As I closed the gate for our mid-winter season I came back inside to change the message on the answering machine, adjust the holiday lights timers, change the hours on our gate and on the search engines and social media:  Bing, Google, Yelp, Facebook and this webpage (my business partner believes this is all magically done by elves). I look forward to trying to make sense of another crazy season as a nursery in the high Sierra and to plan and prepare for the next. It's a stupid business, really. No one in their right mind would do what we do unless they have a ridiculous passion for it... and we do. We also wouldn't have survived this long ("thriving" in the nursery industry is surviving to open the next spring) without the support and straight-up love of our clients and friends who share our ridiculous passions. Thanks Y'all!  

We are now "mostly closed" until mid-March-ish, weather dependent but we are delighted to hear from anyone with mountain gardening related questions, bid-requests, or product needs.  Call the shop and leave a message or send us an e-mail and we'll get back to you in a few days.  We are in and out of the shop almost daily all winter as the boys (cats) need feeding and attention and there is 5 months worth of bookkeeping and organizing to get done in the next 3 months.  Bright Solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. - e

So, our "Fall Sale" ended on the 14th.

We have brought in so many trucks of fresh material throughout this year's fall planting season.  We have ANOTHER truckload of aspen arriving Wed / Thurs 10/17-18 and then another truck full of conifers, maples and native plants arriving on the 22nd.  It continues.

Along with the aspen on this week's truck, we have more of the amazing, hardy, fast-growing, fall-coloring, and extremely large Acer ginnala (Flame and Tartarian Maples - Acer ginnala var ginnala = Amur Maple / Flame Maple; A. ginnala var. tartaricum = Tartarian / Hot Wings Maple).  We have dozens of these in a variety of sizes and we'll be offering them at 20% off through the month.  

Eric cannot resist interesting hardy perennials and native wildflowers, thus, we have an abundance, possibly an over-abundance, and so, we will continue to have the 4", 6-pack and mud-flats of hardy perennials at 30% off (in order to reduce the winterizing work we have to do). Also, we'll offer 20% off all the #1g and up herbaceous perennials.  We reserve the right to give random deeper discounts for large purchases.

AND, walking around the nursery, looking at all the amazing plants we have, I noticed a couple more we have an over-abundance of:  Physocarpus (nine bark), Syringa (Lilac - we brought in 100's for spring blooming), Spring Snow crabapples (an absolute cloud or solid blooms EVERY spring), and, still, for Glenshire folk, Pinus monophyla (Piñon Pine).  ALL these will be 30% off through the end of the month....

One, more thing.... In our "challenging" soils, when you go to the trouble to dig a hole for a tree, shrub or perennial, add compost and organic fertilizer... DON'T waste the hole by filling it in without at least tossing in a few bulbs.  This time of year, we say, NEVER waste a planting hole!

Winterizing Class with Rob VanDyke 10/20

  • Elderberry, Currant, Gooseberry, Grape, Blueberry and Honeyberry Shrubs. 

AND 40% Off one of our best native screening shrubs:

 • Native Green Chokecherries: Our native Prunus virginiana var. demissa. The cultivated variety of P. virginiana var. melanocarpa ‘Canada Red’ (@ 20% off) has a purplish leaf in summer. Chokecherries are fast-growing with abundant and fragrant spring flowers and fruit that makes excellent jelly.  It also has nice orange fall color and can be hedged to almost any height.

There is also a coupon for Biosol, a coupon for hardy deer-proof Bulbs and Buy-4, Get 1 Free special on ALL Composts, Potting Soils, Manures  and Bark Mulches. 

Bulbs are 10% off individual bulb prices or individual packets.  10% off G&B Fertilizers.  And there's a coupon for $_ off Biosol fertilizer (also bring a bucket for 12lb Biosol @ 19.99).

-A link to the newsletter.

I have not had a report since Monday but with the warmer weather, this weekend should be "peak bloom" for the camas lilies down Sagehen creek.  In honor of that occurrence, I made up a little spreadsheet based on Calflora's "what grows here?" website. Click Here.  Calfora has terrific tools but they do frequently lag behind in updated last names and their "what grows here" lists are far from comprehensive... still, we love them.

12/24/2017 - 1:00PM - I just closed the gate and put the last three, 4-ft Silvertips out by the gate. It is MY tradition to come down here on Christmas Eve, if we have a few trees left and help the last-minute arrivals to Truckee find a tree for the family decorations. 

My very first job, when I was 11 or 12, was working for an Apple orchard / Christmas tree farm in Pollock Pines, just after we'd moved there from the Peninsula. My job was to know the different trees, show folks where they grew, carry the bow saw, ensure that we saved the lowest branches for "turn-ups" (stump-culture) and to help carry the tree back to the office. I loved tromping through the woods, helping people find their trees.  I worked at Harris Tree Farm for several Christmas seasons and then started working at Santa's Acres, a little further away (my mom had to drive me).  I later worked there in the summers, shearing (with a machette) and shaping the trees in spring and summer, removing weeds, repairing irrigation and eradicating 1000's (upon 1000's) of gophers. - I think there might have been two winters, while in college, where I did not help folks with Christmas trees...  Everyone is happy when they come to get a tree and I have a blast.  

We care deeply about the quality of our trees. We cut some, as late as possible, often risking life and limb driving crazy places in blizzards, because we wait as long as possible so our clients have the freshest possible trees.  We order trees from growers who love the industry and who use sustainable practices. One of our favorite growers only uses compost teas and measures his brix ° to ensure their sugar is as high and thus their water holding capacity is as high as possible.  Then we keep the trees wrapped, and covered in the shade, essentially refrigerated (or frozen) so they stay as fresh as possible, only bringing a few at a time out into the sun.

The ONLY part of Christmas tree sales I have any distaste for is the wooden stands that allow the trees to dry-out.  We go to great lengths and risks to cut trees as late as possible and then carefully protect the trees post-harvest.  It is like being a florist with beautiful fresh-cut flowers, lovingly grown and kept fresh in water being sold to someone who will be putting them in a dry vase.  Other than that.  I LOVE helping folks with Christmas trees and I hope you've enjoyed any trees you've picked-up from us.  Merry Christmas.  Happy Solstice.  All the best to everyone for a hopeful and better New Year.

