The Perfect Fast-Growing Evergreen Screen Now at a New Lower Price 'Steeplechase' has a pyramidal shape with rich, green fragrant foliage. The foliage is deeper green and has a very fine texture which makes it even neater and denser than 'Green Giant.' Once established, 'Steeplechase' grows at a rate of about 2 feet per year. Fourteen year old trees are approximately 25 feet tall and only 10 feet wide at the base. 'Steeplechase' needs no shearing; but can be trimmed to a smaller size. Thuja 'Green Giant', and therefore Thuja 'Steeplechase', is believed to be a hybrid of the giant western arborvitae and the Japanese arborvitae. They are not to be confused with the much slower growing common Eastern American arborvitaes. Because 'Steeplechase' is so new, the ultimate size is not known; but I suspect about 35 feet tall and 12 feet wide, so 'Steeplechase' doesn't take up a large part of your yard. And unlike 'Green Giant,' it keeps a tight shape and will not stretch and become open. 'Steeplechase' is extremely resistant to snow, ice and wind. Planting and Care 'Steeplechase' is very low-maintenance; just fertilize every spring and fall and watch it thrive! It is rated as deer-resistant and bag worm resistant. 'Steeplechase' is hardy to Zone 5. If you are in need of a privacy screen or a windbreak in your yard - 'Steeplechase' is the conifer of choice!
Prune, if desired, in early spring. Prefers full sun, but will tolerate some shade. Water regularly until established; very drought tolerant thereafter. Hardy in Zones 5-8. New lower prices! 1-gallon pots. $23.85 each or save by buying multiples: 3/$18.85 each, 6/$15.85 each, 12/$13.85 each or 25/$11.85 each. Our Garden Worthy Certification means that your satisfaction is guaranteed. |
|
Garden Club
Questions and Answers
Question: Hi, Alan. What tomato plants would you recommend for
growing in large pots on the patio? I'm looking for both grape or cherry
plants as well as romas or "full-size" plants. Thanks for your help.
Answer: For pots, I recommend a variety called Patio
(medium-sized fruit) or Bush Celebrity (medium to large fruit). Cherry
tomatoes will get large for pot culture; but they can be pruned back. I
suggest Sweet Baby Girl (red) or Sun Sugar (yellow and the sweetest
tomato of all). Grapette can also be pot cultured with pruning. Padano
is an Italian-bred large Roma type that is excellent for pot culture.
All of the above are currently in stock.
Answer: There is no selective post emergent for Poa Annua (Annual Blue Grass a.k.a. June Grass). Dimension, the active ingredient in the Green Light product is the best pre-emergent. Apply it around Labor Day. Several years of applications may be required for 100% control. Question: I would love to put a sweet gum tree on the south side of our home for some shade. I love the fall colors these trees produce, but I hate cleaning up the spiky seed pods. Can you suggest a sweet gum that doesn't produce the pods or another tree I can turn to with the same attributes? Thank you. Your website is the best, I love all the information you provide. Answer: I know of two varieties of fruitless Sweet Gum trees. Rotundiloba is totally fruitless, but it will not be winter hardy in Illinois. The other is Happidaze which should be hardy in Illinois. It is reported to be totally fruitless, but I wouldn't be surprised if it set a few gum balls in old age. We have a few Happidaze in stock - 6 foot trees at $58.85, for order by telephone only: 1-800-638-6334. Question: I have an area in the back of my yard in deep shade that I use for making "mulch" out of garden waste such as sticks, wood, weeds, clippings, etc. All of this stuff passed through a good chipper I own. Typically the stuff and the chipped remains stays there for a month or two until I cart it around and lay it on my paths through my woodland garden. Am I generating a weed problem with this practice because a lot of the waste is ground up dead weeds? Answer: Yes; you are undoubtedly spreading weed seeds around. Fortunately you are using this weed infested "mulch" on paths, not amongst plants. Therefore you can more easily hoe out or chemically kill the weeds without harming any close-up desirable plants. I have seen some horrible (and expensive to remedy) messes created by using weed-infested mulch in beds of shrubs and perennials.
Question: Hi I have attached photos of the bark that I just
noticed this year on several Viburnum bushes. It i
Answer: The following correspondence between Alan and Brian
Rhoten at Bartlett Tree Experts will answer your question.
Alan,
Brian, |
|
|
s the oddest looking
markings on the branches and every branch that has these markings has
died. I don't know if it is a borer of some kind but the holes are not
deep. They are only through the bark but not into the wood. Can you
identify and tell me what to do. I am in Westminster, so I can get to
the nursery quickly to buy what I need to help the plants. Other than
the bark areas on the affected plants, they look very healthy and are
about 10 feet high and produced a lot of flowers.