FEBRUARY 11, 2010 ISSUE
4-H Plant Sale Now Underway
The annual 4-H Plant Sale is underway with an expanded offering for 2010. Besides fruit plants, native ornamental plants are now available.
Dreaming of a green spring during this very white winter? High Country residents are in luck if they are planning a garden this month, or just thinking of adding some plants to their yard. The annual 4-H Plant Sale is underway with an expanded offering for 2010. Besides fruit plants, native ornamental plants are now available.
“This year, we are selling the usual blueberry, raspberry, grape, strawberry and blackberry plants,” said Karee Mackey of 4-H and Watauga County Cooperative Extension. “But we also have a few new offerings of varieties such as Ouachita blackberry and the Josephine raspberry and Chandler strawberry. Test plots show that these tend to do well in our area. We are continuing to have success with demand for the heritage apple varieties and have those in limited quantities.”
Fruit plants comprised the initial offering and have proved to be very popular with consumers, so expansion to include non-fruit varieties was the next logical step.
“We are changing our sale’s name to plant sale because we are expanding our selection to include non-edible, native plants, which will be good for gardens, in landscaping and even in theme gardens such as butterfly, wildlife or rain gardens,” explained Mackey. “Our horticulture agents have identified their top suggestions. Native plants do well in our area, require less watering and attract beneficial birds and insects. Beneficial insects are natural enemies of common garden pests.”
Additionally, Mackey said the new selection of native plants are “flowering, eye-catching and dramatic” and are easier to maintain then are non-native varieties.
“They also fit into troublesome spots that do not drain well,” she said, “and they attract pollinators: and the more pollinators you have, the better your fruit production.”
Orders can be made by phone, in person, or online. The deadline for ordering is March 29, and plants will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Plants will be ready for pickup on April 16 and 17.
To order, call 828-264-3061, stop by the office at 971 West King Street in Boone or click to www.watauga.ces.ncsu.edu/index.php?page=youth4h.
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