...but a lifetime in Horticulture!

Oh, how time flies... It feels like yesterday that my 21-year-old self started my first day here at Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers. I get asked all the time “are you new here?” so I thought this would be a great opportunity to share a little about myself.

This industry is not new to me. Growing up I would take every chance I could get to make a couple of dollars. I earned 10 cents for every spaded tree that I would crimp while helping my grandpa at his Tree Farm and Garden Center. It may not sound like much, but when you are that young a few bucks in your pocket feels like a lot!

When I was not in school or skateboarding, I would continue helping at the tree farm. I learned how to operate machinery and about the basic plants. In my late teens I worked at a local hardscape supply store where I gained experience with brick, natural flagstone, and outcropping. This would go on for four years until I joined the Christensen’s Team.

I remember my first day coming in to work, not knowing what to expect. I started on the receiving crew and what a change! Coming from a small garden center to a large operations re-wholesale center, things were totally different. From unloading one truck a week to having trucks wrapped around the building daily in certain times of the year was a major change that I enjoyed.

I did not realize how little I knew until starting here. Yet I felt welcomed from my first day. Everyone was friendly and very helpful getting me started. Our yard operations manager Chris took me in, gave me the tour and set me up with the crew I would continue working with for the next four to five years. There were some language barriers but that helped me become more attentive on how to operate efficiently and even began sharpening up my Spanish. At times It was tough work and a messy job, but I looked forward to coming to work every day and a job like that is hard to find.

Maybe you've seen me on one of your deliveries? Christensen’s was generous enough to take the time to help me earn my CDL. Again, it felt like another first day! I would help with deliveries when it was needed for the next couple years. 

Around this same time my lovely girlfriend, my business partner, and I opened an Escape Room in Brighton. We had to close due to the pandemic and when we were able to re-open in October of 2020, a truck crashed into our building and we were forced to close again. We decided to move forward, and we sold our company the beginning of 2021.

After a couple years of driving, I found myself on our sales team. With everything I’ve done up to the point of getting into sales and with the help of our knowledgeable staff, it made me very comfortable starting this new journey. I am now part of our outside sales team. I am grateful for having the opportunity of working here and for all who helped me along the journey. I still wake up every morning excited to come to work.

Next time you see me around, feel free to say hi! Cheers to the next ten more!

When I was growing up my father and I planted gladiolus corms in our flower garden next to the house. I remember their bold colors reliably displaying each summer. When I moved into my own home years later I found all sorts of new and exciting colors available. They were beautiful that first year, but the following year I noticed that most of my glads didn’t come back. After some internet-sleuthing I realized that they are supposed to be lifted and stored inside for the winter. So why did they always come back when I was a kid?

Microclimate perhaps? Our main flower garden was against a south-facing brick wall, with years of compost mixed into our sandy soil. Glads don’t like a wet bum, so our native, well-drained soil was a good match. The sun-exposed brick wall warmed up the soil, tempering the chilly winter ground.

Could it have been the heirloom varieties we grew? I’m generally a believer that local heritage varieties are hardier. This seems to be the case with gladiolus. In my experience the new fancy ones, though beautiful, are hit-or-miss with successfully overwintering in our area.

Here are some tips to help you on your way to beautiful spires of color each year:

Plant in pots

Be sure your pots are large and heavy enough so the flowers won’t blow over, also make sure they have drainage holes. Add rocks to the bottom of the pot, top with a sandy soil mix. For an extended blooming season plant pots a couple weeks apart, or mix varieties in the same pot. You can add supports to help the spires stand up as they grow tall. There are shorter, and even dwarf varieties available that may work well in pots without support or the fear of wind damage on balconies. After the flowers are spent it could be a good time to move the pots somewhere less conspicuous, as the plant does not rebloom. Sometime before the first frost, dump out the pots and collect the corms, set them somewhere where they can dry in the open air for a couple days, then lightly cover them up to dry further. For final long-term winter storage place them loosely in layers in a cardboard box, separating layers with newspaper. Keep them in a cool dark place where they may nap until spring, protected from animals and sub-40f temperatures.

