Crop 315 August Issue of Flowering Shrub Farm Pictures; January February March April May 1 to 15 May 16 to 31 June 1 to 7 June 8 to 14 June 15 to 21 June 22 to 30 July August September October November December We propagate and grow for mail-order many hard to obtain roses, lilacs, blueberry bushes, rhododendrons or azaleas and report how we are doing to potential customers via these monthly newsletters (larger plants are usually available for pickup during our plant sale). Click on the picture and it may open a larger version with more detail. Reload this page in case your computer has it cached. 11:46
For the three months July, August and September we are propagating and doing mailorder for lilacs, roses and more. The newsletter I am working on this month is at www.floweringshrubfarm.com/garden.htm The pictures below are probably from previous years unless they have been recently over-written.
drip line and cold frame
Notice the block of plants gone from the coldframe that are now on drip line. Next week we will add another hundred to the drip line and over-write this picture again maybe.
Tuscany on drip line.
More pictures of roses we are planting, cuttings we are taking, one gallon potted roses we are adding to drip line when curt and his kids come over again wednesday the 24th probably (I will add pictures to the newsletter later in the evening or the next day then write and rewrite the text over the following week). On the left above; every other day or so I walk up to the drip line to insure that all the plants are getting watered (on this day I also carried a fertilizer bag and geodiscs from which I can place a handful in each pot and cap with a geodisc). On the right you can see my next doors kitchen garden close enough to the house so its just as easy to water and weed as well as take veggies.
Rugosa hybrid 'Topaz Jewel' and clearing weeds from dripline. Maybe we will plant Topaz Jewel hybrid rugosa along the drip line by the 24th while arranging more one gallons under drip line. Having the one gallons on drip line makes it easier to fertilize, prune, water etc. At some point we will collect rugosa rose hips to grow seedlings from so you might want to click this link to see how we have produced seedlings in previous years or how we will be collecting seed and germinating it this year (I will add that information later in the year).
fertilize and renovate
Schneekoppe and Schneezwerg
Planted 'Schneekoppe' and 'Schneezwerg' hybrid rugosa roses next to the drip line as they are hard to obtain and they are much more likely to survive in ground. We are planting roses that we use as a source of cuttings next to the weed mat and paralell to the drip line every 12 feet (insures that they will get watered every time we turn on the drippers). We are digging a furrow alongside the weed mat, filling with compost so there is a ready made planting area.
weeding and schneezwerg cuttings
Not terribly pretty but I had to cut back this 'Schneezwerg' hybrid rugosa rose so we took the clippings, stuck them as cuttings and took this picture to over-write as cuttingsschneezwergbig.jpg
Front Porch and 'Blanc Double de Coubert' in a 45 gallon pot on drip line.
lower field and moms hibiscus
sign on front porch of apartment house and through the window at a rose of sharon
James macfarlane lilac on the right that we took off dripline in the background and arranged in a mass. Roses in one gallon pots on drip line.
red door and cold frame
Beyond the red door we pot plants then pass them through the sliding windows to store in the cold frame out back until we can take them out into the field to place on drip line. We root cuttings in the misting box shown above left but note the picture taken inside on the left below. Each time we stick cuttings I try to take a picture and save it as "cuttings" followed by the variety name (so that it will over-write the cuttings picture for that variety).
Looking through a vent in the misting box we can see the electronic leaf that shuts the mist off when its weighted down with water, then turns the water on again when it dries out. The picture on the right shows one gallon rooted cuttings on drip line. I roll out a 12 foot wide piece of weed mat 70 feet long with 4 paralell drip lines above it (then we plant roses that we woll take cuttings from 12 feet apart along each side of the weed mat and arrange rooted cuttings under the drippers).
cuttingssemiplenasmall.jpg and cuttingsispahansmall.jpg
So if you look up ALBA SEMI PLENA or damask ispahan and click the blue link you should see these cuttings pictures next to a closeup of the flower. Then next spring, once we have taken them out of winter storage I'll over-write the cuttings picture with another showing all the rooted cuttings of this variety the oldest ones in front maybe with price stickers on them. Then when they are transferred out onto drip line I might over-write with another picture showing them there.
Alice has been growing these chinese egg plants in large pots out on the patio and now they are flowering and fruiting. Its my experience that if your garden is to far away from the house it starts to look very disreputable shortly so by growing in pots arranged on the patio they look really good. Of course if we were to go away we'd just place them on drip line with a timer and ask a friend to check on them occasionally.
front yard and barn
I visit this newsletter almost every day to rewrite what I wrote yesterday, add a couple pictures taken in the nursery or to edit one of the main pages linked above to make it easier for someone to access information. People who are interested in the plants we grow send an email with their phone number and a list of the plants they want. I reply with a link to this page or others linked above then go and edit the pages so that they can find the requested information (later I'll call you back by phone so give me an idea of what time zone your in).
