Greenery! And what diversity you will find. We have handsome Nordmann firs and Colorado spruce for living Christmas trees and more. For the formal garden you will find rounded and sculpted evergreens.
Inside our main building the holiday offerings include several varieties of colorful Poinsettias plus 4″ and 6″ Christmas cactus. We have a rather decent assortment of house plants including the variegated form of ‘String of Hearts’ (Ceropegia woodii), a rather rare house plant. Additionally, red Amaryllis bulbs are still available plus several Amaryllis bulbs in containers.
A few of the many products you might choose as gifts, not to mention gloves, pruners and gift certificates.
Let’s call it “The pre-bareroot season without the bareroot”. We have rows and rows of berries, figs, grapes and pomegranates in quart containers ready for planting. Be sure to check the availability by coming to the nursery or going to our online order website https://baylaurelnursery.com. We will have many of these varieties available in bareroot in January. The advantage of planting from these containers is a larger, more developed root system. Don’t forget the organic amendment and gopher protection to give your plants a proper start.
The star of the winter blooming shrubs – the camellia ‘Yuletide’. The Sasanqua camellias are always the first to bloom. This is just one among many gorgeous varieties. Included in our collection: ‘Pink-a-Boo’, a charming pink bloomer, ‘Setsugekka’, a single Sasanqua with bi-colored flowers, ‘Tom Knudsen’ a Japonica variety with large, bright red flowers. Camellias are quite adaptable but adequate drainage is preferred. We recommend acidic soil, but it is not crucial. Camellias need regular water but not they are not considered “thirsty plants”.
Chondropetalum belongs to a genus of plants named Restio. These originated in Australia and South Africa. The two varieties of Chondropetalums, tectorum and elephantinum, both do very well here. They are great for the landscape and do equally well as container plants. They are evergreen. We also have an assortment of evergreen grasses – Seslaria, Muhlenbergia, Juncus and blue fescue. A reminder to cut back your deciduous grasses at this time. Don’t wait too long or you will see new growth with squared off tips.
Two very different winter flowering shrubs – but both prefer part shade. The Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ has bold, dark green, sharp edged leaves. It is a striking specimen growing 10 to 15 feet tall. The bright yellow flowers in winter transform into black berries in spring.
The Correa reflexa ‘Kangaroo Island’ (origin obvious) is a much more delicate plant. Small, colorful flowers adorn this Correa which attains a height of about 4 feet and 4 feet wide. Another attribute they both have in common is their low water requirement.
It’s great weather for planting. Our shelves are filled with all sorts of temptations. We still have many vegetables including onion sets. The flowering annual selections include Iceland poppies, Calendulas, pansies, violas, English primroses and Cyclamen. The bright orange Diascia will continue on in the winter. No shortage of California natives. The early flowering manzanitas are a favorite of hummingbirds.