Furney’s has everything you need to start seeds indoors! We have an extensive display of seeds- racks and racks that provide a large selection of varieties from many different brands. It’s a cornucopia of seeds! We have all the seeds you’ll need and so much more!!!

• We have the proper seed starting soil mix to help those seedlings flourish!
• We also have all the containers and trays to house them in!
• Don’t forget the spray bottles for gentle watering-those little guys are fragile!
• Try adding one of our many fertilizers and rooting hormones to really get your seedlings started!

Go to our February Gardening Calendar to learn more about starting seeds indoors, including advice on planting techniques and care! What varieties are you planting this year? Are there any unusual varieties you’re hoping for? Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page! We hope to see you at the nursery very soon!

Sweet Box (Sarcococca ruscifolia) and Himalayan Sweet Box (Sarcococca humilis)

This gorgeous shrub is filled with blossoms at this time of year! It has gleaming evergreen foliage to add some much-needed greenery to the winter landscape but it’s those flowers that really steal the show! Small and creamy white, they dangle from their branches with delicate splendor. Some people call Sweet Box the “vanilla plant”, due to its enticing aroma. And when the flowers fade, the show still goes on! Flowers are replaced by blood-red drupes, the small fruit that bunch together at the stems. The contrast between the glossy green leaves and the dark red drupes creates plenty of visual interest for your average February morning.

Sweet Box reaches heights of 4-6 feet tall. It lights up any walkway, border or container. Its smaller cousin, the Himalayan Sweet Box, is a dwarf variety, growing to be a 1-2 feet tall. It can be used as a groundcover and it also looks great in containers!

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

This large shrub is a very late bloomer (or early, depending on how you look at it)! It lights up with small yellow blooms in mid-winter, just after the last of its golden fall leaves have fallen. Each cluster of flowers looks like tiny shreds of coconut, swaying in the breeze which give off a warm, spicy aroma that titillates the nose! Growing up to 20-30 feet tall, this shrub makes an excellent focal point or several can be planted together to make a colorful, golden screen.

Winter Daphne (Daphne odora)

Winter Daphne is a delicate beauty. It needs a little additional love and care but the extra effort will always be worth the reward that this plant provides. This lovely shrub produces rosy purple buds that explode into bright rose pink blossoms in late winter, into early spring. Their fragrance is a robust jasmine-like perfume that will follow you, even after you’ve turned the corner. After the blooms have finished, healthy specimens will go on to produce red fruit!

It can be tricky to nurse this plant through the winter (especially the first one) so take care to give it what it most needs. Winter Daphne requires very good drainage and full sun to partial shade. They are sensitive to being transplanted and moved so try to find the right spot from the get-go. We recommend planting this beauty in a rock garden or raised bed and then keeping the soil moist but not soaked. If you play your cards right, you’ll have color, fragrance AND beauty right at your fingertips this winter.

Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)

Winter honeysuckle is a lovely bushy, deciduous shrub that typically reaches 6-10 feet tall and just as wide. Its oval foliage is quite dark, almost bluish, and appears in mid-spring, after flowering and fruiting has completed. Flowering begins in late winter or early spring, with short-tubed, creamy white blossoms, typical of a honeysuckle. However, the aroma of these flowers is unlike any other honeysuckle! It’s a bold, lemony scent with hints of other fruity flavors, reminding the Furney’s staff of Fruit Loops cereal!

It’s an adaptable shrub, happy in most soils but preferring moist, loamy places. This plant is a harbinger of springtime! When you see those buds forming, you know that winter’s end is nigh. Snip off a few budded branches for fragrant, indoor blooming!

If you have a question or comment about any of these plants, please leave it below. Do you grow any of these fragrant winter wonders in your yard? Come to the nursery to get any of these plants and many many more. We hope to see you soon!

Clearance Sale- Happening Now!

    60% OFF Pottery

    50% OFF Christmas Gift Shop

    35% OFF Regular Gift Shop

    50% OFF Marked Garden Supplies

We have many items leftover from 2011 and we want to make room for new products! Many of our wonderful gifts and products are discounted at up to 60% OFF of the marked price.  Items include everything from Christmas décor, pottery and birdfeeders to wire hanging baskets, trellises, and much more! Come down to the nursery today!

