IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...
|
|
Fa la la la la, la la la la! Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum! Thumpety-thump-thump! ‘Tis the season for gibberish and giblets, gifts and gobbledygook. Deck the halls with cows and Harleys!
|
|
Nighttime lows here are above Pennsylvania’s daytime highs, so production is in full swing. Our crews are busy with that magical math that only works in horticulture: Multiplication by division. Don’t try it on your calculator. We’ve got gangs of Terra Nova
Heuchera
varieties and a slew of
Coreopsis
intros. Looking especially good: Seven
Andropogon
, six
Muhlenbergia
, five new
Chick Charms®
, four new
Dianthus
, three infertile
Pennisetum
, two
Bouteloua
, and a pelican in a palm tree.
|
|
With Thanksgiving leftovers still on the menu, we’re grateful for many things. I’m happy not to have to overwinter in central Canada. I spoke on ornamental grasses at the Green Industries Show & Conference in Calgary, Alberta, a lovely, vibrant city, but yikes! It was 6° every morning! F, not C! In mid-November! I’d rather not know what actual winter is like; I may not be Zone 3 hardy. But I’d love to visit in more reasonable temperatures, maybe for the famous Calgary Stampede.
Back here at home, our PA range is an interesting mix: new
Brunnera
and
Hakonechloa
production rooting up in warm houses, established
Helleborus
and
Carex
liners settling in for a winter nap in the cool ones. Shhh!
|
|
RANDOM USELESS FACTS DEPARTMENT
|
|
1. The flags of five (5) nations have flown over Pensacola, Florida. Can you name them?
|
|
2. Mistletoe, savior of lonely lips, is a poisonous parasite. Pucker up!
|
|
WHAT'S HOT: Worst-kept secrets
|
|
Technically, that’s
Calamagrostis arundinacea
var.
brachytricha
Caspian™, but why stand on formalities? By any name, it may be the most under-appreciated grass we grow. It’s puzzling. Caspian™ is a full-figured, fat-flowering phenomenon. Unlike other feather reed grasses, it’s a warm-season, fall-blooming form. Its plumes -- which start pale pink and mature to bright clean white -- put others in the genus to shame. It’s four feet tall, strong and upright, and it’s hardy all the way to Zone 4. What’s not to like?
Help us correct this mysterious oversight. Spill the beans and show Caspian™ a little love. Your customers will wonder why you’ve been holding out on them.
|
|
HORTISCOPE: Zodiac on wry
|
|
Sagittarius
:
Your fellow archer Cupid needs coaching. He keeps hooking up the wrong people. How else to explain, say, Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe, Seal and Heidi Klum, or Mick Jagger and... anybody? Talk to that mischievous cherub before somebody breaks out the mistletoe and the madness starts afresh, OK?
|
|
Capricorn
:
Go south, young goat, and chow down on some kudzu. The “weed that ate the South” is still a mind-boggling scourge. A little help, please. But eschew, don’t chew, the mistletoe.
|
|
HALF-A-TRAY BON!
TrayMates™
|
|
TrayMates™
are trays of 72 cells split down the middle. They’re a great way to enhance your selection without expanding your space.
VARIETIES
: We’ve kick-started the program with speculative production of your favorite ornamental grasses and perennials. Choose from over 130 varieties!
MINIMUMS
: Half-trays must be ordered in pairs, like the
Heuchera
and
Sempervivum
shown below, to create full trays. Order total must be an even number of 36-cell strips.
SPECS & AVAILABILITY
: TrayMates™ starters are grown in Ellepot ACT liners for uniform rooting and quick, clean transplanting.
Availability
begins February 2018.
Broaden your selection
with TrayMates™. When
a whole tray is too much of a good thing, we’ll meet you halfway!
|
|
May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be whatever color goes best with your outfit. Ring-a-ling! Ting-a-ling! Ba-da-bing!
But seriously: We wish the best of the holidays to you and yours. We couldn’t do what we do without you, and we strive every day to earn your trust, in this and every season. Thank you for your business. Merry Christmas.
|
|
John Friel
Marketing Manager
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
