Big, juicy, blue-hued, round fruits that are high in antioxidants and nutrients plus kid-friendly for picking! Blueberries are delightful finds in the wild with patches remaining a well-kept family secret!  With incredible ornamental offerings for the landscape, including fine-textured foliage, fall color, delightful white spring blossoms, and the cute stars on the bottoms of each little juicy blue gem - Blueberries have long been crowd favorites! As versatile in the vegetable and kitchen garden, as landscaping edibles, and healthful additions to our tables! Thriving in a wide range of climates across the US, attracting pollinators galore and feeding birds too, Blueberries are good for much more than just their fruit! But did you know how many kinds of Blueberry Bushes are really out there?  Blueberry Bush Care Container Grown Blueberries Pruning 101: Types of Blueberry Bushes How Long Until the First Harvest The Right One For You! Blueberry Bush Care - Are Blueberries Easy to Grow? Growing Blueberries may seem daunting, but it’s really much easier than you’d think with just a few tips to keep in mind!  As with any fruiting bush or tree, full sun is going to help your shrub produce the most flowers and therefore the largest crops of big juicy berries possible! Situate your shrubs in an area with good air circulation, plenty of regular moisture and slightly on the acidic side of the pH scale.  What is the best time of year to plant Blueberry Bushes? Spring or fall is best so they don’t have to compete with heat to establish their roots that first year, but with careful attention and watering, you can plant Blueberries any time during the growing season! Location:  Blueberries prefer full sun and, although they will grow in part shade, however, this will usually result in a less flavorful berry and much smaller yields. In areas of low humidity and high pH water, it is often recommended that Blueberry plants be protected from the hot late afternoon sun. Soil Type:  Blueberries will perform well in a number of soil types, just as long as the soils are well-drained, acidic and high in organic matter. It is recommended to get a reading on your soil pH before planting. Northern Highbush and Rabbiteye Blueberries prefer acid-rich soil with a pH of 6.0 or lower. For the Half-Highs, an even lower pH of 5.5 is needed. A simple soil test kit or meter should be used to meter and monitor your soil’s pH. Adjusting pH:  Prepare soils for planting by adding sulfur and peat moss or chucked coir, all of which help to reduce pH naturally. Use a soil meter to check the pH regularly. Amendments should be added as needed to achieve and maintain the required pH. The addition of organic fertilizers such as feather meal, cottonseed, or fish meal will help to keep the pH down. In many parts of the country, the soil is already moderately acidic, so very little needs to change. However, many tap water sources can lean towards alkalinity, so collecting and watering with rainwater is preferred. Planting:  Blueberries like to grow in soil that is rich in organic matter. When planting, dig your hole as deep as your plant's container and twice as wide. Add a 25% mix of compost, oak leaf mold or aged sawdust to the backfill. Remove the Blueberry plant from the pot, and with your hands, or water, break up the bottom portion of soil away to loosen them. Spread the loosened roots out and backfill the hole. Do not plant deeper than the soil line that exists in the container. Pack soil firmly around roots. Mulch & Watering:  Blueberry bushes require good drainage, so water cannot pool around their roots for long. Blueberry roots are shallow and benefit from a bermed or mounded planting location in poor drainage situations. Those surface roots also benefit from a good layer of arborist mulch or pine bark chips. Apply 4 inches deep and up to 2 feet outside of the perimeter of the canopy. This will help decrease the Blueberry plant’s water needs and keep the root system cool. Tips for Growing Blueberry Plants in Containers When growing in the ground is not possible or simply too much trouble, you'll be glad to hear that Blueberry Bushes make the perfect container plant! Space-saving, convenient and controlled soil conditions, growing your Blueberry in a pot or planter takes the guesswork out of soil and moisture. All varieties of Blueberries are good for container growing and there you can control the soil pH better, so this technique is highly recommended. Selecting the Container: Choose a container that is 24" across to start, with and they have a good, well-draining soil mix. Make sure that the pot has plenty of drainage holes in the bottom, at least three to four 1-inch holes drilled out in the bottom. Avoid ceramic or clay pots as they both heat up to very high temperatures and are slow to cool down. They also wick water, causing the roots to dry out quicker. Resin pots have better insulation and are lightweight. Soil Mix:  Start with an acid-loving plant potting soil, commonly recommended for Azaleas, Camellias and Rhododendrons. Combine one part potting soil with one part pine or fir bark and one part peat moss. For even better water-holding, use a combination of one-half peat moss and one-half chunk coir in lieu of the straight-up peat moss. Planting:  Plant by first removing gently from the nursery pot, then loosen the bottom of the roots with the hose or gentle fingers to separate any clumps. Backfill the pot with prepared soil mix to a depth that allows the top of your Blueberry plant's root ball to sit 2 to 3 inches below the top of your container, but level with the new soil level. This provides a lip to contain water and to allow for mulching. Winter Care:  Blueberries are very sensitive to dry conditions so keep them watered as needed. In colder climates, move your Blueberry plant container to a protected location, like on the east side of your home, in a window well, or in an unheated garage if needed. Cover the container with straw or wrap it with burlap to protect the root from freezing. Mulch and Watering:  Pay attention to watering in the summer as Blueberries prefer to be on the moist side and their surface roots can dry out and overheat quickly. Watch for heat spikes in the summer that may require additional water. This is common in containers. Add a 2-inch layer of mulch to the top of the pot to hold in moisture