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The best design and horticultural resource in the Puget Sound, Classic's 8-acre nursery and garden center is where you can find plants, garden gifts and answers to all of your landscape questions, 7 days a week. Have a look at our list of seminars and sales, clip a web coupon or just come by and walk our nature trail...
Make your thumb even greener. Follow some Classic Tips.
Is it hard to know when to divide the daylilies? Prune the paeony or trim the taxus? Sign up for our email Garden Tips and you'll get a monthly reminder about what's happening in your garden and what you need to do about it. (Don't want to do anything about it? Ouch. Better see our Landscape Care section!)
To receive the "Monthly Gardening Tip" just fill out the form and Submit. Note: We are unable to send the "Monthly Gardening Tip" via an email attachment to some ISP's. If you asked for, but aren't getting it, either find a teenager to reconfigure your computer or simply send a self-addressed stamped envelope to receive "snail mail".
Nursery Summer Hours: Monday - Saturday 9:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday 10:00am to 5:00pm
12526 Avondale Road NE Redmond, WA 98052
What To Plant and Harvest
Annuals/Perennials Waiting for those certain spots in the garden to fill in? Fill in those gaps right now with gallon size annuals & perennials. Try late season favorites such as Mums, Black-eyed Susans, Dahlias, Daises, and Asters. They will provide you with instant color this month and well into October! This is also an excellent way to experiment with different color combinations. Arriving Soon: Cool weather annuals like pansies, Cabbage, Kale, Dusty Miller and Mums! Check out our Coupon Page for Big savings.
Trees and Shrubs Try these for late summer color & great fall foliage: Callicarpa or Beauty Berry has small clusters of purple flowers in summer and metallic purple berries in fall and winter. Burning Bush has brilliant red foliage in fall. Check out our Coupon Page for Big savings.
Landscape Maintenance
Perennial and Annual Care: Continue to deadhead spent flowers, fertilize, and water all of your annuals and perennials. They will look better and keep blooming until the first heavy frost. Remove all seedpods from daylilies and Irises, unless of course you want new ones popping up next spring.
Roses: Keep them deadheaded, give them another dose of fertilizer and keep them deeply watered. Roses need 1-2" of water per week. Pull off the bottom 1/3 of the plants leaves. They act as a host for insects and the plant no longer needs them.
Watering: Remember it is better to water deeply and less frequently. Soaker hoses are the most efficient way and are superior to overhead watering. In addition, water early in the day. Add a 2-3" layer of mulch to your beds. This slows down evaporation and keeps soils cooler. It also adds micro-nutrients and suppresses weed growth! However, keep mulch a few inches away from the base of trunks, stems and crowns.
Lawns: When mowing, leave the grass length a little longer, it shades the soil and reduces evaporation.
Pruning: Summer pruning is ideal if you want to discourage water sprouts. Pruning now will also prevent certain diseases. Take out dead and crossing branches. Anytime after harvesting your raspberries, you can prune out spent canes. On ever-bearing raspberries, remove upper half of each cane that produced fruit this summer. In addition, now is the best time to prune Asian pears, cherry, plum trees and hedges.
Pests in the Landscape
Weeds: Continue to pull weeds! Use Corn gluten to prevent weed seeds from germinating.
Bugs: Hunting for slugs? They hide in cooler places, like under rocks and leaves. Sluggo will help control population. Remember if your water plants have aphids do not use an insecticidal soap. This can be deadly to fish and other aquatic life. Push affected leaves under water, or hose them off. Having problems with bugs eating your veggies? Try squashing them, hosing them off with water or use Dr. Earth Insect Killing Spray, available at the nursery!
Mildew: Powdery mildew got you down? Try thinning out dense growth to help increase air circulation. Pick off and throw away affected leaves. Keep plants well watered and fertilized to avoid stress. Try Rose Defense, a great anti-fungal spray that works on many garden plants, not JUST roses!
Upcoming Events
Labor Day Weekend! The Nursery will be closed in honor of the Holiday on September 6th. Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!
Fall Sale The annual fall sale will be Saturday, September 11th through Sunday, September 26th. Stop by for great savings throughout the Nursery.
