Bring the kids and enjoy our very own PUMPKIN PAHLOOZA.  We have a Straw Maze, Petting Zoo, Bouncy Pumpkin, Haunted House, and of course complimentary coffee and popcorn.  You can even shop in the comfort of our greenhouse regardless of the weather conditions outside. 

While you are here, make sure to check out our HUGE selection of pumpkins (orange and white, small and large) corn shocks, straw, halloween decorations, mums, pansies, dusty miller, kale, and so much more…..

  The fall season is a perfect time to plant.  You can get a head start  on your upcoming landscape project or put that finishing touch on your existing landscape.  Plus, act now and save 10% off  your landscape project if completed this fall.  Cooler temperatures, fewer pest and disease problems are a few of the advantages of a fall planting.  Fall planted trees and shrubs start the cool spring season faster, since they had the opportunity to get established during the cool fall season.  As a result, the plants handle the stress of the warm to hot summer temperatures much better.  Fall is also a perfect time to have sod and hardscapes installed, such as pavers, retaining walls, ornamental ponds, and landscape lighting.  Don’t let the season fall by the wayside.  

  Pahls has a
variety of landscape programs, including: on-site consultation, in-house consultation, design & installation, design & do-it-yourself installation.  It’s not to early to plan for that graduation party, wedding reception, or simply that back yard gathering spot for friends and family.  We can finish the landscape plan in the winter and have it ready to plant in the spring. 

Contact us now for a FREE Estimate at 952.431.4345 or
e-mail landscaping@pahls.com.



Remember, fall is not just a time to enjoy Minnesota’s fall colors, it’s an excellent time to plant or plan for that landscape you’ve always dreamed about.  Time to make the dream a reality.

  Our Minnesota winters for the past few years have been considered mild.  Last winter was an exception – the bitter cold temperatures, wind and bright sunny days caused a considerable amount of winter damage to plants.
   Some people who planted boxwood, white spruce, hemlock, yew and arborvitae have noticed in the spring that the plant’s foliage turned brown or had no color at all.  This browning or bleaching of evergreen foliage is known as winter burn and is caused by the excessive water loss from the foliage due to the effects of the winter sun and the cold wind.  Since the ground is frozen, the root system of the plant is unable to replace the lost water.  The result is desiccation or dehydration of the plant tissue.  To minimize the damage winter burn causes, evergreens need to be watered weekly until the ground freezes, which is sometime in November in our zone 4 area.  A well watered evergreen
is less likely to go into winter stressed for lack of moisture.
   Bright sunny days during the winter can cause the tissue in the plant’s foliage to warm above the ambient temperature which initiates cellular activity.  When the sun is abruptly shaded, the temperature of the foliage drops and the tissue is injured or killed.
   During a sunny, windy day, chlorophyll in the foliage is destroyed and is not resynthesized when the temperature is below 28 degrees.  The result is the bleaching of the foliage.  This is often seen in boxwoods which have a fleshy evergreen leaf.
   Evergreens located on the south, southwest and the northeast (prevailing wind) side of the landscape can be damaged by winter burn.  To minimize winter injury to small growing evergreens place pine or spruce boughs over the plant to protect it from the sun and wind.  Taller evergreens can be shielded from the sun by
constructing a barrier of burlap on the south, southwest and windward sides of the plant. 
   Cold temperatures in the early fall before plants can harden off completely, or late spring when new growth begins can result in injury or death of a plant that has not yet been acclimated.  This is known as ice crystal damage.  Anti-desiccant and anti-transpirant sprays are additional methods of avoiding loss of plant moisture.  The sprays can be applied at 50 degrees or warmer and are allowed to dry on the plant if freezing overnight or daytime temperatures are forecast.  The sprays last up to six to eight weeks.
   Evergreens that have been damaged by winter burn or ice crystal damage should be pruned in mid spring.  Brown or bleached foliage should be removed.  The buds on the remaining stem, which are more cold hardy then the foliage, will often grow and fill in the areas where the damaged foliage had been
removed.  Fertilize injured plants in early spring and water them throughout the growing season.  

