Evergreen Trees & Shrubs, Roses, Shrubs

Proven Winner Shrubs

Some new “Proven Winner” shrubs, trees, and grasses for the year 2023 include:

Sunjoy Orange Pillar Barberry boost neon orange foliage growing to a maximum of 4 feet with a 3-foot spread. Like with other barberries they have a lot of thorns making them resistant to deer. Good in poor soil with sun to part sun.

Puffer Fish Panicle Hydrangea has puffy white flowers that cover the entire plant. Opens as white turning to lime green as they age. They reach a height of 5 feet with an equal spread. Blooms on new wood so prune early in the spring. Likes sun to part sun.

Another hydrangea is Tiny Quick Fire which grows 3 feet by 3 feet. Flowers in May are white turning pink later on. Good for a foundation plant in front of taller shrubs. Both hydrangeas are not affected by pH.

Still another hydrangea, Invincible Sublime has large, fluffy, green flowers set off by dark foliage. The plant will rebloom later in the summer on 5-foot by 5-foot plants.

A new breed of roses called Reminiscent has hardiness with the fragrance of old English roses on 3-foot by 2-foot shrubs. This continuous bloomer was bred in Serbia so it is certainly hardy. These come in colors of cream-white, pink, and coral.

A new variety of arborvitae called Sting takes skinny to a new level. Growing to 20 feet with an 18-inch spread fits into small areas for some accent.

Prairie Winds ‘Niagara Falls’ Switch Grass grows 4 feet tall and wide. The bluish grass grows in a clump with sprays of cream-colored heads. Both drought and deer resistant.

Real Estate (Farm & Ranch Land)

2023 All-American Flower Selection Winners

2023 All American Flower Selection Winners are:

Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy is the first AAS Winner for a coleus. A compact plant with coral and green serrated leaves is great for containers. Holds its colors well in sun but is happier in the shade. The plant had almost no flowers. 3 plants will fill a 16-inch pot.

Royal Hawaiian Waikiki Colocasia is a sturdy plant with bright colorful leaves from Hawaii. It is a type of elephant ear that you see in some greenhouses. A good plant for a large container that can be brought indoors to a sunny location to overwinter.

Echinacea Artisan Yellow Ombre F1 is a perennial blooming all season like other coneflowers. Bright golden blooms which are long-lasting. Very long maintenance.

Leucanthemum Carpet Angel is a Shasta Daisy perennial blooming all season long with 3-inch white flowers. A daylength neutral variety meaning early flowering. Plants get 20 inches wide.

Salvia Blue by You is a deep blue blooming two weeks before other salvias. Great heat tolerance and winter hardiness. You will get repeat blooms during the summer if the spent blooms are removed. Like other salvias, they bring in hummingbirds and butterflies and retard rabbits and deer.

Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange Bicolor is a medium-growing plant with orange-red flowers. Stronger stems and more branching create more flowers. Blooms through summer.

Home Improvement

Generator for your Home

With the last blizzard, we had that left some people without power, maybe it is time to think about investing in a generator for your home.

The ideal generator for the whole house is called a standby generator. This will kick on when the electricity goes off. They are the most expensive type and require professional installation, but cover electricity consumption for the entire house. They range up to 20,000 watts. Standby generators come with a transfer switch that automatically transfers power to a fuel or propane hookup and shuts off power to the electrical line protecting utility workers from getting zapped.

Portable generators are smaller and usually on wheels. They can power smaller items like space heaters, television, refrigerator, and a few lights. The larger ones can be kept outside in a generator box to protect them from the elements and opened when you want to use them. Keep them at least 15 away from the house because of their exhaust fumes. They have a typical wattage range from 3000 to 10,000 watts.

Inverter generators are portable generators that run more quietly and efficiently, however, cost more.

Solar generators run on solar panels to a battery that stores electricity. No external fuel source is needed and runs quietly but is short-lived.

To figure out the wattage you need, add up the appliances you would run. A refrigerator take usually 600 watts, a space heater 1500 watts, a window air conditioner 1000 watts, a computer up to 300 watts, and lights 60 to 600 watts. Make sure your generator can handle these wattages. Furnaces, air conditioners, and refrigerators (600 to run and 2200 to cycle) require more wattage when they cycle off and on (surge watts).