We are just around the corner from the best time to plant in the Bay Area. Shorter days with cooler temperatures in the evenings and mornings, ease stress on new plantings. Hopefully the rains will soon be upon us, but be sure to adequately water any new installations until the rains take over. Our nursery has good availability this time of year and we hope you will come by and see for yourself. We are open 7 days a week, Monday - Friday 9 - 5, Saturday and Sunday 10 - 4. Check out our latest inventory for our current availability.
Our customers are talking about drought tolerant plants and we'd like to highlight a few from our latest inventory.
Penstemons are popular drought tolerant perennials. They are floriferous, producing dazzling displays of tubular flowers often in luminous shades of blue, pink and scarlet. All are hummingbird, bee and butterfly favorites. Probably the best known and most grown of the native Penstemons is Penstemon heterophyllus. We have the popular disease resistant selection 'Margarita BOP' and the lush European cultivar 'Catherine de la Mare'. Both sport iridescent blue tubular flowers. Also available now is Penstemon eatonii the firecracker penstemon, a western native with brilliant red tubular flowers custom made for hummingbirds. From the southwestern deserts comes Penstemon parryi, a new species for us. It is reputed to be adaptable and easy to grow with talk stalks of bright pink tubular flowers.
Flannel Bush is a show stopping native shrub that is incredibly heat and drought tolerant. In stock now are two outstanding hybrids. Both are quite large and require room, growing both tall and wide. Large bright yellow flowers cover the shrub in late spring and are spectacular. Perfect for a bank or slope where they can go summer dry once established. We have 'California Glory' and 'San Gabriel' available in 14 inch deep tree pots.
Another spectacular and drought tolerant native is matilija poppy. Growing 6 feet tall or more and spreading widely with enormous flowers of crinkled white petals surrounding a shaft of golden stamens. Notoriously difficult to get established, fall planting is your best bet for success. If you have tried and failed to establish this beauty, give fall planting a try. We have a good supply of vigorous one gallons available now.
Salvia sonomensis is another native plant that is extremely drought tolerant once established. It is susceptible to fungal diseases encouraged by summer watering. Spring or summer planting requires regular summer watering to get them established. Sonoma sage is another native that is met with success by planting in the fall. We have a good supply of one gallons available now. Also in stock are small numbers of 'John Farmar-Bowers' a creamy-white flowering form of sonoma sage and the adorable 'Hobbit Toes' with fuzzy grey foliage and darker purple flowers.
We are very pleased with our crop of Pacific dogwood, a sublime native tree that is much sought after, though it can be challenging to grow. Flowers are similar in appearance to the eastern dogwood, only larger, bearing beautiful white flowers on bare branches in the spring. When well placed, Pacific dogwood makes a stunning focal point, beautiful in all it's seasons. Available in 14 inch deep tree pots. Again easier to get established if planted in the fall.
We have a good supply of one gallon western hazelnuts. A graceful shrub for the woodland garden in dappled shade, forest edges and openings. Deciduous in the winter with handsome dangling catkins. Deep green leaves follow, with small tasty nuts by summer. Hazels thrive with moisture but tolerate dry shady conditions once established. Has performed beautifully at the nursery growing in our adobe clay soils with no additional summer water. An excellent habitat plant as the nuts are relished by small animals and birds. People love them too if they can beat the wildlife to them.
SALE
We have some very full one gallon and four inch size deer grass, Muhlenbergia rigens, that need to be planted. We are offering them at 1/2 OFF. Grasses grow quickly and fill a pot with their intensive root systems, often having a band of matted roots at the very bottom of the container. This situation is not to be confused with plants that are old and "pot bound" where roots are so ingrown and compacted that the plant will never recover. We have found that with a good root pruning, root tips will grow into their new soil and establish well. We recommend cutting 1/2 to 3/4 inch of roots cleanly off the bottom edges of the container before planting. Be sure to follow up with regular deep watering until the grass begins to grow and become established.