Stargazer Perennials Garden Journal

Burgundy Iceberg Rose

Stargazer — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:15:30 GMT

Rich, fragrant, smoky burgundy flowers bloom non-stop on this very hardy and disease resistant rose.

In cooler locations in the garden, the mature Burgundy Iceberg rose will produce flowers with blue-purple undertones; in warmer high humidity areas, flowers tend to have a red or pink cast to them. Reaching a mature size of three feet by three feet, this floriferous rose is ideal for planting in groups of three or more to create a flowering hedge. Grow this rose for its blooms and for its foliage; bright green, semi-glossy leaves act as a pleasing backdrop to the blooms. Pair Burgundy iceberg rose with white roses such as Iceberg Rose, or pale blush pink roses such as Morden Blush for a lovely contrast in the rose garden. Grown on its own root, this rose requires no winter protection even in USDA zones 3 or 4.

Shop for Burgundy Iceberg rose online at Stargazer Perennials online plant nursery.

Sun Sugar Tomato Plant

Stargazer — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:45:51 GMT

Delicious, sweet and just the right size to eat fresh off of the vine; add a few Sun Sugar tomato plants to your garden this year! Sun Sugar consistently wins Tomato "Taste-offs" at farmers markets, even beating Brandywine and other popular heirlooms. Each orange cherry tomato holds a burst of rich, sweet tomato flavor. These tasty tomatoes are borne in tight clusters on sturdy vines. Great in salads or for eating ripe off the vine. Rapidly becoming a customer favorite here in Zone 5. Disease resistant variety that is perfect for cold climate, short-season gardeners.

At Stargazer Perennials we grow this delicious tomato organically, using non-GMO seeds. Typical days to harvest after transplanting is 62. An indeterminate tomato plant, it will require staking or trellising to keep the vines off of the ground. Shop now for Sun Sugar tomato plants.

Jersey Blueberry Plant

Stargazer — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:50:00 GMT

An old-time favorite blueberry variety prized for its longevity, vigorous growth, and consistently high yields of sweet fruit; every garden needs at least one jersey blueberry plant. Jersey grows to 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide, with the majority of the fruit borne in clusters in the top half of the bush making picking very easy. The fruit is sweet and firm, making it ideal for fresh eating, baking, cooking, freezing, jams or jelly. Hardy to USDA gardening zones 4 - 8, even Northern garden can successfully grow Jersey. Jersey flowers late and sets fruit early. Fall color is stunning flame-orange and red.

TIP: Plant at least two blueberry plants for better pollination and calculate two plants per each person in your household. For more information on growing blueberries, visit our website. Shop for Jersey blueberry plants online.

Mahonia aquifolium Oregon Grape Holly

Stargazer — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:02:35 GMT

A very attractive Northwest native that is also Oregon's state flower, Mahonia Oregon Grape is equally at home in the wild finding a home under the canopies of stately Fir trees, as it is in the landscape setting. This evergreen native grows best when planted in partial sun in well-drained soil that is on the acidic side. If your soil is alkaline, add peat moss, pine needles fir bark, or clean sawdust prior to planting to help lower the soil pH.

A vigorous growing shrub, Mahonia Oregon Grape grows to 10 feet tall in the wild, but typically stays around 5 feet tall and as wide in the garden setting. A true four-season shrub, the new foliage merges light green with copper highlights, maturing to a rich deep green. Sprays of lemon-yellow flower emerge late spring, and are followed by matte blue berries produced in grape-like clusters. Fall brings an impressive foliage display, with leaves turning shades of copper-red to brilliant orange. Deer resistant, the flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies while the berries provide for migratory birds in the winter. Shop for Mahonia aquifolium Oregon Grape Holly online...

