Garden Zone 

Aug 19, 2011

Minnesota Hardy Grapes

Grapes are an easy to grow winter hardy fruit for Central MN gardens. There shouldn’t be a yard without at least one of these plants growing on a fence line or trellis in the garden. Here are a few varieties great for the home grape Grower in Minnesota:

Frontenac

Frontenac is a heavy producing red grape variety and great for producing wine. Odds are that one will find this variety in almost every vineyard throughout the state.

Edelweiss

Edelweiss is my favorite cold hardy grape. It has sweet, large fruit with a good texture making it perfect for fresh eating. It also has great qualities that make it desirable as a wine grape. Again, I highly recommend this one.

Kay Gray

Kay is an extremely hardy grape with a high resistance to leaf diseases. It’s a good white grape for wine making and ripens early in the season.

Valiant

Valiant is a great grape for people interested in making jelly or juices. This flavorful and sweet variety was produced by the University of South Dakota by crossing Freedonia with a wild grape.

Bluebell

The bluebell is another great jelly and juice grape with extreme hardiness and reliable fruiting. Ever had a concord grape? Bluebell has many similar characteristics (flavor, color, size etc.) but is much hardier than the concord. Bluebell and also be eaten fresh.

Trollhaugen

Trollhaugen is a sweet yet mild flavored SEEDLESS grape. Yes, I said seedless but every now and then you will find a small seed while eating them. This one is best used as a fresh eating grape.

In summary:
Wine Grapes – Frontenac, Edelweiss, kay gray
Jelly Grapes – Valiant, Bluebell
All of the varieties listed above are good for fresh eating but I prefer the Edelweiss or Trollhaugen over the rest because they taste sweeter and the trollhaugen is seedless.

If you have any questions regarding grapes send me a message: Steve@tgreenhouses.com

May 16, 2011

Looking for another great idea for your containers? Check out “Free Spirit”! Royal Chambray Verbena weaves through the flawless dark purple flowers of Royal Velvet Petunia while Lemon Symphony’s yellow flowers give the design a bright and cheery look. Expect “Free Spirit” to get about 18-20” wide and about 12” tall.

May 9, 2011 

Need an Idea for one of your containers? Check out “Take a Bow”. This one looks great displayed on a patio, deck or just about anywhere you need a large accent in the yard. “Take a bow” gets around 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

21” “Take a Bow”

May 2, 2011

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are quickly becoming one of most popular shrubs in our area and for good reasons. The long lasting blooms come in shades ranging from pure white to lime green to pinks to blues and many varieties are able to fit sunny and shady spots.

Here are a few mom would love to have in her yard:

If you are planting on the east side of a house it’s a perfect spot for any of the endless summer varieties; Twist-n-shout, Blushing Bride, Endless Summer or the newest of the series Bella Anna.

If you are dealing with a full sun situation I would recommend Pinky Winky for a wall of giant pink flower spikes or try Little Lamb for a more compact form.

Pinky Winky                               Little Lamb  

Roses

Roses are a classic gift for mom on Mother’s Day and with the newest line-up available here you may not even be able to resist getting one for yourself. Take a look at these:

 

Vavoom

An eye-catching bright orange with dark green flawless foliage.

 

Hot Cocoa

Displaying cinnamon colored blooms with an almost purple smoky cast gives it a chocolatey appearance.

 

Neptune

Large showy mauve flowers held high above bright green foliage.

 

Brilliant Pink Iceberg

A floribunda with a delicate blend of pink and cream

April 25, 2011

Meet the Staff

Chickie Meyer has been an important part of Thomsen's for over 20 years.  She plays an integral role "behind the scenes" in planning, ordering and managing production.  If there is a question we cannot answer, Chickie is our go to knowledge bank. 

Beyond the greenhouse, Chickie is the proud grandmother of two of the cutest grand-daughters ever!

Steve Ruprecht is Thomsens Nursery Manager and Garden Blogger.  He orders, grows, and sells plants at the greenhouse.

Steve enjoys saving helpless kittens stuck in trees and sharing his wealth of knowledge with those who are interested or need advice.  But seriously, Steve knows his plants - ask him anything and he can help you find an answer.

