Crop 216 May 16 to 31 Issue of Flowering Shrub Farm Monthly All Picture Newsletters; January February March April May 1 to 15 May 16 to 31 June 1 to 7 June 8 to 14 June 15 to 21 June 22 to 30 July August September October November December This issue is about selling lilacs during the plant sale. Click on the picture and it may open a larger version with more detail. Last edited 08/24/2011 Plant Sale began May 15. I wont be there Saturday May 28 for my daughters graduation burt will be there potting plants and he should be able to help.

Smart people buy plants in bloom and we at the flowering shrub farm are open only when plants that we grow are flowering. Potential customers subscribe to my newsletter where they can see pictures of our plants growing in the fields or available at the plant sale. When they see something they like they come buy it. More on subscribing at the bottom of this page. In May I usually sell Lilacs, Native Azaleas, Blueberry Bushes and espalier trained fruit trees.

Note; the pink label, hanging somewhere in the picture has the date the picture was taken. #076 is Aucubaefolia Lilac, #082 is Edward J Gardner Lilac and #086 Ludwig Spaeth Lilac. These numbers are inserted into the file name of many of the pictures of those lilacs. Just click the picture and it will open a larger one, the number will appear in the address bar of your browser.

During the plant sale I take pictures of many of the plants I am selling and overwrite older pictures on this page. You can tell when we are transplanting and if you see a picture of a plant flowering that you want just come buy it in bloom.

While I am waiting for customers to arrive I pot lilac cuttings into three gallon pots then cut them back, then replace those removed from the field for the plant sale. I place the three gallon lilacs in a trailer to be hauled out into the fields. Note the label on each with the variety name, the year they were planted and crop number. In four or five years we will be selling them too.

The name of a lilac pictured should be in the address line of your browser when you click the picture for an enlarged image.

We will sell rose of sharon when it blooms usually sometime in late June to July.

Cutting are transplanted from two inch pots into 3 gallon pots. Once the plants have grown enough to overshadow the pot to help prevent weeds and cool the soil, they are moved from the staging area to row A, B, C, D, E, or F in the upper field. In 2011 we emptied Row C and started to fill it again from the staging area. In 2012 we will probably do both Row B and D.

In the staging area plants are quite small. They are grown close together while we train them to have mutiple stems. Underneath is weed mat whereas in Rows A through D we usually use newspaper.

Potting Lilac cuttings that arrived in May (I try to obtain cuttings from french lilacs, lilacs with purple flowers and lilacs that are acknowledged in literature as the best of each color). Note an abreviation of the variety name, the date potted and the crop number painted on the side of each pot or on a label attached to the pot. They will be placed in a field until they flower proving to me that they are the variety I think they are.

Plants that aren't as hardy as lilacs will probably be placed in a pot-in pot bed. The middle row of three is usually espalier with roses, azaleas, or althea on each side.

Zephirine Drouhin is trained to the ground so that it will easily be beneath mulch and snow in winter. As it begins to flower they will pop up all over similar to some perennials. We just bend the new canes over sideways and hold them down with a rock.

About the ALL-PICTURE-NEWSLETTER by andyvancleve

Flowering Shrub Farm Monthly All Picture Newsletters; January February March April May 6 to 16 May 20 to 31 June 4 to 7 June 8 to 9 June 11 to 13 June 16 to 25 July August September October November December

Potential Customers subscribe by sending me an email. Each month I send them the latest email link, information as to what is blooming and sometimes an update telling them when I am open.

When they see something they like they come buy it in bloom. You can buy it when its not blooming too just as long as it has bloomed previously so I can be sure what it is.

We grow plants to sell at our plant sale. Read my notes on the zone hardiness numbers I use. Do we do mail order? Check my picture-newsletter Want to purchase? email me.