El Desperado Designer Daylily

Stargazer — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:18:38 GMT

This delicious Daylily brings so much style, and color to the perennial garden. Rich, custard colored flowers have contrasting red wine eye, and coordinating wine colored ruffled pictoee edging. A robust growing Daylily producing colorful five inch flowers all summer. El Desperado Daylily works in the mixed perennial border, in a cutting garden, on a slope area, or around a water feature. Shop for El Desperado Designer Daylily online...

Quick Facts About El Desperado Daylily:
    BLOOM TIME: Late spring through late summer
    MATURE SIZE: 28 inches height x 24 inches spread
    PESTICIDE-FREE: Grown pesticide-free and organically
    GROWS BEST IN: Full Sun/Light Shade,

    USDA HARDINESS ZONE: 3 -9
    BLOOM SIZE: 5 inches, blooms last up to 16 hours

How To Grow Lilies

Stargazer — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:10:27 GMT

Oriental and Asiatic lilies are hardy perennial plants that offer weeks and weeks of showy flowers mid summer. Asiatic lilies bloom earlier than Oriental lilies, and have brighter flowers, but lack fragrance. Oriental lilies are extremely fragrant, making them an ideal cut flower. Read more about how to grow lilies on our website... Shop for lily bulbs online

Quick Tips For Growing Lilies:

Lilies look best when planted in groups of odd numbers of plants such as groups of 3, 5 or 7. By grouping Oriental or Asiatic lilies, the flower show has maximum impact. You can group several complimentary lilies together to produce a unique display of color.
Plant Asiatic and Oriental with the foliage and blooms in the sun, and the roots in the shade. The easiest way to accomplish this is to plant Oriental lilies amongst other garden perennials. The lilies will then grow 'up' through the plants. When using this planting method verify that, the plants that are in front of the lilies are shorter by 6 inches to 8 inches to allow the flowers to be displayed properly.
Lilies require regular watering and well-drained soil, in an area that receives sun, and is shielded from high winds.

Hot Summer Echinacea at Stargazer Perennials

Stargazer — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:59:40 GMT

Echinacea Hot Summer is the hot new coneflower that every garden needs! Hot Summer is a large, vigorous Echinacea growing to three feet tall and as wide. The flowers open up a lush deep golden yellow, and then start to change colors as they age, turning vibrant mango-orange, salmon-pink, and deep rose-red, creating a multicolored floral explosion in the garden. Like all Echinacea perennial plants, Hot Summer is deer resistant, attracts butterflies, garden bees, and the flower cones provide food for winter birds in the fall.

For best results, grow Hot Summer in a full sun location with well-drained soil. Fertilize once in the spring with an organic slow-release fertilizer. If needed, fertilize with a liquid Kelp fertilizer mid-summer. Do not use high nitrogen fertilizers, which can cause the flowers to flop! Drought tolerant once established, water on a regular basis for the first year or so.

Shop online for Hot Summer Echinacea plants...

New Bargain Bin at Stargazer Perennials!

Stargazer — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:23:10 GMT

Sale items starting at 40% off retail prices
,Gardening goods
100% American made soy candles
Garden flags and mounting equipment
Plant varieties that we just grew too many of
And other goodies that we need to clear out of our garden store.

Shop the Bargain Bin at Stargazer Perennials online plant nursery!

Golden Crookstem Bamboo

Stargazer — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:21:53 GMT

Beautiful, hardy running bamboo that grows to 25 feet tall producing golden culms that are touched with reddish tint in the spring especially when exposed to the sun and often have crooks near the base. This is the hardiest golden-stemmed bamboo, thriving in gardening zones 5 - 10.

Plant Golden Crookstem Bamboo in a part-sun to part-shade exposure where it can have room to grow. Makes a soft screen when planted in groups of 2 or more. Use in Asian plantings, to create a bamboo grove, adjacent to large water features or ponds, or plant at the back of large ornamental landscape islands.

Shop for Golden Crookstem Bamboo at Stargazer Perennials online plant nursery.

