Are Holly Berries Poisonous to Humans & Animals?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The beloved Irish holiday is upon us and what better way to celebrate than with green flowers. Get double the green and double the luck in your landscape this year. Now we can’t guarantee that your landscape will flourish (that’s up to your individual care and nature, of course!) but with the luck of the Irish on your side, who’s to say it won’t!  Here at Nature Hills, we can proudly say that green is our specialty! We’ve taken it upon ourselves to give you five types of green flowers that will leave you tickled pink with your landscape choice. Top 5 Green as St. Patrick’s Day Plants Other Non-Flowering Options Kiss Me I'm Irish! Top 5 Green as St. Patrick’s Day Plants #5 - American Pie® Key Lime Pie Dianthus Growing zones 5-9 Spicy-scented with a pure white flower and curious lime green eye, the American Pie® Key Lime Pie Dianthus takes after its namesake in more ways than one. Highly adaptable to a variety of conditions, this member of the Carnation family is perfect for the diverse weather your area may experience in March.  With multiple application sites to choose from, it’s hard to pick just one. Key Lime Pie Dianthus can be added to planters or throughout garden beds as edging. Trust us, you’ll want to make room for this perennial!  #4 - First Editions® Green Hypericum Growing zones 6-9 Mystical Green indeed! First Editions® Green Hypericum is a small, dense native shrub that will bring happiness into your garden with its small rays of sunshine for blooms. First Editions® Green Hypericum boasts glossy green berries that emerge in late summer and simply scream St. Patty’s Day.  The exfoliating bark and evergreen foliage mark the intriguing winter interest of this hardy shrub. Those hard-to-mow slopes, hillsides, and wooded areas (where four-leaf clovers may hang about) are ideal locations where Green Hypericum can be planted as erosion control or to bridge the transition between your yard and a wooded edge. #3 - Martin’s Spurge Growing zones 6-11 Have you spotted a leprechaun? No, that’s just Martin’s Spurge! With red foliage akin to a leprechaun’s scruffy beard and green foliage similar to their lengthy green coat, we could see why you may have gotten confused. Even the stems of Martin’s Spurge offer visual interest, ranging from yellow to green to red.  Martin’s Spurge is a fascinating perennial to add to your cottage border or perennial garden to give it a modern touch. It’s optimal to grow Martin’s Spurge in an area where it will receive ample amounts of sunlight. Unlike leprechauns which are solitary creatures, Martin’s Spurge prefers to be grown in groups.  Beware! You may attract more than just pollinators i.e. fairy friends by planting this alluring flowering variety.  #2 - Green Jewel Coneflower Growing zones 3-8 No need to chase the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when you have this prized perennial planted in your garden. The Green Jewel Coneflower features a large green center cone with long-lasting lime green petals that stem out from the middle and a sturdy, leafy green stem, offering not just double but triple the green color.  Opt for deadheading the spent flowers to encourage new growth and improve overall appearance. With its tantalizing scent and dried seed heads materializing in the winter, the Green Jewel Coneflower will draw beneficial pollinators from all over, right to your yard!  Pro Plant Tip - About every four years, you may divide clumps when they become overcrowded and enjoy doubling plants for you or a friend!  #1 - Invincibelle Limetta® Hydrangea Growing zones 3-8 She’s beauty and she’s grace; she’s the Invincibelle Limetta® Hydrangea! You can never go wrong with a hydrangea, especially one like the Invincibelle Limetta®. It has been carefully field-tested and maintains very reliable performance year after year. The Invincibelle Limetta® Hydrangea is as good of a good luck charm as a four leaf clover!  This shrub is smaller in size but no less than wonderful in appearance. Its lime green blooms emerge in early summer and age to jade green in the fall, offering two seasons of visual interest. The Invincibelle Limetta loves its fair share of the sun. Just be sure not to plant in full shade or it will develop thin stems that won’t be able to support the large flower heads.  Other Non-Flowering Options Leprechaun Arborvitae - Year-round greenery, perfect size for privacy and screening around smaller properties.  Green Magic Inkberry Holly - Small, inconspicuous flowers but grown for its beautiful glossy green foliage year round. Ferns - Soft and fluffy green fronds that come back year after year. Boxwoods - Grown for their beautiful small rounded evergreen foliage year-round, a classic staple in the landscape. Kiss Me I'm Irish! All of these options are fashionable in cut flower arrangements if you plan on giving your Irish prince or princess a lavish display of green to commemorate the holiday. By planting any one of these lush green flowering varieties, you will have a landscape looking like the Emerald Isle in no time!  Happy Planting & Irish Blessings!

