Summer Sale

It's officially summer! Time for backyard barbeques, outdoor birthday parties and family picnics! Add vibrant color to your landscape with Schaefer's Summer Sale and impress your friends and family!

SAVE 50% on annuals and perennials! Choose from hundreds of gorgeous plants, including our geraniums and hanging baskets.

SAVE 25% on nursery stock, including trees, shrubs, rose bushes and evergreens!

Celebrate Roses

June is National Rose Month! It's time to celebrate our national flower! Here are some Fun Rose Facts -

• The rose became the official flower of the United States in 1986.
• Roses are native to North America.
• Roses have been around for about 35 million years.
• 60% of the roses grown in the United States are grown in California.
• 150 million rose plants are sold to gardeners around the world each year!
• The rose symbolizes love and beauty.

How to Celebrate National Rose Month -

• Plant a new rose bush in your garden.
• Send roses to someone you love. Roses are the perfect way to say "I love you."
• Treat yourself to a colorful bouquet of roses.
• Relax in a bubble bath filled with fragrant rose petals.
• Visit a local rose garden or simply take time to enjoy your own rose garden.

The Meanings of Various Rose Colors -

• Red - love, true love, beauty, desire, respect, courage, unity
• Deep Red - admiration, embarrassment
• White - spiritual love and purity
• Yellow - joy, friendship
• Lavender - love at first sight, enchantment
• Light Pink - grace, gentility, sympathy, admiration
• Dark Pink - thankfulness
• Peach - immortality, modesty

If you're looking to celebrate National Rose Month by planting a rose bush in your garden, Schaefer's has a beautiful selection for you! Roses are easy to grow and add an elegant look to any garden.

How To Plant a Patio Pot Container Garden

Every year, Schaefer's plants up hundreds of beautiful, custom patio pots. The photos above show the pots planted by Adriena and Kandy for the Village of Montgomery Beautification Project.

Decorative patio pots add a splash of color to patios, decks, entrances and landscapes. You can create a masterpiece of your own by following these simple steps.

• Select a container - Consider color, weight and style. A larger pot will hold more moisture. Also, if the pot does not allow drainage, be sure to drill holes in the bottom of the pot.
• Choose plants based on color scheme and sun exposure (sun vs shade plants) - Select a tall grass or spike for center of pot, medium sized plants next and trailing plants near the edge of the pot. Schaefer's has hundreds of annuals, and we're here to help you with your selection. Placing the plants in the container before planting will help you see how many will fit into the pot. Remember that the plants will grow, so do not overfill the pot.
• Fill pot with potting soil. Water the pot along with all other plants (in their individual pots) to prevent root shock.
• Time to plant! Start in the center of the pot and work your way outward. Remove each plant from pot and softly loosen roots. Place in pot and firmly pack the soil around each plant.
• Water pot thoroughly
• Fertilize - Use a slow release fertilizer after planting, and then use a water soluble fertilizer for the rest of the season.

Remember to water your beautiful patio pot often!

To watch Adriena plant the custom patio pots for the Village of Montgomery, follow this link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcYHjqpvs7E

Vegetable Garden Tips

It's time to plant your veggie garden! By growing your own vegetables, you not only save money on expensive produce at the store, but you also enjoy the distinct, delicious taste of the freshest fruits and vegetables from your own garden. On average, a $50 investment in vegetable seeds and plants can yield up to $1250 worth of groceries at the local supermarket!

Some of the produce that ends up on our dinner table comes from other continents. We really don't think about where our food comes from, how it was grown or how long ago it was harvested. When you grow your own vegetables, you can take pride in knowing that you're helping the environment and providing your family with the freshest produce available!

Growing a vegetable garden is not as difficult as it seems. Here are a few simple guidelines.

Select a location with at least 6 hours of sun each day. Mix the soil with mushroom compost (for nutrients) and peat moss (to lighten the soil for root growth).