Arizona Apricot Gaillardia Blanket Flower New for 2012

Stargazer — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:53:16 GMT

Delightful new Blanket Flower which produces lemon-yellow flowers that meld to a rich apricot in the center. The large 3 to 3.5" flowers are free flowering, blooming all summer long. We adore this Gaillardia for its non-stop flowering and for unsurpassed cold hardiness, drought tolerance and heat tolerance, making it ideal for all U.S gardens! Plant in containers, along walkways, or in raised beds. Large flowers are borne on stiff, straight stems.

Arizona Apricot grows to 12 inches tall and as wide. The flowers start up in mid June and continue until early October if deadheaded on a regular basis.

Find out more about Arizona Apricot on our website, or shop online for Gaillardia Arizona Apricot.

Nikko Blue Hydrangea

Stargazer — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:48:01 GMT

Blue is often a hard color to incorporate into the garden, and especially in the shade garden, but Nikko Blue Hydrangea changes all of that. Pure robin-egg blue flowers make Nikko Blue Hydrangea a top selling flowering shrub. Nikko Blue grows to 4-5 feet high and as wide, in the classic Hydrangea form, creating a soft mounding shrub with attractive deep green foliage.

Plant this vigorous Hydrangea under conifers or as a specimen in the shade perennial garden, and enjoy in the large round, blue flowers in the garden, as a cut flower, or in dried flower for floral arrangements. Nikko Blue Hydrangea is a marcophylla Hydrangea and is cold hardy for gardening zones 6-9. As with all macrophylla Hydrangeas, Nikko Blue grows best in well-drained soil that is high in organic matter and in shade to filtered sun locations.

Shop for Nikko Blue Hydrangea online.

MORDEN SUNRISE ROSE, HARDY AND COLORFUL!

Stargazer — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:32:23 GMT

A delightful, delicious hardy rose, Morden Sunrise is a welcome addition to any garden. Rich apricot orange buds open with lightly ruffled edges, fading to rose pink and then yellow, creating a bi-color explosion of color all summer long. We especially like the deep, glossy green foliage that is very disease resistant.

Facts About Morden Sunrise Rose:
    FRAGRANCE: strong rose
    PESTICIDE-FREE: sustainably grown , using pesticide-free methods.
    MATURE SIZE: 3' x 3'
    COLOR: orange-yellow with wavy petals
    USDA HARDINESS: Zone 3-8
    BLOOM SIZE: semi-double, 12 petals and 3 1/2 inch flowers
    FOLIAGE: Dark green glossy

At our farm we planted Morden Sunrise in a half-circle around a Blue Spruce; just stunning. This rose also looks great when planted with perennials, or plant in the center of a large whiskey barrel, adding annuals around the base for a unique patio container planting.

Add a Morden Sunrise rose to your garden today. Morden Sunrise is available in a 1 gallon nursery trade container and ships from early May - late October depending on availability.

SOFT SERVE CHAMAECYPARIS

Stargazer — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:23:00 GMT

Chamaecyparis Soft Serve is an evergreen that has it all! This hardy, lush evergreen is deer resistant, very tolerant to cold and windy conditions, and ideal for smaller gardens. The bright green soft foliage has an attractive blue tint to the underside of the foliage. Soft Serve grows to a nice compact height of 7-8 feet and a width of 5 feet.

Soft Serve is a perfect substitute for the common Dwarf Alberta Spruce. A slow-growing dwarf evergreen for sun or part shade, Soft Serve is perfect for containers, hedges, mixed shrub-perennials borders, and specimen plantings

Shop for Chamaecyparis Soft Serve in one gallon and 3 gallon sizes.

GERMAN BEARDED IRIS

Stargazer — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:35:00 GMT

Below is a reprint of our most recent email newsletter; growing German bearded Iris. If you would like to receive, our newsletter emails as well as coupons and special discounts sign up here .

Stargazer Perennials Farm & Nursery

German Iris Are Easy To Grow Perennials!

