Sanders Gardening Calendar

Sanders Gardening Calendar
08 Jun
Fall
Sept 22nd -Dec 21st 

It’s harvest time! Root crops like pumpkins, potatoes (including sweet potatoes), carrots and onions are ready to be enjoyed. Some crops (carrots) will survive a light frost and can remain in the soil. Monitor other cool weather crops (like cabbage, spinach) until they are ready. Green tomatoes should be harvested and brought indoors before frost.

Keep watering trees and shrubs, most importantly, the younger ones, unless there is plenty of rain each week. Plants need about an inch of rain every week. Well-watered plants will survive the winter better. Keep watering until the ground is frozen.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs like tulips, hyacinths, crocus, daffodils. Selecting larger (more mature) bulbs will result in larger flowers. (Not ready to plant those bulbs you bought? Simply store them in a cool, dry and preferably dark location. Do not store them with fresh fruit or vegetables in the refrigerator.)

When fall colors begin to transform the landscape, it’s a good time to transplant small trees and shrubs.

Fall is a great time to plant new trees and shrubs, allowing them plenty of still fairly warm weather to get established before icy winter temperatures arrive. Be sure to stake young, newly planted trees for support. Where rabbits or deer are common, tree guards will keep the animals from gnawing on the trees’ trunks.

Clean out dry leaves and debris to avoid passing natural sugars into the root systems of the grass and trees.

Give yourself a break: Instead of raking leaves, simply mow over them a couple times.

Fertilize the lawn in late Fall.

Cover the soil around plants, shrubs and trees with mulch/compost.

To wrap or not to wrap? Actually, most evergreens which are established and hardy in your area do not need to be wrapped for protection in winter. Some, however, get “winter burn,” as do some very young, newly planted trees that have not yet rooted into the underground moisture system. Check with our nursery’s customer service staff for expert advice on burlap wrap, mulching and more.

Inventory your lawn and garden supplies to make sure you have garden cloth to cover plants during an early frost, rakes, leaf bags, etc.

Make necessary repairs and adjustments as needed to flower beds, trellises.

Tip: When removing or cutting down dried flowers and plants before Winter, leave the ones that have seed heads (ornamental grasses and some perennials) so the birds will have food during the cold months.


Winter

Dec 21st – March 20th 

Rest, relax and enjoy the satisfaction of completing a full and rewarding gardening season.

Plan for future gardening: Make a paper or computer plan of your garden or yard. Do it in color for greater enjoyment and better planning. Gardening books and magazines can guide you and inspire you – and so can the Sanders customer service staff. Just visit our nursery to envision all the spectacular and functional possibilities!


Spring         

March 20th – June 20th

Winter clean-up: Rake and clear out dried leaves, dead growth and debris from around shrubs and trees and the lawn.

Lightly rake up patches of lawn that may be dead, and re-seed them. Keep the new seed watered.

Check the lawn mower. Is it ready for that heavy duty mowing season soon to come? Get the blades sharpened.

If you’re adventurous, try growing flowers and vegetables from seeds. This is especially fun for plants that bloom or mature in late Spring and Summer. Best conditions are: Indoors under fluorescent lights or in a warm, sunny greenhouse, about eight or nine weeks before the anticipated last frost of winte
r. (Instructions for spacing, watering, location, etc., are readily available on labels, seed packets and from any of our customer service representatives.)

For cooler weather veggies like cabbage, radishes and broccoli, plant seedlings (young plants already grown to a height and condition suitable for planting) outside.

Spring is an ideal time to transplant shrubs. Do this before they begin to leaf out.

While they are still dormant, treat fruit trees and shrubs (like Euonymus) to protect them against scale insects and pests that hung on through winter. A good organic oil spray should be applied after the last frost but before the leaves have opened.

Plant shrubs and trees during mid-Spring. Keep them well watered, watering them if drought conditions exist or rain is rare.

Add mulch under shrubs and flower beds where weeds could become problematic, and to keep soil moist.

Plant summer flowering bulbs like lilies, gladiolus, after all danger of frost is over. Label new plants for easy reference.

