Mitchell's Nursery

Results From Poinsettia Trails

2011-12-12T14:28:00.009-05:00

A survey of 67 varieties of poinsettias was taken at our Open House on Sunday Dec. 4, 2011. We grew over 8,000 poinsettias. Approximately 379 people attended from 12:30 – 4:30. Attendance was up with the sunny weather. Three plants of each variety were labeled for judging. Judging continued until Dec. 10th by those who wanted to participate. The form for judging contained 5 lists – novelty, red, white, marble, and pink. The top five favorites in each category were voted for. This year we also had a fill in section for people to write in their 3 favorite over all.

To get points I gave each 1st place vote 5 points, 2nd place 4 points, 3rd place 3 points, 4th place 2 points, and 5th place 1 point.

Here is a link to the Results: http://mitchellsnurseryandgreenhouse.com/pdfs/2011POHresults.pdf

Thank you for helping our Poinsettia Open House to be a great success. We are one of two commercial greenhouses in the state to hold poinsettia trials. The information gathered each year helps the national poinsettia breeders decide which poinsettias they will release to the market in the future. Don’t forget to mark your new calendar for December 2, 2012 for next year’s open house. It will be from 12:30-4:30.

Plant A Row For The Hungry

2011-04-28T13:05:00.003-04:00

What Is Plant A Row for the Hungry (PAR)?
Plant A Row for the Hungry is a people-helping-people program to help feed the hungry in local neighborhoods and communities.
Since 1995, American gardeners have donated over 14 million pounds of herbs and vegetables to feed the hungry in our local neighborhoods and communities.
Join our campaign.

We are asking Stokes County businesses, community organizations, and individuals to join us and help with fresh food donations by adding a row in their garden for those in need and donating the extra harvest to a local food agency, soup kitchen or hunger relief organization. Or become a community PAR sponsor through service or financial support.
Take the pledge and donate whatever you can.

Kick-off Event
April 30th
At Mitchell’s Nursery and Greenhouse starting at 9:30am

Free starter kits to the 1st 100 people to make a pledge.

Fun Gardening Facts!
A single cucumber plant can yield up to 15-20 cucumbers.
A single bell pepper plant can yield 6-8 peppers.
It’s easier than you think.

Support Plant A Row and help make a difference.

For more information contact us at Mitchell’s Nursery and Greenhouse
336-983-4107, email: info@mnandg.com or visit our website http://www.mitchellsnurseryandgreenhouse.com/ for more information.

Small Space Vegetable Gardening Demonstration

2011-04-07T20:27:00.003-04:00

Come out in the spring to see how to put a small space to work for you at our demonstration garden. We have put in some winter and early spring plants. Our small space grows enough broccoli, lettuce, mesclun, and spinach for our family and others. Our broccoli grew 11” heads last year.

We also grow enough cucumbers, peppers, squash, and tomatoes to keep us supplied while they are in season. These vegetables are grown around our water tank and pump house in raised beds, straw bales, and a “Square Foot” garden. Come learn how to prepare soil, make amendments, and mulch plants.

We have cold hardy spring vegetables including broccoli, Russian Kale, collards, cabbage, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce (red and green), Swiss chard, mescclun mix, Buttercrunch lettuce, Romaine lettuce, and spinach ready for sell.

We also have some of our summer vegetables include pickling cucumbers, slicing cucumbers, straight neck squash, crook neck squash, zucchini, red, yellow, and green bell peppers, hot and sweet banana peppers, cayenne peppers, jalapeño peppers, many varieties of tomatoes, okra, egg plant, 5 varieties of watermelon, and 3 varieties of cantaloupe.

Frost warning

2011-04-05T14:27:00.000-04:00

Don't forget to take in your tender plants tonight if you have taken any out like house plants. Or cover up any tender plants - like tomatoes if you have already set some out. Cold hardy vegetable like lettuce and broccoli will be fine without covering. Cloth works best for covering, but if you do use plastic, don't let it touch the plants.