Diane Hansgen is the retail and perennial manager at Thomsens.  She is in charge of plant material signage and gives presentations to inform curious minds about gardening.  Diane is our in-house perennial connoisseur.

Diane's favorite part of being at Thomsen's is working with the customers.  She is also excited to showcase her garden on this years Summer Garden Tour.

Diane Hansgen

Joann Fleischhaker is the Retail Buyer and Assistant Production Manager at Thomsens.  She has been an important part of Thomsens for 12 years, buying, pricing and displaying our merchandise.

Inside the greenhouse Joann's enjoys setting up displays - outside the greenhouse she enjoys gardening and playing with her grandchildren.

Joann Fleischaker

April 18, 2011

Easter Lily Tips

What can I do to keep my lily blooming?

Lilies only have a set number of blooms on them each season but you can do a few things to make these blooms last longer. Here are a few of the ways to prolong blooming:

Only water when surface soil is dry to the touch.  

Keep it as cool of a place as possible in the house.   

Remove blooms as they wither.

Can I plant my Easter lily outdoors?

Yes! But it’s not likely they will make through the winter… Most Easter lily varieties are only hardy to zone 6 so in order to save it for the following year is to treat it the same as other non-hardy blubs and dig it up late in the season after the top dies back and store it in a cool dry place. In the spring, plant your bulb as you would any other summer bulb and enjoy.

Will my plant rebloom this year?

No. It’s sad, I know. But after your lily has bloomed it needs a bit of time to recover. It takes most of the summer for this to happen and even then it needs to go through a period of dormancy for a while to rebloom.

And here’s one tip from experience:

Remove the pollen bearing anthers from the inside of the flower as they open to avoid staining clothes and furniture. Believe me; the pollen doesn’t look the best on nice, clean white shirts or table cloths...

April 11, 2011

Design tips

When you design anything it’s good to start by thinking about the purpose of the pot. Is it hanging on the porch? Are you making a container to brighten a dark corner? This will have the most impact on the finished product.  For example, you wouldn’t want to use dark purple flowers in a container meant to brighten that corner. It would just be lost. Try using pinks or yellows and plants with lighter foliage in order to get your pot to show itself. Furthermore, it would be wise to use plants that would thrive together. For example, keeping all sun loving plants in a container placed in the sun will give you the best results.

Form

Next step is to look at the form you would like. Are you designing a pot in a corner? Then why not place the thriller in the very back of the container. This will allow you to place more plants in the foreground of the pot. It will also allow you to do a more asymmetrical arrangement.  If it’s a hanging pot being seen from all directions, you may want to consider making a symmetrical container with the thriller in the center. 

Color

Color is the most obvious part of a design but for some people it can be intimidating. If you are afraid of matching colors I would just keep it simple and start with a single color. As you feel more comfortable designing with color, add more variety to your palette.  Try using color to make an area look brighter by using vibrant colors or try using blues and purple shades to make a sunny place feel cooler.

Have any questions? Send them to: steve@tgreenhouses.com

April 04, 2011

Planting bare root trees.

This season we are selling dormant bare root trees at our seasonal location and because this is a new thing for a lot of people I’ll give you a few tips on starting bare root trees.

1. Make sure the roots stay moist and cool.

2. Plant the tree asap. The more time it spends out of the ground; there is more risk of injury.

3. Stake your tree to keep it from leaning with the wind.

4. Try not to water on a schedule but on an as needed basis. Water your new tree enough to keep the soil moist, not water logged.

5. It is important for you to be able to recognize the proper planting depth. The red line in the photo below indicates the approximate soil level for this tree. Notice the notch in the trunk. The very tip of the notch should be just ABOVE the soil line to prevent moisture from entering any exposed heartwood.