Recognized for its superior qualities in China since the 3rd century AD, the era of the Mandarin tree began in China thousands of years ago, but the tree first came to the U.S. in the 1840s when an Italian consul brought one to New Orleans! From there, the exotic Citrus tree spread through the southern states and California. The fruit is very popular today for its easy peeling and general lack of seeds! Mandarins have a distinct flavor all their own; it is a Mandarin flavor, which is not an orange. Marketing has played a huge role in bringing to the forefront one of the most wonderful categories of fruit, the Mandarin. With the introduction of bagged Clementine Mandarins under various brands beginning in the mid-2000s, the Mandarin has quickly become recognized for what it is: the world’s finest fruit! In the late 1800s, Mandarin names like the ‘Willow Leaf’, the ‘King’, and the ‘Oneco’ were introduced into the U.S. Then the #1 variety of Mandarin for the next 100 years was the Owari Satsuma and still going strong! Owari arrived around 1876, but in the last 20 years, many new Mandarin varieties have been introduced or have been rediscovered. These newer selections have tremendous qualities that make them standouts as superior fruits, aside from just being Mandarins. With mature, ready-to-produce root systems, hardiness, and improved disease resistance, the Era of the Mandarin is going strong! All About Mandarin Orange Trees Types of Mandarin At Nature Hills! More Mandarins Easy-to-Grow Citrus Trees Where to Plant Mandarin Trees The Era Of The Mandarin Is On! All About Mandarin Orange Trees Mandarin trees produce fragrant blooms, broad-leaved evergreen foliage, and small, sweet Citrus fruits similar to Oranges. The fruit produced by the tree is generally easy to peel and has few to no seeds. The fruit is typically ripe over the winter months.  The Mandarin is sometimes mistakenly called a Tangerine (which is actually just a marketing name for one Mandarin variety). In many varieties, the acidity of the Mandarin is masked by the intense sweetness of the fruit mixed with the rich Mandarin flavor. It almost seems like a sub-acid fruit.  Treasured for centuries as a refreshing treat, juicy dessert, used in preserves and canned, while also a healthy snack that kids young and old love! The sections can be eaten fresh or added to salads and other dishes. Typically with more Vitamin A than Oranges but are higher in calories due to the increased sugar content, Mandarin Oranges are good sources of Vitamin C, high in folate, potassium, and thiamin, and are considered a healthy dietary option. Types of Mandarin At Nature Hills! Check out Mandarin Tree information, their care, and the wide variety of Mandarin Oranges available at NatureHills.com! #1 Owari Satsuma The Owari Mandarin has been proven as the most adaptable of all Mandarin varieties and remains that today! It is the most cold-hardy too; tolerating brief dips in temperatures as the mid-to-low-20s. It was immediately identified as being more resistant to disease problems common to other Citrus varieties. Ripening in December, you get a juicy treat just in time for the holidays! Today, Owari remains the most popular variety of Mandarin planted in the home garden. Even if you don’t have a garden, these are fantastic patio-sized container plants! Seedless, easy to peel, and most often the first to ripen, the Owari is hard to beat when you add its cold hardiness, and let’s not forget the great flavor! Owari Satsumas are also the standard canned Mandarin Orange sold in the grocery store and are the most popular and easily recognizable in flavor. #2 Clementine The Clementine Mandarin is a stand-out as the primary variety used for the popular bagged Mandarins introduced in the early 2000s. There are many varieties of Clementine's that ripen at different times allowing commercial growers the opportunity to harvest over a longer period.  For the home garden, the Algerian Clementine is seedless, easy to peel, and harvests between October and January. Right off the tree, the Clementine is a very fine flavorful fruit! #3 California Honey Mandarin Tree The California Honey Mandarin is sweet-scented from top to bottom and has sweet spiced honey flavorful fruit. It consistently ranks as the best-tasting and smelling of all the Mandarin and Tangerine trees available! The fragrant white flowers emerge in late spring and produce delicious fruit which ripens from November through April. Prolific in flower and fruit, these are bushier trees that serve double duty in the landscape as privacy hedgerows and specimen plantings and are also easy to grow in the container garden. #4 Pixie Mandarin Tree The Pixie Mandarin Orange is a fantastic and easy-to-care-for smaller tree with seedless fruit, and the flavor of Pixie Mandarin cannot be overstated! The Pixie is a delight for children, since it's both kid-sized and easy to peel, making it a snack they can easily serve themselves. From the fragrant blooms to the dark, leathery green leaves and upright growth of this exquisite Mandarin variety gives Pixie a rainforest vibe that many growers and passersby appreciate.  