11th of August I bought 4 Purple Pavement Rotesmeer hybrid rugosa at a local garden centers to plant on drip line and maybe use as a source of cuttings. Every morning I try to add something at the top of my newsletter before leaving to water plants. I like to buy double flowered Hibiscus syriacus to plant just outside the windows of our Victorian house (got this one for $60).
Alice has been growing these chinese egg plants in large pots out on the patio and now they are flowering and fruiting (Good Job Alice!). Centifolia planted in 2015 from a 3 inch pot.
I am moving rooted cuttings of roses in small pots using my van out onto drip line so they can get more sun. In winter we will move them back into a cold box. I am also buying rugosa roses locally to plant out on drip line that I will take cuttings from (bought two with yellow flowers and plan to buy 3 rotesmeer purple pavement sometime this week).
a drip line and a misting system.
On left a bamboo stick inserted into each pot can be tied to the drip line so plants in narrow pots do not fall over as they often do (the drip line can be turned on in the morning for an hour and each plant will receive a half gallon of water). Plants on drip line still have to flower before we sell them (we will stick a price sticker next to the variety name) and the first one will be planted as a future source of cuttings. On right this propagation box has large venting holes that I can get pretty good pictures through showing most recent additions. More on the propagation box at bottom of July or in the growing page ( have not seen viable cuttings yet exccept on semi-plena and fantin latout).
a cold frame and me
The cold frame that we leave uncovered with a cold box on each side that we use as tables in summer. I drive around checking to see that everything has been watered and taking pictures (I will hand my camera to whoever is working with me for this picture of me in my car). We will take more cuttings probably on wednesday then insert pictures below over the next day or so.
Took cuttings from Ispahan and Semi-plena. I took cuttings out of the misting system that were taken previously so you can compare them with those taken today (todays date is in the lower corner of the picture, just click the picture for a larger image). A couple of years ago we had a really cold winter and many of the plants we take cuttings from died. Most of what we have left are hardy to zone 3 but we are gradually replacing the others with small plants purchased retail from our competitors (this year I planted 4 Autumn Damask, 3 Centifolia, An Alchymist, An Albertine but remember they are still quite samall and so we cant take very many cuttings from them). I also have perhaps 600 roses in one gallon that came through the winter just fine in cold boxes but we cant sell them until they have flowered verifying their identities as they were badly labeled. Until then we will have small quantities of only the hardiest plants...........
augustownrootrosesmall.jpg, augustownrootrosessmall.jpg
I can send plants to the following states without having to have them inspected; Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Other states require additional charges and an inspection by the Agriculture Dept.
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augustmomshibiscussmall.jpg, augustcollymullensmall.jpg
augustwaterlinesmall.jpg, augustpropagatorsmall.jpg
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augustpackagingsmall.jpg, august23espaliersmall.jpg
augustreddoorsmall.jpg, augustroseraiedelhaysmall.jpg
auguststaymanwinesapsmall.jpg, ownrootrosesmall.jpg
augustredoaksmall.jpg and augustsignsmall.jpg
augustfantinlatoursmall.jpg & augustfrudagmarhastrupsmall.jpg
augustownrootrosessmall.jpg & augustleverkusensmall.jpg
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augustcityofyorksmall.jpg & augustcomtedechambord164small.jpg
augustlilacswecutbacksmall.jpg & augustwinesapfruitsmall.jpg
augustdortmundsmall.jpg & augustnewdawnsmall.jpg
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augustbabyaucubaefolialilacssmall.jpg steveandaltheasmall.jpg
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HOME PLANT SALE LILACS ROSES NEWS GROW ORDERING CUTTINGS JUNE JULY WINTER SPRING LIST HELP CONTACT
August 31, 2016
Jenifer will now start coming on fridays to stick cuttings with me (to bad she wasn't available in July and August). When there are no viable cuttings to take she can plant roses alongside the drip line that we will take cuttings from in the future. So check for new pictures with curt on wednesday or new pictures with jenifer on friday.
I go to 40 Voorheesville Ave every morning, turn on the misting system and take a picture. I cut plants back on the drip line and stick 4 cuttings in each one gallon pot placed in the misting box for another picture (when I can get my hands to work or when jenifer is available). I go out in the field and make sure that drip emitters are watering each plant properly (sometimes pots get turned over by animals) then take a picture. I go back to my computer and over-write pictures I took previously with those I took today. I answer email and phone requests about the plants we are growing. If you ask about the status of a particular variety I will probably sort all of that variety together on the drip line, take another picture and save that picture here as the month followed by the variety name and plants for sale will have a price sticker stuck on (check a picture of Tuscany or Ispahan below).
