Category Archives: Shrubs

February Newsletter 2022

A Message from our President
I humbly welcome you to a happy new year.  Humbly because it has been a journey for many of us.  There is something about adversity that brings out the best in people.  I feel that way about our team.  They have continually come to work during a pandemic, following our strict safety rules.  It wasn’t easy.

What I found so enchanting is that we focused on building comradery.  We instituted weekly meetings, headed by one of our trusted coordinators, that attempted to bring people together and create a sense of community when it felt like there was not one left.

This is the company you employ.  We strive for the best, so you are elated with your services.  But we also strive to make a safe place of health and happiness for our hard-working employees.  Coming from immigrants, I know their struggles and their fears.  It is our pleasure to combine service to you with the service to them.

We look forward to a new year with you.  We thank you for your business.  Most importantly, we thank you for helping us to make the world better for our environment, which includes our employees.

Donna Vignocchi Zych

Landscape Maintenance Update
Can you believe that April is around the corner?

Monthly, we will inform you of what you can expect on your property, generally.  I say generally because nature is a living thing.  Conditions change, plants die for little to no reason and diseases can be prevalent.

For February you should have received your landscape management renewal if you have one.  You should have received a site improvement proposal as well as an irrigation proposal if applicable.  If you don’t have one and would like to request an estimate please let us know.  The contact information is at the end of the email.  If you are not certain whom to call…call me!  Donna Vignocchi Zych at 847.613.5102.

Other than that know that we are very diligently preparing for spring 2022 and cannot wait to see all of you again.

Reminder of a great project

On a personal note
This year we experienced the passing of Carol Asher.  It had a profound effect on those of our staff that worked with her and personally within our ILT Vignocchi family.

For anyone that knew her she was a force…elegant and intelligent.  My memories of her are her love of plants and gardening.  She appreciated it as art, which most people do not.  Her and her husband, Mr. Asher, have been so generous and influential in the lives of my father and I as well as our staff.  For us at this time, it feels as though there isn’t enough gratitude.  But with gratitude for people that think selflessly, there is responsibility.  To perpetuate beauty of nature and kindness of spirit.  I for one will take this to heart and try to disseminate it to our work family.

We will miss her deeply and hope that there are the most beautiful gardens where she is now.  But those tending those gardens be assured she might know more than you.

Peace to you Mrs. Asher.  You will always be in my prayers, Donna.

Many of you might not know that we own a wholesale perennials groundcover nursery…here is our plant spotlight of the month!

Viburnum carlesii ‘Spice Baby’

Viburnum carlesii Spice Baby is an improved substitution for Viburnum carlesii ‘Compactum’. Standing at 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide, this petite shrub is an excellent selection for smaller landscapes.  This is a personal favorite of mine.  People love the smell of lilacs, but they can be problematic with blooming and disease.  This is a lovely alternative.  Happy planting!!!

This new rose is a ‘Top Gun’

One of the invaluable advantages of our sister company Montale Gardens is they introduce us to new plants.  Particularly plants that replace other plants that have developed issues.

‘Top Gun’ Rose is one of those.  Last year they brought this gem in as an alternative to ‘Knock Out,’ which when it came on the scene, was all the rage.  We couldn’t keep them in stock!  We have found their long term performance waning.  They are very susceptible to black spot disease, which if left untreated can devastate the plant.

This new rose has us impressed.  It delivers enhanced disease resistance.  Not only that, the flowers start our as a deep red and fade to cherry.  The bloom production is outstanding over dark green glossy leaves.

Give this baby a try!

Rosa ‘Top Gun’
SKU 70301

Donna Vignocchi Zych

Corporate Woods, Vernon Hills, IL

Benefits of a Spring Clean Up

A spring clean up for the inside of your home can mean different things to different people.  To some it is as light as cleaning off the patio and the grill and to those Martha Stewart enthusiasts it can be so so much more…washing curtains, emptying cabinets and giving them a thorough wash and possibly even power washing the roof.  Everyone’s need are different.

The same can be said for a landscape but there are some things that absolutely need to be accomplished.  First removing any branches, sticks and leaves from the property.  Doing a good fall clean up can help make this an easier task, but it still needs to be done.

You also want to cut back any Hydrangeas, grasses or perennials that were left in tact for winter interest to make room for new growth.

 

 

At this time we also like to cultivate, edge and fertilize the beds with a product that also contains pre-emergent (to help keep down those nasty weeds).  This function can prove difficult in Spring and sometimes needs to be chipped away it because of Spring’s wet conditions.

Next is turf.  It is important to be gentle with turf in Spring, again those wet conditions can make situations worse by tearing it.  That being said we rake wherever possible to pull up dead grass and snow mold, then topdress with a combination of grass seed and peat moss.

Activating your irrigation system is equally important, making any necessary adjustments.  But we tend to turn systems off when turned on in early Spring.  Running them only aggravates already wet conditions, which can encourage turf fungus and other problems.

