Wegman's will close at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 14th.
We will reopen at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 15th.

 

Wegman’s has all deciduous fruit trees (sorry, no citrus trees!) 20% off for Father’s Day, June 13-19. Come in early for the best selection.

Want that fresh-ripened, just-picked, perfect-ripeness flavor? Plant some fruit trees with your Dad on Father’s Day. We still have a large selection of fruit trees, multi-grafted or combination fruit trees and blueberries.

To grow your own fruit, you must first ensure that your allotted location can meet the tree’s basic requirements, and then commit some effort to fulfill its specific pruning, thinning and spraying needs.

LIGHT: Fruit trees will perform best with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, preferably more.

WATER: First year trees should be watered on a weekly basis. Building a basin around the tree at planting will facilitate flood irrigation, a method of watering that decreases the incidence of certain fungal problems in many fruit trees.

FERTILIZING: For best results, use Master Nursery Fruit Tree & Vine Food three times during the year: once in early spring when the flower buds break, once in early summer around Memorial Day and once in the fall around Labor Day. If you prefer organic fertilizers, try Dr. Earth Fruit Tree Fertilizer and apply about 2 weeks earlier. Always apply fertilizer to moist soil and water thoroughly after application.

Complete information about planting, spraying and pruning is available by downloading our Fruit Tree Information Sheet:
http://www.wegmansnursery.com/services.asp?page_id=104

Wegman's Nursery will feature a Father’s Day special sale of 20% off all deciduous fruit trees and fruit shrubs (Sorry, no discount on any citrus or avocado trees). The sale will cover both sides of Father’s Day, from June 13 to June 19. The sale is limited to stock on hand so come early for your best selection.

In our series on fruit, we have discussed cherries and citrus so this time, it's peaches and nectarines. Peaches are peaches but nectarines are a hybrid cross of peach and plum. Nectarines have the smooth skin of the plum but the flesh is more like the peach.

Some peaches have white flesh, others have yellow to orange flesh. There are cling peaches (best for canning) where the pit clings to the flesh, and freestone peaches where the pit practically drips away from the flesh. Nectarines have the same set of characteristics.

If you select carefully, you can find a peach or nectarine that is ripe during any of the months June through October. If you are selecting a peach for your garden and aren’t sure what you want, Mr. Ed will suggest a Strawberry Free Peach or an Elberta Peach. The Strawberry Free is an early, white, juicy peach and the Elberta is a late, yellow, juicy peach. Both are freestones.

If you can’t decide which of the two peach trees you will plant and only have room for one tree in the garden, plant one of each in the same hole. They are planted in the same hole, 12 to 18 inches apart. The two trees are watered, fertilized, pruned and treated as if they were one tree. This is an ideal situation for small families because the fruit is delicious and matures about a month and a half apart. You can do the same with nectarines or even plant a peach and a nectarine in the same hole. Since peaches and nectarines require the same attention, planting them together works very well.

But peaches and nectarines always get leaf curl and are hard to care for. Not true! Master Nursery Fruit Tree and Vine Food applied twice a year, irrigation every week or two and a thorough spraying with Microcop the end of November, end of December and the end of January takes care of leaf curl and all of the plant’s needs. In the supermarket, you won’t find peaches or nectarines as tasty as the ones you grow yourself because yours don’t "ship well." Translated, that means you don’t pick them hard and partly ripe and send them on their way to some far-off place. Instead, you pick them at the peak of ripeness and flavor and let the juice run down your chin as you bite into them! Yes, the juice is sweet and sticky but well worth it!

If you have shady garden areas or are looking for a brilliant accent for your patio or balcony, you'll want to purchase some tuberous begonias. Tuberous Begonias provide a spectacular display from June through October and are available in shades of white, pink, red, yellow, orange, and salmon as well as bi-colors.

Did you know that tuberous begonia flowers are good to eat?

Sort of lemony sour, but good, especially if you put them in a fruit salad or eat each petal with a little spoonful of fruit yogurt. You can make a great begonia flower sorbet that is delicious, easy and lots of fun at a party.

The Non-Stop® type of tuberous begonias are a newer strain from the Benary Company in Germany and available at Wegman’s. They are different from regular tuberous begonias because they bloom earlier and are later to go to sleep in the fall. They are also more heat tolerant and easier to grow. They are called Non-Stop begonias because in a greenhouse with lights during part of the night they can bloom during the winter non-stop.

In areas that don't freeze you can have your Non-Stop Begonia in bloom during the winter if you have garden lights or a porch light that you turn on every night for several hours. The flowers on the non-stop type are smaller and not as fancy as in the giant hybrid varieties.

Tuberous Begonias thrive in partial to full shade and need well-drained soil. They need to be kept away from hot sun and drying winds. As they dislike dry conditions, they'll need to be watered generously, especially during hot weather. Keep their soil moist but not soggy; the tubers will rot if they get too much water. Always water the soil around the plants rather than the plants themselves, if possible, to avoid mildew, and at the first sign of a white patch on any of your begonias' leaves, apply a fungicide right away. Feed begonias with a Bud and Bloom every 2-3 weeks.

For appearance's sake, pinch off extra or too-long stems as the plants are developing, keeping the three strongest stems and pinching off the others. Large flowered begonias look best with fewer, larger flowers, and you don't want your begonias to get leggy. Pinch off the early developing flowers, too, until the plants are 10 inches tall.

If you're growing pendant types and want to make sure they have lots of branches to cascade down from their pots, pinch out the primary growing tip when the plant is about 2 inches tall.

You'll also want to deadhead all your begonias regularly; removing wilted leaves and flowers encourages them to produce more blooms. The large-flowered types of begonias should be staked.

1.5 CU FT PREMIUM POTTING SOIL With MYCORRHIZAE

Primary Uses:
• For use in all indoor and outdoor container planting applications.
• Also excellent for hanging baskets and raised bed planting.
• May be mixed with existing garden soil to enhance soil texture, drainage and fertility.

Features & Benefits:
• 100% natural, completely organic peat-based formula that includes alfalfa meal, worm castings, kelp meal and bat guano.
• The extra absorbent, fine-textured blend keeps tender roots moist and aerated between waterings.
• Abundant essential plant nutrients promote quick growth and long-lasting health for all types of container plants.
• Increase air space and excellent drainage in the root zone.
• Includes several species of beneficial Mycorrhizae