and insulate the root system. Blueberry Pruning 101: Pruning blueberry bushes is necessary to maintain their health. However, you must be careful as pruning can directly affect the fruit production of your plant. Pruning is best done when the bush is dormant, either in the late fall or the early spring. Spring is often the preferred time because you will be able to see which (if any) branches were damaged through the winter and need to be trimmed. Once you have removed the damaged branches, you will want to remove some of the lower growing branches. You can control the height by trimming some of the more vigorous upright shoots. You will also want to thin out some of the older weaker canes. After these have been trimmed, you can select some of the smaller, thinner (or spindly) branches. Keep in mind that berries are grown on canes that are at least 1 year old, so any branches you trim will not produce berries. The more severe the pruning, the fewer berries you will be able to harvest and the growing season will be shorter. At the same time, you don't want to skip pruning. Although mild pruning will lead to a longer harvest and more berries, they will be smaller. If damaged and weak branches go unattended, the quality of the berry will diminish and the bush will be more susceptible to issues like insects and diseases that can limit your crop. Types of Blueberry Bushes There are actually 5 different types of Blueberry Bushes! They all have their own unique characteristics that are helpful to know before picking the Blueberry Bush that’s right for you.  Northern Highbush Southern Highbush Lowbush Rabbiteye Half-High Do You Need Two Blueberry Bushes To Get Fruit? Generally, everyone does better with the help of a friend. The same goes for fruiting bushes and Blueberries! Most varieties are self-fertile to partially self-fertile, and a few need a pollinator species planted nearby. Read on below about the different types of Blueberries and their pollination needs. Northern Highbush These Blueberries are native to the eastern part of the US and will often grow to be on the larger side. Going by the botanical name Vaccinium corymbosum, Highbush are self-fertile and doesn’t need a pollinator (but adding another variety close by can increase your crop size and can sometimes even extend your harvest season). These are great options for those in colder climates.  Pink Icing™ - One of the most interesting Highbush varieties Duke - A classic Blueberry Elliot - A great pollinators variety Cabernet Splash - Features fantastically hued foliage! Earliblue - A great Heirloom variety Southern Highbush These Blueberries were developed for warmer regions of the south and need fewer chill hours each year to actively produce fruit. These will also get to be about 6-8 feet tall and are self-fertile, however, again, planting another variety close by will allow for cross-pollination which leads to larger, and often longer, harvests.  Sunshine Blue - Cute productive dwarf variety Misty - High yields Jewel O'Neal - Long harvest season Windsor - A great disease-resistant variety Lowbush Blueberry Bearing the botanical name Vaccinium angustifolium, Lowbush are a Blueberry species native to the northeastern part of the U.S. They normally grow to be 6-inches to 2 feet tall and are more often than not found growing naturally in the northeast. They’re native from Canada and Maine down to North Carolina and as far west as Iowa and Minnesota. While they’re mostly grown wild, there are a few great varieties for home gardens.  Top Hat - Great in containers and easy to pick Northblue - Very easy to grow Chippewa - Purple berries Brunswick - Space-saving ornamental Burgundy. Rabbiteye Now, if you’re looking for a Blueberry that’s truly happy in the heat, then you’ll probably end up leaning towards Rabbiteye, Vaccinium virgatum. They’re native to the southeastern United States and were specifically bred with Highbush and other varieties to have higher heat tolerance and lower chill hour requirements. These Blueberry bushes will usually grow to around 3-6 feet tall and are not self-pollinating for the most part. You’ll want to plant two kinds in order to cross-pollinate for fruit production. Brightwell - High yield Premier - Big crops  Powder Blue - Clusters of fruit up to 50 berries each! Nocturne - Unique berries change from coral to magenta to nearly black Pink Lemonade Blueberry Bush - Bubblegum pink fruit when ripe! Half-High Blueberries These are a cross between Highbush and Lowbush varieties that come in a range of sizes. Half-Highs are known for doing well in containers and require less pruning than traditional Highbush varieties while offering more height and thus, berries per plant, than many Lowbush varieties. Like their parent varieties, Half-Highs are self-pollinating but do produce more when planted near another Blueberry bush. Northsky - Cold hardy dwarf varieties Patriot - Multiple harvests Polaris - A new and improved hybrid St. Cloud - Early harvest Northland - Cold hardy and vigorous How Long Does It Take For a Blueberry Bush To Grow? Generally, Blueberries produce fruit within 3-5 years of age, with a few that can produce sooner. Some precocious varieties include the Brightwell and Climax. However, Nature Hills ships Blueberry Bushes with mature root systems that are already 2-4 years of age, so you’ll enjoy your first harvest within a year or so after your plant has established into your native soil! Pick the Right One For You! Start by heading over to our Blueberry Bush page and find your Hardiness Zone in the options and toggles available. Then locate how much sun and space you have available to narrow down the right Blueberry Bush for you!  Need some help? Don't hesitate to reach out to our knowledgeable horticultural staff online or on the phone and we’ll be happy to assist!  There you go! Now the next time you’re on the hunt for the perfect berry bush you can feel confident in your understanding of the different Blueberry terms.  Taking care of Blueberries can seem intimidating, but with so many options out there, Nature Hills has made finding the right one for you a breeze! So check out Nature Hills YouTube channel for videos on how to plant Blueberries along with reading more about their care instructions on each Blueberry’s product page and on our #ProPlantTips blog!  Until next time - Happy Planting!