Easy To Grow:
German Irises are easy to grow, hardy perennials that thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. Reblooming German Iris will bloom once in the late spring and then flower again in the early fall. German Iris, or Bearded Iris as they are also known, are deer resistant and produce blooms that are ideal for use as cut flowers.

Reblooming German Iris Varieties:

German Iris Double Click
German Iris Harvest of Memories
German Iris Rock Star
German Iris Rosalie Figge
German Iris Sugar Blues
German Iris Ziggy
German Iris English Charm
German Iris Immortality

NEW Plants For 2011:

Japanese Maple Acer Palmatum Emperor: An outstanding, fast-growing upright Japanese Maple with superior deep burgundy-red foliage. SHOP for Acer Palmatum Emperor...

Morden Blush Own Root Rose: A fragrant rose that produces clusters of full flowers that open ivory and fade to blush-pink. SHOP for Morden Blush Rose...

Hosta Great Expectations: Sea-green margins trim the large bold, bright yellow centered leaves. SHOP For Hosta Great Expectations ...

SAVE 15% OFF All German Iris! Valid until 3/8/2011

Enter Coupon Code GERMAN11 during checkout in the shopping cart, to receive 15% off all German Iris plants. Offer valid until 3/8/2011

SHOP For Iris Plants

Gardening Articles:

Morden Sunrise Rose
Shade Gardening
Growing Potatoes
Oriental Lilies
Redtwig Dogwood

Iris Growing Tips:

Iris Articles:

Rock Star Iris
Superstition Iris
How To Grow Iris

* Iris plants grow best when planted in full sun and well-drained garden soil.
* Avoid overly wet soil, which can cause bulb rot.
* Plant Iris with the fleshy shoulder of the main rhizomes exposed to the air, and above the soil.
* If wind is an issue, stake flowers once they start to bloom.
* Deadhead spent blooms to encourage more flowers.

* Once Irises are finished blooming, trim the entire flower stack back to the ground to prevent seed heads from forming.
* In the fall, trim back Iris foliage and mulch for winter protection. A nice layer of snow makes a good blanket for hardy Iris.
* Fertilize with a slow release, organic fertilizer.

German Iris plants start shipping May, 2011!

Visit us at: www.StargazerPerennials.com

NATIVE REDTWIG DOGWOOD SHRUB

Stargazer — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:59:00 GMT

It seems that with all the hot new shrub introductions coming out every year we tend to forget about the tried and true garden classics. For instance, one of our top 5 sellers for the past several years: Our native Redtwig Dogwood.

Shop for Redwtig Dogwood Shurbs

Cornus Baileyii (Redtwig Dogwood) is the standard for striking flame-red winter color in native redtwig dogwoods. The fragrant and profuse spring blooms of Red twig Dogwood give way to brilliant red twigs in the winter landscape.

The photo to the left shows a picture of typical 1 gallon dogwood plants that we ship. The green and white striped leaf, is the shade tolerant variegated Redtwig Dogwood.

Redtwig Dogwood is a true four season hardy shrub. Spring brings a flush of bright green, soft foliage, in the early summer, Redtwig Dogwoods produce fragrant white flowers that are followed by deep, blue colored berries, in the fall the blue berries contrast with the bright red fall foliage color, and winter brings fire-red redtwigs that provide not only visual interest but serve as habitat for winter birds.

HERB SAUCE WITH SHALLOTS RECIPE

Stargazer — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:59:00 GMT

It seems every February our farm is buzzing with potato, onion, garlic and shallot orders, as gardeners scramble to get their spring orders in, and we scramble to get them all fulfilled. Last week I took a break, and cooked some of what we sell, with a delicious result....