"Shoulder Season" in the travel industry came to mean the periods between high season and low season. In Truckee, since we have high season and high season, it should maybe be called "waist" season. The lake seems to experience this between seasons lul more than Truckee does these days. In the nursery, our busiest season is spring. We rapidly ramp-up from late April until early July when our business slowly tapers off into fall when, because FALL IS FOR PLANTING, we have a little bump in activity that quickly fades into the shoulder season: October and November when folks are otherwise occupied (gathering acorns or maybe wood). We reduce our hours and close on Sundays (we have to gather acorns too).  We still have planting projects and many landscapers are still active until the soils freeze or deep snow makes it impractical to dig. We plant a lot of bulbs and wildflower seed and the shoulder season is the best time for non-irrigated restoration / revegetation work.  The autumnal thermal overturn is just around the corner when soils begin to freeze and stay frozen (the perfect time to spread Biosol...everywhere). 

"Ecology books speak of the "autumnal thermal overturn" when the average air temperature stays colder than the average soil temperature.  We hope for a good deep frost before the snows come because it is makes digging harder for voles.  'If ice skating is good the voles won't be as bad next spring'.  Deep in the soil the earth is consistently warm and once the blanket of insulating snow covers it, the soil begins to thaw allowing roots to continue expanding".  Wildflower seeding on top of the first 3" of snow is a technique that has worked very well for many."

Winterizing the gardens and tying-up young plantings also occupies a bit of time in the shoulder season. Fall lawn care is essential. We stake and wrap the lower branches of trees and shrubs for the first 2-3 winters to protect their important "photosynthetic potential" (energy producing leaf surfaces) that feed the trunk to improve caliper and help develop good taper.

Now is still a great time for planting all sorts of plants, we usually have some daily or weekly specials we post to FB or the chalkboard based on something we notice that we have a LOT of or that's just cool or interesting.  We ave begun to put the nursery away for the winter, tucking the pots into shade, giving them an anti-transpirant and tossing around plant-skydd animal repellent. Rob and crew will be out wrapping trees and shrubs once leaves fall and after that, we'll go cut a few Christmas trees.

Late October Nursery Sale thru 10/31

Check-out the latest newsletter, for those on the e-mail list. http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1102261798136&ca=c5638956-cc07-477b-a090-e8ee25d95775

Details enclosed.  There are some really great deals. Really.  Check it out for coupons but some of the specials are here:

A message from the Garden Club: The 2017 Lake of the Sky Garden Tour (Incline Village) has been cancelled "due to the unusually harsh winter".  We hope to reschedule it for next year.

If you or anyone you know is interested in this very active and fun-loving group, Pat Dolle is our Vice President for Membership: padndad@hotmail.com.  We meet the last Monday of the month (except May when we meet the third Monday).  We usually meet at the Corrison Loft, North Lake Tahoe Art Center (upstairs), 380 North Lake Tahoe Boulevard, Tahoe City. Social time is 3:30PM with the meeting from 4-5PM.  The meetings are informative mixtures of lectures, demonstrations, and workshops conducted by members or guest speakers.  In summer some meetings are held at outdoor locations.

There appears to be no active webpage or simple Facebook page... for a garden club with SO many great pictures to share, that seems a shame.  Want to help?

Fall begins Thursday September 22 with the autumnal equinox. I'm in Ouray, CO w/family collecting native seed and appreciating the fall colors (as I have many times over the years).  We have no internet at the house and the cell service is spotty so a "hot-spot" doesn't really work.  I've run into town for the day and parked at Mouse's to use their wi-fi (thanks again) to write a newsletter / sale-flier. The Newsletter highlights our MANY truck-loads of plants over the past 3 weeks and a Fall Sale. My communication with the shop has been rare as well so please forgive them if they didn't know I was writing this.

Starting Saturday, 9/24, Villager Nursery will offer 40% off all 6-pack, 4" and quart size herbaceous perennials and wildflowers... plant these now for a beautiful perennial garden next spring. The #1 gallon size and larger herbaceous perennials are a whopping 30% OFF until 10/16. ALL of our huge selection of Trees & Shrubs are 20% OFF plus Danny's special selection: 

Danny's Sale Selection: a large handful of 30% OFF specials…

Native Tundra Honeyberry: Lonicera caerulea, Honeyberry, Blue-berried Honeysuckle, Hacksap, a circumboreal species native to mountains and forests throughout the northern hemisphere, hardy to USDA zone 1 (≤ -50°F). Two similar varieties are required for pollination.

Native Single-leaf Piñon Pine: Pinus monophylla is the world’s only single-leaved pine. It is also a source of large piñon nuts and is of major cultural importance to Sierra and Great Basin indigenous people. It is said, “the Piñon is to the Great Basin people what the American Bison is to the Plain’s people”. We have some rare, beautiful #5g trees.

Native Green Multi (& Single-Trunk Canada Red) Chokecherries: Our native Prunus virginiana var. demissa  and the Rocky Mountain P. virginiana var. melanocarpa. The cultivated variety ‘Canada Red’ has a purplish leaf in summer. It is a fast growing species with fragrant and abundant spring flowers and bitter fruit that makes great jelly (I know!) As fast-growing a tree as Aspen.

Marilee and Dolgo Crabapples: Marilee Flowering Crabapple has large pink buds and abundant, enormous double white flowers without fruit on a narrow tree 20’ tall and only 10’ wide.  Dolgo is a large (30’+) shade tree with fragrant white blooms and large edible crabapples (1 1/2” dia.) fruit.

Fruiting Apple & Cherry Trees: We offer many hardy varieties of fruiting apples primarily late-flowering and early fruiting. While it is best to have two varieties for pollination, nearby crabapples usually offer up enough pollen for fruit. Roman’s were responsible for propagating Montmorency Cherries in Europe. These “Tart” cherries produce fruit almost every year in spite of spring frosts.

