2010 Veggie Varieties

gardening , favorites , vegetables

Hoerr Nursery is proud to carry fresh vegetable plants from Burpee Home Gardens. These varieties are easy to grow and produce an abundant harvest. Here is a preview of some of the Burpee Home Gardens plants we’ll be carrying in 2010:

Tomatoes

       
           'Big Mama'                        'Brandy Boy'                     'Fourth of July'

‘Big Mama’ - Plum-shaped and enormous, Big Mama Hybrid tomatoes grow up to 5 inches long and 3 inches across. In the kitchen, this variety is easy to peel and core. One of the best paste tomatoes and excellent in sauces.

‘Brandy Boy’ - A hybrid of the classic Brandywine, Brandy Boy has the benefits of an heirloom with incredible taste, smooth and thin skin. Producing loads of large pink fruits, this tomato is best eaten fresh in salads.

‘Fourth of July’ - Producing small, luscious fruits, Fourth of July is one of the earliest producing varieties you can grow. And although this plant is early, you can continue to harvest your plant until late summer or early fall.

     
         'Fresh Salsa'                        'Napa Grape'                  'Steak Sandwich'

‘Fresh Salsa’ - Salsa lovers, your tomato is here! You can chop this tomato into tiny cubes that remain perfectly firm and solid in salsa recipes. Plum-shaped and “dripless,” Fresh Salsa is all meat - perfect for recipes like bruschetta and light sauces.

‘Napa Grape’ - Independent taste tests confirm that this variety maintains a higher sugar content than any other grape tomato and the sweetness doesn't fade in late summer. Shiny red, one inch elongated globes are produced in abundance on vigorous vines.

‘Steak Sandwich’ - Vigorous but compact, Steak Sandwich tomatoes load up with dozens of fruits at a time. Harvest the large fruits summer through fall and you’ll love them on sandwiches and burgers or in salads.

  
        'Super Tasty'                    'Sweet Seedless'

‘Super Tasty’ – Super Tasty has a rich, tangy flavor and solid texture with deep red color inside and out. Great in large patio pots and small-space gardens, this variety requires minimal staking for support.

‘Sweet Seedless’ - This first-ever seedless tomato is rich and flavorful because there are no seeds to store the sugars for later use, so all the sweetness is immediately available for you to enjoy in every rich slice.

Peppers

     
         'Flavorburst'                       'Great Stuff'                  'Jalapeño Gigante'

‘Flavorburst’ - These sweet peppers are easy to grow, producing a bountiful harvest of crisp, juicy golden peppers all summer long. Grow in a sunny spot with plenty of water. A Burpee taste test winner.

‘Great Stuff’ - This jumbo, 7-inch long, 5-inch wide pepper ripens from green to dark red. Excellent in any garden, Great Stuff is resistant to pests. Perfect for slicing, stuffing or baking.

‘Jalapeño Gigante’ - The largest jalapeño, these peppers measure as much as 5 inches long! Easy to grow in any sunny garden or large patio pot, these peppers can be harvested throughout the summer when they’re green or red. Perfect for salsa or stuffing as poppers.

Cucumber

  
      'Bush Champion'                 'Sweet Burpless'

‘Bush Champion’ - Bush types take one-third the space, so they're great for containers and raised beds. Bush Champion produces huge, 11-inch cukes with amazing flavor and wide adaptability.

‘Sweet Burpless’ - An exceptional burpless slicing cuke with a sweet flavor, Sweet Burpless produces green, 10 to 12-inch, cylindrical, smooth fruits on vigorous plants.

  
      'Ambrosia' Melon          'Burpee Golden' Summer Squash

Melon ‘Ambrosia’ - Ambrosia melon is an exotic melon hybrid that might be confused with a cantaloupe, but it’s quite different. Its flesh is very sweet, tender and pale orange in color with a flavor described as “a combination of all melons plus flowers.”