2 pictures taken August 31 including Rugosa rose 'Henry Hudson' on the right. I try to have varieties of rose that are locally hardy that we can easily propagate from cuttings. As we root cuttings we will place them on these drip lines nearby where the source of the cuttings is growing.
2 Pictures taken Monday morning 8/29
Checked plants on the left to see the drippers were dripping into the pot and rearranged the cuttings on right so you can see how semiplena is doing.
3 Pictures taken sunday morning 8/28
in misting box, above pots so you can see label on soil, and a four seasons rose autumn damask below you can see planted next to the drip line where I have 3 others 12 feet apart.
augustfourseasonssmall.jpg
drip line and cold frame
Notice the block of plants gone from the coldframe that are now on drip line. Next week we will add maybe another hundred to the drip line and over-write this picture again.
Tuscany and Ispahan on drip line. Maybe next wednesday the 31st when curt is here we will mark all the ispahan I have on drip line at that time and over-write this with a new picture. Click the picture to open a larger image where you might read the writing on the label. The yellow label can be flipped down along the side of the ppot or up so that it rests on top of the soil (when we put plants in the cold box in winter the labels get flipped up so I can take pictures looking down on them). You can see where I have labeled one side as ISP-16 (Ispahan potted in 2016) the other side probably says the same thing except noted with a paint pen. When it flowers I'll paint the abreviation of the variety name on the pot and stick a price label next to it.
More pictures of roses we are planting, cuttings we are taking, one gallon potted roses we added to drip line when curt and his kids came over wednesday the 24th probably (I will add pictures to the newsletter later in the evening or the next day then write and rewrite the text over the following week). On the left above; every other day or so I walk up to the drip line to insure that all the plants are getting watered (on this day I also carried a fertilizer bag and geodiscs from which I can place a handful in each pot and cap with a geodisc). On the right you can see my next doors kitchen garden close enough to the house so its just as easy to water and weed as well as take veggies.
Rugosa hybrid 'Topaz Jewel' saved as "august16big.jpg" and clearing weeds from dripline. Maybe we will plant Topaz Jewel hybrid rugosa along the drip line by the 24th while arranging more one gallons under drip line. Having the one gallons on drip line makes it easier to fertilize, prune, water etc. At some point we will collect rugosa rose hips to grow seedlings from so you might want to click this link to see how we have produced seedlings in previous years or how we will be collecting seed and germinating it this year (I will add that information later in the year). I need family members to show up in July and august to help take and stick cuttings or I end up not taking enough (curts time is taken up mowing, weed wacking, packaging plants to ship out and building cold boxes). I can show people what to do, how to take cuttings and stick them but mostly my hands shake so much........
fertilize and renovate
Schneekoppe and Schneezwerg
Planted 'Schneekoppe' and 'Schneezwerg' hybrid rugosa roses next to the drip line as they are hard to obtain and they are much more likely to survive in ground. We are planting roses that we use as a source of cuttings next to the weed mat and paralell to the drip line every 12 feet (insures that they will get watered every time we turn on the drippers). We are digging a furrow alongside the weed mat, filling with compost so there is a ready made planting area.
weeding and schneezwerg cuttings
Not terribly pretty but I had to cut back this 'Schneezwerg' hybrid rugosa rose so we took the clippings, stuck them as cuttings and took this picture to over-write as cuttingsschneezwergbig.jpg
Front Porch and 'Blanc Double de Coubert' in a 45 gallon pot on drip line. We may take this rugosa and plant it in the ground but its plenty hardy to overwinter in the pot.
lower field and moms hibiscus
Hibiscus does not easily overwinter in the pot so it has to be dug up every year and replanted so evenn though I can take and root cuttings I dont because its a real hassle in our climate. It would be easier to grow in a pot down south maybe in AK where it grows everywhere.
sign on front porch of apartment house and through the window at a rose of sharon hibiscus syriacus. I try to have equal amounts of income from the nursery, rentals and retirement income. So if the nursery income does not do well I'm still in bussiness because the other two keep me alive (and the work I do watering, fertilizing and taking pictures keeps me mobile).
James macfarlane lilac on the right that we took off dripline in the background and arranged in a mass. Roses in one gallon pots on drip line.
red door and cold frame
Beyond the red door we pot plants then pass them through the sliding windows to store in the cold frame out back until we can take them out into the field to place on drip line. We root cuttings in the misting box shown above left but note the picture taken inside on the left below. Each time we stick cuttings I try to take a picture and save it as "cuttings" followed by the variety name (so that it will over-write the cuttings picture for that variety).
