Viburnum cinnamomifolium

A taller, tree-like version of the common (and unfairly despised) V.davidii. Both species have among the very best evergreen foliage of any hardy shrub, and are well worth growing even without the flowers, which are the usual small rosy white, or the berries, which are intense blue with red stems. You will need male and female plants to get fruits but davidii will pollinate cinnamomifolium apparently.

1L pots ~ £5

Seedlings

seedlings, originally uploaded by peganum.

Some pots of seedlings to whet the appetite for next year, or the year after that, depending. Seed raising is one of the most satisfying parts of running the nursery. I love it.
I tend to sow most fully hardy species as soon as the seed is shed, both in case they need some summer ripening/winter chill regime to break dormancy and also to get them in as fresh as possible. A lot of my species are a bit obscure to say the least, so information on germination can be hard to come by, so I just get them in as soon as they're ready - as of course happens in nature. Unfortunately this doesn't always work.
I've had to invest in a treatment for Pythium (damping off) for the first time this year, possibly because of the mild damp autumn. Some Penstemon and Asclepias suffered particularly badly when they germinated in October. I think in previous years I've sown these summer rainfall species in mid-winter (when the seed merchant delivered them) so in these cases a winter/spring sowing might be best.
The treatment, by the way, is called Prestop and is itself a fungus (it comes as a yeast-like powder) that colonises the compost, out-competing the Pythium. Seedlings are still emerging and don't appear to be failing now, so fingers crossed. Anyway we'll see how it goes. It's nice not to be using poisons anyway.

Over Wintering

One might expect this to be the quiet season on a nursery but the mild weather (the mildest on record apparently) means that things are still growing and I've taken the executive decision of continuing to pot things on here and there. Autumn can be a time of prodigious root development in many species in a normal year so it's not as mad as it sounds. They've usually stopped by mid November though so this year is undoubtedly odd. I already have all sorts of seedlings up that I normally wouldn't expect to see until spring and I'll have to keep them cool and well-ventilated through the dark months if they're to survive.
Anything remotely tender of course should be left well alone now. It's important not to damage the roots in case they rot, or prune the tops too much in case they try to make new growth. The damp mild weather produces a lot of moulds and aphids so it's touch and go.
Plants from Mediterranean climates (Chile, California, western South Africa) are the exception. It's worth knowing which ones these are because Autumn to Spring (being mild and damp) is their main growing season in the wild so it's a good time to think about potting them on, or even pricking out seedlings. I have some pots of Chilean Lobelia excelsa and polyphylla seedlings which look very eager to get on with life. I'm not sure they'll look so happy if I wait until March but moving them now might be worse. It's a learning curve, as they say.

The other thing of course is getting the nursery itself set up to receive customers in the Spring. At the moment, apart from the polytunnel and the shed, it's something of a blank slate. At some point soon I'll be buying in a lot of timber to make display beds, and there'll be a shade house and an area with a pond liner for wetland plants. At the moment it's just a basketball pitch sized area covered in Mypex. I'm hoping for some inspiration for the design - something eye-catching but practical.
For now though I'm working on the shed, for which I've been making window frames - something the like of which I've never attempted before. Getting the corners square and strong has been something of a challenge, given that the shed itself isn't exactly square, but they do actually have glass in them now. I'm not planning on becoming a carpenter any time soon but it's been very satisfying.
Next I need to get some gates for the entrance, and a properly installed electricity supply (not just an extension lead strung across). Insurance too - that's a big one.

This is also the time of year for checking out the new catalogues. I shan't reveal my sources of course but going through the lists of the various seed merchants is always exciting and I always end up with longer wish-lists than I can possibly pay for or find space for (assuming they come up). Each year I buy in a few stock plants of things that are particularly uncommon from other UK nurseries but this is my first year importing plants from abroad, in this case from Japan. It's not cheap, what with all the official hoops they have to jump through (quite rightly) getting the certification, and a bit of a gamble, but if seed is not available it's the only way to get hold of some particularly special things. I shan't say any more for now but I must say I'm very excited about the package that should arrive in the post sometime in the next week or two.

I've been putting together my listing for the new Plantfinder. I've just checked and am very pleased to discover that I have no less than 186 new items to add to the existing 102, all but eleven available at less than twenty other nurseries (often a lot less) and nineteen previously unlisted in the Plantfinder. Many of these are still in 3in pots so I'd better stop faffing about and get on, hadn't I.

Eryngium variifolium

Not even slightly rare but an absolute classic, not just for the spiky blue-white inflorescences, but especially for the evergreen pale-veined foliage. Despite coming from Morocco this species seems better kept not too parched, but otherwise hardy in any well-drained sunny site.
1L pots ~ £4

Crinodendron hookerianum and patagua

 
Crinodendron hookerianum
A deservedly popular large shrub - the dangling cherry red blooms contrasting well with the dark green foliage. Highly recommended for the same lime-free woodland conditions as for Rhododendrons and Camellias but invaluable for flowering in mid to late summer. Needs shelter but not as tender as is often imagined. Especially good against a north-facing wall where the stock plant has come through the last few winters without trouble.
1L pots ~ £5

Crinodendron patagua
Potentially a much larger species with greenish white flowers and broader foliage, and in my experience distinctly hardier. These plants are self-sown seedlings from our frost-pocket of a garden.
Not often mentioned in the literature are the unusual, somewhat Euonymus-like fruits.

1L pots ~ £5

Alstroemeria brasiliensis

Very different from the more familiar garden hybrids but just as adaptable. This species forms a slowly spreading colony of stems up to 2ft tall and flowers sporadically through the summer. Excellent as a part of the ground cover under deciduous 'hardy exotic' trees and shrubs, or growing amongst things like Hedychium and Zantedeschia, to complete the subtropical scene. The colony from which these roots were taken have come through the last few winters unscathed in mid Sussex but might benefit from mulching in colder areas.
I was under the impression for a long time that this was a form of A.psittacina but the flowers here are of a more ruby red with less green.
1L pots ~ £5

Iris lazica

A terrific alternative to the more familiar I.unguicularis - more adaptable and with better foliage, but somewhat later to flower (although I've seen flowers as early as November) It also does better in part shade and on moister soils and is therefore easier in British gardens.
p.s. I just had a look and there's already a flower coming through on the plant in our front garden - in mid October.
1L pots ~ £5