March 2024 Newsletter

It’s been a second nice wet winter in a row which is always a good thing. As for my rain tracking, we are at 24″ of rain on the season here at the nursery and it’s raining as I write this so we should be looking at about average rainfall this year. Maybe we’ll get a little above depending. Looks like it will continue a bit longer as far as the long range forecast shows. It will stop soon though, and then we will be into a very nice spring. Wildflower blooms should be great this year, and water levels good from a good wet winter. Get ready to start fertilizing soon As soon as deciduous trees and shrubs have their full set of leaves, you should give them their first fertilizing of the year. A balanced fertilizer works well for most things. Use a rhododendron, camellia, azalea fertilizer for your acid loving plants. Fertilize azaleas and rhododendrons after they are done blooming. Same thing for camellias. Citrus should use a citrus fertilizer. Citrus are best fertilized monthly through the growing season. Start after the threat of frost is past and continue monthly through October. Roses should be leafing out …

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February 2024 Newsletter

The selection of bare root fruit trees is still very good. The cool nights and cool days are ideal for the bare root trees, and now is the time to plant them. At the end of the month we pot up what has not been sold bare root and then the price goes up. Take advantage of bare root prices and selection and get your fruit trees in now.

December 2023 Newsletter

Lots of things going on in December. Our bare root roses are due to ship the first week of December. Once they arrive we will get them ready for sale. So hopefully they will be ready to go by the 9th or 10th. All pending shipping schedule, but I will let all know when they are in and ready. The bare root fruit trees will be in late in the month. We will begin working them as soon as they arrive. This usually happens the week before Christmas, but I don’t have that confirmed yet, and hopefully will be ready for sale right after Christmas. Again I will let everyone know. I will send out emails as soon as things are in and ready to go. Complete lists of fruit trees and roses are available at the nursery, or request one and I can send it to you via email.  If you are wanting bare root fruit trees, don’t delay when they arrive. We will not re-order since availability is going be tight again this year. So when things are gone, they are gone for the year. Also, we cannot hold any items without payment. You can pre-order from our …

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October 2023 Newsletter

The weather so far this fall has been excellent. Some nice rain today and nice and cool. The forecast for this winter as far as I can tell is for a normally wet winter. Time will tell but seems to be a consensus among many of the forecasts I’ve seen. FALL IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS Our BARE ROOT FRUIT TREE LIST FOR JANUARY 2024 is now available. We have copies available at the nursery or I can email you a list upon request. Fall fertilizing should be done now or very soon. If you have not done your fall fertilizing yet you should do it as soon as possible. This fertilizing is important because it gives plants a good boost and also gives them stored food for winter. Next spring they will use that stored food for growth as soon as the weather warms. A balanced fertilizer is good for almost everything in the landscape. Citrus trees would like a citrus fertilizer and this should be the last application for them for the season. Don’t feed them in the winter. Rhododendrons and azaleas should not be fertilized now unless it is with a …

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September 2023 Newsletter

The weather is now getting cooler. Fall is on the way. Long range temperature trend is for low 90’s and upper 80’s over the next couple of weeks. FALL IS THE BEST TIME FOR PLANTING.__We have an excellent selection for fall planting and if we don’t have it in stock we can get it usually within a week. Fall fertilizing should be done this month. Use a balanced fertilizer for most of your trees and shrubs. We carry16-16-16 and organic all purpose fertilizer in 6#, 25# and 50# bags. If you have only a few plants, we also have it in 1# boxes. Be sure to fertilize your deciduous plants and perennials before they show signs of dormancy. Give your tomatoes a balanced fertilizer now and you should get more production out of them for another month, maybe longer. With the cooler weather coming, trees and perennials will start to go into dormancy probably in October. Weather depending. Fertilize citrus now, then let them go through the winter without feeding, but do protect them if there is freezing weather in the winter. Use a citrus fertilizer on your citrus trees. Give roses fertilizer now and enjoy some more blooms before …

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August Newsletter 2023

Fall will be here before you know it. Start planning for your fall planting and maybe even get a jump on that fall planting now. The temperatures will start trending down as the month goes on. Mornings will be cooler and the cool mornings are a great time for gardening. Remember that fall is the best time for planting trees and shrubs. Especially trees.The ground is a bit hard after the summer but if you start a hole and soak it, and then dig a little more and soak it, pretty soon the hole you need for the tree or shrub is done and it is a fairly painless way to dig a hole. It’s worth the effort to get things planted in the fall. Note the diagram describing the advantages of fall planting. After the summer heat, where is that a shade tree would be nice to have to give you the shade on that are that is hot now. We have an excellent selection of trees and shrubs for fall planting Watering and MulchingContinue to water established plants deeply for the balance of the summer and into fall. Deep soaking gives you the healthiest plants that can go through the …

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July 2023 Newsletter

This year has been a beautiful spring and only a couple of days with 100 degrees or more so far for the whole year. Looks like cooler for a little while now. All in all, it has been nice weather for your landscape whether new plantings or established plantings. With summer here and longer days, it gives a lot of time for gardening. Do your planting early in the day or in the evening if possible. Plants will handle the transplant just fine as long as you water them well as soon as they are transplanted, and make sure you give additional water for the first week or two after planting to make sure it is kept well hydrated. Also be sure to mulch to hold the moisture in the ground. Water the new planting well, and then water in with Superthrive mixed in water. This will eliminate any transplant shock that may occur. Keep the plant moist but not soggy while it is getting it’s root system established. If you are using a timed drip system that runs for very short periods, you will need to supplement with a hose periodically. A slow trickle for an hour or two …

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June 2023 Newsletter

Yellow lab puppies at Bald Mountain Nursery

It has been a beautiful spring this year and June weather is very nice as well. The long range forecast shows very nice temperatures with 80’s and some low 90’s over the next ten days. Nice cool weather. The plants are loving this spring.

Bald Mountain Nursery May 2023

May 2023 marks 38 years in business for us here at Bald Mountain Nursery. My parents, Richard and Cecilia Rice started the business in 1985. Richard Rice (Dad) passed away in 2005. Cecilia Rice (Mom) passed away in 2021. I started in the business in 1992 and