Blog – Page 5 – Trail Creek Nursery

Seeding Your Lawn

When seeding your lawn, we suggest using a mixture of grass seed because different species will thrive under different conditions.

For a typical yard, we recommend Tri-Mix Lawn seed. This mix contains:

Kentucky Bluegrass a sun-loving grass and the typical sod species in our area.
Perennial Ryegrass, which withstands high traffic and is insect and disease resistant
Creeping Red Fescue, a low maintenance shade and drought tolerant grass. We also have mixed available for low maintenance lawns and native grasses.

For best results, the soil should be tilled to a depth of 3″ and raked to remove clumps and rocks.

Smoothe and level the ground with any slopes directed away from the house. Then roll with a weighted roller. Use a seed spreader to spread the seeds and sow in two directions, one at 90 degrees to the other to ensure proper coverage. Rake gently and roll again. Mulch with fine, weed-free straw or compost. There is no need to water if you are seeding in the late fall before the snow flies.

When seeding in the spring, water frequently to keep the seeds moist but not saturated.

Cut back watering to once a day after the grass has grown to about an inch tall. Mow the lawn after it reaches 3 inches. You can go to a regular watering schedule of one inch per week after the third mixing. Once the grass is well established, you can apply a wee and feed. This will fertile the grass and kill any unwanted weeds.

When seeding wildflowers, select a site with good drainage that is free of weeds and choking grasses.

The soil should be tilled to a depth of 3″ and raked to remove clumps and rocks. Mix the seed with dry sand to help distribute the seed evenly and hold it in place. Do not seed thicker than the recommended application rate. You will get too many annuals the first year, and they will shade the perennials underneath with need sunlight to emerge and develop.

You can broadcast seeds by hand or use a seed spreader for larger areas. Rake lightly, covering seeds 1/8 inch. Mulch with weed-free straw or compost and water once gently.

When seeding in the spring, you will need to keep the seedbed moist until the plants emerge. After that, you may need to water up to one-half inch per week in order to keep the flowers at their best. Be sure not to overwater.

Holiday

Christmas Tree Care

Christmas Tree Care Tips

If you want a more enjoyable Christmas season, Christmas tree care is key. After you have selected and brought your Christmas tree home, saw one to two inches off the bottom of the trunk. This opens up the vessels in the wood, allowing it to absorb water readily. Remove dry interior needles by dropping the tree on its trunk in the driveway a few times. Then the tree should be placed in a water holding stand. Use a stand that holds at least a gallon of water so that it won’t need refilling too often. It should be checked frequently and re-watered as necessary.

“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.” – Luther Burbank

As long as the tree can absorb and transpire water, ti will stay reasonably fresh and fire resistant. If the stand reservoir dries out, the cut will quickly heal over, and the tree won’t be able to take up water. You will then have to recut the stump, or the tree will begin to lose its needles.

We recommend the following fire safety practices:

When placing your tree, keep it away from heat sources such as fireplaces, furnace vents, and televisions.
Make sure that all of your light cords are in good shape.
If the insulation on the wiring has become brittle or cracked, discard it.
Never overload electrical circuits.
Be sure to turn the lights off when the tree is unattended.
After the holiday Christmas trees can be used for firewood or chopped up and used as mulch.

Annuals

Late Spring Annuals

June is the safest time to plant annuals in Teton Valley.

I know from my own experience that we often tend to plant the same thing every year because “we know it works.” I have one neighbor who changes her late spring annual border every year, and I look forward to seeing what she is going got do and it is never dull. I suggest branching out and doing something different this year. I did for the first time, and I love my new choice of annuals.

I stayed within the same color scheme but chose different species. Keep in mind that there are always great new introductions each year providing us with a wide variety from which to choose.

Consider the exposure you are planting when selecting plants. Shade-loving plants ( such a fuschia, begonias, and coleus) need shade, especially in the afternoon. Sun-loving plants require a minimum of 8 hours of sun. Choose taller plants for the center or background and low growing for training plants for center or environment and low growing or trailing plants for near the edge. For a fresh and subtle effect, try blues and whites.

Yellow and reds make a bold statement. If you like cut flowers, try marguerite daisies, cosmos, snapdragons, zinnias, celosia and annual bachelor buttons. If fragrance is your desire, use cosmos, snapdragons, Ipomoea, sweet peas, nasturtiums, nicotiana, blue and purple petunias, sweet alyssum and geraniums. Use plants that complement each other and don’t skimp on the number of plants.

Your container or bed should be planted fully to look the best.

Grasses can be used to add exciting colors and textures. Annuals can grow in any container that holds soil and has drainage holes to allow excess water to escape. The commercially prepared potting soil mix should be used. Never use soil from your garden as it is too heavy may contain weed seeds and carry fungal diseases.

The bottom of huge containers can be filled with styrofoam pellets or rinsed and crushed aluminum cans to use less soil and make them less cumbersome, especially if you plan to move them around. Be sure to put several layers of newspaper between the cans and dirt to keep the soil from sifting out. Be sure your container is filled loosely with soil and not packed.

If you sit all your containers of plants in the bed or pot before planting, you can arrange them to be sure you like the arrangement before planting. Plant the center and back first. Be sure to water thoroughly until the water runs out the bottom, this will settle the soil around your plants.

Place newly planted pots in a sheltered place for a few days so your plants can acclimate to their new environment.

Water your pots and containers daily and at the same time if possible. Because daily watering leaches out nutrients faster than if they are planted in the ground, you should fertilize with a bloom fertilizer on a regular basis, usually once every week or two. Deadheading your plants on a regular basis encourages more blooms. You should also check regularly for pests, the two most common being aphids and whiteflies, both easily controlled by insecticidal soap.

Fresh From The Nursery