Nature Hills sells all kinds of plants, including trees, shrubs, fruiting trees & plants, perennials, roses, vines, grasses - you name it! And every one of our beautiful and useful plants loves a layer of mulch to keep the weeds down and provide cover for their roots. New and Existing Plants Benefit Greatly From a Layer of Mulch Over the Roots Watch as Ed Laivo, one of our resident horticulturalists, breaks it down for you. See what kind of mulch is right for several applications around your landscape. Learn about the proper depth for new plantings and as an annual topping. During the video, you'll understand the different types of mulch, and when to use them. You'll see when to use compost as a mulch. You'll get tips on how to apply (and re-apply) mulch as a top dressing. Finally, you'll walk away with a much greater insight into the benefits of mulch, including weed and moisture control. We want you to be thrilled with your plants! Mulch is a critical step to success. Trees  |  Bushes & Shrubs  |  Fruit Trees & Plants  |  Perennials  |  Roses  |  Grasses

#ProPlantTips from Nature Hills on Repotting Container Grown Fruit Trees Let Ed Laivo, Nature Hills resident Fruit Horticulturalist, show you tips and tricks of repotting container grown fruit trees for the best results.  What size pot comes next as you repot your fruit tree into a larger size container? You'll learn everything from the right potting soil mix to use to how to handle the roots of the plant as you repot it. Growing fruit in containers is a wonderful way to produce delicious food, and gain a highly ornamental patio plant in the process. If you live in a cold growing zone, and must grow tender fruit - like the Australian Finger Lime - in containers, you'll definitely want to watch.

In this blog, you'll get expert how-to's on growing the biggest, prettiest roses possible. This really means taking the time to carefully prune your roses each year.  And we'll give you some inspiration, too. Take a look at the hottest design trend, partnering your climbing roses with companion plants like Clematis vines. Gorgeous!  Read on to learn more. A Quick Review of Tips to Overwinter Roses In the Northern cold winter states, roses go completely dormant and need winter protection. We have found the best way to overwinter Hybrid tea, Floribunda, Grandiflora, shrub roses, and climbing roses is to mound up the base of the plants with at least a foot of arborist wood chips, or mulch of any kind.  Cover the bottom of canes to a depth of 12 inches to protect the plants.  Climbing roses that are not hardy in your Growing Zone should be carefully laid down and those canes should be covered with wood chips or mulch, too.  Prune Roses for the New Growing Season In colder regions, we do not trim roses in the fall. We leave the rose branches (canes) alone until early spring. In March, those roses are just starting to wake up with buds swelling.    Roses are pruned to ensure their health. Dead wood from winter killed cane tips, weak or crossing branches that might cause problems should be removed. The key is removing older and/or diseased stems leaving clean and healthy stems each year. You'll love enjoying the big, vibrant blooms that are grown on healthy new canes. Please know, damage from “Old Man Winter” may make your pruning decisions for you. Don’t worry, roses generally bounce right back from pruning. Northern gardeners can start pruning their roses anytime as soon as the frost is out of the ground. Just look for the local American Robin birds pulling worms up out of the ground if you want a good sign. You can prune roses once their buds swell, all the way up until they start to put on their new seasonal growth. When winter has finally receded from the northern areas, it is time to pull the mulch away from the bottoms of the rose canes and get them pruned! Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, Floribundas, and many shrub roses all make flowers on NEW GROWTH. That means that these roses you are uncovering really do need to be trimmed, so the plants can produce the best flowers for you.  