Planting tip for Tomato success!

• We recommend digging a nice deep hole and burying your tomato start all the way up to the first true leaves. This will create a sturdier tomato and the buried stem can grow roots as well!
• Add a bit of good organic compost or fertilizer to the planting hole, to give it some instant food while it adjusts to its new home. We recommend Dr. Earth’s Tomato, Vegetable and Herb Fertilizer!
• After your tomato is planted, press very firmly on the soil right around the tomato base. This will help roots make contact with the soil and will keep the plant stable.
• Stake or cage your tomato right away! Because they grow roots horizontally, you run the risk of damaging new roots if you stake them later on in the season. Plus, giving them something to lean on right away ensures that they won’t bend or break if the wind picks up.
• Water your tomato plant deeply. Even if rain is predicted, it’s a good idea to start your tomato with a good drink!

Growing tips for Tomato Success! 

• Water your tomato plants deeply and infrequently, for the best results. This encourages them to grow deeper, stronger roots and saves you time!
• Consider pruning your tomato plants by trimming off the suckers that grow between branches (see photo above). This helps the plant to concentrate its energy on fruit production (not foliage) and improves air circulation to prevent blight.
• Try supporting large heavy fruit (like Brandywines) in netting or old nylons to prevent tearing at the stem. It creates a cradle they can settle into while they ripen!
• Add compost or organic fertilizer to the base of your plants a couple of times throughout the season. This will give them the energy they need to boost fruit production! Additionally, having healthy, organic soil helps plants to ward off pests and diseases.
• Pinch off late-season flowers. Once we get into August, your plants will not have time to develop fruit from flowers, before the cold weather hits. So, pinch off any later blooming flowers to help the plant concentrate its energy on where it’s really needed: on the fruit!

Do you have any tomato tips that you would like to share? Leave them in the comments below!

Here are some good practices to follow, when planting trees and shrubs.

• Make sure the size of the planting hole is wider than the rootball so that you can easily fit it correctly. Haul away any extra soil, rather than just piling it on top.
• Be careful not to plant your tree or shrub too deeply. Look for the place where the tree trunk flares outward, turning into roots. This is called the “root collar”. Make sure to plant your tree so that the roots are completely buried but that the “root collar” or flared base remains above the soil. This will prevent root rot and decline while still giving the tree or shrub a firm foundation.
• Add in a healthy dose of compost and Dr. Earth organic fertilizer to the planting hole, to give your plant a good healthy start. They offer an immediate food source, as the plant transitions, and also help to build the soil to sustain the tree or shrub over time.
• Add Soil Moist granules to the planting hole. Soil Moist are crystal polymers that absorb water then release it slowly to give plants a gradual drink. They decrease the frequency that you need to water your plant and are especially good for new, thirsty plants when the weather heats up! Soil Moist acts as a water reserve to help plants get through drier days.
• Water your newly planted tree or shrub deeply at first and add mulch around the base to prevent excess evaporation and weed growth.

If you do not have the time or energy to spend planting your own trees and shrubs, Furney’s Nursery has a planting service! We can come to your home and properly transplant any plants you buy at the nursery. We will even deliver them. Call us today to inquire about this service: 206-878-8761

We have all the plants and products mentioned above at Furney’s Nursery! Come into today and browse amongst the flowers. See you soon!

Plants need food, just as all living things do. In order to help our plants thrive and grow and reach their full potential, we need to feed them. Now, of course, they make some of their own food through photosynthesis but that only provides energy (sugar). They get their nutrients (micro and macro) from the soil. By adding compost, fertilizer and other amendments, we offer food to our plants to increase their health, vitality and production (whether they are for flowers, foliage or food).

Organic fertilizers are an excellent choice for feeding your plants sustainably, without adding in any harmful extra ingredients. Many traditional fertilizers only offer a few particular nutrients and are harvested or manufactured from chemically-derived sources. These can sometimes add in other unwanted ingredients like large amounts of salt and they offer nutrients in high doses that are too large for plants to uptake in a healthy way. Plants get an intense burst of growth that is not sustainable and then any leftovers are leached into groundwater. There is some evidence that run-off from non-organic fertilizers can pollute our watersheds and disrupt local fish and algae populations.

