Dayton "Dirt" - April 25, 2014

It’s been a rush at the nursery to get ready for the opening of the perennial house and annual flower greenhouse. As always I have reservations about opening the flower and veggie house so early; however, many customers have small greenhouses to get an early start on spring. Tea roses and more hydrangeas are coming along nicely although they are a little behind schedule with the cooler temps. This year perennial hibiscus will not be available until the end of May as the bareroot plants could not be dug out of the field in Holland, Michigan because of snow and frost in the field until early April. Normally we plant the hibiscus in late March to be ready by mid-May. With both the perennial and flower house open on Saturday, April 26th there will be plenty to look at although not everything will be ready and again it is because of the previous cold dark weather. Three times this week we have covered shrubs with new growth so as to prevent the growth from frost burn which would decrease the saleability of the plants. Even now, plantings of new product are still being processed for which the product will be available in July and August. I think garden club members will find our selection of specials to their liking and it seems we are well stocked this year instead of last year when we had some last minute “hiccups” because of the non performance of one of our vendors. May Day is more in sight and we can only hope some consistently warmer weather will come with it. Daytime temperatures of 60-70º F and nighttime temperatures of no lower than 45º F in early May would be nice. Wishful thinking maybe as we’re not living in Camelot. Tom