Growing Blackberrys, Raspberrys and Muscadines

All blackberry and raspberry plants are self-fertile or self-pollinating.
Although they don't need a pollinator, planting another variety nearby will
increase their fruit production. Erect plants should be planted 3 to 5 feet
apart in full sun in soil with a pH level of 6.0 to 6.5. Keep the root
collar or crown (where the root mass begins) no more than ½ inch below the
ground's surface. Trailing varieties need spacing of 8 to 10 feet between
plants and will need to be trellised. Our plants typically bear fruit in 2
to 3 years, after which they generally yield 2 to 4 quarts per plant.

Our erect or upright blackberry plants are the Apache (which is probably the
sweetest in flavor), Arapaho and Ouachita while our erect or upright
raspberry plants are Anne, Heritage (an ever bearing) and Nova Summer Red.
The Triple Crown and Cumberland are trailing varieties.

Without knowing which plant variety has been planted, it is often difficult
to tell raspberry and blackberry plants apart until harvest time. When ripe,
raspberries come off with the core remaining on the plant. This leaves a
hole in the top of the berry making it hollow and quite perishable. This is
why raspberries are pricey at the market.

Don't plant raspberry, blackberry or strawberry plants where potatoes,
tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, or other berry plants (including other
strawberry, raspberry or blackberry) have grown in the past 3 years. Fungus
disease and insect pests may still be in the soil in those areas.

Here is a quick link to our planting and care information for blackberry and
raspberry plants as well as links to recipes for the fruits, including wines
and jellies:

http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/Documents/PlantingBlackberry.pdf

A fun fact on muscadines is that all varieties bloom at the same time even
though they may bear fruit at different times. So, when you see them noted
on their description pages as early or late season, that means the time of
growing season that their fruit will be ready for harvest. Typical harvest
times often begin as early as late August (for early) through October (for
late).

Muscadines are either female or self-fertile. Female vines must be planted
within 50 feet of a self-fertile muscadine vine to bear fruit. The more
pollinators you have nearby the more fruit the female plants will yield,
although one self-fertile muscadine vine will pollinated up to 3 female
vines.

Quick info on the muscadines is:

• Black Beauty-female-late season-black berry
• Darlene-female-early season-bronze berry
• Ison-self-fertile-early to mid season-black berry
• Tara-self-fertile-early to mid season-bronze berry
• Late Fry-self-fertile-late season-bronze berry

Regardless of which self-fertile pollinator you choose, it will not affect
the color or other characteristics of the fruit from the female plant.

Muscadines, as with most fruiting plants, require full sun and a pH level of
6.0 to 6.5. Space muscadines 15 'apart with 10' rows for home gardens.
Muscadines will need to be grown on trellises. Sawdust, cottonseed mote or
peat moss will either slow down growth, damage or kill the plants. Do not
use manure of any kind around young muscadine plants.

Typical yields for female plants are 60 lbs. per vine with the self-fertile
varieties producing 80 lbs. per vine. Our plants should begin bearing fruit
in 2 to 3 years.
When reading the plant descriptions, you will see the term dry stem scar on
these plants. This refers to the plant varieties that are used in commercial
production. It means that the berries of these varieties do not tear or
separate easily from the cluster giving them excellent holding or storing
quality.

To kick off the addition of our muscadines, we have assembled a Muscadine
Starter Kit Early Season and Muscadine Starter Kit Late Season. Each kit
includes 2 female vines with one self-fertile vine at a special sale price
of $44.95. This special price is good through February 3rd only to our
Greenwood Gardeners Club Members.

For complete growing instructions along with links to jelly, wine and other
recipes for muscadines, click here:

http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/Documents/PlantingMuscadines.pdf

Order your Blackberry, Raspberry or Muscadine plants by February 3rd and
take advantage of these sale prices. We will begin shipping these bare root
varieties in early March so book now to avoid disappointment.

Whew!!!! That's a lot for one newsletter.

Our countdown to Valentine's Day is 3 weeks and this week's Valentine Gift
suggestion for you is our Gift Certificates. Through Valentine's Day, we are
offering a Gardner's Club special on Gift Certificates. Spouses, moms, dads,
sweethearts, even older children with their own home would appreciate this
gift and with our Valentine's Day Promotion, the additional amounts make it
even more special.

