Here’s a scene that plays out pretty frequently at the Nursery. A gardener comes in to ask about their dying outdoor plants. In the course of conversation, it will become apparent that the problem is their plants simply aren’t getting enough water.

The gardener is shocked. “But I water my plants all the time,” he or she will insist.

Well…it’s likely that a couple of things are happening. One is that the plants need water more frequently than anticipated (for example, a plant in a container outside should be watered two or three times a day, and for hanging plants that might be more in really hot or windy weather).

More often, the issue is that the plant is being watered incorrectly. So here are some tips on how to make sure your plants are getting enough moisture:

First of all, always water the plant prior to planting, otherwise the root ball will harden as it dries. That means every time you think you are watering your plant, it’s actually going around the root ball and saturating the surrounding soil. It looks like it’s wet, but the root ball is dry.

And here’s a handy rule of thumb for new plants: the bigger the plant and its leaves, the more water it will need on a regular basis to maintain itself.  New plantings should be watered up to two times a day and, like container plants, should be watered more frequently if it’s excessively hot or windy.

The bottom line is that new plants cannot be left for days without water;  most won’t even last a single day without it.

Another thing that trips people up is when to water during cold weather. You still have to do it. Even if the plant has gone dormant it cannot survive more than a couple of weeks without water. Setting a schedule for winter watering the first three years is imperative. This is when your plant “establishes” itself, meaning its roots move out into the native soil. 

That leads us to drip irrigation which, if you’ve ever read this blog before, you’ll know we are big fans of here at Warner’s Nursery.

The gradual and easy watering of drip irrigation is a great blessing to your plants and here’s why:

• Drip irrigation teaches the roots of your plant to grow deep and ensures that the entire root ball is saturated every time you water.
• It saves both money and water. When you water with a hose, something like 400 gallons per hour can come out, but a lot of that water is being wasted. It rushes out at such a high rate that only the surface of the soil is reached; it never penetrates more than an inch or two and certainly not down to where the roots need it.
• It’s way more efficient than the alternatives. Drip irrigation has an efficiency of 95% compared to 50% for overhead sprinklers or hand watering. 
• It lets your plants “breathe.” We’ve been spending all this time talking about water, but roots need air too. Most garden plants will drown if the roots are submerged in water for a period of time. Sprinklers and hand watering produce puddles that can displace air in the soil. If the puddles do not have a chance to drain quickly, any plants with their roots under water can be stressed or die. Because drip irrigation works slowly, drop by drop, it never displaces the air in the soil.

And here’s the really good news: drip irrigation isn’t as expensive as you may think. For 100 feet of watering, it will cost you a few hundred dollars to have a system professionally installed or you can DIY it for about $100. And if you think of the gallons of water you won’t be wasting (and the plants you won’t have to replace because they’ve died of thirst), it’s likely you’ll recoup that money pretty quickly.

Please stop by or give us a call if you have any questions about drip irrigation or how you can better water your plants to keep your garden lush this summer. We’d love to help.

Happy gardening,
Misti

Last month, we celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day. You might have missed it, given all the focus on Covid-19, but it was an important milestone. Think about how much has changed in our view of the ecology in the past five decades: we reduce, reuse and recycle; lower our carbon footprint; and work to conserve water.

What we choose to plant and how we choose to maintain is another way we can be ecologically sound.

It starts with picking the right plants for your garden. Select plants that are well suited to your area, keeping in mind climate, sun exposure and the amount of rainfall the area gets. Additionally, you need to consider plants that are disease- and insect-resistant (Potentilla and Russian Sage are great choices). This will lessen the need to be dependent on artificial insecticides or fungicides. 

How you plant also will help some of the most important (if tiniest) gardeners on the planet – bees, birds and butterflies. Most of our flowering plants and about a third of the food we eat are due to these horticultural dynamos. So plant flowers that appeal to these pollinators throughout the year, like crocus in spring, snapdragons and foxglove in the summer, and zinnias and asters in the fall.

The way you feed and water your garden can also help the earth. Look into drip irrigation, which has several advantages over hand-watering and sprinklers because it puts the water exactly where it is needed. It also delivers water at a rate that the soil can absorb it; often hand-watering and sprinklers shoot out water too fast, meaning it is lost to run off or evaporation. 

