted that the winter of 2008-2009 was one of the worst winters for winter burn.  We noted that some yews in full...

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07 Aug 2009
August 7, 2009 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin Plant health

Many “Fish” in the Minnesota Evergreen Pond

The garden season this year, 2009, in the Twin Cities metropolitan area has been one of the driest and coolest in recorded history.  As a generalization we can predict that signs of autumn will arrive earlier and the coming winter will be earlier,  longer, and probably snowier. The observing home owner will notice that foliage toward the  interior of  pines, arborvitae, junipers, especially and in general, of all evergreen conifers in our climate will begin to turn...

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01 Jul 2009
July 1, 2009 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin Plant health

Recent Rains and Diseased Plants

Over the past four or five days I have noticed in my own garden dozens of perennials from a wide group of genera showing the same foliar disease symptoms; countless dark spots on leaves slightly to severely curled and in some cases the plants appear to have blackened leaves severely curled and falling from the plants almost denuding it.  Similar symptoms are also showing on my Black lace elderberry... I don't own a microscope or anyother...

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26 Jun 2009
June 26, 2009 0 Comments By masterpiecelandscapingadmin Plant health

Winter Burn and the 2008-09 Winter

I have lived at my present property for 35 years.  Until the winter of 2007-08 none of the evergreens on my property suffered from the dreaded winter burn on evergreens. Evergreens most susceptible to this malady are yews, certain junipers, and arborvitae.  Symptoms show damaged foliage on the south and/or southwest side of the plant above the snow line.  In some cases nearly the entire plant is browned out. The cause is usually blamed on...

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