Soquel Nursery Growers
November - December 2007 Newsletter
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Soquel Nursery Growers 3645 North Main Street Soquel, CA 95073
(831) 475-3533 (800) 552-0802 (831) 475-1608 fax
Winter Schedule
Our winter hours are 8:00-4:00 Monday through Friday. We will be closed for Thanksgiving November 22nd-23rd.
We will be closed December 17th-January 1st. This is our last newsletter for 2007.
New Zealand Tea Trees

Great Leaping Leptospermum! These popular shrubs make a dazzling splash in winter and early spring.  
Leptospermum scoparium wins a prize for Most Versatile Form. If sheared regularly they stay dense all the way
to the ground. You can also selectively prune them up to show their intriguing gnarled and twisted branches with
fibrous bark. You can train them into a standard, make them into a formal hedge, shear them into balls, cubes,
cylinders, etc., or simply relax and enjoy their picturesque natural shapes. Their darling little papery flowers
come in a variety of colors. Click on thumbnails below to enlarge.
Appleblossom
Pale pink, double.
7’ x 5’.
 Burgundy Queen
Deep cherry-red,
double. Dark reddish-
green leaves.  7’ x 5’
 Snowflake
White, double. 7’x 5’
 Nanum ‘Tui’
A dwarf variety, 3’ x 2’.  
Flowers  are followed by
interesting button-like
seedpods, which remain
on the branches.

Ericas
Heaths burst out of their summer anonymity with clouds of tiny pink bells in
winter. We have two of the best varieties for our climate, a tall one and a short
one. Ericas prefer sandy, acidic soil and moderate water. Shear lightly after
bloom but don’t prune hard.

Erica canaliculata: Christmas Heath. Bushy spires to 6’ tall and 4’ wide.
Branches are long lasting in flower arrangements.






Erica darleyensis ‘Darley Dale’. 1’ tall x 2’ wide. Light pink flowers.


Calamagrostis ‘Overdam’





This showy grass has bright green leaves with creamy white margins. In
cool weather it develops a pink blush. The feathery seed heads appear
in June and start out pink, turning to gold and tan. The seeds are
sterile so you don’t have to worry about it becoming invasive. Unlike
many ornamental grasses, Calamagrostis ‘Overdam’ does well in heavy
clay. It will grow to 1’ x 2’. Plant it in full sun or light shade. Cut it to
the ground in late winter. Its bold texture and color makes a nice
contrast with fluffy flowers such as Nemesias, Chrysanthemum
frutescens, Diascia, and Ericas.
Two New Phygelius



We are growing Phygelius Funfare Orange and Funfare Wine for the
first time. These are compact varieties suitable for containers as well
as for flowerbeds. Orange is a deep salmon color and grows to about
18” x 20”. Wine is a deep magenta and grows to 16”x 20”. The
pendulous tubular flowers are very popular with hummingbirds.
Phygelius tolerates a wide variety of soil types and watering conditions
in full sun or light shade.
Hardenbergia





We are growing Hardenbergia violacea ‘Happy Wanderer’ in both one
and five gallon cans this year. This vine will be covered with little
purple sweet-pea flowers throughout the winter and spring. Gophers
love it almost as much as people do, so you might want to plant it in a
wire basket. This is a twining vine so give it something to curl around.
Give it rich, well-drained soil in sun or light shade. Hardenbergia
‘Happy Wanderer’ is one of the most hardy and vigorous selections.  
We also have a pale pink variety called ‘Pink Seedling’ which grows to
about 10’ tall with a shrubbier habit.
Veronica ‘Georgia Blue’

We grew a small crop of this delightful little trailer last
winter. It survived repeated freezing so beautifully we grew a
larger crop this time. Veronica ‘Georgia Blue’ forms a dense
mat of bronze-tinted green foliage covered with vivid sky-blue
flowers. Let it trail over the edge of a pot or ramble around
grasses, stones and taller plants.
Cupressus macrocarpa

If you need a large-scale, very dense hedge that will tolerate
wind, drought, and salt, try Cupressus macrocarpa or
Monterey Cypress.  Most people know this in its majestic
tree form. It has beautiful dark green velvety foliage that
lends itself well to fancy topiary and frequent shearing.