Nurseries gear up for spring and summer

As the spring season slowly gets into full swing, several area nurseries are now stocked with a variety of plants, trees, shrubs and vegetables just waiting to be purchased and planted by garden and landscape enthusiasts.

Chapman’s Greenhouse                                                                      and Nursery

Chapman’s Greenhouse and Nursery, located at 14002 NE 117th Ave., Vancouver, opened for the season March 20. Serving Clark County residents for more than 30 years, Chapman’s is a family-owned-and-operated greenhouse and nursery specializing in bedding plants, hanging baskets, patio pots and perennials.

One of Chapman’s main “pride and joys” is their tomatoes, with more than 50 varieties to choose from. Some types of tomatoes currently available include Roma, Early Girl, Better Boy, Cherokee Purple and more. Chapman’s carries both 4-inch starts and gallon starts.

In addition to the more than 50 varieties of tomatoes, Chapman’s also offers more than 30 varieties of peppers, ranging from hot chili peppers like the Anaheim Chili to mild bell peppers like the Tasty Orange Bell.

Other vegetables and fruit starts that Chapman’s offers include corn, eggplants, melons, Quinault strawberries, cucumbers and more. They also carry a variety of herbs, including basil, chives, rosemary, mint and more.

Aside from vegetables, Chapman’s has a large assortment of annuals and perennials throughout the entire growing season. Annuals offered include Impatiens, Zinnias, Fuschias, Marigolds and several more. Perennials available include Day Lily, Salvia, Dahlia, Bleeding Hearts and more.

Chapman’s is open seasonally March 20-September. The hours at the nursery are Mon.-Sun., 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and they are open all holidays and weekends throughout the planting season. For more information, call (360) 892-1405 or visit www.chapmansgreenhouseandnursery.com.

Shorty’s Garden and Home                                                        According to Robert Sculley from the Help and Advice Desk at Shorty’s Garden and Home, “if you can eat it, it’s hot right now.” Sculley said everyone is really wanting to grow their own food right now and the folks at Shorty’s are happy to help them do just that, offering a variety of vegetables, berries, fruits, seeds and more.

Shorty’s is helping people out with their garden needs at two locations, one in Vancouver at 10006 Mill Plain Blvd., and another in Ridgefield at 705 NE 199th St. Independent and family owned, Shorty’s has been operating in the Clark County area for more than 40 years.

Sculley said vegetables that should be planted right now include leafy vegetables, peas and root crops such as onions, beets, carrots, radishes and potatoes. Vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, squash and zucchini should be planted in mid May. Shorty’s Garden Centers carry plants of all types, including vegetables, annuals, perennials, roses, deciduous trees and shrubs, evergreen trees and shrubs, conifers, bonsai, berries, fruit trees and more.

Regarding which types of trees people should plant and grow in the Pacific Northwest, Sculley said the question really is, “what can’t you grow?” He said people can grow pretty much anything here in the temperate Pacific Northwest climate, including some favorites like Japanese Maples, flowering trees like cherry, crab apple trees, dogwoods and redbuds.

Currently, Shorty’s is offering several different specials, including select premium 4-inch perennials grown by Skagit Gardens for $1.99 (regularly $3.99) and also savings on all Espoma Organic Fertilizers. These specials will last until April 30.

Aside from plants, trees and veggies, Shorty’s also carries houseplants, garden decor, gifts, garden supplies, soil and mulch, sod and birding equipment such as feeders and houses. They also provide customers with services such as rental equipment, container planting, soil testing, plant diagnosis and identification and more.

Both Shorty’s locations are open Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, contact the Vancouver location at (360) 892-7880 or the Ridgefield location at (360) 887-3936 or visit www.shortysgardenandhome.com.

Tsugawa Nursery

A family-owned-and-operated business, Tsugawa Nursery got its start in 1947 when the Tsugawa family began growing strawberries in Woodland. In January 1981, the family purchased a defunct nursery and opened Tsugawa Nursery in March 1981 with very little nursery stock. The nursery eventually grew and has become a well-established nursery and garden area.

Located at 410 Scott Ave., Woodland, Tsugawa Nursery offers a number of shrubs, trees, grasses, berries, annuals and perennials and more. Tsugawa carries Japanese Maples, bamboo, dwarf conifers, fruit trees and small berries, bonsai, water garden plants and fish, pond supplies and more.

Aside from plants and garden items. Tsugawa also offers its customers landscape design help for a fee of $75 for the first hour, $50 for each additional hour, planting services, custom containers, fountain set-up and delivery of items.

Tsugawa also offers numerous monthly seminars and events in order to help educate the inexperienced gardener or to simply give the garden veteran a few new ideas. The nursery has hosted seminars on vegetable growing, potting plants, bonsai and more. They hold a few new seminars each month.

A variety of specials are being offered at Tsugawa until April 30, including 20 percent off camellias, 25 percent off pieris, leyland cypress trees for only $65 and more.

Tsugawa Nursery is open Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call (360) 225-8750 or visit www.tsugawanursery.com.

Planting Instructions from

Shorty’s Garden and Home

After taking home recently-purchased plants, shrubs or trees, follow these planting instructions from Shorty’s Garden and Home to reach the best growing potential:

•    Keep plants moist and stored in a partially-shaded and wind-protected area until ready to plant. If planting must be delayed, cover the roots of bare root type plants with mulch.

•    Dig a hole about twice the width of the root ball or container and to a depth that allows the top of the root ball to rest two inches above the surrounding ground level.

•    To check drainage fill the hole with water. The water should drain within one hour. A plant and garden professional can give advice on how to improve drainage.

•    To aid in root development, roughen the sides of the planting hole.

•    To create backfill soil, use three parts native soil and one part Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost. Also, add Dr. Earth Starter Fertilizer into the prepared backfill soil at the recommended rate on the label.