Also great for the home orchard and container garden! Pixie ripens in the winter (about early to mid-January) and has a very long hang-time, giving you a longer window to harvest the fruit. One may find themselves picking wonderful flavored Pixie Mandarins into June! #5 Tango Mandarin The #5 favorite spot of Mandarins at Nature Hills is the Tango Mandarin Orange! This seedless and easy-to-peel variety ripens in January and is considered to have the largest Mandarin fruit. Sweet-tart, tangy, and juicy, this vigorous grower also has a long hang time (eat off the tree until April!) and fragrant blooms. Developed for its easy-to-grow nature and deep orange rind, this Citrus tree is great for home orchards, container gardeners, and edible landscaping anywhere in the sun. More Mandarins Here are more of the next generation of the Mandarin Era! These other newer selections are fast becoming popular based only on their exceptional flavor. Varieties such as: W. Murcott Mandarin: Murcott Mandarin Tree, also known as Afourer, is one of the oldest Florida varieties and highly resistant to chill. The fragrant blooms lead to seedless, thin-rinded, bronze-speckled orange fruit that is juicy and easy to peel! Ripe in the autumn and precocious fruiting machines are flavorful container and landscape additions! Kishu Seedless Mandarin:  Compact ornamental size is perfect for growing in containers, Kishu Seedless orange's diminutive fruit size suits indoor trees! The fruit ripens early in the season (November) and is bite-sized, peels with ease, and has a wonderfully sweet, juicy flavor that will keep you eating them like candy! Gold Nugget Mandarin: The Gold Nugget variety leads the pack in flavor, and extended harvest! In many taste tests, it has proven to be one of the highest-rated of all the Mandarin varieties. Coming ripe in mid-February, it is not uncommon to be picking these sweet, bumpy nuggets as late as September. Upright in growth habit makes it a great choice for containers, tight plantings, and Espaliers.  Super Nova: A flavorful, sweet explosion, the Super Nova is a blazing orange fruit that is now poised to rival some other well-known Mandarins, like Cuties and Halos! Completely seedless, these mid-sized Citrus are fantastic in the landscape for shade and specimen trees at 12-15 feet in height and width. Shiranui Mandarin Tree: A topknot variety with a cute button at the top of each round orange orb, the Shiranui Mandarin is intensely sweet and one of the larger-sized trees available at 12-18 feet. You can of course prune this variety smaller to suit your landscape's needs, or try your hand at creating an Espalier specimen tree! Especially tolerant of extreme heat and retaining the family's easy-to-peel and segment fruit, these are internet-famous ‘foodie’ favorites. The semi-seedless fruit themselves match the tree size and one is large enough to share! Dwarf Brown Select: Need a small dwarf-sized Mandarin tree? Then the Dwarf Brown Select Satsuma is your patio tree! Even a bright sunny window year-round will be perfect for this diminutive Citrus! It’s a Mandarin Orange variety with sugary-sweet juicy fruit that's mostly seedless for easy eating. Sudachi: The Sudachi Mandarin is a lime-like Citrus similar to the Yuzu Citron but smaller, juicier and has fewer seeds. Actually a cross between a Mandarin and a Lime, these are primarily used for their sweet-tart juice that has a distinct spicy aroma when used in cooking - like a combination of lime, pepper, dill, and cumin all in one! Especially when harvested and juiced while still green. Page Tangelo: Last but not least, although technically a Tangelo, the Page Mandarin is a Minneola Tangelo crossed with a Clementine Mandarin. The Page needs a mention because of its outstandingly rich flavor! Ripening in December the Page has dependable crops of medium size and has an easy-to-peel, deep orange fruit. If the Mandarin has a flavor unique to Citrus, then the Page Mandarin is quite possibly the most unique of all! Easy-to-Grow Citrus Trees Relatively easy to grow, Mandarin trees need full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day) and enriched soil with excellent drainage. Preferring soil that is slightly acidic and has regular fertility. Citrus trees do need regular water, but