You can still book your lavender plants and Lavender Sampler for spring
shipping as they will begin going out the first week in March. Here is our
video on Tips for Growing Lavender:

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to email me on the videos.
The most frequent comment is about my garden cats. About 6 rescued kitties
make their home in my garden (and yes they have been fixed!). Two of them
are quite friendly and very outspoken as you can hear. I think they are
offering suggestions to the camera operator. What do you think?

When checking out the Lavender Tips video, be sure to view our other one as
well which will offer you the basics on planting container grown trees,
shrubs and perennials. It's so simple!

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

Let's be friends on Facebook, too!

Until next time……..Cheryl

The Wonders of Lavender

If you have never grown lavender in your garden or landscape, you are
missing out on the most fragrant plants available. My experience with
lavenders is that they are ever dedicated to making my garden a mysterious,
magical wonderland and me a better person because of it. This may sound
pretty far out there, but if you have lavender in your garden, you know what
I mean.

We have a small sitting area on the perimeter of my garden (next to the
house) where Steve and I sit looking out over our garden. I have lavender
growing along the fence (its amazing as a low hedge) and in groups on the
berm in front of the sitting area and lavender plants sprinkled throughout
the garden.

During summer and early fall evenings, we enjoy this enchanted world right
in front of us. A soft summer evening breeze brings entrancing smells of
lavender as nature comes to life. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are
all attracted to the lavender buds. If a garden were an amusement park then
lavender would certainly be the roller coaster.

Greenwood has lots going on with lavender this spring. We are offering some
wonderfully new varieties. In addition to our regular English Lavenders of
Munstead and Hidcote, we are adding the Jean Davis which is has blooms so
soft pink they almost look white. The Kew Red blooms look like tiny
pineapples which is typical of the Spanish Lavenders. Grosso and Provence
are amazingly fragrant French Hybrid Lavenders.

The English Lavenders are early bloomers beginning in mid to late spring.
Once they complete their first round of blooming, they begin again. So if
you want all season blooming, plant Munstead, Hidcote and Jean Davis. The
Hidcote Lavender grows especially well in cooler climates.

Spanish Lavenders typically bloom around mid to late spring. They are also
referred to as Rabbit Ears or Butterfly Lavender because of the petals at
the top of the bloom. The blooms are not as sweet as other lavender
varieties so they will not attract swarms of fliers, yet honeybees seem to
enjoy them. This variety is note worthy, also because it performs better in
humid areas than other lavenders.

French Hybrids are cultivars of Lavandin (lavandula x intermedia) which are
cultivated mostly in France for their oils. Both Grosso and Provence are
excellent choices for strong fragrant buds and for craft projects such as
drying for bouquets and wands. Grosso is especially cold hardy.

The favorite edible varieties are Munstead, Jean Davis and Provence.
Here is a short video that I have put together with tips on growing
lavender. A little advance planning makes Lavender really easy to grow and
even easier to enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

What better way to enjoy the fruits of your labor once your lavender begins
blooming than to toast to your plants with a glass of wine. A red table wine
would be perfect as it also carries the taste of lavender in the wine.
Mmmmm, delish!

All of our lavender varieties will begin shipping the first week in March.
Book your order now and take advantage of our Lavender Preview Sale saving
you 20% off the regular member pricing. This offer is good through Sunday,
January 17th and available only to our Greenwood Gardener's Club Members
which means you do have to be a member to access the Monthly Value Page
section.

See you on Facebook.

Until next time.......Cheryl

Fall Foliage and Fall Web Cam

Fall shipping is well underway here at Greenwood. I visited the shipping
department on Monday afternoon to check out the bare root plants. The first
plant that caught my eye was the Burning Bush Tree Form. This year, they are
running approximately 3.5 foot tall and are just gorgeous. Of our flowering
shrubs, the bare root Hibiscus always looks great, tall and multi-branched.
Lucy is the most favored of the Hibiscus in both shrub and tree-form.
Everyone adores its reddish/pink long season blossoms.