Leave ‘em in the ground

With a little bit of luck and some forethought you can have success simply leaving your glads in the ground! Moisture and extreme cold temperatures are what you’re trying to manage. To this end, I have found that digging trenches in sunny areas that are not prone to spring puddling works out well. Planting next to a sun-exposed wall is even better! Dig the trench about 14” deep and fill the bottom 3” with rocks. Mix some native soil with whatever amendments are needed to build a sand-heavy blend with a modest amount of organic matter. Plant the corms at various depths as you fill the trench with soil. I’ve sunk ‘em down 8” with no problems. Hardier varieties such as ‘Violet Queen’ and ‘Atom’, as well as many old heritage classics may help you gain an edge on the colder weather.

Glads will do well with a mulch covering the soil and a balanced fertilizer after emergence.

Okay, so the title may be a little hyperbolic. Biotechnology is only one tool that we can utilize to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide. But there have been many roadblocks preventing biotech from becoming widely used, most of them political or financial in nature.

The genetic modification of plants has been occurring for millennia. One of the earliest known cultivated plants is the banana, purpose-grown for 10,000 years.

The original wild banana of Asia bore a dense, seed-heavy fruit that was difficult to eat. When naturally occurring seedless hybrids of wild varieties were discovered, people soon began propagating these by cuttings and the seeded varieties were abandoned.

The Arctic Apple is a great example of genetic modification in the commercial market. In 1996, Okanagan Specialty Fruits was formed in British Columbia. The purpose of the company was to explore opportunities for genetic modification in apples. They developed existing technology that was used to stop browning in potatoes to work on the enzyme that causes browning in apples. In 2002, after successful trials, the Arctic Apple was introduced to the market. This apple does not turn brown when sliced! Consumers are happier with the appearance of the apples, and the removal of the need to treat apples to stop browning lowers production costs.

Since the early 20th century, scientists have been engineering genetically modified rice to help solve malnutrition and famine in the developing world. At last estimate, around 125-130 million preschool aged children in the developing world suffered from Vitamin A deficiency due to malnutrition. The Humanitarian Golden Rice project was developed to help combat the lack of Vitamin A found in their diet. Scientists engineered the rice to synthesize Vitamin A in the starch tissues. The Project has faced at least ten years of trials and delay due to the extensive regulation surrounding Genetically Engineered species. Genetically Engineered species have undergone much more testing and is precise and predictable when compared to traditional breeding methods which have gone largely unregulated for years.

I sincerely hope that global regulations loosen up a bit in the coming years so that those who researched, executed, and tested these wonderful modifications have a chance to actually help others the way they intended to. Maybe one day the world will welcome innovation rather than treat it with suspicion and hostility.

At one time we had a 10-day tagging policy and we always tried, in spite of limited yard space, to honor that. Many times those tags would even get re-dated until the order eventually left, or was possibly cancelled! This had the effect of tying up inventory that could have been sold while it was fresh and pretty, disappointing everyone. I can’t even tell you the number of times tags got switched or removed and material “stolen”, leading to near-fistfights in the yard.

When we changed to a 5-day tag policy along with adding storage space we were able to hold more material and keep everyone happy – until BOOM – economic recession. Companies were wiped out, people were laid off, and growers had to cut back production in order to stay afloat.

The recession eventually ended. Even though significant financial damage was accrued, new demand for material skyrocketed. In our line of work, plants take time to get to a saleable size. Our industry was just getting caught up when the COVID crisis hit. All those people staying home decided to fix up the place, leading to – yep – new shortages.

With record levels of demand for nearly everything many growers sold into the following season’s crops. The demand hasn’t slowed, and it is getting difficult to find new sources of plant material let alone trucks to get it here.

To fill orders for projects, we may find ourselves having to hold material longer than 5 days when, for instance, a ship date is set but a truck is not available. All committed material is marked with order and/or delivery date information. Under NO circumstances are contractors allowed to pull off those tags. We can’t monitor everything that happens here, but we are very good at knowing what material is “No Touchy!” Yes, you can always ask, orders do get cancelled and you might just get lucky.

It’s story time now: 

Recently a contractor’s customer (I will refer to this person as CC) came in early to look around before their appointment time. As I’m working on preparing an order for another contractor, I notice the CC wandering around in our Japanese maple house. Something didn’t seem quite right, so I went in closer to investigate. As I enter the Japanese maple house, I see them removing tags from a tree I had triple-tagged for someone else and putting them on a different tree. So, I approach and say “Excuse me, CC, are you removing tags from that maple?”. The CC, LITERALLY with a tag in their hand tying it to the other maple, says, “No.”

