Winter

GARDEN ALL PICTURE NEWSLETTER by Andrew G. Van Cleve at the flowering shrub farm in Voorheesville, NY 12186. I show potential customers what we are doing using pictures in this newsletter.

Winter March, February & January

HOME PLANT SALE LILACS ROSES NEWS GROW ORDERING CONTACT

March

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In March we fertilize everything, work on our latest building project (window replacement on the potting shed with the red door), fill requests for bareroot plants mailorder, and divide lilacs. I also plan to surround my working area in front of the potting shed where we propagate plants under mist, with a planting area for once blooming roses that will serve to secure the location while providing a source of cuttings (there will also be two gates installed).

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The driplines in the field has plants on it in 3 galllon pots that are hardy to zone 3 that can be bare rooted in March or April for mail order so long as they remain dormant. If your interested contact me (there are also a number of states that we cant send plants to with soil on and these plants can potentially be used to satisfy them for $30 each plus priority mail postage).

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When Lilacs flower (usually sometime in May) we walk among them labeling them with these individually numbered yellow labels with an abreviation of the variety name on them printed with a paint pen. In March I count up how many there are of each variety and stick a red dot on one of the labels with that quantity noted for an inventory picture as of the date in the corner of the picture.

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2016 If a bunch of these are identified I'll go to this list and starting at the bottom (the bottom of 2014 maybe) attach "Sold To" stickers on the side with a name (I'll put the plant back in front of others of that variety and over-write with a new cuttings picture). If you see your name get back to me right away as I may offer it to someone else in a few weeks (I will call you on the phone to notify you if you are one of the lucky ones). Once I have no more who wish those plants I will stick a price sticker on and anyone can ask for it.

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Inside cold box 1 where I am looking for plants that we marked last summer to sell to Carol, Sarah, Diane and Kelsey. Also the poison baits should be renewed this week.

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This belgian fence we trained back in the 1990's. We planted apple trees two feet apart (5 in this group) alternating back and forth between 'Liberty' and ''Nova Easy grow' that cross pollinate each other. We attached wires every couple feet from the ground to the top of the posts. We attached withes of wood that we cut off with a table saw tieing them onto the wires as a V at each tree. Initially each tree was cut back to 18 inches while still dormant in early spring. Of the growth that resulted we tied the best to our withes and removed the rest. Then each year in fall we tie that years growth to the withes cutting side growth off so that spurs form. The project for March is installing sliding windows in the potting shed.

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Cut back lilacs that flowered last year.

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Picked up some potting soil, rose tone, compost etc.

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Out here on drip line I'm just trying to get plants to flower and prove what variety they really are. When they are in bloom I attach a yellow numbered label with an abreviation of the variety name printed on it with a paint pen. Usually the plants are then transported to the plant sale where they will be sold for $25 each.

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In late summer or fall those that have not sold are placed here near the house where its easy enough to get out and cut them back or divide them (lilacs can be propagated from division while still dormant). We cut them back in early spring while still dormant and fertilize them with Rose Tone (now they will start producing a thicket of stems.

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Removed large lilacs from in front of the house so that its easier to see the sign. They will be repotted in 45 gallon pots and maybe sold for $200 each.

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Lilacs that flowered last year and were labeled are cut back this spring to be sold at the price stuck on the side of the pot. These pictures will be taken again in April and by then you should be able to see new growth.

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February

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During the winter we open the cold box frequently to add more poison baits. Because we dont sell roses until after they have bloomed and been photographed for this newsletter, mice can quickly remove the flowering wood for next june impacting our sales. In July, August and September we prepare cuttings to root under mist inside this potting shed with the red door, then pass them through opened windows to place on the misting bench just outside. I will add pictures and over-write others to the latest newsletter at least once a week, adding or editing my comments between.

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Anyone who wants to be added to the 2016 list should send me an email with a list of plants you are interested in and your phone number. Watch this newsletter in March as we divide Lilacs into one gallon pots that we will make available both mail order and during the plant sale once they start growing vigorously this spring.

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Roses in 7 gallon pots that we take cuttings from in summer are stored for the winter pot-in-pot their roots surrounded with mulch so they dont freeze (in summer we will place them on drip lines in the field).

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Access to the lower field is limited during those months when ice and snow make conditions hazardous. Watch the newsletter for pictures of us potting up rooted cuttings of roses that we took last year (probably in May and June). We sell roses that have are two years old and had a price sticker stuck on the side of the pot.