Wear some good heavy gloves to protect your hands and make sure your pruning shears are nice and sharp to avoid squeezing or tearing the branches. On older rose bushes that have been in place for many years, you should take a bit of time with each plant. First, you’ll work to eliminate any dead or brown and dry canes right down to the ground. Take special care to remove branches that cross over one another. This will avoid having canes rub against each other. Any nice green stems that are not broken and look healthy should be reduced to about 6-8 inches in height. The new growth that develops from those 6-8-inch canes will produce strong stems, with large and healthy flowers.  Special Tips for New Homeowners If you’ve recently purchased your home, you may have “inherited” some mystery roses. This is a special circumstance. Prune in spring, as usual. If you don’t see roses develop, you may have a native Prairie-style rose in your landscape. Mystery solved! Some of the native Prairie roses actually bloom on OLD WOOD. These varieties should be pruned after they flower in June. Once the bloom is done, you cut the stem to ground, so new stems arise. Next year’s flowers will come from those new stems. Special Tips for Climbing Roses Climbing roses can be a bit fussier in the colder climates of northern states. Nature Hills offers several super cold-hardy selections of improved climbing roses, which can also be added to the base and secured to existing rose arbors, trellises or other structures. In most cases, climbing roses will also bloom on the stems from last year, or the OLD WOOD. When the oldest, fattest stems are done blooming after their first set of blooms, remove them to the ground. By doing this, you’ll allow new stems to grow up from the ground. These new canes will produce the most amazing blossoms for you. When pruning climbing roses, you may want to leave 3 – 5 “scaffolding” canes of older wood in place to maintain complete cover of an entire rose arbor.  If your old climbing roses aren’t covering the structure the way they used to, consider adding some of these hardy newer varieties. Or, try planting a companion plant – such as vining Clematis – among climbing roses. Just allow the Clematis vines to mingle with the climbing rose canes adding complementary or even contrasting colors to the rose blooms. Both the Clematis and the Rose can co-mingle quite nicely as neither will overtake the other. This is a gorgeous solution that’s proved very successful across the country.  Checklist for Successful Rose Growing Roses love sun. The more sun, the more flowers you will see.  Sun makes strong canes and sturdy flowers, and initiates reblooming roses quicker.  Water the roots, do not water the leaves. Keeping the leaves dry will lessen the chance of foliar diseases.  Mulch over the soil up to the rose canes will not only look nice, also reduces the incidence of soil borne diseases. Roses do appreciate food so having enough fertilizer available will help with flower production. Have your soil tested to see what your soil is lacking in your rose garden.  In colder regions of zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 don’t apply fertilizers too late in the season. Far better to let your rose plants shut down for the season, so they overwinter more successfully.  For insects, try organic options first. The best first step is to try physically removing the problem bug. Try using an insecticidal soap, followed by a high pressure water rinse as your first option. You can also apply Bonide Neem Oil Concentrate. If you are in an area that has a lot of pressure from insects, you may want to consider using a systemic rose care option like this Fertilome Rose and Flower Systemic Care. Systemic rose care is applied to the soil, watered in, and the plant takes up the active ingredient to prevent bugs from chewing on those plants and feed them at the same time and for an extended time.  With all the incredible options of roses today, be sure to check out the many amazing colors, smaller sizes, shrub rose types, spreading & groundcover types, and re-blooming and everblooming options that make shrub roses so popular for today’s color injectors to your landscape. Don’t forget to cut a few and include them in cut flower arrangements on your nightstand or dinner table.  If you need help deciding which roses are for you, be sure to let us help by emailing us at [email protected]  Check out the many pages of pictures of the roses that we offer at Nature Hills Nursery Our inventory changes daily so be sure to check back as some of your favorites may be ready for sale as they continue to finish in the pots. Enjoy!