No! You can’t make this stuff up.

CC is caught red-handed. I then say, “CC, that maple that you are removing the tags from, that I personally tagged, is leaving on Tuesday next week. Do NOT do that, and please put the tags back on it”. As I returned to the main shop, I alerted my coworkers to this CC and another sales representative went to engage them. They were politely asked to wait in their vehicle until their contractor arrived, and the rest of their visit was supervised. And trust me, any time we catch someone doing this, we remember. I repeat: WE REMEMBER.

So please, when visiting the nursery, respect material that has tags on it, and respect your fellow contractors who are just trying to get by same as you are. We do our best to look out for you but we can’t be everywhere, and you would not appreciate getting hit by the Karma Bus yourself one day.

How's everyone doing? I think we are now past the worst of the summer heat but to be honest I was ready for fall weeks ago. We may like to complain about the weather but when you are out in the hot burning sun day after day I think it's justified. Congratulations on making it through the dog days! Labor Day is the traditional end of summer but you and I both know there will be weeks of beautiful - even hot - weather before we trade sunscreen and Gatorade for hoodies and Carhartts. But today, let's get out of the sun for a minute and do some shade gardening.

I'm a big fan of shade gardening, and the plants that thrive in shade and partial shade. I used to have an enormous Hosta collection but now that I am gardening in the country I had to scale back on those because they are basically expensive entrées for our hordes of deer. I keep a few favorites behind fences but out in the yard I have better luck with ferns. 

Lest you think that all ferns need daylong shade, I have quite a colony of Ostrich fern that do just fine in nearly full sun. In fact they were getting a little carried away so I had to take some of them out. Here they are happily crushing my baptisia.

You're going to need to provide supplemental water especially under big trees, but established ferns can be surprisingly drought tolerant. Maidenhair fern can be a little fussy but Autumn, Lady, Male and Cinnamon fern are all happy in part sun to full shade, which is also where you will find ME when it's 90° or better. And you should really try to have some Painted fern if at all possible. 

So let's take a break from summer heat and enjoy this word search puzzle created by our very own Jeff Good. (Answers here)

In early March 2021, I lgot off the plane in Phoenix and began my Arizona vacation by heading up toward the Grand Canyon. I knew I was in that desert environment so prominently romanticized in Western films due to the mighty Saguaro cacti I could see in every direction. If you see a wild Saguaro, you can be certain you are in the Sonoran. This 100,000 square mile desert in Arizona, Sonora Mexico, and a corner of California is the only place this cactus grows.

A Saguaro is hard to miss. They average 10-52 feet high with the tallest on record being 78 feet. When fully hydrated they can weigh between 3200 and 4800 pounds. These dimensions are reached over its 150-200 year lifespan. They have 3 inch spines, and had I been there in April, I may have seen its waxy white flower bloom. The root system typically fans out as far as the cactus is tall, about 3 to 6 inches underground with a 3 inch tap root.

If you live in Arizona, but don't have a Saguaro on your property, you can have one planted. The best time is fall after the monsoon season. Plants under 5' can be purchased and planted by your average homeowner. Larger specimens require heavy equipment including cranes and backhoes. As much of the root system as possible must be preserved and the cactus must be planted in the same orientation in regards to the sun as it was where it was taken from. Only authorized companies are allowed to harvest Saguaro from landowners willing to sell them. Cacti with arms are more expensive than ‘spears’. Armless spears cost about $75-$125 a foot. A one-armed 75-90 year old specimen can go for $1500-$2300 installed. A large transplant cannot be deemed successful until an entire year has passed. I would hate to be the person who paid $2300 for a dead cactus, which does not include removal. When planting young Saguaro (sounds like a safer bet, but not nearly as impressive), make sure to give them a shade providing ‘nurse’ plant like the Palo Verde to give them a break from the unrelenting sun. If you don’t live in Arizona or Mexico, small plants can be grown indoors provided they have plenty of sun.

If I lived in southwest Arizona I think I would just go visit them at their home instead of kidnapping them and forcing them to live at mine, since they are plentiful inside and outside of urban areas. Or, I could just buy a piece of property that already has some.

So, remember...If you are lost and see Saguaros, relax. You are in the Sonoran desert and have narrowed down your location to an area about 100,000 square miles, and you are most likely in Arizona or Mexico. Technically no longer lost, at least on a global scale.