Summer Squash ‘Burpee Golden’ - These bright, glossy golden fruits have a distinct zucchini flavor. Medium-long fruit, these zucchinis have a bright golden color and are ready for harvest in less than two months. Zucchini is versatile. You can steam it, boil it, stuff it or bake it.

Top 5 Mother's Day Gift Ideas!

spring , favorites

Mother's Day is fast approaching! Stop by Hoerr Nursery and pick up one of these excellent gift ideas!

	Hanging Baskets! From simple baskets to elaborate pieces, we have hundreds to choose from!
	Custom Containers Our designers can create a custom planter with mom's favorite flowers!
	Moss Basket Workshop For the mom that likes to get her hands dirty :)
	Garden Accessories Gloves, hats, tools, and fashionable garden footwear!
	Hoerr Nursery Gift Card The perfect gift for mom! And you can order online!

Ella's Advice: 10 Best Value Plants

favorites , Ella's Advice

When hot summer weather arrives, it’s valuable to have plants that can go a little while without being watered. Fortunately, there are several drought-tolerant plants that can save you money on watering and still look beautiful throughout the summer.

We’ve compiled a list of our most valuable plants that are guaranteed to come back year after year, save you money on watering (all are drought-tolerant), and eventually fill up a lot of space.

Next time you’re thinking about adding to your garden or landscape, try incorporating some of these plants to stretch your dollar a little further:

Sedum One of the most reliable growers, sedum provides star-shaped blooms well into fall and attracts butterflies. Fall blooming varieties also offer fuel for monarchs and other late fliers on their journey south. Why we love it: Sedum is one of the first perennials to emerge in the spring, offering interesting foliage until it erupts with blooms from late summer through the end of fall.
Yarrow (Achillea) Yarrow grows in almost any conditions, providing vibrant colored blooms in the garden until frost. Some of our favorite varieties are Moonshine (light-yellow), Apricot Delight (pink), and Strawberry Seduction (red). Why we love it: Yarrow is very tolerant of heat and humidity, has a long bloom season and even grows well in a pot.
Coreopsis Also known as Tickseed, this plant produces sunny yellow flowers and thrives in dry conditions. Interesting varieties include Tequila Sunrise (variegated leaves), Crème Brulee (light yellow), and Jethro Tull (fluted petals). Why we love it: Native to the Southwest United States and Mexico, this perennial can take the heat and still perform beautifully.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia) This cheerful perennial offers large, daisy-like blooms from early summer through fall. Considered a wildflower by some, the bright red and yellow blooms look great in a tidy border or naturalized landscape. Why we love it: This plant is very tough and cheerful! The bright colors will add a touch of whimsy and wilderness to any area of your garden.
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) Just when we need a breath of fresh air in the late summer heat, butterfly bushes happily burst into bloom. At a time when many other plants are already spent, buddleias are just beginning their show. Their passive coloring and texture makes a wonderful backdrop for perennials, and you'll love the butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds that flock to their honey-scented blossoms. Why we love it: Deer resistant, fragrant, drought-tolerant, attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds and even great in a cut flower arrangement – you can’t ask much more in a perennial!
Coneflower (Echinacea) This native plant has become a standard for the summer perennial garden. Coneflowers are accustomed to harsh prairie conditions, and they are great at tolerating heat, drought, and wind. They’re even a source of seed for birds long after they stop blooming. Some of our favorites are Kim’s Knee High (dwarf), Tomato Soup (red petals), Pink Double Delight (double pink petals), Mac ‘n’ Cheese (yellow petals) and more! Why we love it: Available in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and shapes, coneflowers are some of the best perennial flowers for late summer and early fall.
Agastache This drought-tolerant perennial is often forgotten, but it’s the perfect addition to any wildlife habitat, with flowers that attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees all summer long. Agastache boasts a compact, upright growing habit, fuzzy licorice-scented leaves and lovely, nectar-rich blue-lavender flower spikes Why we love it: The tall blooms provide a great backdrop for other perennials and annuals in the landscape.
Knock Out Rose There’s a reason we call them Knock Out Roses! This family of roses has stunning flower power with a generous bloom cycle (about every 5-6 weeks) that will continue until the first hard frost. These low maintenance roses are easy to grow and extremely disease resistant. Why we love it: Knock Out Roses can fit into any landscape. Plant them individually among shrubs, annuals and perennials, or in clusters for a dramatic visual impact.
Hens & Chicks (Sempervivum) We love this tough plant for its rosette-shaped clusters of leaves. It can grow in shallow or rocky terrain in the garden, and is also very attractive in containers. The plants can be divided easily at any time by pulling up some of the "chicks" and replanting them elsewhere Why we love it: Sempervivum is very forgiving. It can go for days without water, and then perk right back up once you remember.
Ornamental Grasses These perennials are the perfect garden backdrop, adding texture, color and fullness to any space. Look for switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) for beautiful fall color and feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) for a stately sweep up to 5 feet tall. Why we love it: Ornamental grass offers year-round interest and adds a touch of drama and looks perfectly at home in the Midwest landscape.