Brighten those shady spots in the landscape with a flowering shrub or the steady verdant hue of evergreens! Large, medium, and small sizes of these woody herbaceous garden standards are available in a dizzying array of flower and leaf colors, plus a wide range of sizes. Shade can be tricky to find plants that not only survive in shade but also thrive… and look good doing it! Shrubs fill that mid-height range in the landscape, somewhere between trees and perennials. They have all the shade, privacy, wildlife and pollinator perks, plus as much color, blooms and fall color! Here are Nature Hills Nursery’s top picks for both full shade and that in-between area of partial shade for your garden! All About Shade Shrubs Moist/Wet Soil Shade Shrubs Dry/Arid/Xeric Shade Shrubs Other Shade Loving Shrubs Bird-Friendly Shade and Erosion Deer Resistant Happy Planting! All About Shade Shrubs Full shade - also known as deep shade - is considered to be 4 or fewer hours of sun a day, or all-day indirect light from larger trees or a structure that blocks the light. While dappled shade, indirect sun, or filtered light can mean sporadic sunlight all day. Partial shade, part sun can mean direct sun for a few hours a day, with shade the rest of the day. You may have lighting that’s dispersed and not direct, possibly only reflected, throughout the day. All due to a tree canopy, structure or other forms of cover, that block the sun. There is a distinct difference between shrubs that are ‘shade-loving’ and shrubs that thrive in or need deep shade. Sun is what helps most plants develop strong stems and encourage blossoms and fruit, so it’s rare you’ll see a fruit bush doing well in the shade, with a few exceptions. So the lack of light often leads plants that are not suited for shade to not bloom or grow their best.  Sometimes the difference between the two is to simply prune away a few large branches from that tree that shades the area, or shear back that hedge blocking the light. But other times, it's unavoidable. Another concern gardeners need to watch for is their soil. The lack of sunlight often leads to soil that doesn’t dry out and even stays soggy throughout the year. On the opposite of the spectrum, dense tree cover often keeps rain from reaching the ground, or those large trees have thirsty root systems that lead to a dry shade condition. Here are some of the best shrubs for shade for all the types of shady conditions you may encounter in your landscape! Moist to Wet Shade Options Soggy soil is a challenge, in and of itself! Some wetland shrubs and Hollies are ideal shade and moisture-loving shrubs and many are evergreens with bright red berries. To help dry up these areas, you can plant Willows or Dogwoods that are fast-growing moisture sponges. Plus there’s a wide range of colorful leaves and unique specimens available to brighten your gloomy locations! A few shrubs like the native Buttonbush and Chokeberry tolerate periodic dry and wet conditions once they’re established. Bright and cheerful Kerria are incredibly versatile shrubs that tolerate full sun, partial shade and even full shade while still maintaining their brilliant golden yellow blossoms to brighten any shady location immensely! This is a tough setting for plants for sure. If you dig a hole in a wet site and the hole fills with water - you should consider adding native soil on top of the existing area to build up that spot where you want to plant - by at least a foot to 18-inches, creating a bermed area and plant in that mound.  Extra soggy area all the time? Learn to play in the puddles! Create a Rain Garden, water feature, or small pond and plant shrubs around it! Top Part Shade Shrubs for Moist to Wet Soil Holly Bushes - Inkberry, Winterberry,  Dwarf Blue Leaf Arctic Willow - Fast Growing & Tolerates Heavy Clay Soil Nandina - Also known as Heavenly Bamboo Buttonbush - Native easy-care unique specimen shrub Viburnum - Such as Viburnum lantana - flowers, colorful leaves, and berries for birds Dwarf English Laurel - Great flowering broadleaf-evergreen that’s salt and urban tolerant Top Full Shade Shrubs for Moist to Wet Soil Diervilla - Blooms and colorful leaves Distylium - Unique foliage! Mountain Snow™ & Flaming Silver Pieris - Vivid broadleaf evergreens & fragrant blooms! Witch-Hazel - Unique early spring blossoms and great fall color Reeve's Skimmia - Vivid hot climate broadleaf evergreens with very fragrant blooms Dry Shade Dry hot and arid weather, or sandy, rocky soil combined with shade can make things very tricky. Perhaps you have a steep slope that sheds water quickly before it can absorb. Maybe it's hard, compacted ground? Either way, you need Xeriscaping and drought-tolerant shrubs in these unique situations.  