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Mammoth Cyclamen Varieties / Persicum

When grown outside, Cyclamen persicum will bloom in late winter or early spring. Greenhouse cyclamen are usually forced into bloom sometime around the holiday season into late winter, but their natural bloom period is earlier. Some colors may not be available – contact us directly at Paulger’s Plants for updated availability. Shown above is the Cyclamen Super Serie Mammoth.

THE RANIER SERIES

Full size plant with heavy flowering on thick stems, suitable for 8″ pots. Our grower states that this is the Cyclamen of choice for high-quality displays. Produces masses of large, showy flowers on thick stems with long shelf-life. Strong plants fill larger pots for premium sales. Easy to grow under low light and temperature conditions for high quality winter finish.

  • Species: Cyclamen persicum
  • Position: full sun to partial shade
  • Soil: good potting compost
  • Rate of growth: average
  • Flower: late autumn/winter
  • Colors:  White, Scarlet, Purple
  • Additional Colors: Pink Improved, Light Pink with Eye, Lilac, Rose, Deep Rose, Deep Salmon, Purple Flame, and Wine Flame
  • Finished height: approximately 14″- 16″
  • Finished width: approximately 14″- 16″
  • Easy to grow under low light and temperature conditions

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SUPER SERIES MAMMOTH

I recommend the Mammoth Cylcamen Series for larger pots because it fits the larger size plant that customers most want and is suitable for cool, darker conditions since they are grown in Holland under cool and dark conditions.

  • Species: Cyclamen persicum
  • Available Colors:Red, White and Cream, Dark Violet and Orchid
  • Additional Colors: Light Salmon, Pink, Neon Pink, Wine Red, Salmon Flamed, Neo Flamed, Red Wine Flamed.
  • Pot sizes: 6″ – 8″
  • Finished height: up to 26″- 27″
  • Finished width: up to 26″- 27″
  • Blooming period, Northern Hemisphere: September – February
  • Blooming period, Southern Hemisphere: March – August
  • USP: Largest summer and/or autumn bloomer
Bee Friendly at Creek Hill Nursery

Like to eat? Thank a bee! Bees are responsible for pollinating about 1/3 of all the food we eat, including most of the fruits, nuts, and vegetable that make our diets tasty and nutritious. Bees also pollinate many of our wild plants that in turn provide food and habitat for other wildlife. Yet many of California’s 1600 native bee species are in decline. While we don’t know all the reasons why this is occurring, one thing is clear: bees need flowers. There are certain types of flowers that encourage bees – specifically those plants that bloom earlier in the season, providing a longer growing period or later in the season, providing bees with the nutritional sustenance to carry them through the colder months.

The following list of plants were recommended by Ross Strasko, the VP of Creek Hill Nursery, who would like to encourage your customers to plant the following bee-friendly plants:

Swan Series Anemones which reboom into the Fall

Asters which are later blooming flowers

Cranesbill (Geraniums) which provide both nectar and pollen

Salvias and Sedums which provide a medicinal resource

And any open ‘daisy’ like bloom that allows easy access to the pollen bees need!

 
East Coast Source Trip Report – Creek Hill Nursery

This new vendor has shown a commitment to quality innovative products, exceptional service and client satisfaction with timely availability. Their onsite test garden enables them to evaluate and compare the new varieties.

Hydrangea

Scientific Name: Macrophylla
Common Name :  ‘Together’ Bigleaf Hydrangea Blooms : Spring/Summer/Fall Exposure : Sun-Part Shade Size: 24 – 36 inches Blooms on old and new wood

Strong stems support dainty heavily-doubled flowers, almost resembling a ball of tiny roses. The new petals, appearing lighter in tone, give each little flower a pale eye. The color can range from deep pink to lilac purple, depending on soil acidity. When cold weather begins, they stain a deep red providing another season of color.

Helleborus

Series Name: Helleborus Winter Magic(tm)
Common Name : ‘Candy Love’ Blooms :  Late Winter Sun:  Part Shade Size: 12 – 15 inches Zone: 3-9

Large single flowers begin blooming in late winter. Starting off cream colored, they mature first to shell pink, then gather hints of green and finally end up a dusty chocolate. This Hellebore has flowers that hold their heads up proudly, displaying their blooms in various stages of color.