•    For bare root type plants, trim any damaged roots with sharp pruning shears. For container type plants, remove from container and gently loosen roots, until the root wad is thoroughly loose. For balled and burlap plants, do not remove the burlap.

•    Carefully place the plant into the planting hole. For balled and burlap type plants, cut the twine around the trunk only and gently peel the burlap away, exposing the trunk flare (swelling at the base of the trunk) and top half of the root ball. Bury the peeled-away burlap, it will rot away.

•    Make sure that the top of the root ball or trunk flare is at least two inches above the surrounding ground level.

•    Refill the hole with the backfill material prepared earlier and water soil as you go to remove all of the air pockets. Mound soil around the raised root ball so that the soil level tapers away from the root ball. The goal is to have the soil slope away from the plant trunk to ensure proper drainage.

•    Water thoroughly to remove any remaining air pockets and to settle the soil. Add more soil if necessary. Avoid applying mulch directly to the trunk of the plant.

•    New plantings should be stabilized for the first season with tree stakes and trunk-friendly plastic tree chain.

Tsugawa Nursery’s Garden Tips for May

What should be done in the garden during the month of May? The experts at Tsugawa Nursery offer these May gardening tips.

Planting

•    May is the best month to plant. For annual seeds, if you have very small seeds, try mixing them with sand, usually four parts sand to one part seed, or sprinkle the seeds with a salt shaker.

•    Dahlias: Choose a sunny location, with rich soils that drain quickly. Set stakes when planting to avoid damaging tubers later. Keep well watered once you see new shoots popping up. If you water too early, the tubers may rot.

•    Geraniums: Set in beds or in containers. Use a high nitrogen fertilizer the first month to encourage lush new growth, switch to a high phosphorous fertilizer later. If it is a cold May, wait until the end of the month to plant them outside.

•    Seeds grown indoors: Toughen gradually by putting them in a sheltered spot for several days. Gradually increase their exposure to the sun, until in a week or two they can withstand the sun, then transplant them outside.

•    Vegetable seeds: Sow cord seeds at a soil temperature around 62 degrees for fast germination. Plant them approximately May 1-June 15. Bush beans can be planted until July 15. Covering the rows with clear plastic will warm the soil and allow earlier planting. Remove the plastic when the seeds have sprouted. Corn should be in blocks of at least four rows, it is wind pollinated. Grow popcorn away from sweet corn.

•    Perennial seeds: These can be started in flats, or in the garden in a sheltered area, for next year’s bloom.

•    Potatoes: Cut seed potatoes with an eye on each piece, then let them cure for about 24 hours before planting. Try rolling freshly cut potato pieces in bone meal so a little sticks to damp cuts. This helps prevent trouble with potato bugs. Plant in slightly acidic soil to discourage scab. Planting in old tires is an easy method. Add more tires and mulch as the vine grows. Cut potato pieces should be planted with the eyes up.

•    Squash: Plant summer and winter varieties now. Summer squash (zucchini, crookneck, straight neck) is harvested when fruit is young and the skin is soft. Pick them regularly to keep a continuous supply. Winter squash (butternut, acorn, gold nugget, etc.) is harvested just before frost. It should be cut from the plant with the stem intact. Plant seeds with pointed end down for faster sprouting.

•    Tomato plants: Plant outside when the ground is warm. Larger fruited tomatoes take longer to mature. Plant them in full sun, in the hottest spot that you have.

•    Chrysanthemum cuttings: Set out rooted cuttings when the shoots are about 4 inches high. Pinch out the tops.

Fertilizing

•    Spring flowering shrubs: Use a complete fertilizer or compost. If it is a dry spring, keep watered during their bloom season.

•    Camellias and rhododendrons: Use light applications of fertilizer every other week.

•    Trees: Keep applying manure or compost around your trees, extending it well beyond the branches by 1 foot. Tree spikes or a complete fertilizer can also be used. Water in well.

•    Grapes: Apply wood ashes or a high phosphorous fertilizer.

•    Garden: If you are tilling your garden now, this is your last chance to work compost or manure into the soil before planting. If you are using fresh manure, till it in and let it sit for a week or so before planting.

Pruning

•    Spring flowering shrubs: Some years they finish blooming this month. If you want to thin out your plants or keep their growth under control, the new growth should be shortened during the growing season. A rule of thumb is to cut out 1/3 of the oldest canes at ground level and 1/3 of all remaining branches by 1/3 of their length.

•    Photinia: If you want to keep the reddish foliage coming back, prune now. This will also prevent legginess. Trim tips to prevent straggly new growth.

•    Conifers: Remove new growth before it has a chance to develop if you want to limit the plant’s size. You can also prune large branches if you want to improve its shape.

Spray and Control

•    Holly: Spray for holly leaf miner if needed.

•    Filbert trees: Spray for leaf roller if needed.

•    Apple fruit fly: Spray, or try controlling, by attracting the fly. Coat a piece of plastic fruit or a red ball with Tanglefoot and hang it in the tree. Also, bands of burlap or corrugated cardboard on the trunks attract the moth to lay its eggs there instead. Dispose of the burlap or cardboard in the fall.

•    Camellias: To control cottony Camellia scale (sooty deposits on leaves) spray now. It isn’t effective in June or July, since only the egg stage is present then.

•    Rhododendrons: Spray for root weevils at the end of May to kill the adults as they emerge.

•    Tobacco mosaic: Spread to tomato plants by people who have handled tobacco. It causes malformed or mottled leaves. Keep tomatoes away from tobacco, cucumbers, potatoes and other possible disease carriers.

•    Apples and pears: Spray for coddling moth, or use trapping method. Another method of trapping is by using a pheromone, which is a sex attractant for male moths.