April 04, 2011

Here is the list of kidfriendly seeds I mentioned in my spring column in the Saint Cloud Times. All of them are available at the greenhouse right now. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message: Steve@treenhouses.com

Lettuce-

Salad Blend

Peas-

Sugar Daddy

Beans-

Royal Burgundy

Zinnia-

Cut and Come Again

Sunflower-

Fun ‘n Sun Hybrid Mix

Sweet Pea-

Sweet Dreams

 

March 28, 2011

On the 2nd of April we officially open and as usual we will be kicking of the growing season by having our annual spring seminars. Here are the speakers we have lined up for this year…

 

Terri Emmerich - Herb Gardening & Uses

Join Terri Emmerich of Emmerich’s Produce for a discussion growing herbs and garlic. Terri will talk about everything from planting to maintaining and herb garden and even a few of the basics ways to preserve your harvest.
With years of vegetable and herb gardening experience under her belt, Terri is our go-to person for herb information. She also helps us out with planting at Thomsen’s so if you don’t get a chance to see her at the presentations you can ask her a question here.

 

Diane Hansgen - Lilies You Will Love: Asiatic, Oriental, Trumpet & More

These hardy lilies for your patio, deck, and garden will ensure you incredible color/fragrance all season.  We’ll discuss planting basics along with pictures of some of the hottest new varieties for 2011, some of the lesser known varieties and natives, and what we can look forward to in the near future.
Diane is a perennial “nut” who has been gardening for 25+ years and loves to pass on to everyone her knowledge of what it takes to be successful in gardening. In addition to home gardening, Diane works in the greenhouse year round making in the signage you see in the greenhouses, working in our own backyard gardens and selling perennials.

 

 
Steve Ruprecht - No Fear Gardening: Taking the Grr out of Gardening.

Are you apprehensive about making changes around the yard? Worried the new plant you just purchased is going to be a dud? Overwhelmed by expert opinions? Relax. Everything is going to be OK. I’ll give you some helpful advice to take the angst out of America’s favorite hobby and show you some of the tools I use every day at work and at home.
I work and play at Thomsens Greenhouse.  Come visit me there or send me a message: steve@tgreenhouses.com.

 

March 21st, 2011

Getting excited about the upcoming growing season? Wondering where to get your seed starting supplies? We have a great selection of seed starting pots, mini greenhouses and soil to get your garden off to an early start. Take a look at a few of the products we will have at the greenhouse this year:

 

Jiffy Pots

Jiffy pots and pellets- Jiffy pellets have been around for years and there is a good reason for it: They work. I have two reasons for using them. First, you can plant them directly into the ground once the plant is grown. I usually give the pot a little tear at the bottom so it roots into the ground a little faster but in the end you don’t have plastics pots laying around the garage until next spring or taking up space in the garbage. Second, because the pots are porous, the roots stop growing when they hit the outside of the pot and don’t circle around the inside. The circling roots can end up stunting the plant later in the season and the Jiffy pots prevent this.

Jiffy Windowsill kit

This is a cool little kit perfect for setting on the windowsill. The kit contains the jiffy pellets that expand as they take on water so there is no need to add soil.  Just add water, wait for the pellets to expand, plant your seeds and you are done.

Jiffy Mini Greenhouse

This is another great all-in-one kit from jiffy. It contains 50 jiffy pots in a black tray and a clear plastic cover to keep away the cool winter drafts. It also has a good seed starting mix in the package so there is no extra soil needed to get your seeds started.

Heated Mini Greenhouse

One challenge we all face starting seeds in Minnesota is the dry cold weather at this time of year. While some seeds don’t seem to mind the cooler temperatures (cabbage, kale) others such as peppers and eggplant could really go for some extra heat. Try starting a few of your heat loving plants in a mini heated greenhouse. The kit comes with a heat pad to place underneath (where the heat is actually needed) and the plastic top is nice to keep heat in and drafts out. I’ve experienced germination times cut in half just by using this simple kit and another good thing: it can be used from season to season.

Thomsen’s Premium Potting Soil

My potting soil of choice is our own Premium potting soil. We worked with Mississippi Topsoils out of Coldspring, MN to create what I think is the best potting soil mix available. It is versatile enough to be used for germinating seeds and growing the plants on into maturity. For very small seeds (poppy, celery) I use an old noodle strainer to sift out the larger pieces so the seeds don’t literally fall through the cracks in the soil. Otherwise it can be used as is for larger seeds (watermelon, pumpkin). One last advantage I will mention is the compost in the soil. It has enough nutrients to sustain the seedlings until they are strong enough for a good shot of fertilizer.

