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Harlequins Gardens

Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

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Home | Home Page Feature | Dead or Alive?

Dead or Alive?

Lace Bark Pine

by Mikl Brawner

As we enter June, most of our trees and shrubs have leafed out, but not all. Some have leaves only three quarters of the way up, and many broad-leafed evergreens are mostly brown. Should we cut them back or replace them? Let’s not, just yet.

Sensation Maple

This winter we had three below zero events: 20 below at the end of December, 10 below at the end of January, and 10 below at the end of February, which is very late for below zero. Some plants did die. We lost a cactus and people have reported losing hardy Rosemary, lavender and even a few plums and cherries. The soil has taken a long time to warm up. Many broad-leafed evergreens are still in shock: Boxwoods, Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia) and Euonymus vines and shrubs have a lot of dead leaves. Our big Arizona Cypress and little Lacebark Pine have many dead needles. Our Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis, has looked dead. But look closely; new leaves are starting to emerge.

If you scratch the bark with a thumbnail and it’s green underneath, it’s still alive. If it’s brown, it’s probably not. If buds are soft and pliable, it’s alive. If buds crumble under pressure, bark is wrinkled and twigs snap, that wood is dead.

Give them another couple weeks before cutting, and remember that a big root system will grow back faster than a brand-new plant. And it may be supportive to give a struggling tree or shrub a dose of compost tea and/or a little organic fertilizer—a liquid form is faster-acting. And always prune back to a branch; never leave a stump.

And who knows, a little love might help too.

 

Arizona Cypress

Curl Leaf Mountain Mahagony

Chilopsis

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Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

We do not ship plants!

Our plants are for sale ONLY at our Boulder location. We DO NOT ship plants or any other products.  Come visit us!

Hours by Season

MARCH HOURS
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

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Contact Us

303-939-9403 (Retail)
staff@nullharlequinsgardens.com

4795 North 26th St
Boulder, CO 80301

Sign-up for E-Newsletters!

Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

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Our Hours

Seasonally, MARCH to OCTOBER.
MARCH HOURS:
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS:
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

The plants we grow are organically grown. All the plants we sell are free of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.