We are still shipping our ground covers. The evergreen ground covers such as
vinca, purple wintercreeper and blue spruce sedum are popular sellers right
now. Over the past few weeks, the sourwood tree and barberry shrubs (Crimson
Pygmy and Royal Burgundy) have become choice items with our customers.

If it's evergreen shrubs that you are looking for, my favorites are the
Emerald Green Arborvitae, Winter Gem Boxwood, Nandina Dwarf Firepower,
Sungold Cypress, and the Cotoneaster Coral Beauty. These varieties are
excellent selections to add color, texture and winter interest to any garden
or landscape.

For our warm weather customers, such as zones 9 and mid/lower 8, we will
continue shipping most of our plant varieties (container plants and ground
covers) over the winter months. Winter planting in these warm weather
regions allows plants to fully establish before mid/late spring arrives with
extremely hot temperatures. This is something to keep in mind when planning
your plant list.

Fall Foliage is under way in the United States. Beginning weeks ago along
the US/Canadian border, fall foliage is moving southward leaving amazing
colors of reds, oranges, yellows, purples, greens and browns in its wake.
This link to About.com is to one of their forestry pages with links to
webcams all over the U.S. and the Canadian Rockies. Technology is so great
that now we can watch foliage happen all over. Again, I find this amazing!
If you don't have time to click onto all of the links, at least take a
moment to view Glacier National Park, Banff Alberta, Acadia, Great Smokey
Mountains and Fall Foliage Cams-Entire USA (this one comes up as a
scrollable page with thumbnail pictures for quick viewing).

http://forestry.about.com/od/fallcolor/a/fall_web_cams.htm

I have this as a shortcut on my monitor so I can take my break while viewing
what colors are happening north of here and wait, in anticipation, for it to
come home.

Check out our Falltacular Sale Page for seasonal specials. See you on
Facebook.

Until next time..Cheryl

Protecting Plants Over Winter

Close out items are going quickly. If you have been looking at any of those
varieties, you will want to go ahead and order, as we will be sold out of
the remaining ones over the next couple of weeks.

New items are being added weekly to our Falltacular Sale Page. When our
growers are able to offer us special deals, we can pass the savings on to
you.
It is so great how one of our growers can call us up and let us know that
they are discounting a particular plant for only a short period. Then, we
can quickly list it on sale for everyone to take advantage of. I still find
that amazing.

Most of the country is just now hitting fall planting time. But, some areas
of zone 5 and colder are already into winter temperatures. I thought this
would be a good week to remind everyone to prepare their plants for winter.
Fine Gardening Magazine still has the best article, which includes pictures,
showing how to protect trees and shrubs for winter by Steve Silk.
http://www.finegardening.com/print.aspx?id=80908 For convenience, I have
provided this article link in ready-to-print form.

And don't forget plants in containers. Marie Iannotti at About.com gives us
good advice on over wintering container plants in this link:
http://gardening.about.com/od/containergardenin1/a/Winter-Pots.htm?p=1

Here are a few other tips for protecting container plants during winter:

. Water during dry spells-dry soil that freezes will damage roots and
container
. Group containers together in the garden with largest on the outer
edge
. Mound sawdust, mulch, straw or hay around containers
. "Plant' containers in the ground to utilize free heat
. Wrap containers with blankets, newspaper, burlap or bubble wrap

Some of the new additions to the Falltacular Sale Page include Siberian Elm,
Hansen Rose, Lombardy Poplar, Cotoneaster, Skyrocket Juniper, Bare root
Ferns, Russian Sage, Hameln Grass, Sedum Autumn Fire. We are discontinuing
the Bamboo Green View, which is available in 1 and 2 gallon containers, and
the Iris Lily of the Kings.

See you on the Greenwood Nursery Facebook Page.

Until next time.... Cheryl

Compare and Save!!!

With the economy so out of hand over the past year, more people are now
price shopping. Here at Greenwood, we, too, are consumers and want to save
money and cut corners where we can. Greenwood Nursery offers great plants
that are the perfect size for landscaping and gardening at reasonable
prices, as well as excellent service and contact our customers. When you
phone Greenwood, you are actually speaking with one of my staff, and
sometimes it's me, ready to take your order or answer your questions.

