​Wauconda Forever!
Last month Montale celebrated 23 years in the business of being the most helpful and friendly nursery to work with in the industry.  That’s a long time, and we’re really proud of who we have become.  From our humble beginnings as perennials growers we are now known for our amazing line of hydrangeas, roses, and landscape quality shrubs.  We’re always adding to our product line as the market requires so lately we’ve become really focused on our native plant production.  There is so much to learn about this exciting group of plants, and we just can’t wait to help you get our plants into your projects.  In fact, we’re so eager to help that we planted a meadow as an alternative to the existing lawn in our back forty which consists of native and non-native plants.  This area serves as a resource for our customers and for us.  Over the years I’ve found that the plants don’t always read the books, so there is no substitute for actual planting to find out what they really need to thrive.  We do these projects at our place because we love it, but also because we want to be the most expert resource on the other end of the telephone when you call, and you can’t do that by being a spectator. 
In the months to come we have some beautiful plans for the landscape around our new fence, a rain garden that runs the east length of our driveway, and lots of color and texture to fill up planters along our driveway.  Our goal is to continue to beautify our property, provide pollinator habitat, manage rainwater, and provide inspiration for our customers.
For the past 18 years I’ve been directing people to our nursery in Wauconda, only to be met with “where’s Wauconda?”  Big thanks to ‘Black Panther’ for finally putting us on the map! 
 
Melisa Bell

Montale is a container nursery. What does ‘container nursery’ mean, exactly? 
It means that we grow our plants in POTS.
Our shrubs and ornamental trees are not field grown – meaning dug out of the field, then balled and burlapped (B & B).  Our plants’ lives are started and finished in their containers, and that is the way you purchase them.
Benefits of container grown plants

• A substantial root system develops first - tops are important, but are second priority.

• It’s all about the root system when you are producing a plant. The container is its own mini-nursery for that plant to grow strong roots in, so that its foundation is sturdy when it’s time to plant it.

 

• Our pots are not smooth-sided, but have vertical grooves.

• The grooves on the sides of the pot direct the roots to grow down the sides and toward the drainage holes, encouraging rooting and root mass.

 

• You get all the roots the plant ever grew.

• No roots are lost in the process of digging the plant out of a field. Everything the plant had from the beginning is right there.

 

• Container plants receive and drain water more easily than B & B plants.

• They also benefit from a good dose of slow-release fertilizer, which is contained in the pot, and continues to keep the plant strong and healthy.

 

• Containers are easy to transport, handle and plant.

• Just grab the edges of the pots and go!

 

• Containers made of plastic are recyclable.

• It matters to respect the earth, so recycle them on your own, or return them to us.

 

• Transplant shock is reduced or eliminated.
• Less concern about returning to the site to solve problems later.

  Happy Valentine’s Day!       

A frequently asked question from our customers…
‘…on your availability, what is the difference between a Landscape List (LSL) plant and a Garden Center List (GCL) plant?’
We’re glad you asked!
As plant growers and evaluators, we check on the progress and quality of every crop that we grow each week. That information is put into our computer system which generates our weekly availability.
Sample portion of availability list:

Above, in the far right column under ‘List’, you’ll see the abbreviations LSL or GCL.
LSL – Landscape List
Plants on this list are healthy, fully rooted with good tops and are perfectly acceptable for the landscape contractor. They may or may not be in bloom depending on the time of season.* The quality is good and your customer will be satisfied when they see them in the planting.
GCL – Garden Center List
Plants on this list are at the peak of their appearance. Nearly picture-perfect. They are possibly in flower also, depending on the time of season.* They look beautiful enough to be on a prominent garden center bench, and customers would find it impossible to resist going home with one...or more! But they aren’t just for a garden center – also for a client’s yard or on a commercial project!
Anyone can order from either list – there are no rules! It’s just a way for us to tell you ‘yep, they’re fine and good to go’ on the LSL, or ‘omigosh! They are stunning right now’ on the GCL.
Tip: landscape contractors may have a special needs project – a wedding, a party, a plant sale, a very particular client – and ordering GCL plants may be a perfect way to please this client. 
By the way: the ‘size’ column is for shrubs.  Size is the top growth range, such as 24-30” (tall). Most shrubs are measured by height, but some of a spreading habit, such as Rhus a. ‘Gro-Low’, are measured by width. You’ll see sizing appear in the spring when we open the houses and measure the shrubs.
*During the growing season, another column will appear on the far right, ‘Bud/Bloom Status’. There it will be noted if the plant is in bud or bloom.

​There you have it! We hope this helps to clear up the question of LSL vs. GCL plants.  As always – feel free to contact us with questions!
 
Lynn Pries
Office Manager/Sales Associate
 

​If you’ve ever wondered what goes on at the nursery before the first snowflakes fly I can tell you that putting the nursery to bed properly takes a little more than a warm glass of milk, and a favorite bedtime story, although some of our plants do get their favorite blinky!  The earth insulates the roots of plants grown in the ground but as a container nursery our plants are grown and stored above ground so we use insulation blanket to protect them from extreme low temps once they’ve gone dormant.
Because hardiness varies greatly among species our team of experts spend the majority of October and all of November relocating nursery stock to just the right “room” for their long winter’s nap.  Prior to moving day we’re busy replacing shade cloth with overwintering poly on our 47 hoop houses, as well as watering, weeding and pruning the nursery stock.  I get a lot of questions about pruning, mostly (insert exasperated tone here) “why did you prune them”?!  Well, there are a couple of very good reasons. First, many of our shrubs (hydrangeas, physocarpus, weigela) really benefit from a fall haircut.  It helps them to fill out the following year and grow into broader, beefier shrubs.  Without pruning they would be tall and skinny, which is awesome for super models but not so much for Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea, even though she is a super model among hydrangeas!  Secondly, shrubs are stored either in a poly house or in the field.  They are stacked and covered with winter protection blankets and white overwintering film.  The stacking helps to insulate and keep cold air from filling open space between pots, which can damage roots, and proper fall pruning helps lessen potential structural damage to the plants as they are stacked.  While I never cut back perennials in my own garden or in our display gardens, it’s a must in the nursery to control disease and rodent damage. 
It’s almost Miller time!  The only thing left to do is year-end inventory, cover the field wintered stock, close up the poly houses, load up the greenhouses, and distribute a well-deserved “atta girl and atta boy” to all of the amazing people that make this happen year after year in all kinds of crummy weather and never complain.  For an operations dork like me, putting the nursery to bed is one of my favorite things.  It’s like that feeling I get once I’ve put my own garden to bed, and stored my tools, pots, assorted gnomes, and patio furniture, but way, way bigger.
 
Melisa Bell