Category: Flowers

Summer Sunflowers

Sunflowers are ready for planting from 4″ starts or from seed.

We have several varieties to choose from with a range of heights and colors.   Sunflowers provide a bright smile at the back of the flower bed. Plant the tallest types from seed – Russian Mammoth or Grey-stripe is an overall favorite, big classic flowers producing edible seeds.

Our greatest selection in 4″ pots include multi-branching varieties that can keep blooming through the summer, especially if you remove spent flower heads.

Excellent planted in groups at the back of a border or along a fence. Great cut flower or leave on the plant to mature for winter bird feed.

Plant sunflowers in organic-rich, well-drained soil in full sun.

Here are some of our 4″ varieties on sale now.

 

Starburst Panache
Height is 5′ – Space at 12-18″. 4-5″ blooms with brown centers surrounded by a full mane. An ideal choice for cutting gardens

Gold Rush
Branches of perfectly formed flowers with a dark disk. 4′ tall.

Baby Bear
This sunflower is an annual with pollen-free, double-petaled, orange flowers. It is compact-branching to 2′ to 3′, blooming mid-summer.

Apricot Daisy
With a pale-green center and apricot petals form daisy-like flowers on a 4′ high, branching plant.

Lemon Sorbet
Large flower heads with lemon yellow petals and dark centers. 4-5′ tall.

Butter Chiffon
Grows about chest high with many branches, producing buttery colored, pollen-free flowers. Very light lemony petals on a plant that reaches about 4′.

Country Roads
Orange flowers on strong branches; ideal for small bouquets. This one is early to flower and pollen free. Height is about 4′.

Munchkin
Very Dwarf sunflower to 2′ high with cheery, bright yellow rays and yellow-green centers. Large heart-shaped leaves, pollen-free.

Firecracker
Red and gold petals with velvety-brown centers. Flowers summer to fall, 2’to 3′ high.

 

Roses – Your Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

rose against background of valley oaksWhat better way to honor Mom than with flowers? And with a living rose plant that will bloom all season and year after year! We have nearly 200 different rose bush varieties to choose from many with unique names to fit your special lady’s personality.

Choose one of these varieties to honor Mom . . . Or better yet . . . Bring Mom into the Nursery to stroll through our amazing rose section and let her choose the right one for her.

After you get your rose home be sure to plant in a location that gets 5-6 hours of sun daily. Whether planting in the ground or a container, use our Master Nursery Rose Planting Mix. To get it off to a great beginning mix in a half cup of Master Start and water in with a Rootmaster B-1 solution.

To keep your rose bushes blooming throughout the season keep spent blooms removed by deadheading, cut back to a spot just above a set of five leaves that is in proportion to the rest of the plant. Continue feeding monthly using Master Nursery Rose and Flower Food or Maxsea 16-16-16. Additionally, you can mist the leaves twice a month with diluted Maxsea or Master Nursery Fish Emulsion. Your roses will reward your efforts with continuous blooms all season. Make sure to water your roses deeply twice a week with about 5 gallons of water. If summer temperatures soar to over 100 degrees check your plants daily for additional water needs. A 3″ layer of organic mulch will help to conserve moisture. However, make sure to leave a 6″ space between the plant stem and the mulch.

Blooming Now – Visit our Butterfly – Hummingbird Garden

Our butterfly/hummingbird garden is bursting forth with beautiful blooms!

Before Planting – February 2018

Containing approximately 180 plants, our butterfly garden is brimming with blooms.  Intended to educate and inspire, the garden also nurtures hummers, bees, moths, and butterflies with a thousand flowers.

It is always in a state of change. You can catch a different set of plants blooming any given time of the year, It’s enjoying the love and attention from Josh, our landscape horticulturist. Come in and see what’s blooming now!  The pictures here are awesome, but soak up the real beauty in person. You likely won’t be in the garden a few minutes before a hummer zips up for a sip.

Enjoy a few close-ups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viburnum Showiness

Viburnum opulus or Snowball Bush is a beautiful large flowering shrub to consider for a part of the garden where you need some splash and height. Snowball bush displays a profusion of white snowballs which are similar in shape and appearance to hydrangeas. The blooms start chartreuse-green; many of ours are showing color now. They ripen to a nice bright white, and they stay for quite a long time. They grow best in morning sun or bright shade.

