Jeff Rice

ONE GALLON PERENNIALS ON SALE – $4.95 EA. SEE LIST OF VARIETIES BELOW. ALL IN FULL BLOOM NOW. ADD COLOR TO YOUR LANDSCAPE. PERENNIALS COME BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR AND BLOOM IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER. This year has been a very nice spring and early summer. Any hot periods have only lasted a couple of days and then it cools back down. Very nice weather for your landscape whether new plantings or established plantings. With summer here and longer days, it gives a lot of time for gardening. Do your planting early in the day or in the evening if possible so it is easier on you. Plants will handle the transplant just fine but do make sure you give additional water for the first week or two after planting to make sure it is kept well hydrated. Also be sure to mulch to hold the moisture in the ground. Water the new planting well, and then water in with Superthrive mixed in water. This will eliminate any transplant shock that may occur. Keep the plant moist but not soggy while it is getting it’s root system established. If you are using a timed drip system that runs for …

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June looks like it is starting off very nice. The rest of the spring has been nice although a bit more rain than normal. I’ve tracked 42″ of rain this year. Our average here is 26″-28″. It has meant no hot days all spring. Mostly cool and nice spring weather. Great spring planting weather. WATERING Watering becomes much more important to make sure it is done well as the weather warms up. When watering trees, be sure to give established trees a deep soak once or twice a week depending on temperatures. Newly planted trees should be watered daily for the first week or so then cut back to about two or three times per week. Do not give short daily watering. Give good deep soaks. A good rule to use is to give 10 gallons of water per week for every inch of trunk diameter and be sure to soak to a depth of at least 12 inches. On larger trees you’ll want to soak to a depth of 2 to 3 feet. Use slow drip and let it run long enough to soak deep. Add 3″ of mulch around your trees and shrubs to hold the moisture in …

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  February and March have been pretty wet this year to say the least. according to my rain gauge, we have had 37.75″ of rain to date here at the nursery. Our average annual rainfall is 22″-24″ here. And looks like a bit more on the way. The late season moisture is keeping things green and the ground soft (although at times kind of muddy) and making for excellent gardening weather as soon as the rain stops. My long range forecast for the next 15 days shows the warmest day to be 72 and mostly in the 60″s. Perfect weather for planting and enjoying, especially when the sun does come out. Deciduous trees and shrubs are starting to leaf out. A bit late this year. The cool weather is nice. Looks like the rain will be scattered after this week. Not deluges. Many things are needing to be done in the landscape during April. Rhododendrons should have the flower trusses that are spent snapped off at the base as soon as they fade. Don’t wait until all the flowers have finished blooming to remove them because the plant will expend energy making seeds that would be better used to add …

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Organic Vegetable Gardening Classes. This Saturday and Sunday, March 30th and 31st. Both days @ 10 AM. We will cover how to prep your vegetable beds with organic fertilizers and mulch to be ready for planting your vegetables. We will also discuss organic insect controls and watering techniques. We will have a large assortment of tomatoes and other vegetables for planting if you are ready to start now. Spring vegetable season is just beginning. We will have large selections of tomatoes and other summer vegetables starting now and through the season.

WE ARE EXTENDING BARE ROOT SEASON FOR TWO MORE WEEKS. WE STILL HAVE A REASONABLE SELECTION OF FRUIT TREES AVAILABLE BARE ROOT. DON’T WAIT TILL TOO LATE TO BUY BARE ROOT FRUIT TREES. THE COOLER WEATHER IS KEEPING THEM DORMANT SO WE CAN EXTEND THE SEASON A LITTLE LONGER. ONCE WE POT THEM UP, THE PRICE GOES UP. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTENDED SEASON AND GET BARE ROOT FRUIT TREES NOW. February has been a bit wet this year and March is starting off a bit wet as well. Winter is hanging on, but since the first day of spring is not till the 20th, I guess it’s not unreasonable. Lots of rain to start off the month. My rain total for the winter up through the end of February is 32.5″ so far since October here at the nursery. Last year at this point we were at 25 inches for the same period, and the prior year was 38″. It is now time to get ready to start fertilizing soon. As soon as deciduous trees and shrubs have their full set of leaves, you should give them their first fertilizing of the year. A balanced fertilizer works well for …

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