Hello all,
I'll bet it was a great day to go to Logee's! Nice dry driving conditions, comfortable enough to walk between the buildings without getting blasted by cold or rain...

Now, I'm dying to know what people bought, and what you thought was the best part/plant!

One of my favorite things about going to Logee's is when you walk in the front door...then take those 3 steps down into the first greenhouse. You are immediately surrounded by the smell of moist earth and gorgeous colors. Just what the mid-winter gardener needs!

Emily

I second DiggingtheDirt. Martie did a fantastic job, and she was absolutely right: Logee's is a must-see even if you're not "into" tropicals and "houseplants." I learned a lot about these plants and what it takes to grow them in a greenhouse.

We had a wonderful tour of the greenhouses led by Logee's owner and staff - Byron, Deb and Rick. We had to break up into three groups, each beginning in a different part of the setup so we didn't all cram into the narrow passageways at once. Those of us in Byron's group were treated to his childhood memories of his parents' love affair...beginning with begonias and then with each other!...that turned Logee's from a florist operation to a tropicals growing greenhouse.

The different growing houses are packed with everything tropical (with subtropicals here and there) - citrus, guavas, coffee plants, camellias, gardenias, begonias, pelargoniums, orchids, bananas, passionflowers, succulents, clivias, you name it. Even carniverous plants. Lots of tropical vines and trees I'd never seen before, some with heavenly fragrance or eye-poppingly colorful flowers. We even got to sample kumquats and tiny oranges that had tart pulp but sweet rinds.

We spent over an hour with Byron (he sheepishly confessed that he went overtime because he was so excited to have GardenWebbers who were as into plants as he is), and it was as delightful seeing him reveal his passion for plants and his work, as it was to stroll among the lush tropical plants in the warm, fertile-smelling hothouse air.

I tried to be in control of my purchases (after I realized that Logee's is less than 1.5 hours from where I live, I figured I'll be back there in spring to go on another shopping spree), and came out with some dwarf guavas, a mini jasmine, a "queen's tears" and some club moss for a tabletop terrarium. Others in our group filled their cardboard plant trays with gorgeous, unusual begonias and other great plants.

Then we drove 10 minutes to the charming village of Pomfret for lunch at the Vanilla Bean Cafe. Besides delicious sandwiches and a variety of soft drinks, coffees and juices, they had decadent deserts. After a leisurely hour of munching and chatting, we drifted out to head home.

Did anyone go back to Logee's for one more little look around? :)

Meeting this nice, diverse bunch of gardenlovers from GardenWeb was a treat, and it was nice to place faces to "cyber names," as well as to see a familiar face or two from earlier GardenWeb meets.

It was a wonderful field trip under blue skies and mild temperatures. A perfect January getaway without having to go far at all!

yay Martie, and your great teammate,Rich! what a terrific positive energy you have!the day was so well organized; everything happened on time, and driving early sunday morning was a breeze! i already have lost the post that took me an hour to compose- so i'm just going to recap the most important thngs that i learned from rick logee, the production mngr and head of our subgroup's tour.( all the logees staff were so welcoming,knowledgeable and helpful. they certainly made us feel special).

* Some of their 'indoor' plants are actually z. 5 hardy (logee's is a solid z.5) including 2 passiflora and a jasmine(winter mulch with hay or whatever).(see the on line logees catalogue for further info).
*they have a huge-trunk banana that they overwinter in the ground- by cutting back to the ground and enclosing in a cage of straw.
*to keep brugmansias from toppling over when they plant them out in the ground, he mixes in a large amount of Electra fertilizer into the soil below the plant, so it's previously-potted roots will GROW STRONG and anchor the top-heavy plant.then he heavy root-prunes in fall before potting and storing in an unlit bulkhead).
* the correct soil PH is ESSENTIAL for successfully growing indoor plants.if the soil is not the right PH for that particular plant, the plant cannot absorb whatever fertilizer you give it.
* he recommends Electra and DynaGrow fertilizers, and Neem's oil for tackling and preventing aphids, scale and white fly.
It was an invaluable experience, being there first hand and being able to learn so much more than i've mentioned above.
(Please , everybody,chime in with other things learned).
As I replied to Martie, when she asked if I was happy that I came, "Martie, as soon as I met you and Rich, I was happy that I came." The same goes for all of you friendly folks.
I hope you will come to the Cotton-Arbo retum this coming season. maybe a visit could be part of a Garden Conservancy Open Days tour up this way in June.
best, mindy