 If you have any questions about seed starting, feel free to send me a message – steve@tgreenhouses.com

March 14th, 2011

The Mouse ears collection of Hosta

The mouse ears collection of hostas are perfect for a little place in the shade for many reasons. All Mouse Ear hostas have neat rounded leaves and a symmetrical mounding habit. Slugs hate these little guys because of their super thick leaves and in mid-summer they put on a great flower display relative to their size. And lastly, gosh darn it, they’re just plain cute.

Blue Mouse Ears
Dimensions: Max 8 inches high and wide.
Zones: 3-9

 
Frosted Mouse Ears
Dimensions: Max 7 inches high and wide.
Zones: 3-8

Green Mouse Ears
Dimensions: Max 5 inches high and wide.
Zones: 3-9

Holy Mouse Ears
Dimensions: Max 6 inches high and wide.
Zones: 3-8

Fireworks

This tiny hosta can add some pop to the border of any shade garden. Upright in habit, it will look great intermingled with some low, horizontal growing groundcover plants.
 

Fireworks
Dimensions: Max 6-8 inches high and wide.
Zones: 3-8

Empress Wu

This exceptionally large hosta has an ability to give any shade garden an instant tropical look. Huge green, nearly slug proof leaves are held high on strong, sturdy stems. The one I saw last summer was only three years old and already stood well over 2 feet tall and had leaves ranging from 8 inches to 1 foot long. Not bad for a young plant.

Empress Wu
Dimensions: Max 48 inches high.
Zones: 3-9

Blue Umbrellas

Blue umbrellas are one of my all time favorites because of its rich blue-green color and great rounded habit. Another thing that interests me about this one is the downward cupping of the leaves (yup, the “umbrella” part of the name) and the pronounced ridges running with the veins.
 

Blue Umbrellas
Dimensions: Max 36 inches high.
Zones: 3-9

Sum and Substance

Sum and Substance is a classic hosta and makes the list for being one of the most reliable of the very large hostas. I’ve never heard of a gardener unhappy with this big, beautiful,  and attractive, light-green plant. Next time you visit our place take a look in our backyard gardens for this hosta. I guarantee you will have no problem finding because it stands out so much.

 
Sum and Substance
Dimensions: Max 36 inches high.
Zones: 3-9

If you are curious about the other hostas we carry check out our plant library to see which ones we have this season.  Also, check out the pictures and notes on each. If you have any questions, comments suggestions, pictures, stories… well, just about anything, send me a message: steve@tgreenhouses.com.


March 7th, 2011
Here are a few of the exciting plants available for the 2011 season at Thomsens:

New Annuals:

New Black Petunias.
(Left to Right: Phantom, Black Velvet and Pinstripe)

It seems to be too good to be true until you actually see them in person.  Phantom has broad, soft cream stripes giving it the ability to complement a wide variety of different colors.  Black velvet has almost a true black bloom with a soft velvety appearance. I already have a bold combo planned with Black Velvet, Blackberry Punch Coral Bells and Iresine as a centerpiece (image below).  Pinstripe has white stripes fading to purple, radiating from the center of each bloom. I like this one enough to stand alone in a pot as a specimen.

 

Steve’s Combo
Clockwise from top left: Iresine, Petunia ‘Black Velvet’, Superbells ‘Blackberry Punch’

 

Superbells: Coralberry Punch (Left) and Blackberry Punch (Right)

There isn’t much to say about these two because their look says it all. They are both new to the Superbell series.   These new editions have a neat rounded habit and new eye catching colors. Check out another combination I’m trying out this season featuring these plants.

Another Combination planned for a container in my yard.
Top: Alternanthera ‘Joseph’s Coat’ Right: Carex ‘Evergold’ Left Bottom: Superbells ‘Coralberry Punch’

New Perennials:

Ever wonder what happened to the hollyhocks you planted? Well, the problem is usually that hollyhocks only have a life span of about two to three years before the new seedlings take over and sometimes the seedlings don’t make it before the mother plant is finished.  The new Spotlight series of Hollyhocks eliminates this problem.  They are true perennial hollyhocks that keep coming back season after season. Currently there are four colors to choose from in this exciting new series.

