My favorite is Milaeger's in Racine. That is Heaven to me. But a very close 2nd is Wayne's Daughters which is just several blocks north of Milaeger's on hwy 32. This one is new and just great. They have another one in the town of Raymond, just west of I-94. Another is Plantland on Howell (32) just north of College Ave. in Milwaukee. Great prices there and they have some different perennials and annuals.

Kat

I live near the Jung's seed plant and warehouse in Randolph (15 miles west of Beaver Dam and 45 miles north of Madison). I got my Christmas stuff there, and they were great!

Wayne's Daughters? Is that the name of the place? I've never heard of it.

Dave
Franklin

It's called Wayne's Daughters Greenhouses. The one in the town of Raymond is on 43rd st between hwy G and 5 mile rd. That one has been there for quite awhile. The one in Racine is almost directly east of it on hwy 32 between 4 mile rd and 5 mile rd. It opened last spring.

Kat

cool!...I'll check them out. Thanks Kat

Dave
Franklin

Wayne's Daughters is a favorite of mine too. They have a huge selection of hanging baskets, and an excellent selection of potted annuals too. They also carry perennials. I've been getting most of my baskets and annuals there the past 2 years. Prices are very reasonable. A bit out of the way, but a fun little trip.

Another one that I like is Shady Acres in New Berlin, on Martin Road. Mostly perennials there, again at nice prices.

I'll second Shady Acres...a good selection of perennials and better grown than Milleager's, I think.

Dave
Franklin

Does anyone know of a good Cactus and Succulent nursery in the area?

I haven't gotten to the Madison nurseries---yet. But I sure have purchased some neat plants at the Farmers Market--on the Capitol Square!!!

I absolutely love K&W Greenery on Hwy 14 in Janesville. They have a great selection of flowering annuals and perennials, roses, shrubs, etc. Their hanging baskets are just massive! Healthy plants, decent prices, good customer service...I haven't had a bad experience there yet.

Megan

On Hwy 10 into Stevens Point there is a garden center called Lynn's. They have beautiful plants. They also are very knowledgable about thier plants. Have many varies and hanging baskets.

I have a couple of favorites - Shady Lane in Menomonee Falls and Bayside Nursery are both staffed with nice people. If I am heading south, I also like Milaeger's in Racine.

Jan

Here is a link that might be useful: Milwaukee Rose Society

One of my favorite places to visit for perennials the first week of May is Hanson's in Rhinelander. Its quite a drive (2 hrs) but I find all the NEW stuff there for half of what it costs in the catalogues and local nursereys. They must have 6 greenhouses of perennials, and another 6 of annuals. I get some good ideas for planting combinations there also.

Shirley

My favorite nursery is Lensmire's Village Gardens in Plover. I only discovered it last year ... they have lots of annuals, perennials, garden art and a wonderful walking garden with a huge topiary peacock. They plant the tail with annual flowers. I love the piped in music while you shop. It is not far off of Hwy 39.
Linda

I have not been on here for years. My old computer died and with it my favorite book marks. I am looking for a website that sells roses for zone 4. I purchased a rose shrub from that website, and it is doing wonderfully. It survived our last winter. Does anyone have any idea the name of the website? Or a place in Wisconsin that specializes in zone 4 roses?

Close by - I love to shop K&W. at Janesville -- but for the hard to find perennials - The Flower Factory at Oregon is the best. They have a great display planted as well, and with their catalog and recommendations, you can "shop" all winter and make your lists. Their daylily variety is wonderful, and every hosta known is there. They have both large and small plants,so you can get what you want at a reasonable price. Mary

One of the best in our state is Spring Valley Roses. They also sell perennials too. They are in zone 4 and grow the roses they sell. I'm including their website.

Kat

Here is a link that might be useful: Spring Valley Roses

I visit Milaegers maybe a couple times a year, as well as Shady Acres, but I find Milaegers to be very expensive, and the quality just so-so. I don't mind paying top dollar for top quality, but that's not here, with the exception of my recent rose bush purchases.

I'll get what I need if they have what I'm looking for and I can't find it elsewhere, but I wouldn't use them as a primary source for all my gardening needs/lists/plants, etc. But they do have a lot of variety when it comes to hanging baskets and annuals. The perennial selection in my opinion is just so-so, and sorry, I have to say the same for the staff. Other than the staff who helped me with my rose selection this year - he was great - everyone else seemed annoyed when I asked questions about the perennial selection...they'd run to someone else who has to answer for them...and they come back and give you an answer and the whole time you know they have no clue what they are talking about, but they never bother bringing an expert to you, meanwhile, the "expert go-to person" is somewhere else watering plants, while "clueless" runs back and forth relaying messages. At least that was my experience in the garden center this year. It was disheartening.

