The Blogging Nurseryman by Trey Pitsenberger

I don’t get to work on my blog as much as I would like. Since moving out of the garden center back to our house the only computer I have is here at work. What with the day to day activities I don’t have the leisure time necessary to do as much with the blog. The remedy is to get another computer just for home where I can do fun things as opposed to “work”.

We are getting ready for our winter break which means the store will be closed from Christmas through January 6^th. I would love to take more time off but we have to get back to deal with the bare root fruit trees which arrive about then. In addition we don’t get a paid vacation here. Store closed equals little income.

Right now we are selling garden gift items and gift cards. We had a big 25% to 50% off sale just last month and it helped in moving some plants. I think our winter plant inventory is right about where it should be. This is the time of year when I look out and see too much planting mix and potting soil left over. Sure we can sell it next spring but why did I make that last order? Monica said we could hold off, but I never want to be out of a key item so I ordered it. Sure enough she was right.

There is so much to do here that it is overwhelming at times. We have a number of dead trees that need to be removed. I want to extend the sprinkler system to a new area which means digging trenches. We would like to get the main part of our newsletters ready for next year. Trying to write an e-news and snail mail newsletter during the busy spring is crazy. If we can get about six months done now it would be a great.

A post or two ago U.K. Bob left a comment. He said “Such as you and I keep on gardening no mater what the time of year because it’s our life but I’ve noticed just by reading the blogs that were full of gardening when I first started to read them in August are now given over to other things like cakes and Christmas decorations. I notice also the last few times I’ve been to our garden centre it’s been empty, it’s actually felt weird being the only one in the place. So I’m sure things will pick up for you, what you need is an early spring to get people out gardening again.”

I don’t like to see it but the fact that even in gardening crazy England the garden centre’s are slow this time of year gives me solace in that our occupation shares many of the same quirks no mater where you do business. While many people enjoy not thinking about the garden in winter we are busy planning for next year. We have to as if we wait we will be too busy when spring comes.

This is a good time to get out and spread the word. I will be talking at the California Home Show at the Sacramento Convention Center on Saturday Jan. 6^th at 12:45. The topic is Mediterranean climate gardening. This will give us exposure to many people in the city who might want to make the drive up to the foothills to visit. On January 22^nd I will speak at the Auburn Garden Club Meeting. This has been an annual engagement for me the last 8 or 9 years now. The subject is always “What’s new and exciting for 2007 at the garden center.” They are one of the most active garden clubs around with about 120 people coming to my last presentation.

Winter has arrived today! I like the fact that slowly but surely the days are getting longer and the nights shorter. Each day may only gain a minute or two of light but the minutes add up and soon I won’t be closing the store in the dark.

In an effort to prevent the spread of invasive species a new program known as “Plant Right” has taken root in California. It is made up of various horticultural groups who are devising a list of potential invasive plants that should be avoided. The list is not out yet but it will be interesting to see what ends up on it.

Most likely pampas grass, scotch broom, and vinca major will be listed. It looks like what they want is for nurseries to voluntarily avoid selling these plants. We do sell pampas grass but these are sterile types. We can’t sell scotch broom in El Dorado County, even though there are sterile varieties available. Vinca major is a common ground cover and planted all over. I don’t like it as much as Vinca minor which has a less aggressive nature.

There are plenty of alternatives for these plants, but I hope that the sterile and non-aggressive varieties don’t get thrown out with the true pests. I look forward to seeing this list and making sure that true aggressive species are not sold.

This area is covered with the yellow blooms of Scotch Broom during the spring. This plant was brought over in the gold rush and has spread through out the hills. It is aggressive and pops up in disturbed areas along side roads or new construction. The sight of its yellow blooms in spring is spectacular, which I would guess is the reason it spread so much. Another plant brought over in the gold rush was Ailanthus altissima, the Tree of Heaven. I guess it’s a pest all across the country. It shoots up seemingly through concrete.

The Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis) is in bloom amongst the chaparral of the Sierra foothills. It’s quite common on sunny banks growing along with the Toyon and Ceanothus. In the foothills it will grow into a mound about 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. Along the coast it is often a low 1 foot tall spreading plant. The first picture is of the hills along the road to the nursery and the other pictures are of a Coyote bush growing just outside of our fence along the deer trail.

I have sold a ground cover form of coyote brush called“Twin Peaks” in the past. It makes a good bank or erosion cover in hot sunny areas. Once established it takes a bare minimum of water during the dry season and in addition is quite deer resistant. The problem is that it is not very ornamental in the nursery can. It’s one of those plants that gets better once it grows a bit. Most people just pass right over it, which is the difficulty in getting people interested in native plants. Many natives don’t really take on an ornamental look until they have matured a bit. People also tend to over water native plants the first year. Instead of planting in fall and letting Mother Nature water them, most people plant in spring and water the natives just like any other plant, which often rot’s the roots in our hard clay like soil. Still the number one reason native plants don’t sell well is aesthetics. Most people don’t appreciate the subtle beauty of our native plants, or that the beauty is sometimes greatest in winter when people just don’t get out in the yard or nature as much.

I am looking forward to carrying more natives this upcoming year. We will just have to promote them more so people will take notice of them. We like to inter-mix natives amongst other Mediterranean climate plants for what we consider a more ornamental look. Pure native gardens have their beauty, but it is an acquired taste and most folks just want more to choose from. Using other plants from other like climate regions of the world with the natives we can create a garden that is beautiful as well as water conserving and lower in maintenance.