Japanese Umbrella Pines (Sciadopitys verticillata):

Here comes a tree straight from imaginative storybooks! These dense, compact conifers get their name because of their delightful, cascading whorls of dark, glossy needles. The effect can look a bit like something out of a Dr. Suess book, while still maintaining a dignified, appealing form. They reach a mature height of 25- 40 feet but grow quite slowly. These pines are long-lived, slow-growing majesties that will become a family heirloom, to be treasured.

Spanish Firs (Abies pinsapo):

What unusual beauty can be found in the Spanish Firs! They are a group of dense, slow-growing evergreens that have some fascinating characteristics! When they are young, branches form a distinct conical shape, spreading as they age. Needles spiral around branches in short, waxy rings, creating appealing shapes and lots of visual interest! As they begin to reach maturity, they form highly attractive cones that stand on the end of the branches, often showing up in shades of rose and maroon! These trees can live up to 300 years old and reach heights above 80 feet so be sure to plant them in a spacious spot!

Japanese Cedars (Cryptomeria japonica):

While they are not actually true cedars, Japanese Cedars (or Sugi) do have braided cedar-like foliage that dangle attractively from intricate limbs. These tall evergreens reach heights of over 100 feet, with a conical crown and a straight, slim trunk. Their attractive, fibrous bark is tinged with reddish browns that peel in strips, another characteristic they share with some true cedars. Plaited foliage dangles delicately from whorled branches, with globular little cones at the tips, giving this tree a dramatic, draping affect!

Blue Chinese Firs (Cunninghamia lanceolata ‘Glauca’):

While this tree has many redeeming features, when it comes down to it, you only need to know one word: BLUE! Blue Chinese Firs live up to their name by delivering unprecedented brilliant blue foliage on every limb! New growth is especially vibrant, mellowing as it ages. These trees generally reach 15-25 feet tall, with a spiraling form. They are easy-going, healthy evergreens that will add beauty and intrigue to any landscape for years to come.

Gold Rider Leyland Cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii ‘Gold Rider’)

We all know and love the Leyland Cypress. The ‘Gold Rider’ is it’s blond cousin, appearing in glowing shades of yellow, gold and light-green. Newer needles appear in the most vibrant golds at the tips, while inner foliage deepens to an energetic lime green. A striking contrast that delights the eye! Gold Rider makes an outstanding focal point and works wonderfully as a hedge! Its pyramidal form reaches heights of 35 feet and is one of the best cultivars for golden color.

What a stunner! This gorgeous dwarf conifer gives amazing fall color without ever losing its leaves! The Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine boasts lovely, light-green needles that grow in compact bundles throughout the warmer times of year. However, when the weather begins to cool, in autumn, a stunning show begins! The needles morph into a glowing golden and yellow display that lasts throughout the winter! When spring arrives again, the leaves change back into light green for the duration of the summer. What a magnificent treat!

Chief Joseph is small and manageable, growing only a foot per year (at the most), usually reaching a mature height of 6-8 feet. It grows naturally in the mountains of eastern Oregon so, while it is technically a Northwest native, it does prefer drier climates. Just take care not to overwater your pine and that it’s planted in well-drained soil.

Plant these beacons of light throughout your garden, to light up the gray days of winter. They also do well in containers; place a few near your porch to welcome visitors in from the cold!

Call for availability before getting your heart set on this plant, though. They are generally pretty rare and hard to find. In fact, we can usually only get one at the nursery at a time!

Sunlight requirement: partial to full sun

Watering needs: minimal, once established

Soil conditions: prefers well-drained soil

Please call us at the nursery to check for availability: (206) 878-8761

You can get really creative with this project, depending on how much time and creative energy you can spend. Winter is the perfect time! Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

Tip #1: Build to suit your Yard!

Try making boxes that are shaped to fit into your landscape. Construct them to fit in your own specific corners and nooks. Fit them to go on a fence, tree deck railing or windowsill! Go out into the yard with the measuring tape and get the angles and measurements written down. Visualize where you want those boxes to go. Then measure the space, to build your box to compliment your landscape.

Tip #2: Plan with Plants in Mind!

Think about what kinds of plants you want in your boxes. How deep will the roots grow? How tall are the stems? Do you want plants that will spill over the side or grow several feet into the air? Plants must be healthy and stable in order to thrive. If your boxes are too shallow, root growth can suffer and some plants could tip over and break, without proper support.

Tip #3: Decorate to your Aesthetic!

