Landis Arboretum has always been known for its signature plant sales. In the early days, gardeners would select their plants from the Arboreum’s gardens. Founder Fred Lape, shovel in hand, would dig out the plant and name a price. Now our sales, held each spring and fall, include consigners from all over the region. Recently our own Landis Grown plants, tended in our greenhouse by many volunteers, have been added.
The Renewed Landis Grown Project began three years ago, when a small but dedicated group of volunteers wanted to see our then vacant greenhouse full of blooming plants as it had been in past years. We decided to produce one crop of petunias in hanging baskets to keep the project simple and effective and all the baskets sold. We put out a call to our members for previously used hanging basket containers and were gifted with used and new baskets and soil as well. Volunteers met multiple times to care for the plants, and all sold at the spring sale. We repeated the same endeavor the following year, adding a variety of woody plants. These included such natives as buttonbush, black gum, catalpas, oaks, maples, and hazelnuts, along with some exotic specimens such as the dawn redwood. The result was another sell out!
This spring, we will once again offer the petunia hanging baskets, as well as more woodies. The project will involve cleaning and sterilizing our propagation benches as well as previously used hanging containers. Next, we will create the growing medium and pot up the petunias. Over the following weeks, minimal yet important tasks will include spot watering and fertilizing. Since petunias prefer a low pH, it is imperative that the pH is maintained at an acidic rather than alkaline level. Additionally, we will be growing some nice selections of natives and dawn redwoods. We have incorporated the use of air pots, a relatively new innovation in propagation, for the larger woody selections. Air pots enable us to grow plants with extremely healthy root systems without the circling roots often seen in containerized plants. These are known as “root ready” and can be planted without having to prune roots, as is often necessary with nursery grown stock. Air pot grown plants also have increased root mass and are more quickly established after planting.
If you are interested in taking part in our Landis Grown Project this spring, please reach out to Volunteer Coordinator Susan Strangia (Landisvolunteering@gmail.com). After a long, bleak winter, what could be more enticing than a warm greenhouse filled with young green plants and the company of Landis volunteers? And you’ll become a part of our long history of providing healthy and hardy plants to a large and appreciative public.
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