Happy Trees is your premier source to have large caliper balled and burlapped trees delivered and professionally planted for you. But if its mature shrubs you want, Happy Trees can provide those too! There are many shrubs that straddle the line between large shrubs and small trees, generally considered around 15’. Rose of Sharon, Purple Smoketree, Viburnum, Serviceberry, Lilac, and many others are generally considered shrubs or bushes but can be trained into multi-stem trees.

Most of the aforementioned shrubs are commonly available only in 5 gallon containers that will take several years to reach maturity. Most homeowners can transport these and perform their own planting. If you need screening immediately or if you just want instant gratification, Happy Trees has a great selection of 4-6’ balled and burlapped Viburnum and Rose of Sharon, and expects to see Purple Smoketree and Lilac in the coming weeks.

https://youtu.be/Qy8od-IzV_c

Viburnum have a profusion of white flowers in late spring followed by glossy green leaves and colorful berries that add late season interest. Fall colors range from yellow-orange-burgundy, and they perform quite well for our climate. Most reach 15’, but smaller varieties are available.

Rose of Sharon are slender shrubs with an upright branching habit that can reach heights over 10’ tall. They’re not a rose, but rather belong to the Hibiscus family. They have very large tropical looking flowers that bloom later in the season to give you a progression of bloom. They open up in late June or July and will continue to pump out flowers until frost.

Lilac are among the most familiar shrubs for North American landscapes, and with good reason. They are one of the earliest shrubs to come into bloom and their delightfully fragrant blossoms signal winter’s end. Colors range from white, pink, lavender, and purple. We wish the flowers lasted longer, but they are hardy and adaptable for our Colorado climate.

Purple Smoketree is an unusual shrub or small tree to give your yard a focal point or a conversation piece. Graceful branches support burgundy leaves. The flowers are lacy and airy, giving the appearance of smoke wafting off the plant in mid-summer.

All of these are ideal for smaller properties or tight spaces. If you need a tree or shrub for privacy, shade, or just something unusual and beautiful to brighten your day, Happy Trees can help you find the perfect tree for your needs.

CAVID-19 update- Happy Trees is committed to supporting our employees and serving our customers during this health and economic crisis. Agriculture and construction are exempt from the stay at home orders, and we perform agricultural construction. We are following the guidelines of the CDC and the WHO, as well as local and state health agencies. We are sanitizing vehicle cabins and tools, and our workers are able to distance themselves from our clients and each other while performing their work. If you’re stuck at home and you’ve been thinking about adding a tree, no need to wait, give us a call today!
 

Plant geeks of the world unite! You pride yourself on the remarkable array of distinguished and unusual plants you’ve cultivated in your gardens. You gave up after your third attempt at Japanese Maple, but you’ve trained your Purple Smoketree shrub into a graceful and elegant multi-stem tree. You’ve failed with every type of Rhododendron you’ve tried, but your Bamboo is finally taking off after it’s third year in the ground. Your Tri-color Beech stops traffic when the pink leaves first emerge, but you’re still not satisfied and are seeking that next conversation piece to add that “wow” factor to your landscape. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Seven-Son Flower!

Seven-Son Flower is a recent introduction from China that is swiftly gaining popularity and familiarity in commercial production. Rated to Zone 5, it is marginal along Colorado’s Front Range, but seems to be adaptable to our soils and climate. I planted one at the Westminster Botanic Gardens/ world headquarters of Happy Trees, and it has survived the winter and is budding out with no noticeable die-back as I write this on March 25^th.

https://youtu.be/9zT8Yxdvqwg

Seven-Son Flower is a large shrub or small tree, often multiple-stemmed, but can be trained into a single-trunk form. Its slender upright habit will reach a height of 15-20’ with a 10’ spread. Its creamy white flowers appear late in the summer, long after most of your flowering trees and shrubs have shed their petals, so it provides that progression of bloom to give interest late into fall. After the flowers, ruby-red calyces form to add another burst of interest before winter reclaims the land. Another notable attribute is the exfoliating bark that peels off to reveal a calico patchwork of cinnamon, tan, and brown tones.

Seven-Son Flower reminds me of the Crepe Myrtle trees that decorated the Virginia coastline of my misspent youth. A comprehensive description and pictures can be found at the Missouri Botanic Gardens. These are a bit of a boutique item, so they’re not featured on the Happy Trees’ website. For a limited time, 1-3/4” caliper trees can be delivered and installed for $715, and 7’ clump form trees are $825. As always, planting includes our planting package consisting of compost soil amendment, microbial fertilizer, lodgepole tree supports, and top-dress mulch. Hurry, the supply is limited and once sold we won’t see them until next spring.

You don’t need to be a botanist or even an avid gardener to plant and appreciate Seven-Son Flower in your yard. They are actually fairly hardy and relatively care-free with minimal maintenance needs. You may want to trim some stray branches to give it a desired shape, but they will mature quite nicely all on their own. Seven-Son Flower is the perfect addition to any landscape, whether you need a small tree to shade a patio, another specimen for the “tropical” themed garden, a point of interest for a meditation garden or the Japanese garden, or a unique focal point for your entryway.

CORONA VIRUS UPDATE- So called "shelter-in-place" laws are being enacted across the state, as if COVID-19 was an active shooter from which you need to katy-bar the door. The Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse association has lobbied hard to ensure that the green industry is included in the list of "essential" operations, along with construction, including landscape construction.

Following guidelines from the CDC and WHO, landscape construction activities are considered low-risk. Workers can maintain a safe distance from customers and from one another, and precautions are in place to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. Tools and vehicle cabins are being sanitized and workers are using hand sanitizer and gloves.

