FALL IS HERE!!!

Fall is closing in on us fast. Fall and Spring are my two favorite seasons. Many folks say Fall is the best time to plant a tree. Lots of folks say it’s Spring. I have planted trees, thousands of them during both seasons, with great success.

The advantage to planting in the Fall is that rain generally picks up. The temperatures also cool down and plants stop using moisture at such a rapid pace. The environment doesn’t evaporate the moisture in the ground as quickly as well. However, one must make sure even moisture is maintained if superb results are expected in the long run.The following year regular watering is required the entire year. It is generally less demanding than a spring planted tree because the tree had fall, winter and spring to establish some roots before the heat of summer sets in. This is the short version.

That being said we have an excellent selection of trees at the nursery. Maples of all types, Snakebark, Paperbark, Red, Crimson King. Royal Red, Japanese, Korean, etc, etc. There are ten types of Dogwoods, Patio Trees, Crabapples, Cherries, etc…. Just check out the plant catalog on the web site to see the diverse collection of trees we grow.

Being green is a popular topic now days. I have been green a long time. I think I planted my first tree around age eight. It was a birch that my parents and I dug together at a nursery that does not exist anymore- too bad. Anyway, we planted a tree because we wanted a tree in front of our house. We were not necessarily trying to shrink our carbon foot print back in 1978. I still remember that experience we had as a family. If you have children consider planting a tree with them this fall. You can teach them about reducing their carbon foot print if you would like. Or you can share more meaningful facts about trees with them. These in my opinion would be the shade they provide during those hot summer days. How they improve the bleak appearance of the sprawling suburbs, it takes time to break up those straight roof lines but with time it does improve. The shade of a tree can also cool your house with its shade and reduce energy consumption during the summer. If it’s a conifer they can provide wind breaks and reduce heating expenses over the winter.

A tree will grow and become bigger and better each year if you take care of them. Sometimes you get lucky and they just take and grow on their own and take care of you! The one thing you can not beat is the bond a tree can form between two people if they plant it together. Every year you can reflect when you look at that tree grow. In the long run it has got to be the cheapest entertainment available. Or you can look at that tree and know you reduced your carbon foot print. Hopefully it makes you feel good inside. If you really want to look far into the future and leave a legacy for the folks who are not here yet plant a tree. They are hard to attach your name to and get that type of recognition. However, you can be guaranteed for years that tree will be working for you and your legacy 24/7, consuming car exhaust, giving kids a tree to climb, providing leaves or pine needles for a gardener to make mulch with, and giving wildlife a place to live. From time to time someone will comment on how smart the nameless person who planted the tree was. Depending on what kind of tree it is this can go on for hundreds of years. Now that’s a legacy!

Usually the ground here freezes up around Thanksgiving and you can’t plant any more. The time to plant is now! If someone is telling you to be green ask them when the last time they planted a tree was. If it has been a while, get out here to Blue River Nursery and get a tree or two and go plant them together. You will remember it the rest of your life.