Spotlight series Hollyhocks are new and true perennials

(From Left to Right: Black Knight, Sunshine, Mars Magic and Polar Star)

New in Trees and Shrubs:
 

Rejoice Crabapple.

The Rejoice crab isn’t quite new but it is one of my favorite releases of the last few years. If you love crabapple but dislike the horizontal habit and the excessive fruit then this is YOUR crab. It grows nearly straight up and fruits sparingly. The leaves are a nice, rich green with a bronzy-red cast on the undersides of the leaves so it hardly loses interest during the warmer parts of the season.

 
Bella Anna Hydrangea

Bella Anna is the latest edition to the Endless Summer series of hydrangeas from Baileys. Although it’s not the first pink annabelle type hydrangea, it is supposed to be a bit sturdier than its competitor Invincibelle Spirit and have larger flower heads. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one throughout the season to see which annabelle ends up being the best of the pinks.


New Tropical:
 

The Thailand Giant Colocasia is… well, umm… giant. In the wild these plants can grow to be over 9’ tall and have leaves over 5’ across. Not only is the end result of this plant over a few years impressive but even in just a single growing season these things can get massive. The (blurry) picture on the right is of me standing next to a Thai Giant that started as a 2” plant in February and grew to be 7’ by the first week of August.

 

Are you curious to see what else we will have this year? Check out our plant library or get a hold of me here: steve@tgreenhouses.com.



Feb. 28, 2011

Garden Q&A

Have you ever been overwhelmed trying to get a simple answer to a simple question? Sometimes just finding a place to start can be a challenge.  Here are 5 great resources for finding information you need.

1. Ask us! We have a full time staff of life-long gardeners with over 50 years of combined experience answering questions. We can help with everything from plant questions to garden or container design. You can start by checking out our plant library, frequently asked questions, and helpful hints pages.  Otherwise go ahead and send any question directly to steve@tgreenhouses and I will help you. Oh, by the way, if you are looking for a specific type of plant and can’t seem to find it anywhere we WILL find it for you, even if we don’t carry it. So far there hasn’t been a plant I couldn’t hunt down.

2. University of Minnesota Extension Service – The University of Minnesota is a great source for information regarding just about every aspect of growing plants in Minnesota. From their site you can identify weeds, insects or find out what’s going on with a sick plant.
   

 

If you want to talk to a horticulturalist, there is one employed by the extension service at the county extension office in Saint Cloud. Call 320-255-6169, Mon-Thurs.

3. Master Gardeners – There is a small army of people passionate about gardening and education; they dedicate countless hours of their free time to pass on their knowledge to the general public. If you call the local extension office (number above) on a Friday, there is a good chance you will have your question addressed by a Master Gardener.

 

4. The Library – Our local libraries have tons of books on gardening on a wide variety of gardening topics. Not only can you get information on plants, but there are also many great books on landscaping and design.

 

5. Ask a friend (and make some new ones) – Even though you spend most of your time creating a space for yourself, you have to admit gardening is a very social activity. There are many local garden clubs such as the Stearns County Horticultural Society or the Granite City Rose Society always looking for new members of all experience levels. Want to try something new? Try Folia.com. Beyond meeting some like-minded people, it is useful for organizing your seeds and planning your garden. I just started using it and think it’s great.

 

Stearns County Horticultural Society

Any questions? Send me a message: steve@tgreenhouses.com.


Feb. 23rd, 2011

Despite the late February snow storm, we are convinced Spring is right around the corner.  The first blooms of the season serve as our reminder and we thought we should share them with you!

Feb. 1st, 2011

Getting excited about the upcoming growing season? Wondering where to get your seed starting supplies? We have a great selection of seed starting pots, mini greenhouses and soil to get your garden off to an early start. Take a look at a few of the products we will have at the greenhouse this year:

 

 

Jiffy Pots

Jiffy pots and pellets- Jiffy pellets have been around for years and there is a good reason for it: They work. I have two reasons for using them. First, you can plant them directly into the ground once the plant is grown. I usually give the pot a little tear at the bottom so it roots into the ground a little faster but in the end you don’t have plastics pots laying around the garage until next spring or taking up space in the garbage. Second, because the pots are porous, the roots stop growing when they hit the outside of the pot and don’t circle around the inside. The circling roots can end up stunting the plant later in the season and the Jiffy pots prevent this.