2 tablespoons organic virgin olive oil
1 clove Nootka Rose garlic , finely minced
3 large Dutch Red shallots, finely chopped
1/2 pound Crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh organic basil or 4 ice cubes of frozen basil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a heavy skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots, and saute until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms, and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are soft. Stir in the Marsala wine, and cook over medium-high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add basil and parsley, and sea salt and pepper to taste, continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until all ingredients are heated thoroughly. If using frozen basil, add an additional 2-3 minutes of cooking time.

Use this robust sauce with pork chops, beef, chicken or turkey.

Shop for organic garlic and shallots

BLACK KRIM HEIRLOOM TOMATO

Stargazer — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:41:00 GMT

Some people shy away from Black Krim tomatoes due to their, purplish-black color and sometimes less than perfect skin, but they do not know what they are missing. Black Krim heirloom tomato is one of the most delicious, unusual and reliable heirloom tomatoes available.

We love these robust plants for the large, plump, meaty tomatoes they produce, that have a slightly salty flavor. Ideal to just slice and eat; I also enjoy cooking with Black Krim, adding the juicy tomatoes to lasagna, baking with eggplant or grilling thick slices on the grill and serving it with a slice of cheese and fresh basil.

Give Black Krim a try this year in your tomato garden!

SHOP for Black Krim Tomato Plants

ECHINACEAS; EASY TO LOVE, EASY TO GROW

Stargazer — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:33:00 GMT

Stargazer Perennials Farm & Nursery

Coneflowers; Easy To Love, Easy To Care For!

Easy To Love:

Echinacea or coneflower as is the common name are hardy, drought tolerant garden perennial plants that are a joy to have in the garden. Echinaceas range in size from 12" tall to 40" tall depending on variety, and come in a wide range of colors. A summer blooming perennial, most echinaceas bloom July - October. The flowers are ideal for use as cut-flowers and can be dried to use in floral or craft arrangements.

Easy To Care For:

Plant echinaceas in full sun and well-drained soil. Leave 18-24 inches on either side of the plant for future growth. Provide steady irrigation through the summer. Fertilize once in the spring and again in the summer with a slow release, low nitrogen organic fertilizer. Dead-head spent blooms in the summer to promote more flowers, but do not cutback in the fall, rather leave the seed heads intact for wild birds to use as food in the winter.

NEW Echinacea Varieties:

Echinacea Gum Drop: New for 2011: Hot-pink, pom-pom like flowers are held up on strong, stiff stems. SHOP for Echinacea Gum Drop...

Echinacea Day Dream: Lovely lemon-yellow, fragrant flowers just keep blooming all summer long. SHOP for Echinacea Day Dream...

Echinacea Hot Lava: Heat up the garden with fire-red petals that are tinged with burnt-orange! SHOP for Echinacea Hot Lava...

SAVE 20% OFF All Echinaceas! Valid until 2/15/2011

Enter Coupon Code CONE11 during checkout in the shopping cart, to receive 20% off all echinaceas. Offer valid until 2/15/2011

SHOP for Echinaceas

New Garden Articles:

Ornamental Grasses
Shade Gardening
Echinacea Maui Sunshine
Heuchera Berry Smoothie
Tomato Growing Tips

Echinacea Facts:

NOMENCLATURE NOTES: 'Echinacea' (Genus name from the Greek echinos: sea urchin or hedgehog, referring to the seed cone.)

SHOP for Perennials

WILDLIFE : Birds, bees and butterflies find echinacea irresistible, but fortunately deer do not. Coneflowers also provide valuable food in the winter for winter birds! Plant echinaceas for you and for the birds, bees and butterflies.

COMPANION PLANTS:
Plant echinacea with other hardy perennial plants such as:

We start shipping our Echinacea plants in late April depending on weather. Our coneflowers are grown and shipped in 1 gallon containers.

Visit us at: www.StargazerPerennials.com

ECHINACEA MAUI SUNSHINE

Stargazer — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Echinaceas are the easy, low maintenance, hard working garden perennials that make you look like a star in the garden; Maui Sunshine is everything you could ask for in a coneflower and more!