Hedge and Bigtooth Maples: Acer campestre, hedge maple, has been used for dense screening for over 1000 years in Europe. It is hardy and relatively fast growing with Aspen-gold fall color.  Acer grandidentatum is native to the dry, cold eastern shores of the Great Basin. Bigtooth maple in the Wasatch range has incredible fall colors and is also grown to produce maple syrup. It is being planted en masse in Brickletown (see pic. in the newsletter)

Hardy Vines:  I’m not in the nursery today but I know we have several of my favorite hardy Clematis including western native C. columbiana. Hardy Kiwi (vigorous vine, yet to see fruit), Hops (plant in the back-40), Hardy (USDA z.3) Honeysuckle and a few even more interesting options.

There is also a coupon for Biosol, a coupon for hardy deer-proof Bulbs and Buy-3, Get 1 Free special on ALL Composts, Potting Soils, Manures  and Bark Mulches. 

Wow, a "Normal" winter-Spring.  Lots of new faces to gardening in Truckee. Welcome. The edibles trend IS a cultural shift and it is excellent. We were the ONLY source for solid gardening information and education for many decades and as more and more folks experiment and learn on their own, they are becoming valuable assets and mentors in the gardening community. Thank You.

We have always felt extremely fortunate to have jobs we love and to have the opportunity to share with and learn from thousands of individuals each year with as many disparate gardening and landscaping experiences.  We essentially garden vicariously through all these wonderful people.  Slow Food Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Master Gardeners have been putting together some fun classes that we dropped the ball on this spring.

We hope to make the time to put together our usual Summer-Fall Class series this year... stay tuned.  We are ALWAYS open to new ideas for classes.  

Don't Forget!... We do have an event the first weekend in June (Fri-Sat, June 3-4).  Our EIGTH annual FREE Kellogg Planting days (See elsewhere on the website for details).  It is always a blast and always busy and Giselle is THE fountain of information for ALL things compost, organic related.  PLEASE ask her your toughest questions.  She teaches classes in Nevada, Humboldt & Mendocino counties as well as across the nation.  Oh, we'll have MINI-seminars on a variety of subjects on the 3rd & 4th... (see elsewhere for details).  Visit our Facebook page or LIKE us for more up-to-date information.

In mid-winter, Villager Nursery is "mostly closed". January and February we catch-up on paperwork, repair, clean, organize a bit, once in a while.  If the sign says we are CLOSED... well, yep.  Apologies.  If the gate is OPEN and the sign says OPEN as it may be, now and again on sunny winter days, PLEASE stop in. We do have a few indoor bulbs left as well as some houseplants we are growing and maintaining.  If you need something, please feel free to call and leave a message or e-mail us.  March is very early spring and we'll start opening again then depending on the weather.  Pray for snow. Get out and enjoy it. Happy New Year!  See you soon.

Villager Nursery Winter Hours 2015-16
We will be closed 12/24 -12/28 (We MAY be in for an couple of hours 12/24 but Call first)
Open Again 12/29-12/3. And then we’ll be “Mostly Closed” until early March. (early-mid-March is when we start tomato & pepper seeds indoor for planting outdoors in May.
We wish EVERYONE a Merry Christmas & a Very Happy New Year! Thank You All!

Whoa, What happened to November?  We all forgot, a little, about getting ready for winter.  Four good storms and a week of sub-zero or near zero temps here at the end reminded us. Christmas tree harvesting was quite a bit more challenging than it has been for the past 4 years. We chained-up all four when we headed up and had much more fun post-holing through the snow and underlying brush to get every silvertip... still kinda fun. Our lush, rich Noble fir were cut on the small coast range plantation northeast of Portland on Monday before Thanksgiving (in snow) and put on a truck Tuesday morning. Hurrying this way, the Truck was stopped by snow in the Cascades where it waited for the passes to clear and finally arrived here Friday afternoon in time for us to wrap and cover them in anticipation of the next 2 nights of -8°F.  They're certainly NOT drying-out... The Thanksgiving weekend was not our most stellar show but we are extremely grateful for all the folks who braved the cold and our disorganization and of course, we are grateful for the moisture and for the snow.  Happy Thanksgiving.

https://www.facebook.com/VillagerNursery  If you're not on our Villager newsletter list.  October specials: http://conta.cc/1PuK0Bw

October is like April in some ways. It's a genuine gardening month and a chance to get a head-start with excellent sunny days and warm weather but it frequently turns to winter and on Halloween (like Easter) it's usually pretty hard on he kids. November, like March can go either way.  March has the advantage of longer days for getting hardy veggies going early but November has much warmer soil for keeping roots growing and the shorter days equate to less evapotranspiration and less stress on the above-ground portions of plants while root growth progresses in ernest.

Plant bulbs now.  We hand select our favorites for their beauty, interest, persistence and repeat performance. Almost ALL of the bulbs we offer you are deer and rodent resistant perennials and we have bulbs that bloom in late February through bulbs that bloom in early August.  You can plant hardy spring-blooming bulbs any time between now and ... February but it's a lot more trouble planting them under several feet of snow or in frozen ground (both of which I've done... more than once). If you're considering planting wildflowers, remember to also plant wildflower-type bulbs and be sure to plant some 4"-pots of native wildflowers at the same time to really get a jump on establishment.

Fall is for planting. Fall is NOT for pruning. I think the common misconception comes from the warmer climes of CA & the southwest where there really is no winter and fall and spring overlap in December and January (imagine pears with fall color and spring blooms at the same time as frequently happens there.) Woody plants store their winter reserves of food in their stems, branches, trunks and roots (plants are alive and respiring all winter). Fall pruning steals-away the energy they have saved.  Pruning cuts made on dormant wood in fall do not seal over and the fresh-cut tissues dry-out and die-back in our long winters.  There is also a much greater chance of infection from fungal disease when cuts are made in fall. Cuts made in late winter / early spring seal-over as top-growth begins (and the stored energy in the stems has been used to maintain vigor).  That said, if you have a funky branch that the snow is going to remove if you don't... absolutely, prune it now.

We don't LOVE tree wrapping. We do it because it is inexpensive insurance against breakage and toppling in the first winter or two after planting and it can protect at-risk trees or shrubs for many years where snow is stored, thrown or shoved. It is best to prune well the first few years in order to develop plants that will tolerate our potentially very heavy snow-loads.  We'll have a couple more classes this fall / winter. Follow our Facebook page for far more frequent updates and information.

