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Chalet’s Tony Fulmer appeared on WGN recently, with tips for long-lasting roses. For many gardeners, the ideal plant is one that says in bloom for a long period of time and requires little maintenance. Tony suggests shrub roses. In the video, aired during WGN’s “Midday Fix,” he provided answers to common gardening questions, such as how to keep roses blooming with minimal use of sprays, how to deal with blackspot, how to be more organic with roses, how to get rid of Japanese Beetles, etc.

Watch the video here

Here is one of the Q&As posted on the WGN site:

Q. “A common perception is that roses require a lot of spraying to keep them looking good. Is that true with shrub roses also?”

A. The term “shrub rose” is a “kitchen sing catch-all” for any roses that hybridizers are unsure what to do with. So there is a wide range in size, winter hardiness, disease resistance and length of bloom. There are a lot of things you can do to make roses easier and less time-consuming. First, give them lots of sun. Generally, roses prefer at least six hours of direct sun and more is better. If you want roses and your site has four hours of sun (or less) look for those that have lower petal count. The fewer the petals, the more shade tolerant the rose.

Check out more advice and the video, here, on WGN’s web site.

Click here to visit Chalet’s web site for more gardening tips, products and services.

Chalet’s Tony Fulmer headed over to WGN recently for a Midday feature showcasing tropical plants. There, he demonstrates that such plants are not only beautiful and exotic, they’re good for you, too! A study commissioned by NASA in the 1980s showed that two medium or large houseplants can effectively reduce airborne toxins by as much as 87% in a 100 square-foot room. Ferns combat household smoke (from smokers) by detoxifying benzene, a byproduct of cigarette smoke. Plants can also increase humidity in the dry and winter season. They also require less water in the winter. Bet you didn’t know that those green things could be so useful!

See the video on WGN, here, for a list of the ten best purification plants.

Tony Fulmer of Chalet Landscaping, Nursery and Garden Center made a visit to WGN Midday News on Mar. 30, 2009 for a short, live segment on “things you can do in the garden right now!”

It was raining and cold that day, but Fulmer said there are several things people can do to get a jump on spring gardening. The first thing to do is to plant some spring color: pansies, violas, primrose, ranunculus, stocks which are frost hardy and ready to enjoy. Cold hearty vegetables also thrive in early spring weather such as lettuce and swiss chard.

In April, put out the salad bar: cabbage, peas, spinach, lettuce, carrots, beats, chard and radishes. Keep in mind to look at the dates on the packages.

If you’re looking to weed, consider a corn gluten meal based product. It’s organic and it works not by inhibiting weeds from germinating, but by stopping the formation of roots. When applied, weeds will germinate and topple over since it has no foundation. This product has a soil expectancy of five to six weeks, so a second application will secure season-long control.

See the video for more advice from Tony Fulmer of Chalet at WGNtv.com.

Chalet has been named the most innovative garden center in America by Garden Center magazine, and with tips like these from garden expert Tony Fulmer, there’s no question why they received such honors.

GardenIllinois.com, the Illinois Green Industry Association, features “Much Ado: Tony Fulmer’s 10 Good Reasons to Mulch.”
Click here to read the article.

And that’s not all: Nina Koziol of The Chicago Tribune asked some of the garden gurus “what next?” after a trip to the local garden center. Tony Fulmer suggested to keep the 1-gallon pots and plunk ‘em in the ground - he also emphasized the importance (and usefulness) of composting.
Click here to read the whole article.