Get your plants off on the right foot by adding compost and enriched humusy soil to help absorb and hold more moisture to the site if it’s sandy or rocky, and break up compacted ground. After planting, be sure to top off the area around your plant's root system with 3-4 inches of arborist mulch chips to further hold in more moisture, add humus to the soil as it breaks down, and reduce evaporation, while also insulating the root systems from heat and cold. Any plant newly installed, whether it is a xeriscape plant or not, will need to be carefully watered in well to get it established before you let them fend for themselves in this dry shade environment.  Don’t forget to take your lead from nature here and see what is growing well in dry shade where you live and introduce those plants before you give up and turn the area into a gravel bed.  Often sandy or rocky sites, go ahead and set up a dry stream bed garden or shady Rock garden in these areas and enjoy a water-wise, xeric garden! Skirt them with Hosta which also thrives in these conditions once established. Top Part Shade Shrubs for Dry Soil Sumac - Great drought and low-moisture tolerant fine texture. Privet - Fast-growing, cold tolerant and Xeric hedges Abelia - Colorful blooming shrubs Elderberry - Lovely foliage and flowers, though reduced blooms and fruit in the shade Red Tip Photinia - Colorful hot climate hedges and flowers Top Full Shade Shrubs for Dry Soil Yewtopia Plum Yew and Japanese Yew - Great evergreen shrubs Fragrant Sweet Box - Fragrant blooming broadleaf-evergreens for xeric landscaping Evergreen Currant & Pink Flowering Currant Bushes Scentlandia and Little Henry Sweetspire - fragrant blooms for both wet and dry shade! Barrenwort - Actually a perennial, grows amazingly in dry shade conditions too! Other Shade Loving Shrubs for Average Soil Conditions Not every site is too challenging, so there’s a wide variety of plants that bloom, fruit and just plain look great, in the shade! Locations that are moderately moist, or maybe you are able to provide supplemental moisture, or drainage, where the soil is in good shape, whichever the case may be - all really broaden your choices for those partly sunny locations!  Remember, the more sun you do have available for your flowering shrubs, the more flowers you’ll enjoy!  Part Shade/Part Sun Snowberry plants (Symphoricarpos) take shade well. These deciduous flowering shrubs have curious ornamental berries. Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla) is an interesting, low-growing colonizing deciduous shrub.  Holly varieties love the shade and can perform quite well. Even if you have a variety of Holly that doesn’t fruit, this broadleaved evergreen is a fantastic, handsome shrub! Partial Shade Hydrangeas - Many varieties love the partial shade and do their best in it, especially in hot climates Viburnum dentatum - do very well in part shade, handling more shade in northern climates Compact Oregon Grape Holly - small-sized broadleaf-evergreens with flowers and edible fruit Most Rhododendron and Azalea like Encore® can even tolerate drier shade! Full Shade Full Shade Bush Honeysuckle does well in complete shade producing mostly green leaves (lack of the bronzy color) and sparse flowering but is still a durable Leucothoe has incredibly lovely foliage. Try Girard’s Rainbow or Rainbow Fetterbush for full shade Fothergilla and Witchhazel plants are related, and they are both understory plants that love the cool moist shade.  White Snowberry has gleaming white berries and dramatic foliage Climbing Hydrangea - White blossoms that grow up or as a groundcover Oregon Grape Holly - not only will you enjoy these broadleaf-evergreens year-round but also flowers and edible fruit!  Daphne Marianni® is a gorgeous variegated broadleaf evergreen with fragrant blooms Camellias have incredibly beautiful blossoms and glossy evergreen foliage for hot climates Some Rhododendrons and Azalea Diversity Use a mix of diverse plants - taller in the back and shorter in the front and include evergreens, and flowering plants for the most attractive border. Let Nature Hills help select plants for your particular climate. Bird-Friendly Plant some for the birds! Birds need cover from predators and love the shade as much as you do! So evergreens are important to include in your shrub shade garden, both conifers and broadleaved evergreens. They nest and feast on cones or berries. They also love densely branched plants again for cover.  They also love flowering plants which attract insects they feed upon. Then the fruiting plants obviously so they have fruit to eat. Viburnums are tops for attracting, sheltering and feeding birds! Shade and Erosion Shade-loving erosion control will vary based upon the growing zone you are growing in, and the reason for the erosion. Shallow fibrous-rooted plants that tolerate shade should be mulched well to encourage healthy moisture-retentive soil.  