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The Petunia Supertunia Mini Purple, ‘Petunia hybrids’, are wonderfully fragrant and have masses of small flowers and a vigorous trailing habit that turn hanging baskets and decorative urns into garden masterpieces. The Mini Purple Petunia has beautiful purple flowers. Supertunias are a vigorously trailing species of an everblooming, long-living petunia from Australia. They will provide long-term color in full sun areas throughout the season, and can grow nearly an inch a day. They are ideal for baskets, beds, balconies and combination plantings. Supertunias are very heat and drought tolerant once established in the ground or pot. They do not need to have their dead flower heads removed to continue flowering and they are not leggy. Supertunias grow fast and therefore need ample moisture and fertilzer. For zones 9-11, this plant can also be a perennial.

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The Corkscrew Willow tree, Salix matsudana, ‘Tortuosa’, is a small to medium-sized, upright spreading tree of about 30 feet in height with a 15-foot-spread. This deciduous tree is also known as Tortuosa or Dragon’s Claw Willow. The main ornamental feature of this plant is the contorted and twisted branches and twigs. Branches arise from the trunk at an acute angle and grow up almost parallel to the trunk before they curve back to the horizontal. The winter branch pattern is most interesting and accounts for the popularity of the tree. Corkscrew Willow trees tolerate any soil, especially wet soils with poor drainage. It is a fast growing tree with narrow light green leaves.

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The Tree Peony Yoshino gawa, ‘Paeonia’, produces enormous bright pale pink of rare beauty. Every garden needs a tree peony. There was a time, many years ago in ancient China, when the only person who could own a tree peony was the Emperor himself. We’re not sure what the penalty was for infringing this law, but it can’t have been very pleasant. Fortunately for us, tree peonies are now slightly more available. There are very few plants that can compete with a tree peony in full bloom. They flower from late April to early May but the flowering season does vary from year to year. A mature plant can have in excess of a hundred flowers and these can be 10″ or more across! The flowers range in color from maroon, crimson, scarlet, various shades of pink, to pure white. There are also tree peonies with yellow or purple flowers. The Chinese refer to the tree peony as ‘Moutan’. This has been variously translated but probably means ‘The Emperor Flower’. While the tree peony originated in China, it had found its way to Japan by the 8th Century AD. Japanese tree peonies tend to have less double flowers than their Chinese peers, and the flowers are more open and delicate. Growing only 4-5′ tall, these exceptional Tree Peonies are sub-zero hardy and bloom for a lifetime.

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The Poplar Hybrid tree, Populus Hybrid, will grow six feet per year with average and normal conditions This fast growing tree is often planted as a hedge, screen, windbreak, or to line a road or drive. You can expect this tree to be over 20 tall and 15 wide in just three years. It can grow to over 70 tall. This deciduous tree will require supplemental water until established. When you need shade in a hurry, we suggest the fast-growing Hybrid Poplar trees. We haven’t found any tree that grows like it. It normally lives 30-50 years. It is wind, disease, and insect-resistant and it can take the cold as far north as Canada. This poplar is often used to reforest after forest fire, and to reclaim land after strip mining. But, the best use is to provide beauty and a quick, cool, shade tree for new homes.

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The Red Globe Peach has a very large, round fruit with yellow flesh that has excellent flavor. This red skinned peach has one of the finest flavors ever developed. The exceptional quality makes it a highly desirable commercial peach. The very large peaches are ripe in June, and the trees are highly productive and vigorous. A highly blushed red over a golden background color, it is one the most attractive peaches of its season. It has good quality and firmness.

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The Red Flowering Dogwood tree, Cornus florida, ‘Cherokee Chief’, exhibits a moderate growth rate. The new growth is red. Red Flowering Dogwood trees have moderate resistance to mildew. The blooms are a beautiful deep lasting ruby red. Fall color is a bright scarlet. Dogwoods have a variety of landscape uses. With the year-round interest, dogwoods are excellent for specimen or accent plantings around the terrace or patio. This deciduous trees is often used with a combination of rhododendrons, azaleas and dogwoods planted in a raised bed which creates an interesting natural landscape feature. Dogwoods make excellent understory trees in a semi-shaded area and are also now being used in conjunction with typical foundation plantings and groundcovers in large beds around a building.