in lower amounts and prefer to dry out slightly between waterings. Soggy soil and poor drainage that rots their roots is the fastest way to kill a Citrus tree. Use a loose, fast-draining soil in containers and ensure the pots have a place for water to drain out of. Mandarins are popular in tropical and subtropical areas, especially in USDA planting zones 8 to 11 because in general, they are tender trees that can be damaged by cold weather. Container gardeners should pot their trees in containers with good drainage and fast-draining soil, then bring their Mandarin trees indoors for the winter or protect them from exposure to frost or prolonged cold. Many people in more northern regions (Growers in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 8) grow citrus trees in pots, making it easier to take advantage of warm summers and then transition indoors when temps plummet. Once you situate your tree, expect a bit of leaf-drop since Citrus don’t like being moved; this is why acclimating your tree gradually indoors each fall, and gradually outdoors each spring is vital! Move your container-grown plant to a more shaded location outdoors for a few weeks before it needs to move indoors. This will acclimate it to a lower light situation and help to reduce the leaf drop after coming inside. Because they typically grow in more humid climates, they do appreciate higher air humidity and despise drafts. If they don’t spend time outdoors where the bees and beneficial insects can help pollinate your tree, then you need to take a soft paint brush and dab at each bloom to spread pollen. Where to Plant Mandarin Trees Mandarin trees have dense foliage, making them a good option for privacy, and property division hedges. The evergreen foliage is glossy and ornamental year-round and the branching and space-saving size of these trees makes them perfect for smaller home landscapes. The white, sometimes pinkish-tinged flowers, are - incredibly - heavenly - divinely - fragrant! Mandarin tree blooms attract pollinators and make a scented focal point for any garden. When mature, the brightly colored fruits of these trees offer gorgeous contrast against the glossy green leaves. Anywhere in the sun in a protected location from frost and wind will be perfect for a Mandarin tree! Use as edible landscaping specimens, porch and patio container garden additions, deck, and terrace shade plants, and even fantastic gift plants! The Era Of The Mandarin Is On! There it is! All the Mandarin varieties to think about when planning to install a Mandarin Citrus tree in your home garden! Mandarin trees can nourish your family and your landscape! Don’t miss out on another crop of delightful Mandarins to enjoy in your garden! Delivered to your doorstep with mature root systems and ready to produce fruit within a few years, from the expert growers at Nature Hills Nursery. Happy Planting!

Pantone has declared their Color of the Year, Viva Magenta 18-1750, “vibrates with vim and vigor!” This pinkish-violet member of the red color family is the new signal of strength! Magenta is about balance and harmony! A combination of the passion, power, and energy of the color red, tempered by the restrained introspection and quiet energy of violet, creates a hue that embodies both! It is said to promote compassion, understanding, kindness, and cooperation, as well as cheerfulness, happiness, and contentment, and conveys appreciation and character! But for the garden, this is a color with some serious wow factor behind it! Check out Nature Hills' favorite plants that were jumping on the Magenta bandwagon before they became the Color of the Year! Top Magenta Plants at Nature Hills! Not quite red, not quite violet, not quite wine, Magenta is a bright color more in step with raspberry, and carmine, with a touch of burgundy! Bring this hot new shade into your landscape with these fantastic plants! Perennials Returning year after year, Perennials bloom their hearts out and are so versatile in the landscape! Usually smaller and space-saving, these easy-to-grow and love plants fill your garden with a rainbow of color choices! But this fantastic Viva Magenta can be found strongest in these plants! There are more Clematis than we can mention in this fantastic color hue! Check them out here! Rocky Road Magenta Creeping Phlox and Magenta Pearl Phlox Moonshadow™ Morello Hardy Hibiscus Purple Poppy Mallow Cat's Eye Tall Bearded Iris Peony Like Purple Sensation Peony, London, and Prince of Darkness! Shrubs Large and small flowering ornamental bushes, these leafy specimens fill themselves with Color of the Year saturated blooms! Black Diamond® Mystic Magenta™ Crape Myrtle Shrub Anah Kruschke Rhododendron Magenta Chiffon® Rose of Sharon