Most of the plants we sell are grown from our own sources either by cuttings or divisions. Most of the plants we buy are our "Moms." I use them to make more, usually by cuttings. We do raise some plants from seeds including some of the trees but that is usually the longest method of getting new plants.

When you buy a plant it may have been in a pot for several years. To get trees and shrubs of a size that people would want to buy could take a long time. You can begin to understand the cost of some plants when you realize it may have taken a long time and a lot of care to get it to that stage.

The great thing about buying plants that have been grown in pots or are "container grown," is that you can plant them any time of year you can work the ground.

The only way you used to be able to buy trees etc was to get them in their dormant stage where they had been dug up and the roots balled and bagged or burlapped. (B&B). You can still get them this way but you must be sure you get them in the ground before they come out of dormancy (- start leafing out).

Since the concept of pots came about, the nursery industry has really grown. They are able to offer far more variety all year long now. And you don't have to rush home and get that plant in the ground if it is in a pot. It has been in that pot for who knows how long already so a few more days isn't going to matter. You just have to keep it watered.

This is some of the plants being bedded down for the winter with mulch. Mulch helps the pots retain moisture. More importantly, in the winter, it helps maintain steadier temperatures and helps the plants to avoid damage due to extreme temperatures. Plants can be "heaved" right out of the pots when freezing and thawing occur.

Creeping phlox is divided early in the summer. It needs as long as possible to grow and fill the pots in time to sell them the next spring. By June, this is what it looks like. It has just begun to really start growing.

By July, it is beginning to fill some pots. There are always some that don't get as full as others. There are also some that die, but not too many. Phlox will continue growing through the winter although very slowly. In spring, it will have a burst of growth just before blooming.

Cuttings are a little trickier. Each type of plant has its own best way to be done. Some root quickly and some take more than a year. Some won't root no matter what I do. But it is very gratifying to check a cutting and find little rootlets on it and know that I can make my own plant stock. Once started they make take another few years of growing in a pot before they can be sold or transplanted.

One thing that is good to know about container grown plants is that they can get pot or root bound if they are in the pots for a while. This isn't a problem if they are to be sold and planted soon but if they aren't, they need to be transplanted to a larger pot.

If you buy a plant and the roots seem to be circling the pot or have become a large mass in the bottom, you need to loosen the roots and maybe even cut off some of them. People are sometimes horrified when you tell them to pull the roots apart. They are afraid you will kill the plant. If you do NOT do this the plant probably WILL die but it may take a while.

The reason it may die is this: when roots start circling, they rarely come out of that and will just continue to grow into a ball instead of out into the surrounding soil. Eventually, this can kill a plant as it deforms the root system.

If you buy a plant that is pot bound, that isn't necessarily a bad thing but leaving it in that condition when you plant it is never a good idea.

For more information on how to grow plants stop by the market any Friday or Saturday. I will be glad to answer any questions I can. I don't know everything but after 40 years of growing I probably have learned a thing or two!