We finally dropped down low enough to get some noticeable frost. I have lived here a few years now, and our first killing frost is coming later and later. It still was not enough to kill off our summer annuals, but we are getting closer. We have been covering our cold-sensitive succulents and even the cyclamen to keep the flowers from freezing at night. We follow the Western Weather frost forecast for Middletown, and it has still not gotten as cold as they are predicting for the night. Maybe the unseasonably warm daytime temps are throwing them off some.
I think a lot of you know what December means here. We sell Christmas trees, wreaths, and garland, and these really are a boost to our traditionally slow time of year. We were unable to get many Nordmanns or Nobles over 8 ft, but we have lots of the Doug Firs in the taller sizes. Our supplier substituted 7/8 ft Nordmanns, so we have plenty of those to choose from. We did not get many in the 4/5 ft size either, but lots of 5/6 and up in Doug Firs. In addition, we still have a nice selection of Oregon-grown balled and burlapped conifers in pots if you want one you can plant in the ground. The items mentioned above are not included in our year-end sale.
Starting Nov 29th, Small Business Saturday, the rest of our inventory goes on sale for 25% off through December 24th. This means plants, gifts, fertilizer, pottery, containers, soils, wind chimes, and anything else I forgot to mention. We also offer gift certificates to be used in the coming year at 25% off. (Not valid until Jan 1.) They make great gifts to yourself and others.
Many of you are familiar with our inventory and have an idea of things that make good gifts. Gloves and arm protectors are one idea. Bulbs or bulb pots are another. Houseplants and succulents, rain gauges, rain chains, wind chimes, benches, arbors, fountains, bird baths, fruit trees, roses, and Camellias are also ideas to share with you.
Enough about Christmas. We should be getting our 2026 berries, figs, kiwis, pomegranates, and grapes on Monday, December 1st. These do not come bare root but in liner pots. In addition, we have 2 varieties of olives coming that I can not get in the one-gallon size. The remainder of our bare root order is requested to come in the second week of January, after we reopen from our winter break. If you want to see what we are getting, we have a link on our website, or you can go to the Dave Wilson website and click on ‘where to buy our trees’, then click Northern CA coastal, and we are listed on the 2nd page. Click ‘list’. You can also see if other local nurseries have what you are looking for if we are not getting it. We are taking requests and will pull them when they get here and call you to say they are ready for you. We do sell out fast of some varieties.
Bare-root roses are only available for a short window, as we have to start potting them before spring gets here. We expect them towards the end of January, and I will have the list ready for our Jan/Feb Newsletter that comes out mid-January. Roses are typically a big seller elsewhere, but the deer and our summer heat put a damper on rose sales. We still get in a few varieties of every color and try to change up the offering somewhat every year. Of course, we still get in favorites like Mr. Lincoln and Fragrant Cloud yearly.
Lake County has an amazing amount of microclimates. It might come as a surprise to those of you who live on the valley floor or the mountains that some people do not freeze or only get light frosts. They live at the lake or in the thermal belts on hillsides. I actually call these the banana belts. Anyway, for the rest of us, cold-sensitive plants have to be protected. These include Citrus, a lot of succulents, and anything else you might have picked up along the way that you are hoping is going to winter over. For the most part, all the perennials, trees, and shrubs we sell here should be fine without doing anything as long as they do not dry out. (Snow is not the problem as much as those clear, dry, super cold nights.) Most of us need to wrap our citrus in frost cloth, which we sell here if you need it. We also sell anti-transpirant spray, which also helps plants winter over as it keeps moisture in the leaves. I usually spray our citrus and oleander with it, and it helps keep them looking better through winter. Don’t forget to wrap exposed pipes and irrigation valves, and to bring in your battery timers.
For those of you who grow food year-round, we still have a nice selection of vegetable starts. These are all on special this month. Alex has been busy seeding these great additions to the winter garden, and we have more growing in the greenhouse. Our greenhouse is unheated, but it gets nice and warm inside on any sunny day to get our little seeds to germinate. Our organic seed potatoes are in stock now. Our onion sets are dwindling, but we still have seed garlic. If the weather stays like this, you might want to get some of these planted now.
Keep up on your dormant spraying and get those fruit trees pruned. I like to spray the roses too. It is important to strip as many rose leaves off as possible when you prune, as these are fungus magnets in winter.
We still have a lot of nice spring-blooming bulbs, now at 25% off. The rain has softened the ground, and it would be a good month to get these beauties planted. We like EBS Sure Start for all our planting, and this is on sale too. No excuse not to plant, and your eyes will thank you in the early spring, not to mention the bees.
I am concerned that more and more of our wild protected lands and seas are being opened up to environmental disaster. Here at the nursery, we are trying to do our part in promoting and providing habitat for some of our more threatened wildlife, and you can do the same. Leave leaf litter on the ground til spring, plant more natives, avoid harsh chemical sprays, and provide lots of flowers for our pollinators. Limit your lawn areas. We have to up our game in this day and age, and we applaud all our customers who are on board. Our little yards might not be much, but they are increasingly crucial to a healthy environment.
The nursery will be closed from December 25 through January 9th. I will still be checking messages daily, so if you need something, it can be arranged. A big thank you to all our customers who supported us this year. We wouldn’t still be here without you. Enjoy the holidays.
December Special
Storewide End of Year Sale
25% off just about everything.
Gift certificates valid after Jan. 1, 2026
Our entire ‘regular’ inventory.
This does not include Oregon potted conifers,
cut trees or wreaths,
But everything else.