Shrub Buzz™ Magenta and Buzz™ Hot Raspberry Butterfly Bushes Spilled Wine® Weigela GreatMyrtle™ Red Velvet Crape Myrtle Shrub Trees Vibrant magenta flowers really show off big time as they bloom on both large and small-scale trees! Eastern Redbud and other Redbud Trees Red Flowering Dogwood Purple Prince Crabapple Galaxy Magnolia Merlot Redbud - both the flowers and foliage are in step with this trend! Roses There are too many Roses to mention individually, but you can find tons of Roses in the Nature Hills inventory that exhibit this amazing hue and combine it with fragrance as well! Ruby Voodoo Rose Be My Baby Miniature Rose Hansa Hybrid Rugosa Rose Sweet Spirit™ Grandiflora Tree Rose Blaze Improved Climbing Rose Fruit Trees & Plants Want to eat this great color? There’s a fruit for that! Purple fruits and vegetables are said to be rich in anthocyanins and red fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants that reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis, hypertension and high cholesterol. We would like to think that Magenta fruit has the best of both worlds! Try a Raspberry Bush like Joan J, or Polka Strawberry Plants like Sparkle or Berried Treasure®  Bite into an Elephant Heart or Showtime Plum! Try an Arkansas Black Apple or Winecrisp™ Apple Tree Pluck a few Bing or Lapins Cherries too! Live Viva Magenta This 2023! It was in 1858 that Renard Freres Franc mixed aniline with tin chloride and he named it fuchsine, after the Fuchsia flower! Going by purple-mauve, fuchsia, and roseine in the past, this dramatic hue doesn’t back down and embodies strength and resilience! Employ this powerful color onto your landscape and garden as a way to show we’re bouncing back from troubling days and as a reminder that there are brighter ones ahead!  Nature Hills is in love with this fun color and everything it implies! Head over to NatureHills.com to find out more! Happy Planting!

The Cherry traces its history as far back as 3300 BCE. Both the Sweet and the Sour Cherry have been a highly desired part of the human diet for thousands of years. The fresh Sour Cherry pies of Michigan and Wisconsin are always in demand during cherry season. A popular variety for pies is Montmorency Cherry - there is always a huge demand for those pies, and no wonder. They taste amazing! Sour cherries have been used by pie-makers for a very long time, but did you know they are also very healthy as a dried snack? You typically find them in health food stores, or in the organic section of your local grocery store as "Tart Cherries."  Super Fruit Health Benefits of Sour - or Tart - Cherries The tremendous health value of Sour Cherries has been realized as far back as 3000 BCE. Only today are we able to define what that really means. In more recent studies, the term “super fruit” has become associated with the Sour Cherry. This is due to the high antioxidant values the Sour Cherry possesses. It has been shown in studies to have high anti-inflammatory benefits, improve memory, lower the risk of heart disease and colon cancer, and has even been cited as contributing to a good night’s sleep. For centuries, the bark of the Sour Cherry has been used as a cough suppressant, prized for its sedative, expectorant, drying and cough control qualities. The fruit of Tart Cherries contains melatonin, and studies show that they may be of benefit to improving sleep duration and in managing sleep disruption. How to Use Sour - or Tart - Cherries The versatile Sour cherry can be cooked, juiced, dried, frozen, eaten fresh or even distilled as the liquors Kirsch and Ratafia. They are included in any number of different preparations including baked goods, pies, preserves, main and side dishes or even for medicinal uses. For example, the sour cherry is paired as a main dish with meat in Persian cuisine or used in the preparation of Sour Cherry Saffron Rice (Polow), a wonderful flavored side dish suited for royalty. The most popular variety for this is the red-fleshed English Morello cherry, though the North Star cherry with its dark red flesh would surly be a good consideration as well.  Sour cherries are delicious, and can be dried in a dehydrator. These dried fruits really improve the flavor complexity of a trail mix blend.  