Japanese Anemones

Series Name: Anemone Fantasy (TM)
Common Name :  ‘Red Riding Hood’ Blooms : Late Summer through Fall Exposure : Sun Size: 12 – 18 inches Zones: 5-8

‘Red Riding Hood’ is the latest compact Anemone in the Fantasy(TM) series from Plants Nouveau. It has a single flower in shades of dark, reddish pink, with frilly yellow eyes, all the better to ‘wow’ you!

See also the ‘Honorine Jobert’ with lovely single snow-white flowers with tinged pink backs and a striking yellow center, as well as the Anemone Fantasy(TM) ‘Pocahontas’ a dwarf plant with frilly double pink flowers that grow in clumps.
Longwood Garden Visit

The most revered flower, the kiku, the chrysanthemum’s Japanese name, is the symbol of Japan’s monarchy, traditionally referred to as the chrysanthemum throne. Here I’m standing next to one of the smaller 500-bloom kiku dome-shaped plants at Longwood Garden. This year’s Ozukuri (thousand bloom) kiku at Longwood was the most successful yet, displaying 1400 blooms in one single plant.

I invite you to watch a fascinating video at https://youtu.be/yYhIkhVDYJM

It was a normally cold winter day in Pennsylvania, so it shouldn’t have been too surprising to come out of the Longwood Garden greenhouse to find a fresh coat of powder on the topiary. I must admit, I felt fortunate to be one of the few visitors to have seen the grounds in their new winter glory!

If you’re going to Pennsylvania, I encourage you to visit this extraordinary garden. Learn more at https://longwoodgardens.org/

Ferns for Spring

While some industries look forward to the strong Holiday Season sales, those of us in the plant business have our eyes on Spring! Our young plants are available in 72 trays during March, April and May.

Most gardeners appreciate ferns for their delicate downy-textured contribution to shade and Oriental gardens. They compliment more showy plants and spread their fronds to take up space between both flower plantings and ornamental trees. As with most ferns, these are generally deer resistant that everyone should trial.

Asian Saber Fern / Polystichum Neolobatum

The Asian Saber Fern / Polystichum Neolobatum is just getting established here on the West Coast. With it’s glossy dark-green leathery fronds reaching 18″ to 24″ in length, this plant will do well across the US and all along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida. The fronds are held stiffly from the base and can stand up to inclement weather, including heavy rain and snow showers, and can, in fact, stay green throughout the winter months, and will tolerate drought conditions, once established. It’s unusual growth habit make it eye-catching as a single specimen or when planted en masse. The mature Asian Saber Holly will form a rosette having huge, shimmering, reddish-gold scales along the stipes.

ZONE: 5A – 8B  |  SOIL: Acid

SIZE: 4″ / 1 gallon container

SUN: Partial/Full Shade  |  SIZE: H 18″-24″ / W 24″-30″

Lace Fern / Microlepia Strigosa

The Lace Fern / Microlepia Strigosa is ideal for oriental, woodland and shade gardens. Don’t let it’s delicate looks fool you, this sturdy medium-sized fern can dip down to 20F. The Lace Fern forms dense clumps that expand slowly by rhizomes. The blade color starts as a light green and ages to a medium arching frond that becomes bipinnate. It is native to the Himalayas, Sri Lanka, southeastern Asia to Japan and Polynesia  A lover of morning sun and afternoon shade, Can be used as a groundcover or as a background to spring bloomers.

ZONE: 6-10, Hardy to 20F |  SOIL: enriched, evenly moist soil

SIZE: 4″ / 1 gallon container

SUN: Partial/Full Shade  |

SIZE: H 24″-36″ / W 24″-36″

Scouler’s Polypod Fern / Polypodium Scouleri

The Scouler’s Polypod Fern / Polypodium Scouleri A San Francisco Bay Area native, the deciduous evergreen Scouler’s Polypod can be found on the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to Southern California, this elegant fern can be found nestled in the hollows of fallen spruce and in the crevices of rocks. Thriving in full shade, with moist, well-drained soil, the deeply lobed, polished deep green leathery fronds grow slowly on creeping rhizomes. The smallest of the three mentioned here, it does well in containers, hanging baskets and in rock walls.