I’ve always thought of myself as traditional. I’ll be the first to admit, in my personal life, I am not an “early adopter”. For example, I finally started feeling comfortable using my iPod right about the time that Apple decided to begin discontinuing them. I find comfort in the familiar and have turned into a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to trying something new.

However, the agriculture industry was all shaken up by last year's introduction of the Cosmic Crisp apple. I sat up and took notice, mainly because I love Honeycrisp apples but think they are expensive and difficult to find. I like this variety so much that a few years back, I did some research on them. It turns out that Honeycrisp are difficult for an orchardist to cultivate and ship to stores. Not just a little difficult… really strenuous. It only wants to bear fruit every other year. Because of its thin skin, about 35-40% of the harvest is damaged and cannot be sold. And on top of that, the labor to harvest is increased through preventative measures to carefully pack to prevent damage in shipping. The final straw is that cold storage is difficult and generally only viable for 9 months.

So, what does all this mean for apple producers? A whole lot of hassle on a consumer favorite apple that just keeps growing in popularity.

Enter the Cosmic Crisp. Bred for superior taste, appearance, shelf life and disease resistance, this variety took the things that made other apples difficult to sell or produce and tried to solve them. It seems they have succeeded. Taste tests with consumers have gone well and cold storage tests have gone even better with more than a year of storage capacity.

My status as an early adopter might have to change, because I tried Cosmic Crisp the first season they arrived in grocery stores, last fall. I’m such a fan that I’ve been looking for them ever since. Unfortunately, quantities are limited and more expensive. So, I really didn’t solve my Honeycrisp riddle, merely moved it to a new focus. However, I have hope that the Cosmic Crisp will improve in both availability and price, since they are not facing the same production issues that the Honeycrisp are still struggling to overcome.

In our industry, we see hundreds of new plants come onto the market every year. Breeders are striving to improve the flaws in each genus. Are they succeeding? Yes. How do we know? We’re “taste-testing” them individually and watching what the experts at University trials are reporting. Your team here at Christensen’s does their research on all the plants we offer. We’re happy to point you towards the best options for your installation.

With the amazing number of bulb varieties in the world it is always a difficult task to decide what to order for our shelves each season, which is why we encourage you to order ahead of time (now) if you want something in particular.

We get 80% of our bulbs from the same vendor and have been doing business with them for over 30 years. We continue this relationship because they can provide the best quality and size bulbs. People always ask if size matters, and the answer is YES!  The bigger the bulb, the older the bulb. It is like buying an already established plant in a little package. You get a stronger plant with lots of blooms and instant display. The plants themselves are also more robust, producing more bulblets for more flowers!

All bulb packages show the bulb size, which is measured in centimeters and references the girth of the bulb at the widest point. When we say a bulb is “top size” that means you are getting bulbs at the high end of the range and you will see that reflected in the garden next season. Your customer will expect a nice display, but how about giving the unexpected - a grand display!

As you will notice on the bulb mailer we sent out recently, many of our varieties are tried and true and have earned their place as staples. Start with the Emperor tulips, with their large flowers, many colors, and sturdy stems. Another classic choice are Darwin Hybrid tulips. Blooming a little later than the Emperors, they also have strong stems, lots of colors, and are known to perennialize, which can maximize their potential. The dark plum ‘Negrita’ Triumph tulip is another show-stopper - pair it with a pink like ‘The Cure’ or ‘Pink Impression’ and wow!

If you are a narcissus fan, you can’t go wrong with ‘Dutch Master’ (yellow), or ‘Mount Hood’ (white). But you can certainly mix it up a little by choosing other varieties in different heights and colors to add some kick or longevity. The white and yellow ‘Ice Follies’ is a gorgeous traditional narcissus that can naturalize and withstands cold, wet spring weather.

Everyone must have a giant Allium, of course! Some people look at them as niche, others think of them as truly great performers. Bulbous Alliums require a little patience. They do not look like the picture on day one, but oh… give them time and they will stand up straight at 3’ with massive purple globes.

Don’t overlook the minor bulbs - not very tall but they get a lot of attention as they are our first look at spring. Many of them naturalize and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a great sea of blue scilla carpeting the flowerbeds. Crocus large and small, Chionodoxa, Iris, Muscari and the short early narcissus like ‘Tete-a-Tete’ prove themselves year after year.