Install support stakes for gladiolus, delphiniums and peonies while they are still at a manageable height.

Divide and replant perennial flowers that have been in the soil for a couple years or more.

To prepare for warm weather planting, till the soil at least six inches deep. If recommended, add a soil enhancement product such as organic material or fertilizer.

Between Spring rains is a perfect time to install a trellis or a watering system, build flower beds and perform maintenance.

Lawn care includes aerating your lawn and controlling weeds. Set the mower blades to about three inches’ height.


Summer         

June 20th – Sept 22nd

The growth of cool-weather vegetables will begin to slow as the ambient temperature rises, and that’s a clue that it’s time to pull out their vines and harvest them. Keep them picked to stimulate them to produce more.

Turn the soil and plant flowers, shrubs and vegetables that thrive and bloom in warm weather. If you’re not growing from seed, pick up some of our high quality bedding plants.

Cut down the dead and yellowed leaves of spring flowers no longer in bloom.

Some shrubs, such as crapemyrtle and nandina) adore hot weather, require minimal watering and add beauty wherever they are planted. Crapemyrtle can be planted most any time of year.

Check plants for insects and take steps to eliminate them. Check with our customer service staff for advice on the most effective products.

If you’re fond of growing from seed, Summer is the time to begin the seed garden for plants that will bloom/mature in the Fall.

Mulch can be used to great results in summer as well as winter. Cover the soil to retain moisture and protect the plants from extreme heat.

Deadhead (remove dead flowers) geraniums, lilacs, roses, rhododendrons and most flowers, to keep them flowering. Pinch back chrysanthemums and asters so they will produce a fuller, more bushy look.

Spray roses with a fungicide weekly.

Water the plants at least one inch each week. Increase to twice weekly if the weather is exceptionally hot. In Oklahoma’s extreme heat (two or three consecutive weeks of temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), watering may be required every other day or even daily. Monitor the plants closely.

Although most trees and shrubs regain their healthy appearance after a good rain and a little cooler weather arrives, you can help keep them healthy by covering the more delicate shrubs and vegetables with a light fabric or garden cloth to protect them from sunburn and drying out.

Lawn mowing should be done as often as necessary. Don’t remove more than one third of the grass blades; leave about three inches’ height, especially in hot weather.

Keep notes on what works, what needs changing and what doesn’t work. What flowers simply don’t thrive in your climate or your garden? What colors are missing? Your notes will be much appreciated in the winter months as you plan the next year’s garden.

Hot Summer Garden & Lawn Watering

Hot Summer Garden & Lawn Watering
08 Jun

Sanders Says …

It’s hot enough to fry baloney on the sidewalk, and you’re worried about how the heat will affect your flowers, trees, shrubs and lawn. Here in the Southern Midwest, those weeks-long stretches between rainfalls can dry up even some drought-tolerant plants. Watering is essential during the summer growing season, and there are some easy ways we can be ‘water-wise’ as we nurture nature:

GENERAL WATERING TIPS FOR LAWN, PLANTS & SHRUBS

  • Are water restrictions in place? Check with your city services to see if there are restrictions about water usage. Is a voluntary rationing plan in place? What days are you permitted to water your property?
  • Don’t mow the lawn until it’s watered. Mowing dried, thirsty blades may exacerbate the dryness problem.
  • Test for soil moisture. A screwdriver or wooden paint mixing stick inserted into the ground will tell you if the soil is moist or dry. (You can also purchase a moisture meter or gauge at the hardware store or local nursery.)
  • Check the condition of the mulch. If mulch has compacted or formed a crust, it will prevent water from soaking into the root zone of a tree or plant. Break up the mulch with a rake.
  • Select an efficient tool. A soaker hose or sprinkler wand can work wonders when watering and they perform more efficiently than the traditional garden hose and standard nozzle.
  • Water wisely and when necessary:

• Don’t drown your plants or over-water your lawn. Water your lawn only when it needs water. If it crunches when you walk on it, it’s screaming for water! If its color is turning to shades of blue-gray, brown or yellow, it’s dying! If footprints don’t pop back up into healthy blades, it’s thirsty.