Blueberry bushes in the landscape

2011-01-19T16:32:00.003-05:00

Blueberry bushes are a great addition to any landscape. Not only do they provide a delicious fruit, they are also beautiful shrubs. Best of all they are one of the easiest fruits to grow successfully without pesticides and are full of antioxidants.
Blueberries are great by themselves fresh, on cereal, in pies, and in Margaret Snider’s blueberry ice-cream. Blueberry pancakes, blueberry coffeecake, and fresh blueberry muffins were always my favorite way to eat them, but Sandy Laughter’s blueberry pound cake might be my new favorite.
The Rabbiteye Blueberries (Vaccinium ashei) are the best variety for our area, the piedmont. Rabbiteye Blueberries get their name from the unripe fruit, it a light color with pink on the end of the berry making it look like a rabbit’s eye. They produce large berries over a long season. When choosing a plant, choose two or more varieties to get better pollination (more fruit) and it can spread your season out.
When planting blueberries, you should always add compost to the soil. It is best to add about 4” of rotted pine sawdust, rotted pine chips, manure, leaf mulch or anything else that is fully composted to the area that you are planting in. This should be a 4’x 4’ or 4’ the full length of the row. The mulch needs to be tilled in about 8” deep. If this is not practical, you can add compost over a 2’ area and mix it in with a shovel buy turning it as you dig.
Blueberries can be planted in groups or rows. They also make nice boarders. My aunt planted a row between her and her neighbor behind her house. It is a beautiful boarder between the yards. They have nice white blooms in the spring and turn shades of red in the fall. She picks the blueberries on her side and her neighbor picks the other side. Just make sure when you plant blueberries you have a different variety within 100’ for good pollination. I recommend planting 3 varieties – an early season such as Premier, a mid season such as Tiff Blue, and a late season such as Brightwell. This will give you a longer season.
Don’t forget about the birds. If you enjoy watching bird around your yard, blueberry bushes are a great attractant for birds. Birds not only love the fruit, but the shrubs make cover for birds to hide in and are good nesting spots for some small birds.
Now is the time to plant blueberry bushes between September and April. Even if you don’t like the fruit, blueberry bushed are and all around great shrub to use in your landscape.

Results from our poinsettia trials

2011-01-10T10:42:00.002-05:00

Our poinsettia trials went well this year. We have the voting results from the the poinsettia trials posted on our web site now.
http://www.mitchellsnurseryandgreenhouse.com/pdfs/2010POHresults.pdf

Winter Rose Pink

2010-12-20T11:02:00.003-05:00

This is another poinsettia like the Winter Rose Red with tight curled bracts. another one of my favorites.

Free Wrapping

2010-12-20T09:36:00.005-05:00

We are offering free wrapping with a hand tied bow of any 6.5" or larger poinsettia at regular price. This offer is for our customers who read our blog only. So you need to tell who ever is helping you that you want the deal you saw on our blog.

Thank you for supporting us.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Winter Rose Red

2010-12-14T13:46:00.002-05:00

This is my favorite poinsettia. It is a Winter Rose Red. It has bracts that are pulled in to make it a much tighter bloom, more like a rose or camellia bloom

Open House Today!

2010-12-05T11:25:00.002-05:00

Don't forget, our open house is today. Come see 67 varieties of poinsettias, and vote for your favorite ones.
We will draw for doorprizes,have hot apple cider, coffee, soft drinkss, cookies, homemade chicken salad, and pimento and cheese sandwiches, and other refreshments.
We hope to see you!

Fox 8 WGHP is featuring us tomorrow morning

2010-12-02T12:13:00.002-05:00

Shannon Smith from Fox 8 WGHP is featuring us tomorrow morning on the news. It will air sometime between 5:00 and 9:00. If you missed seeing us on News 2 on the "Made in the Triad" segment Tuesday night here is the link to see it http://www.digtriad.com/money/made_in_triad/article.aspx?storyid=150794&catid=255

"Made in the Triad"

2010-11-30T15:53:00.002-05:00

News 2 will feature us on "Made in the Triad" tonight on the 6:00 news.

