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pvecholane

Feeling frustrated - Looking for sources....

echolane
11 years ago

Anyone know retail nurseries in the greater San Francisco Bay Area that do business with Bucholz & Bucholz, or Iseli or Stanley..... Or is there any way to buy from them wholesale?

Last year one of my local nurseries added my wish list to their order from Iseli and I acquired some of the little gems I wanted that way, but this year I can't get any sort of committment from them to order from Iseli this year.

So....I have a long list of plants I'd like to acquire and the best sources look to be those I mentioned above, but I can't seem to find a nursery in my area that does business with them. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but so far I only find the commonest of dwarf conifers to be available in my area and even hardly any of those.

Meanwhile, I have discovered Porterhowse and Ceonosium but they don't have many of the things I am looking for, so any pointers to good sources would be appreciated.

Comments (20)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    have you tried contacted THEM.. and asking them to search their sellers by zip code ...

    i dont know why they wouldnt take the time to tell you who to go to .. eh??

    many places provide a zip code search button ... but i dont know about these ...

    if that fails.. time for road trip.. to the nearest seller.. no mater how far you have to drive ...

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: i bet jeremy moore knows the closest seller to you

  • PRO
    David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
    11 years ago

    There's a guy in Petaluma who carries a lot of Iseli stuff. I don't recall the name, but he does ponds and gardens. Sara (Formandfoliage) will surely chime in with the specifics if she's watching.

    If you were to join the American Conifer Society, then Stanley and Sons will most likely do business with you directly. All that's necessary is to join the Society and make it known to them that you're a coniferite and you're good to go.

    good luck,
    ~Dave

  • barbaraincalif
    11 years ago

    Pond and Garden Nursery in Cotati has the best selection of conifers I've found in the greater Bay area. They are definitely worth the drive! Just down the road from it is Peacock Horticultural Nursery, which carries a much smaller selection dwarf conifers, but still worth checking out while you're in the area.

    Was surprised to find some nice Monrovia conifers at the Pleasanton, CA Home Depot, while Armstrong Nursery in Dublin, CA had Iseli stock last year but Monrovia this year.

    You may also want to try Berkeley Horticultural Nursery (in Berkeley). It is one of the nicest nurseries I've ever seen and worth the trip even if you don't find exactly what you are looking for.

    Have fun!

    Barbara

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pond and Garden Nursery

  • PRO
    David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
    11 years ago

    Pond and Garden; that's the place! Go there with your wish list.

    ~Dave

  • Sara Malone Zone 9b
    11 years ago

    Completely concur with the recommendations for Pond and Garden and Peacock - two of the best nurseries anywhere in the Bay Area, especially for conifers. Also, Sweet Lane Nursery in Cotati is wholesale, but if you call and talk to them they may let you shop there. They let Master Gardeners buy directly from them, for example. The owner is Ed Grossi. P&G and Peacock have smaller specimens, generally more suited to most homeowners' gardens - Sweet Lane caters to landscapers and larger installations. Pond and Garden is getting a Buchholz order delivered in the near future - you might call Scott and find out when that is coming before you make the trek. If you are up in this area anyway, Cottage Gardens in Petaluma has Iseli plants, and it is a beautiful nursery, but very expensive. Finally, Urban Tree Farm in Fulton has a more pedestrian selection, but if you are looking for something not too unusual, their prices are far and away the lowest.
    Good luck and happy hunting!
    Sara

  • echolane
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks so much for the great tips! Cotati and environs is definitely a long drive, but it sounds like it'll be very much worth it. Hope I can piggy back on the Buchholz order!

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    you are confusing me greatly ...

    no trip is too far when it comes to your blessed collection.. what are you thinking.. ????? .. rent a darn uhaul and go get them ...

    please refer to the link.. for a very short video of my last 'hunt' ... a two day trip to east OH ...

    i mean crimminey.. joy and henk fly in from dutch-land every winter .... and you are hesitating over a day trip..

    FOCUS ECHO!!!! ... whats important here????