Most organic fertilizers offer a more balanced, complete approach to plant care. They give plants the nutrients they need in doses that are manageable without adding anything harmful into the soil. We carry a large selection of Dr. Earth organic fertilizers which are made from natural ingredients like fish meal, alfalfa, kelp and naturally-mined minerals. They feed plants immediately but also release nutrients more slowly overtime, to not overwhelm them. More importantly, organic fertilizers do not disrupt the natural soil microbiology that is so important to healthy plant growth. Organic methods work with nature to encourage sustainable, healthy plants that flourish for years to come.

We carry a full line of Dr. Earth organic fertilizers to feed and take care of all types of plants from roses and ornamentals to vegetables, tomatoes, fruit trees and more. Come visit us to pick up the organic fertilizer that is right for your garden. You can bring in your questions about organics for our expert staff members or leave a comment below!

Spring is upon us, friends! It is time to officially start the 2013 gardening season! We have been preparing, here at the nursery, by stocking up on all the best plants for Spring as well as all the supplies you’ll need, whether you are starting from scratch or have years of experience. We have some great seminars and events planned for this year and some wonderful sales coming up. Keep an eye on the events page on our website to see what’s coming up. And stay in touch, through your favorite social networking site, to get exclusive tips and tricks as well as a heads-up on new plants that come into the nursery. We hope to see you all soon!

In This Issue:

March Seminars

Heavenly Hellebores with Nicolette from Skagit Gardens
March 2^nd at 1:00 PM
Attendees will receive a special coupon for 20% off their favorite Hellebores!
Join Nicolette to learn about the latest and greatest Hellebore varieties and how to make them the stars of your winter and spring garden!  Nicolette will have lots of great information as well as lots of live plants to show off!

Growing Great Fruit Trees with Jason Billingsley, Certified Professional Horticulturist
March 16^th at 11:00 AM
Attendees will receive a free gift!
Growing fruit trees can be a wonderfully rewarding experience.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to be able to grow lots of great varieties with tasty results!  Jason will be showing off some of his favorite fruit trees as well as tips from the pros for getting the most out of your plants!

March Tips and Project Ideas:

• Now is the time to plant cool season herbs and veggies including salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, beets, onions, and more. We have seeds and starts and everything else you need to get started. Click here to learn more about early spring veggies!

• Amend your soil with compost to add organic material and discourage weed growth. It will encourage diverse soil life and increase plant health throughout the course of the season! Click here to learn more about amending the soil.

• Prepare your lawn for the Spring by thatching, aerating, and raking in a thin layer of topsoil mixed with new seed. This helps your lawn get a fresh start for the season, giving you full, lush, green grass all year long.

• Plant new trees and shrubs as soon as the soil is workable.  Now is a great time to find fruit trees and berries at the nursery too! We are fully stocked and ready to go for the year. Keep reading to get tips on growing fruit trees and to clip a coupon to save on blueberry plants.

• Divide late-blooming perennials as they emerge from the ground.  Early-bloomers can wait until after they bloom.

• Keep an eye out for weeds as the weather warms.  The more you can keep on top of them early, the easier they will be to control later.

Plant Spotlight: Fruit Trees!

Now is the perfect time to add a few delicious fruit tree varieties to your landscape. Purchase yours now so that you can plant them as soon as the soil is dry enough to work with. Most produce gorgeous spring blossoms and lush summer foliage and offer the additional delight of fresh, homegrown fruit to enjoy.

We have many varieties that work well in our Northwest climate and can be planted in your yard at any time throughout the Spring! Here are a few popular varieties that we have in stock now:

Italian Plum

Shiro Plum

Honeycrisp Apple

Enterprise Apple

Macoun Apple

Rainier Cherry

Bing Cherry

Glacier Cherry

Bartlett Pear

Bosc Pear

Frost Peach

Fuyu Persimmon

Now is the perfect time to start your summer vegetable seeds inside. Most need at least 6-8 weeks indoors before they can be transplanted into the soil outside. It will be safe to transplant them into the garden after our last frost date, right around mid-May.