Choose groundcover, mat-forming, colonizing and naturalizing plants that thrive in the wet soil erosion or dry soil erosion environments. Using plants with dense surface roots holds soil in place mixed with plants with deeper roots that anchor the soil, work in conjunction to stop eroding soil beautifully!  A plant like a Diervilla is an incredible, colonizing plant that stays short, has no insect or disease problems, and can flower too! Currants, Oregon Grape, Kinnikinnick and Spicebushes, and even some types of Cotoneaster and Sumac do well in full or partial shade. Deer Resistant Oh, Deer! Compounding the already tricky issues that dry or wet shade can hold for your shrubs, adding deer problems can be extra tough! If you don’t fence your whole yard, you can fence individual plants by encasing them in a cylinder of concrete reinforcement wire that is anchored to the ground protecting the trees inside until they are tall enough to be out of reach of deer.  Remember not only do deer feeding the leaves and twigs can cause damage - but in the fall when the bucks rub their antlers on the trunks of trees they can completely strip the bark from the trunks killing the tree (if the bark is destroyed all around the trunk). Some parts of the north even have to contend with Moose and Elk! Obviously selecting plants that deer do not prefer is a good idea if you live in an area with many deer. If deer populations are high, and food is scarce, deer may eat just about anything just to survive. Look around your neighborhood and see what deer are sparing in your neighbor's yards for a baseline, and your local County Extension Office is always a great resource! Once you have planted any plant in your yard, especially those in areas with high deer populations - beginning the very first day need to spray all plants with an inexpensive deer repellent so when that deer saunter into the yard and sample they will be reminded they do not like that plant. Great Deer Resistant Shade-Loving Shrubs Nothing is truly deer-proof unfortunately, but these aren’t high on their nibble list. Japanese Pieris Bayberry Bushes Some Holly are resistant and have sharp leaves Barberry has thorns Boxwood - Wintergreen, Pernyi, Nellie Stevens, Japanese Holly & Blue Holly  Happy Planting in the Shade! Work with your yard's problem areas by choosing plants that naturally fill that niche! These plants not only survive but thrive in the shade! Enlivening the gloom with vivid colorful foliage that more than make up for any lack of flowers. Besides, anything green is a vast improvement to the darkness! So grab your mosquito repellent and get planting in the shade with the help of NatureHills.com! Happy Planting!

Do you grow your own Peaches or Nectarines at home? If not you should give them a try. They are an easy and (pardon the pun) fruitful tree to grow. Peach trees are native to China and belong to the Prunus species family of stonefruit. The Peach trees that are being grown in orchards today have a long history! Types of Peach Trees Freestone vs Clingstone Today orchard-grown Peaches are divided into two groups, clingstones and freestones. If the Peach flesh sticks to the pit, it is a clingstone. Conversely, if the flesh falls away from the pit easily, it is freestone. Some varieties are in between and are known as semi-cling or semi-freestone. Clingstone are sometimes smaller but very juicy and sweet! They’re also traditionally the perfect choice for canning and other preserves. Freestone are larger and besides often eaten fresh off the tree, the easy-to-remove pit makes them ideal for use in cooking, baking, canning and freezing alike.  White Flesh vs Yellow Peach fruit has varying levels of acidity, and generally, the white-fleshed Peach is the least acidic. Yellow-fleshed Peaches tend to be more tangy and acidic. Fertilization or soil types do not affect the skin colors of either the Peach or the Nectarine.  Peaches vs Nectarines Peach fruit and Nectarine fruit are often thought of as totally unique fruits. In fact, the Nectarine is closely related to the Peach. The main difference is the lack of fuzz on the Nectarine skin. The Nectarine can be used in the same way as a Peach. The Nectarine tends to be a little smaller-sized fruit than a Peach, and it displays more red color on the skin. Pollination Needs Both Peach and Nectarine trees are generally self-fertile and won’t need a pollinator tree. However, for larger crops per tree, plant with an appropriate pollinator tree to increase yield. Nature Hills lists suitable pollinator trees for each on that plant's information page. Peach & Nectarine Tree Location Raising Peach trees in the backyard is not much different than raising them in an orchard setting. Selecting a location for planting is important. There are at least two reasons, soil and sunlight requirements.  