Nursery 
WI Natives 
Trending Topics May 13, 2017
Drift Rose Drift® Roses – Groundcover Roses Made Easy The Drift® Groundcover Roses are a hybrid between groundcover roses, known for their disease resistance, winter hardiness, durability, and miniature semi-double roses. Under ideal conditions, you will see mid-spring blooms continuing until mid-fall. They are relatively low maintenance and are an […]
May 7, 2017
Summer Bird Gardening Your favorite bird or flock of birds are returning from their annual migrations and Mother Nature is providing a welcome home feast for them. Learn how to invite them to the yard and create a “birdscape”! You can still have feeders with seeds, nuts, and fruit to […]
May 2, 2017
What is a nativar? I have had numerous people ask me what I thought about nativars and their appropriateness for native landscaping. Here are my thoughts. Allan Armitage, a horticulture professor at the University of Georgia, likely created the term nativar to mean a cultivar or hybrid derived from a […]
April 18, 2017
Cultivar What is a cultivar? What are their advantages? My husband and I are expecting a little seedling in the fall. Thank goodness there is only one in here, but say I were having identical twins. They would be genetically identical, just like a plant “cultivar”. When the seeds of […]
April 14, 2017
Hedging & Shearing Hedging & Shearing Featured Image: Taxus x media \’Tauntoni\’, Taunton Yew **If you are unsure if this method is best for your plant, search for your plant here in our knowledgebase and scroll down to the maintenance section within the plant\’s profile.** When should you prune? – […]
April 14, 2017
Rejuvenative Method of Pruning Rejuvenative Method of Pruning Featured Image: Hibiscus \’Cherry Cheesecake\’ PPAF **If you are unsure if this method is best for your plant, search for your plant here in our knowledgebase and scroll down to the maintenance section within the plant\’s profile.** When should you prune? – […]
April 14, 2017
Thinning Cuts Method of Pruning Featured Image: Cornus sericea, Redosier Dogwood **If you are unsure if this method is best for your plant, search for your plant here in our knowledgebase and scroll down to the maintenance section within the plant\’s profile.** When should you prune? – Annually or as […]
April 14, 2017
Heading Cuts Method of Pruning Featured Image: Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’**If you are unsure if this method is best for your plant, search for your plant here in our knowledgebase and scroll down to the maintenance section within the plant’s profile.** When should you prune? – Annually or as needed […]
April 14, 2017
Haircut Method Pruning Featured Image: Hypericum kalmianum ‘Ames’, Ames St. John’s Wort **If you are unsure if this method is best for your plant, search for your plant here in our knowledgebase and scroll down to the maintenance section within the plant’s profile.** When should you prune? – Once every […]
April 10, 2017
Delicious Landscapes We are in the age of sustainability. We buy energy-saving light bulbs and hybrid cars. I will furiously rummage through the office trash to retrieve an aluminum can that didn’t make it into the correct recycling bin. We want our ribeyes to be grass-fed, our eggs to be […]
April 9, 2017
Deer Resistant Plants Deer can be lovely to look at in the wild, but when they are dining on your most valuable landscape plants they can raise the blood pressure of even the most ardent nature lover. No list of deer resistant plants is 100% trustworthy. Their tastes can change […]
April 9, 2017
Black Walnut Toxicity Black Walnut Toxicity Occasionally, clients will call our offices with complaints about an area in their yard where nothing seems to grow. One of the questions we ask is “Is there a Black Walnut tree nearby?” Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) and a related species, Butternut (Juglans cinerea) […]
April 5, 2017
Signs of Spring Signs of Spring Officially, the calendar says March 20th is the Vernal Equinox and the first day of spring. But in Wisconsin, where a snowstorm might still be around the corner, I know that spring isn’t official until I see certain signs every year. Sign #1 – […]
April 1, 2017
Harvest Windows Harvest Windows Throughout the spring season, we hear from a lot of panicked people who think that their trees have to be in the ground by June. So not true! Trees merely have certain times of the year that they will tolerate having their roots physically cut and […]
April 1, 2017
Naughty Natives – Part 1: Trees Naughty Natives – Part 1: Trees Explaining why native plants are great could fill an entire library, trust me. However, sometimes people think that because a plant is native that must mean it is perfect, and all native plants are well-behaved and interact nicely […]
March 22, 2017
Green Screens: Living Privacy Fence with Evergreens Green Screens: Living Privacy Fence with Evergreens The first signs of spring bring me to our tree farm in Jackson. Our fields are full of trees for potential green screens to hide your neighbors, a shed, or whatever obstacle you want to block. […]
March 13, 2017
Tapping Maple Syrup “It’s what’s on the inside that counts when tapping maple syrup.” How often have we all heard that saying? When most people are enjoying the majesty of our state tree’s handsome shape or the breathtaking colors that the chills of autumn bestow upon its leaves, what’s on […]
March 12, 2017
Content Redbud in Wisconsin Here at Johnson’s Nursery we have been growing Eastern Redbud trees almost since the beginning of our time. These are beautiful small trees that get to about 20 to 25 feet tall and wide, with a somewhat rounded outline. In flower they are absolutely stunning! They […]
March 12, 2017
Preferred Characteristics of Urban Plants Featured Image: Exclamation!™ London Planetree, Platanus x acerfolia ‘Morton Circle’ Urban Approved plants should possess one or more attributes that makes them better suited to developed areas over similar species. Broadly, these can be thought of as how these plants interact with the surrounding environment […]
March 12, 2017
Structure and Disease Resistance Featured Image: Ulmus spp., Elm Urban Approved plants must have good structure, require low-to-minimal maintenance, and have no major insect and disease issues. These characteristics mean different things for different plant categories, which are explained below. Trees Urban Approved trees must have strong branching that resists […]
March 12, 2017
Urban Site Challenges Urban Site Challenges Urban Approved plants must be able to reliably grow in harsh urban conditions. These areas are limited by mainly by soil, but also pollution. Urban soils are best described as heterogeneous and extreme. Within a 10 feet by 10 feet square, the soils can […]
February 20, 2017
No group of trees symbolize strength and longevity more than Wisconsin’s native oaks. They has been revered by people all over the world for thousands of years. The Druids would not meet for ritual without having an oak tree present. The masts of the sailing ships that brought the pilgrims from […]
February 20, 2017
Red Oak Group Red Oaks Northern Pin Oak, Hill’s Oak, or Scrub Oak Quercus ellipsoidalis 60’ tall by 45’ wide Northern Pin Oak or Scrub Oak as it is often called in the sand country of Central Wisconsin is a really tough, small scale species in the Red Oak group […]
February 20, 2017
White Oaks White Oaks White Oak Quercus alba 50-80’ tall by 50-80’ wide White Oak, along with Red Oak, is perhaps the most important Oak species in our Southern Wisconsin forests. The White Oak is common in our pre-settlement woodlands and can be easily distinguished from other oaks by its […]
February 20, 2017
Native Oak Pests & Diseases Two-lined Chestnut borer “The most important insect cause of oak mortality is the two-lined chestnut borer (Agrilus bilineatus).” This statement by Phil Pellitteri, a former professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is one all who plant native oaks in Wisconsin should be aware of. These […]