Happy New Year everyone. My advice for the year is to stay away from the news and your devices and spend more time in nature and your garden. The crazier things get on the outside, the harder it is for me to stay centered on the inside. Working at the nursery keeps me somewhat sane. More than ever, we need the therapy that plants provide. And more than ever, wildlife needs the shelter and food that our very own gardens can provide for them.
A big THANK-YOU to everyone who took the time and voted us the 2024 Best Nursery in Lake and Mendocino Counties. We took first place again!!! That is not possible without you, our great customers.
Bare root roses are due to ship out this week and the next, so they should be here soon. We often put some out for sale as bare root and start potting some up almost immediately. We always discount those for the first month. My guess is the bare root will be close to $20.00 each for shrubs and climbers. The tree roses will be more. The list of what we are getting is on the website, and we still have some 2023 roses left that will not be on that list.
The Sester Farms order has arrived earlier than expected. This might be the last time we will order from them as their product is pricey, and we can get a lot of it from our local suppliers. It had been one of the best ways to get smaller dogwoods, but this year, they did not roll ahead my order, so we were only able to get pink, no white. Couple that with the full-size semi backing down our double dead-end street, the high minimum order amount, and that you need a forklift to get the order off the truck is making this option less and less desirable. We did get some Western Red Cedar, Ponderosa Pine and Doug Fir in #5’s. Also of note are Chocolate Mimosas and Thornless Hawthorne trees. We reordered the Ivory Silk Tree Lilac, but they were out of single trunks, so we received multi-trunk. These have been cut back, and the price is going to make you do a double take. It is the same as the tree form. We received the Miss Kim Korean Lilac, which is a show stopper in bloom and very different from the traditional lilac.
Vegetable start availability is on the slim side right now. We upped our own production and are trying to grow organic starts early before the greenhouse gets taken over with perennial plugs and hanging baskets for spring. It is slow going as the house is not heated, and the sun has not been shining. The second half of our seed order came, and I might have gone a smidge overboard on variety as the whole order could not fit on our rack. Look for the Renees zinnias and Renees herb packets separate from the main rack. Our plug production will begin mid-February with herbs and a few freeze-hardy perennials. Blooms Nursery is also upping its early spring herb offerings and plans on doing more CA natives.
This year is going to be a lot different because our local Lake County grower has retired. We are really going to miss Spring Thyme and Tom, his wonderful perennials, and his organic tomatoes and pepper starts. It is putting more pressure on us to grow more ourselves, but our greenhouse is limited. We have found we have to wait pretty late to get our tomatoes to germinate. That being said, we still sold every one we grew last year even though they were not ready til the end of May/1st of June.
My daffodils are blooming in front of the house along the street! I am always a little amazed when they start in January, not February or March. The flower buds on my almonds are swelling. That means we are having another fairly mild winter. Still, we should have no problem getting the chill hours needed for our fruit trees. (Chill hours are between 32 and 45 degrees, and varieties of fruit trees have different chill hour requirements). Speaking of bulbs, we still have some left at half off.
Hellebores
Winter is always a hard time to find a lot of color at the nursery. The Hellebores are blooming, and if you are unfamiliar with this long-lived, deer-resistant, and climate-appropriate perennial (for summer shade), you should try one. They are a little pricey but so worth it. The Euphorbias are also coming on, and this is a shorter-lived perennial with long-lasting colorful bracts, plus deer and gopher resistant. More great early-blooming perennials that do well here include Dianthus and Candytuft. The Candytuft (the low-growing shrubby perennial with small white flowers) is blooming away in front of the library in Middletown. If you are looking for an early blooming ground cover, try Georgia Blue Veronica. Daphne and Camellias are good, very early blooming shrubs, along with Quince and Forsythia.
Camellia flower
Spring is right around the corner. Now is the time to get your roses and fruit trees pruned and dormant sprayed if you have not already. For info on pruning fruit trees, go to davewilson.com or homeorchard.ucdavis.edu. Shape young shade trees. Cut back your perennials and divide if necessary. Top-dress your trees with manure. Add Firmulch to your containers to keep the soil level up near the top. Seed out wildflowers. Plant sweet peas. Feed your asparagus, artichokes, and strawberries. Get weeding before they grow more, and it gets out of hand. February is a month to plant onions, potatoes, kale, broccoli, chard, beets, carrots, and more. You can get an early start on tomatoes from seed indoors, but it is better to wait until March unless you are in a warmer area and can plant in April. Most of us are not safe to plant out frost-tender summer vegetables until all danger of frost is past, usually after May 1st.
Anemones are deer resistant and bloom more than once.
Valentine’s Day is also around the corner, and we are the place to come to for flowers that last. Roses, houseplants, little carnations, mini roses, blooming shrubs, Hellebores, and gift certificates all make great gifts for that special someone. Check out the unique dried flower Valentine wreaths we just got in. They are pretty cute.
Our bare root tree list can be accessed on our website, along with a list of the roses we are getting. February is a great month to get this done. Some trees can start breaking dormancy by March, so don’t delay.
Jan/Feb Specials
Bare root trees, berries, and grapes
5 or more 10% off
10 or more 15% off
2023 Fruit trees 20% off
Newly potted and 2023 roses 20% off
Firmulch and Gopher Cages 20% off
with purchase of any bare root
4 inch/quart Euphorbias $1.00 off
Gallon pots of Naked Lady Amaryllis $7.99
Leftover Oregon grown Balled and Burlaped Conifers
(the live Christmas trees) 20% off