The Peach tree bloom is susceptible to early frosts, so planting a Peach tree in the lowest part of the yard would be counterproductive. It is best to select a high spot in the yard so the cold air can drain away from the trees when they are in bloom. The Peach blossoms are very susceptible to frost, so a season's fruit production may be lost because of a few lower degrees of temperature. Peach and Nectarine Tree Planting Before planting the Peach tree, prepare the soil prior to planting by adding organic matter if needed, and check the nutrient status should you be unsure if it’s lacking any nutrients. The soil pH for Peach and Nectarine trees should be around 6.5, so it is important to get the soil tested. Then lime and fertility levels should be modified based on the soil test results.  Soak the roots of bare root plants, and completely saturate the soil of container-grown plants before planting. Be sure you do not plant too deep. No deeper than they were growing in the nursery or in the pot is so very important. Completely saturate the soil after backfilling with the same soil you excavated from the hole to eliminate any air pockets around the root system. Add a layer of arborist mulch chips over the soil surface for insulation and moisture retention, while holding off evaporation in the summer sun. Peach or Nectarine trees will not tolerate water-logged soils. If water sits in an area for more than one hour after a rain, find another location for the Nectarine or Peach tree, or try planting into a berm or mounded location that raises the roots higher above the water table. Pruning your Peach or Nectarine Tree Pruning Peach or Nectarine trees should begin at an early age. Most fruit trees produce better quality fruit and live longer and healthier if properly maintained and pruned. Fruit tree pruning does not need to be complicated or confusing.  Many times the nursery will do the initial pruning on the dormant fruit tree. If the fruit tree arrives already pruned from the nursery, plant it without further pruning. Bareroot Tree Pruning If your dormant bareroot tree arrives with a long stem and are beginning to branch about 2-3 years of age. The mature root systems of our trees usually start producing fruit between 3-5 years of age. You can nip back the leader and cut the side branches back by at least two-thirds to promote vigorous new growth. Top pruning induces lateral branch growth in fruit trees, and this produces a more easily accessible tree branch and shapely form.  Pruning also diverts the expenditure of nourishment to form woody growth to that of buds and fruit. Fruit trees have a moderate growth rate. After the spring flush of growth cut the new growth back by half. In late summer prune the new growth on the branches back again by half. The 2nd year of pruning of the fruit tree is the same as the first. Cut back new growth by half in the spring and again in late summer. In the 3rd year, choose a height and do not let the tree get any taller. Pruning for Height Control Tree height is a decision for the pruner. When there are vigorous branches above the chosen height, cut back or remove them. In late spring or early summer, pinch back all new growth. Size development and low fruiting wood is determined in the 3rd year. Each branch should have at least 6 inches of free space around them. Remove all crossing branches that are too close together. Keeping fruit tree branches open to allow more light and freedom for bee movement is important. Sunlight and bees carrying pollen should increase productivity and create larger fruit. All varieties of fruit trees can be maintained at a predetermined height if pruned consistently. Thinning Fruit Sometimes a fruit tree produces more fruit than it should or produces lots of fruit that is very small. So thinning your crop is a heartbreaking task that should be done to reduce how many fruits are on each branch so more energy can go into fewer Peaches, therefore making them larger instead.  Homegrown Summer Fruit! Big juicy and refreshing summer fruit can be yours with ease! Let NatureHills.com help you enjoy the best Peach or Nectarine harvest possible for you! If you even have the slightest inkling to grow one of these fantastic trees, check out all the varieties of fruit trees available! Large and small, columnar and dwarf varieties are on sale now, so give one a try! You won't be disappointed! Homegrown fruit straight from your own tree is one of life's simple pleasures! Get growing your own orchard of juicy gems today by ordering your Peach and Nectarine trees from NatureHills.com today! Happy Planting!