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: link

  • coniferjoy
    11 years ago

    Ken, Henk and I are from The Netherlands aka Holland but we speak Dutch, isn't that strange? ;0)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    yes.. and that is why i can never keep it straight in my head ...

    i am glad you finally understand it is a joke ... not an insult.. lol ..

    ken

    ps: at least you dont speak Hollandaise .. lol ... though it is great on poached eggs .. lol ... if you did.. it would make you all rather saucy ... sorry .. i got nothing on netherlands .. will have to work on that ... netherlander-ese???? .. man thats a tongue twister ...

    pps: what was the point of this post???? .. oh road trip.. may as well google up some restaurants on the road trip.. and find out where you can get eggs benedict and mimosas ... lol ... though you might want to rethink mimosas and long haul driving .... [thats a tree forum homage.. see what i did there ??? ... lol]

    Here is a link that might be useful: oh God am i hungry ...

  • arceesmith
    11 years ago

    Ken, I'm fairly certain that I have said this before:
    You crack me up! (you really got me with the Hollandaise part)

  • arceesmith
    11 years ago

    Oh geeeez, I just clicked your link - stop, yer killin' me!

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    i have my moments.. lol ...

    perhaps you will recognize me .. when i pull into iseli .. in another life ...

    though i have left before dawn.. to be at a conifer location when it opened at 9am .. and i did feel like i was running out there like the vid.. lol ..... because that was when the guy would be available.. having other commitments after noon .... you know.. if your going that far.. it isnt going to be a 15 minute visit ... lol ... ITS DEFINITELY AN APPOINTMENT KIND OF THING ....

    then there was the leave at dawn and A 3.5 hour drive.. and 6 to 8 hours loading 40 6 to 8 foot bare root oaks in the back and getting it all secured.. and back home after dark ... i remember all the tree stuff.. but i dont recall why getting back took so long .. lol .. but all 4 of us went.. you know how traveling with kids warps reality ...

    the point for echo is.. ROAD TRIP!!!! .. APPOINTMENT ... etc ...

    then there was the guy.. who drove to adrian from canton OH [4 hours] .. with a uhaul attached.. so i could show him tom shmids and gee tree ...

    ken

    ps: the leaving before dawn.. and getting back in dark ... makes it all .... in your memory.. like a dream ... throw in conifers.. and its a great dream .... at least you have the plants.. and know it really happened ...

  • Sara Malone Zone 9b
    11 years ago

    Lest anyone be unaware, the food (and the drink!) is almost as good around here as the conifer nurseries...so start planning, because it looks like the 2015 ACS National Meeting is going to be in the SF Bay Area. Did someone say ROAD TRIP??????

  • PRO
    David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
    11 years ago

    That's awesome, Sara. Just promise that you'll take us back to that excellent brew pub.

    @Ken, I couldn't agree with you more about road trips. I'm already planning on coming out to the midwest next January for some good old fashioned scion pillaging. LOL

    @Echolane, here's your chance to join the ACS, go to the National meeting and take part in the plant auctions. You'll be able to score some real sweet conifers that way.

    ~Dave

  • Sara Malone Zone 9b
    11 years ago

    Echolane - I keep the ACS Western Region mailing list. I'm planning on hosting a Bay Area splinter group (that's what a group of tree huggers gets) meeting this spring, probably in connection with our first ACS Bay Area reference garden. If you want to be added to the mailing list, please send me an email at formandfoliage@gmail.com and I'll make sure to include you. Would be a good opportunity to get up here and check out the nurseries, as well!
    Sara
    ps Dave we have all kinds of fun things in the planning stages, including a trip to the redwood canopy!

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    i think we scared echo away.. lol ...

    ken

  • echolane
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Nah, you didn't scare me away :) I've been on a mini-vacation; unfortunately didn't see any dwarf conifers while I was out and about.

    HOWEVER, I have made contact with Pond and Garden, to my great pleasure, and will be making a trip there SOON!

    Still, how will I manage to be patient until 2015 for the meeting of the American Conifer Society?????

  • Sara Malone Zone 9b
    11 years ago

    echolane we'll let you know if we hold any events in the Bay Area before 2015 - we're working on getting two ACS Reference Gardens into the program right now and will likely do something to celebrate one or both being accepted. Also, the Western Regional meeting this summer will be in Portland - the dates are Sept 21-22 I believe. We'd also like to organize conifer walks at SFBG and UC Berkeley led by the curators or the like. ANyone else in the SF Bay Area that is interested, send me your email to formandfoliage@gmail.com and we'll keep you posted!
    Sara

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    hey sara..

    do insist they join the ACSoc.. before you go giving away all the party invitations ...

    ken

  • Sara Malone Zone 9b
    11 years ago

    Ken, don't worry, there is a master plan at work here!
    Sara

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