Magnolias Mean Spring

trees , favorites , Think Spring

If you’re craving a little spring therapy, magnolias are eager to please. These traditional Southern Belles are easy to grow and surprisingly hardy right here in Peoria. The picturesque blooms carry a sweet, distinctive scent and come in a rainbow of creamy pastels. Check out some of our favorites and pick up a few pointers along the way. You’ll have no regrets!

Highlights

Depending on the variety, Magnolia blooms vary in creamy shades of pink, white, and yellow. They are easy to grow, relatively pest free and range in size from 15-25ft tall. As an added bonus for bird lovers, magnolia seeds are a favorite of songbirds.

Saucers & Stars

Magnolias blooms have distinctive saucer or star shapes. Saucer Magnolias typically come in tree form, with one stem reaching up to 25ft tall. Saucer blooms are much larger than stars, just not as prolific. Star Magnolias have a multi-stem, bush form. They are typically smaller, about 15ft tall and covered in smaller, star-shaped blooms.

Best Results

Most varieties perform best in full sun, although some will tolerate part shade, and well-drained, acidic soil.

Our Favorites

'Butterflies' Magnolia
Known for its fragrant, yellow tulip-like flowers, this variety grows up to 20ft tall on a single trunk (also grows as multi-stem) with a compact, pyramidal form.

'Royal Star' Magnolia
A shrub-like form that reaches up to 10-15ft tall and features showy, white star-shaped white flowers.

'Galaxy' Magnolia
Larger, tree form magnolia with upright branches (great for narrow spaces) and large, pink flowers that bloom late enough to avoid spring frost damage.

'Ann' Magnolia
Over-sized dark pink flowers that bloom a little later for a lower risk of frost damage. Noted for its shrubby form that reaches 10-15 ft tall.

These Are No Ordinary Mums

fall color , favorites

Mums are the delight of fall decorators – large, lush mounds of blooms that brighten containers and gardens for weeks.

This year we are introducing four varieties from the new Autumn Crescendo Series of chrysanthemums that are bigger, better and here’s the best part – they are perennials! That’s right, they’ll be back year after year.

Autumn Crescendo Series:

• Vigorous growers with gorgeous bright colors.
• Huge mounds, 24” tall and 36” wide.
• They are truly winter hardy!

Chrysanthemum ‘Bolero’

Deep gold, daisy-like flowers with exceptionally long flower petals. Blooms are about 3.5 inches wide and are great cut flowers.

Chrysanthemum ‘Rhumba’

Deep red buds open to coral-red blossoms which lighten to coral-peach as they mature. They are daisy-shaped with a yellow center and measure an average of 2 inches across.

Chrysanthemum ‘Samba’

This variety features single soft rose-pink petals with a soft yellow eye around a gold button center.

Chrysanthemum ‘Overture’

Deep russet red flowers with a gold button center provide an awesome splash of color at a time when ornamental grasses are at their peak.