Here is a quick list of the main summer veggies to start now:

Tomatoes

Peppers (both bell and hot)

Eggplant

Winter Squash

Zucchini and other Summer Squash

Cucumbers

Tomatillos

To start them indoors, you must have adequate lighting and a warm spot for them to thrive. This usually means setting up a grow lamp somewhere, as even the sunniest Seattle window is not usually enough. When you plant the seeds, remember to only cover them lightly with soil. Follow the soil depth on your seed packet to ensure proper germination. Keep the soil moist but not soggy throughout the process to ensure proper growth.

What varieties will you grow this year? Come into Furney’s to check out all the wonderful seed options we have available. You can get creative with interesting colors and flavors or grow some staple favorites. Or maybe a little of both! If starting seeds indoors isn’t your thing, just wait another month or so and we will have flat after flat of gorgeous, healthy summer veggie starts to fill up your garden! We will have many varieties to choose from, including grafted tomatoes!

Come into Furney’s Nursery today to get your summer garden started! We have all the supplies you need, including seeds, trays, potting soil and labels. See you soon!

In this Issue:

• February Seminars
• The Northwest Flower and Garden Show!
• Fragrant Winter Bloomers

February Seminars

Early Edible gardening

Sat Feb. 16th, 1:00 pm

Jason Billingsley

It’s time to start thinking about this year’s edible garden! From starting seeds to planning your beds, Jason will go overall the basics and help you get some ideas on what to plant! Get all the info and supplies to get a jump start on this year’s edible garden.

 Come visit us at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show! Feb 20th-24th!

Furney’s Nursery will be at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show this year! We will have a booth fully stocked with tons of fun plants and garden accessories. We’ll also have lots of spring show-stoppers as well as many tried and true favorites.

We’ll be giving away coupons at the show and giving a sneak peek into the fun events happening at Furney’s in 2013! So be sure to stop by and see us.

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show takes place at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle on February 20th-24th! Learn more at: www.gardenshow.com

TICKETS: You can come into Furney’s Nursery to buy advanced tickets to the show for a discounted price. Give us a call to learn more: (206) 878-8761

Fragrant Winter Bloomers

Winter is a great time to plant a few evergreen shrubs that will give your landscape some Winter color and offer your nose a little bit of a treat! We have chosen a few of our favorite Winter-blooming plants that provide not only visual attraction but fragrances that can’t be beat! We have all of these plants in stock so come see us to find your favorite!

Vanilla plant or Sweet Box (Sarcacocca ruscifolia)

This lovely dense evergreen shrub has attractive glossy green foliage that accents the landscape year-round. But it really shines in the Winter when it blooms delicate clusters of little white and pink flowers that fill the air with the sweetest aroma. It is unusual in its heavenly scent but is otherwise an easy-going plant that blends into any landscape with ease. Flowers are followed by red berries that turn black towards Summer and persist into the following Fall. Vanilla plant is pure delight!

Himalayan Sweet Bush (Sarcacocca hookeriana) 

This sweetbox is similar to its cousin above: gorgeous evergreen foliage, fragrant Winter flowers and persistent attractive red berries. It offers the same heavenly Winter delight but in a smaller form. While the Vanilla Plant reaches about 5 feet tall and wide, at maturity, Himalayan Sweetbox is a low-growing shrub that reaches about 24 inches when full grown. This shrub is perfect for a groundcover or other understory plantings.

Winter Daphne (Daphne odora marginata)       

A gorgeous late-Winter bloomer! This evergreen shrub grows in a small, rounded form with shiny, yellow-edged leaves. It blooms in incredible clusters of sweet, star-shaped flowers that you can smell the moment you walk outside. The little pinkish-white flowers stand out brightly against the dark green foliage. Look for their blooms in February, persisting into early Spring!