Take advantage of the newsletter coupon for Biosol.  If you've never tried it, it is expensive, it smells and it's crazy-good for improving soil, feeding beneficial soil biology and for feeding plants over a very long period. We use it alternately (Biosol fall) with Dr.Earth or G&B fertilizers because they'll also inoculate your soils with fresh microorganisms. It's probiotics folks and it's been going on in farming for millennia.  The Sierras are only 3-4 million years old, an infant range, our rocks need a lot of help supporting plant life.  Oh, and please, don't forget to mulch, on top, to hold moisture, protect roots & microbes, and provide a long-term source of carbon for the soil.

Indian Summer  (The Sweet-Spot for planting EVERYTHING!)
Oct. Hours: Mon.-Sat.  9:50AM-5:00PM & Sunday10:00AM-4:00PM
If you need help with products, plans, bids or consulting, please  contact us with your questions or for an appointment.  You can also call and leave a message at 530-587-0771

We LOVE September. We get our town, our lakes and our mountains back from the throngs of visitors. We relish this quieter time of year with warm days, cool nights and the chance of interesting weather (we are expecting light frost Thurs.-Sun.) We have promoted "Fall is for Planting" for decades and many still don't understand why... so we often do our best to pretend September is just late-summer (it really kind-of is). This year we EMBRACE Autumn! The harbingers of fall color (Amur maple) are turning, the Asters are blooming, bulbs have arrived in the shop and we are entering the BIG "sweet-spot" of the gardening season with 2 full months of planting ahead of us. Our "frost-free period" (noaa) is July 15-Aug 15. That puts 9/1 on par with 7/1 and October equates to May. As we all know, April and November can either be warm or wintery and usually both.  In fall the soils are still warm and are usually still gaining heat until early / mid-November.  Deciduous trees like maples, aspen and crabapples initiate ~80% of their annual root-system expansion in fall... after they lose their leaves. To do this they need warm soil and moisture (you may need to water). Early snow insulates the soil and promotes extra root growth. For plants in our climate to survive and thrive, they need massive root-systems.  Most of what we do concerning planting and care is in order to produce wider and deeper root-systems. Fall is THE best time to do this.  Fall IS for planting.

The next few nights of light frost combined with dry conditions should spell EXCELLENT fall color in the landscapes this year.
Sale: ALL #5g Lilacs: 34.99-39.99 @ 19.99

All #1g Lilacs 6.99

18lb Organic & Nitrogen 8-1-1 Fertilizer (Great early fall, late summer feeding for ALL plants) reg 29.99 for $19.99

Out Fall Sale (9/3-9/14 was quite busy, sign-up for our occasional newsletters if you're interested in sales, specials and seasonal advice)

12:50PM 9 July 2015, I was leaving town to go for an afternoon hike on the west side, taking Old 40 for beauty-sake and I stopped to take a picture of town getting (what I THOUGHT was) rain. I posted to Villager Nursery Facebook how using row-cover can save your garden from hail damage.  Minutes later driving over the summit, Rob sent me this picture.

We were not hit as hard as part of Glenshire / Cambridge was hit in 2013 (TOTAL defoliation) but we suffered 20-30% foliage loss. Pretty rough. The perennials, trees and shrubs will be fine with some torn leaves. Everyone here covered (with row-cover) what they could of the annual color, on VERY short notice and they're perfect.  We've already been giving them seaweed for cell strength and protection as well as organic fertilizers to help them flush-out again this summer. We are working on a Hailstorm Sale Newsletter  this weekend for plants that just won't look as fantastic as they did (this summer) before the 9th.

Marbles falling from ±35,000 ft. Ouch.

Our Truckee Donner PUD irrigation days are Tuesday and Friday and lawn's are our largest outdoor consumer of water yet they are not as bad as they are often made out to be. They clean volumes of air pollutants and dust and they produce vast amounts of oxygen and they give us an outdoor room where our children can run. (“Plant containers, trees, shrubs, groundcover, and vegetable gardens may be watered as needed when using automatic drip irrigation or hand watering.”) Please Share this.

My lawn tips: • Keep lawns small. Sheet Mulching is an easy method of reducing your extra turf without injuring tree roots. Mow tall and leave the clippings. Lawns mowed to ≥3" use less water, have far fewer weeds, require less fertilization and require less frequent mowing than short lawns. The longer blades photosynthesize far better (feeding and encouraging deeper roots) and they shade the soil surface (reducing temp's, moisture loss and impeding weed growth). • Aerate and Topdress (with a deep-tine or plugger aerator - Truckee Rents) twice a year (or at least once) and then top dress with your own mature compost or bags of Kellogg Topper (a fine screened mature compost). Aeration opens compacted soils and allows for deeper water penetration and better aeration (healthy soils, roots, microbes NEED oxygen). Topdressing compost adds humus that helps soil hold much more water, reserve nutrients and supports microorganisms that break-down lawn clippings, digest & excrete organic fertilizers and protect the lawn from pathogens. We apply 2cu.ft. over 200 sq.ft. and it defies logic that it helps as well as it does. It really helps lawns retain moisture through the summer. • Use organic fertilizers. We usually apply BIOSOL (food-grade organic cottonseed & soy meals that have been completely digested by fungi :) in fall. Biosol seems to minimize rodent damage under snow in "normal" winters and releases throughout the rest spring and summer. We use G&B Organic Lawn Fertilizer in spring (and at a lighter rate every time we aerate & topdress) to give lawn a little boost while the living microorganisms in the fertilizer go to work digesting the brown straw (no, it's not "thatch") left over after every winter. • Water deeply and infrequently. In a normal summer I'll water 3 days a week in July & August but 2/week June & Sept. and occasionally, as needed in the shoulders. This summer I'll water Tuesday & Friday. Break-up your irrigation on watering days. For example, if you put your gauge out on the lawn and found it takes 30 minutes to apply 1/2" of water, then water for 10 minutes at 5am, 10 min at 6am and 10 min at 7am. Like a light rain, the first watering, wets the soil, breaks the surface tension and allows the next watering to go deeper without running-off, the third, allows water even deeper into the soil. Do not water for 10 minutes at 5am, 10 min at hood and 10min at 5pm as the moisture will simply evaporate & transpire without getting to the deepest roots that you are really trying to encourage.  This is especially important if you have any slope to your lawn or if you planted sod (often grown in dense Nevada clay). Syringing is a technique, used in the hottest weeks, where we apply 1-2 minutes of water to the lawn, near the hottest time of day (on your lawn) in order to cool the grass blades, increase humidity and halt evapotranspiration (moisture loss) for a few hours which actually saves much more water than it uses. On those Tuesdays & Thursdays, in July & August, you might try this at ~about~ 2:00pm.  Watering late in the day is generally discouraged because moist leaf surfaces at night invite disease.  • If you have dandelions it is a strong indicator of poor soil (bluegrass in rich soil, will not allow many weeds). Aerate & top dress more frequently and avoid chemical fertilizers.  There is a relatively new natural selective herbicide (Natria) of chelated iron, that kills broadleaf plants in lawns without killing grass.