   The English may have given us the Kissing Ball but it was the Northern Europeans who began the tradition of the decorated Christmas tree.  Nearly all species of evergreens are used for Christmas trees.  Availability, cost, and sentiment are among the attributes that most people have in mind when they purchase a Christmas tree.  Other characteristics that make a tree desirable are retention of needles or foliage after  cut, pyramidal compact shape, foliage color, fragrance, and limb strength sufficient to support ornaments.
   At first, Christmas trees were decorated with small tufts of cotton and fabric, strings of popcorn and cranberries, and handmade ornaments.  In Germany, a story is told of Martin Luther
strolling through the countryside alone on Christmas Eve under a brilliant starlit sky.  He was awestruck by the beauty of the heavens and the wintery landscape: the blue light on the low hills outside Weimar, and on the evergreen trees, the snowflakes sparkling in the moonlight.  Returning home, he told his family of his experience, and attempted to reproduce the splendor of the outdoors.  To a small evergreen he attached some lighted candles so as to portray the reflection of the starry night.
   The custom of a candle-lit Christmas tree was not accepted until 200 years after Luther’s death.  In the 1700s lights were accepted as a part of the decorations and the Christmas tree was well on its way to becoming the accepted custom in Germany.  During the American Revolution, the tradition of the Christmas tree bridged the Atlantic. 
   Finland is said to have accepted the custom in 1800, Denmark in 1810,
Sweden a decade later, and Norway in 1830.  From the Scandinavian countries, the custom spread to France and England in 1840.
   For centuries, the fir has been the most popular Christmas tree.  The fact that the twigs of the balsam fir resemble crosses more than other evergreens’ may have something to do with it.  Extracts from the fir, especially the balsam fir, were used for medical purposes; probably for that reason it was widely sought after and used.  Certainly the fragrance of the balsam is one of its outstanding features. 
   That fragrance is the first thing you notice when you step into our greenhouse to shop for a Christmas tree.  Fraser, Balsam, Noble, and Grand firs are located in the annual house, trees over 10 feet tall are in our growing house, and our native Minnesota spruce are located outside in the shrub lot.  After you select your tree, it is cut, netted and tied to your vehicle at
no extra charge. 
   Spruce tips, kissing balls, wreaths, garland, and swags are located in the annual house, along with pine cones, berries and loose greens for your decorating needs.  Poinsettias, ornaments, artificial wreaths and other decorations are located in the Market.


 

Design and Create a Kissing Ball or Spruce Tip Pot

   The origin of the use of evergreens to celebrate Christmas is traced to an earlier period than custom dictates.  Even before the Christian era, trees and boughs were used for ceremonials.  Egyptians, when they observed the winter solstice, brought green date palms into their homes as a symbol of “life triumphant over death.”  When the Romans observed the feast of Saturn, a part of the ceremony was to raise an evergreen bough.  To the Druids of England, evergreen boughs in the house during the winter solstice, when the short days of winter began to get longer in daylight, meant eternal life.  The boughs were dressed with vines and berries of mistletoe and placed over doorways to keep out witches, ghosts, and the evil spirits.  The evergreen boughs bestowed health, happiness, and good luck.
   This English custom has evolved and endured for centuries.  We know this custom in our modern times as the Kissing Bough or Kissing Ball.  Northern European countries in the middle ages had the custom to hang up a small evergreen tree top, usually a fir, upside down in their home as a symbol of the Holy Trinity and a blessing upon the home.  The custom evolved into the Christmas tree as we know it today.  In England, however, the spirit of the old Druid custom survived, and instead of bringing in a tree, boughs and sprigs of evergreens were woven around a bendable frame made of ash, willow or hazel branches, shaped into sphere and made into a ball.  The balls were decorated with fruits of the season – nuts, berries, and small apples – and placed over a doorway.  Anyone who called at the house during the Christmas season showed that they only brought goodwill with them by a
symbolic embrace under the decorated evergreen bough.  
   Spruce Tip Pots have become a modern American tradition.  Although they do not have the legend and lore of the English Kissing Balls, our homes are made more festive with front doors flanked by individually made spruce tip pots.  The decorated spruce tips add a personal touch to our homes.
   Make a statement and make your holiday more beautiful.  Join us Saturday, November 14, Wednesday, November 18, or Saturday, November 21, and create your own Kissing Ball or Spruce Tip Pot.  Pahls staff will be available to assist you if you desire.  Our holiday workshops are a fun social event.  Make it a family tradition.  Call the Market at 952.431.4345 and
reserve a place for yourself, your family or friends.