Maejima Daphne (Daphne odora Maejima)

A lovely specimen, the Maejima is a semi-dwarf Japanese Daphne. It is also a small evergreen shrub that produces luscious Winter flowers. But it has dramatic variegated leaf color, changing from deep green to shades of cream and yellow. The deep pinkish flowers bloom profusely and fill the air with their scent, making the Winter garden smell like a lady’s handkerchief. Try planting these in your entryway as a very special “welcome home”.

Winter jasmine (Jasmininum nudiflorum) 

This beautiful little shrub has a fantastic weeping form that can be trained to drape effortlessly over walls, trellises and arbors. It has emerald evergreen foliage that, in itself, lights up the landscape. But the show-stopping flowers really take over in mid-Winter: yellow, star-shaped blooms absolutely cover this plant, filling the air with that distinct sweet aroma that only Jasmine can offer. It smells of tea parties in exotic far-off lands. The bright yellow display delivers surprise and delight to all passers-by. Plant in your front yard to share it with the whole neighborhood!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas gifts and 

decor galore! 

Try a Living Christmas tree for your home this year! You can save money by using it again next year or planting it in your landscape! This is the best time to pick up your live Christmas tree! Furney’s Nursery has over 30 different varieties to choose from.

Furney’s is a great place to find those last minute Christmas items to decorate your home. Shop out of the weather for Christmas trees, garlands, greens and decorations. And don’t forget our gorgeous selection of Pointsettias! Pick one up to embrace the holiday spirit in your home or office.

 

Christmas Gift Shop!

 

We have tons of garden-related gifts, just perfect for the gardeners on your list. We have tools, supplies, garden decorations, statuary, fountains and so much more. How about giving a living gift this year? We are fully stocked with houseplants, orchids, perennials, trees, shrubs and more. Get them what they really want for Christmas!

If you still can’t decide, a Furney’s Gift Card is the PERFECT GIFT. You can purchase them in the store or buy them online by clicking here.

To see the rest of the great deals in our “6 Weeks of Christmas”, please click here! 

 Come visit us today! 

 

We have been thrilled with the gorgeous selection of vibrant Poinsettias we have this year. They have been flying off the shelves but we still have plenty in stock. Come choose your favorite size and color to decorate your home, front porch or office. This sale is only good through the 16th! See you soon!

 Come visit us today! 

Santa is Coming!

Larsen’s Famous Kringles are now at Furney’s Nursery!

The Larsen’s Kringle is made in the original Danish way, where the pastry is made out of layers of flaky, buttery crust, enclosing a filling of almond paste and raisins, then topped with sugar and sliced almonds and finally twisted into the traditional pretzel shape. Come get yours today!

(photos thanks to larsensbakery.com)

Give Living Presents to your loved ones this Year!

  Give the people in your life the gift of a live plant for Christmas this year. We have a wonderful assortment of your favorite winter and holiday container plants such as Hellebore Jacob, Lemon Cypress, Citrus, Christmas Cactus, Norfolk Island Pine, Rosemary Topiaries, and Cyclamen. Come visit us to see our full selection!

 Come visit us today! 

Santa is Coming!

Upcoming Class at Furney’s: 

Learn to Prune 

like a Pro! 

December 8th at 11am

 With many of your plants going dormant for the winter, it is an excellent time to do some pruning on your favorite trees and shrubs!  Ray has been caring for plants for many years and has lots of great advice on how to prune them to perfection!  He’ll even be doing a live demonstration at this fun, FREE seminar!

This festive evergreen shrub blooms beautifully throughout the fall and early winter, making it the perfect plant for the holiday season. It has an abundance of large, ruffled red flowers and glossy, green foliage. It even attracts hummingbirds. Plant one by the front door to greet your guests for the holidays! We have other varieties of winter blooming Camellias as well.Come in to see them in all their glory!

Gorgeous Holiday and Winter Beauties!

 We have a wonderful assortment of your favorite winter and holiday container plants such as Hellebore Jacob, Lemon Cypress, Citrus, Christmas Cactus, Norfolk Island Pine, Rosemary Topiaries, and Cyclamen. Come visit us to see our full selection!