The other way to be water wise is to take advantage of what nature already offers us – free water in the form of rain. Monsoon season is coming up, and for the cost of a rain barrel and a regulator, you can capture that rain and use it to water your garden. 

Feeding your garden can also be done in an environmentally responsible way. Compiling organic material such as food waste, leaves, grass, twigs and lawn clippings in a bin where they can decompose and then be added to your garden as a soil amendment will help feed and naturally protect your plants.  Adding composted material to your soil helps to increase drainage and support microorganisms that are beneficial to your garden. Doing so also reduces the amount of waste that winds up in our local dumps.

And last, but not least, you can show your commitment to the ecology by doing some of the most humble work in gardening– weeding and keeping debris out of your yard. We all know that every summer, northern Arizona is vulnerable to wildfire. Maintaining your yard and getting rid of green waste helps reduce the fuels that fires feed on.

We at Warner’s Nursery are available if you have any questions on how to make your garden more ecologically sound. We’d be happy to discuss this or any other tips for sustainable living in your garden or landscape.

Take care,
Misti

So what does Mom want this Mother’s Day?

That’s kind of a thorny issue this year because all of the things that you’d typically give a hardworking Mom on her special day are not options in the era of COVID-19 and social distancing.

A relaxing massage? Well, since you can’t exactly provide that as a curbside service, it probably won’t work. The traditional mani-pedi? Same problem. Dinner at a lovely restaurant with great vibe? Well, you can visit it and soak up the atmosphere for about three minutes while you wait for your takeout order. It’s just not the same.

And even those cute gifts that your kids make at school, those adorable crafts that just make your heart sing – well, the kids aren’t in school and it might be hard to get the cardboard, yarn and tissue paper needed to make them at home. 

So I think the big thing is to focus on what I believe most mothers want (because it’s what I know I would want this year): more quality time with the family.

Now I can hear you saying, “Wait a minute. I’ve been 24/7 with my spouse and children for the past six weeks. How much more togetherness can we possibly stand?”

But notice I said quality time. Time relaxing and just enjoying each other’s company. Time doing things that are fun and engaging. Time that isn’t dictated by what you “have” to do (like homeschooling or chores) or what you do just to idly pass the time because you are stuck in your house (hello, Netflix binges.)

So this year, maybe don’t stress the gifts so much. Aim for the activities that she loves, in order to show her your love.

And here’s where I’m going to do a plug for gardening. There’s nothing like giving Mom flowers that will last all season long and playing in the dirt together. Or maybe getting those tomato plants started – fun and yummy.

Or planting a new tree. That’s a real sign of hope in a scary time, isn’t it, planting a sapling that won’t reach maturity for a while. What a way of saying that you believe tomorrow is going to be better.

Gardening will get your whole family outdoors in the clean, fresh air. It will let you soak up the sun. And it will put you in contact with the beauty of living things.

We’d love to help you pick out the perfect items for Mom (from a distance of course) or fill a curbside to-go order of plants for you. 

I hope everyone has a very, very happy Mother’s Day next Sunday. 

Happy gardening,
Misti

I know many of you might be kind of bored right now.

Unless you are one of the essential employees protecting our life and health or providing us with food and other necessities, the world has gotten a lot smaller lately. Your commute to work might have shrunk to the distance between your bed and wherever your laptop is. Or maybe you aren’t working and dealing with all the uncertainty that brings. You also could be busier than ever, homeschooling your kids and keeping your household running, but feel trapped within your four walls. 

Might I suggest nature as an anecdote to whatever might be ailing you.

Because for all the things coronavirus has taken away from us these last few weeks, being able to enjoy nature isn’t one of them. You can easily practice social distancing while soaking up the sun in your own backyard, hiking the trails (which for the most part are still open in northern Arizona) and appreciating all the wonder that plants and animals have to offer.

Here’s just a small list of what getting outside can give you during these difficult times:

• An escape. Don’t get me wrong; I’m grateful for all the technology that allows us to stay informed and connected. But every once and a while, I need to get away from it. 
• Vitamin D. You can never underestimate the power of the sun to recharge your immune system. And just 10 to 15 minutes a day is all you need. 
• Fresh air. Nothing like it to clear the head and calm the nerves.
• Exercise. I think we’ve all heard the jokes about the “Freshman 15” and the “Covid 19.” Or how it’s hard to maintain six feet of social distancing between yourself and your fridge. Cooking is one of our big hobbies now and exercise is the natural counterbalance to all that extra eating.
• Hope. Enjoying the beauty of plants and trees, listening to songbirds, inhaling the amazing smell of fresh-cut lawns and playing in the dirt always makes me hopeful. It puts things into perspective; the world is bigger than this crisis and it’s here for us to enjoy.

