Greetings!
With the economy going nowhere in a hurry, we are taking our time looking for a new place to set up shop. In the meantime I've been doing a few projects in my garden and my first crop of homegrown plants is ready to sell. Our home is located on a 1/4 acre lot, large enough to grow a few of my favorite plants. A handful of plants are available now, a lot more will be ready within a few months. Please remember the reason you purchase plants from Laguna Hills Nursery. All of the plants (except the Carmen Avocado) are GROWN BY GARY. You can't find anything remotely close to the quality and performance of our plants.
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How Our Internet Store Works Without a physical store I will be delivering items you purchase. The minimum order for purchase and delivery is $50. We have a delivery fee to anywhere in Orange County of $10. When you make a purchase you will enter your address and contact information. We will then contact you to set up a delivery time and day. If you would rather place an order by phone you can call us at (949) 830-5653. |
Why Our Plants Are Better It's actually quite simple and I am still amazed that I only know of one other grower who thinks like me.
Plants in Nature grow best in a loam soil. Loam soils are 97-99% mineral (rock, sand, silt, clay) and only 1-3% organic. The organic matter is humus and not capable of decomposing (not considered compost). When I was a kid my father grew his container plants in loam.
Today all the plants you find at garden centers and other stores are growing in an organic, compost-based soil. If fact, many of these plants are growing in a soil-less soil. Unfortunately all of these organic soils are still decomposing and eventually end up as a ball of muck, inhospitable to plant roots. Annual flowers and vegetables may perform just fine because they only require the soil to last a few months. Slower growing trees and shrubs show the most stress as their roots suffocate within the original ball of soil. This stress produces symptoms like off-colored foliage and burnt leaf tips, or the death of entire branches. The underground ball of muck can easily cause root rot and you'll then be blamed for overwatering the plant.
I grow my plants in a soil mix that acts like natural soil. It won't shrink over time or turn to muck. The primary ingredient is sand and pumice We add peat moss (up to 25%) for moisture retention, but not enough to affect to stability or the permeability of our soil.
By comparison our plants have bigger leaves and flowers, better foliage color, grow faster, grow denser and tolerate winter better. They are much less likely to get overwatered.
Just make certain that you do not amend your planting beds with compost. Or if you do, do not make them more than 5% compost by volume. The U of California maintains that on California farmlands, the highly organic peat soils are only capable of growing annuals. Check our website and click on SOIL INFORMATION for installation instructions and more detailed explanations.
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