MILL CREEK  NURSERY  &  GARDEN 
CENTER  OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 
NEWSLETTER
 

As far as growing plants - of all kinds - this has definitely been a most difficult, unusual, and record-breaking year. To start with, the spring rains were lighter than we normally experience. The summer started out with cooler temperatures and plants got off to a good start, but it's been an uphill battle ever since.

The last 4 months have been inordinately dry. Many of the local communities have had water restrictions and even severe watering bans. Homeowners, even in the local rural areas, have had their wells go totally dry. These conditions, along with record-setting high temperatures, have resulted in lawns, trees, and shrubs being stressed for the duration of the summer.

Now the forecasters are calling for an earlier fall, with limited fall foliage coloration and earlier tree defoliation due to these drought-like conditions. This year will conclude with water tables at an extremely low level, going into the winter season, and plants with insufficient moisture in the root-zone to adequately get them through the winter.

SO - This means that it's time once again to get out there with the hoses, if your community permits it, and make every effort to keep up with the watering. Not only new trees or shrubs that you have installed this year, but things that may have been installed over the last 5 years or more, as well. Here at the Nursery we have been running our field irrigation system for trees and shrubs for most of the summer, and will continue to do so throughout the fall.

Don't over-water the plants, but do keep the soil moist. Now that the temperatures are slightly cooler, trees and shrubs are not growing as actively as they were during the hot summer months. Calculate that these woody plants should be receiving approximately 1/2" of rain or moisture per week and set your watering schedule accordingly.
 

FABULOUS FALL COLORS

Now is the time to get in on the fall color display right in your own yard! If it's bright yellow fall foliage you're after consider the thick, full Superform Norway Maples we have available in 3", 3 1/2", and 4" caliper trunks.

If a fast growing shade tree with red and orange fall color is more to your liking, take a good look at the Autumn Blaze Maple. It's breath-taking in its vibrant foliage color display! With annual growth averaging 2' or more every year, you'll have a nice landscape tree in no time! A wide selection of 2 1/2" - 3 1/2" trees are available to select from!

Need a tree that colors up a rich burgundy-purple to offset some yellow fall color? Don't miss out on getting a gorgeous Autumn Purple White Ash. We also have sale pricing on all Cimmaron Green Ash, which is the only form of green Ash to color up in a nice brick red for fall! All the other green Ash forms simply color up as an average yellow. Both Ash types are available from 2"-3 1/2" caliper trunks.

All of these trees can be observed growing in our fields and can be hand-selected on the spot, when you find the tree that's just right for you! Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center is the only retail nursery in the area that can offer you this great alternative!

While you're planning your fall color plantings, make sure you also take a look at our Chrysanthemums! Nice, full colorful Mums make a wonderful accent planting, once your summer blooming annuals have wound down. Don't overlook this fall color option!

FALL SALES TIME IS HERE!

During October and November Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center will have Sales Specials for NEWSLETTER MEMBERS ONLY, that you won't want to miss:

• All shrubs in our Sales Yard will be discounted. Buy 3 at the regular price, and the 4th will be free - until they're gone! This special pricing excludes plants growing in the fields, and pertains ONLY to all existing shrub stock up in the Sales Yard.
   

• PERENNIAL PURCHASES: All plants, in all pots sizes, are priced at 20% off until they're gone!
   

• Aboveground trees will be priced from $25 to $50 off, based on tree species, size, and quantity purchased.

CONSULTATION SERVICES AVAILABLE

Mike Greco, of Mike Greco Landscaping, Inc. offers consultation services to assist you in coming up with a design that fits your needs. With over 30 years of Landscape design and installation experience, Michael can guide you in coming up with decorative, low-maintenance solutions to your landscape needs.

With a minimal investment of only $150 per hour, Michael will come out to meet with you at your home, at your convenience, and discuss options for addressing your landscape requirements. He will review the area with you, alert you to potential drainage concerns, make recommendations for any needed soil amendments or alterations, and provide you with landscape design sketches for your intended projects. All designs and field notes will be left with you, for your own use, to implement in your own time frame.

The average Consultation design visit can usually be concluded in less than two hours time. With his expertise Michael can aid a homeowner in saving potentially hundreds of dollars, by coming up with a professional design which utilizes plants appropriate to individual settings and growing conditions. Give Michael a call at
847-855-0590 and set up an appointment with him today! The results will be a professional landscape, at a minimum investment - well worth the time and money!

FEATURE PLANTS OF THE MONTH

We have discussed this tree several times already, in several previous Newsletter issues. It is still one of the best residential selections as being a fast growing, low-maintenance, excellent fall-coloring shade trees. Some of the trees above ground here at the Nursery are already beginning to change color. The color ranges from shades of yellow to orange, into nice, deep reds. Maturing at approximately 50' tall by 40' wide this tree has a lot going for it! Available from 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" caliper trunks, this is a definite "must have" tree!