Once all of that is complete and all your hardsurface areas are cleaned and tidy, your landscape is ready for the season.

Boxwood Trivia

Boxwood are one of the most versatile and elegant of evergreen shrubs.  They have very shallow roots, can tolerate most conditions and be used in both formal and informal settings.  It are theses characteristics that make them so desirable today.

Their popularity is not new.  Although grains for a species was found in England as far back as 7,000 B.C., they were destroyed during a Glacial epoch.  They resurfaced around 4,000 B.C. in ancient Egyptian tombs.  Their popularity surged at the height of the Roman Empire and throughout the Dark Ages, used as hedges and topiaries in Royal gardens.

One of the Boxwood’s most delightful and interesting facts is that it has historically been used to make boxes, chess pieces, printing using woodblocks, and musical instruments and parts, particularly form the strings and woodwind class and is still used for many of these purposes today.

It is a plant that seems almost too good to be true!  Well almost.  As of late our dear friend has had some issues, that many of you might have experienced.  Several years ago we had an extremely cold Chicago winter with unusually light snow cover…and plants with shallow roots really rely on their winter blankets.  As spring sprung, we noticed the loss of a lot of plant species…especially boxwood, yews, junipers and roses.

Boxwoods suffered another hit.  Boxwood blight.  It is a fungal disease that really has no treatment.  The only course of action is to remove them from the nursery or landscape.

These plants of course need to be replaced, and replace them we are.  Why is having to replace them so important to our tale?  Well because Boxwoods are extremely slow growing, and as the demand increases due not only to popularity but a need to replace them, growers just cannot keep up.  It is a difficult concept to explain to a property owner, but our current reality.

There are alternatives.  They are not boxwoods, but they are options…”Green Mound’ Alpine Current, ‘Karen’s’ Azalea, Deutzia, and our owner’s favorite… Barberry.  Peruse some of these favorites on our nursery’s website.

Many people say everything happens for a reason.  Maybe this did.  I like to think utilizing a different palette challenges our creativity and encourages diversifying our monoculture.

Benefits of Dormant Pruning

As landscape architects and arborists we often find that plant material on our new residential, commercial and HOA sites have been left to get overgrown and mismanaged. The key to getting the plant material looking healthy, vibrant and growing properly again is of course dormant pruning.

Dormant pruning takes place during the winter months and this is valuable for many reasons. With the leaves absent precision pruning is much easier. Cutting the plant in the right spot helps the plant heal better and faster in the growing season. It also allows us to see the shape of the plant better and see limbs and stems that are either damaged, diseased or crossing. The colder months also mean less airborne diseases that could affect the fresh wounds of plants.

A sure sign that dormant pruning needs to be done is the evidence of witches broom which is a dense mass of shoots growing from a single point. This happens when the plant is perpetually pruned or sheared on the top and never in the middle or base of the plant. This type of pruning leads to a plant that is top heavy with leaves, but looks bare and leggy on the stems and base.

Dormant pruning removes the witches broom, allows us to remove overgrown stems at the base of the plant and makes it easier to remove unwanted growth. These fixes allow sunlight and air to get to the entire plant and not only to the top sections. Heights of plants are also much more easily controlled during dormant pruning allowing the plant to take on a natural shape during the growing season without blocking windows or doors.

-Aaron Zych

Landscape Architect  & Certified Arborist

How snow accumulation affects your landscape

Our Core Values   Quality  Honesty  Pride  Teamwork  Cleanliness  Safety  
It has been years since we have to wait until the middle of January in Chicagofor the first significant accumulating snow of the year (+2″), but here we are.  It is often right after the first significant snowfall of the season that we hear from many concerned customers about the potential damage that snow may do to their trees and shrubs.  While snow is vital to the winter survival of plants and trees it can create some problems for your plants under extreme conditions.  In case you were wondering how to avoid damaging your plants this winter, read on…
  • Heavy, wet snow and ice can often cause branches on deciduous plants to bend or even break because they are frozen and brittle.  On evergreens such as arborvitae, junipers, yews, etc., which have a broader surface on which snow and ice can accumulate, branches can be stretched and bent, disfiguring the shape of the plant and causing damage below the surface of the bark that will not become evident until Spring.
  • If you are concerned about a heavy accumulation of snow on your landscape plants, carefully brush the snow aside by hand to avoid causing damage.  Avoid shaking or striking the branches with brooms or shovels as this can cause more damage than it prevents.  Bear in mind, that natural snowfall or windblown snow seldom results in plant injury. It’s usually the devices we use to remove snow that cause the most damage.  Snow that is plowed, blown, pushed into, or thrown over plants is denser than natural snowfall and tends to stick together, so as it settles, it can rip branches or snap buds from limbs.
  • Snow serves as a great natural insulator because snowflakes have small intricate spaces within their structure which are filled with air. These spaces trap air in between the flakes as they pile up. These tiny pockets of air prevent circulation, thus preventing heat from being transferred by convection.  As a result, the daily temperature penetration into the snow is minimal and plants are protected from frost and freezing conditions.
  • Snow on the ground acts as an insulating blanket of mulch that prevents injury to roots, which generally can’t withstand extreme cold. The roots of most landscape plants can be damaged when soil temperatures fall below ten degrees F.  Some perennials, whose roots are far more sensitive than woody plants, can be harmed when soil temperatures dip just below freezing. The snow cover will moderate temperatures, and once the snow melts, the moisture is beneficial to the plants.
Of course, the best solution is not to cover plants with excessive snow at all.  Avoid plowing, blowing, or shoveling over the top of your plants.  Mark your beds in Fall with posts or reflectors if necessary to make them more visible under extreme snow conditions.
Avoid piling “salty” snow near plants or on lawns.  If you choose to use ice melt products such as rock salt on your walks and drives, keep in mind that this, mixed with the snow and slush that is piled around plants, can leach into the soil and harm roots.  Plants will absorb these contaminants in the Spring which may cause die back and even death.  If you must “salt”, use one of the more environmentally safe products such as calcium or magnesium chloride or an ordinary, inexpensive garden fertilizer, sand, or kitty litter mixed with equal parts of “safe” salt.
Consider these plant care tips now before the snow really starts to fly as it is easy to forget them in the throes of one of Chicago’s blizzards or ice storms.  By taking extra care now when removing snow or melting ice you can keep your trees and shrubs safe from snow injury and you will find them to be more hearty and healthy come Spring.
Kevin Block
RLA
Certified Arbotist