Sour Cherries Are Easy to Grow and Stay Small Sour Cherry varieties are the most adaptable of all cherry types. They are ideally suited to the modern landscape. A full size sweet cherry is often too big and needs pruning to fit into today’s smaller landscapes. The more popular sweet cherry varieties like Bing require a pollinizer, which means another tree. Sour Cherries are all self-fruitful, requiring no extra tree. In addition, the Sour Cherry is a natural dwarf and is often referred to as a bush Cherry because of its low growing canopy. Sour cherries can easily be maintained to below 8 feet with just a little summer pruning. Their value as an edible ornamental shrub is tremendous. The trees develop prolific blooms in the spring, followed by bright ornamental fruit, and a wonderful vase shaped dormant structure. This can readily be achieved with the early season fruiting of the Early Richmond variety of Sour Cherry, long a favorite of American and English gardeners. Growing well in zones 4-9 and newer varieties – like the Romeo and Juliet - are showing promise in zone 3-4. The Nanking Cherry has proven a good choice for zone 2. With this wide range of adaptability and the fruits seemingly unlimited uses, the Sour Cherry stands out as a first consideration for today’s home garden. Happy Planting!

It’s almost spring, and already some plants are breaking dormancy in the warmer growing zones and mild winter climates. Just like there are morning people, and then the rest of us, plants have their own timeline on when they are ready to shake off their sleep and jump out of their winter beds. In terms of your Grasses - both Ornamental and Turf Grass - when each type prefers to get going in the spring and what your hardiness zone is can mean the difference between fields of green, and I-think-it-died-brown. Warm Season vs. Cool Season Grasses Cool Season Grasses Warm Season Grasses The In-Between Zones Lush Green Grass! Warm Season vs. Cool Season Grasses Whether you are talking Ornamental Grass, Native Prairie Grass, or Lawn Grass, you need to know what type you are dealing with to know how to best care for it and know what to expect as it grows. This will directly relate to when you can expect to see new growth in the spring, when it’s best to fertilize and water your plant. It also relates to when you can expect dormancy, and when to plant them in the fall. You’ll also know which to choose for your Growing Zone and climate, so you will have the greenest landscape possible! Cool Season Grasses Some Grasses are the morning person type of grass and will start to grow the moment the soil begins to warm. These are the cool-season grasses and they thrive in those cooler temperatures of spring and fall. Growing best throughout USDA growing zones 2 through 6, cool-season Grasses handle severe cold, ice, and shorter growing seasons, jumping out of the ground in a hurry knowing that the summer heat is fleeting and cold fall weather will once again be upon them. Their ideal temperature range for growth is between 65 - 80°F, putting on most of their growth in the spring, taking a break in the summer heat, before growing again in autumn. The best planting time for these Grasses - both Turf and Ornamental - is in the fall. This gives the plant, plugs, or seed plenty of time to establish before enduring summer heat stress. It will have a larger root system to take up water and grow deep enough by next summer to stay cool. Some examples of Cool-Season Grasses are Annual and Perennial Ryegrass, Bentgrass, Rough Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue, and Fine (Creeping) Fescue. On the Ornamental Grass side are Overdam Feather Reed, Karl Foerster, and Desert Plains Grasses, just to name a few. Cool Season Grass Benefits Cool-season Grasses tolerate cold weather and harsh winters beautifully! Many can handle a bit more shade and can take on higher traffic without issues. With Rye coming out on top for foot traffic Fescues are great for shade Both Tall Fescue and Fine Fescue are adept at handling heat, drought and cold Bluegrass is the most popular for the lawn so long as it is in a sunny location You will often see many cool-season Grass seed mixtures include a combination of varieties to cover every possible contingency your lawn may face! From sun to shade, to heat and cold, that way your yard looks best for as long as possible throughout the growing season. This is the same with Ornamental grasses, planting a mix will ensure you’ll always have something nice in your garden at any point and throughout any type of weather! The slight downside with cool-season Grasses is that in the heat and during periods of extended drought, they will need extra moisture to keep during rising temperatures and dry conditions so they remain looking good. To keep your grass green, establish a regular watering schedule of 1 inch of water per week, including rainfall, to maintain a gorgeous green lawn. Warm Season Grasses The lower portion of the US, typically zones 7 through 10, needs to plant warm-season Grasses. These Grasses hit the snooze alarm a few times and wait until temperatures are just right. The downside is that these Grasses look as dead