Crop 285 of Flowering Shrub Farm Subscriber Only Picture Newsletter;
December 22, 2014
Reload this page in case your computer has it cached as I over write pictures frequently. I take pictures of what we are doing and the plants we grow for my monthly newsletter. Click on the picture and it may open a larger version with more detail.
HOME PLANT SALE LILACS ROSES NEWS GROW ORDERING CONTACT
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I keep all my one gallon (or smaller) potted plants that I sell mail-order in the cold frame during winter and on tables in summer (the larger coldframe can be covered to allow us to work when its raining or snowing but we usually leave it uncovered so snow wont crush it). Boxes with the plants inside will be closed up in winter unless those plants are larger and more cold hardy. This 36 foot by 17 foot coldframe can hold a couple thousand one gallon plants.
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In warm weather plants in one gallon pots are set on the expanded metal tops of our cold boxes. In Winter the tops open on hinges (3 tops each eight feet long) and the plants are transferred inside with mouse baits (the bottom of the cold box is lined with hardware cloth to prevent critters from burrowing up from below). White plastic covers the box to prevent ultra violet from heating the interior (we will mulch the outside of the box if it stays warm enough then remove the mulch in spring).
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We can open the cold box frequently to check the poison baits but mice usually dont eat plants stored in the 2 gallon zip lock plastic bags and cuttings come through the winter just fine when treated this way. I may have found a cheaper alternative to use as the bag so maybe next year I can bag everything.
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During the growing season we line up stock plants that provide a major source of cuttings where they will get plenty of sunlight but are still easy to water. In winter the stock plants are inserted into socket pots (pot-in-pot) surrounded by mulch so that their roots dont freeze up solid.
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I add a few more stool layered Harisons Yellow in 45 gallon pots every year. I sink a 7 gallon potted plant into a 45 gallon, then wound this years growth near the 7 gallons rim. The Agnes, Kazanlik and Tuscany have been layered too but in their case I take semi mature cuttings in July and August or hardwood cuttings in December.
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Anything in a larger pot is used to propagate from. In 45 gallon pots we may also stool layer the plants by wounding this years stems and covering with additional soil. In late summer of each year we will dig down and see if we have roots.
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This Francois Juranville will be a source for hardwood cuttings this winter and we will probably transplant it into a 45 gallon next spring sometime.
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Without their leaves we dont know how many of the pinxterblooms are healthy but this box is where we keep them. Damask Rose 'Ispahan' cuttings that I took in September and October with their bags unzipped temporarily.
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I transplant 1 gallon Lilacs into 2 and 3 gallon pots in spring. Once they flower (and if they turn out to be what we think they are) I divide them back into 1 gallons and sell them mail order. Znamya Lenina has violet flowers and President Poincaire has magenta double flowers (we shall see). Click for a larger image you can study more closely or save as wallpaper (the date the picture was taken is in the lower right hand corner).
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We will divide 3, 7 and 15 gallon Lilacs in December or March to be potted in 1 gallons for mailorder. If these pictures show those size pots, then when we divide them I will overwrite with the new picture. Click on the picture and it may open a larger version with more detail.
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When I have difficulty getting into the field I try to show seasonally interesting local pictures around Voorheesville.
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I am taking pictures of local streets and placing them here.
Once mulch freezes we start reducing our stick piles with the chipper, shoveling the mulch inbetween the pots. All year long we have created stick piles adjacent to our raised bed with the intention to use them at this time of the year. The cost is actually less than buying bulk mulch. I will probably be taking more pictures each Wednesday and then have new pictures here by the following friday.
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It takes three or more to load and unload the chipper without using the ramps.
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In the cold frame box I surround bagged hardwood and root cuttings with dry peat moss and place a cup filled with mouse bait in case they get inside. On right is hardwood cuttings from 'Parade' and 'Crested Moss'. I open the plastic bags for a few minutes every week when temperatures are above forty to prevent mold (the idea is to provide some ventilation without allowing the soil to dry).
About the ALL-PICTURE-NEWSLETTER by andyvancleve
Flowering Shrub Farm Monthly All Picture Newsletters; January February March April May 6 to 16 May 20 to 31 June 4 to 7 June 8 to 9 June 11 to 13 June 16 to 25 July August September October November December
Potential customers subscribe to my subscriber only newsletter. The subscriber only newsletter has pictures that I take this month only, together with new comments between the pictures. At the end of the month I will copy the newsletter here (together with many of the pictures fromprevious years) and start on next month (if you reload this page you will get to see some of the pictures). I will send to all my subscribers probably by the tenth of the month a link to the new page. If you wish to subscribe to my free picture-newsletter just email me.
When they see something they like they come buy it in bloom.
We grow plants to sell at our plant sale. Read my notes on the zone hardiness numbers I use. Do we do mail order? Check my picture-newsletter Want to purchase? email me. What customers want www.marketlist2014.htm