The SUN is shining and SPRING is here! Olson’s Garden Center is now open for the season! Mother Nature has been kind and we have been working hard getting the garden center ready for another wonderful season. We have trucks arriving daily bringing fresh deliveries of the best selection of annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, tree’s, shrub’s, pottery, fountain’s, statuary, and birdbath’s. We also have a large selection of fertilizer, bagged mulch, compost, peat moss, organic planting and potting mix, organic and synthetic applications, herbicides, pesticides, and hard goods. Olson’s Garden Center always offers FREE Landscape Design and we also plant window boxes, urns,  and planters. If it can be planted, we can plant it. Stop in today!

Our current Fall Hours are 9:00 am – 5:00 pm every day.

We’ll be closing for the season soon, on or around October 18th. If you have any questions or concerns before we close, feel free to call us at (508) 759-1471.

Olson’s will then re-open November 17th for all you early Christmas tree decorators out there! Our pre-Thanksgiving hours will be 10-5 every day.

After Thanksgiving and throughout the month of December, our hours will be Mon-Sat 9:00 am – 8:00 pm and Sun 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. As always, thanks for shopping at Olson’s and have a happy Fall!

Here’s the scoop on hydrangeas. All hydrangea can be divided into two categories: those that bloom on current years’ wood, and those that bloom on old wood. Nikko Blue, Endless Summer, Pink-N-Pretty, Bluebird and pink, purple, and blue varieties are all part of the macrophylla family. These varieties set their bud for next year’s flower in the stem of this year’s wood. So your blue and pink and purple hydrangea are busy right now getting ready to set their bud for next summer in the current woody stems of the shrub. Next season, when they emerge from a cold winter, the buds will actually bloom on wood from the previous season.

The hydrangeas that bloom on new wood are usually white hydrangea like Annabele, Pee Gee, Oak Leaf, and many other varieties. They put on new growth in the spring; later, in the summer, their flower buds are produced right at the end of the new growth. That’s why Anabelle and Pee Gee have such an abundance of flowers on one shrub.

Blue, pink, and purple hydrangea are beautiful in the landscape but you may have more problems with them than with the white varieties. Macrophylla hydrangea prefer partial early morning or late afternoon sun. If they are planted in full sun they require a lot of water. Sometimes you may have to water them twice in one day, even if they are established. If you plant them in too much shade they will not produce many flowers. The flower buds are produced in August and September and they have to make it through our tough winters here before they can bloom. The flower buds can be damaged by extreme weather conditions such as cold weather and harsh wind.

So now the question is, “When do you prune hydrangea?” You should prune Macrophylla hydrangea right after they are done blooming and before they have a chance to start making new flower buds. Annabelle, Pee Gee, Oak Leaf, and other hydrangea that bloom on new wood can be pruned during the late fall, winter, or early spring. My suggestion would be in early spring. Once they start growing in the spring do not do any pruning until after they are done blooming.

The Endless Summer hydrangea should be treated as a Macrophylla variety even though they bloom on old and new wood.

Winter damage to all your trees and shrubs, including hydrangea, may be prevented by using an antidessicant called Wilt-Pruf or Wilt-Stop. You apply either the concentrate or ready to spray formula in the fall and it will prevent winter damage on evergreens and deciduous plants. Stop in for more information!

I know that was a lot to absorb, but I hope it becomes useful to you. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at the garden center.

Happy Planting,
Melissa Ferreira

First, it’s important to make the connection that the white grubs in your lawn will hatch into Japanese Beetles; if you have Japanese Beetles, they will lay eggs in your lawn that turn into white grubs. Japanese Beetles can severely damage your roses and other plants in your landscape because they feed on the leaves and can almost completely defoliate some plants.
The white grubs ruin your lawn. They feed on the roots of the grass near the soil’s surface. The damage usually shows up when it’s hot and dry because without a good root system the grasses in your lawn will start dying. Damaged areas in your lawn feel spongy when you walk on the grass because of the tunneling that’s taking place under the soil’s surface. If the damage is extensive the grass can be pulled up like carpet because the roots have been chewed off.
Skunks, crows, and other critters dig up your lawn to get to the grubs. In the fall when skunks are instinctively packing away food to fatten up for the winter they can destroy a lawn in one night if it has a heavy grub infestation. Look for little holes in your flower beds. That usually tells you that the birds and other critters have been digging for grubs.
During the summer months when the soil is warm the grubs are usually at a depth of 2″ or less. As winter approaches they go deeper into the soil and become almost inactive. As soon as spring arrives and the soil temperatures increase they move back toward the surface and start feeding on the roots of your lawn once again. It’s a vicious cycle and if your neighbor isn’t treating for grubs then they can work their way into your yard, whether it be the grubs or Japanese Beetles that do damage.
They eat away for another 4-6 weeks, then emerge from the soil’s surface as adult Japanese Beetles and start feeding on your beautiful landscape. As they devour your landscape they start laying batches of eggs, usually 20-60 eggs per female beetle; then tthe life cycle starts all over again.
You can lift areas of sod in your lawn where you suspect you might have white grub infestation and look for the grubs. They are white in color and range in size from 1/2″ to 1″ long. If you have more than 6 grubs per square foot it’s time to think about a way to control them.
Now is the time to treat and prevent Japanese Beetle damage as well as grub damage. This is the best time of year to treat for grubs because they are so close to the surface of the soil. We recommend using Milky Spore. Its an organic way to treat and prevent these landscape destroyers. You apply this two years in a row and will not have to treat for up to 20 years. Come in for more details.
Whatever you do, do not put Japanese Beetle traps in your yard. They attract them into your yard and will damage the foliage in your landscape. Go for the long term approach with Milky Spore!

We love fountains at Olson’s. Not only do fountains add a sophisticated and beautiful fountain to your yard, but they also add a sense of serenity and peace that you might not expect. Many of our fountains have a fine artistic quality too, which can add a new sense of style to your yard. Enjoy a sampling of a few fountains that you can find here at Olson’s.

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We now carry a full line of seeds for all of your planting needs from Botanical Interests, the best seed provider in the country. Stop by to get the seeds you need, for any season!
Check out a brief tour of the facility below where Botanical Interests produce high quality seeds.

Now is the time to lime your lawn. We carry liquid lime, a lime product that works instantly instead of waiting for pelletized or powdered to break down. Make sure you lime every spring and fall.

Time to fertilize- Every April and June fertilize all of your plants with Holly Tone or Plant Tone. Prune off winter damage and apply your granular fertilizer along with Miracid or Miracle grow to give your plants a healthy start.