Bluegrass can go many months without water in a summer dormant state and come back to life when moisture returns. Turf-type Tall Fescues are slightly more drought tolerant in a daily basis but will die in a month without any water. Fine Fescues Meadow Blend (meadow-like grasses) are shade tolerant and can stay green on once a week watering and once a month mowing. Native Grass Blend is six species we selected for relatively short growth, drought tolerance and the ability to thrive when grazed (or mowed occasionally). Clover added to a lawn at 1/4-1/2 lb / 1000 sq.ft. reduces the lawn's need for fertilizers, improves the color of the grass and the lawn as a whole, improves the soil, and is NOT a weed in lawns. Bluegrass is a weed, that's why it makes such durable turf.

Our request for an exemption to the 2015 TDPUD Emergency Drought Regulations (on behalf of the community) was approved this afternoon (6/3/15) for "Plant containers, trees, shrubs, groundcover, and vegetable gardens may be watered as needed when using automatic drip irrigation or hand watering." You can still have your planter boxes THIS summer. Be sure to use water-holding gel in your containers and MULCH your landscapes! NO BARE SOIL! We STILL have to reduce our overall water consumption by 28%. Tuesday & Friday for lawns, established landscapes and any spray heads and as needed for efficient drip irrigation. PUD

We spent 5 stress filled days researching other districts, communicating with the PUD, discussing options, drafting proposals and ultimately submitting the request for exemption that they ultimately approved.

Post 4th of July Weekend SALE on Veggies, Annual Color and (as requested) Hardy Herbaceous Perennials, Groundcovers and Wildflowers. Sale ENDS Sunday 7/13.

Tomatoes, Greens, and Beans plus other veggies are 40% OFF.  Annual (and tender perennial) COLOR for sun ad for shade all 40% OFF.

Hardy Herbaceous Perennials and Mountain Native Wildflowers (that look best en masse) buy 3 of any variety and get 1 FREE.

Tough Roses and Evergreen Mugo Pines are also buy 3 of any variety and get a 4th FREE.

Water plants are 20% OFF or Buy 2 and get 1 FREE!

AND Gromulch Compost, Topper, Amend and Black Forest Top-Mulch are buy 4 (of same size & price) and get a 5th bag FREE.

We've been trying to carve out a few minutes to make a Spring Promotion Newsletter, so here it is, a few days past Summer Solstice, a sale to last until nearly 4th of July.  Get your garden on if you have not yet... I planted my greens in early April but have not had a chance to start my Tomatoes yet - (It has become an tradition for me to stay home from the parade to plant mine up.)  They're all 20% off until the 3rd along with beans, cukes, peas, squash, peppers, lettuce, etc....  The mature composts from Kellogg as well as the garden enhancing Chicken and Farmyard composts are all buy-three-get-one-free now as well so side-dress away.  We put a couple of awesome #5g shrubs (maple and chokecherry) on special for your screening needs this week, because they are fantastic.  Ad 30% off of our Apples, hardy Cherries, and incredibly productive currants and gooseberries is a smokin' deal - you can use fruiting shrubs as ornamentals without worry, they're tough and attractive as well as productive.  Sales run through July 3.  Our 4th of July hours are roughly 9-10 and 12-2... depending on traffic and the parade when we are closed.  Please swing by and say hello if you're walking the route (or throw us extra candy if you're on a float).

Our gardening season and our "growing season" are not the same. We were gardening in February this year, planting shrubs we didn't get to in the fall as well as seeds and bulbs we forgot we had.  MANY clients were preparing their raised-beds and planting beet and radish seeds. The could have been plating seedlings of chard and kale as well. The best spinach I've ever had was grown from seedlings I planted in early April that then laid covered with snow for 2+ weeks. Our growing season, according to NOAA, is our "frost-free period", when we have less than a 10% chance of ≤ 32°F on any given night, is July 15-August 15.  July 31 is the middle of our growing season.

Our "average" temperatures are derived from wildly fluctuating daily temperatures at all times of the year. The average gives us a rough guide with which we make wildly fluctuating guesses at how cold it might get on any given day.  That said, it is a tool, much like the USDA zones or the useless-to-mountain-folk Sunset western zones (see Northeastern for a more useful tool).  I've posted this pic of our chalkboard before but it "bears repeating".

Here is a graph of an "average" winter (temperature-wise). Jan15, 2013-Jan 14, 2014. For interest, note where the "average" nighttime low is ≥32° and where the average daytime temps average ≥70°F.

I think that, without a greenhouse, our "average" mountain gardening season in Truckee is about March 15 - November 1 (or 15).  It is a matter of taking advantage of clear and warm conditions, choosing the right plants and crops and being able to protect the harvests of others (see RowCover). If you have an unheated greenhouse you can add 3-6 weeks on either end of that gardening season for some veggies. 

I have planted hardy annuals in February MANY times with great success (pansy, viola, dianthus, calendula, stock, primrose) and I have also planted dormant trees and shrubs in December, January, February and March with excellent success.

We all hope this force-field around the Sierras will vanish soon and let in our moisture.  That little bit of drizzle and snow was beneficial for sure but not nearly enough for landscapes nor for our snow-dependent businesses.  I count on nordic skiing to get me in shape for working all summer and I've been once... in Utah.