Beautiful, Fresh Poinsettias! 

 Now available at Furney’s Nursery. Come select your favorite size and color.

Larsen’s Famous Kringles are now at Furney’s Nursery!

The Larsen’s Kringle is made in the original Danish way, where the pastry is made out of layers of flaky, buttery crust, enclosing a filling of almond paste and raisins, then topped with sugar and sliced almonds and finally twisted into the traditional pretzel shape. Come get yours today!

Photo thanks to Northscaping.com

This dense, small shrub turns from deep green to luminous red/fuchsia in the Fall! It’s a show-stopping addition to any garden. It has a lovely mounded growth habit and adapts well to all types of conditions. It’s an easy choice for gorgeous Fall color!

   Greetings, garden lovers, and welcome to Fall! Tis the season for pumpkins, apples and Halloween costumes! We hope you will join us in celebrating Fall this year. It’s a great time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. It’s also the right time to plant Fall bulbs. We are fully stocked with everything from Tulips to Daffodils, Hyacinths and much more! We are also keeping the nursery well-stocked with fall and winter edibles. Come down to Furney’s to see the selection! For all the latest updates, please visit our website! 

In this issue: October Events Fall Plant Sale Prepare the Garden for Winter Fall Color Spotlight October Events!  Top Notch Plants for Fall Color! Saturday, October 13th @ 11 am With Jason Billingsley, Certified Professional Horticulturist October is not only one of the best times of the year to find plants with great fall color; it is the best time to get them planted!  During this FREE seminar, Jason will be showing off an array of plants that will explode with fall color!  In fact, these plants are so colorful that your neighbors will be jealous! Halloween Container Garden! Saturday, October 27th @ 11 am With Christina Salwitz, The Personal Garden Coach It’s almost Halloween! Come to this FREE seminar to learn how to put together your own Halloween-themed container. In this fun workshop, Christina will teach you how to mix and match plants to create a fun, spooky container to greet trick-or-treaters on your front porch or walkway! We’ll use orange, black and purple seasonal plants to make a gorgeous Halloween container.  Fall Plant Sale! Fall is a great time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials! Come in soon to take advantage of the mild planting temperatures and these great savings: 30% Off Fruit Trees & Berries 25% Off Selected Flowering Perennials:  - Echinacea - Russian Sage - Sea Holly - Catmint - Hardy Geranium - Salvia (Non-Herb varieties) - Black Eyed Susan - Verbena - Bee Balm - Gaura - Shasta Daisy - Artemesia - Phygelius - Pineapple Lily - Geum - Coreopsis - Phlox - Achillea - Helenium - Lavender - Agapanthus - Anemone - Ligularia - Fuchsia - Kniphofia - Canna Lily   Prepare the Garden for Winter!   The transition in seasons has begun and it’s time for us to transition too! Garden clean-up is in order, as is preparation for colder temperatures. Here are a few suggestions for helping the garden change seasons: Pull out all old and dying annuals, including summer veggies (see you next year, tomatoes!). Any plant material that is not diseased can be composted to use in the garden next Spring! Prune back and bed down any finished perennials. Trim off dead material but leave any green stalks to finish the conversion: this is crucial for plant health next year. The energy from the plant moves back into the roots to overwinter and wait for Spring. Rake up all falling leaves to avoid clogging storm drains and suffocating lawns. Leaves can be spread around perennial beds and around the base of sensitive plants, to act as a mulching insulation over the Winter. Leaves can also be added to the compost pile. Bring in any non-hardy plants. They can be stored in the garage or indoors, depending on how sensitive they are. Or, you can try covering them with insulating row cover or cloches to keep the air temperature a few degrees higher. Mulch (bark, straw or leaves) will elevate the soil temperature a bit, as well. Add a layer of Soil Building Compost to your soil each Fall. It helps to feed plants throughout the Winter but it also insulates their root systems from the cold, acting as mulch. Fall Color Spotlight!       Photo thanks to Northscaping Compact Burning Bush: This dense, small shrub turns from deep green to luminous red/fuchsia in the Fall! It’s a show-stopping addition to any garden. It has a lovely mounded growth habit and adapts well to all types of conditions. It’s an easy choice for gorgeous Fall color! Diablo Ninebark: A charming deciduous shrub, Diablo Ninebark has gorgeous purple leaves throughout most of the year but they turn a rich, bronzed pumpkin orange in the Fall. It has a multi-branched, upright shape, growing quickly to 8-10 feet tall. Plant it just about anywhere in the landscape! Witch Hazel: A radiant garden shrub, the Witch Hazel has gorgeous green foliage that turns a brilliant yellow in Autumn, changing over time into a wide range of colors from oranges and reds to even deep burgundy! What a display! Once the leaves have fallen, another treat comes around January or February. It also has Winter-blooming fragrant yellow flowers that fill the air with colorful sweetness. It lights up the garden! Find these shrubs, and many others, at Furney’s Nursery right now. If you are looking for something in particular, give us a call at (206) 878-8761 or just come on down and see us. Our skilled garden staff can help you find what you’re looking for and answer all your questions! See you soon! We’ve been busy on Pinterest!     Come visit us on Pinterest and see what all the buzz is about. We are just having a blast, pinning garden recipes, our favorite plants, handy tips, landscaping ideas and much more. It’s a great place to share ideas and get inspired! Come find us there so we can follow you too! Happy Pinning!