It’s a rainy day and I don’t think a lot is going to happen at the nursery. We might get a few folks looking at Living Christmas Trees or checking out gifts and gift cards. Today is Christmas at Coloma, an annual celebration that involves people in period dress, lot’s of vendors, and usually thousands of people. Today with the rain it will be more subdued, yet it sure beats sitting at home. I took this picture of the old Emanuel Church from my truck. It’s from 1850 something and is still used. It is very popular with the wedding crowd. This is the town Christmas tree and a group of vendors trying to stay dry.

This time of the year the rain is expected and welcome. Ideally it would be nice to have the weekends dry so people could shop but I am running about 50% when it comes to my wishes being granted. It’s the rain in spring that’s a killer. We have been getting way more rain than we need in April and May. During drought years that rain is a blessing, but when we have been running above average for rain the last two years that spring rain is depressing. We received over 70 inches of rain, twice normal for the year.

This is a time when it’s important to stay positive in mind. It’s so easy to get in a funk when it rains and there is virtually no income. The last two years with slow springs means there is less money stored up to carry you through the winter. It would be easy to just write the year off and sit till spring. Can’t do that though as now is the time to prepare and see if the route you have plotted for the business is the right course.

One area we are going to pursue is sales over the internet. We just started with our Metal Art that we have been selling at our garden centers for years. Made locally in the foothills they rust with age and have been a steady seller for us over the years. We thought we would start with a few unique items to us and see what happens.

If you Google “Metal Garden Art”, a million different web sites come up and it can be quit a feat to sort through all them. We are going to work on the assumption that people are visiting our website for a whole different reason. Maybe it’s to get info, or e-mail a question, or find out directions to the store. While you’re at the web site you notice that we have interesting things available that you might not even have thought of. Kind of like visiting the nursery and spotting something you want.

We are under no illusions about what the potential of internet sales will be for us. We hope its a little extra income but I don’t expect to check my e-mail and see a hundred orders for the day. Maybe someday, but we will be patient. When we got our first order it was exciting!

Over the next few days we will be deciding on what the topic will be and dates we will hold our workshops. We already know that we will do two on pruning fruit trees and shrubs, one on starting vegetable and flower seed indoors, how to vegetable garden in containers or raised beds, water gardening in containers, cactus and succulents in containers, drip irrigation, make a living wreath for the holidays, kids class on making stepping stones, make a hyper-tufa pot, and make a hanging moss basket. We want to do more with kids so we are thinking about what we can do with them. We also want more hands on and less lecture.

Feel free to send any ideas you have my way. We come up with the ideas for some of our classes from customers. We are even invisioning a workshop on using herbs in cooking and having the B.B.Q. fired up to try out the suggestions. Combining food and gardening is always fun.

We lost a huge Live Oak at our house during a storm last winter. Since we have just moved back after a year away it’s time to cut it up. This was a tree most likely around 60 years old, or older. Quercus agrifolia keeps its leaves all year, thus the reason it’s called Live oak. During a storm where received 6 inches of rain in one night it looks like the water undercut the tree and it split in half. Now it’s time to cut it up. You can see my chain saw sitting on one of the branches.

We also have Blue Oak and Black Oak on the property. They are deciduous and account for much of the fall color we have in the foothills. Since we we’re gone a water system failed and we lost some fruit trees. I don’t think I am going to replace them. We have a small vineyard and one remaining, and quite healthy ‘Arkansas Black’ Apple. I want to try planting a native grass and wild flower meadow in the old orchard.

The meadow will start growing in the fall, stay green in winter, and flower in early spring. Just after the meadow goes to seed I will cut the meadow down for fire safety during the summer. Laying dormant during the summer it will come to life again in the fall.

I have never planted a meadow myself, so it’s a new experience for me. We’ll see how it goes.

On the way to work I passed Graham’s Pear Shed. This old building has been standing for over 100 years. Bill Graham moved here from southern California about 20 years ago. He had grown oranges down there, so when he moved here he planted Oranges and Mandarins. At his elevation, 1400’ it has to be one of the higher and most northern orange groves around. He used to have all cherries but they don’t have a long lifespan in our heavy soil. So as they died he planted citrus. There are no pears at Grahams Pear Shed. The pear industry died out in the 1950’s as a result of disease.

You can stop by his shed and pick a bag of mandarins up for $3.00. He also had some apples. In spring you can stop and get the Bing Cherries from his surviving trees! He operates on the honor system with arrows pointing where to leave your money.

So much happens here in fall when it comes to plants. Fall is like spring for our native plants with the Coyote Bush in bloom and the berries hanging in the Toyon. Unfortunately most folk’s don’t realize the benefits of fall planting and miss out. It’s hard to blame them with the holidays coming and the shortening days.

This time of the year is when our native plants come back to life with the recent rains. One that stands out this time of year among the chaparral is Toyon. Heteromeles arbutifolia, also know as California Christmas Berry. Located on the sunny side of hills it is usually growing along with manzanita and ceanothus. It’s quite showy right now. This is the only time people seem to notice it.

As far as landscaping uses it is one of the more asked for native plants, after manzanita and blue flowering ceanothus. You have to locate it where it will receive little or no summer water, though. It’s quite fussy about being over watered! This is why fall is the best time to plant natives here. The rains water the plants during winter and spring when they are actively growing. Then in summer the plants slow growth and you only have to water every so often to keep them looking good.