Long Island PULSE Magazine Article – Fall Takes Root

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Fall Takes Root

Cool-weather gardening with landscape designer Thomas Rodler

Author: Ruth Thomas | Published: Friday, September 20, 2013 | Long Island PULSE Magazine

Spring has earned its reputation as the time to plant, but fall is also a good time to add an eye-catching mix of cool-weather plants to any landscape. Flower and shrub species that thrive in warm days and cooler nights can take root now and establish a full year of growth to come. Thomas Rodler, president of Goldberg & Rodler, offers a few pointers for establishing an autumn garden.

Long Island Pulse: What can be planted now for the biggest pop of color in the fall?
Thomas Rodler: Ornamental cabbages and kale are popular and I haven’t had a deer issue with them. Montauk daisies are beautiful white perennial flowers that last until frost while sedums have interesting pink to dark purple foliage and will flower in the fall. Bugbane has a tall white plume flower and tolerates shade. Fall flowering asters come in pink, blue or white. Purple to pink Joe-Pye weed flowers until frost and Russian sage has spikes of blue flower that last into fall… Some fall flowering trees are sourwood (white flowers), witch hazel (yellow to gold flowers) and the autumn flowering cherry tree, which gives brilliant pinkish-white color. The Japanese dogwood tree has a fruit center that becomes a very pronounced pinkish color in the fall. Planting in the fall, when irrigation is often reduced, sometimes requires supplemental watering to avoid stressing the plant before winter. A good rule of thumb is to give a new plant about one inch of water per week throughout the fall.

LIP: What shrubs grow in quickly to add privacy shortly after planting?
TR: For a shady property, plant skip laurel or holly shrubs. By the water, try more native plants like bayberry shrubs, eastern red cedars and junipers that fill in nicely. For a sunny location, plant evergreens such as the dark green ‘Green giant’ western red cedar (arborvitae), the bluish-green white pine, with bluish-green needles and the silvery-blue Colorado blue spruce for their height and because they provide a natural-looking border. In the wintertime if your yard has a lot of wind I recommend applying an anti-transpirant or anti-desiccant spray to newly planted evergreens to protect them from drying out and burning.

LIP: What are some specimen tree options and where should they be planted in the front yard?
TR: Be very selective where you place a specimen tree as it is just an accent. Put it in a prominent spot but treat it like a unique piece of sculpture. The weeping white pine noted for its shape grows 8 to 10 feet tall and weeps down with its soft bluish-green foliage. The bloodgood Japanese maple has dark red foliage that is very contrasting. The weeping Norway spruce has lush dense foliage. Chances are the tree will be shaped at the nursery you buy from, but when it comes time to prune next year, do it between the end of August and the end of November, so the wound has time to heal before winter.

Fall Takes Root | Long Island Pulse Magazine – Covering Long’s Island lifestyles, arts, fashion, business, nightlife and entertainment

Orient Point Bluff Restoration

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This property on eastern Long Island, situated on the North Fork on a bluff, sustained serious damage from Superstorm Sandy last fall. The neighbors all have boulders at the base of their bluffs but this property was purchased without boulders, causing the Long Island Sound to wash out the base of the bluff during Sandy. This caused severe erosion from top to bottom washing away soil and plantings. The client hired a contractor to install boulders and plant the bluff with erosion control after the storm. All of the plants and erosion control failed during this past spring due to thunderstorms and the bluff was in bad shape again.

See our gallery with pictures chronicling the reconstruction.

After having a second contractor try to remediate the bluff (with very poor results), the clients contacted us to consult on the situation. Our solution included filling the bluff with topsoil and sandy compost and then installing two layers of heavily pinned, crisscrossed and overlapped jute matting. Finally, a palette of hardy, native seaside plants including bayberry, beach plum, beach rose, goldenrod and beach artemisia were planted through the double layer of jute matting. The keystone of the erosion control was planting over 5000 plugs of American beach grass. The roots and foliage from all of these plants, once established, will help stabilize the bluff while providing a native and natural seashore aesthetic. 

The project needed to be completed in a tight time frame to stabilize the bluff. Unfortunately, this meant our crews were installing these plants in the early summer during a heat wave where temperatures reached 100 degrees. Temporary irrigation was set up to help the plants get established and it will be removed after one or two growing seasons.

At the top of the bluff, the lawn area was re-graded to control the flow of water over the bluff and sod was installed to restore the more manicured backyard feeling that had existed prior to Sandy. This vital hurricane remediation project lets the client use their backyard again to entertain and relax while enjoying the breathtaking view that a property on the bluff presents.

Helping You and Your Plants Beat the Heat

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Anyone who’s ventured outside the past few weeks knows how hot it’s been. The temperature has hovered somewhere between a sauna and the surface of the sun. We have some tips for you to take care of your plants and yourself in hot weather.