Today, let's talk about how to compare. Then, I want to share with you how
to save even more with Greenwood Nursery. Keep reading……..

Compare sizes as well as prices: A couple of days ago, I was talking on the
phone with one of our long time customers, taking their fall order and
answering questions as I do. One question that they posed to me was that
from time to time they also order a few items from another nursery (name
withheld, but a good nursery). They had noticed that the new Cityline
Hydrangea Rio was 2 dollars less on the other nursery's site compared to
Greenwood's.

Well, while I was on the phone with them, I checked this out. This is the
perfect situation to note that when you are comparing prices; you really
need to make sure you are comparing the same size plants being offered.
Greenwood offers the Cityline Rio as a one gallon (trade size) plant, while
the other nursery was offering the Rio in a 3 ½ inch pot. Greenwood's plant
is considerably larger, older and better established than the smaller plant.
Be sure that the prices you compare are for the exact same item. Otherwise,
there really is no savings.

The Good Ole Days: Years ago, when we shipped mostly bare root plants, we
offered free shipping on orders. As we grew into shipping larger container
grown plants, packages became quite heavier and UPS charges drastically
increased, so we had to charge shipping. Our shipping charges may be a
little more than some of the other nurseries. As you have seen when your
orders arrive, we take pride in prepping and packing our plants so that they
arrive to you healthy, happy and ready to plant.

How Greenwood Ships: Here's an example: customer orders 4 plants that are
one gallon sized.

• Greenhouse department pulls and thoroughly checks plants
• Containers are wrapped securely with stretch wrap to hold soil
• Plants travel down to shipping department
• Shipping department manager picks plants according to order
• Complete order is directed to available shipper
• Shipper selects proper box for order, cuts bamboo stakes to size &
inserts them into containers
• Plants with stakes are placed securely in box and checked for
stability
• Shipper fills void spaces with shredded paper, places order info on
top, closes and secures box
• UPS picks up box and order is on its journey home

Now, how you can save with Greenwood.

Steve and I have talked this matter over with everyone here at the office to
see if we could figure out how to keep the same size plants we offer and yet
still be able to do help with shipping costs. Well, Brenda came up with a
wonderful idea to help our customers by offering ½ off shipping, for a
limited time, which would come close to putting the charges back to where
UPS had them a few years ago.
So, that's what we're doing.

Fall back to the good ole days when shipping charges weren't so expensive.

With a 50% savings on shipping costs, we're meeting our customers halfway!

Compare our prices and plant sizes with other online nurseries, then come
save with Greenwood. For years, Greenwood has been listed as one of the Top
5 Online Nurseries on
http://forestry.about.com/cs/catalogs/a/best_seedling_s.htm .

We truly appreciate your continued support.

Until next time…….Cheryl

Fall Garden Party!!!

Since last week's newsletter, fall has arrived! I can feel the difference.
Steve and I spend some of our favorite moments sitting outside in the
evenings after work just talking and enjoying our garden. This has to be the
perfect time of year for outside dinner parties. Invite a few friends and
celebrate fall.

Just like when you entertain indoors, entertaining outdoors requires some
sprucing up as well. Take an objective walk through your garden area and
decide where you want everyone to congregate. The garden or landscaping
should be the backdrop for this spot.

You will need to pull out large weeds, clip out dead branches, remove dead
plants, repair, remove or replace anything damaged and dead head plants with
spent blooms. Just like inside, adding a few well placed splashes of color
such as newly planted containers, mums that you just found at the farmer's
market or sunflowers in tall containers or baskets will make a huge
difference. If you can't find fresh cut sunflowers, don't feel worry about
picking up some silk ones from your local craft store. The newer silk ones
are looking quite real these days and it's the color and atmosphere that
you're going for anyway.

Sweep or hose off any stone, wood or concrete walkways, patios or decks the
day of the gathering. If you don't have time to put down a fall layer of
mulch, pick up a large bag of aged compost from the hardware store a day or
two before and put a few handfuls here and there where the ground is
visible. This will give the garden or landscape a fresh, well kept
appearance and will really make the plants stand out more.

