Moving Your Houseplants Indoors
Creating a Smooth + Pest-Free Season Transition
Your houseplants have basked in the summer’s heat + sun, but winter is just around the corner! Now what? While it might seem as easy as moving them from the porch to their indoor spot, there’s one crucial step you shouldn’t skip: protecting them from pests!
When the outside temperature starts consistently dipping below 55 degrees fahrenheit, it’s time to pull your plants indoors. Let’s explore a few options for giving your plants a clean start + find the best fit for you!
Systemic:
Plants soaks this up through their roots. Sprinkle granules or liquid into soil.
Fights wide variety of pests
Helps both fight + prevent infestations
Note: Always read the active ingredient! Some systemics contain imidacloprid, an ingredient that does NOT fight Spider Mites!
Insecticidal Sprays:
Spray right onto foliage to combat any current issues!
Insecticidal Soap + Eight are great options! (available in our P.H.D. at Down to Earth)
Microfiber Gloves:
Perfect for clearing pests off foliage
Easy way to clean + help prevent any large infestations
With the right care and protection, your green friends will stay happy + healthy until spring arrives! Find all these products + the expert help you need when you stop out to Down to Earth!
How to Care for Your Mums
Because They Need More Than Just a Good Coffee and a Compliment!
‘Tis the season for mums, corn stalks, and pumpkins to be beautifully arranged on your front stoop. Unlike the other elements of your decor, however, mums are living plants that require a bit of attention to maintain their beauty throughout the fall.
Overall, Mums do best with part sun exposure, as sunlight helps speed up their bloom cycle, resulting in vibrant flowers. Here’s our secret to success: if you want your mums to bloom faster, place them in full sun. Conversely, if you wish to slow down the blooming process + extend their lifespan, opt for a shadier location. Don’t forget to deadhead the flowers as needed to encourage continued growth + blooming!
Mums typically require daily watering, with morning being the best time to do so, as this allows them to absorb moisture throughout the day. To promote even growth, water your mums from the base, underneath the foliage. Top-watering can lead to splitting or create a worn watering hole, detracting from their manicured round shape.
And that’s it! Now, sit back and enjoy your annual mums!
While you’re at it, here are some practical fall decorating ideas with your mums:
Slip a fall mum into an empty pot or bushel basket. Need height? Place an upside-down pot under the mum pot to give it a lift!
Group mums with porch pots, pumpkins, straw bales, + corn stalks to create a beautiful fall collection.
Utilize a variety of sizes + colors—there are so many choices!
How to Trim Your Evergreens
We love evergreens for so many reasons, including year-round beauty, providing a safe place for birds to nest, and their instant privacy! Did you know that caring for them is actually quite simple? Learn how to efficiently trim your evergreens while you prep your yard for winter!
At Down to Earth, we sell DOZENS of evergreen varieties in every shape + size to fit your needs! Speaking of shape…did you know that trimming your evergreens can promote healthy growth + keep them looking snazzy? August is the ideal time to prune and shape your evergreens, giving them efficient time to callus before the cold midwest winter blows in! Those cute spiral + pom pom evergreens don't just grow that way - they take just a little bit of TLC.
SIMPLE STEPS...
Create a rough mental plan of how you would like the finished product to look
Grab your hedge shears + start shaping your evergreen as you like! (Need a new pair of shears? Visit our Garden Shop for options!)
We recommend following the natural shape of your evergreen (dependant upon the variety)
Be sure to view it from all angles to ensure an even trim
Start with small, light cuts. You can always go back for more, but you can’t glue to needles/foliage back on 😉
3. Keep going until you reach the desired shape
4. Stand back + admire your work!
After the first few frosts, we suggest applying Wilt Stop, an awesome product that helps prevent evergreen winter burns during harsh winters, especially if your shrubs/trees are on the north side of your home or buildings (these take the brunt of the winter blasts!). If you prune + trim each year, you should only need to perform small, light pruning each August to maintain a healthy evergreen!
Our yard team is ready to help you find your next evergreen, guide you to pruning + trimming tools, or give you advice on your existing plants!
The Year of the Japanese Beetle…
These may be pretty little bugs, but they sure do a lot of harm to your garden!
They're baaaack!!
Have you seen any of these little guys on your plants? Take action before they undo all of your hard gardening work! We have a variety of products that will 'get the job done' at our PHD (plant health department)!
Ready to Use Sprays
Quick and easy application that takes immediate action!
Systemic Options
Great long lasting effect for bug control on the whole plant. Be sure to plan ahead as it takes a week to activate!
Beetle Bags
Keeps bugs contained + out of sight by attracting them with a lure. Pro tip - put a 5 gal bucket of water underneath each trap that will catch any beetles that don’t make it into the trap.
Which option is best for your yard? After gardening all spring, protect your garden this summer from these little monsters! Be sure to stop in to talk to our experts to arm yourselves for a beetle battle!
Tick + Mosquito Season is Here!
Ticks + Mosquitoes are Bad This Season! Try These Plants to Help Keep the Problem at Bay.
Whether you have found a few of these little ticks crawling on your skin already this season or not, they are out on the prowl! To help reduce your sightings of them this season, try strategically planting these tick-repelling herbs + flowers in your landscape to help keep these critters at bay:
Lemongrass
Lantana
Scented Geranium
Mint
Sage
Lavender
The best part about these plants? These options also all help with those pesky mosquitoes that are also ravenous this season! Don’t get stuck inside this season because of bug-fear - take back your yard (and your summer) with the help of these plants!