As a plant, it is much hardier than hydrangea, growing best in morning sun or dappled shade. It is also quite a bit larger, something you want to put where you have some room as they can reach as large as 12 by 12 feet or larger, but you’re in charge, can be easily managed to 5 or six feet.  Snowball bushes can also be pruned up as a very attractive multi-stemmed small accent tree. They’re just a moderate water user once established, so it is excellent for our dryer California-drought -prone landscapes.

We have a lot of them right now they’re just coming into bloom

Clematis Vines Add a Spectacular Touch

Plant Clematis for beautiful blooms.

If you have ever seen a mature clematis vine in an old garden, then you’ll have seen a glimpse of gardening heaven. To say its breathtaking is an understatement. The large dramatic blooms are well worth it during the heat of summer. Some of the flowers seem iridescent when struck by the sun.

Clematis like their feet in the shade and their heads in the sun. They’ll take 5-6 hours of sun or all day filtered light. To provide a cool area for the roots, you can add mulch, plant a ground cover or use large flat stones to cover and cool the root area. Always provide support for them. You can use a trellis, tree trunk, or open framework to keep them growing in the right direction.

There are over 2000 named varieties of Clematis, Stop by and let us help you choose the perfect one for your garden. Here is a sampling of our Clematis varieties on hand now:

  • Ramona – 8-12′ tall, pale lavender-blue flowers, 5-7 in. across from early to late summer.
  • Comtesse de Bouchaud – 10′ Tall with 5″ Mauve-pink blooms summer into fall.
  • Vancouver Starry Night – 6-8′ with 5-7″ bicolor, pule/pink blooms June to September.
  • Niobe – 8-12′ with 7″ red blooms late spring through summer
  • Jackmanii- 8-12′  dark purple blooms, reblooms in fall if pruned after the spring bloom. Can be pruned to 8″ tall to reinvigorate.

clematisclematis-pinkclematis-blues

 

 

 

 

 

Wine & Roses… and Beer

The Valley of Wine & Roses… and Beer

When my mother, Ruth, and father Jack would meet new residents asking what they could successfully grow in our valley the answer would start with, “Grapes and Roses.” Our climate, soil, and water are perfectly suited for both. The name of “Hopyard Road” reflects a time when the Valley was known for filling the beer barrel as well.

The arrival of grapes pre-date roses coming to the valley in the mid-1800s with commercial rose growing to start in the 1930s. The Livermore Amador Valley was “World Headquarters” for commercial rose growing in the 1930s – 1960s. All the international growers and breeders were represented in Livermore and Pleasanton. Pleasanton’s Rose Avenue was named in honor of the industry and Jackson & Perkins Rose Company. Due to urbanization, commercial rose growing has since moved to the San Joaquin Valley, but it confirmed our valley was made for growing beautiful, healthy roses.

In addition to wine grapes, table varieties are equally happy here. Like roses, grapes want full hot sun with good air circulation. Here are the grape varieties we carry:

  • Table grapes include Black Monukka, Eastern Concord, Crimson, Flame, Golden Italian Muscat, Ladyfinger, Perlette, Princess, Ruby, Summer Royal, and Thompson. Most are seedless varieties.
  • If you want to be a “Backyard Wine Grower,” choose your favorite from this list: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz or Zinfandel.

Hops were grown commercially on Hopyard Road in Pleasanton. Today there are commercial and backyard growers & brewers who are bringing back the tradition.

Celebrate our valley’s vibrant and growing history by planting a rose, a grapevine, or some hops, – or all three!

Artichokes

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Artichokes are a cool season perennial vegetable. The mature plants reach 3-5 feet in height and cover several square feet with large, deep-cut, grey-green leaves.

Artichokes are primarily grown for the soft fleshy flower bud, but this handsome plant is often used ornamentally in the garden. Given the proper conditions, each plant will produce several stalks with many flower heads and will remain productive for several years.

Preparing the Soil
Artichokes grow best in rich, well-drained soils supplied with plenty of organic matter. We recommend MASTER NURSERY GOLD RUSH. One cubic foot will enable you to prepare a 3 ft by 3 ft area, enough for one artichoke plant. Also important when planting is an initial treatment of MASTER NURSERY BONE MEAL. Use one cup bone meal beneath each plant for strong root development. Mix well into the soil beneath the roots. Water new transplants immediately and thoroughly.