ZONE: 7-9  |  SOIL: moist, well-drained, rich

SIZE: 4″ / 1 gallon container

SUN: Partial/Full Shade  |  SIZE: H 8″-10″ / W 12″-14″

No Miracle March – But Welcome, Just The Same

Record-breaking storms last year ended the state’s historic five-year drought, but scorching, dry weather — including the hottest opening day in World Series history, 103 degrees in Los Angeles on Oct. 24 — vaporized a lot of the gains. Dry conditions from December through February pushed nearly half of the state back into at least moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Northern California will benefit from a second system coming in from the Gulf of Alaska that will increase the snowpack, which has recovered substantially but still measures only 47 percent of normal statewide for this time of year.

The map of the United States in it’s most recent drought reading, seen below, serves as a link to an interactive comparison map available on the Drought Monitor website. Click on the image to take you to the site. Once there, you can program comparison dates to see how our current conditions compare with those in the past. Records are updated every two weeks.

CYCLAMEN: The Best Plant for Fall and Winter Color

CYCLAMEN-HEDERIFOLIUM-UND-006Cyclamen have replaced Garden Mums as the bedding plant of choice for fall color.

Though difficult to grow, cyclamen reward us by delivering more color than any fall plant on the market. And while Mums flower for mere weeks, cyclamen blooms will last well beyond the Holidays.

Unlike most Fall flowering plants, the cyclamen produces one flower at the base of each leaf. The more leaves, the more flowers. To produce these leaves, growers must be careful to not over-water, to provide sufficient light, and to properly fertilize the plant. Too much water, too little light, or too much fertilizer will cause the leaves to expand and reduce the number of flowers. Growers must also be careful as to the placement of the plant in the garden, as night temperatures must be cool enough to keep the leaf petiole short, to maintain the vitality and keep it from becoming floppy. These are only the beginning difficulties some have in producing these plants, but after getting the science down, I think most of us would agree, the learning curve is worth it. And because of the difficulty in growing cyclamen, the price has remained steady throughout the last 30 years.

Cyclamen plugs are best planted in June and July, and must be carefully attended to every day. Even one incident of over-watering or excessively fertilizing will adversely affect the appearance of the finished plant.

I introduced this finicky plant as a Fall bedding to my clients in 1982, after seeing them used in Holland, and at first we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. However, with faith and patience, The Coyote Valley nursery staff has now been growing Cyclamen for more than 30 years. They have the experience to grow a plant that meets the needs of both landscape designers and landscapers. The company grows both 4” and 6” plants, available from late September to the end of December.

Their crop looks great this year and I invite you to call or go by and see what the can do for you and your clients.

Make Squirrels Your Friend

Ah Fall, the Season for planting your Spring bulbs.  Gardeners, and squirrels, look forward to it all year long.SquirrelFamilyCrop

When planting  your bulbs this Fall, avoid the rodents by following these time-tested solutions! A small investment of time and materials will protect your dream of a bright and colorful Spring garden.

1. WIRE MESH Either make a cage surrounding the bulbs or plant bulbs under a wire mesh layer. You’ll have to secure it to keep it in place then cover with mulch.  If the squirrels dig, the mesh will prevent them from eating the bulbs.

2. SHRAP GRAVEL Surround the bulb with sharp edged gravel to deter digging.

3. GET HOT Garden Some gardeners swear to the effective use of red pepper flakes mixed in the soil around, and over, the bulbs. If you need to use a chemical repellent, do your homework and find the most environmentally-friendly product available.

4. CLEAN UP YOUR ACT Remove all planting debris from the scene of the planting.

5. FEED THE SQUIRRELS Find an alternative planting area away from your bulbs. Make it easy for them to satisfy their craving on spent bulbs or other material.

Filoli