 

Jiffy Windowsill kit

This is a cool little kit perfect for setting on the windowsill. The kit contains the jiffy pellets that expand as they take on water so there is no need to add soil.  Just add water, wait for the pellets to expand, plant your seeds and you are done.

 

Jiffy Mini Greenhouse

This is another great all-in-one kit from jiffy. It contains 50 jiffy pots in a black tray and a clear plastic cover to keep away the cool winter drafts. It also has a good seed starting mix in the package so there is no extra soil needed to get your seeds started.

 

Heated Mini Greenhouse

One challenge we all face starting seeds in Minnesota is the dry cold weather at this time of year. While some seeds don’t seem to mind the cooler temperatures (cabbage, kale) others such as peppers and eggplant could really go for some extra heat. Try starting a few of your heat loving plants in a mini heated greenhouse. The kit comes with a heat pad to place underneath (where the heat is actually needed) and the plastic top is nice to keep heat in and drafts out. I’ve experienced germination times cut in half just by using this simple kit and another good thing: it can be used from season to season.

 

Thomsen’s Premium Potting Soil

My potting soil of choice is our own Premium potting soil. We worked with Mississippi Topsoils out of Coldspring, MN to create what I think is the best potting soil mix available. It is versatile enough to be used for germinating seeds and growing the plants on into maturity. For very small seeds (poppy, celery) I use an old noodle strainer to sift out the larger pieces so the seeds don’t literally fall through the cracks in the soil. Otherwise it can be used as is for larger seeds (watermelon, pumpkin). One last advantage I will mention is the compost in the soil. It has enough nutrients to sustain the seedlings until they are strong enough for a good shot of fertilizer.

 If you have any questions about seed starting, feel free to send me a message – steve@tgreenhouses.com

May 11th, 2010

If you feed them, they will come, but if you want them to stay I recommend planting bird specific plants to give them a place to eat and play. It helps to have shelter and natural foods to keep our feathered friends happy. And as you may have guessed different plants attract different birds so here are my recommendations for plants for a few types of birds common in the area.

Cardinals get a majority of their diet from eating seeds and fruits so planting shrubs that produce fruits and seeds will certainly keep them in your yard. Shrubs such as dogwoods or viburnums will serve these purposes as well; a dense protective shelter to hide and play within along with fruit to eat. Purple coneflowers are perfect for goldfinches if left standing throughout the winter. Plants with long skinny flowers with plenty of nectar are great for attracting humming birds. One of the easiest to grow plants would have to be Monarda and will also give a long lasting burst of color in the garden for you to enjoy. Orioles enjoy any type of fruit bearing plant but elderberries and raspberries are among their favorites. If you are lucky they may leave a few berries for you to eat!     

Something else many people don’t think of is making a second use of our annuals for the purpose of birding. For example, most people will just throw away their pumpkin seeds after they are done carving and baking but this year take the seeds and place them on an open tray birdfeeder for the cardinals. Another instinct is to automatically pull out all annuals in the fall once they are done blooming and compost them. This year try saving some of the zinnia, cosmos and mum seed heads before you do your plant pulling. These seed heads are great additions to the tray bird feeder in the winter and it is also fun to watch the finches rip them apart looking for the seeds inside.

Happy birding!

 

April 29^{th, 2010}

Our azaleas and rhododendrons are on their way and should be here by the first week of May. Once they do arrive is about the same time the “What is the difference?” question starts coming up. Well, the short answer is not much, but the biggest difference concerning the home gardener comes down to bloom color and leaf retention in the winter. The Rhododendrons that grow in our area are fairly limited as far as flower color but they do hold on to their leaves all winter. The azaleas lose their leaves in the winter but their flowers come in all sorts of colors from creamy white to yellows and pinks. While I think the dark green foliage is too impressive to pass up, I don’t necessarily think you should give up your favorite colors just see leaves in the winter. The blooms of the azalea are colorful enough to be worth the trade off.

