Potted Bulbs

Happy Mother’s Day!

All the rain on Saturday is good news for those who like to shop at the half-price sale on Sunday. There were quite a few plants left on Saturday night, especially annuals and shrubs.

We will be using the new wristband system on Sunday which means that, if you want to, you can come early and get your wristband, then return when the wrist-band volunteers advise you to. It is hard to predict how early you would want to get your wristband if you want to be in the first six groups of fifty, but my best guess is two hours before the sale starts.

Remember, write down the full price, and then we cut it in half at the checkout!

Here is a very partial list of the plants I noticed that were still on the shelves tonight. Many are annuals, but there were many perennials, natives, and others, including a number of plants that we have always sold out of before Sunday in the past.

Spring blooming bulbs

First, if you didn’t already see them near the Info Desk, we have potted up spring bulbs (which will quickly grow to be like those shown in the picture above in a few days to a week), originally priced at $2 for a 4″ pot, $4 for a 6″ pot, and $6 for a 7″ pot. As with everything else, you will be able to take 50% off at the register. There are tulips and hyacinths in 4 and 6″ sizes, and mixed bulb gardens in the 7″ pots. What a great Mother’s Day present!

Rare Plants

  • Cohosh, Pink Spike — beautiful in the pot right now and even better in the garden
  • Dogwood, Pagoda ‘Golden Shadows’
  • Elm, Miniature
  • several different rare Lady Slippers
  • Lily, Martagon
  • Peony, Scarlet
  • Peony, Woody
  • different Voodoo Lilies

Perennials

  • many, many Hosta
  • Lilies in pots: ‘Easter Morn’ & “Firey Bells’ (a great red-orange)
  • Bleeding Heart, Fringed
  • Burnet, Menzies’
  • many different Coral Bells including ‘Caramel’ & ‘Midnight Rose’
  • Coneflower ‘Kim’s Knee High’
  • Pickerel Rush (a water plant)

Climbers

  • Morning Glories

Native Wild Flowers
Generally a not bad assortment, but here are the ones that are most available:

  • Beardtongue, Large Flowered (our cover plant from 2006, see the photo below!)
  • Cardinal flower in four packs
  • Culver’s Root
  • Stiff Goldenrod
  • Wood Lily (these are tiny seedlings)
  • Labrador Violet
  • Virginia Bluebells — lots! This usually sells out way before this time.
  • Wild Ginger (Ramsey County source)
  • Hepatica, Sharp-Lobed
  • Meadow Rue, both types
  • Rue Anemone — lots! Buy this, it’s a great spring woodland ephemeral. (Pat says: The ones I bought last year are blooming right this minute)
  • Solomon’s Seal, Starry (Ramsey County source)
  • Trout Lily — these are dormant in the pots

Penstemon grandiflorus, Large-Flowered Beardtongue

Photo by Pat, taken next to the Goodwill in St. Paul’s Midway, summer 2005.

Herbs

  • A good variety of lavenders

Annuals

  • Black-Eyed Susan ‘Cherokee Sunset’
  • Bells of Ireland
  • many different Begonia
  • lots of Alyssum
  • Ageratum
  • several different Amaranths
  • Artichoke, Globe
  • Asparagus Fern
  • Bachelor’s Buttons ‘Midnight’ & ‘Blue Boy’
  • lots of great Coleus, including ‘Dr. Wu’ and ‘Colleen’
  • Cockscomb ‘Star Trek Rose’
  • Calendula
  • Flowering Cabbage
  • annual Butterfly Flower
  • Butterfly Bush, annual, ‘Pink Delight’
  • lots of Dusty Miller
  • lots of various Cosmos
  • Daisy, Blue-Eyed, ‘Pumpkin Pie’
  • Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’
  • lots of various Impatiens
  • Hibiscus, annual ‘Maple Sugar’ (looks like Japanese Maple!)
  • Grass, Ruby
  • Grass, Bunny Tails
  • Golden Dewdrop
  • Globe Amaranth purple
  • many different fancy leaf Geraniums
  • Gaura
  • different Fuchsia
  • lots of different Pansies and Johnny Jump-Ups
  • lots of different Nasturtium
  • several different Nemesia
  • lots of different Snapdragons
  • lots of different Salvias, including Black and Blue, which is wonderful for hummingbirds
  • Aeonium including ‘Zwartkop’!!!!
  • Kalanchoe Flapjack
  • Mandevilla, Red & Pink
  • Golden Trumpet Vine
  • Kangaroo Paws, both colors
  • Elephant Ears
  • Bananas
  • Clivia
  • Venus Fly Traps in cute little containers

Venus Fly Traps

Shrubs and Trees

  • Azaleas (Lilac, Mandarin and Western Lights especially)
  • PJM Rhododendrons (especially Compacta)
  • Buffaloberry
  • Hibiscus, Christi — this is was developed by the Cockers of Rochester, Minn. The plants are still dormant (Hibiscus “wake up” very late!) but they will bear beautiful 6–8″ ruby red flowers!
  • An assortment of Lilacs, including a few of the grafted and weeping ones
  • Royal Star magnolias
  • American Chestnut and Cucumber Magnolias — both these great U.S. native trees are immature looking in the pot, but have good root systems and will grow into great additions in your landscape
  • Locust, Purple Robe — large pots (5 gallon) and quite tall for transporting, but these are beautiful trees (wonderful flowers), great for smaller yards!
  • There is one Redbud left — don’t fight over it! (We’re Quakers)
  • An assortment of the small shrubs — lots of Weigela (My Monet !!! and Red Prince especially)
  • The native groundcover shrub Kinnikinnick (a late addition we weren’t expecting, in gallons)

Roses

  • Golden Wings
  • Rosa Glauca
  • William Baffin climber, believe it or not

[Additional reporting “from the field” by Pat]