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This Cabbage Rose; Rosa centifolia was planted in 2015 as an own root in a one gallon pot. We will see how long it takes to grow into a full sized shrub.

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In winter I often look for local seed sources of blueberry bushes and pinxterbloom Azaleas (if you have a pinxter bush I can collect seed from give me a call). I also seed grow a few roses looking for one that I can introduce some day.

January

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I take pictures every week in the nursery. One gallon roses and lilacs that we may sell next summer mail order or during the plant sale are stored for the winter in cold frames covered with white plastic. Each individual 4x8 foot box with a hinged top can be used as a cold frame in winter when covered with white plastic or a table in summer with the plastic removed (we open the boxes in winter to inspect the condition of the poison baits that prevent mice from damaging the plants). Beyond the red door is our potting bench (go to my coldfram page to checkout the cold frame and the potting shed with its red door throughout the year) where we stick cuttings then place them under mist just outside.

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I can open the lids to inspect the condition of the mouse baits and add to them if needed. One and two gallon potted plants, mostly roses, that may be sold mail order next May through August, are packed in here as winter approaches, poison baits among them to help prevent mice from eating them. In April or May when its warm enough we will sort them by variety and take pictures for the newsletter. Check out my rosebuy page where I add all these pictures and comments about roses that I have added to the newsletter.

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I continue to take pictures as long as snow doesn't prevent me from having access. We are also doing interior work in the barn and potting shed. I re-write my web page describing what we do and when we do it . We are replacing portions of the rails on the front porch that deteriorated as of January 2016.

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Comparing the snow we got this year on the left with the amount we got in 2015. Check the date the picture was taken in the lower right hand corner. Click the picture for a larger image that can be studied more closely or saved as wallpaper.

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Its a little slippery at this time of year but so long as the snow isn't too deep I can still walk up into the upper field among lilacs on drip line to get these pictures. I am answering questions I get via email by rewriting the newsletter at www.floweringshrubfarm.com/rosegro.htm and sending this link in the reply.

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When plants flower I attach a numbered label with an abreviation of the variety name printed on it with a paint pen. Agnes is the Hybrid Rugosa rose Agnes, Aucub is the variegated Lilac 'Aucubaefolia'. Sometimes if we have plants in the field in large pots that have previously flowered and been identified we may sell them for around $30 each cut down to fit a flat rate priority package from the post office across the street when it warms up a bit. Contact me to ask about availability sending your phone number and address so I can call back.

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Then there are those Lilacs in big pots that we use as a source of cuttings in May. They may be cut back to only a few inches while still dormant and allowed to produce many upright soft wood sprouts that might be taken as soft wood cuttings in May. The Lilacs to be divided will be cut back in March or April and divided.

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Trees I originally trained as espalier that did not sell are planted and trained adjacent to the drip lines.

www.floweringshrubfarm.com/espalier.htm

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Name of the variety is shown on a label. Cabbage rose we planted in the front bed to be used as a source of cuttings.

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As potential customers contact me to request plants I make note in a web page linked from my newsletter. I will include enough of their name so I can look up their email address in my address book along with the state they live in and a list of plants they request. Then I add thumbnails of the cuttings pictures of each variety and maybe someday I'll include a link to the inventory page of each. 2014 2015 2016 I'm not saying that I'll have the plants but at least it gives them a central location to check up the status of the cuttings.

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Access to the field allows me to get out and take pictures. I plan to plant this Stanwell Perpetual in a 45 gallon pot.

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On left is a picture of one of the cold boxes with the white plastic removed showing the expanded metal top that allows us to use it as either a cold frame to store plants inside during winter or as a table with plants on top during summer. We will be adding several more of these "cold boxes" next summer in areas where there is more sun.

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We protect trees with the same styrafoam insulators that they sell in hardware stores to insulate water pipes.

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Got a snow plow for the Cub Cadet tractor. Adding poison baits to cold box.

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I plan to fence this area in with a couple of locked gares as the mist propagation bench is where that white pipe is near the red door. That way when I leave I can be sure no one will come in and disturb the settings of the misters. The Hybrid rugosa rose Agnes is used as a source of cuttings in summer.

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I can stick cuttings on the potting bench, then open a window so I can reach through from outside and place the potted cuttings under mist outside. The windows slide from side to side so they can be opened from outside or in and potted plants can easily be transferred from bench to bench.

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In winter we remove roses in large pots from the drip line that we use to take cuttings from and place them pot-in-pot for the winter their roots surrounded with mulch. Come spring we will do the reverse.