If you have new platings in a sunny location that has no snow you might consider dragging out a hose and giving those new plantings some water. This is a winter-watering blog from January 2012:  http://www.villagernursery.com/winter-watering-january-2012

We bring in tons of material late to encourage fall planting because it is GOOD FOR YOUand then we put much of it on sale to reduce our overwintering efforts.  Also, plants are always happier in the ground than in pots and WE LIKE HAPPY PLANTS.
SO - until we finish putting plants away... in the next couple of weeks... the Final Sales are:
ALL Outdoor Bulbs: 20% off* (*of ¢ or $/ea price),
Hardy Trees* and Shrubs are 20% (*except spruce we JUST brought in for Living Christmas Trees).
4' & Qt. Hardy Perennials are 50% off,
≥ #1g Hardy Perennials are 40% off,
All the bagged composts, manures and potting soils are "buy 4-get 1 free",
We have a pallet and a rack full of "orphan" plants of all sizes for cheap,
Pottery over 14" dia. and all redwood planters: 30% off,
Outside Garden Art: 30% off (gift ideas?)
& Pumpkins are $3.99 (1 free to anyone under 6  from 10/28-10/31 while they last).  Happy Halloween.

In the populated locations of the Sierra Nevada (or the Rockies for that matter) the climate does not get much more challenging than it does in Truckee, Glenshire & Hirschdale.  Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Groundcovers, Bulbs and Seeds that thrive in Truckee, plants that the Villager Nursery offers, will grow well anywhere in the mountain west.  Really.  We have MANY wonderful clients from Reno, Colfax, Nevada City, Downieville, Quincy, Portola, Meyers and more mountain-top, glacial valley and upper foothill locations.

Fall sales are "technically" over, and we have one more load of trees arriving approx. 10/25.  We are like the trees at the Villager these days... changing color but not yet dropping our leaves.  We have begun cutting back perennials and fertilizing with Biosol and Gardner & Bloome but we have not yet begun putting the plants into the shade for winter.  Fall IS for planting and, in the sun at least, the soil is actually still accumulating the warmth that encourages root system expansion.  

Do not forget to keep your plants and lawns moist.  It does not take much but do not let your plants dry out. Once a week-or-so is probably plenty, less often in shade.  Hopefully you got the memo and  mulched ALL bare soil with Gromulch and wood chips to reduce moisture loss, keep out weeds, reduce temperature swings in the roots and to feed the soil.  Winterizing Class Saturday 10/26 from 10-11am. ($5-ish donation to the Farwest Nordic Junior Ski Program).

Get your BIOSOL now before we run out again.  Sign-up for the newsletter to receive wonderful coupons and timely advice. Check-in with us or even "Like" us on Facebook just for the fun of it. Or look for the BIOSOL give-away deal!

In the populated locations of the Sierra Nevada (or the Rockies for that matter) the climate does not get much more challenging than it does in Truckee, Glenshire & Hirschdale.  Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Groundcovers, Bulbs and Seeds that thrive in Truckee, plants that the Villager Nursery offers, will grow well anywhere in the mountain west.  Really.  We have MANY wonderful clients from Reno, Colfax, Nevada City, Downieville, Quincy, Portola, Meyers and even many more high foothill to summit locations.

Fall sales are "technically" over, and we have one more load of trees arriving approx. 10/25.  We are like the trees at the Villager these days... changing color but not yet dropping our leaves.  We have begun cutting back perennials and fertilizing with Biosol and Gardner & Bloome but we have not yet begun putting the plants into the shade for winter.  Fall IS for planting and, in the sun at least, the soil is actually still accumulating the warmth that encourages root system expansion.  

Do not forget to keep your plants and lawns moist.  It does not take much but do not let your plants dry out. Once a week-or-so is probably plenty, less often in shade.  Hopefully you got the memo and  mulched ALL bare soil with Gromulch and wood chips to reduce moisture loss, keep out weeds, reduce temperature swings in the roots and to feed the soil.  Winterizing Class Saturday 10/26 from 10-11am. ($5 donation to the Farwest Nordic Foundation).

UNTIL we start putting plants away (~after Halloween):  

20% OFF Trees and Shrubs*    

*except the spruce we've just brought in for living holiday decor.

40% OFF 4" & Quart Perennials (not woody)

30% OFF #1g and larger Perennials

Awesome and hardy wildflower-type bulbs, Garlic and more.  Wildflower seeds for Tahoe, Truckee and the High Sierra along with, always, the best advice for far-better-than-average successes.  

Pumpkins: 3.99 each.

Get your BIOSOL now before we run out.  Sign-up for the newsletter to receive wonderful coupons ad timely advice. Check-in with us or even "Like" us on Facebook just for the fun of it.

October Sales & Nursery Clean-Up: October 5-13, 2013

50% OFF 4” pot size Hardy Herbaceous* Perennials like Shasta Daisy, Peony, Daylily, Coneflower, Catmint, Hardy Grasses, etc... and including Perennial Herbs and Vegetables like Thyme, Asparagus, Sage, Mint, Lovage, etc... Last chance for these youngsters cheap.

30% OFF all larger qt., #1g, #2g, etc... hardy herbaceous perennials. (Herbaceous plant: is a non-woody plant that has leaves and stems that die down to the soi  level at the end of the growing season. There is no persistent woody stem above ground.)

30% OFF All Vines (including Hops, Clematis and Virginia Creeper), All Hawthorne,  All Ninebark, All Oaks, All Snowberry, All Spiraea, Roses (except native R. woodsii), AND ALL MAPLES !!! including the hardiest of all: Tartarian and Amur (Flame) Maples.

50% OFF all Remaining Blueberry and Blue Elderberry

"Orphans" - we’ve brought out many more plants with a crook or broken top that are not quite retail salable but will grow with compost and fertilizer. Trees, Shrubs and Perennials.  These orphaned plants are a value: Perennials in 4” pots are 50¢ and #1g are $1.00

20% OFF Tough-as-Nails Trees and Shrubs  including Crabapple, Maple, Serviceberry, Cranberry Viburnum, Thimbleberry, Burning Bush, Dogwood, Willow, Chokecherry, Potentilla, Mock Orange, Mountain Ash and 20% off (and without tax) prolific Currants, Gooseberries, Hardy Grapes and Raspberries. Apples, Pears, Cherries, and worthy of its blooms alone, Hardy Apricot from seed collected near 8,000 ft in Ouray, CO.