Looking through a vent in the misting box we can see the electronic leaf that shuts the mist off when its weighted down with water, then turns the water on again when it dries out. The picture on the right shows one gallon rooted cuttings on drip line. I roll out a 12 foot wide piece of weed mat 70 feet long with 4 paralell drip lines above it (then we plant roses that we woll take cuttings from 12 feet apart along each side of the weed mat and arrange rooted cuttings under the drippers).
cuttingssemiplenasmall.jpg and cuttingsispahansmall.jpg
So if you look up ALBA SEMI PLENA or damask ispahan and click the blue link you should see these cuttings pictures next to a closeup of the flower. Then next spring, once we have taken them out of winter storage I'll over-write the cuttings picture with another showing all the rooted cuttings of this variety the oldest ones in front maybe with price stickers on them. Then when they are transferred out onto drip line I might over-write with another picture showing them there.
Alice has been growing these chinese egg plants in large pots out on the patio and now they are flowering and fruiting. Its my experience that if your garden is to far away from the house it starts to look very disreputable shortly so by growing in pots arranged on the patio they look really good. Of course if we were to go away we'd just place them on drip line with a timer and ask a friend to check on them occasionally.
front yard and barn
I visit this newsletter almost every day to rewrite what I wrote yesterday, add a couple pictures taken in the nursery or to edit one of the main pages linked above to make it easier for someone to access information. People who are interested in the plants we grow send an email with their phone number and a list of the plants they want. I reply with a link to this page or others linked above then go and edit the pages so that they can find the requested information (later I'll call you back by phone so give me an idea of what time zone your in).
11th of August I bought 4 Purple Pavement Rotesmeer hybrid rugosa at a local garden centers to plant on drip line and maybe use as a source of cuttings. Every morning I try to add something at the top of my newsletter before leaving to water plants. I like to buy double flowered Hibiscus syriacus to plant just outside the windows of our Victorian house (got this one for $60).
Alice has been growing these chinese egg plants in large pots out on the patio and now they are flowering and fruiting (Good Job Alice!). Centifolia planted in 2015 from a 3 inch pot.
I am moving rooted cuttings of roses in small pots using my van out onto drip line so they can get more sun. In winter we will move them back into a cold box. I am also buying rugosa roses locally to plant out on drip line that I will take cuttings from (bought two with yellow flowers and plan to buy 3 rotesmeer purple pavement sometime this week).
a drip line and a misting system.
On left a bamboo stick inserted into each pot can be tied to the drip line so plants in narrow pots do not fall over as they often do (the drip line can be turned on in the morning for an hour and each plant will receive a half gallon of water). Plants on drip line still have to flower before we sell them (we will stick a price sticker next to the variety name) and the first one will be planted as a future source of cuttings. On right this propagation box has large venting holes that I can get pretty good pictures through showing most recent additions. More on the propagation box at bottom of July or in the growing page ( have not seen viable cuttings yet exccept on semi-plena and fantin latout).
a cold frame and me
The cold frame that we leave uncovered with a cold box on each side that we use as tables in summer. I drive around checking to see that everything has been watered and taking pictures (I will hand my camera to whoever is working with me for this picture of me in my car). We will take more cuttings probably on wednesday then insert pictures below over the next day or so.
Took cuttings from Ispahan and Semi-plena. I took cuttings out of the misting system that were taken previously so you can compare them with those taken today (todays date is in the lower corner of the picture, just click the picture for a larger image). A couple of years ago we had a really cold winter and many of the plants we take cuttings from died. Most of what we have left are hardy to zone 3 but we are gradually replacing the others with small plants purchased retail from our competitors (this year I planted 4 Autumn Damask, 3 Centifolia, An Alchymist, An Albertine but remember they are still quite samall and so we cant take very many cuttings from them). I also have perhaps 600 roses in one gallon that came through the winter just fine in cold boxes but we cant sell them until they have flowered verifying their identities as they were badly labeled. Until then we will have small quantities of only the hardiest plants...........
I have a virus today, tuesday?, so I will go and turn on water then return to bed. I go to this red door to the potting shed in the morning, turn on the misting system where we propagate plants from cuttings and take a picture (I turn the water off at night). I go out in the field and make sure that drip emitters are watering each plant properly (sometimes pots get turned over by animals) then take a picture. Sometimes I cut plants back on the drip line sticking 4 cuttings in each one gallon pot placed in the misting box for another picture. On Wednesday Curt comes to help and on Friday Jenifer shows up so on those days I take pictures of whatever they are working on and add those pictures to the newsletter (usually to the top then a few days later cutting and pasting them further below). I go back to my computer and over-write pictures I took previously every couple days.