Happy Trees intends to remain open for business during this crisis. We pay among the highest wages in the industry for our labor, but still many of our employees live hand-to-mouth. If you've been contemplating planting a tree, please help keep the economy humming and give us a call!

There is no reason to read this blog. I’m only writing this for the benefit of the Google web crawlers who continuously search my site for new and relevant content, and COVID-19 seems to be the buzzword that will get Happy Trees to the top of the search engine results. I don’t mean to make light of a potentially serious situation, but perhaps I can bring a little levity to a panic-stricken situation.

Planting trees can actually help prevent the spread of the dreaded Corona Virus. I base this on absolutely nothing. I’m not a doctor, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. Trees serve as windbreaks that knock down dust that can harbor the virus. Trees purify the air and pump out oxygen. Pure oxygen kills the Corona virus, and again, I base this on absolutely nothing.

Forget hording toilet paper, trees like Maple and Catalpa have large leaves that could serve the purpose in a pinch. Happy Trees also plants large caliper fruit trees like Apple, Pear, and Peach that can feed your family in perpetuity until reason returns and civilization is restored.

As the stock market crashes and our health care system collapses, you may need to fortify your home against hording marauders. Washington Hawthorn have wicked thorns that when planted as a hedge-row can defend your realm as sure as razor wire. Pine and Spruce trees can screen your domicile so your neighbors can’t see you stockpiling the last few remaining cases of hand sanitizer.

Truth be told a global pandemic isn’t without it’s upside. Traffic congestion is greatly reduced and oil has tanked to around $28 a barrel. This means lower fuel costs and reduced labor expense as crews aren’t stuck sitting on I-25. Happy Trees is operating business as usual so if you’re self-quarantining why not get some trees planted while you’re working from home!

https://youtu.be/-sJ5P5LHK3M

I should mention that Happy Trees is taking extra precautions to keep our workers and clients safe during this time of crisis. While the disease doesn’t seem to be particularly lethal, it is spreading like wildfire so we are of course taking the threat seriously. We are sanitizing vehicles and wiping down tools. Workers are required to wear gloves and we are vigilantly watching for signs of illness. We are following the recommendations from the CDC and local health authorities, and all factors indicate that our operations are low risk for spreading the infection.

If you’re stuck home watching the kids while school is out, why not take some time to browse the Happy Trees website to consider your next tree to renovate your landscape. Whether you need something for shade, screening, or just something flowering to beautify your property, Happy Trees has exactly what you need. You can shop from home so you won’t risk exposure at the nursery, and our crews will deliver and plant your trees professionally as promised. If you feel helpless and have the urge to do something, plant a tree! You’ll feel better I guarantee it.
 

It seems as though winter has been particularly relentless this season and much of our streets and shady spots are still covered in snow and ice. Spring is equally relentless however, and it is arriving regardless of what winter has to say about it. The buds are breaking open on many of our regions’ trees, signaling the end of winter’s wrath and the beginning of our wondrous and miraculous spring. It’s time to plant!

The tree in the photo is a Maple tree I happened to notice just this afternoon, March 5^th. We generally don’t think of Maple trees as flowering trees but there they are, although the flowers are rather insignificant. Night time temperatures are hovering near freezing, yet these Maple and many other tree species are awakening out of winter dormancy and casting out pollen in an orgasmic frenzy.

We are entering a season of incomprehensible change. All around us trees that have rested in cryogenic slumber will begin bursting forth in a cacophony of flowers, leaves, fruits, and seeds. This will all occur in a matter of weeks. Then, nothing much will happen throughout summer’s scorching heat. Take time each day to appreciate the changes occurring all around you, and you might find yourself better connected to the natural wonders that help support human existence on this fragile planet.

The best way to observe these wonders is to have stewardship over them in your own yard! Trees benefit our lives in myriad ways, providing privacy, shade, windbreaks, or just something beautiful to appreciate in our landscapes.

Right now is an excellent time to plant. Trees can be harvested only when dormant and when the ground isn’t frozen. That means they can only be dug in the fall and spring. If spring-dug trees are planted while still dormant, they will “wake up” in your yard hardly noticing that they were moved at all! They avoid the transplant shock that can sometimes occur with summer planting. If you plant flowering trees like Crabapple or Serviceberry, you can enjoy the flowers now without having to wait another winter for your trees to put on a show.

Many of the trees that are appropriate for Colorado’s Front Range are listed with photographs at HappyTrees.co. Pricing is provided, and shopping is easy! Please call with questions or comments, and thank you for your consideration of Happy Trees!
 

Ice is still clinging to storm drains and parking lots but it has been three weeks since it last snowed around town. Daytime temperatures have been reaching into the 50s, while dropping into the mid-20s overnight. This is really tough on trees and shrubs, especially newly planted trees that haven't spread their roots deeply into the surrounding soil.

This pattern looks like it will continue through at least this week. Please get the hoses out and do a little winter watering to get some moisture into the ground.

If the ground is still frozen or snow covered you don’t need to do anything just yet.  Just please keep an eye on the ground moisture and water on a warm day as needed.  A good soaking should be adequate to get us to the next precipitation event.

If you have a recently planted tree from Happy Trees, your water gauge can show you if moisture is available in the root zone.  Otherwise you might dig a little in the vegetable garden or other inconspicuous place to see if there’s moisture in the soil or not.  With Colorado’s intense sunshine and Chinook winds it doesn’t take long for the ground to dry out completely.

One last tip…temperatures are still dropping below freezing at night so disconnect your hose from the tap to prevent freeze damage.  Drain your hoses so they don’t freeze as well.  Winter watering helps protect roots when the ground freezes, so be aware of your plant’s needs and water as necessary.