Yes, kudos to Martie and Rich. What a fun day-just perfect-weather, company and great things to see and eat. Mindy and I got to chatting after everybody left and I didn't get home til almost 4.

Mindy it sounds like your group got a bit more cultural information than we did. Our guide pointed out alot of plants but I don't remember getting the type of interesting tidbits you did. I did learn that they are overwintering Musa basjoo(hardy banana) out there so I have hope for mine. I'll probably go back around the end of April and pick up some stuff for my outdoor container gardens. I think I mentioned, the scratch marks on the inside of my doors aren't from the dogs but from my plants trying to get out. lol

Follow the link below to see some pictures Wendy and I (so far) have posted in the OT area of the perennial forum.

So...what's next on the garden excursion agenda?

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Logee's pictures

Ditto, ditto, ditto! What a great day it was! I am definitely not a houseplant/tropical person, but figured I'd go to see the greenhouses for a bit of green in January, and boy was I ever glad I did!

What a treat! The fragrances and the colors were gorgeous. I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed by the many plants that I didn't recognize, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable tour. And I actually bought a plant! Now I just have to keep it alive and I'll be all set. I'll have to add some photos my DH took when I get a chance. (That red puffy bloom seemed to be a popular photo subject, lol!)

Mindy, you are so right - as soon I got out of the car at MacDonalds, and started meeting the other forummers, I was happy I came. It was fun to see the CT folks again, and great to meet the Mass/RI people and to put faces with names.

What a great group we have here, if I do say so myself!

Many thanks to Martie and Carole for pulling this together!
:)
Dee

Thanks Martie and Carole! We had fun!

I posted some photos at the same place Sue did (link below again).

Nice meeting or seeing everyone again!

Monique

Here is a link that might be useful: More Logees photos

Ditto...To all of the above,Martie/Carole you did a great job of organizing all of this,Thank You!
Gasoline,morning coffee & donut $25.00
Cost of 1 hr. tour @ Logee's....$7.00
Lunch & coffee @ Vanilla Bean...$11.00
Getting out of the house without the kids to see and smell fresh mutlti colored vegetation in mid january somewhere other than the produce section of the local stop&shop.......
PRICELESS!!!
see you all soon!!
Ron.

Wow. Rich and I Thank All Of You for an incredible day of friends, food, and fresh information and ideas.

I was with Mindy's group and Rick, who is the head of the "Production" area, was absolutely charming and wonderfully sharing.

What did we bring home? Well .. common names, here because it's too early in the morning for Latin :-)

Begonia Richardson for bonsai (Rich)
Miniature Guava (Rich)
Begonia Iron Cross (Rich)
Begonia China Curl (Rich)
Geranium Flower Basket (me)
Pelargonium Fringed Apple (me)
Lavandula dentata Lamikins (me)
A tall reddish/orange bell-flowered fuzzy foliage to be treated like African violets (me)
Brugmansia orange fading to peach with killer fragrance (me)

The best part was seeing everyone get jazzed even if they weren't tropical houseplant people. Meeting George who was a surprise attendee and reveling in his marvelous accent. Mindy and Nan asking questions I didn't think of. Birch Beer (the real stuff) at the Vanilla Bean. Everyone doing their own thing with completely content looks during the shopping portion. Our retail helper, Jody, so carefully going through everyone's orders and making suggestions and running to get "a much better specimen from out back." Seeing Logee's from the backround and realizing that Nothing, Absolutely Nothing is mechanized. Getting vital info on how to keep our babies alive. Rich getting excited when he saw the water collection systems in the roofs of all the greenhouses and him realizing that yes, indeed, we could do the same thing underground for the gardens. Sharing a meal with 17 people who share a passion or love people who do.