Today more than ever, people across the country are growing their own fruit. There are many reasons for this, and we applaud the effort! Nature Hills growers deliver backyard orchards with commercial orchard-grade, vigorous fruit trees and bushes. Our fruit trees produce fruit for cooking, baking, or fresh eating straight from the tree. There is nothing like reaching out and picking fruit from your very own plant. And one of the coolest things is that we offer a wide mix on the site. You’ll see beloved modern cultivars like ‘Honeycrisp Apple’ (yes, the kind you see on grocery store shelves). But you’ll also get a chance to try the more unusual heirloom varieties, like the astounding ‘Mutsu Apple’ which are individually wrapped by hand in Japan to protect the delicious crop, before being baked into a meal fit for an Emperor. The Growing Edible Landscape Trend Explore the rewards of growing fruit at home, but don’t limit your focus to a dedicated fruit orchard with trees lined up in neat rows. Instead, expand your vision of how fruiting plants work in your garden design. Why not add fruiting plants or vegetables to your existing landscaping? The Edible Landscape is a design concept growing in appreciation. Top 5 Benefits of Homegrown Fruit You get to grow your favorite full-flavored varieties and pick them at peak ripeness You’ll know exactly what chemicals are being used to grow your fruit before your share with your family and friends You’ll feel prepared for winter by canning or preserving your fruits to enjoy through the year You’ll gain a sense of accomplishment by growing your own produce in your garden You’ll enjoy planning, planting and working your own Edible Landscape and get some healthy exercise Edible Garden Design Tips Fruit tree varieties including Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Lemons, Oranges and many others will reward you with delicious fresh produce every year. While the health benefits of homegrown fruit can’t be understated, the ornamental value added to the landscape shouldn’t be underestimated, either. For best quality, plant your fruit trees where they’ll get at least 8 hours of direct sunlight a day. Morning sun is best. For varieties that require cross-pollination, select two or three overlap their bloom and ripening seasons. Site them correctly in the landscape and enjoy fruit that ripen at different times to extend the season of fruit. The ornamental qualities of fruit trees have been vastly underused. Design fruit trees and fruit producing bush varieties into your landscape as you would any tree or shrub. Shop by Variety for easy access to the following plants Cherries and Pears can and should be pruned to a balanced formal shape making them outstanding flowering accent trees. Apricots are nature’s fruiting shade trees, even in marginal Apricot regions, a well selected variety will provide great shade and fruit. Pluots and Apriums carrying the Apricot gene provide this same advantage in any landscape where Apricots can be grown. Picture a hedge row of Blueberries or Citrus providing a border or screening out an unwanted view, while also providing an extended harvest of fruit selected by ripening time. Naturalize Peach or Nectarine with other plants in the landscape. You’ll love the beautiful displays of flowers in the spring, followed by a bountiful harvest come summer. Persimmons incredible orange fall color is remarkable. The look of a well-established Olive is an age-old classic. Figs have a bold beauty and give two generous crops of fruit in a single season. Plums and Apples are the most adaptable of all fruit trees and the easiest to grow. Plums and Apples both have a wonderful range of flavors, colors and sizes. Make Fruit Plants Work in Your Landscape Design We understand that placing fruit trees and bush fruit varieties into today’s smaller lot sizes can be a challenge. That’s why we recommend learning easy pruning tricks for size control to grow just about any plant. New dwarf materials are also an important element for success. Apartment dwellers would be surprised how many plants you can grow on a balcony. Blueberry and Citrus are both ideal for container growing. Citrus makes a beautiful container plant and then is conveniently moved to a protected location for the winter time. Blueberries need low pH soil and water are often better off being grown in a container where you can more easily manage growing conditions. Many towns also offer Community Gardens where you can rent a plot to work. Contact your local Ag Extension office to get ideas for your community. Come together with friends, churches and neighbors to create a shared garden space. You could have a great time working together, and everyone could share in the bounty. You can’t compare the taste of store bought produce from the grocery store. Commercial growers offer varieties that are specifically grown to withstand long-distance shipping with your very own homegrown fruit. Grow your own fruit for the health benefits, or to simply experience one of the joys of nature and get a little physical activity in the sunshine. For organic soil amendments, fertilizers and pest control options, check out our curated Home & Garden collection. These solutions make backyard gardening a lot easier and more… fruitful. We’re here to help. Email us at [email protected] or call at (888) 864-7663 with questions.

Nature Hills offers a wide variety of plants that will effectively screen a view for you. But which is the RIGHT tree for you? Well, take a look at our "Top 5" selections to get a sense of what other homeowners have used very successfully. Need More Help Deciding? Email our plant experts at [email protected] We'd love to learn more about your unique situation. What are your goals, and what characteristics does your property have?  Privacy isn't always limited to fast-growing Evergreen tree selections, either. Flowering trees and shrubs can be used very effectively. Even Vines can be used to create a beautiful sense of privacy in your landscape. Get in touch with us. We'll help you think outside the box and come up with a perfect choice to solve your privacy challenges.  See All of the Options for Privacy Trees Available From Nature Hills Additional Resources from the Nature Hills Horticulture Team Blog post "Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Privacy Trees and Shrubs"