Fragrant, colorful, deep butter-yellow flowers are perched on stiff, upright stems that bloom summer into fall. Maui Sunshine is not only a great garden plant, it excels as a cut-flower or as a dried flower for fall arrangements. The large deep orange cones have a hint of green and provide an abundant source of food for winter birds. A tall coneflower at 3 feet plus, plant Echinacea Maui Sunshine in the middle or back of the border.

SHOP for Echinacea Maui Sunshine

Quick Facts About Maui Sunshine Echinacea:

MATURE SIZE: 36" x 30"
USDA HARDINESS ZONE: 4- 9
USE FOR: Deer resistant, hardy perennial that is ideal for the middle of the perennial border, along fences, in planters and as a cut flower.
PESTICIDE-FREE: All of our plants are grown with sustainable, organic methods.
BLOOM TIME: Summer and fall
GROW BEST IN: Full sun. Average soil, but watch your pH level as this coneflower will fail if the pH to low. Ideal pH is 5.8 - 7.3.
WILDLIFE: Deer resistant, seed heads attract birds in the winter, butterflies and bees in the summer.
PHOTO: Terra Nova

PEONIES AND ROSES, A PERFECT PAIR

Stargazer — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:28:00 GMT

Dreaming of spring already! February is a great time to start garden planning for spring planting. I like to go back through the thousand's of garden pictures that we have taken over the years, when planning a new garden area.

Here is one of my favorite plant combination for the cutting garden; peonies and roses.

Karl Rosenfield peony paired with hardy Champlain rose

Tips for planting peonies with roses:

Peonies are large perennial garden plants so plan accordingly. Peony flowers bloom over a 4 week period. After peonies are done blooming their foliage provides a nice backdrop for roses.
Pair contrasting color and textures, such as the photo above.
Plant shorter roses, such as Drift rose in front of the peonies which bloom all summer and add a taller rose adjacent to or behind the peony plant.

Shop for roses and peony plants

NATURAL PEST CONTROL FOR HOUSE PLANTS

Stargazer — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:41:00 GMT

This safe pest treatment for houseplants combines products that you probably already have around your house; vegetable oil, alcohol and organic dish detergent.

Dip a Q-Tip in alcohol to spot treat and eliminate mealybugs on houseplants.
To control whiteflies, aphids and spider mites, add 1 tablespoon of natural or organic dish detergent to 1 cup of vegetable oil. Add 1-2 teaspoons of the dish detergent and oil mixture to one cup of water and place in a clean hand sprayer or mister. Shake well and spray on both sides of the plant's leaves. Let dry before watering.

BRANDYWINE HEIRLOOM TOMATO PLANT

Stargazer — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:30:00 GMT

Brandywine tomato is one of the most popular heirloom tomatoes that we sell at our farm and nursery, and one of the best tasting heirloom tomatoes available. A large, robust heirloom tomato plant, Brandywine produces extremely large tomatoes, sometimes exceeding 1 1/2 pounds each, on indeterminate vines that have distinctive potato-like leaves. The large pink fruit is bright red inside, and is most often used for fresh eating or as a slicing tomato, but works great for canning or cooking applications as well.

The exact history of the Brandywine tomato is somewhat nebulous but the general consensus is that a large fruited pink variety of tomato with distinctive foliage was passed on from the Sudduth family to an Ohio tomato enthusiast named Ben Quisenberry sometime in the 1800's. Through a variety of seed savers and farmers trading with Ben, two identical varieties soon became available to gardeners; Mikado tomato from the Henderson Seed Company and Turner's Hybrid offered for sale by Burpee Seed Company. Today both of these varieties have been traced back to the original Amish Brandywine tomato.

SHOP for Brandywine tomato plants

For tips on growing great tomatoes , browse our Gardening Articles on our main website Stargazer Perennials

HOW MANY POUNDS OF SEED POTATOES DO I NEED?