• Water grass at least weekly, unless you’ve had a good, soaking rain. Small water amounts lead to shallow root systems. To encourage deeper root systems, give less frequent but larger water amounts to plants and shrubs. Use a moisture gauge to determine the need.

• Different types of grass, plants and flowers require different amounts and frequencies of water. Too much water can prevent oxygen from reaching the roots, building ‘root rot’ and causing the plant to die. Over-watering kills many flowers and plants.

• Most lawns need one inch of water every week. That’s a deep watering to the roots, but only when needed.

• Windy weather, especially during hot temperatures, dries up the ground very quickly, which may necessitate an additional watering or two.

• Water that puddles around the base of the tree or plant, or runs in streams through the grass, is a signal to stop watering until the water has soaked into the ground, then resume watering until you feel you have watered at least one inch.

• It’s not necessary to water the leaves of trees and plants, or outside the root zone of a shrub or perennial. Plants, shrubs and trees should be watered to their drip line.

• Plants and shrubs planted in full sun along the foundation of your home may require more watering than others, as the sun’s rays are reflected off the building and the building may hold in the heat. Monitor the moisture of plants located under the home’s eaves, where raindrops may not reach.

• Do not allow newly planted shrubs and trees to dry out. Although flowers will usually bounce back to life when finally watered, newly planted shrubs and trees are unforgiving and may be destined for the wood pile if not sufficiently watered.

• Newly sodded lawns, lawns recently seeded and lawns with problem areas usually require more frequently watering than established grasses.

• Plants, trees and flowers located on hillsides and slopes require a special watering technique, to prevent the water from running down the slope before it sinks into the root base. Water for a few seconds slowly, then remove or turn off the water until the water you’ve just applied sinks down into the roots. Then give it a little more water and repeat this procedure until you feel you have sufficiently watered and the water has reached down to the roots. You may want to invest in a soaker hose or sprinkler system to make watering hillside plants easier.

  • Choose the ideal time of day. Morning, when it’s cooler, is the best time to water. Watering in the early evening, at dusk or at night introduces a risk of fungus formation in the roots. Mold and mildew, flower blight and leaf spot are possible. Watering in the hot sun can sunburn the leaves. Water at the beginning of the day so the sun can dry the leaves and contribute to disease prevention.
  • Use only cool water. A garden hose that has been coiled or stretched out in the hot sun all day will deliver very hot water to the lawn or plants. Store the hose in the shade. If that’s not possible, run the hot water out before you turn the hose to the plants. Test the water temperature with your hand.
  • Waste no water. Turn off your sprinkler system if it rains. Prevent runoff when you water by hand or by sprinklers. Don’t flood the plants, just water them. Hire a lawn service to ‘aerate’ your lawn yearly, to increase the rate of water absorption and reduce runoff. If your state and city permit it, buy a rain barrel to capture gutter runoff and provide your own watering resource.

Some reasons plants, flowers and shrubs die:

  • Too much water volume at each watering
  • Watering too often
  • Allowing plant or tree to get completely dry before watering
  • Not giving enough water at each watering event

Gadgets that make watering a snap:

  • Sprinkler system with rain sensor
  • Moisture meter
  • Soaker hose
  • Garden hose with nozzle
  • Irrigation system
  • Misting system
  • Rain gauge
  • Rain barrel

Sanders Says … The customer service staff at Sanders Nursery and Distribution Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, will be happy to help with your questions and can direct you to the gadgets and equipment necessary for keeping your lawn and plants beautiful.   

How to Buy Great Bedding Plants

How to Buy Great Bedding Plants
08 Jun

Hooray – It’s Spring and Time to Plant!

A few solid tips will help you bring home the best quality, most-likely-to-succeed bedding plants for your garden:

Even color in the leaves. The plant displays an even coloring (a “sameness” of color) on all the leaves and the leaves look healthy. They are not wilted or sticky and their edges are not a different color.

Lots of buds. The plant holds promise of beauty because it is covered with flower buds, making it a better choice than one that’s already in bloom.