10% CAMPAIGN PASSES $2 MILLION SPENT FOR LOCAL FOOD

2010-11-30T10:18:00.002-05:00

News
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
Nov. 23, 2010
Media Contact: Teisha Wymore, campaign manager, tlwymore@ncsu.edu or 919.515.0244
10% CAMPAIGN PASSES $2 MILLION SPENT FOR LOCAL FOOD
Since July, North Carolinians participating in the 10% Campaign have spent more than $2 million on food from local sources. The 10% Campaign is an effort to educate and encourage consumers to spend 10 percent of their food dollars on locally sourced food.
The campaign is an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, with support from N.C. Cooperative Extension and the Golden LEAF Foundation. Because North Carolinians spent $35 billion on food each year, if just 10 percent went to local sources, more than $3.5 billion would be available in the state’s economy.
"We are excited that the 10% Campaign has reached the $2 million milestone in its first four months. I believe this is a reflection of the true commitment that North Carolina consumers have shown for their own local food systems," said Teisha Wymore, 10% Campaign manager. "As campaign participation grows, the dollars spent on local food also will continue to grow."
"Businesses and individuals have responded enthusiastically to the launch of the 10% Campaign. As all of those businesses begin to report their local food spending, we will see that number continue to grow," said Nancy Creamer, CEFS director and horticultural science professor in the N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "The economic development and job creation potential of this campaign is huge."
Through the campaign website – www.nc10percent.com – North Carolina consumers and businesses sign up and pledge to buy local food. Each week, participants receive a campaign email, asking them to report how much they spent on local food that week. The results are tallied on the campaign website.
More than 1,700 individuals and 161 businesses have signed up for the campaign. The businesses and institutions that have pledged to spend 10 percent of their food dollars on food from local sources include restaurants, grocery stores and co-ops, universities, corporate food service programs and state agencies.
Cooperative Extension is supporting the 10% Campaign by providing an extension agent in each county office to serve as the local food coordinator, providing education and supporting businesses that want to participate in the campaign. N.C. Cooperative Extension is based in N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems is a program of N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, N.C. A&T State University and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The center provides education, outreach and research related to sustainable agriculture and food systems.
-Written by Natalie Hampton, natalie_hampton@ncsu.edu or 919.513.3128.

Poinsettia Display

2010-11-29T14:47:00.004-05:00

Melissa has finished setting up the poinsettia display. she put 3 of every variety on the ends of the benches, in groups by color. 67 varieties!!!!!!!!

Ruby Frost

2010-11-27T10:18:00.002-05:00

Ruby Frost was a trial Poinsettia last year. It ranked 5th out of 19 in our novelty class, which helped to get it on the market this year. We only had a few last year because it was a trial variety, now that it is on the market, we order alot more cuttings last spring to have them ready for the Christmas season.

National Poinsettia Open House

2010-11-26T09:21:00.006-05:00

Save the space on your calendars for our Poinsettia Open House (2010). It will be Sunday, December 5, 2010 from 12:30 to 4:30.We are one of two greenhouses in the state to hold poinsettia trials.

We are growing 9,000 poinsettias and more than 67 varieties. An ocean of color growing in one huge greenhouse! You will enjoy seeing new varieties, voting on your favorites, and free refreshments.

We are one of 33 greenhouses in the U.S. and Canada that grow these trials. The information that we collect will be sent to the national poinsettia breeders to decide which new varieties will be put on the market and which ones will be cut for next year.

Hope to see you there!
Jim, Judy, & Jay Mitchell

Tapestry

2010-11-23T12:37:00.004-05:00

We have Tapestry Poinsettias again this year. They are a small short poinsettia with varigated leaves. We sold out quick last year, so if you have you heart set on Tapestry, you will want to get by soon.

Shimmer Pink

2010-11-20T12:44:00.002-05:00

Stop by and see the poinsettias if you are in the area. They are beautiful this year. This one is Shimmer Pink. It is the first year we have carried it. It is a pretty dark pink, with light pink speckles.

Chad Tucker w/ Fox 8

2010-11-16T10:11:00.003-05:00

Chad Tucker with Fox 8 News came out last night and had us on the 10:00 news. They also replayed it this morning along with some segments they didn't play last night.