For your plants: Water them. Water them deeply and at the cooler times of the day so the water doesn’t evaporate before it can infiltrate the soil. It sounds obvious, but don’t wait until you see that they’re stressed from the heat. In some cases, it may be too late. Hydrangeas are drama queens, so their leaves will droop at the mention of hot weather, but they’ll perk right back up after watering. Don’t spray water on the foliage. Like a magnifying glass, the water droplets amplify the sunlight and can burn the leaves of your plants. Keeping a layer of mulch in the beds will help to insulate the soil and retain moisture. Remember to keep the root flares uncovered! For your lawn, watch out for fungus in this heat. Keep your lawnmower blades sharp and cut the grass high, around 3″ tall. The taller grass will keep the soil cooler and deter weeds and the sharp blades will minimize damage to the blades of grass. Also, do not spray for weeds in the heat, you’ll burn your lawn.

For yourself: Drink water. Drink A LOT of water. Once you’re thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Stay away from soda, caffeine, alcoholic beverages and sugary juices. Wear light colored and lightweight clothing, sunscreen and bug spray. If your yard has trees, try to position yourself in the shade and move with it during the day. The earlier in the day, the better, but earlier and later in the day can mean mosquitoes as well as cooler temperatures. Mosquitoes love sweaty people and humid air, and if you’re susceptible to bites it doesn’t really matter what time of the day you’re out. Remember to get rid of standing water in your yard to keep breeding down.

If you’re concerned about your plants and/or lawn, call us at (631) 271-6460 or email us and we’ll come over and check them out for you.

Summer Annuals: Old & New

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Impatiens, lantana, elephant ears, petunias and other annuals are found in summer gardens year after year. The blight on impatiens has taken the number one landscape annual out of commission. Dragon Wing begonias are a great shade alternative. They flower profusely and look great in a bed or a container and provide a unique texture in the landscape.

Coleus has some of the most beautiful foliage I’ve ever seen, is shade loving and there is a variety called ‘Wasabi’ that can take full sun with sufficient irrigation. ‘Wasabi’ is a bright lime green and makes a wonderful accent planting for both containers and beds. There is a plentiful selection of coleus varieties, with different colors and forms to choose from.

Caladium is another showy foliage plant for shade and makes a statement as a centerpiece in a pot or as a mass in a bed. Bright annuals can make a shady area seem sunnier with contrasting colors.

The classics never go out of style but why not make a bold statement in your summer garden with some unique flowering succulents? For sunny areas, cacti and succulents are an easy way to make planters and the landscape pop. These plants come in a wide range of foliage and flower colors and offer a distinctive show that we rarely see up north.

Agave, Sedum ‘Vera Jameson’ & Scaevola in SeptemberPrickly Pear Cacti are winter hardy on Long Island. Warning: Be careful of their tiny spines. Sticky tape can help remove them from your skin. There is a thornless variety but it may not overwinter as well.

For the past few years, we’ve tried a few ideas out at our garden center – including mixed pots of succulents. Not only do they have showy foliage and flowers, but they require very little water, making them a more sustainable and lower maintenance option in the heat of summer. Agave ‘Americana’ and Croton ‘Petra’ make an eye-catching centerpiece while purple ice plant and Scaevola ‘New Wonder’ trail over the sides and bloom non-stop through the summer until fall.

Many of the succulents we use in green roof and wall installations double as perennials and groundcovers in the garden. Sedum ‘Vera Jameson,’ Sedum ‘Dragon’s Blood,’ and Sedum spurium (many varieties) are just a few succulents that perform well in the landscape. Sedum ‘Vera Jameson’ blooms in late summer/early fall and gives us one last hurrah in the garden before the cold weather sets in.

Want some advice on annuals for your garden? Contact Ashley at Goldberg & Rodler.

Storm & Winter Damage

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Strong winds during last year’s Hurricane Sandy cause a lot of damage to trees and shrubs in the landscape by uprooting them and breaking limbs. That damage was immediately obvious.

What you may have attributed to winter burn may be burned foliage from wind and saltwater damage. Damage that you can’t see underground from excessive saltwater infiltration will show as a stressed or failing plant. The effects of this storm will continue to damage plants for some time but there are a few ways to mitigate the damage to your landscape such as irrigating a few inches per week in early spring to flush out salt in the soil, fertilizing with an organic, salt-free fertilizer to promote new leaf growth and proper pruning to ensure the structural integrity of the plant.

Not sure why your plants are stressed or are you suspicious of residual hurricane and harsh winter damage? A certified arborist can detect issues not visible to the untrained eye such as weakened limbs, injured root systems and salt damage. Decrease the chance of damage during the next major weather event. Call Gary Carbocci, an ISA Certified Arborist (NY0151A), at (631) 271-6460 at Goldberg & Rodler’s Tree Care Long Island division and assess your landscape today.

 

Spring Start Up & Cleanup

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Fast forward to three months from now. Maybe you’re sipping a margarita by a pool, possibly in your own backyard, flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and – Wait a minute, how can that happen if you don’t start now? It’s warming up and boy is there a lot to do in the garden, but you can’t do anything without cleaning up first. There’s vegetable gardens to plan, pools to open, patios to design, furniture to get out of storage, powerwashing, fertilization and pruning to be done.

Where to start?

