As a sustainable nursery I
try not to pollute. Click on these thumbnails for larger pictures
of some of the products I use in the nursery for feeding plants
and pest control.Growing pages are an outline of what we do and when we do it with pictures at Azalea House Flowering Shrub Farm in Albany County, NY and was Last edited by andyvancleve on Monday, June 02, 2008. Each of the blue underlined links or thumbnail pictures when clicked will open a larger image of the picture. If thumbnails don't open click here.
As a sustainable nursery I
try not to pollute. Click on these thumbnails for larger pictures
of some of the products I use in the nursery for feeding plants
and pest control.
Each picture has the date
the picture was taken; similar to; andyvancleve100507 (October 5,
2007).
March and April.
In March we transplant
lilacs from 3 gallon pots in the field to 7 gallon pots for the
plant sale. 7 gallon potted plants are $30 or more, 15
gallon potted plants are $50 or more and 45 gallon potted plants
are $90 or more (plants cost more than the $30, $50 or $90 when
the plant is particularly large, well trained, rare or in
quantities of only one or two). Many of the 45 gallon
potted plants are out front near the sidewalk where they can be
easily appreciated by passers by.
I attach a yellow,
individually numbered inventory label to all Roses but Lilacs
only after they bloom. Later, the inventory number will be added
to the inventory in my catalogs. When a plant is sold the number
is highlighted in red with the date sold. Check the catalogs out
on my home page at www.floweringshrubfarm.com
Each year in spring I
receive 5 each of #1 sized roses grafted on Rosa multiflora of
many old garden roses. I pot them into 7 gallon pots at the level
they should be planted in the ground locally (the graft 2 inches
under soil). Once these have begun to bloom they will be
available for sale. Otherwise I'll be taking cuttings from them
in July to root so that after several years we may have them own
root.
Rooted cuttings are planted
3 each into a 3 gallon pot where they will be trained as a single
plant and grown for 2 years (threesome). In March or April of the
3rd year I devide those I dont have many of, into individual 3
gallon pots. The following year it's repotted in a 7 gallon for
$30. This picture shows several rooted cuttings in a 3 gallon pot
during their first year of growing.
Some threesomes are not
devided. Some of the Lilac threesomes I grow, have 3 different
lilac cuttings grown and trained as a single plant. I'm growing a
combination of three different shades of purple lilacs; 'Monge',
'Sarah Sands' and 'Sensation', also two of the lemon colored
'Primrose' from yellow buds and two of the white 'Krasavitsa
moskvy' from pink buds grown as one. Among the Rhododendrons I'm
growing the Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron nudiflorum) and
Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) as one plant.
Threesome blueberry bushes are one cutting of 'Bluejay', one of
'Blueray' and one of 'Bluecrop' trained together as a single
shrub that is optimally cross pollinated.
Some of the plants in 15
gallon pots are inserted into a 45 gallon pot and mulched until
you can't see the 15 gallon pot. The extra space this givves me
allows me to train them. A large, trained shrub in a 15 gallon
pot may cost anywhere up to $150. Click on the following for
larger pictures.
May 1, 2008
Potted Crop 111 Swamp
Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum) and Crop 093 Rosebay Rhododendron
(Rhododendron maximum). They are in our unheated Greenhouse. We
wont sell them until they bloom. Sign up for the
picture-newsletter to be notified.
May 15;
Start of Plant Sale
We usually sell plants as they bloom (Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Lilacs in May to early June; Roses in June to July).
As Lilacs, Roses,
Rhododendrons and Azaleas start to bloom I take closeup
pictures of the flower, insert a caption that includes the date
the picture was taken and plant name, then post it somewhere in
the several hundred pages of my web site. Then I send a link to
it, to all my subscribers in an email reply to an email they
previously sent me. People who want to seriously
consider coming to the plant sale should Email me about being added
to the list of subscribers as some plants sell out soon after
being listed. When you are a subscriber you receive advance
notice of plants in bloom, if we open early (caused by early
blooming) or of special sales when you follow the email provided
link back to the picture-newsletter. Coppies of Picture
newsletter links are placed in a special page ( picture-newsletter ) after the plant
sale. I dont share your email address with anybody.