National Pollinator Week (June 20th-26th) is fast approaching and in our neck of the woods that is a reason to celebrate! We’re often asked how to best help the local pollinators and what can be done in gardens to attract more.  So, we at Nature Hills put our heads together and came up with 5 really good ways to bring the busy bees, beautiful butterflies, and maybe even a hummingbird or two to your garden! Beyond planting their favorite plants and reducing your pesticide applications, here are the top 5 methods of increasing Pollinator activity in your yard! Wind Protection  Water Native Plants Flowers For All Growing Seasons Nesting & Overwintering Protection Helping Hand #1 Create an Area with Some Wind Protection  It doesn’t have to be a lot so there’s no reason to go erecting rows and rows of trees and windbreak shrubs (however we’re strong believers that everyone should). Mostly what pollinators are looking for is a little protection from the stronger gusts.  I mean, who likes holding on for dear life while grabbing a snack?  You can accomplish this by choosing a protected location, a site out of the wind, or planting some strategically placed shrubs which provide some cover, look fantastic, and provide nectar - a win-win-win if you will!  Lilacs Elderberries Rose of Sharon Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) #2 Add a Water Feature It’s a small addition but our pollinator friends get thirsty too and having a nearby source of water really helps them out! This can be a birdbath, fountain, small pond, or any combination. The important part is to make sure there’s a large flat surface to accommodate butterflies, many of which are puddlers and bees, well they have little legs! Pollinators will come for the plants and stay for the ease of water and shelter! Set up a shallow dish with some pebbles of varying sizes, clean water daily and even some slices of fruit - like oranges, sliced grapes and apples for them to sip the sugars from. You can also include clean sponges for them to lap up much-needed water! Keep the water clean and fresh to avoid spreading diseases.  #3 Use Native Plants I’m sure you’ve seen this advice before but it’s so important that it’d be impossible for us not to mention it here. Sure, almost all flowers will help out pollinators but natives - true natives for your region - have the added benefit of being their favorites! They’re the best options for local ecosystems, stand up to native climate and weather, and grow the best!  The specific plants will vary by region but some really common perennial favorites include the Common Milkweed, Purple Coneflower, and Asters. There are also plenty of bushes and shrubs like Red Chokeberry, Buttonbush, and American Cranberrybush Viburnum. If you’re looking for plants native to your region, I suggest reaching out to your local Agriculture Extension Office. They’ll have the very best options for your specific environments.  Not only are these plants more recognized by these pollinators, but many of their larvae feed on the leaves of native plants too! So include your favorite local species Host Plants to encourage more of them to fly around as adults later on! #4 Include Plants For All Growing Seasons & Extended Blooms Pollinators start coming out to collect nectar as soon as it’s warm enough outside to do so. The minimum temperature for Honeybee flight is 54º F and butterflies can’t even fly unless their body temperature is above 60º F. So it’s important to have some food options for them early in the spring all the way into late fall when they bundle back up for the winter or get ready to migrate (as Monarch butterflies do).  Fall planted bulbs like Daffodils, Hyacinths, Crocus, and Tulips are great early spring blooming options and don’t require much maintenance. Forsythias are known for their early spring flowers as well. Redbuds and Candytuft, Pasque Flowers, Dianthus (Garden Pinks) and Spring Beauty not only give you a breath of fresh air after a long harsh winter but your local bees and butterflies as well! As for late-season bloomers, try adding Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, Asters, Joe Pye weed, and Russian Sage. Roses also work great as many will bloom from spring all the way until the first hard frost. If you’re wondering what to plant in your area, take your lead from nature and watch which plants seem to do well early in the spring and late into fall. #5 Offer Nesting & Overwintering Habitats Pollinators and beneficial insects need a place to take shelter during the winter months in order to complete their lifecycle. Some even need a helping hand finding locations to lay their eggs. Leafcutter bees and Mason bees seek out narrow tubes or hollow stems, while others burrow into the loose sandy soil or find a crack in your retaining wall.  Sure, you can go out and buy fancy pollinator houses or bee hotels (I mean there are some very cute butterfly and bee houses out there) but there are also plenty of cost-efficient ways to give the pollinators shelter too! For example, leave your grasses and perennials as is in the fall instead of rushing out to cut them down. Don’t remove all your fallen leaf litter and keep a few beds full of this free insulation for the winter. Add a layer of mulch around your plants, this helps the plants and gives beneficial insects somewhere to hang out during the winter months.  Then, in the spring, keep the grass, leaves, stems, and other debris in place a little longer than normal to give the pollinators a chance to wake up. Don’t be so hasty to run out and kill the early blooming Dandelions and flowering weeds in the turfgrass either. Many are also starting to participate in no-mow May, which allows the grass flowers and weeds to help feed the pollinators during the earliest days of spring.  Give Them a Helping Hand Helping out the pollinators you already have and attracting more to your garden are two sides to the same coin. Accomplish one, and the other surely follow! Hopefully, these tips will help you out and don’t forget to thank your pollinators!  Do you enjoy our Blogs, #ProPlantTips for care and our Videos? Let us know by liking this one and subscribing to our channel. Make sure to turn on notifications to get updated about new content. We post regularly and we love growing our community of plant lovers!  If you’re looking for specific advice and don’t see it on our channel, feel free to make requests in the comments or check out our #ProPlantTips blog – we have a lot of articles and helpful gardening hints available for you to peruse!  Thanks for caring about the pollinators – the world wouldn’t be the same without them!  Until next time - Happy Planting!