Think of spring as the time to take inventory of your outside spaces. If you’re unsure how to go about it, take advantage of our Free Property Analysis. We will professionally assess your property to determine if any damage has occurred over the winter, such as salt and wind burn. We can evaluate and determine if your turf needs remediation or if your plants need fertilization. What about pruning? Our certified arborists can study the health of your trees and shrubs and make recommendations. Maybe your trees were damaged in Hurricane Sandy or from all the heavy snow we had this winter. Proper pruning can help reduce the risk of damage next time we have a major storm event.

Goldberg & Rodler offers many garden care and landscape maintenance services to take care of your property throughout the growing season. We’re here to answer any questions you may have. Don’t delay getting outdoors, that nice weather is just around the corner, and don’t we all want to be relaxing by the pool in our beautiful backyard gardens?

MADD Garden of Hope: Two Year Anniversary

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On October 16th, 2010 the MADD Garden of Hope was dedicated at Eisenhower Park. The object of the design is to expose to people the horrors of driving under the influence and to provide hope.
When MADD Long Island asked Goldberg and Rodler to design another garden for them, we jumped at the chance (the MADD Garden of Awareness at SUNY Farmingdale was completed a few years ago and was designed and installed by Goldberg & Rodler).
The Kiwanis Club of East Meadow installed our planting and lighting design as a part of their “President’s Project.” Nassau County Legislator Norma Gonsalves was instrumental in getting the project funded and accomplished in a timely manner and the Nassau County Parks Department’s masons did a wonderful job on our paving design.
Sculptor Michael Alfano finally has a permanent home for his piece, “Stand Up, Speak Out,” which expresses the emotions he felt after losing a loved one to a drunk driver 20 years ago. If one person walks away vowing never to drive under the influence again, we have made a difference.

Zucker Hillside Hospital: Commercial Landscape Overhaul

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Robert Rodler started working at Hillside Hospital before Goldberg & Rodler even existed with J. J. Levison. Levison handed it over to Goldberg & Rodler in the early sixties and we did a ton of work there. Then we did bits and pieces here and there, sprays, tree work, etc. until 2009. The new facilities manager wanted the campus renovated and he contacted us. Maintenance had been getting progressively worse, to the point where the campus was covered in poison ivy, the original design was almost impossible to discern. You can still see the cherry trees, dogwoods and sycamores on the campus that we planted back in the 60’s but they were in desperate need of pruning. Limbs wider than a person’s leg were dropping dangerously to the ground. The baseball field, apple orchard and formal rose garden had been razed for additional parking as the facility grew. Increased paving was causing massive drainage issues. People would park anywhere they could find a spot, including on the grass, off the road in the woods, there were no curbs or barriers to prevent it. It was unrecognizable and a perfect example of how maintenance issues can affect more than the landscape. Employees and family member’s of patients were extremely unhappy. There was no place to eat or take a break, no place for people to sit, the gazebo was unsafely enclosed by overgrown plants, and one building was hidden behind overgrown yews.

Our first job was the poison ivy removal and pruning and removing hazards in the trees. People had been dumping garbage in the woods so our next task was to clean that up. We redesigned several areas, focusing on the core and most visible parts of the campus first. We fixed the drainage issues so they no longer had to pile sandbags in front of the doors (it isn’t recommended by health professionals to block hospital doors, in case of emergencies) or deal with a mosquito farm in a swampy lawn area. Many overgrown plantings needed pruning for security reasons, who wants to eat lunch completely enclosed on all sides so you can’t see who is approaching? We added curbs and boulders to the areas people were driving and parking in that were unpaved. We made elegant gravel shapes and used water tolerant plantings in areas where runoff collected.

We sited a lot of trees as part of the Million Trees Project in NYC’s boroughs. We redesigned outdoor recreation areas for the patients. We transplanted and relocated plants for the construction happening on the campus. We even installed fountains in the lobby with interior plants. Right now we’re working on designs for patients’ roof gardens and a parking lot to add more parking. It’s in Queens, there’s never any parking!

Fall & Winter Services

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Sign up now for our Fall/Winter Services. If you haven’t given a thought to protecting your broadleaf evergreens yet, it isn’t too late! An anti-desiccant spray can reduce water loss through the leaves during a time when your plants can’t take in water from the frozen ground. Reapply in mid-winter.

Make sure your gutters are clear. During a heavy snowfall, ice dams can form and water may back up under the flashing behind the gutters. This can cause leaks and if not treated, mold growth.

Road salt can damage your plants. You won’t see the damage until Spring when it is too late. Make sure to pile contaminated snow away from your plants. Try calcium chloride; a less harmful chemical to melt the ice. Calcium is a nutrient plants can tolerate but still minimize the amount you put down.

2-3” of shredded bark or compost at the bases of trees and shrubs can insulate shallow roots and conserve moisture before the soil freezes. 

Make sure the flue is clear in your chimney so you can snuggle by the fire all winter.

Did you wrap up or store your furniture? We offer shrink wrapping for outdoor furniture, barbecues, pots and even boats.

Who’s doing your holiday decorations and/or lighting? Sick of getting up on that ladder every year? Let us do it for you while you stay inside with a cup of hot cocoa.

 

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