Plantworks Blog

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As the year 2017 draws to a close, we will be retiring the blog for Plantworks Nursery. We have enjoyed the posts, pictures, and information that has been shared here, but changes come to all, and folks in the Green Industry know that best.

We will be taking the extra time to work with our other social media outlets, making them accessible, and more interactive, for our clients. Plantworks can still be found on the following media sites:

Instagram

instagram.com/plantworksnursery

Facebook

facebook.com/plantworksnursery

GrowIt!

A smartphone based app to download

We are more than happy to speak with clients directly. Feel free to call the office during business hours (Monday-Friday; 8AM- 4:30PM), or email us at plantworkssales@gmail.com. We encourage client interaction, and community talking points. We hope to always be available whenever you need assistance!

Thanks for your business and good wishes!

Happy Planting!

 

Winter Weather Banter

Winter Weather Banter

Words of Wisdom:

“One fair day in Winter, makes not birds merry.”

“When snow falls in the mud, it remains all Winter.”

“A warm and open Winter portends a hot and dry Summer.”

“A hard Winter will come if Raccoons are fat.”

 

“Snowflakes, snowflakes dance around,

Snowflakes, snowflakes touch the ground.

Snowflakes, snowflakes, in the air,

Snowflakes, snowflakes everywhere!”

 

“Deck the halls with boughs of Holly, fa la la la la la la la la….”

 

Brighten up your home with these Christmas friendly plants:

  • Poinsettia
  • Amaryllis
  • Christmas Cactus
  • Rosemary
  • Holly
  • Mistletoe
  • Christmas Trees- Douglas Fir, White Pine, Blue Spruce, etc.
  • Ivy
  • Myrrh
  • Frankincense

Happy Planting!

Great Groundcovers

Great Groundcovers

Need to add something “more” to your lawn? Plantworks has you covered, literally!

As the popularity of Groundcover plants grows, it is important to know the characteristics of the most sought after items for your area. We carry a complete line of plants that can handle any job. Plantworks offers the following list for natural landscapes:

  • Ajuga- Bugleweed
  • Euonymus fortuneii- Wintercreeper
  • Hedera helix- English Ivy
  • Hypercium- St Johnswort
  • Iberis sempervirens- Evergreen Candytuft
  • Liriope- Lilyturf/ Monkey Grass
  • Muhlenbeckia axillaris- Wire Vine
  • Ophiopogon japonicus- Mondo Grass
  • Pachysandra terminalis- Japanese Spurge
  • Phlox subulata- Creeping Phlox
  • Trachelospermum asiaticum- Asiatic Jasmine
  • Vinca Minor and Major- Periwinkle

We also offer many others selections (IE. Creeping Thyme, Galium, and Rubus) that are considered Perennials in our catalog, but can be planted, and maintained, as a Groundcover item. Contact us about availability!

Happy Planting!

 

End of Pansies 2017

Sending out thanks to all our clients for another amazing Pansy season!

Pansies and Fall Annuals flew off the shelves! We are grateful to be able to provide color to all our clients across the East coast. We are already getting ready for Spring 2018, are you? We are also greatly anticipating spending time with our families for the upcoming Holiday season. Thanks again for everyone’s continued patronage from season to season!

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Happy Planting!

Plant Highlights: Garden Peony

 

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Common Name: Garden Peony

Botanical Name: Paeonia

Sizes Available: 2 Gallon size

Season of Interest: Spring and Summer

There are few plants that are able to compete with the majesty of the Peony. Long lived, beautiful blooms, and attractive foliage; combined with minimal maintenance, make this a staple for every garden. If planted with care, the Peony could even outlive the planter, being able to live over 100 years!

Being such a long-lasting plant, the Peony does not like to be transplanted, so choosing a special (permanent) place for them is essential. Mostly they require full sun, and good drainage, and should flourish. They tend to do better in a cooler climate with a cold winter, which helps with the formation of new buds. Although most blooms are finished by the end of Spring, the foliage puts on a lovely display reaching into the Autumn. Peonies love their space, so don’t plant them too close to other shrubs or plants to compete. You should plant Peonies in the Fall before the first hard frost. Most experts say they perform better on this timeline than when planted in the Spring. No matter when you plant, the Peony typically takes a few years to reach its full potential. Perfection should never be rushed!

With such a spectacular show of blooms, one would think that the Peony is sensitive and time-consuming to cultivate. Not true! Neglecting your plant may be the best thing for it, so let Nature do the work. Peonies are very hardy and resist most plant blights. They even have a built-in form of protection in the form of ants that love it’s nectar, as they attack the harmful insects that try to invade the foliage and buds. Complete this package by being deer resistant, and the Peony is a truly astounding plant. Plantworks offers all of our Peony stock in 2 Gallon sizes. We offer the following varities as a “Perennial”: 

