Blog

Fall Flowers (More Than Just Mums)

Posted on Monday, September 8th, 2014 at 4:33 pm by Turks Greenhouses

Northwest Corner of Wholesale Mum Filed 9-8-14

Northwest Corner of Wholesale Mum Filed 9-8-14

Fall is my favorite time of year.  As gardeners, we work rain or shine, hot or cold, bugs or not.  After putting in months of hard labor to achieve the perfect garden, we finally get to sit back, slow down, and enjoy.  Of course, there is still work to do, a garden never stops needing attention.  Some plants are lost, others just didn’t do what we expected or wanted of them.  We once more get to do what gardeners love most, shop for more flowers!  The wonderful thing about fall flower shopping is the value that is available.  If you shop at the right places (greenhouses that grow what they produce) great bargains and wonderful selections are ready to be found. This year we are growing 77 different varieties of mums.  As you can see by the picture of our field that equates to a total of over 50,000 plants. Click here to see our fall catalog.

035

Mums at Retail Greenhouse

We have been selling our Mums wholesale, supplying many Chicago area landscapers, large and small for the last 30 years.  Of course we also sell our Mums along with other fall plants to the public at our Grayslake retail location.  Variety selection is a grueling task every year.  We assess the performance of each variety based on color, size, durability, and bloom time.  Our orders are then placed in January for the following fall, almost 9 months before we will be selling those mum plants.  As a result we feel that we are providing our customer with the best possible selection.

Kale 'Glamour Red'

Kale ‘Glamour Red’

Ornamental Kale & Cabbage at Retail Greenhouse

Ornamental Kale & Cabbage at Retail Greenhouse

Over the last 5 years the popularity of Ornamental Kale and Cabbage has skyrocketed.   In addition, other cold tolerant greens with ornamental value have become popular such as Swiss Chard.  We have 25 varieties of Cabbage, Kale, and Swiss Chard this year totaling more than 20,000 plants. These are the real workhorses of the fall ornamental season.  Beginning in early September when the plants become available they become a beautiful addition to containers and ground beds.  As the temperatures drop and the nights get cooler, the colors become more bold and the centers of the plants magically turn bright shades of purple, white, and pink.  Many of these varieties have been around for years but recently there has been an new Kale addition called ‘Glamour Red.’  The variety has beautiful shiny leaves that have the appearance of being lacquered, very unlike the typical glaucous surface of most Kale and Cabbage.  The real bonus with any of the ornamental kale or cabbage is that they will not only last through Halloween but Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas even in northern Illinois.

Ornamental Pepper 'Chilly Chili'

Ornamental Pepper ‘Chilly Chili’

Ornamental Pepper 'Black Pearl'

Ornamental Pepper ‘Black Pearl’

Ornamental Peppers give a pop to fall containers.  The bright red, yellow, and orange colors really exemplify fall.  For those of you looking to dress up your garden for Halloween, the ornamental pepper variety Black Pearl, will do the trick.

Wire Vine

Wire Vine

Lysmachia 'Goldilocks'

Lysmachia ‘Goldilocks’

Ceratostigma (Plumbago)

Ceratostigma (Plumbago)

There are many wonderful options for colorful foliage additions to fall plantings.  Heuchera, Lysmachia, Wire Vine, and Green Ivy are the most popular and durable.  Each of these providing a different look to a fall container.

facebook 015

Now it’s time to dress up your garden for Halloween!  We can help you make it a treat rather than a trick.


Our E-newsletter

Enter your e-mail address to receive the latest news and special offers from Turks.’