Ron and I talked briefly on the way out -- I'll take doing an annual trip to Logee's and he'll do the plant swap. Sounds like a plan to me!!

Thanks, again, for everyone's enthusiasm and travel. I couldn't have been better.

Rich and Martie

Thank you Martie and Carole for a little piece of summer in the middle of winter!

What a pleasure to meet everyone I had not met, and getting a behind-the-scenes look at Logees was fascinating. I've never seen anything like that place, it is wonderful.

I posted pictures too at the link above.

-Wendy

Each tour seems to have had a different focus, but the sum of the parts equals a fascinating adventure. Byron focused on the plant species and cultivars themselves, where they came from, how he got and propagated them. He also told us some of the history of Logee's itself, which was charming. It was awe-striking to look at a huge plant rooted into the ground, and hearing Byron tell us that it was growing there when he was a child!

He also talked about the propagation processes, pest control issues, and the nuts and bolts of the economics of growing exotics. It's the age-old tale of love vs. "can we make a living." A lot of the species he loves, he has found are not commercially viable. Still, Logee's won't sell out to the big box mentality of carrying only the most popular and known plants. It's a constant juggle.

We also did hear about the plants that are zone 5/6 hardy, and got a look at the passiflora and other hardy "tropicals" dormant under mulch outside the greenhouse, in a nice warm microclimate. It gives me inspiration to push the envelope with some plants I'd been timid to put in the garden.

I'm glad some of you brought cameras and took photos. I'm enjoying seeing all of the lovely plants again (and the shots of our happy gang). Once again, thanks Martie and all for a fun day. And boy am I glad the snow waited until today!

Thanks to both Martie and Carole for a very well coordinated effort! What fun it was to see old faces and new. Thank you also to all the picture posters. It made forgetting my camera a bit less painful.

Oooh, Martie - an annual trip? Sign me up for next year!

Deb

Kudos to Martie and everyone else who made the day a great success..........definitely worth the 2 hour drive!!........and the photos posted are gorgeous!! I am one of those people who regularly kill houseplants, but I was so inspired that I came back with a tray full of things to try - begonias, jasmine, flowering vines, etc...............we'll see!! Thanks again, Martie, and let's plan another trip!!

Melanie

Thanks to all of you for my "vicarious visit" to Logee's. Those photographs were an extra treat...that hibiscus is so gorgeous it seems surreal!

Mindy, thanks for posting that information that you got on the tour. I too have found the staff at the check-out very informative--giving me hints on how to grow certain plants. But some of that stuff I didn't know before.

The red powder puff plant on the photo page is a Calliandra Surinamensis...I bought one last year. I've yet to coax it into bloom, but the foliage looks good! Maybe I better look up it's PH requirements!

Thanks again for the re-cap on the day...
Emily

I am so sorry I missed the get-together! Next time people get together at Logee's, I'm there! As it was, you all drove by my house to get to the Bean.

Till next time!

- Elizabeth

I'm going back to Logee's next week, with my fiance...He HAS to see that place.

>I'm going back to Logee's next week, with my fiance...He HAS to see that place.

Good plan, Cady. If he doesn't like Logee's, just ditch him.

I appreciate all the great descriptions of the greenhouses, re-reading them and looking at the photos is like revisiting the day.

Here's a quick question. I picked up a couple of "hardy" Jasminium officionales vines (among other things) that day at Logees. Their web site says:

"Hardy Zone 6 and higher. Full sun, grows to 2-4' in container, vining in habit, minimum temperature 30°... "

So, what is the story? Minimum 30°, or zone 6? I know Rick, our tour guide, said they have one of these outside at Logees - did anyyone get details of how or if they protect it?