Bulb Specials: Bearded Iris $1.99 (reg 4.99 Plant NOW) / Hyacinth Bulbs for indoor or outdoor 10 for 8.99 (reg. 1.29ea.) / Giant Red Impression Tulips 10 for 6.99 (reg. 79¢ea.)

Inside the store: 50% off Hydroponic-specific nutrients and Indoor Lighting and Growing Systems and kits.

The newsletter has a coupon for $$$ of of Biosol.  Sign-up to receive infrequent news and notices.    Sign-up if you want the newsletter coupons.

Buy 4, get 1 FREE  on Outdoor Composts, Potting Soils, Top Soil, Manures & Bark
30% OFF Redwood Planters & Trellis, LARGE  Pottery (>$40), 30% OFF Outdoor Art
Saturday 10/5 Only: Jose’s 30% off any Evergreen Sale: Pine, Spruce, Fir, Cypress, Cedar, Juniper, Broom, Mahonia, Ceanothus, Garrya, Rhododendron, Manzanita, Cotoneaster or any other you can convince us is “evergreen”.
All sales limited to stock on hand and no double discounts. Discounts off regular retail prices....Sale Ends 10/13/13

Fall is in the Air

Nursery-Wide Sale 

9/13-9/22 2013 !

"Seconds" - We're bringing out healthy plants with a crook or a sealing scar or a broken top that are not quite retail salable but will grow with compost and fertilizer. These orphaned plants are CHEAP!

50% Off Fruit Trees is a SMOKIN’ deal!  Apples, Pears, Cherries, and worthy of their blooms alone, Hardy Apricot and Peach.

20% off (and no tax) on prolific Currants, Gooseberries, Hardy Grapes, Raspberries and Blueberries and will produce more fruit per square foot than any other plant.  The JostaBerry and TastiBerry (gooseberry x currant hybrids) are specialty plants we grew specifically for Truckee.

20% OFF Tough-as-Nails Trees and Shrubs - The whole LOT!

75% Off Annual Color: Stock, Geranium, Cali, Petunia, Nasturtium, Tender Grasses, etc...

40% Off Perennial Herbs and Vegetables like Thyme, Asparagus, Sage, Mint, Lovage, etc...

50% OFF Packaged (not Villager brand) Seeds:  Lake Valley, Renee, etc..

30% Off Bulk Wildflower Seeds: (not packaged) >4 oz.

30% Bulk Grass, Pasture, Clover Seeds: (not packaged) >5 lbs.

Bearded Iris $2.99 (reg 4.99)

Hyacinth Bulbs for indoor or outdoor 10 for 8.99 (reg. 1.29ea.)

Early Indoor Only Paperwhite Narcissus 10 for 9.99 (reg. 1.39ea.)

Inside the store: 10% off fertilizers, repellents, pesticides, herbicides.

Inside the store: 50% off Hydroponic specific nutrients and Indoor Lighting and Growing Systems.

The newsletter has a coupon for $$$ of of Biosol.  Sign-up to receive VERY infrequent news and notices. Sign-up if you want the newsletter coupons.

40% OFF Beautiful Hardy Flowering Herbaceous Perennials like Coneflower, Daylily, Sedum, Lupine, Daisy, etc........

Buy 4, get 1 FREE  on Potting Soils, Manures & Bark

30% OFF Redwood Planters & Trellis’

30% OFF LARGE  Pottery

30% OFF Outdoor Art

Parking Lot “Orphan Plants” Clearance

All sales limited to stock on hand and no double discounts. Discounts off regular retail prices....

The Lake of the Sky Garden Tour was across the north shore on Saturday. Thanks to all the incredible volunteers in the garden club who organized the tour, delivered the tickets and hosted the gardens.  And especially THANKS to the homeowners who dressed-up, tidied and added a little extra color here and there before opening their gardens to 1,000 enthusiastic visitors.  Some of us don't have much opportunity to visit lake-front gardens and that is always an added treat.  Highlights and reminders for me were Helenium spp. a VERY under appreciated and under-used wildflower-daisy that blooms mid-late summer in rich autumn shades. It is seldom eaten by deer.  Crocosmia 'Lucifer' dominated many gardens with it's RED.  Annuals can be perfect, mixed into perennial gardens for continuous color. Even a very small waterfall is a nice addition to a garden.  

The Villager is having a BIG SALE this week.  25% off any plants or seeds you can put on a cart.  One time, one cart, one customer with coupon from the newsletter.  Plus other specials.  We received our LAST portion of the shrub-form #5g Chokecherries last week and they are going quickly. reg 44.99 for 19.99.  

We also just brought in NOLO bait (Nosema locustae) a protozoan that kills ±90 species of grasshoppers (Melanoplus group), locusts, and mormon crickets (a type of grasshopper).  They are BAD this year and we have started seeing lots of damage.  They are attracted to and eat the bait, become infected, slow and die. Then the other grasshoppers eat them, and become infected and so-on. It is a slow acting and debilitating disease that offers long-term management of grasshopper populations AND there is some Nosema carryover to the next year. It is harmless to any other creatures.  (We have Corry's if you want Carbaryl).

January 2007 was similar to this December-January '11-'12. That cold dry year the ice skating was spectacular voles damage was minimal and many plants suffered.

The process of preparing for winter in hardy plants goes something like this: Plants sense shortening days and cooling temperatures and produce chemicals to start the processes of dropping leaves or closing stomata (the holes they “breathe” through). Food is moved to the roots and important compounds in leaves are recycled and stored away. When freezing begins, water moves out of the cells and into the intercellular spaces (between the cells). This water freezes, but the cell’s contents, with higher concentrations of sugars and salts, have much lower freezing temperatures (like salt water or anti-freeze). As temperatures drop, more water moves out of the cells and solute concentrations in the cells increase, and freezing temperatures drop further. The cell membrane, which is inside the rigid cell wall, actually pulls away and makes room for the ice crystals between the cells.

If temperatures drop too quickly, water cannot move out of the cell fast enough, ice forms inside the cells and in pores of the cell membrane. As you might imagine, jagged ice crystals inside the cells rip them apart and if enough cells die, the plant dies. This is damage we see frequently suffer in spring.