The summer sun can take its toll on you, your home's cooling costs and on your landscape! How can you fix it without moving someplace colder? Plant Trees! “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” Benefits of Shade Trees Cool It Down The Right Location Other Benefits Top 5 Best Shade Trees Happy Planting! Benefits of Shade Trees There are many reasons to plant a tree. They raise home and property values by up to 10%! They accent your yard and add height to your landscape. Some provide floral displays each spring, fruit in the summer or fall, autumn color, and structure in the winter snow.  Other trees block the view of something you dislike or keep prying eyes out of your yard. They also block sound and wind. Their roots stop erosion and their leaves enrich the soil, not to mention the stately multi-story hotels and luxury buffets they are for wildlife! Intersperse your deciduous trees with evergreens, giving you a wide range of colors, shapes, sizes and textures to play with! You’ll enjoy watching faster-growing trees give you shade while slower-growing but longer-lived trees catch up in the long run. But there are ways your tree helps improve the world that you may not have considered too! Cool It Down! Evapotranspiration is something trees just do naturally. It’s how they breathe and ‘sweat’ excess moisture. These massive living organisms work like people do, only in reverse. They take up groundwater and take in carbon dioxide while ‘exhaling’ moisture in the form of vapor and oxygen. It’s a win-win for us because, well, it's really a symbiotic relationship! A single mature tree can take up thousands of gallons of water from the ground, (preventing flooding!) and then eject it into the air as vapor. This vapor, in combination with blocking the sun with its leaves, reduces summer temperatures anywhere between 2 - 9 °F! Just three mature trees around your home can reduce heating costs by a hundred dollars a year or more! When planted in a strategic location around your home, you can reduce your cooling bill by $10 a month or more! Combined with a shade tree sited to shade pavement, driveways, seating and entertainment areas, parking lots, and street plantings, you reduce ambient air temperature and radiated heat even further!  Where to Plant Trees Around Your Home Situate your deciduous tree to the east of your home to shade windows from the morning light that strikes your home before noon. Situate trees so they shade the west-facing sides of your home or building in the afternoons, especially during the summer months. Deciduous trees will lose their leaves in the fall, letting that light through to help warm your home during the cooler months of the year. A tree that can reach 25 feet or taller at maturity should be planted 10 to 20 feet away from the east and west of your home because often, these larger root systems can cause some issues. Smaller trees can be a bit closer, while obviously taller trees will need a lot more wiggle room.  Smaller deciduous or evergreen trees and large shrubs, with their lower limbs to the ground, are best planted to the northwest and northeast of your home for late afternoon and early morning shade. Check out the Nature Hills website for Shade Trees or give our knowledgeable customer service team a call for help selecting the tree height and width best suited for your property and growing zone! Winter Time Benefits of Trees Trees planted to the northwest of your home or building, especially evergreen trees, offer windbreaks to slow wind and therefore reduce your heating bill in the winter. You’ll also enjoy seeing something still green in the yard, even when there’s tons of snow. You’ll also benefit from trees because they: Reduce water usage to maintain your lawn and garden beds Improve air quality as trees purify the air Reduce and sequester carbon emissions and greenhouse gas Control/prevent erosion Purif, filter and recycle rainwater/storm runoff Slow rain and wind Reduces/slows water and storm runoff - allowing for more water to soak into the ground Slows deterioration of pavement and cement from extreme elements Paint and stain won’t fade as fast Reduces soggy/wet spots (A mature Willow tree soaks up 100 gallons of water a day!) Reduce heat stress on your lawn and garden And that’s not all! Planting just 2-4 trees around your yard will allow you to enjoy all these perks and money-saving benefits and then some for years! Talk about a great return investment?  Top 5 Nature Hills Shade Trees Here are Nature Hills' top picks for some great Shade Trees that thrive in a wide range of growing zones, climates and conditions: Ginkgo Biloba - Highest Rated #1 on our Site Bald Cypress Tree - Most Widely Adaptable Royal Empress Tree - Fastest Growing Quaking Aspen Tree - Most Cold Hardy Green Giant Magnolia - Most Heat Tolerant The honorable mention and best flowering shade tree is the Autumn Blooming Cherry tree! Happy Planting! What to do with all that refreshing shade you’ve created? Get a hammock, plant some shade-tolerant flowers and plants under its shade, set up that lawn chair, and relax! You deserve it! Pat yourself on the back while you lounge, knowing that you’ve done something great for yourself, your family, and the world! One tree at a time! Check out all of Nature Hills Nursery's line of Shade Trees and Evergreen Trees today to help you and future generations cool their world!