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HOME APRIL 2019 4 420 Maple Ave., Mukwonago 262-363-3807 Follow us on Facebook Quality Plants Knowledgeable Staff • Friendly Service Over 25 years experience Garden Center Offering • Locally homegrown annuals, baskets, perennials and tree shrubs • Planned workshops, seminars and activities throughout the year • Unique and exciting garden decor, home decor, gifts and more • Fundraiser opportunities available • Garden Design and assistance from knowledgeable staff 263943001 OPEN YEAR ROUND 25% OFF any regular priced garden gift. With this coupon. Not valid with other offers or prior purchases. Expires 4/30/19. Quality Plants Knowledgeable Staff • Friendly Service Over 25 years experience 18 Full-size Doors On Display in our Brookfield Showroom 16'x7', 24 Gauge...Non Insulated Steel $ 895 Lifetime Door Co. TRUCKLOAD SALE on Garage Doors & Door Openers Special! - Take down and haul away old door for FREE! ORDER A LIFTMASTER 1/2 HP GARAGE DOOR OPENER & GET 2 REMOTES & KEYPAD. $ 395 Installed Tax Included Serving Southern Wisconsin Since 1976 262-783-4004 Monday - Friday 7am-4:30pm www.lifetimedoor.net Model 8365 • Free Estimates • Huge Inventory • Two-Sided Pre-Finished Galvanized Steel • R-10 Insulated, Full 2" Thick NOW $ 1095 Installed Tax Included 16x7 SAVE $ 240 Wisconsin's Largest Liftmaster Dealer!!! 263057007 Last month we looked at the environment in order to be better prepared for the grow- ing season. But choosing the right plants is just as important. It's essential we put the right plant in the right place. We talked about how Wisconsin has two basic soil types, clay and sandy loam. Clay can be tough on plants because it holds excess moisture, drains poorly, and can become concrete during times of drought. Sandy loam on the other hand allows mois- ture to run out, leaving a dry environment for our plants. So it is crucial to make proper plant selections. Let's break it down into three categories: wet, dry and clay in itself. Wet There are areas around that are wet and not necessarily clay, such as marshy areas or areas that flood frequently. These areas remain wetter even during times of drought. One of the best places to start finding the right plants is in the water gar- dening section of your garden center. These are plants that don't mind wet feet. But let's start with the bigger plants and work our way down. Some trees that don't mind being on the wetter side include wil- lows, swamp white and bur oaks, red maple and river birch. Shrubs include viburnums (blue muffin, Alfredo, and the traditional high bush cranberry), chokeberry, dog- woods, elderberries, inkberry, snowberry, pussy willow, and winterberry. Perennials include bee balm, cardinal flower, Joe-Pye weed, big blue lobelia, ligularia, lysi- machia, marsh marigold, black snakeroot, false spirea (astilbe), turtleheads, and Japanese, Siberian and yellow and blue flag iris. These are just a few but a good start. Dry You may also have areas that are just nat- urally drier, such as raised areas or hill- sides. Again working from big to small, some good trees would include red maple, hickories, hackberry, honey locust, north- ern red and bur oak, lindens and elms. Evergreen trees that are drought-tolerant include white, red and Scotch pine, white spruce, and some junipers. Some shrubs include barberries, spirea, summersweet, forsythia, privet, ninebark, Alpine currant, lilacs, and viburnums. Some perennials include yarrow, asters, butterfly weed, tick- seed, coneflower, blanket flower, liatris, black-eyed Susan, sages, sedum, and orna- mental grasses. Clay What about clay that can be both? Believe it or not there are some plants that actually thrive in clay soils. A lot of these are native plants. So don't forget about the native section at the garden center. Trees such as red maple and white and bur oaks are great examples. Shrubs include dogwood and viburnum, to name a couple. And there are numerous perennials which include true and false perennial sunflowers, coneflow- ers, liatris, black-eyed Susan, bee balm, butterfly weed, and any member of the silphium family like prairie dock or cup plant, to name a few. You may notice some plants fit under all three cate- gories so these might be the best option if your envi- ronment changes during the year, as it does with clay soils. So avoid impulse buying when it comes to plants and find the right plant for the right place. Choosing the right plants, along with being prepared for any- thing nature throws at you, will help keep your gardens looking their best throughout the year. Happy gardening! (Michael Timm is a horticulturalist for Ebert's Greenhouse Village in Ixonia.) MICHAEL TIMM Be prepared when it comes to your garden Picking the right plant for the right place avoids an uphill struggle PART 2 Michael Timm Peonies like a more fertile, loamy soil and full sun.

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