FULL STEAM AHEAD 22 acres of sand beds requiring sanitation between rotating crops, and a shrinking list of available chemicals was a looming issue the growers at the propagation farm in Cottage Grove, Minnesota were challenged with addressing. Should they...
THINKING IN THE BOX The process of manually stacking bareroot trees and shrubs in trucks for shipping each spring has not changed much over the years. Each bundle is handled multiple times in the process of loading and unloading, requiring...
What’s Happening With The Buckeyes? No, we’re not talking about The Ohio State University football team; most of us here are hapless OSU Beaver fans, along with a smattering of Duck and Auburn fans. What we are referring to, of...
Storage Considerations When explaining what we do at Carlton Plants to people outside of the nursery industry, I’m often met with dumb founded blank stare. “You mean to tell me you can dig a tree out of the ground with...
Sweetgum After all the Acer rubrums have lost their florescent leaves for the year, one tree continues to exhibit its colorful fall glory deep into the first frost. Whether it’s a selected cultivar or straight seedling, Liquidambar is a sweet...
THE NOBLE MAGNOLIA When I hear Magnolia, many different things come to mind. I think of Chip and Joanna Gaines with Magnolia Farms, the Grateful Dead song “Sugar Magnolia”, Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias and, of course, the distinctive large,...
Shrubs – Have you tried these? Looking for something new? Want a subtle pop of color or texture contrast in the landscape? Here are three of our newer diverse favorites displaying a variety of attributes from drought or deer resistance,...
Rhus Prairie Flame I recently had the pleasure of taking a trip with my son through the Southern Missouri Ozarks region to float a portion of the famous Current River. The drive through this area was spectacular. The fall air...
Liriodendron tulipifera – Tulip Tree During my college years I had the great opportunity to work at our local garden center on weekends and in between classes. When I wasn’t unloading the daily delivery of annuals and veggie flats, my...