Perennials, Annuals and Vegetables
Plant spring-flowering bulbs! Lift and divide existing spring flowering bulbs, if necessary. Also a good time to lift and divide overgrown or crowded perennials, replanting into soil amended with compost.
It's still not too late to plant some vegetables for the fall and winter vegetable garden. Overwintering types of Broccoli, Cabbage, Collards, Cauliflower and Kale can be planted by starts. By seed, salad greens and other cool weather crops are still possible. If you have row covers, cloches or other protection for crops, the possibilities are wider, still.
It's one of the best times of the year to plant perennials. Tidy up annuals and trim back spent growth. Feed with a water-soluble fertilizer to encourage some annuals to put out one last round of bloom before frost. Plant the newest crop of pansies ("Winter Pansies") to add some fresh color to the garden.
Questions about harvesting vegetables come up this time of year, especially as the weather starts to cool and we realize with a bit of a shock that we're witnessing the declining days of summer...
Squash — Summer Squash are best harvested while still on the small side, because not only is the flavor better, but if left on the plant a long time it begins seed formation and reduces further fruit set. A Winter Squash is completely mature when the stem is brown and shriveled. But usually our summers don't last long enough for that to occur; to optimize harvest; you can remove the very smallest squash and any new ones from the vine after September 1st, in order to allow the plant to put the remainder of its energy into ripening the larger fruit.
Eggplant — Best if picked when slightly immature — when the fruit has stopped rapidly enlarging, but the skin is still shiny and thin. Fruit set stops a week or two before the autumnal equinox, and this is when all developed fruit should be harvested. Smaller fruit may continue on to ripeness if the early days of October are sufficiently warm.
Peppers — Many varieties of both sweet and hot peppers change color from green to red or yellow as they ripen, and as much as possible this should be used as the guide for harvest for best flavor. For thin-walled varieties of hot chili peppers that are intended for drying, be sure to harvest before frost or the onset of the rainy season to prevent rotting of the fruit. If the fruit has not entirely ripened by this time pull up the entire plant and hang upside down in a cool, dimly lit place. Some of the remaining fruit on the plant will both ripen and dry under these conditions.
Tomatoes — Tomatoes are at their peak when they easily detach from the stem with only the slightest tug. But what to do as summer wanes, and you are still facing green globes on the vine? You can boost the ripening of the larger fruit by removing all flowers and the smaller, immature tomatoes, beginning about September 1st (these smallest of fruits won't have time to mature, in any case). An additional method is to start withholding water in late August/early September. This stress will cause the plant to ripen its fruit, thinking that it must hurry to ripen its seeds for reproduction. Watch out for late summer rains, however, which can cause these now more fragile vines to fall apart and become diseased. In the almost inevitable event of some green tomatoes: if they are full size at harvest, many will often ripen in the house (but search out some recipes for green tomatoes, just in case!).
Lawn Care
While the soil is still warm, it is a great time to seed a new lawn, on the heels of the fall rains that will aid germination. Shorter days mean slower top growth, allowing plants to store more nutrients and be in optimum condition for good, healthy growth next spring.
Trees, Shrubs and Fruit
Lightly feed roses after their fall bloom with organic/slow release fertilizer like the Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Food. By being a slow release fertilizer, it ensures that the plants have the proper nutrients as they go into dormancy. At the same time, it doesn't feed so rapidly as to cause a spurt of tender new growth that would be vulnerable in the cold winter months. Also, LEAVE THE HIPS ON THE ROSES! They help signal the plant to go into dormancy.
General Tips
It's true — Fall is for Planting! The soil is still warm, providing faster root growth and giving plants a head start on next year's growth. By next summer, they will have a larger, more established root system than spring plantings — means better drought tolerance and better flowering the first year. Also, the shorter days and mild temperatures in fall mean lower stress on new plants Last, but not least, the inevitable rains help keep those new plants watered-in, meaning less work for you (maybe a few days left to enjoy the hammock).
Exception: Plants that are frost tender, or borderline hardy for your area are best planted in the spring, unless they are being put in a well-protected area.
Pests in the Landscape
As the rainy season starts to return, unfortunately so do slugs. Try using Sluggo, an extremely effective slug killer that is non-toxic to people and pets. Or bait your slug traps with beer. You can search and destroy as well. Look under leaves and other debris.
