Download NEWS FROM SOQUEL NURSERY GROWERS

NEWS FROM SOQUEL NURSERY GROWERS
May 2010
Open weekdays 8 am to 4:30 pm
What Does Soquel Have?
Coreopsis
We have several options to keep you informed of
what we have available:
By mail: Once a month we send out this
newsletter and availability by postal mail.
By fax: We update our availability every
Friday. If you need the most current copy, call and
ask for one. We can also fax it to you automatically
every week.
By email: You may receive our availability
every Friday by email. We send it as an attachment in
two different formats: PDF and Windows Excel
2000.
Our website: www.soquelnursery.com has
our weekly availability list without prices. The web
edition of this newsletter has photos of our featured
plants.
Our email address is [email protected]
Coreopsis are vibrant, easy-care members of the
daisy family. We have six types in a nice variety of
different colors, textures and sizes.
The flower color of Coreopsis rosea ‘Sweet
Dreams’ varies with the seasons. In late fall and
cooler weather it has a deep raspberry-pink center
ring and white petal tips. In warmer weather the
raspberry tint spreads throughout the flower. The
foliage is finely textured and bright green. It grows
to about 18” x 18”. Coreopsis ‘Sweet Dreams’
grows best in moist, well-drained soil in full sun. If
you shear it after blooming it will bloom again and
again from spring through fall.
C. verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ forms a billowy cloud
of dark olive-green, finely textured leaves and coolyellow flowers. Because it’s deciduous, it’s
important to mark the planting spot so you don’t
forget it’s there in the winter.
If you would like to be put on or taken off any of
these lists please call (831) 475-3533.
We have four cultivars of Coreopsis grandiflora, a
native of the southeastern U.S. They are very tough
and easy to grow. Their common name Tickseed
comes from the dark, shiny brown, tick-like
appearance of the seeds. They tolerate a wide variety
of soil types and need very little water once
established. They thrive in hot, sunny, sandy areas.
Deer are not attracted to them, but butterflies and
birds love them. They bloom abundantly from late
spring through fall and make excellent cut flowers.
Closed Memorial Day
We will be closed Monday, May 31st
in observance of Memorial Day.
Continued on page 2
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NEWS FROM SOQUEL NURSERY GROWERS
May 2010
Open weekdays 8am to 4:30 pm
Coreopsis grandiflora
cultivars…continued
Salvias
In addition to the ever-popular Salvia greggii
hybrids Sierra San Antonio (pastel yellow) and
California Sunset (orange hues), we now have
Salvia greggi Grace Pink (deep rosy pink) and
Lipstick (red with white throat and brown calyx).
All will grow to about 3’ x 3’, start blooming soon,
and bloom on into the fall. The leaves are small,
shiny and rounded. They are drought tolerant once
established.
C. g. ‘Early Sunrise’: One of the earliest
blooming varieties. Semi-double ruffled golden
flowers with serrated petals. 24” tall. Will reseed
under favorable conditions.
C. g. ‘Illico’: Compact habit to 8” tall. Single
bright yellow flowers with serrated petals. Great for
pots and window boxes.
We have the gorgeous and exuberant Salvia
‘Bezerkley’. It is a cross between S. microphylla
UCB Pink and S. microphylla (grahamii). Its
growth habit starts out compact, dense, and upright.
Then it goes bezerk to perhaps 24" tall by 4-6’ broad.
Its flowers are deep rose pink.
C. g. ‘Heliot’: Single yellow flowers with
burgundy-red ring around the centers. Compact
growth habit to 10”x10”. Long bloom season from
spring through fall.
C. g. ‘Presto’: Huge, semi-double, ruffled golden
yellow flowers. Dwarf mounding plants to 6”x 8”.
Very floriferous with a long bloom season from
spring through fall.
Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’ or Whorled
Clary Sage adds loads of textural drama as well as
lovely colors to your garden. The spikes of fuzzy
purple flowers are arranged in whorls, or verticils.
The dark green leaves are deeply wrinkled with
toothy margins. Bees, hummingbirds and butterflies
love it. It starts blooming now and will bloom on
into the fall if the dead flowers are removed. It
makes a good, long-lasting cut flower. The cultivar
‘Purple Rain’ has a compact growth habit to 18” x
18”. It likes full sun. A drip system is better than
overhead water to avoid mildew.
All Coreopsis benefit from shearing in late summer
to prolong the bloom season. They can be divided
every few years to refresh them.
Genista lydia ‘Bangle’
If you enjoy the vivid yellow flowers of Scotch
Broom, try the well-behaved Genista lydia
‘Bangle’ instead. It is slow growing and not
invasive. Two of its common names are Hardy
Dwarf Broom and Woadwaxen. The cultivar
‘Bangle’ is selected for its long and abundant
bloom season. Its bright green branches have a low,
arching, draping habit to 2’-3’ tall and wide. The
leaves are tiny and sparse. Throughout the spring
the plant is completely covered with little yellow
snapdragon-like flowers. The rest of the year it has
an airy, lacy texture. Genista needs well-drained
soil and a sunny location. It is long-lived and very
easy to care for. It is very heat- and drought tolerant
once established. In some areas, the deer leave it
alone.
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