It’s one of the best times of the year for vegetable gardeners- the time when all that hard work pays off and we really start eating out of the garden. Melons, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers and, of course, the tomato. Because of our cool weather, it can be difficult to keep these plants healthy during the fall, especially the tomato. These sunshine-lovers can catch all manner of disease once the cool rain comes back. Luckily, we have a few tips for you to prolong the season and make the most out of your tomato plants!

• Carefully prune back any branches that do not have fruit forming. This will increase air circulation and help prevent fungal disease. It will also focus the plant’s energy toward ripening.
• Amend the soil with compost and beneficial bacteria to help boost the plant’s immune system so it can better withstand cool temperatures and any pathogens.
• Remove any new flowers that might appear on larger varieties. It is now too late in the season for them to mature and they will only waste the plant’s energy. Direct it to existing fruit, instead.
• When nighttime temperatures begin to drop, add a layer of mulch to your tomato beds. A few inches of straw around the base can help insulate the roots against dropping temperatures.

Enjoy your harvest into the fall! We’d love to see photos of your bounty! Post a picture to our Facebook wall and we’ll share it with all of our fans. Click here.

The Hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia genii) lights up the landscape with bright purple, pink and red hues! This brilliant shrub attracts people and pollinators by the dozens; just watch those hummingbirds flock. Its radiant yellow-green foliage contrasts beautifully to the red stems and bright red and purple blossoms that dangle delicately from every branch.

Try the Hardy Fuchsia in niches in shady rockwalls, to let the flower-laden branches dangle over the edge. They look gorgeous on the edges of mounds, in hanging baskets, porch-side containers and window boxes. But, it is a flexible, versatile shrub that will light up just about any corner of the landscape!

The Hardy Fuchsia is tolerant to frost in our area, surviving easily in zones 7-9. This deciduous shrub reaches around 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide, at maturity. It prefers full to partial shade and moist soil.

Call Furney’s Nursery today to check on availability or come in to see our full selection!

This is the right time to plant seeds for your second season garden. We are fortunate to live in a mild climate that allows us to plant a second crop of vegetables for the Fall! The soil is nice and warm, perfect for germination. Plants can get a nice easy start to life then mature nicely as the days turn cooler. Many crops that you planted in early spring can be planted again now for harvesting throughout the Autumn.

Start your seeds in protected, partial shade, if possible- these crops are more tolerant of the cold than the heat. Make sure to keep them well-watered throughout the germination and seedling process; this is when they are the most vulnerable. For your Fall garden, make sure to plant varieties with fairly short maturation dates. Most cool-weather crops will tolerate a frost but you want to ideally harvest before that point. Plant a second vegetable garden and get double the produce from your space!