Shorter stems and healthy roots. It’s a happy, healthy plant with stocky stems and full of leaves. Taller stems with only a few leaves are beanpoles, and they’re “older” or have resided in their container for much too long. Another clue to the plant’s being overage is a jumble of roots and very little soil.

Just ask! Sanders’ customer service staff is here to help.

The Secret To Garden Magic

The Secret To Garden Magic
05 Feb
Expert gardeners agree that building up the soil is the single most important factor in pumping up yields. A deep, organically rich soil encourages the growth of healthy, extensive roots that are able to reach more nutrients and water. The result: extra-lush, extra-productive growth above ground.

Watering CanThe fastest way to get that deep layer of fertile soil is to make raised beds. Raised beds yield up to four times more than the same amount of space planted in rows. That’s due not only to their loose, fertile soil but also to efficient spacing—by using less space for paths, you have more room to grow plants.

Raised beds save you time, too. One researcher tracked the time it took to plant and maintain a 30-by-30-foot garden planted in beds, and found that he needed to spend just 27 hours in the garden from mid-May to mid-October. Yet he was able to harvest 1,900 pounds of fresh vegetables—that’s a year’s supply of food for three people from about 3 total days of work!

How do raised beds save so much time? Plants grow close enough together to shade out competing weeds so you spend less time weeding. The close spacing also makes watering and harvesting more efficient.

Related: The Ultimate Compost Bin

Round Out Your Beds

The shape of your beds can make a difference, too. Raised beds are more space-efficient if the tops are gently rounded to form an arc. A rounded bed that is 5 feet wide across its base, for instance, will give you a 6-foot-wide arc above it—creating a planting surface that’s a foot wider than that of a flat bed. That foot might not seem like much, but multiply it by the length of your bed and you’ll see that it can make a big difference in total planting area.

In a 20-foot-long bed, for example, rounding the top increases your total planting area from 100 to 120 square feet. That’s a 20 percent gain in planting space in a bed that takes up the same amount of ground space. Lettuce, spinach, and other greens are perfect crops for planting on the edges of a rounded bed.

Pruning Trees

Pruning Trees
08 Jun

Winter is the perfect time to prune most trees because (A) most trees are dormant and not growing, and (B) in the absence of leaves, it is easy to see where pruning is needed and even easier to do the work.

But don’t prune just to be pruning. Some of the reasons we prune trees include:

  • To remove dead growth, injured or diseased or insect-infested branches;
  • To remove branches that appear to be dangerously close to falling;
  • To remove branches for aesthetic and appearance;
  • To remove branches that rub against a building or window.
  • To create open spaces so the sun’s rays can get through to the tree branches.

With a few exceptions, prune most deciduous (hardwood) trees while they are dormant in Winter. Exceptions include trees like Maple, Birch and Dogwood, which have a sap and resin flow during Spring (pruning in Winter would negatively affect the sap/resin flow). These trees should be pruned in late Fall.

Prune flowering trees and shrubs that flower in the Spring immediately after they are done flowering.

Prune trees and shrubs that flower in Summer any time you wish – but NOT when it’s really hot, as that is when insects are highly active and can migrate to other plants.

Prune evergreens in early to mid-Summer but not if it is very hot. Never prune evergreens in late Summer or Fall. When you prune, you can cut back from 50 to 90 percent of new growth every year to get more compact growth.

Check with the Sanders customer service staff for expert advice.

Holiday Poinsettia’s

Holiday Poinsettia’s
06 Dec

The weather outside is frightful but the Poinsettia’s are so delightful. Get your home holiday ready with Poinsettia’s from Sanders Nursery. Grown in our state of the art parent facility Park Hill Plants.

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Great as Teacher or Hostess Gifts

Multiple Sizes and Colors Available

Perfect for Fundraiser’s & Churches

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Beautiful Poinsettia Tree’s

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Come by today for a great selection.

Live Christmas Trees

Live Christmas Trees
05 Dec

We offer a great selection of live Christmas trees that can be planted after the holidays.

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Great Family Tradition

Multiple Sizes Available

Many Different Specimens to Choose From

Come by today and let us help you and your family find the perfect tree.