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The Gourd Luffa Chinese Okra, Cee Gwa, Sze Qwa, ‘Luffa aegyptiaca’ is simple and easy to grow. Grow your own sponge! The Luffa Gourd can also be cooked and eaten like summer squash! What a useful vegetable, and fun for the whole family. Grow your own sponge for exfoliating and clearing your skin, scrubbing dishes, and cleaning the barbeque grill. When the gourds are harvested between 4 and 6 inches long, they are a sweet, tasty vegetable that can be stir-fried, sauteed, or cooked with meats just as you would zucchini squash or okra. Mature gourd seeds can be roasted, and young flowers and foliage can be cooked as a green. Plant in the spring,1 to 2 weeks after the last average frost date and when soil temperatures have risen above 60 degrees. Place the gourds in full sun. The soil must be well drained and have lots of organic material. When using the gourds for a sponge, harvest when they turn brown, feel light and rattle with loose seeds.

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The Fennel Bronze, ‘Foeniculum vulgare’, has stunningly beautiful, purple feathery plumes that provide a lacy contrast in the vegetable or flower garden. The Bronze Fennel is an absolutely dazzling, hard to find Fennel, that is used primarily for ornamental value and has tasty foliage and seeds. The tall feathery, smoky purple foliage provides a beautiful accent with pink and white roses or any other contrasting flower color. The Bronze Fennel attracts butterflies. The swallowtail butterfly lays eggs on fennel. The seed produced by the Bronze Fennell is used for flavoring cookies, breads, and cakes. Fresh leaves can be sprinkled on salads or used in salad dressings. Plant in the spring 2 weeks before the last average frost date. Fennel does best in well drained, sandy soils with lots of organic matter. They need to be kept moist.

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The Sonata apple has a taste that is similar to a Golden. It is a medium sized apple with excellent flavor. It is a very attractive apple, with a bright, pinkish red blush over a yellow background. With a firm and finely grained, creamy colored flesh, it is cold hardy and highly precocious and productive. The Sonata keeps well in storage, retaining its flavor essences better than Gala. We highly recommend Sonata for hobbyists and home gardeners as this is truly a gourmet apple. Sonata apple trees have low to medium vigor. Matures similar to Golden Delicious. Primary assets are the combined excellent cosmetics with a pleasant exciting flavor.

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The Dwarf Korean Lilac - Tree Form, Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’, is dwarf variety of lilac in tree form with single, very fragrant, pale lilac flowers and small clean foliage. This plant blooms profusely at an early age. This ornamental plant makes an excellent accent or specimen in the landscape.

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The Red Bud tree, Cercis Canadensis, is also known as the eastern red bud, and sometimes referred to as the Judas tree because it dates back to biblical times. It is a small deciduous tree that displays an abundance of purple blossoms in the spring. It has large heart shaped leaves during the summer, and long seedpods in the fall. Red Bud trees have a yellow fall color. These trees are effective as a single specimen, in groupings, in a shrub border, and especially nice in woodland and naturalized type situations. It has low water requirements and displays a high tolerance to salt and alkali soils. Thousands of small rosy-pink flowers appear in the spring before leaves appear. It can be used in full sun to part shade. Does well in many soil types, except permanently wet soils. The seed pods attract wildlife.

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The Sweet Pea America, ‘Lathyrus odoratus’, is a very old heirloom sweet pea traced back to 1896. The crimson stripes on the soft white petal look like an exotic butterfly perched on a stem. The America is very fragrant and is a summer bloomer. The blooming period depends partially upon the weather because the plants usually stop blooming once the weather warms up. The America will take a little more heat and bloom longer into the summer. The Sweet Pea America has 2 inch flowers that are white with crimson stripes. A key element in successful growing of the Sweet Pea America is very early planting. The sweet pea prefers deep, rich, fertile soil. Use lots of peat or compost for early spring planting. Plant this sweet pea in full sun, but in a cool a spot as possible. Position them away from winds and rotate locations from year to year to prevent sweet pea pests. In cold climates plant the seed in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. In warm climates, plant in October through January for spring bloom. They are used for cut flowers and for covering fences and walls if given the proper support.

Check Prices at Nature Hills Nursery, Inc.

Check Prices at Nature Hills Nursery, Inc.

Check Prices at Nature Hills Nursery, Inc.

The Carrot Royal Chantenay, ‘Daucus carota var staivus’, produces home grown carrots that taste better than store bought. They have a sweet, crisp, nice flavor and they are excellent for heavy, clay dominated soils. Royal Chantenay is considered an excellent all around carrot by combining excellent qualities such as flavor, shallow soil growth, and storage ability. They are a great container vegetable The Royal Chantenay produces a carrot that is thick, 5 to 6 inches long, and orange in color. Carrot seed germinates in soils as cold as 45 degrees, but performs best in warm soils. The first sowing should be 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost. Do successive planting every 3 weeks, until 70 days before the first fall frost. In very warm climates carrots are grown primarily in the fall. The single most important factor in growing carrots is to have a deep, clod and rock free, well drained soil. A 50% peat moss mix with the soil is ideal. Even moisture is essential.

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