Installation: Cornell Farm is introducing a new service for our customers in addition to Delivery. Now we also can Install your tree or shrub exactly where you want them. It takes the shovel and backache out of adding a new plant to your garden. Delivery and Installations start at $75.

Garden Parties: Schedule a group of six or more for a fun and creative container garden workshop with our award-winning designers. Click here for more information.

A blast from the past!
Take a virtual trip back in time and cruise through our Web Archives. Here you’ll find past plant features, tips and tricks, old answered questions, and so much more. Check it out here.

Q: The leaves on my tree (or bush) are turning yellow and falling off. It appears to be dying. What can I do to save it?

A: In the beautiful Pacific Northwest where fall and winter temperatures cool off dramatically from summer, all sorts of plants from trees to shrubs to perennials and annuals have their foliage turn yellow and drop off before they go to sleep (dormant) for the winter. This is when they rest their tops above ground from growing and quietly increase their root system below ground Fall through Spring. Trees and woody shrubs that drop leaves and emerge again in spring are called Deciduous. Perennials are soft stemmed plants (no wood) that generally flower for 6-18 weeks whose stems and leaves turn yellow or orange to brown in fall, and can then be cut back to the ground in fall to re-emerge fresh and larger next spring. Annuals are also soft stemmed plants that flower continuously late spring through fall frost, and without being brought indoors, will die from cold. Plants that keep their leaves or needles in winter are called Evergreen.

To answer your question, the plant is not dying (most likely). The only recommendation we have for action is to put 1-2" good compost on the soil around your plants, being careful not to cover the base, or crown, (where plant meets soil) to prevent rot in our rainy winters. Spread compost even with the outside edge of the top growth of plant to cover the underground root system. This does 5 things:

1. Adds nutrition and beneficial microbes to the soil for growth and health which will wash down into the roots with winter rains
2. Prevents weeds
3. Protects roots: from drying winds (by retaining moisture in soil) and insulating from extreme cold
4. Beautifies the garden for winter
5. Adds excellent material to help break up heavy clay soil, making it lighter work for gardeners as well as easier for roots to grow into. Adding compost twice a year in spring and fall for all the above reasons will make your garden soil as airy as potting soil in 5-6 years.