Upcoming Events
Saturday October 2, 11am, "Walls, Walks and Patios". Do you have a muddy mess outside the patio door? Got a slope that needs to be retained to make it usable?
Classic Nursery & Landscape Company owner Alan Burke is a licensed Landscape Architect. Alan will be on-site to meet with you and answer ALL of your landscaping questions. Complimentary product literature will be offered to all who attend. Bring your problems - Alan has the answers!
The Salmon are on their way. Early October brings out the best in the fall season at the Nursery! With the arrival of the Annual Salmon run in our own Bear Creek, the excitement of the cycles of nature fill the air! Come take a walk on our nature trail, view the salmon and take in the crisp autumn air. October also brings us the bounty of the harvest, this year Classic will be offering all your favorite plants that provide autumn color in the garden.
Fall Clearance October 9-24th. Stop by the nursery for great deals and check out our website for additional savings at our BIG FALL CLEARANCE!
With fall in full swing and winter around the corner, the nursery will be going to their Winter Hours starting November 1st. Hours: Thursday-Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 10-5, closed Monday-Wednesday.
Plant now for an early jump on next spring, warm days and cool nights with approaching rains mean an ideal time to get your new trees, shrubs and perennials established before the coming winter cold. Choose from a dizzying assortment of winter pansies, violas, mums, asters and ornamental cabbage and kale. Fall is one of our favorite times in the garden, and we hope you will join us for this unique time at Classic!
Perennials, Annuals and Vegetables
Plant bulbs, plant bulbs, plant bulbs! The sooner the better: both for the availability of varieties as well as getting them in the ground well in advance of winter.
Lift and divide existing hardy bulbs, if necessary, as well as overgrown or crowded hardy perennials, replanting into soil amended with compost. It is a prime time to also move that peony you have wanted to relocate. Plant the newest crop of pansies ("Winter Pansies") to add some fresh color to the garden or containers.
There's still time to pop in another round of lettuce/greens. Especially if using a row cover, cold frame or other protective device, which will extend their availability for harvest even longer. Clean up strawberry beds, removing un-ripened or rotted fruit, dead leaves. Cut down asparagus plant stalks and mulch well. Consider using those falling tree leaves for your winter mulch.
Lawn Care
While the soil is still warm it is a great time to seed a new lawn, in advance of the fall rains that will aid germination. Fall is one of the most important times to fertilize your lawn. Using a granular, organic/slow-release fertilizer, like Dr. Earth Super Natural Lawn Fertilizer, will make the nutrients readily available to the grass when spring arrives and the demand is high. As the top growth slows and leaves begin to fall, mow the lawn at a shorter height than the rest of the year.
Trees, Shrubs and Fruit
LEAVE THE HIPS ON THOSE ROSES! They are an important signal for the plant to go into dormancy. Afterward, they are a good source of food for birds. Save those falling leaves for winter mulching — you can go over them with a lawn mower to cut them up into a finer consistency, if desired. Don’t use rose or fruit tree leaves for mulch. Rake up fallen rose and fruit tree leaves and toss them in the garbage or yard waste bin (not your compost bin; this will reduce the spread of disease). Black spot on these plants can have spores that remain dormant until the spring.
General Tips
Cover ponds with bird or other type of netting to catch leaf drop from nearby trees — much easier to remove!!
Mulch
Those things that are planted/transplanted in fall should be mulched now — the mulch holds warmth in the soil longer, giving the plants more time to get established and protecting them in the winter. Mulching established plants should not be done now, because the additional warmth could promote weak, late growth that would be damaged in winter or prevent a plant from going into necessary dormancy before winter. So mulch already established plants in early winter.
Fall leaves make excellent mulch. Keep them bagged/dry for winter mulching. Running over the leaves with a lawn mower will shred them into a more workable consistency, and enable them to break down more quickly. Leaves left intact may need to be removed in spring, as a nice little layer of leaves makes a dandy hiding place for (gulp) slugs.
Don't apply more than 2-3" of mulch. And NEVER allow mulch contact with the trunks of trees and shrubs — it creates the perfect breeding ground for molds and funguses and offers a hiding place for pests that attack the bark of plants. Remember, with mulch you are trying to protect the roots, especially the more delicate tip roots, which are at the underground perimeter of the plant.