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-plant-101115,0,2856921.story

Fall Leaves

2010-11-03T14:46:00.000-04:00

Be sure to take advantage of the leaves in your yard. Use them to mulch your garden. As leaves fall, bag them up with your mower or you can use your mower to chop and blow them to the center your your yard to rake them. Your mower chops the leaves, allowing them to compost faster. you can either compost them or use them as mulch in your vegetable and flower gardens.

Fall is the time to plant

2010-10-13T09:12:00.004-04:00

We are fully stocked with fresh plants. The trees and shrubs that we potted up last winter are rooted out and ready to be planted. Some of the plants for fall color are Sassanqua Camellia, Firepower Nandina, purple Encore Azalea, ginkgo, burning bush, Knockout Roses, and Orange Pyracantha.

With the cooler weather of fall, it is the perfect time to spruce up your yard. Jim offers this advice- any month with the letter ‘R’ is the best time to plant. There are hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs. We have one of the largest and most varied selections in the Triad. We are known for our quality and knowledge. Jim and Judy both graduated from NCSU in horticulture and Tammy studied horticulture at Forsyth Tech. Jay worked at a large greenhouse in Raleigh before returning to help in the family business. Bring a picture and measurements of the area you want landscaped and we will help you choose the right plants for your yard.

2010-10-05T11:24:00.003-04:00

Thank you for coming out and making our open house a great success. Bill and Hallie served about 180 hotdogs. Mary Kiger from Rural Hall came by Monday morning to pick up the 2 pansy planters she won from Saturday's drawing. Other winners were Wallace Williamson, who won the mums, also of Rural Hall and Phillis Hill of Pinnacle won the pansy bowls.

Open House Today!

2010-10-02T10:09:00.002-04:00

Come by this morning for our open house and have coffee and donuts. And don't forget to register for the door prizes when you come by today. We will also have hotdogs and other refreshments 11:00 till about 1:00, but we will still have the door prizes open till we close at 4:00

Mums

2010-09-27T11:28:00.001-04:00

The mums are begining to bloom well. We grew 1800 of them this year.

Open House

2010-09-25T08:40:00.001-04:00

Saturday, October 2, Mitchell’s is welcoming in fall, celebrating 31 years in business, with an Open House. Jim will teach a free class at 10:00 on the proper planting of trees and shrubs. He will give tips on how to keep the newly planted plants living and will demo the planting. Hallie will be cooking free hot dogs from 11-1. We are fully stocked with fresh plants. Plants for fall color are orange pyracantha, purple beautyberry, ginkgo, burning bush, sassanqua camellias, Knockout Roses, and Firepower Nandina.

Fall Pansies

2010-09-21T13:39:00.001-04:00

We have been busy potting pansies every week. The early ones are ready to sell now and look good.

Geramium Sale

2010-07-07T14:24:00.003-04:00

We have taken our $7 geranuims, put them on sale for $5, and now thruogh Monday they will be $5 each, Buy One Get One Free. Limit 20. You MUST tell us you saw it posted on our blog to get the buy one get one.

Salad planter for your porch

2010-03-15T20:02:00.012-04:00

I’m lovin daylight saving time. I just came in from planting lettuce at 8:00. I just planted a strawberry jar with some spinach, mesclun mix lettuce, and some leaf lettuce. I started with an 18” plastic strawberry jar
with 12 holes around the sides. I drilled 4 holes ½” in the bottom. Then I filled it with dirt to the first set of holes in the side. Use a high quality soil, I prefer Fafard Complete potting mix with fertilizer and water trainer. I then put a plant in each hole and filled in the rest of the hole with straw. The straw keeps the loose dirt from washing out when you water it; you can use pine needles, rotted leaves or what ever you have around to hold the dirt in. I add more dirt and repeated the process for the 2nd and 3rd row. I like to stop about half way with the dirt and water it in good until water runs out the bottom holes. Sometimes it is hard to get a strawberry jar watered well to the bottom the first time. When I get to the top, I plant two plants to the outside edge of the large top opening. I like to put a little straw around those plant also to keep the dirt from splashing on the lettuce and it will also hold in moisture. Putting lettuce in a planter or pot on your deck or close by your house will make it more convenient to pick a few leaves for a salad or to go on a sandwich.

