What works for Blooming Nursery

Blooming Nursery in Cornelius, Ore., is a wholesale operation that grows herbaceous perennials, groundcovers, herbs, ornamental grasses, vines and shrubs. The grower offers finished containers -- marketed under the Blooming Advantage name -- and plugs, liners and bare-root plant material.

Several of Blooming Nursery’s greenhouses are equipped with highly efficient ebb-and-flood watering systems. Eliminating or reducing overhead watering cuts down on disease and helps to conserve valuable natural resources.

Steve Taylor is Blooming Nursery’s sales and marketing manager. Taylor provided GMPRO with some of his top picks in plant material.

Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Leprechaun Gold’ has striking golden and green marbled foliage with granny-bonnet, violet-purple flowers. It grows 24 inches tall and 18 inches wide. It’s hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.

Ocimum ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ is a columnar basil that grows 4 feet tall, but is only 12-15 inches wide. Its light-green foliage has striking creamy-white edges. “Since it does not flower, this is a great culinary basil, keeping its sweet flavor year-round. It never turns bitter,” Taylor said. “But most people use it as an annual ornamental foliage plant.” Although it will not overwinter outdoors in most places, it thrives in hot, humid conditions better than many perennials. As with any basil, there are almost no insect or disease problems.

Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart’ features a rosy-pink flower in spring set off by glowing, chartreuse foliage. “Even when it’s out of bloom, it stands out because of the outstanding foliage,” Taylor said. It grows 3 feet tall and wide, and it’s hardy to Zone 3. It’s not for resale in Canada, he said.

Blooming Nursery

Founded: 1982 by George Dinsdale.

Location: Cornelius, Ore.

Crops: More than 2,000 varieties of perennials, herbs, ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs.

Production space: 150,000 square feet of heated greenhouses; 150,000 square feet of shade structures and cold frames and 5 acres of outdoor production.

Market: Liners, plugs and bare-root material are shipped nationwide, and finished material is shipped in the Pacific Northwest.

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For more: Blooming Nursery, (503) 357-2904; www.bloomingnursery.com.

- Kelli Rodda