Newsletter for May 2024

The garden beckons! It’s time to get ready for the next season and we are prepared to help at Bay Laurel Garden Center. You might want to start your planting with some impressive background plants. The burgundy Cotinus (smoke bush) is very popular for its striking color plus drought resistance. This shrub can grow to 20 feet or more but it’s quite prunable. We have, at this time, its polar opposite, Cotinus ‘Golden Spirit’. This relatively rare specimen’s bright chartreuse brightens up a shaded corner.

A welcome gift on Mother’s Day is a lovely bouquet of roses. It will last for two weeks if you’re lucky! A potted rose, however, will last for years. We just happen to have a great selection which includes many tree roses both patio size and taller. Hybrid shrub roses include Ingrid Bergman, Tropicana and many more. Julia Child is a lovely floribunda. The hybrid teas are great for cut flowers but the floribunda tends to bloom a bit more. Come in and smell the roses at Bay Laurel Garden Center!

Vegetable growers are filling up their carts at Bay Laurel Garden Center. Tomatoes and peppers are the most sought after. What to choose? Just a few of the sweet peppers you can plant – standard types include green, red, orange and purple – within that range are the small lunch box types. ‘Roumanian Rainbow’ is 4 to 5 inches long – the fruit ripens ivory, then turns orange and finally red. All three colors appear at the same time for a unique display You might try ‘Dragonfly’ – these 3″ thick-walled peppers turn from green to dark purple.

Some definitely like it hot! Check the Scoville chart by the vegetable rack at Bay Laurel Garden Center. It shows the Scoville units indicating the pepper’s hotness. ‘Carolina Reaper’ nears the top with Ancho/Poblano near the bottom. The pepper is called Poblano when green and great for stuffing, Ancho when red and dried.

A unique and exotic Azalea is ‘Double Cannon’. This isn’t exactly Azalea country but given shade and good drainage with an acid fertilizer you have a good chance for success!

A peek into the shade house at Bay Laurel Garden Center. The stately foxgloves are in bloom. We have a great variety of Heucheras (Coral Bells) – some varieties are grown for leaf color and other for the tiny bells. As they increase in size they can create a lovely display.

California natives are always desirable. Hurry on in to Bay Laurel Garden Center if you want to plant one of the showiest and least available shrubs – Dendromecon rigida. The bright yellow flowers remain on the plant for many months. Dendromecon requires good drainage and is extremely drought resistant.

The popularity of lavenders is totally understandable. Fragrant, colorful and deer resistant! The first types to show their faces are the Spanish varieties – Lavandula stoechas. We now have a variety of bloom colors to choose at Bay Laurel Garden Center from ranging from dark purple to pink.

Beware the tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris). This insect is most often found preying on the young fruits of the nectarine – sometimes peaches. It is necessary to spray the plant when the fruit is very young – perhaps twice a week – with a general insecticide, Use Captain Jack’s, Take down, etc. The insect will disfigure the fruit skin and cause it to be very undesirable.

We have lots of tough Euphorbias to fill your garden beds at Bay Laurel Garden Center. There are dark leaved varieties, variegated ones and ground covers. All come with a warning – do not let the sap get into your eyes!