Planting
Early winter to early spring is the perfect time for planting artichokes. Plant divisions in a sunny location or in one that receives a half day shade. Artichokes need plenty of room; space them about four feet apart. Place the plants in the soil, so the base of the new leafy shoots is just above the ground.

Watering & Feeding
After growth begins, water plants thoroughly once per week. Regular soakings are much more beneficial than frequent lighter sprinklings. As temperatures rise, plants may need additional water. Water when the leaves start to relax and wilt.

For a balanced supply of nutrients, feed the plants monthly with MASTER NURSERY TOMATO & VEGETABLE FOOD.

Harvesting
Cut artichokes while the buds are tight and about 2 to 4 inches in diameter. Cut each bud with 1 to 2 inches of the stalk. If left on the plant, the green bracts loosen, and their purple flowers show. Buds will open more rapidly in hot weather.

artichoke600[1]After harvesting, the last artichokes from a stem, it will wither, and the leaves will die back to the ground. Mid-summer is also the time to cut the stem and leaves to the ground. New shoots will grow from the base producing a new plant with next year’s crop.  Make regular applications of Sluggo Plus to ward off earwig invaders.

Primroses Brighten Winter Gardens

For gardening in the shade, don’t forget Primroses. These blooming beauties will flower for the months ahead and bring cheery relief to the dreary winter garden. They grow in a multitude of colors.

Primroses come in a few different varieties and feature candy store colors for the shade. They bloom into May and look great with needlepoint ivy or dark green boxwood.

Planting

Plant Primrose in morning sun or bright shade. They will thrive in a pot with Master’s Pride Potting Soil, or the flower bed into soil improved with Master Nursery Planting Mix.

We usually grow them as annuals to be replaced at the end of bloom, but technically they are perennials, you can nurture them along year after year.

 

Violas and Pansies


Violas and Pansies are bright and beautiful winter annuals that enjoy a popular following in the in our area because they can be planted in the fall or winter and enjoyed into May until the weather warms. Very few flowers will perform this well, especially right through winter.

Famous for their cute faces Pansies and Violas come in colors from violet hues to blue, yellow, orange; often flowers are a mixture of contrasting colors. Violas have small flowers, (less than 1″) Pansies large, (up to 2″).

Plant them about 6″ apart in well-prepared soil enriched with Bumper Crop. Plant in full sun and keep them moist if the rains are infrequent. Pansies are relatively pest free, but use Sluggo-Plus to protect against snails, sowbugs, and earwigs.

We plant ours in the ground or containers (with Master’s Pride Potting Soil), and we fertilize with EB Stone Sure Start to get them going. Later we will follow up with Maxsea Bloom Fertilizer about every two weeks to keep them in glorious flower.

Try them in hanging baskets where they will cascade down the sides.  Mix them with herbs; the flowers are edible!

 

Enjoy Enormous Amaryllis Bulbs that Bloom Indoors

Amaryllis bulbs are a seasonal favorite for the Holidays and starting them now can mean blooms on the table in a month. We have boxed kits and also large bulk bulbs.

Plant the bulbs indoors in a pot of soil, water them and watch them bloom within as little as four weeks. They are so easy; sometimes they even bloom before they are planted. Plant them in succession for months of enjoyment.

Amaryllis make a well-liked housewarming gift or select one for yourself. They are prized as a gift by both giver and receiver. In addition to being low maintenance and forgiving, they are one of the most impressive flowering bulbs you can grow indoors as a houseplant both because of their large blooms and gorgeous colors. This year we have them in traditional holiday red and white as well as a pink and variegated pink & white No matter what color you choose amaryllis is a show-stopper that brings a warm welcome to any home.

After your amaryllis blooms, remove the spent stem but nurture the rest of the plant with regular care and feeding. Place the pot outdoors only after the danger of frost passes and keep it watered while the long, strap-like leaves replenish the bulb. At summer’s end, lay the container on its side so that it receives no water, allow the leaves to wither and just as winter approaches, pick the pot up, clean it up by removing all the foliage, re-pot, begin to water it and it will bloom for you year after year.