Was at Hastings yesterday for a meeting and saw sales tags on a lot of merchandise at 40-80% OFF, including some books.
Didn't find anything that I wanted to nurse through this drought!
I am looking for 'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry (A.x grandiflora). Does anyone know if that is the one Pike's Wholesale has?
TIA
Rb

I don't have any good nurseries near me that I know of -- only a Lowe's and Home Depot. I keep checking Lowe's to see if they're marking anything down but it looks like mostly they're just throwing away and not even bothering to discount anything that isn't an annual which I find odd.

I remember a few weeks back they had been trying to sell pricey pots full of arranged perennials that had a mix of summer blooming bulbs like glads, etc...in them. Everything was completely bloomed out and dead-looking and instead of marking them down they had a big hand written sign on the rack that said "YES, THESE ARE PERENNIALS AND WILL COME BACK NEXT YEAR", as if that will entice the average customer to drop that kind of money on a plastic pot full of dying foliage. They had the same sign on a stand of potted Bearded Iris that have been there since Spring and are long-done blooming. I don't think they're ever going to sell if they don't mark them down.

Everytime I've been there over the last two weeks during the day they had the garden center gates closed up from the outside during what would normally be prime garden center hours. Just too hot to keep employees out there I guess and so dry that most folks aren't buying landscape plants right now so I know they're not doing much garden center buisness.

Danielle

"Just too hot to keep employees out there I guess and so dry that most folks aren't buying landscape plants right now so I know they're not doing much garden center buisness."

Ah, yes. I know the feeling. I've been working in 110-115 heat (registering on our thermometer!!). Luckily only for 4-5 hrs at a time...

GGG

"...so I know they're not doing much garden center buisness."

Just wait until people get around to replacing all their dead plants. Then its just like any other natural disaster... it turns out pretty ok for nurseries

Razorback, I saw a couple of very nicely grown Autumn Brilliance at Bannister Creek Nursery in Duluth, along with a whole bunch of other trees of fantasy.

I went to a few garden centers today and they had zilch. What they did have looked like crap and everything was expensive. No sales. Pikes in Suwanne had a huge section that used to be trees now they have it lined with centiweed sod. I don't know what they are thinking. If fall was right around the corner you wouldn't know it by the garden centers this weekend.

Went up to Athens last week and on return trip, decided to detour by Growers Outlet on Friday to see what they had.
It was opening day and they weren't that well stocked, except for Mums, which I don't like. Found some nice Camellias in 3gal. for $15.00ea. and bought 3. They also had tons of Azaleas and 3 varieties of Gardenia. All looked fresh and well cared for.
Since I haven't had all of the heavy rainfall that others have enjoyed, I am extremely shy about buying any new plant material, until I'm sure it's going to rain here again! I have only had one shower of an inch+ rainfall in 5 months and only a few with lesser amounts.