2010-03-15T12:31:00.006-04:00

Our broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, red & green leaf lettuce, spinach, collards, and mesclun mix lettuce has been out of the greenhouse since March 5, and is ready to sell and plant now. The price is the same as last year, $1.50/4-pack- $13.50 a flat for all the same or mix and match 4-packs in a flat for $15.00/flat. Romaine lettuce, buttercrunch lettuce, great lakes lettuce, brussels sprouts, and swiss chard will be ready in a couple of weeks.

Pansy sale

2010-03-05T11:00:00.003-05:00

We have some beautiful blooming pansies on sale - $10.00/flat till March 20th.

Get ready, spring is coming!

2010-02-26T10:53:00.005-05:00

It may not feel much like spring right now, but it is coming.

Now is the time to reflect on your garden. What did well? What did you have problems with? What do you need to change for spring? What do you need to grow more of? What did you have an overabundance of?

Be sure you turn under all of the remains of last year’s garden stalks. Add leaves to compost and turn them under the soil also. The composted leaves help the soil retain moisture and makes the soil work easier.

February is the time to prune summer flowering shrubs such as butterfly bushes and roses. Cut back lirope or monkey grass and other ornamental grasses at the end of February. Prune out any dead limbs or limbs that rub in your trees.

Do not butcher your crape myrtles! They really don’t need pruning. Goldfinches love the old seed pods if you leave them on. Just like most other trees you should cut any dead limbs or limbs that rub and you can also prune the small sprouts off the bottom of the trunks if you want to.

Poinsettia Care & Getting a Poinsettia to Re-Bloom

2009-12-31T13:03:00.002-05:00

With good care, a poinsettia should be beautiful for 2-3 months. Poinsettias are tropical plants that should be kept above 50 degrees. They should be kept in a warm vehicle till you get home, not in a trunk and definitely not in the back of a truck. In your home, put the poinsettia in a well lighted area away from drafts and heat vents. Water the poinsettia when the pot becomes lightweight or when the soil becomes dry to the touch, about once a week. Water the plant thoroughly in a sink, letting it drain, before putting it back where it was. If the poinsettia is wrapped in foil, tilt the plant, being careful to hold the rootball, and pour the excess water in the sink.
How to make a poinsettia re-bloom next year
With proper care and devotion you can also get poinsettias to bloom. Some prefer not to mess with having to keep a check on house plants, but if you enjoy having a few pet plants around, you can keep you poinsettia going and get it to color up next year.
For a good healthy start, I would take the poinsettia out of the foil or cut some holes in the bottom of the foil to allow the water to drain out when it is watered. If it is in a basket, I would remove it from the basket to water it. When you water your poinsettia, try not to get much water on the leaves, try to get the water straight to the roots and soil. I like to water mine in the sink, so I can pour plenty of water to it and it can drain out the bottom. Only water the poinsettia when it needs it (when it feels light, or the soil is dry to the touch), poinsettias don’t like to stay wet all the time.
Around the first of March, start fertilizing the poinsettia with a good balanced fertilizer. A water soluble fertilizer like Peter’s, or Miracle-Grow works well.
At the end of March – the first of April cut the poinsettia back to about 6”-8”. Continue to water and fertilize regularly.
About the first of May or after the chance for frost has left, take your poinsettia outside to a shady location protected from hard wind. And don’t forget to water and fertilize regularly. They can be easy to forget if they are not in a place you see daily.
In 3-5 weeks it should be getting tough. They stay fuller and more compact if they start getting some full sun for half a day. It is best to work them into the sun over a week or two, starting out in morning sun only. You can also repot the plant at this time, or plant it in the ground, if you have a well drained bed with plenty of organic matter mixed in. When choosing a pot, pick one whit holes for the water to drain out and it can be 4”-6” larger in diameter. Be sure to use a high quality potting soil. We prefer Fafard brand. Continue to water as needed and fertilize regularly.
A second pruning may be needed in August if it is getting too big. It is important that you don’t cut it back after Labor Day. This is also the time that you need to dig up your poinsettia if it is planted in the ground and transplant it to a suitable container with holes. The poinsettia needs September to shoot out the new stem ends that will form the bracts in October and November. Continue to water and fertilize.
You should bring your poinsettia inside to a bright sunny room, away from drafts and heat vents before there is any chance of frost. I recommend October 1.
The poinsettia also needs 12-14 hours of total uninterrupted darkness every night, starting Oct. 1. Poinsettias need long nights that start in the fall to trigger the blooms to set and the leaves to color up. Something as simple as a light coming on for a second will make the poinsettia think it has had 2 short nights, instead of 1 long night, and delay blooming. Putting the poinsettia in a closet or putting a box over the plant from 5:00 pm till 7:00 am works well. Do this for 8 weeks, and continue to water as needed (it probably won’t need to be watered as often as earlier). Fertilize regularly till Thanksgiving. You won’t need to fertilize from Thanksgiving till March.
Don’t forget to put the poinsettia back in a bright room close to a window during the day. They need 6-8 hours of sun during the day to get good color and prevent it from dropping leaves.With proper care you should have your poinsettia in bloom for the Christmas season.