PJM in full bloom in the spring.

 PJM with its bronzy winter color.

 Northern Hilites azalea.

 Mandrin lites azalea.

 Orchid lites azalea.

April 22^nd, 2010 – Earth day Special –Trees

Earth Day is always fresh on my mind in the spring because our tree planting days at Thomsen’s always land within a few days of earth’s special day. There are many good reasons to plant a tree but I’m sure you’ve heard all of them in the last week so I’ll actually give you some advice on HOW to select the tree you’ve been told to get.

Things to remember when finding a new tree:

Don’t Fit a Square Tree in a Round Hole – Don’t try to make a tree fit in your landscape if it wasn’t designed for it. I know you always wanted a Japanese maple at the top of that dry sandy hill exposed to strong northwest winter winds but I just don’t think it will work. The tree will be there for many years and a healthy second choice is better than a sickly first. Consider a native or a near relative of a native. These plants have been here much longer than us and have had more than enough time to adapt to the climate. We have some exceptionally beautiful natives and cultivars of these natives. For example: Redmond Linden – It’s a large upright oval shade tree with big deep green leaves. But wait, there’s more! In midsummer the tree blooms and gives off a very sweet scent.

Diversity is very Important – At one point most American streets were lined with American Elm but now it is very rare to see an old Elm standing. After the demise of the American Elm we realized the comparable resilience and beauty of the Ash tree. Now we have a new friend: The ash borer. It is inevitable that our streets will become bare once again. The new trend that makes me a bit worried is the huge maple craze. One out of three trees we sell at Thomsen’s ends up being a maple of some sort. It seems as if we are now replacing ashes and elms with maples and I hope I’m not around when a maple disease of some sort devastates our urban forests. Try picking a unique tree for your yard because chances are that this unique tree will be the last to suffer from a fatal disease. My first choice is the Kentucky Coffee Tree. It grows fast, blooms in the spring and has a very interesting branching habit.   

Get More Bang for your buck - Why are you planting a tree? Even if you are just filling a bare spot in the yard consider getting extra value. If you want a shade tree, why not get one that blooms as well! Try a catalpa or horse chestnut. If you want a more compact flowering tree, try a flowering pear. We carry an especially hardy and compact flowering pear called ‘Korean Sun’. It is very similar to the flowering crab but it has a striking red and purple fall color that can definitely make yard far more colorful without sacrificing the flowering and wildlife attracting qualities of the crab.

Northern Catalpa in full bloom.

 Double flowering horsechestnut with its huge spike of blooms in early summer.

 

Redmond linden showing off its near perfect pyramidal shape as a young tree. Eventually it will mature to a huge upright oval.

 The beautiful fall color of the Korean sun pear is only a third of its beauty.

 

April 19^{th, 2010}

April doesn’t have to just be a month of showers for flowers in May. There are flowers that work just fine in the cool late April weather. Pulsitilla, Pansy, Kale and petunias are all good plants to start with. Even if nights are still too frosty in mid April, a beautiful spring arrangement is worth the little bit of moving involved in moving it to a safer place. 

 If this doesn’t ease the urge to get out in the yard there is still plenty of stuff to do at this time of year. As soon as the frost comes out of the ground it is time to start gardening. If you have fruit trees, this is a good time to apply your dormant spray oils for coddling moth and scales (just make sure the air temp is above 40F). The tree guards can come off at this time of year too. There is plenty of other food for mice and deer now that the snow is gone so they usually don’t touch young trees at this time of year. Your lawn will benefit from a good raking, a bit of aeration and some reseeding. Make sure the ground isn’t too wet which, in Minnesota, is often the case through the middle part of April. Anyway, if you can hold on just a bit longer, summer will be here before you know it!

Pansies provide some vivid early spring color.

 

While nothing else is even considering blooming, the forsythia is in full bloom.

Pulsitilla are probably the first blooming perennials you will see in the spring garden.

