Your Independent Neighborhood Garden Nursery

Beautiful Plants and Inspired Designs since 1954

Happy Holidays! We will be closed on Dec. 25

Dear Friends of Anderson's La Costa,

Happy Holidays!

We hope you are having a wonderful start to the holidays with this seasonal weather we are having and the festivities popping up all around. The crew at the nursery has done an amazing job turning the grounds into a winter wonderland! All of the beautiful things we love about the season have arrived in full force: beautiful poinsettias, wreaths, garland, mini lavender and rosemary trees, bulbs starting to pop up, lights strung and decorations on the evergreens, plus all of the natural winter blooming plants and trees that happen at this time of year. It is a true holiday delight!

We are pleased to announce our December Sale: 20% Off Garden Gift Shop. All gifty items in the Gift Shop such as Woodstock Windchimes, lots of hanging garden décor, sprayers and solar lighting, San Diego Hat Company hats, Old Ben's Wild Birdseed. Everything (except for one of a kind greeting cards) on sale now!

What's New at the Nursery...by Steven Froess

Hello Everyone, 

Time for the holiday newsletter! This year flew by so fast it's hard to believe we are now in December! So far there hasn't been much rain here, but Northern California has received a good amount of rain and some snow, so I remain hopeful that we might eventually find some relief from this long-lasting drought. 

The holiday season is here, and we have some great selections to offer you starting with traditional plants such as poinsettias. However, these are not just your ordinary types…yes, we have the classic Christmas red, but also 'Beauty Princess', 'Country Quilt' (with splashes of variegation), Princettias in 'hot pink' and 'white' (the truest white of them all!) and mini 2-inch size poinsettias. Amaryllis and Christmas cactus are in and budded/flowering as well. Fresh wreaths, garland, small to full-size star pines for living Christmas trees, and topiary rosemary and lavender trees are also available while supplies last. Our festive tillandsia (air plant) ornaments are back as well. It was Grace's first year helping to make them and we had a blast!

We also have a great selection of Bonsai - from the more common kind, best for beginners who are just starting to explore the art of Bonsai, to the more unique and advanced types of plants. Be sure to check out our staghorn fern selection, too, which features some uncommon varieties- these make great low-maintenance plant gifts.

Citrus trees are stocked and looking great. We carry five-gallon, ten-gallon, fifteen-gallon, and 20-inch boxes for those who want trees producing fruit immediately. Lemons include 'Meyers', 'Eureka', 'Pink Lemonade', Santa Teresa', and 'Lisbon'. Limes in stock are 'Bearss' and Mexican thornless (key lime). Oranges in stock include 'Washington navel', 'Cara Cara', Valencia 'Midnight', and Valencia 'Red Smith'. Tangerines include 'Shasta', 'Tango', and my favorite 'Gold Nugget'. We have a nice selection of specialty citrus like kumquat, Australian Finger lime, Kaffir lime, and Limequat. It is a perfect time of the year to plant a citrus tree in the garden!

I always get excited when the Proteaceae plants, originally from South Africa and Australia in the southern hemisphere, start coming in. Currently we have a few types of Banksia, 'Schnapper's point' (dwarf type) and ericifolia compact (currently in bloom!) The Leucospermum (pincushion Protea) are just beginning to arrive. We have 'Blanche Ito' (awesome red with silver foliage), as well as a great selection of one gallon (most growers don't sell them in this size so come check them out while they last!)

Grevillea are starting to bloom as well, 'Superb' and 'Deua Flame' are the best at the nursery at the moment. Just remember, when planting these plants need well-draining soil, they do not like their roots disturbed, and they need lots of sunlight. Rarely do they ever need fertilizer but if they do be sure the middle NPK number (Phosphorus) is low or non-existent. 

Winter blooming plants are now showing some of their best flowers. Camellias are one of the best, with the smaller leaf sasanqua flowering first, followed by the larger leaf and larger flowered japonica types. Varieties in stock include 'Yuletide', 'Setsugekka', 'Hana Jiman', 'Kanjiro', 'Bob Hope', and 'Sweet Emily Late' (weeping type with fragrant flowers!).

Most Aloe species bloom this time of the year as well. Unlike Agaves, Aloe plants do not die after they bloom. A great plant to add to any garden as there are tons of varieties and species to choose from, their flowers are great for pollinators (bees and hummingbirds), don't require much maintenance, and don't require lots of water. Aloe ramosissima (one of my favorites) is a slow growing tree Aloe that stays on the smaller side with great branching and fissured bark that really stands out (be sure not to regularly water tree Aloes as they will rot!)

A few Aloes have flowers that really stand out, 'Erik the red' has the most true cherry red flowers that really catch your eye, 'David Verity' has two tone flowers that start out orange and fade to an off white, and 'Bird's and bees' has several shades of orange throughout the flower stalk. Smaller clumping type Aloes, sometimes called grass Aloes, send up many flower stalks and tend to bloom longer (try Aloe 'Safari sunrise' -pictured, Aloe albiflora, and Aloe 'Blue elf'). 

Another winter bloomer that most people don't know about is Haemanthus albiflos. I've been a fan of this plant ever since I first learned about it. Haemanthus are tolerant of neglect (aka low maintenance), evergreen, and have a very unusual paintbrush shaped flower (ours are in bloom - come see!) This plant is difficult to find so we have resorted to growing it ourselves. And finally, don't forget about cyclamen to ensure holiday color in your garden and your holiday pots.

As the year winds down, I'd like to thank everyone for supporting us. We strive to always offer the best quality plant material, as well as excellent customer service and advice to help make your garden experience as successful as possible. I'm always grateful to get acquainted with and share experiences with everyone that I meet here at the nursery. Hopefully I will see you all at the nursery and I look forward to another great year in 2023!

Your local horticulturalist,

Steven 



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