We offer all of these varieties seasonally, so be sure to stop out to see what we have in stock!
Pretty Peonies
Peonies: One of the most beloved + recognizable flowers out there! Known for their impressive blooms, versatile + exciting colors, and fragrant smell - it is no wonder they are a long-standing gardener’s favorite!
These sun-loving flowers bloom in late spring/early summer! You will find 2 types of peonies in the midwest: Herbaceous + Itoh ! Let’s learn a bit about both varieties!
Herbaceous are the most popular type of Peony that you find in gardens! Available in a variety of purples, pinks, reds, + white, they have so much to offer! You may want to consider staking this variety as their heavy flowers blooms often topple over without additional assistance.
Itoh Peonies, or Intersectional, are a beautiful blend of tree peonies + the herbaceous variety. This ideal hybrid offers stiffer stalks, a coveted change from the Herbaceous variety. This variety offers an even wider variety of colors to liven up your garden. Find yellows + even bi-colored varieties in the Itoh lineup!
Uh oh - ANTS! A common question we get is - why are there ants all over my Peony buds? No need to worry! Ants + Peonies have a symbiotic relationship: Peonies create a delicious sweet nectar that ants are willing to protect, fending off any unwanted critters, protecting your Peony!
Want to use your Peony plant for cut flowers? To help longer lasting blooms, be sure to wait until the buds “pop” and show color before cutting them + placing them in arrangements. We love these blooms as they are also great stand-alone pieces in a vase!
Come find your new garden centerpiece by shopping both varieties of Peonies at our Eau Claire location (available seasonally)!
Proven Winner Certified
Each spring, we proudly participate in reaffirming our Proven Winners Certified Garden Center status. Proven Winners is one of our highly sought-after brands for all things annuals + perennials. They offer high-end plants that are “proven” to flourish in our midwest environment.
Every spring, our garden center team takes a full Proven Winners training course in order to be more acquainted + knowledgeable in this brand's line of plants. Once our entire garden center team completes this training, we are badged with this exciting certification!
Our goal for this training is for our team members to gain confidence + helpful skills in order to better serve YOU, our loyal customers.
Throughout the spring, we offer many team-training opportunities for brands such as Breeo Fire Pits, Monrovia, + Promix. We aim to bring not only high-end products right to your neighborhood, but also to offer informed staff that understand these incredible brands + have the tools to answer your questions.
Seed Starting 101
Seed starting is the perfect educational project for your kiddos, or an easy way to get your gardening-fix as an adult! Starting from seed is a simple way to bring fresh veggies, herbs, or flowers to your garden! Follow our easy step-by-step startup guide to seed starting.
Supplies Needed:
Seeding soil
Seedling tray or peat pots
Your chosen seeds
Optional supplies: grow light, heat mat, + clear plastic dome that fits seedling tray
6 Steps to Success:
Fill seedling trays or pots with seeding soil.
Level off soil.
Lightly moisten the soil.
Create indents in soil according to the specific seed package.
Place seed into indent + lightly cover with soil.
Set seedling trays or pots into a tray of water. (This ‘bottom watering’ method helps prevent the seeds from moving. Allow to sit for 30-40 min then dump extra water.)
Optional Steps, to optimize seed growth:
Place seed trays or pots on heat mats to create a consistent soil temperature - this will help seeds germinate faster.
Place dome on seedling tray.
Once the first few sightings of your little seedlings appear, use grow lights to enhance plant growth and decrease plant stretching.
Once 50-60% of the germination is complete, you can remove the dome.
Come chat with our gardening experts in store to learn more about specific varieties + requirements, and to get all of your seed-starting questions answered! We’ll see you soon!
Plant the Valley
Let’s plant the Valley! We want to share our love of trees with the entire Chippewa Valley! We have set a BIG tree-goal that comes with an exciting reward for everyone…
Let’s plant the Valley! We want to share our love of trees with the entire Chippewa Valley!
We have set a BIG tree-goal that comes with an exciting reward for everyone. April thru November 2024, we have set out to sell 2,500 trees at our retail locations. When we meet our goal, we will “dig in” and plant trees throughout the Valley. Help us enrich our community, create sustainability, and bring the joy of nature to all parts of our beautiful town. This is a team effort that involves all of us…
How to join in on this mission:
Purchase any tree from our retail store - watch the tree tracker grow throughout the months! Every tree purchased makes the tracker leaves flourish!
Promote the program by displaying our ‘Plant the Valley’ merch! (Button/stickers given after your tree purchase. Sweatshirts + tees are available in our garden shop!)
Choose to sponsor a tree! (see details below)
Plant the Valley Sponsorships are now available! All sponsorship donations will be applied toward trees to be planted above and beyond our campaign goal. You can purchase a sponsorship online (click link below) or in-store at our retail locations.
Together, we can make a big beautiful impact in our amazing community. Let’s PLANT THE VALLEY!
(Of note: When you finish your checkout process for tree sponsorship, you will receive a Pick-Up notification as part of our online ordering system; please ignore this notification. All sponsorship donations will be fulfilled and trees planted in November 2024)