This is where the creative juices can really get flowing. If you want, you can even get the kids involved. You can paint your planter boxes to match your house. You can paint little landscape scenes on the sides or add floral designs. Stencils can come in handy, if you want a uniform look. You can also make or purchase wooden cut-out shapes of flowers, birds or butterflies to paint and attach to the sides. Experiment with shapes, types of materials and techniques to get the boxes that you want.

Tip#4: Get the Proper Tools!

Your local hardware store can be of great help in this situation. You should be able to get just about everything you need: the wood, paint, screws or nails and any tools you don’t have at home. We recommend using fine, sharp saws for this job and getting some nice sandpaper to smooth out the edges. These boxes are likely to be close to your living space so make sure there are no rough edges or corners.

This charming deciduous shrub brings a delightful richness to the garden landscape. Its multi-branched, upright shape holds gorgeous clusters of rich purple leaves, giving it a royal feel. In Autumn, this color only becomes richer, with added red and bronze hues that accentuate the existing plum. Diablo ninebark is a great shrub for new gardens and landscapes, as it grows quickly, reaching 8-10 feet tall at maturity, with a similar spread.

It’s a relatively flexible plant and will thrive in most mild conditions but it will produce more blossoms in full sun and well-drained fertile soil.  Flowers appear each spring in pinkish-white clusters, creating a stunning visual effect against the dark, saturated foliage. Its unique bark peels, or exfoliates, lending extra charm to this already spectacular small tree. With plenty of visual interest for every season, the Diablo ninebark is a wonderful addition to any hedge, border or garden nook.

Sunlight requirement: full sun

Watering needs: keep the soil evenly moist

Soil conditions: prefers well-drained soil

Please call us at the nursery to check for availability: (206) 878-8761

The Bristlecone Pine has a fascinating growth habit, rising slowly and densely, often contorting and twisting. This small evergreen tree can grow to appear like a bonsai, with a very attractive, picturesque form. The dark, blue-green foliage looks wonderful in containers, on patios and, particularly, in rock gardens. Most develop a thick, whitish resin on the needles that look quite striking in contrast to the dark growth.

It is native to the mountainous regions of the southwestern states, often growing right at the timber line. This natural habitat means that Pinus aristata is a very hearty tree. It can tolerate high winds, full sun and poor soil conditions. It is cold hardy to zone 4. This pine grows well in many different environments but does tend to be sensitive to polluted air. The mature height is around 20 feet tall, with a spread of 10-20 feet but, due to its dense, slow growth rate, it could be a couple of generations before it reaches that height. In fact, most of these trees, if left alone, can easily reach a few thousand years of age.

In the wild, these magnificent trees can often be found right at the tree line, braving alpine climates, high winds and rocky terrain. This contributes to their gnarled, contorted appearance in the wild. However, when given milder conditions, they can be guided to form delightful curved shapes. The oldest individual plant is thought to be the 4600 year old bristlecone pine of the Sierra Nevada (pictured below). Now that’s a heritage tree!

]]> http://www.furneysnursery.com/2011/10/04/pinus-aristata-bristlecone-pine/feed/ 0 http://www.furneysnursery.com/2011/10/04/pinus-aristata-bristlecone-pine/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FurneysNursery/~3/O22-LO_5PjA/ http://www.furneysnursery.com/2011/10/03/plant-fall-healthy-trees-shrubs/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:23:04 +0000 Furney's Nursery http://www.furneysnursery.com/?p=323 It’s been a long, happy gardening season so far. We’ve been so busy planting, weeding, watering and watching the summer begin to fade into autumn. We are now just past the autumnal equinox and it is officially Autumn! For many gardeners, this signals the time to wind things down, put away the tools and wait for next spring.

However, there are certain plants that will thrive and grow the best, if planted in October. Of course, we already know to plant fall bulbs, onions and garlic in the autumn but what about trees and shrubs? That’s right! The best time to plant trees and shrubs is right now, in the heart of Autumn.

In the Pacific Northwest, our mild temperatures are ideal for planting many trees and shrubs in October, with low temperatures well above freezing. We usually don’t get a hard frost until late November or December! Also, the ground isn’t too soggy from months of rain (as opposed to the springtime) so new root shoots can easily move through the soil. In fact, the soil has been thoroughly warmed throughout the summer, which makes it easier for roots to establish. They can quickly spread out, in search of water and minerals, instead of shrinking up when the soil is cold.

Deciduous trees and shrubs are about to enter a period of dormancy. During dormancy, no growth occurs in the upper branches but the entire tree’s energy is focused on growing a stronger root system. This stronger root system will better support foliage growth in the spring.