  • Armani– Deep red blooms
  • Bowl of Beauty– Light pink blooms
  • Cora Stubbs-Dark pink rims with lighter pink centers
  • Coral Sunset– True, coral color blooms
  • Do Tell-Orchid to shell pink blooms
  • Duchesse de Nemours– Double white blooms
  • Felix Crouse– Watermelon red blooms
  • Festiva Maxima– Double white blooms
  • Itoh ‘Bartzella’– Bright yellow blooms (very hard to acquire)
  • Karl Rosenfield– Double red blooms
  • Krinkled White– Single white with crinkled petals, and yellow stamens
  • Monsieur Jules Elie– Double light pink blooms
  • Moonstone– Pink blooms that fade to white
  • Paul Wild– Deep red blooms
  • Pink Parfait– Double pink blooms
  • Pink Dawn– Light pink and white blooms
  • Primevere– White outer petals and yellow centers. Semi-double bloom
  • Raspberry Sundae– Double pink blooms
  • Sarah Bernhardt– Dark pink blooms
  • Scarlet O’Hara– Red single blooms, with yellow stamens
  • Sorbet– Light pink with yellow center

 Peonies have varying types of blooms. These are important to know, as they are listed on most of the plant descriptions. They are as follows:

  • Single: a single or double row of broad petals encircle fertile stamens, carpels visible
  • Japanese: a single or double row of broad petals encircle somewhat broadened staminodes, may carry pollen along the edges, carpels visible
  • Anemone: a single or double row of broad petals encircle narrow incurved petal-like staminodes; fertile stamens are absent, carpels visible
  • Semi-double: a single or double row of broad petals encircles further broad petals intermingled with stamens
  • Bomb: a single row of broad petals encircles a shorter dense pompom of narrower petals
  • Double: the flower consists of many broad petals only, including those which likely are altered stamens and carpels

 

Did you know? A bit of Peony trivia…

  • “Sara Bernhardt,” is one of the most popular Peony varieties on the market today. Typically in the range of over 20 million stems sold each season!
  • The Peony is named after Paeon, a student of Asclepius the Greek God of medicine and healing. When Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the Peony flower.
  • The ancient Chinese city Luoyang, has a reputation as a cultivation epicenter for the Peony. Throughout Chinese history, Peonies in Luoyang have been said to be the finest in the country. Dozens of Peony exhibitions and shows are still held there annually.
  • Mischievous nymphs were said to hide in the petals of the Peony, giving it the meaning of Shame or Bashfulness in the Language of Flowers.

 

Plantworks also grows a version of the Peony known as a “Tree Peony,” or Peony suffruticosa. 

*All plant highlights reflect plants grown by Plantworks Nursery. If you are interested in availability, please contact us for information. (plantworkssales@gmail.com or 919-732-6594) 

Pansies

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Availability: Fall Season Crop. September- November

Sizes: 4” 18 count flats or 36 count cell packs

Pricing: Set by quantity ordered (discounts offered)

The beginning of the Autumn season at Plantworks is marked by many deliveries of Pansy plugs.

One delivery after another, starting in August, alerts the staff that cool weather is finally (hopefully) on the way, and summer is drawing to a close. Friends of Plantworks have already been planning, and pre-ordering, their Fall season supplies throughout the month of July, but seeing the flowers begin to emerge, is a sure sign of the season’s change. Plantworks Annual houses will become filled with the delightful old-fashioned garden favorite, blanketing the houses in a brilliant show of color barely contained in one place.

Sporting bright colors, and happy “faces”, the garden Pansy is a large-flowered hybrid plant, often grown in the United States as an annual or biennial. (Pansies are technically hardy, evergreen perennials in Zones 6-10.) Cultivated as a garden flower, hybridization across several species has introduced us to the Pansy as we know it. Often, for simplicities sake, the older name of Viola tricolor var. hortensis is often used when discussing botanical names.

The common Pansy has two slightly overlapping upper petals, two side petals, and a single bottom petal, with a slight beard, emanating from the flower’s center. There is potential for the plant to grow to nine inches in height, and they normally have a diameter of 2-3 inches (although larger and smaller varieties do exist). The color choices are endless, as well as sizes of the blooms. In English, there is argument as to correctly using the terms “pansy” “viola” and “violet.” In fact, they may be used interchangeably. (The distinction often comes into play with the number of petals and their shapes, and also with the origin of the plant.) There can also be distinctions made with flowers possessing a well-defined “blotch,” or “eye,” in the middle of the bloom. Typically the term Pansy is used to describe bedding plants used year after year, with the term Viola being used to describe smaller, more delicate annuals/perennials.

The varieties of Pansies available are astounding, and ever growing. Cultivation, hybridization, and experimentation has long ensured there will be no end to the amazing combinations and colors. The stock offered by Plantworks is comprehensive, and can be overwhelming to someone who just needs a few items. We hope this helps you decide the best Pansy for the job, whatever your growing needs may be. The following are varieties that Plantworks will have available for 2017:

  • Matrix
  • Panola/ Panola XP
  • Frizzle Sizzle
  • Cool Wave
  • Sorbet/ Sorbet XP
  • Colossus
  • Crown
  • Delta
  • Majestic Giant
  • Viola Penny

Did you know? The name “Pansy,” comes from the French word pensee, meaning “thought,” imported into Late Middle English as the name of Viola in the mid- 15th century. The flower is regarded as the symbol of remembrance. The “love in idleness,” name was meant to invoke the image of a lover who has little, or no, other pastime than to think of his beloved.

Please contact us for availability questions, or about scheduling deliveries. We are here to ensure you get the most color from the Autumn season as possible.

  • 919-732-6594
  • plantworkssales@gmail.com

Happy Planting!