This winter, before it finally began to snow, the days were sunny the nights were very cold, the north-east winds were blowing and several things happened.During the warmer sunny days, plant tissues warmed up enough to thaw and begin photosynthesis. Cells woke up and filled with water. At 3:00 PM in mid January, the warm afternoon sun had the plants thinking it was spring, just before the sun went down. The air temperatures were already below freezing and without the sun on the stems, leaves or needles, the temperatures plummeted and many plants suffered – This damage often shows-up as “freeze-cracking” , split bark or tissue damage on the southwest side of trees.

In many other locations the dry wind and sub-freezing temperatures caused the ice between plant’s cells to sublimate (change from solid to vapor). When the ice around the cells was gone, the cell membrane was exposed and the little moisture remaining in the interior of the cells dried up – This is “freeze-drying”.

This winter, some plants just dried-up. The soils became so dry that even roots died. I lost 2 of 7, 14 year-old currants. Sometimes there is no telling why some one plant dies and another survives. In the wild it is the same story, one manzanita is dead and 3 feet away another is fine and 12 feet further another is dead and so-on. It could have been one branch of a pine 30' away provided a few extra crucial minutes of shade in mid January or the one plant's roots just happened to be under a large rock... it is fascinating and frustrating at the same time.

In home landscapes, many people may have saved their plants by watering in January and people with 3-4" of mulch throughout their garden suffered far fewer losses than most. NEVER underestimate the wonders of mulching.

In the nursery, we lost huge numbers of plants in pots this winter. We tuck the plants together for the winter and put shade around them to trap snow but this winter they froze and dried. You cannot water a frozen container plant because the water freezes and suffocates the roots so we tried to lightly mist them and just raise the humidity but it was largely ineffective. We really need a cheap used snow-making gun for winters like this one (many larger nurseries in the mountain west have them.)

We don’t have a huge variety of broadleaf evergreens that grow well here but there are a few. Manzanita, Huckleberry Oak, Live Oak and Ceanothus and Mt. Mahogany are some of our broadleaf evergreen natives. Many of these suffered this winter, especially those exposed to the north-east winds (see photo of fried manzanita and dead squaw-mat).  I have not seen damage on any Mountain Mahogany.

I’ve also seen damage on Native Incense Cedar, Giant Sequoia, Lydia Broom, Hardy Holly, Hardy Rhododendron, Dwarf Alberta Spruce (it often suffers sun scald), Cotoneaster and Bear-Berry Manzanita.

We are still waiting to see what has survived but many are pushing some new growth. Meanwhile, we've fertilized with Biosol and Dr. Earth and with seaweed to stimulate roots.

Improving Tree Structure with Structural Pruning, Western Chapter - International Society of Arboriculture (WCISA) : I spent Friday with 3 of the top research and teaching Arborists in the country: Brian Kempf (Urban Tree Foundation), Ed Gilman (University of Florida etc...) and Nelda Matheny (HortSciense, Inc.).  I went with Helen from A Garden Gecko and Jason from Hall Tree.  We met in a community center near downtown Sacramento with 97 other Certified Arborists from the region where each of the three presenters gave their hour plus talks on the latest research and thinking on a variety of tree pruning topics.  They discussed and showed slides of the best current practices, the engineering and biomechanics, tree growth and response and the biology behind it all.  While much of arboriculture focuses on tree health, vigor and pest prevention, this class was entirely about the art and science of pruning and it was the most insightful class on the topic that I have enjoyed in many, many years.  In the afternoon we all went out into the park and directed, commented and questioned every cut that some brave volunteer tree worker / arborists made in a variety of age and species of trees.  Every time I attend one of these seminars, I am for weeks afterwards pruning every tree I see in my mind.  At every stop light, as drive along the road, I find myself making cuts that will improve the long-term structure and stability of the trees.  For more information, the Urban Tree Foundation with CalFire has produced four "cue cards" on the topic that are full of excellent information and advice (there are some considerations for our environment but they are pretty darn good).  Look HERE.

Helen and I also attended an all-day seminar last October in Chico where several legends in California arboriculture (Joe McNeil, Rob Gross, Gordon Mann, Denice Britton, Torrey Young) spoke on many aspects of Caring for Mature Landscape Trees.  That day was also a half indoor and half outdoor and was also a great day of education.  

The arborist community seems to be especially passionate and dedicated to improving itself and the individuals within it and I am proud to be among their numbers.  Eric Larusson, ISA# WE-7983A

People were pointing and actually laughing at us as they pulled off I-80 when we fired-up the irrigation system for the nursery and landscape this Friday (1/5).  Their loss I guess. We have been fielding calls every day, usually prefaced by "...this might be a stupid question but..." at which point I often interrupt and say "Yes, you should water" (...as though I could read minds).  In our Planting Instructions and Winterizing hand-outs, we say: "Maple, Birch and Alder are particularly susceptible to drought injury in late fall and winter. Always send your garden into winter with moist soil. The last watering is often around Thanksgiving. Even dormant trees need water, so... if we have no substantial rain or snow, water at least once a month, even through the winter."  Your plants are sleeping, they're not dead.
In sunny locations if the snow is gone, trees and shrubs planted within the last 2 years, small plants, young plants and groundcovers would love to be watered.  We have been watering the sunny south-facing slopes in the nursery since we had that little rain last week.  I watered the sunniest parts of my exposed lawn earlier this week.  Think "light rain" when watering. You want to avoid saturating frozen soil and creating a solid ice layer that will suffocate roots and beneficial soil microbes but all those same components of soil need some moisture to survive. Water only during the warmest part of the day (when temps are well over 40°F) and give the water a chance to soak well in before afternoon shade and cooling sets in.
This is a year when we are glad we promote antitranspirant applications and plenty of mulch.  

Colorado State University has a handout on the subject and we are pretty much in agreement with what they say: look here.
The temperatures turned dramatically cold this fall before many plants had a chance to naturally shut-down (many still have leaves on them). These would be more susceptible to winter die-back in a NORMAL winter. I am already seeing damage to some evergreens (Cedar and Giant Sequoia) and broadleaf evergreens (Holly, Oregon Grape and Manzanita). It will be yet another instructive winter seeing what really THRIVES in our always challenging climate... stay tuned.