You can reinvent your landscape right now and plant a few new treasures in the garden. Try these varieties:

Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) – This gorgeous shade tree is among the most beautiful plants we have here at the nursery.  It boasts attractive, heart-shaped foliage that turns many brilliant colors come fall!  The best part though is the fact that when this tree is losing its leaves, it emits a strong scent that smells like burnt sugar!  This tree is a must-have for anyone looking for a fabulous specimen tree!

 
Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus ‘Compacta’) – Perhaps no name has ever been more apt than the name that has been given to this legendary deciduous shrub!  The Burning Bush goes from its usual attractive green to the most vivid fire-engine red fall color you’ll see anywhere!  While this plant is in its fall color, you’ll find it hard to notice any other plants in your garden!

 
Hedgerow Gold Redtwig Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera ‘Hedgerows Gold’) – The Hedgerow Gold variety of Redtwig Dogwood is one of the greatest plants to come out of the nursery industry in quite a while!  The fantastic golden variegated foliage is as vivid as it is reliable, and the plant itself can thrive in a wide variety of planting areas.  Come fall, those planted in sunny areas will take on a kaleidoscope of gorgeous fall colors before losing their foliage to show off the deep red branches that Redtwig Dogwoods are most known for!

The Japanese snowbell is a delightful deciduous tree with a fine, dainty texture that adds depth, splendor and interest to any garden. Every spring, delicate white, bell-shaped flowers sway gently from its branches, filling the air with a light, sweet fragrance. These give way to small decorative green fruits in the summer, accompanied by lush, green foliage. This smaller, upright tree grows to about 20-30 feet tall at maturity, developing a wide, shading canopy. It’s absolutely picturesque in its peak and ideal for any sized yard. A number of great varieties have been developed including dwarf cultivars, and cultivars with beautiful pink flowers!  As always, please give us a call to check availability! (206) 878-8761

Sunlight requirement: full to partial sun

Watering needs: keep soil evenly moist

Soil conditions: needs well-drained, acidic soil

This colorful, evergreen shrub really has it all! It features a wide array of multicolored foliage throughout the year, ranging from blue-green in the summer to gold and red, especially in the winter. And new spring growth appears on the scene with coppery tints, making this plant a gorgeous ever-changing rainbow! It’s bushy, dense shape makes it ideal for a hedge or border plant but it will grow happily just about anywhere, including containers! Unlike other heavenly bamboos, it is quite compact, reaching only 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. It’s a low-maintenance shrub with very few disease and pest issues.  ‘Gulf Stream’ is tolerant of urban conditions. It’s quite hardy for our area and will grow gladly in just about any garden!

Sunlight requirement: full to partial sun

Watering needs: Keep the soil evenly moist, but not wet

Soil conditions: Tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions

1. Plant as soon as possible – Plants kept in nursery containers for long periods of time are especially prone to damage in the hot sun.  For this reason, it is important to get them settled into their new home as soon as you can.

2. Watch your plants carefully – Here at the nursery, we have a fantastic watering system that waters our plants every night.  Even with that system, we are constantly monitoring our plants to make sure that their watering needs are met.  This is because there are many factors that can increase the amount of water that a plant needs.  They include:

• Excessive heat
• Wind or even a slight breeze
• Plants that become root-bound
• The failure of a watering system
• Plants with root systems that are too small for the plant
• Soil with poor moisture retention

Watch that watering like a hawk, whether you have a watering system in place or water by hand. Plants give us many signals that tell us that they need more water, from limp foliage to drying leaves. Keep an eye out for those signals, in addition to environmental changes. Remember, a plant is only receiving adequate moisture if it is able to penetrate through the root ball of the plant.

3. Build a berm - Try building a berm around the plant to force the water through the rootball. Without the help of the berm, the water will take the path of least resistance, often flowing around the rootball. This berm can be made by piling soil or mulch around the base, in a 4-6’’ tall ring that is about as wide as the rootball.

There is an old saying that tells us that the greatest fertilizer is a gardener’s shadow.  This is true!  Keep an eye on your new plants, and you’ll be able to keep them happy and catch any problems before they become serious. For more summer watering tips, please visit the July section of our Gardening Calendar!

Stay tuned to our new blog for more great articles and gardening advice! If you have an idea for a topic that you would like to see us cover, leave a comment below!