Get your veggies off to a good start this season. We've got broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, greens, green beans, hot peppers, lettuce, pumpkin, tomatoes, strawberries and sweet peppers, plus more on the way!
Great Plants Start With Great Soil
If you're growing vegetables or flowers in containers, be sure to pick up a bag of Ball Professional Growing Mix. Lightweight and moisture retentive, it's the same soil we use to propagate plants at Hoerr Nursery.
Need quality soil for raised beds? Pick up Nate Hoerr's very own blended garden soil in bulk at Stone Market, (pictured above,) a custom combo of 65% Hoerr Nursery Topsoil and 35% Better Earth Compost, enriched with beneficial soil microbes to give your plants the healthiest possible environment. At just $55 per ton, it's a real deal!
Need compost? We're stocked with bulk locally produced mushroom compost and Peoria's own Better Earth, both at $65/ton.
To buy in bulk, bring a suitable container, whether it's an empty tote or an entire pickup truck, and drive over the weigh scale at Stone Market empty. We'll note down your weight and ask what you're buying. After that, drive around to the bay that contains the material you want and fill up! (We'll assist with larger loads.) Drive over the scale a second time so we can calculate the weight of your purchase, then park in front of the Stone Market building and come inside to pay.
You can drop in any time during Stone Market's extended spring hours:
7:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday
7:30am-5:00pm Saturday
10:30am-5:00pm Sunday
Geraniums: Effortless Color
Seasonal Geraniums are the perfect low-effort annual, pumping out flowers spring through frost, filling hanging baskets and color pots with gusto. But with so many types available, how do you choose? This week we'll provide you with a handy guide.
First of all, to clear up a common point of confusion, True Geraniums, (pictured left,) are landscape perennials. They're also known as "Hardy Geraniums" or "Cranesbill Geraniums." They're prolific bloomers that thrive in sun to part shade spots with regular to moderate water, and they come in pinks, purples, blues and whites. They're fantastic plants, but they aren't the subject of this week's newsletter.
Annual geraniums (pictured right) aren't actually geraniums. Their botanical name is "Pelargonium." They bear bright, usually clustered flowers in shades of red, pink, purple, white and salmon. They can't overwinter outdoors in our climate. Bizarrely, they aren't related to true geraniums at all.
Clear as mud, right?
With that out of the way, we'll go over the most common annual geraniums so that you can choose the right one for you!
Zonal Geraniums are what you probably think of when you hear the word "geranium." They have fuzzy, often patterned leaves that give off a unique scent when brushed, and they sport enormous flower heads in vivid colors. At 1-3' tall and wide, they make a great stand-alone specimen plant in hanging baskets and planters. Care is easy- just set them in a sunny spot, give them some slow release fertilizer, and water when dry.
Fancy Leaf Geraniums are Zonals that put on a show with their leaves as well as their flowers. They have the same care requirements as other Zonal Geraniums.
Interspecific Geraniums are a cross between Zonal and Ivy Geraniums. They have a neat mounding habit, vibrant color, good heat tolerance and the larger flower clusters of the Zonal Geraniums, so they're a great option for tough spots. Look for the Calliope series.
Ivy Geraniums are the hallmark plant of European window boxes and balconies. Appreciated for their trailing habit, they prefer moderate, even water and a little shelter from the heat of the day, making them ideal for spots with morning sun and light afternoon shade. They have smaller, more delicate flowers than the zonals (although both single and semi-double flowered versions exist,) smooth, shiny leaves, and a lower habit.
Regal Geraniums, also known as 'Martha Washington Geraniums,' may be used as seasonal plants indoors as well as outdoors. The flowers are typically large and bicolored for showier bloom, and the leaves are crinkled. They have similar care requirements to the Ivy Geraniums, but they are much more frost sensitive.
If you're interested in trying one as a houseplant, you'll need a spot close to a window that gets direct sun for four hours or more a day. That equates to at least 1,000 foot candles, but preferably more. (You can measure foot candles of light with a smart phone app.) If you haven't got enough natural light, consider supplementing what you have with grow lights. See this article about lighting for houseplants to learn more.
Remember to water your indoor geranium only when the soil has become dry, and to give it plenty of houseplant fertilizer.
Scented Geraniums can be enjoyed by the nose as well as the eyes! They're a mixed group of species and hybrids with similar appearance and cultural requirements to the Regals, and may be grown indoors or out. We currently have orange and lemon in stock.
The lemon scented geraniums, typically sold under the "Moskito Schocker" label, have not been shown to actually repel mosquitoes, despite their fresh, citronella-like scent. Instead, enjoy the scented geraniums for their fragrance. Try snipping a stem to add to a vase of cut flowers, rubbing the leaves to intensify the scent when you walk past, simmering them in scent pots, or drying the leaves to use in potpourri and sachets.
Now that you know how to pick the right geranium, you can knock the socks off your neighbors with a brilliant color display!
Get tailored suggestions just for you!
Geraniums aren't your thing? Stop in to visit us, tell us what kind of spot you've got and what kind of look you like, and our horticulturists will help you pick out plants you'll love.
Tune In to The Green Thumb Garden Show!
The Green Thumb Gardening Show is back on 1470 WMBD, at 7am on Saturday mornings! Tune in to hear Ethan Wise and Dan Diorio talk gardening for Central Illinois.
Extended Spring Hours:
Open on Sundays!
The days are getting longer, and that means it's time for our extended spring hours!
The Garden Center is open
Monday-Saturday 8am-6pm Sunday 11am-5pm
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