A folding table or two will be perfect. No tablecloth? Use an old sheet or
burlap and tie off the corners at the table legs. Quilts work nicely too.
Some potted herbs on the table make for interesting and wonderfully fragrant
mini-centerpiece spread throughout the table.

What to serve. Keep it simple and quick. Fall is the time for singe pot
dishes such as chili, hardy soups, coq au vin or beef daube. A few
garnishes, bowls and spoons allow the guests to help themselves. And, what
better way to end a hardy fall meal than brownies, apple pie, pumpkin rolls
or spice cake? Hmmmmm. I am such a foodie.

Here are a few suggestions for bringing to life some of your empty flower
pots. All you need to do is select one plant from the first group, one to
two plants from the second group and one to two from the third group. Do be
mindful of your selected colors when pairing though. Try to select plants
with contrasting colors and textures.

Group 1 (Spotlight Plant): green giant, Hameln ornamental grass, Karley Rose
ornamental grass, Morning Light ornamental grass, Magnolia Jane, Barberry
Sunjoy Gold Pillar, Boxwood, Russian Sage, Nandina Firepower, Japanese Red
Maple, Sambucus

Group 2 (Filler Plants): Hellebore Ivory Prince, Heuchera Lime Ricky,
Heuchera Hollywood, Heuchera Plum Pudding, Autumn Brilliance Fern, Japanese
Painted Fern, Ameria, Sungold Cypress, Spiraea Magic Carpet, Dianthus,
liriope (both variegated and solid), Ogon Grass

Group 3 (Draping Groundcover): Angelina Sedum, English Ivy, Baltic Ivy,
Creeping Rosemary, Elfin Thyme, Golden Thyme, Corsican Mint, Red Creeping
Thyme

Especially in Group 1, these suggestions are based on younger plants. After
a couple of years in the container, they will be ready to be transplanted
into a permanent location.

Oh, and don't forget to add some twinkle lights. The clear ones with a
golden tint are almost like candlelight. And a few well placed candles are
also great. Put some tiny gravel or sand in the bottom of some old glass
jars and then steady some chunky candles in them. If becomes a little
breezy, they won't blow out.

I hope this gives you a few ideas on making your garden and your fall
evening special.

Don't forget to visit our Falltacular Page for specially priced plants on
grower's surplus and close-out items.

See you on the Greenwood Nursery Facebook page!!!

Until next time...Cheryl

Desert Gardening

Well, finally, the "new" site is up and running smoothly. We will be making
tweaks and additions to it over the next few weeks. Next up is a makeover
for our sister site www.landsteward.org .

Ground cover plants are just beginning to ship out for fall planting. We are
now offering vinca, pachysandra, ivy and purple wintercreeper as bare root
plants. Bare root ground cover plants make a more economical purchase and
when planted properly establish just as quickly as the more expensive potted
plants.

A few of our low growing shrubs that are quite popular this fall are Spiraea
Magic Carpet, Nandina Dwarf Firepower, the City Line Hydrangeas and the
Crimson Pygmy Barberry. Two of our more popular evergreen shrubs this fall
are the Bamboo Sunset Glow and Sungold Cypress.

This week, it seems I am responding to a lot of questions about gardening in
the desert areas. The University of Nevada Extension site offers a wonderful
article that covers everything from explaining the soil and composting to
fertilizer use, planting, lawn care, raised beds, mulch, and watering. All
geared toward the desert garden.
http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2001/sp0115.pdf

Here is a listing of Greenwood plants that will grow in many of the desert
regions:

Fruit Trees-Apple and Peach
Russian sage
Yarrow
Buddleia
Herbs-Thyme, Rosemary, Chives, Lavender, Oregano
Black Eyed Susan
Dianthus
Gaillardia
Phlox
Lilies
Shasta Daisy
Asters
Salvia
Vinca

I hope everyone finds our site's new look friendlier and easier to use.

Don't forget to visit our Falltacular Sale Page and Landscaping Ideas
Slideshow. We have some great items featured on both the Falltacular Sale
Page and our Homepage so be sure to check them out.

See you on Facebook.

Until next time...Cheryl