Throughout my career, I’ve visited lots of wholesale growers, but the most memorable visit of all was in Boring, Oregon, home to Iseli Nursery. Iseli is, in my opinion, the nation’s premier grower of conifers and Japanese maples. And lucky for you, we just received a sizable order from them, including a number of familiar and fantastic plants, as well as several listed here that have never before been offered in this market.

I’m tempted to say that these new arrivals are for collectors, connoisseurs, and geeks like me. That may be true, but the fact is they’re for everybody, and you owe it to yourself to come see them for yourself…and for your garden.

Acer palmatum ‘Omure Yama’ is a gorgeous cascading maple that will grow 15’ tall and 12’ wide. Deeply dissected green leaves turn red and gold in fall.

Acer palmatum ‘Koto Maru’ grows to about 6’ tall and wide, making it ideal for small gardens or containers. Leaves start out yellow-green with a touch of amber, then finish the season bright red, orange, and yellow.

Acer palmatum ‘Ukigumo’ goes by the name Floating Cloud owing to its white leaves that are splashed with green and pink. Fall color ranges from apricot to fiery red. Grows to about 15’ by 12’

Acer trifolium ‘Shaggy Bark’ is also known as Chinese Three Flower maple. Its shaggy bark is gorgeous, as is its bright yellow to orange fall color. Exceptionally heat and cold tolerant, you can expect this beauty to top out at around 15’.

Fescue to the Rescue
Saturday, September 20 
10 to 11 a.m.

Fall is for fescue, and given the unexpected arrival of cooler-than-normal temperatures, we may be able to get a jump start on planting this cool-season grass from seed. Join Paul James as he talks you through the steps required to ensure success, from sowing to mowing. This event is free, but registration is required: tinyurl.com/paulfescue

‘Everton Broom’ has been trained into a compact tree form that should reach 10’ in as many years. Great for small gardens or large containers, it produces the brilliant yellow foliage Ginkgo lovers adore.

‘Skyfall’ produces outrageously large panicles of white flowers that eventually turn pastel pink. Recurved petals resemble hyacinth flowers. As good as these look now, they won’t last.

‘Mojito’ is compact, but it’s covered with lime green flowers in spring and summer that fade to a bluish-pink in fall. Great in the garden or in containers, it grows to roughly 3’ tall and wide. 

‘Miss Grace’ is described as a superb living sculpture owing to the way its branches arch out and down. As a deciduous conifer, its green needles turn shades of yellow, orange, and red before dropping to reveal its peeling red bark. As for size, the folks at Iseli won’t commit to a number, saying only that it “varies with culture,” but that it does grow about 8” a year.

Pinus banksiana ‘Schneverdingen’ is a dynamite dwarf form that’s kinda funky, forming an irregular pyramid. It’s a sloooow grower, reaching 18” (yes, inches) in ten years. I saw my first one in a bonsai collection years ago, and it definitely caught my eye.

Pinus bungeana ‘Silver Ghost’ is a lacebark pine with stunning silvery, gray-white bark that, unlike the species, develops at a young age. Put it in a spot where its bark is on full display. Should reach 12’ to 14’ tall in ten years.

Pinus heldreichii ‘White Cloud’ is really cool, with green, variegated, and white needles. At maturity, it’s only 3’ tall and 2’ wide, making it great for growing in containers. Definitely a plant that offers year-round interest.

It’s small, rare, and pretty pricey for its size, but ‘Haley Bop’ is prized by collectors. Honestly, not a lot is known about how best to grow it, but I chatted with Alex Boedeker -- the fellow plant geek who placed this Iseli order -- and we agreed that it’s not likely to survive temps much below freezing, which means it needs to be protected in winter much like tender bonsai, that is placed in a cold frame or unheated garage with bright light, or in a cool greenhouse.

In addition to many conifers, we also received lots of mini conifers. These have been hugely popular for years, and they’re great in pots, as starter bonsai, or for railroad gardens.

This is a good time to fertilize conifers and evergreens, and Espoma makes picking the right fertilizer easy with its specially formulated Evergreen-tone, and for hollies -- you guessed it -- Holly-tone.

Easy to grow, mighty tasty, and the best defense against vampires. I’ll go through all the steps required to grow a great batch of garlic.