Good poinsettia Season

2009-12-23T16:35:00.004-05:00

We have had a good season this year with poinsettias. We grew over 9,000 and we have about 400 left. We are very pleased. It is nice to see the greenhouse nearly empty at Christmas. We always try to have some all the way till Christmas too.
Our Open House went very well too. A survey of 72 varieties of poinsettias was taken at our Open House on Sunday Dec. 6, 2009. We grew over 9,000 poinsettias. Approximately 250 people attended from 12:30 – 4:30. Three plants of each variety were labeled for judging. Judging continued until Dec. 12th by those who wanted to participate. The form for judging contained 5 lists – novelty, red, white, marble, and pink. The top five favorites in each category were voted for. This year we also had a fill in section for people to write in their 3 favorite over all. We were featured in full color ¾ page on the cover of the Living section of the Winston-Salem Journal http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/dec/11/seeing-red-and-a-lot-of-variations-thereof-open-ho/ . It was on the calendar of events for King Chamber of Commerce, North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Assoc., North Carolina Agritourism Networking Assoc., Smittysnotes.com, 336.events, Carolina Gardener Magazine, Forsyth Family Magazine, Winston-Salem Journal garden page, and Winston-Salem Journal Relish.
Fox 8 News WGHP did a live story on the morning show in five segments and ran pictures on their website - http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-poinsettias-091130,0,7608666.story .
WXII 12 from Winston Salem did several live segments at the greenhouse - http://www.wxii12.com/holidays/21727331/detail.html .
WFMY TV 2 – Digtriad .com news from Greensboro also did several live segments at our greenhouse - http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digtriad.com%2Fnews%2Flocal_state%2Farticle.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D134265&h=cc73a30559c961ab9b3c31a96fb96255, and http://www.digtriad.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=55561968001#/Poinsettias+Prove+To+Be+NC+Cash+Crop%2C+Part+1/55561968001 and http://www.digtriad.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=55562012001#/Poinsettias+Prove+To+Be+NC+Cash+Crop%2C+Part+2/55562012001. It was in the Stokes County, Forsyth County and Guilford County Extension Newsletters. The Winston Salem Journal had a ¾ page story on it with full color pictures. We sent out over 1700 picture postcards to our customers. We list it on our Website - http://www.mitchellsnurseryandgreenhouse.com/ and on our facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/King-NC/Mitchells-Nursery-and-Greenhouse/144029976436?ref=mf .
We will try to get the results of our open house on our website by next week.