Decide which crops you'd like to plant. Follow labels on seed packets and pots for proper distance between crops. If you're first timer and looking for something easy, try tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, radishes and green beans. Also try tasty herbs like chives, parsley, cilantro and thyme. We're here to help with your selection!

If you don't have much space for a vegetable garden, you can grow veggies in patio pots or even in small groupings around your pre-existing landscape.

Be sure to water regularly. Pick ripened crops frequently to encourage more production.

Soon, you'll be harvesting delicious produce from your own garden. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for progress on our employees' veggie gardens! More tips to follow!

Happy Arbor Day!

Arbor Day

To celebrate Arbor Day, we're having a sale! Today and tomorrow, save 20% on all trees and shrubs!

Spring is a great time of year to plant trees! It allows the tree to establish itself for an entire growing season, and the milder weather will require less watering than planting in the hot summer. Spring is also the time of year when Schaefer's has the largest selection of trees and shrubs. Fresh, top quality nursery stock is arriving daily from the best nurseries around the United States.

Where to Plant - Select an ideal location where the roots will have room to grow. Before you plant, be sure to call JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) at 1-800-892-0123 to make sure the area is clear of underground utilities. JULIE is a free service, and calling before you dig is the law.

What to Plant - Schaefer's can help you find the perfect tree for your garden. Are you looking for a fast growing, low maintenance tree? Try a Birch or Linden. How about a tree that has beautiful spring blooms? A Magnolia or Service Berry would add color to your garden. Does your yard need a compact growing tree? A Flowering Crab might be the perfect fit. Schaefer's has a large selection of trees. For a complete list, click on the link below.

http://www.schaefergreenhouses.com/garden-center/trees-shrubs.html

How to Plant -

• Dig your hole as deep as the pot and twice as wide as the pot.
• Gently remove the tree from the container and set in hole. The flare (where the roots begin to spread at the base of the tree) should be partially visible once tree is planted. It might be necessary to remove a bit of soil from base of tree to expose the flare.
• Backfill with a mixture of peat moss, torpedo sand and mushroom compost.
• Water the tree well.
• Add a layer of mulch around the tree to keep the moisture in the soil.
• Add root stimulator (like Bonide Root & Grow Plant Starter) to help the tree quickly become established.
• Continue to water at least 1" of water per week.

Proven Winner Day at Schaefer's!

Please join us 9am to 4pm on April 29th for Proven Winner Day at Schaefer's. Our guest and Proven Winners Expert, Curt Varsogea, will be happy to answer your questions, guide you in your selections and lead you to success with your flower gardening. His special presentation, "New Proven Winner Varieties and Their Uses" will begin at 10:00am.


If you've never used Proven Winners®, get ready to be impressed! Their award winning plants are easy to grow and are covered in bright, colorful blooms. Schaefer’s grows over 125 varieties of Proven Winners® and Proven Selections®, so you'll have endless possibilities of new color combinations for your garden.


Proven Winners® is a leading brand of high quality flowering plants that have been selected under the highest standards for their unique beauty and top performance. They are unsurpassed in terms of flowering, growth habit and garden performance. Proven Selections® is a brand of regional favorite varieties that compliment the Proven Winners®. These brands can be mixed and matched in garden pots and plantings with beautiful results.


Sign up in the Garden Center on Thursday for our FREE DRAWING!

• 1st Prize - Proven Winner Patio Pot
• 2nd Prize - Proven Winner Hanging Basket

Visit our website for our complete list of Proven Winners Varieties.

http://www.schaefergreenhouses.com/garden-center/annuals.html

For more information, visit the Proven Winners Homepage.

http://www.provenwinners.com/

Happy (Belated) Earth Day!

We're still celebrating Earth Day! And you can too! We're giving away FREE Norway Spruce Seedlings through Sunday, April 25th.

The Norway Spruce is a fast growing, dark green spruce with short needles. It'll make an attractive addition to your landscape and is perfect for a visual or wind barrier.

Plant a tree to commemorate the day that has inspired all of us to focus on our planet and environment.