Obviously, being a gardening enthusiast, much of my outdoor time is getting my flowerbeds planted and putting in my veggies. Growing your vegetable garden and your fruit trees are another tangible – and really tasty – benefit of nature right now. 

But for those of you who can’t get out of the house or apartment, nature can come to your home in the form of houseplants. They offer many of the same benefits – cleaning your air and giving you something to grow. (If you are new to houseplants, I’m going to recommend a pothos. They are among the simplest to care for and are easy to propagate.)

So as you soldier on through these days, looking forward to a time when we can gather together again and emerge from our various lockdowns, I hope that you take the time to reconnect with nature. It has a lot to offer you, not the least of which is a promise of a brighter future to come.

Happy Gardening!
Misti

During this time of anxiety and uncertainty, the thing that gives me hope and a sense of peace is right outside my door where…

My baby daffodils are blooming.

I know that might not seem like much. It’s spring, bulbs bloom, that’s their job. But honestly, I’m taking my victories where I can find them nowadays.

Seeing my perennials come back, marveling at the hardiness of pansies and violas, catching the awesome pale green of new leaves on the trees – those are the highlights of my days.

Spring is in the air folks – and now more than ever, we need to enjoy it.

The health benefits of gardening have been noted even when there isn’t an emergency going on. Being out in the fresh air, the satisfaction of growing something and the sheer beauty of flowers and tastiness of veggies and herbs that you cultivate are all wonderful for your mental wellbeing.

Even the soil wants to make you happy, apparently. Microbes that are essential for the life cycle of plants also stimulate serotonic production in humans. One study showed that bacteria in the soil works on neurons in a fashion similar to Prozac. No wonder we love to play in the dirt.

But now, in this time with lots of folks working from home or practicing self-isolation, horticulture is becoming even more important. Gardening reminds you to get outside (or bring a little of the outdoors in with houseplants). It gives you the opportunity to walk away from the tv news or the social media feeds and get a needed break. It alleviates boredom. And it give you something awesome to do with your kids, who might be having some boredom issues of their own.

So I hope that during this time you don’t give up on gardening. It has the potential to nourish you body and soul and give you a reprieve from all the bad news out there.

Because every time I look at my baby daffodils, I know that Mother Nature is giving us hope for the season to come.

Happy Gardening!
Misti

Here’s a startling thought: Our soils are endangered.

I know, I know. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment and now I’m telling you that you have to worry about the earth under our feet too. But I wouldn’t be mentioning it if there wasn’t a solution. So let’s talk about how we got here – and how we can make it better.

First off, what happened that caused us to treat our soil like dirt?

Prior to the 20th century, soil was healthy and organically dense. It was the source of good, nutritious botanical delights, and with proper crop rotation, it naturally replenished itself. 

But erosion and deforestation have washed away a third of the world’s topsoil, taking much of its benefits away in the process. And crops today are developed for increased yield, not nutritional value, a classic case of quantity over quality. 

If current trends continue, soil as we know it will be gone by 2050, according to the United Nations Food & Agricultural Association.

But there are things we can do to help regenerate our soils. Here’s the Top 5 soil friendly habits you can practice at home:

1. Whether it’s broccoli or begonias, it’s important to plant your garden organically.

2. Reduce waste by composting and create a probiotic for your soil. Added benefit: it will reduce your household trash significantly.

3. Test your soil and replenish it with organic fertilizers.

4. Till with worms and organic composts.

5. Grow green manures, cover and pulse crops such as buckwheat, beans, lentils and clover. They do double duty- enriching garden nutrients while controlling weeds.

These steps will give you healthy, happy and organically rich soil for your garden.

I hope you are managing to enjoy Spring, even as concerns about coronavirus abound. Speaking of which, please check out our homepage for information on what we are doing in response to COVID-19 to keep you (and us!) safe and some new options for shopping with us.  

Happy Gardening!
Misti