If you’re not installing bulbs in your designs, it’s time you did - take your client’s landscapes from wow to POW!

Adhesives hold our world together - literally. Industrial products of all kinds require bonds of varying strength to perform their function, from the furniture in your living room to the parts that intricately connect and hold together the automobile in your driveway. Due to my numerous hobbies I have easily fifteen different varieties in my basement right now. Luckily in our industry, we do not need quite that many. So let's talk about the main two types of adhesive products that you can choose from to make walls and steps; solvent based or polyurethane based.

The first is solvent-based adhesive like our VOC compliant SRW. This style has been the longest in the market and is still highly used. It cures as the solvent evaporates, leaving the polymers. (Cons are toxic and flammable fumes in non-VOC compliant products.) The pros for this product are price and availability, an extremely long shelf life, and basic ease of use. There are a wide range of curing times which are affected by heat, humidity, and moisture. The product will also shrink due to the amount of evaporation during the curing process, which mostly isn't a factor in our industry.

The next type of adhesive is polyurethane-based, such as Brickstick. The curing process for this product uses air and moisture. Since there are no solvents, there is no shrinking or cracking while this product cures. It can also withstand higher temperatures like you would see in a fire pit or fireplace. Lastly, the speed at which this product cures is probably the most significant reason this type of adhesive is sought after. However, that speed can also be problematic if you need to move, shift, or rearrange something so plan accordingly. It is also harder to remove from hands or tools. The shelf life is under a year so pay attention to that when stocking up.

Both types of adhesives will perform well for most of your applications. They are both usable in rain or snow, so mother nature won't get in the way. Both are low-VOC compliant (volatile organic compound) so enclosed areas are no problem. Here at Christensen's we stock both types of adhesive, to have you covered in whichever choice you make. Ask one of our salesmen about the whats and whys so we can better help adhere to your needs and stick you with a great product.

Earlier in life I enjoyed a lack of sensitivity to our old friend, poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). The allergic reaction to this plant can wax and wane throughout one's life, but most of us start out allergic and stay allergic, with the effects growing worse with each exposure. I had a friend that even got it in the winter, but I never did. Part of it was that I quickly learned to recognize it even at a distance, especially after noticing the resemblance to Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica), a safe-to-handle ornamental native shrub. Check out this website here for some examples.

However. A few years ago (OK, it was 15) I was surprised by a nasty case that required a course of steroids to get rid of. Maybe doing that woodland cleanup on a humid day wasn't such a good idea? Now I dedicate myself to avoiding poison ivy at all costs. I didn't encounter too much of it in my suburban garden but out here in my country garden holy heck it is everywhere. The tricky part is to not only look for those "leaves of three" but those tell-tale rooty vines clambering up tree trunks, with no foliage at eye-level where you stand a chance of noticing it, until popping great big leaves in the canopy, blending in with your hardwoods. Don't lean on any tree trunks!

A major issue is that poison ivy foliage is extremely variable. The three-leaf thing is definitely an ID point, but the darn leaves can be notched or smooth, matte or a bit shiny. The one thing that seems constant is it's exceptional vigor - it looks green and healthy all season until it bursts into glorious fall color. And while poision ivy is usually seen as a vine or groundcover, it can get quite woody and shrublike with age.

Another thing that confuses people is that there are OTHER vining plants found in the same habitat. Can you reliably tell wild grape and woodbine (parthenocissus) from poision ivy? Another fooler - baby boxelder seedlings. Even I sometimes glove up to pull one, just to be on the safe side. But I will tell you, if you see white berries on a vine, you are looking at poison ivy. Incidentally those berries are a valued food for plenty of wildlife which helps explain why it comes up everywhere.

In other (unwelcome) news, climate change is is making poison ivy both more virulent and allergenic. Ugh. Climate change is making poison ivy stronger and itchier

To remove it one must either pull it or use Roundup (glyphosate). Sever the vines that are climbing your shade trees, treat the fresh-cut stump, and spray any regrowth that occurs. Forget those "organic" salt and vinegar recipes, it's just going to re-sprout, and salting the soil is undesirable. And you must never, ever burn it as the smoke is toxic. Goats eat it, so you could see about renting a herd of them to clean up your acre, like the City of Ann Arbor does. Keep a bottle of Technu by the sink, and in your work truck or garden tool bag for fast treatment if you think you've been exposed and you might save yourself a trip to the doctor for a steroid pack.