I did buy a nice trellis there this year, and during that visit I picked up some chameleon plants only to find that they didn't have them labeled as invasive (and they are ULTRA invasive to the point that I'm throwing them away - if you google them everyone says not to ever plant this unless you want to spend years trying to get rid of it in your entire yard, your neighbors yard, etc.), so I'm not happy that they aren't labeling them as such, and I'm out a pretty good amount of money because of it (I purchased 10 of them thinking they'd look great at the base of my boxwood), and of course if I had asked someone in the garden center about it they likely wouldn't have had a clue about the plant.

Milaeger's does have a nice variety of roses in comparison to Minor's Garden Center. I have a beautiful Sombreuil climbing rose bush this year that I am quite pleased with, as well as a beautiful true red climbing Don Juan.

I'd say Mileagers plants, though they are acceptable in quality and better than what you'd find at say Lowe's or Home Depot, don't compare to the other nurseries mentioned.

Shady Acres has a nice layout, especially for beginners it's nice to see the plants in their natural stage of growth so you can have an idea what you are getting if you don't have a lot of knowledge about plants like myself, but they are also priced just a wee bit higher than my favorite nursery, Minor's Garden Center on the northwest side of Milwaukee. I really toggle between them if one doesn't have what I'm looking for.

I've driven past Wayne's Daughters, thought of stopping but didn't b/c I just finished spending too much $$ at the overpriced Milaegers!

Others to consider are Lieds in Sussex http://www.lieds.com/, and Hawks Nursery in Wauwatosa, though Hawks can be pricey, but a nice selection, and an excellent garden statuary selection, and at Hawks you get what you pay for - high quality. However, I purchased some statuary there to match another piece that I had already purchased from Minor's, and the pricing was the same, so it depends on the product you are looking for. Both places have high quality plants.

I do purchase all my outdoor ferns and palm trees each year at Lowe's or Home Depot. Prices can't be beat, and with a little miracle grow you have a plant that looks as spectacular as one you'd find at one of the local nurseries.

For those who are true beginners in the garden, a great catalog to start your perennial search with is Bluestone Perennials -- if you don't mind ordering through the internet. Their catalog has nice pics and all pertinent info needed for the beginner gardener. They have awesome deals a few times a year, and their plants are guaranteed for life. One of my plants died soon after delivery, and they reshipped no questions asked, no fee to me.

Ebert's in Ixonia is large, lovely, and friendly, but several of their plants seemed sadly rootbound when I got them home, and thus needed a lot of enocouragement to thrive.

At Jung's in Sun Prairie I did not have good luck finding knowledgeable enough help from the employees.

Still looking for a great place around Madison or east of there, where there's a great selection and knowledge of perennials.

My best luck so far has been using MadisonPlants listserv for free exchanges or Madison and Jefferson County Freecycle, and buying at local farmer's markets. When you deal directly with individuals, you get a lot more useful information, and often they put so much TLC into their plants!

Has anyone been to Patty's Plants?
Johannson's?

My tastes are mostly to perennials and woody shrubs, but I do like Eberts in Ixonia, near Oconomowoc. In the Madison area, I find that the Jung's stores are hit-or-miss. The Bruce company is absurdly overpriced, but have a lot of selection and very good quality. Enchanted Valley is outside of Edgerton, with a LOT of selection in perennials and shrubs. My current favorite is very small, but right near my house. Schoenheit's nursery doesn't have the huge variety and selection that some others do, but it is really tasteful and has good prices with high quality.

I'm new to the "Wisconsin" forum - and so happy to find it too!!

I need to start checking out some of these wonderful nurseries mentioned. Right now I am a regular at Milaeger's and Wayne's Daughters primarily because they are close to home and time is of the essence when you have 3 small children. I also love my too far and in between trips up to Minor's. I could just walk around there for hours.

Flower Factory in Stoughton, WI, just south of Madison, is about the best place to shop for perennials in south central Wisconsin, in my opinion. They have a great selection and knowledgeable people to help with questions about growing those perennials.

Schonheit nursery in Sun Prairie is also a great place for perennials and shrubs. Good selection and great displays, and knowledgeable people to help you.

I am bumping this old post up because we will be visiting a lot of these this year.

I love the Flower Factory in Stoughton. I buy most of my perennials from there. Bruce Co. in Middleton is expensive, but their plants are well taken care of. Johannson's in Madison doesn't have a big selection but they have good prices. Felly's Flowers has a greenhouse in Fitchburg that has a good selection but it's a little expensive and not quite as nice as Bruce Co. Jung's is the place to go to for bareroot plants. They have good prices but don't always take good care of their plants.

Those are the main ones that I go to. I'm going to have to go find Schonheit Nursery this year since I haven't gone there yet.

I love the Flower Factory, but I get sensory overload there. (I buy much more than I come for). I often stop at America's Best (Vilas Hope Rd.) and Schonheit (Bailey Rd. and T) while I'm in that area.

I agree that Jung's has good bareroot plants, but I think their perennials are awfully small for what they charge for them. Klein's (on East Wash) has the best annuals-good sized plants and really good prices.

I really like Klein's. They grow some of their plants on site from seed, they have nice signs, and the staff is very friendly. Their perennial selection is decent, but their annuals are great!