Aesculus parviflora Bottlebrush Buckeye

If you’ve ever seen Bottlebrush Buckeye in bloom, you’ll agree it’s aptly named. This dense, multi-stemmed shrub with picturesque, ascending, candelabra-like branching typically grows 6-12’ tall. It features palmate dark green leaves (5-7 leaflets) turning to yellow-green in fall. In late June-early July, this plant “wows” me with its gorgeous white bottlebrush-like flower spikes that grow 8-12” long. Its showy flower spikes burst onto the scene just around the fourth of July, I deem them as Mother Nature’s 4th of July celebration! This broad-spreading, shade tolerant shrub appears to flow across the landscape. It can be used to great effect for massing, clumping or placing in shrub borders. It also performs well under shade trees and other shady areas. It prefers moist, well-drained soil and will grow in full sun to partial shade. It’s also very deer resistant.

Mature massing

Mature massing

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Well-Drained

Height: 8-12’

Spread: 6-12’

Growth Habit: Clumps, Spreads (at a rate of a foot a year)

Uses: Excellent specimen, group or mass in shrub borders or woodland areas.

Problems: No serious insect or disease problems.

Fall color

Fall color

 

 

Watering Guidelines – new trees and shrubs

During the spring we generally receive a sufficient amount of moisture.  Spring to summer is probably the most critical transitional period because moisture levels can drop quickly and soil moisture availability rapidly declines.  This situation can be exacerbated by overly hot and windy conditions.

When plants start to show signs of stress by wilting permanent damage to the vascular system may have already occurred.  Prevention is the key; therefore we have prepared the following guidelines on the basics of proper watering procedures.

Time of Day to Water

The BEST time to water is about 3 a.m. to 10 a.m.  At this time the air is cool and very little evaporation loss occurs before the water reaches the ground.  When the sun rises and the air warms, the liquid quickly evaporates from the leaves.  Watering early in the evening encourages fungal infection (fungal infections thrive in cool wet conditions); watering in the heat of day is bad because much of the water evaporates before reaching the ground.  This accelerates buildup of soluble minerals in the soil that over along time can be ruinous to soil health.

Accurate Measuring

When you water, water deeply.  This means water for a long time, allowing the water to soak into the ground.  Ideally, you should provide one inch of water with every soaking, but not more than once per week.

Remember to take rainfall into consideration when monitoring your watering. Use a rain gauge to monitor the amount of water your landscape receives from rainfall and your irrigation system (if applicable).

Be careful…you can over water your plants!  Roots need both water and oxygen to thrive.  Over watering can kill plants because constant moisture suffocates the roots, thereby causing them to die and rot.  Inspect the area BEFORE watering by tunneling with a deep root feeder or stake.  If the soil is dry on top, it might still be moist underground and not need water.

Newly Planted Trees

When watering newly planted trees, remove the nozzle from your hose, wrap the hose in an old bath towel  (so it will disperse the energy of the spray) and set the hose at the base of the tree.  Water the area at a low pressure every other day (45 to 60 minutes) for 3 to 4 weeks, based on your soil conditions.  Make certain to change the position of the hose to water evenly.

Newly Planted Shrubs

Shrubs can be watered similarly to trees except the time frame drops to 10 to 15 minutes each.  Avoid watering foliage, most plants DO NOT like being watered from above because moisture build up on leaves encourages fungal problems.

For more information there is a great article by the University of Illinois Extension.