 

  

04/01/10

Scientists Successfully Grow the World’s first Meatball Tree

Geneticists in Turkey have successfully bred a tree that produces 2-3 oz balls of meat. Omar Mantlak, one of the scientist involved in the development, says the balls of meat are “as tasty as tasty can be.” The next great step will be to graft the cheese bearing tree to the meatball tree. With these stunning new developments future generations can look forward to orchards of moss covered meatball trees. Upon the eventual release of the crop the scientists are planning to make sure the public covers their meatballs whenever they sneeze to prevent the spread of the tree into the wild. The meatball tree can easily be propagated by seed and as Mantlak warns, “if a single meatball were to roll into the garden it would rapidly turn to mush and sprout a tree. So if you could imagine an entire tree filled with delicious meatballs ready to roll into the garden, we have a potential ecological catastrophe on our hands”   

03/20/10

     

Hello again! I’m back again and ready for another season at Thomsens. I’d like to let you know about some of the new ways to stay in touch with Thomsens. At the beginning of the year we launched our Facebook fan page so if you want to keep current on all things Thomsens, I recommend becoming a fan. Our website will be undergoing some changes too. We are adding more pictures, videos, information and expanding our plant library. We just finished up another great three days at the CMBA home show for the season, giving away over 700 tomatoes and 300 other plants at our booth.

 

At Thomsens most of our greenhouses are heated and quickly filling up with plants happily soaking up the sunny spring weather. We are also preparing for the basket party coming up on the 27th and 28th of March and hope you join us there. Just remember to sign up early so we can accommodate you and all your friends.

That’s all I’ve got for this week but you can look forward to more news from the greenhouses and some gardening tips coming up as the season rolls along. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at steve@tgreenhouses.com. I'd also love to hear about your garden so if you have a gardening success story you would like to share on the Garden Zone site, send me some pictures along with a short description and I'll get it posted for you.

Cheers,

Steve Ruprecht

 

 02/01/2010

Every year we end up getting a number of newly released plants or bring in plants and décor unique to our area. Most people don’t get to see these items until they show up at the greenhouse in the spring but thanks to the wonders of the internet I can now let our biggest fans get a sneak preview of the new releases well before the frost has lifted and all the garden planning has been completed. So, without further ado here’s the first annual WHAT’S NEW AT THOMSEN’S blog!

Plants-

Beauregard and Centennial Sweet Potatoes – Yes, you heard me. We will be one of the few greenhouses actually growing Sweet Potato Transplants. Sometimes you can find unrooted cuttings around here but rarely will you find these plants ready to be potted right into the ground. This shortens the growing season allowing for higher yields and less loss for you!

Trollhaugen Seedless Grape – We finally did it! We found a hardy seedless grape perfect for northern gardens. Trollhaugen is a blue seedless grape with a concord like taste without the surprising crunch of concord seeds. We are hoping to add another great variety of seedless grapes to our line up next year too!

Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea – This is another great surprise for 2010: a pink Annabelle hydrangea! The Annabelle type hydrangeas are some of the most versatile landscape plants so an introduction such as this is really exciting.  For every Invincibelle purchased the breeder of this plant donates a percentage of the sale to Breast Cancer research.

Shockwave denim petunia – This is a great spreading petunia with slightly smaller blooms than other spreaders but the blooms refresh continually giving a more consistent splash of blue in your mixed containers.

Taishan marigolds – These marigolds are amazing! They have large flowers with great color and a good balance of dark green foliage. Their flower heads contain so many pedals that the water runs off the flower. Why is that important? Well, because the water doesn’t sit on the top of the plant for extended periods of time, they last way longer! This specific plant was used in mass plantings at the 2008 Olympics in China and received rave reviews.

New Garden decor -

New line of Pottery – When our retail manager came back from Atlanta this summer she brought a whole new line of pottery with her. New shapes, sizes and colors of pottery, bird baths and other decorations that match all combinations of Thomsen’s plants.

Bird seed – We have always carried some bird related items but this year we went a bit wild. We found a ton of different bird feeders, houses and bird baths ready to be used by your feathered buddies. If that isn’t enough, we also have a lineup of gourmet birdseed to go with our feeders.