If you're a serious gardener, you can skip Mileager's. They're expensive and the focus waaaayyy too much on non-gardening stuff: fashion, Christmas decorations, super expensive patio furniture, etc. It's annoying. And most of the staff seem to be upper middle class suberbanites who apparently just want to work there for the discount on the pretty shoes and handbags.
(i will say they've got a decent ornamental tree & shrub selection. go there if you know what you want. still expensive though)
Wayne's Daughters is awesome. The one in Raymond is only a couple minutes west of the freeway.
If you've never driven out to Northwind Perennial Farm, it's worth the trip! They're sort of between Burlington and Lake Geneva. It's an old dairy farm that's been converted to a perennial farm. They really focus on proven perennials that are hardy to at least zone 5, demonstrate their plants in the surrounding landscape, and are REALLY knowledgible. It's a beautiful place to visit. www.northwindperennialfarm.com
Ebert's Greenhouse Village in Ixonia is also very awesome.

Our favorite places are just North of Green Bay. There's Canterbury Farms in the village of Howard just off Hwy 29 on Shawano and a little further on Hwy 29 there's Green Acres on County O. Both have large varieties of annuals and perennials and Green Acres has indoor ponds on site and exotic birds and other animals. Canterbury Farms has numerous greenhouses and a large section of herbs, tables and tables of annuals, beautiful hanging baskets, and many of the fancier plants trained into standards like the hibiscus. They usually have every color imaginable of the hibiscus and usually they are in full bloom. Prices at either place are very reasonable.

These are not garden centers, exactly, but small family owned specialty nurseries.

Rose Hill Gardens in Oneida specializes in daylilies and hosta, but also has a nice selection of semps, dwarf and mini evergreens. http://www.rosehillgardens.us

Solaris Farms in Reedsville- Daylilies, peonies and true lilies. He doesn't winter protect anything, so all of his offerings survive zone 4 winters. Generous divisions dug while you wait. Bare root.

Pondside Gardens in Kiel for the hosta lover. Run by a retired couple, the hostas are tucked in a woodland setting surrounded by well kept gardens. Worth a visit if your in the area.

FoxFire Gardens in Marshfield. A must see for the hostaholic and a great place to visit even if you won't be buying. Enormous selection of hosta and a great selection of mini hosta too. Beautiful grounds. http://www.foxfiregardens.com

Scenic View Gardens and Landscapes in Green Bay. You may have heard it (incorrectly) called House of Hosta. Daylilies, hosta and other perennials, and shrubs and trees. Last year he didn't have a great selection of hosta, so call ahead if you are looking for hosta. It's a nice place to go if you want older day lilies. They don't have a website but will fax their day lily list.

I second, third, and forth Flower Factory!!! I'm into daylilies and hostas and they have a TON!!!

For just daylilies, Plum Hill in Cambridge is great (call ahead and then pick them up). Really nice people.

I'm ordering from Solaris now, so we will see what they send me (daylilies).

K&W is over priced and getting higher. Don't shop there much anymore.

Enchanted Valley is expensive but you get good plants.

My mom and I are heading up to Monches in Colgate in a month for some daylilies. We will see what they've got!

Dani

anyone have any recommendations for a good place to buy roses in southeastern WI?

Sharon, I'm not a rose connoisseur, but Minor's Garden Center (Northwest side of Milwaukee) and Hawks Nursery (Wauwatosa) has a large selection.

Another fan of Wayne's Daughters here. They are right down my street in Raymond! I even talked to one of Wayne's daughters today (she's our town clerk). Very reasonable prices and a huge selection of plants. Also they donated a flat of flowers last year for the Girl Scouts to plant at HALO (the Racine homeless shelter). If they aren't open yet for the season (not sure) they will be shortly.

I too find Mileagers overpriced and full of non-plants. However, I did buy a couple gazing globes from them years back when almost no one else had them.

Marcia

Does anyone have an opinion on Winterland Nursery in
Oregon

http://winterlandnursery.com/site/download/2008retailpricelist.pdf

I think the shrub sizes are commensurate with the prices. Claim to be biggest rose grower in SoCentral WI and I believe they sell at the farmer's market on the Capitol Square

I was looking up plant sales online and came across this place. Looks interesting!

Here is a link that might be useful: Johnsons nursery

Winterland Nursery has a large number of roses, but they don't have any of the more interesting varieties. It says something that I've been there several times and never bought anything. Their shrubs are about the same price as Bruce Co. and the ones at Bruce Co. are better taken care of. I like to go there about once a year to browse but I do my buying at other places. They do have roses at the farmer's market, but I don't like to buy roses there because I have to somehow get them all the way back to my car. Johannsen's doesn't have a lot of roses, but they have some very nice ones including the newer JP roses. Jungs has some of the Edmunds roses this year and I found one of the Edmunds exclusives there.

Tree Transplanters has a good selection of bigger trees, no plants though. Prices are very reasonable compared to other garden centers. I don't think they have a retail location but their website is www.treetransplanters.org.