Today is the ninth of February and I’ll bet you’re wondering right now what blueberries plants look like this time of year. Okay you weren’t actually thinking about that so I’ll tell you. They look beautiful. Some varieties are bare of leaves and the stems range in color from bright red to a rich green, some varieties maintain their leaves through out the year and the leaf color, for example, on the Vaccinium corybosum‘Sunshine Blue’ is verdigris, a bluish green with a blush of red. Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Legacy’ is also evergreen and the leaves on this bush are a bronzy green. Our native evergreen huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum, as the name suggests is a glossy green year round, very adaptable, very useful (and tasty) garden plant. Some of the brighter twigged blueberries are Vaccinium corybosum ‘Duke’ and Vaccinium corybosum ‘Patriot’. Whether you are growing fields of blueberries or just a few varieties in your city garden you will enjoy their winter beauty.
Today is the day to add some structure to your garden. It is January and a good time to get in the larger plants that you may have forgotten about or neglected to plant in the fall. By structure in your garden I mean the larger plants that have a year round presence. If you are lacking a bit of piazza in your garden and notice it this month it may mean you need a few more plants that look great year round. It’s a sunny, balmy day here in Pleasant Hill, Oregon and a good day to pick out a few evergreens or maples or sweet osmanthus. A rhododendron or two will add this element, the evergreen leaves and the buds that are appearing now and a lighter green dimension to the plant, almost like an ornament, or how about some brilliant nandina, with the red foliage lighting up the green backdrop. If you are inclined to add more edible plants how about a blueberry or three, some blueberries you will find are evergreen and some of the deciduous varieties have brilliant stem colors in shades of red and bright green. A visit to a nursery will give you some ideas if you don’t already have one and you are welcome here to poke around in the ‘off season’ to fill up a place in your garden that needs a little January kick. We look forward to seeing you.
Posted by: Ashley in pleasant hill nursery, plants on
Dec 29, 2009
Heatherbun is an outstanding shrub that will shine year round in your garden. A delicate soft textured bush that appears as its name implies, a bun shaped bush with heather like foliage which is a soft and feathery bluish-green turning to a deep plum purple in winter. Grow heather bun in full sun in consistently moist soil.
The next couple of weeks we are featuring holiday trees. In honor of Hanukkah we have 'Green Mountain' Boxwood. Shaped somewhat like a dreidel it can be covered in a string of small white bulbs to add a festive note to this holiday of lights. 'Green Mountain' boxwood is dense in form and naturally shaped like an elegant pyramid. It has bright green leaves that retain color throughout the winter. For a crisper form shear the plant. 'Green Mountain' will grow well
In the nursery trade b&b is short for ball and burlap. We can usually begin digging our field stock in late October but the timing is based primarily on weather conditions. It is necessary to let the ground get wet enough so that the root ball of the plant holds together without cracking or breaking. In the fall as temperatures get cooler and the days shorter plants head into winter dormancy so digging this time of year puts much less stress on the plant. We offer a wide selection of field grown plant material including conifers, shrubs, and shade trees.
When you purchase a plant that has been dug in ball and burlap fashion you want to handle the ball carefully and not drop it. Breaking or cracking the ball will increase the mortality of your plant.
We use burlap and Jute Twine that biodegrades so it isn’t necessary
PHN Growers Blog 