Smart buyers buy it in bloom. So I've set up the flowering shrub farm to be open when most of the plants we grow are in bloom. I dont sell plants that haven't bloomed previously so we can verify the variety. We have the picture-newsletter so that my customers will know when the plants they are interested in are in bloom.
When you email me I take that email message and place it in a Mailbox (labeled with your first and last name and what plant your interested in) on my Mac Laptop computer. Later when I am sending the picture-newsletter I click on your last email, click "reply" and "paste" a copy of the link in the reply. I will continue to send links whenever I have a picture-newsletter for a long time but you can guarentee that I send more by sending me additional emails with more information on what your interested in.
Each may I start transplanting one of each crop into the next
size larger pot. This leaves several that can still be sold
during the plant sale (we dont sell plants that have been potted
within the last 60 days). As I transplant into 15 gallon I start
training old garden roses by "pegging" or
"staking" their branches down to the soil. In the
nursery this is done by tieing branches to the sides of the pot.
June
In June many roses come into bloom for the first time and I spend the first hour of the day posting new closeups on my web page and sending email links to my newsletter subscribers. I also take pictures of the whole shrub up against the side of my house. You should be able to see how well branched they are and that they are in bloom. Due to the small file size the pictures are somewhat fuzzy but the caption at the bottom tells the pot size, plant name and inventory number. 7 gallon pots (g7 after the inventory #) are $30, 15 gallon pots (g15) are $50 or more and 45 gallon pots (g45) are $90 or more. I only sell the 7 gallon size mail order and you can expect at least $20 dollars shipping per plant. I only send plants mail order when the purchaser has at least a $50 credit per plant (they send a check made out to Azalea House to Andy Van Cleve PO Box 49 Voorheesville, NY 12186. I'll deposit it to Azalea House bank account and wait for it to clear). All mail order plants are sent in late June (or July) after being inspected by the agricultural inspector. I'll notify the purchaser of any credit or debit amount via email.
Check out this link to see closeup of the flower and fuzzy pictures of the shrubs.
Mail Order
All mail order is sent in June or July. Plants in 7 gallon pots may be sold mail order after the New York State Agricultural Inspector has inspected them. We send them Fed Ex 3 day ground in a 15 inch x 15 inch x 24 inch pot. Generally the freight is about the same cost as the plant doubling the price. So a 7 gallon potted plant for $30 plus the freight can be expected to be around $60. All plants sent mail order have previously flowered verifying the variety
July 4
Click this thumbnail for a large picture of the plants left over after the plant sale 2007.
After July 4 much of my time is spent working on cuttings and transplants. The plant sale is done but you can still make an appointment to buy plants retail by sending me an email or leaving a message at (518) 765-2917. I'll get back to you. We usually stop selling for the year in mid-August.
July & August;
I propagate deciduous flowering shrubs from cuttings and layers I take from virus free plants growing in large pots.
September
Took these pictures on September 26, 2007 the heps of Rosa gallica officinalis 'Apothecary's Rose, Hybrid Rugosa Rose and Explorer Rose 'David Thompson' and 'Schneezwerg' or 'Snow Dwarf' Hybrid Rugosa Rose. I am including thumbnails of the fruit and fall foliage together with the flower in my Rose catalog whenever possible.
I am disabled in my arms and hands so I use several methods that allow me to work in the nursery. Below are several thumbnails that outline those methods. Click on them for larger pictures. The guy in the picture is my friend Richard who visited with me this summer and helped out in the Nursery while here.
Several years ago we built this frame in such a way as not to interfere with the view from the main house. Transluscent panels are attached to large doors in the top. Smaller doors can be opened in the front for easy access. In summer the top doors can be propped open for ventilation and light. This frame is used primarilly to reduce deer damage and wind desication to the species Rhododendrons and Azaleas inside (234). Inside we are building raised beds with a layer of gravel under a soil mix that rhododendrons like. A mist irigation system can be used to cool the plants or water them
We over winter plants in 7, 15 and 45 gallon pots outside. 7 and 15 gallon pots are surrounded with mulch. 45 gallon pots are left unmulched.