This is not just your average ornamental crabapple. This is a Sargent, which encompasses many of the dwarf-type crabapple trees. It has a unique, interesting, horizontal, layered branching habit which provides a great profile in winter, as well as during the growing season!

It stays small in overall size, maturing at approximately 6' to 8' in height, with a spread of only 8' to 10'. Red flower buds open to 3/4" single white flowers in the spring, followed by a small 1/4" red ornamental fruit, as summer progresses into fall. Tina is highly resistant to many of the ailments that affect other crabapples.

This tree has a wonderful, predictable and very easily contained growth habit. Due to its slightly diminished mature size it serves as a great plant for entryways and foundation plantings. It's also versatile as a small tree to under-plant with annuals and perennials. Mill Creek has them growing in the fields at 1 3/4" to 2 1/2" caliper, single-stem form, with hundreds to choose from!

The majority of the ornamental shrubs, such as Rhododendrons and Azaleas, Lilacs, Viburnums, etc. bloom in the spring and early summer months. The Hydrangea family bloom during the summer and early fall months when there are not a lot of other shrubs in bloom. The Panicle Hydrangea group, in particular, start blooming in early August and continue to bloom throughout the month of September.

The flowers of panicle Hydrangeas are borne at the ends of the stems, also known as the terminals. The Limelight Hydrangea produces a nice, thick, dense flowered panicle that initially opens up to reveal a soft, very light apple-green colored flower. As time progresses, the flowers change to a soft pink. Then, as fall changes into winter the flowers eventually dry to a light brown, dusty, sandy color. It is generally considered best to leave the dried flowers on the plant, during the winter months, to provide winter interest.

The Limelight Hydrangea will reach a mature size of 4' to 6' in height, with a spread or width of 3' to 5' making it a moderately-sized shrub that can fit in almost anywhere. Growing in either sun or shade merely adds to its diversity and multiple uses in any landscape. Mill Creek Nursery has them available at this time, blooming profusely, and ready for planting into your home landscape!

 

WELCOME LUKE!  

We here at Mill Creek Nursery would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you our new Nursery Manager, Mr. Luke Lukenbill. Luke comes to us with over 10 years of horticultural experience with expertise in Hardscape design and installation, Landscape design and installation, as well as growing experience.

When you come out to the Nursery, please stop and have a chat with him. You'll find his professionalism, warmth and charm refreshing and enjoyable! And he'll be more than glad to help answer your landscape and growing questions as well! We've got a winner!
 

TREE PRUNING SERVICES - SIGN UP NOW !

Late fall and winter is the perfect time for pruning many trees and shrubs. We do the majority of our pruning here at the Nursery during the winter. We also offer pruning services to our Customers.

Overlooked trees and shrubs can develop bad branching and growth habits if they are not periodically pruned or trained to grow correctly. Often times shrubs can get away from you, growing MUCH LARGER than you ever expected or desired them to, at the time you initially planted them. As a result, even plants need a "haircut" from time to time!

We are beginning to develop a schedule for winter pruning for a number of our customers. Please feel free to call us at 847-838- 0501 or 847-855-590 and we can discuss scheduling a time to come out to attend to your landscape's pruning needs!

WINTERIZING YOUR PERENNIAL BEDS

With the approach of winter comes the responsibility of prepping your perennial beds for their winter nap. The work involved in this is very important to the health and survivability of your perennial investments. Here are some helpful reminders:
 

1. Make sure you put your plants to rest for the winter with sufficient moisture around their root-zone. Keep watering them periodically until the ground freezes, just as you do with your trees, shrubs, and evergreens.
    

2. Educate yourself as to which plants you actually need to cut back for the winter, and which plants are better served by allowing foliage to remain on the plant - examples: Bergenia, Creeping Phlox, Lenten Roses, Ornamental grasses, etc.
    

3. Once the fall frosts have killed off most of the foliage (late November - early December), be sure to cut it back and totally remove this from the planting area. Insect eggs, molds and fungi ,dwelling even in this dead foliage, will generally not be killed off by the cold weather, but rather merely go dormant and await to hatch, or begin growing again once the warm weather of spring approaches. Why infect the new growth with these potential problems, even as it emerges?
    

4. This is also an excellent time to spread a good organic compost (mushroom, aged cow manure, or other) around the base of your perennials. Between the fall rains, winter snows and freezing and thawing of winter, these nutrients will be worked down into the soil and will be available to plants as they emerge in the spring. If your schedule does not permit doing this in the fall you may do it in early spring, after you've cleaned up your perennial beds and before new growth begins