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Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Archives: Garden Tips

Gardening tips and suggestions.

Garden Tip #87

Trees are the answer! Or at least trees make our lives better by casting shade, cleaning the air and giving refuge to birds. It’s important to find the right tree for the right place.

  • Great Plant Picks has selected plants that are proven performers in the Pacific Northwest. Complete profiles of all selected trees are available at their website www.greatplantpicks.org or give them a call to get their free booklet (206) 362-8612
  • Use SelectTree, a database from the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute to select attributes that you want your tree to possess, such as clay soil, dry, resistant to verticillium wilt and fragrant flowers (that search suggested ornamental pear). Over 1,000 trees are profiled.
  • More tree information can be found at Virginia Tech Dendrology department fact sheet database, including a recording of the proper pronunciation of the Latin name. Over 800 trees are listed.
  • Friends of the Trees promotes planting trees in our cities to improve our quality of life. Their website also offers tree profiles and has a list of suggested trees for planting under power lines.

Garden Tip #121

Caring for a living Christmas tree takes more work, but the reward is the satisfaction of planting a beautiful, long-lived conifer. Here are some guidelines for easing the transition from nursery to your home, and finally into the garden:

  • Don’t keep the tree inside longer than seven days.
  • Keep it well watered, but not soaking wet. If the root ball is wrapped in burlap place it on top of gravel in a bucket so that it doesn’t sit in water.
  • Keep the room inside as cool as can be tolerated.
  • Gradually reintroduce the tree to cold temperatures by placing it in an unheated garage for a week or two.
  • When you’re ready to plant it (and the ground isn’t frozen) dig the hole the same depth as the root ball, and twice as wide. Don’t add anything to the soil. Remember to water it for at least the next two summers.