Thanks!
Nan

Nan: Outside the roots of Jasminium officionales were protected with straw mulch, it was in a protected spot, full sun. Remember Logees is solid Z5 so it may not need to be quite as protected in Z6. The 30deg is for the foliage and when it will wither if it's in a greenhouse. Rich actually remembered this because he has visions of a bananna stand in our backyard and Rick had said that the jasmine was put to bed the same way.

Elizabeth: So why didn't you join the caravan??? :-) Next time ....

Martie

One of the nurseries I frequent grows winter jasmine in the display garden. They are south of me and may be zone 6b but they grow it scrambling over a stone wall and attribute the success to the extra warmth provided by the stones baking in the sun.

Sue

I agree with Martie that the 30F given is for top growth, not roots. Most plants have roots that are hardy to much colder temps than their above-ground growth. Especially when mulched and/or planted in a sheltered spot that is warmed by sun in winter.

Nan, my fiance already is a plant guy, and he lived and landscaped in Florida for many years. So I know he'll like Logee's. But, you're right that it's a great "final exam" to clinch our engagement. lol

The great thing about Logees is that it creates converts. When I met Rich it was ... what are all those green things in your apartment???? Now, it's, "what do you mean you're going greenhousing without me???" A trip to Logees is highly recommended if a relationship isn't moving forward because of plant lust rather than the other kind :-)

BTW: Rich and I were engaged at the intersection of Routes 169 and 101. Long story. The Killingly/Pomfret area does seem to have a romantic aura. Your fiance will love it!

Martie

Martie,
You didn't get engaged at the Vanilla Bean, did you??? I would have them cater my wedding anyday...Especially the desserts.

Now I'm really sorry I didn't join the group! My DH took me to Logees and White Flower Farm earlier in the year, so I thought I was all set. I see that I missed a great day. My DH is not a rabid gardening fan like I am, but since I've had him so long, I'm stuck with him ;) . He does brag to visitors about our garden, so he is forgiven for his shortcomings.

I'm definately in for the next trip!

No, Cady, not at the Bean but at a coffee place called Baker's Dozen outside at a picnic table. We were taking a Harley ride and it just happened. No ring, nothing fancy, but it happened there. Then we went to Hart's, a great nursery a bit further up 169, and my engagement gift was a white non-stop begonia that got stuck in the saddle bag for 3 hours on an 85 degree day and survived. Seemed a good omen ......

And to keep this NE Gardening related ... All my week-old-to-me plants are doing quite nicely. Today I'll be taking cuttings of several and beginning to design containers. Will need a lot of "filler" stuff so will be going to Woodland Gardens (Manchester, CT) this afternoon to get some routine stuff to grow on.

Martie

Arrghh. Just got back this weekend from a long business trip to Europe, which is why I couldn't pull off the Logees visit. Drat. Looks like everyone had a great time and the pics are awesome. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it next year. I definitely would like to check out their carnivorous plant collection.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.

narcnh

Europe? How awful for you, narcnh (heehee).
It would have been super if you'd been there. We had a wonderful time. We have to do it again.

The tropicals I bought are doing nicely. The little jasmine is blooming, and the other plants are sending out fresh leaves.

cady, I wish business trips weren't, well, business trips. It is usually a blur of airports, hotels, corporate offices, airports and back home to recover. This trip I did manage to take a day off. My partner in Europe had to visit a company in Germany, which left me a free day that coincided with his wife's day off. We went into Amsterdam and to the Rijksmuseum, which is undergoing a major overhaul. As a result they have consolidated many works of art into just a couple of wings. One exhibit is the "Golden Age" of The Netherlands, which tells the history of that period in art. The other is a Rembrandt exhibit, where they consolidated all of their Rembrandts into one room (except for ÂThe Night WatchÂ, which is too big to move). It was neat to see works from his various periods all in one place.

Anyway, I look forward to another opportunity to meet forum members at a great nursery. Continued good luck with your tropicals.

narcnh