Dayton "Dirt" - November 10, 2016

Finally after almost two weeks of unusually warm weather, some of the cold for November has arrived. At the nursery even though customers are few in number, the work of winter preparation still goes on as a few details concerning the overwintering huts need finished. Another unfinished chore is the taking and sticking small cuttings of Euonymus ‘Goldburst’, Azalea ‘Ethelwyn’, Rhododendron ‘Aglo’ and Rhododendron ‘PJM’. While summer rooting would work, fall is a good time for rooting them as long as “bottom heat” is applied to maintain the rooting medium at a warm 72º F which is accomplished with a hot water boiler system.

Another beautiful native shrub Rhododendron calendulaceum known as the Flame azalea can now be propagated from small seeds that will be ripe in about another week or two. This deciduous azalea is native to the Appalachian mountains and is known for its brightly colored flowers of  yellow, orange, melon and red that adorn the shrub in mid to late May. The seeds sown this November will grow into saleable plants for the spring of 2018.Weed spraying with Glypsophate (Roundup) is in full force in order to not only kill the weeds before they set seed in early spring but to accomplish this task in the slower time of the year instead of neglecting the weed control because of a busy spring. Weeds such as the invasive Garlic Mustard, Bull Thistle and Hairy Bittercress are visible now and waiting to explode into growth at the first push of spring. The winter seminar subjects have been posted on the website.  We hope the various, “fun” topics  will interest the audience. These seminars are a welcome break from a long winter as the short cold days seem to hold on after the winter solstice in December. In summary, as chores go at the nursery, it’s prep time for the Christmas season and the spring season simultaneously. Tom