News 2

2009-12-09T16:24:00.003-05:00

News 2 came out and did a story on the local and state economic impact of poinsettias. It aired this morning. Here is a link to the written story - http://www.digtriad.com/news/local_state/article.aspx?storyid=134265 And a link to the video part 1 - http://www.digtriad.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=55561968001#/Local+News/Poinsettias+Prove+To+Be+NC+Cash+Crop%2C+Part+1/49911607001/49960901001/55561968001 And a link to the video part 2 - http://www.digtriad.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=55561968001#/Local+News/Poinsettias+Prove+To+Be+NC+Cash+Crop%2C+Part+2/49911607001/49960901001/55562012001

Poinsettia talk at the library tonight

2009-11-30T17:15:00.002-05:00

Jim is giving a talk tonight (Mon., Nov. 30) at the King Public Library. He will talk about the poinsettia production from cutting to finshed poinsettia. He will also talk about the different varieties and how to care for a poinsettia at home. It is free and open to the public. You can call the library for more info at 983-3868.

Camellia Sasanquas

2009-11-23T14:50:00.003-05:00

Don’t forget about Camellias when you are landscaping. The Camellia Sasanquas bloom in the fall, starting about mid October and blooming till mid December. They also have beautiful dark green foliage year around. They can grow in filtered sun or in full sun. Most varieties of the Camellia Sasanquas also need plenty of room to grow. Most of them will get about 6’-8’ tall and 4’-5’ wide. The make nice screens, or can be planted individually at corners of buildings, chimneys, and at the end of a porch to block the sun and wind. My favorite is the yuletide; it has a petty red flower with a large yellow center. Now is also the best time to plant them. They will start to root out before it gets hot and dry next summer.

Healthy Roots

2009-11-12T14:06:00.000-05:00

Healthy roots are important to a healthy poinsettia. Without a good fertilizer and watering program, the poinsettias can have poor root structure. Poinsettias are a sensitive plant to root problems from over watering or from high and low pH.
We monitor the poinsettias multiple times a day to see how dry they are. We let them dry nearly to the point of wilting before we water them. Keeping the poinsettias wet all the time produces poor roots. We water them three cycles (about 8 minutes a cycle, thirty minutes apart for a 6½“ poinsettia) every time we water them. Some weeks we might water them 3 times and some weeks we might water them only 1 time. The amount of cloudy vs. sunny weather we have plays a huge role in how much water the need.
We try to keep a check on the pH of the plants once a month also. We use 20-10-20 liquid fertilizer on regular watering and occasionally use a mix of calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate to bring the pH down when it starts to climb. Poinsettia need to have soil between 5.8 to 6.5 pH. High pH can cause iron deficiency. Too much calcium with low pH can cause problems too.
We even pull our plants out of the pots to see how the roots are doing. I wouldn’t do this in a store though. You will make a mess with the soil on the floor, and can break or bruise the poinsettia if you are not careful. Healthy roots come to the outside of the pot, and should be white in color.

It's begining to look alot like Christmas

2009-11-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

The poinsettias are coloring up now. Most of them will be getting bright by Thanksgiving. I love to watch them as the change. Different varieties change at different times. Some of them are still pretty green right now while others are already showing alot of color. We have been growing them for about 12 weeks now. If you come by, stop in the greenhouse and take a look at the poinsettias.

Oh Deer!

2009-10-22T13:28:00.001-04:00

I went out today to look around for more deer damage. Fortunately we didn't have any. We had some deer get into our pansies Sunday night. We found the damage Monday morning and sprayed Liquid Fence Monday evening. We usually have some damange every year. The deer are plentiful around here and pansies are one of there favorite foods. Liquid Fence has been our crop saver. It is a nontoxic spray that makes the plants smell bad to the deer (and rabbits) when they stick their nose down to eat. After they come back and find there favorite food has changed smells, they usually don't come back the rest of the season. After using liquid fence on our pansies for a couple of years, we started selling it. We had customers who were tired of planting pansies just for the deer to eat. All the customers who have tried the liquid fence have been happy. So don't let the deer drive you away from planting some fall and winter flowers. Liquid Fence also works on trees and shrubs!

It Fall Planting Time!

2009-10-17T14:06:00.000-04:00

Here at Mitchell's Nursery, we have beautiful Pansies, Violas and Ornamental Cabbages & Kale for fall plantings. Now is also the best time to plant trees and shrubs. Planting now, gives the roots time to grow out and establish before it gets hot and dry next summer.

Stop by and we will be glad to help you chose new accents for your landscaping.