as a doornail until the soil temperatures warm up enough for them to break dormancy! Remaining brown throughout the entire winter months, sometimes until late spring, or even early summer, before they start to grow. Warm-season Grasses typically flourish between 80 and 95º and put on the most growth. But will go dormant when temperatures are consistently below 60°F. For most of the southern third of the US, it's best to plant these warm-season grasses. Warm Season Grass Benefits Warm-season Grass plants are resilient in the heat, highly xeric and drought-resistant, handle occasional cold well, and thrive in both higher humidity or more arid conditions than cool-season Grasses do. Warm-season Grasses take off and just soak up the heat of summer! With an extensive and tough root system and the ability to stay green despite heat and drought, warm-season Grass just shines in as much sun and heat as you can give them! Some examples of warm-season Grasses are Switch Grass, Carpet Grass, Buffalo Grass, St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, and Bahia Grasses. There are many warm season Ornamental Grasses, and a few are Miscanthus, Schizachyrium (Bluestem), and Panicum family members. All these warm-season Lawn and Ornamental Grasses do fantastic in the heat and thrive in both arid Southwestern US and the humid climates of the Southeast US. Bahiagrass comes out on top for the high humidity tolerance in the southeastern US Bahia and Centipede Grasses have good foot traffic resistance Many Native types, like Buffalo Grass, have roots extending several feet into the soil Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine Grasses are so dense, they handle drought best St. Augustine is recommended for saline and coastal conditions Bermuda and Buffalo are recommended for overseeding and plugs St. Augustine and Zoysia are great when installed as plugs The downside is once those cooler temperature settle in, you’ll be left with a brown-looking lawn later into the spring, while your neighbors' cool-season lawns are already looking green and lush. But the jokes on them - while their lawn is struggling and gasping in the heat of summer, your lawn will look fantastic! When drought and sizzling temperatures hit, you and your water bill will have the last laugh! The In-Between Zones If you live somewhere in the middle of the US, you get the cold winter weather and the brutal summer heat. Therefore, you are in what is called the Transition Zone. Here you see the best (and worst) of both worlds! So you need a Turf-Grass or Ornamental Grass variety that will either stand up to it all or plant a mixture of both, to always have something nice and green regardless of where and what. Tall Fescue seems to do fantastic in these Transitional states Bermuda and Zoysia too due to their cold tolerance and ability to handle drought. Transition Zones states can also look for a seed mixture of cool and warm-season Grass to create a dream lawn that stays nice and green all growing season long! Check with your local County Extension Office to find out which lawn and ornamental grass plants do best in your specific area! Best of Both Worlds? Buffalo Grass is a fantastic Native choice for these middle states due to its tolerance for about anything these varied climates and wildly changing weather zones can throw at them! Legacy Buffalo Grass is a native selection that can handle a wide range of climates and conditions from USDA Hardiness Zones 2 all the way up to zone 10! Another advantage of Buffalo Grass is they are soft and short, requiring far less mowing and upkeep! This choice is a fantastically xeric and eco-friendly option! Lush Green Grass! Don’t hurry your late-rising warm-season Grass along and have some patience! It will show up when temperatures are right. Just because cool-season Grasses have the advantage in the spring and may look better now, planting a mixture of both will give you and your landscape the best of both worlds! Cool-season Grass has its own advantages in the harsh winter, returning year after year of brutal cold and snow-pack and acting as if nothing happened once it all melts away! So if your Grass is still looking dead as a doornail in your landscape might just be sleeping in, don’t dig it up just yet and compost it, it's just a warm-season Grass waiting for temperatures to rise before it gets growing! Check out all of Nature Hills' quality Ornamental Grass and Turf Grass available today and make your side of the fence the greenest! Need some tips and care information for your Ornamental Grass planting and care, or Turf-Grass and Lawn care tricks? Check out our #ProPlantTips Garden Blog for everything you need to know about both! Happy Planting!