Stargazer — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:16:00 GMT

A frequent question that we get asked at our farm in Oregon, and from our online customers is, how many pounds of seed potatoes do I need to purchase?

On average, one pound of seed potatoes will plant 10 feet of garden row and yield 10 pounds of potato crop. This varies with varieties and growing conditions in your own garden, and yields can be much higher or lower. In general, "fingerling" varieties like Russian Banana yield much higher crops than "conventional" varieties like Russet Burbank.

SHOP for certified organic seed potatoes

GRANDE DAME ROSE, A NEW HYBRID TEA

Stargazer — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:07:00 GMT

Lovely, is what we call this new hybrid tea rose! Grande Dame has the delightful old rose romance and fragrance without sacrificing exceptional disease resistance, abundant flowers and vigorous growth of newer rose varieties.

4 Reasons to Grow Grande Dame Hybrid tea Rose:

The fully double rose-pink blossoms display a hint of blue tones, paying homage to the parentage of Meredith x Wild Blue Yonder.
Unbelievable fragrance! Each full, almost English rose style bloom invites you to bury your nose in its depths and inhale its rich 'old rose' fragrance.
Stately rose, with vigorous growth habit. A large, shrub hybrid tea, with delightful deep green foliage that is as disease resistant as it is attractive.
Easy of care, Grande Dame has remarkable disease resistance that make it a joy to add to your garden.

SHOP for Grande Dame Hybrid Tea Rose

BEST BLUEBERRY PLANTS FOR HOME GARDENS

Stargazer — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:15:00 GMT

Blueberries are easy to grow deciduous fruit bearing shrubs that grow best in full sun, with well drained, sandy, organically rich acid soil, (ph 4.5-5.2). Blueberries are extremely hardy and can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 4-9 depending on the variety. To extend your blueberry season and berry varieties, select varieties that produce fruit at different times. A good rule of thumb when figuring out how many blueberry plants you will need is to allow at least two plants per person.

Our customers voted the following as the top 4 Best Blueberry Varieties for home gardens:

Bluecrop Blueberry Bush : SIZE: 4 feet x 5 feet      USDA HARDINESS ZONE: 4 - 9   Mid-season ripening
Bluecrop is one of the best all around blueberry varieties offering consistent yields, high quality fruit and disease resistance. Easy to grow, Bluecrop forms a very nice shrub that offers bright red fall color. Bluecrop is perhaps the most widely planted variety in the U.S.

Blueray Blueberry Bush: SIZE: 4 feet x 6 feet    USDA HARDINESS ZONE: 4 - 9     Mid-season ripening
A very popular blueberry variety at our nursery in Eastern Oregon. An old favorite and versatile variety, Blueray performs particularly well in areas with hot summers or very cold winters, and produces high quality blueberries with outstanding dessert flavor. The stunning rosy pink flowers turn bright white when in full bloom.

Duke Blueberry Bush:    SIZE: 4 feet x 6 feet    USDA HARDINESS ZONE: 4 - 8     Early-season ripening
A wonderful, east to grow early ripening northern blueberry variety. Duke blueberry is a heavy, consistent producer with an attractive, firm, light blue high quality berry. Duke blooms late but ripens early, which protects the blossoms from spring frosts. Branches may droop to the ground when laden with fruit, prompting many gardeners to use a simple trellis as support. Lovely orange and burnt-yellow fall color.

Patriot Blueberry Bush: SIZE: 3 feet x 5 feet USDA HARDINESS ZONE: 3 - 8     Early-season ripening
Patriot is a popular blueberry bush for home gardeners that desire a smaller blueberry bush that produces consistent yields and provides sensational fall foliage color. Patriot blueberry is adaptable to many soil types and may perform better in wetter soils than many other varieties. Patriot makes an excellent landscape variety with its showy white blooms in the spring, dark green summer foliage, and fiery orange-red fall colors.

Visit our website for a complete listing of blueberry varieties .