ABOUT US

Hello! My name is Josie and I am an avid plant lover! From the jungle in my home to the abundant plant life in my greenhouse, I love to grow and sell plants! I have a degree in horticulture from The Ohio State University and this is my first foray into selling my plants online. JosiesPosiesShopUS is all about specializing in growing perennials native to the US. We work with hundreds of species of perennials from across the continental US to give everyone a chance to grow these beauties in their home landscape. We offer high quality plants grown here in our greenhouses and back those plants up with good advice and service. What we are hoping to accomplish, and the reason we are in this business, is to make your yard a haven for insect life. By providing the food necessary in the form of native plants insects will visit to sip nectar and to lay their eggs on your plants. This, in turn, will bring birds are other animals into your yard to feast on the abundant insect life. In effect, we're helping you to build a food web in your yard.

It's very important to us that you know exactly what you are buying when you purchase our plants so please read the entire listing below as it contains pertinent descriptions of our products and care guides which change with the seasons. By reading and understanding this entire listing we hope to eliminate any surprises or disappointments with our plants. The descriptions and instructions you are reading below are designed to give you the best chance of success with our plants. Regardless of what time of year you are buying, our plants have been carefully grown and are healthy, even if they are dormant. We encourage you to contact us prior to planting or after planting if you have questions.

HOW TO CARE FOR THIS SPECIES

Our Parry's Penstemon Plants, Penstemon Parryi, in 1.5-pint containers (3.5" X 3.5" X 5" deep) are sold in groups of 4 plants for shipping purposes. Our plants are grown from seed either this growing season or were overwintered from last growing season so they may be up to two years old. Parry's Penstemon is an easily grown perennial preferring medium dry to dry soil in full sun. Once established they are heat and drought tolerant and can grow to 4'. We recommend a 12" to 18" spacing. Lovely pink flowers blooming all summer are attractive to pollinators and the leaves are an important food source for butterflies. This plant is native to most of the southwest part of the United States; USDA hardiness zones 8-10. We encourage you to check the USDA Hardiness Map if you have questions. Our plants are shipped in custom designed containers which perfectly fit the 4 plants you are purchasing. Each individual plant gets its own box, and the four (4) individual boxes are then put into a single, sturdy shipping box. They can be mixed or matched with the other species we sell at JosiesPosiesShopUS. If you'd like to mix and match the species just message me through the store telling me how many of each species you'd like. If we don't get special instructions from you, we'll send four of this species along.

SPRING AND SUMMER SALES/PLANTING AND CARE; WHAT TO EXPECT

Your plants may be up to 12" tall if you are purchasing plants during the growing season because that is the maximum height of the shipping box. If you're purchasing in early spring the plants will probably be smaller than in summer or fall. The size of your plant may vary but we ship the largest plants first. Some species, like Prairie Milkweed or Narrow Leaf Milkweed are somewhat spindly in their first year of growth. This is normal. The second and subsequent years are when they really get growing! Please review the CARE information above to determine the best sun exposure and soil moisture for this species and site the plant accordingly. A proper sized hole for planting perennials is a little larger and a little deeper than the size of the pot. After excavating the hole break up the soil removed into relatively fine sized particles, no chunks. You may add a handful of peat moss to the soil you're using to fill around the roots to help with moisture retention. Pop the plant from its pot taking care not to disturb the roots as much as possible. Place the plant in the hole and fill in any remaining areas around the root ball with your excavated soil. You don't want to plant it too deep or too shallow. If you keep your soil level and the pot soil level even, then you're good. Firm (not pack or stomp) the soil around the root ball and water in thoroughly. Oftentimes customers ask for some sort of a watering regimen to get the plant established and the best answer for that is to look at the plant. For the next couple of weeks check to see that the plant isn't wilting. If it is, water thoroughly ensuring watering goes deep to the roots. The bottom line is this: water only when needed and the best way to judge that is to look at the soil around the plant and the plant itself. If the soil around the plant is dark(er) then moisture is present so don't water. If the plant appears to be flagging or wilting, then by all means water it thoroughly. A little bit of wilting won't hurt. New vegetative growth or flowers forming is a good sign that your plant is becoming established. If there is still a danger of frost in your area, then take precautions to protect the plants until consistently warm weather has arrived. You may fertilize lightly at planting time if you are in your growing season. If you're planting during fall or even winter, then hold off on fertilizing until spring has returned to your area. Overfertilizing your native plants, especially grasses, can cause them to flop if they grow too tall and leggy. Fertilizing sparingly or fertilizing at half strength or quarter strength will help with this problem. Also, providing a good layer of mulch will help to provide nutrition as it decomposes.

We do not use pesticides or fungicides on our plants in our growing regimen. This means they can be used as caterpillar food right out of the box. On our greenhouse benches the plants are grown in tight groups which can cause some lower leaves to yellow or fall off. Some leaves may have spots or even show some signs of chewing if caterpillars have been working them. This is a cosmetic issue not a plant health issue.

LATE SUMMER, FALL AND WINTER SALES; WHAT TO EXPECT

During late summer and fall native perennials begin to prepare for the winter dormant season. How they do this depends on the species but, by and large, they do this by stopping growth, dropping leaves and the stem dying back to an underground taproot or perhaps a rosette of leaves at ground level. All of this is normal and to be expected. For example, the taproot on milkweed has buds on it that are the promise of next year's leaves and blooms. The taproot in function is much like a carrot in that it absorbs water, fertilizer, minerals and stores food reserves and anchors the plant. The taproot can withstand the rigors of winter and will initiate new growth again in the spring. Here in the nursery, we've been watering and fertilizing all summer to promote the best taproot growth possible. All of this is designed to give the plant energy to get through winter and to get growing in spring.

If you're purchasing plants during the fall or winter (September thru early March here in our area), you can expect the plants to be cut back to fit within the shipping box or they may be cut back to the soil. In the nursery, we'll have our first frost, on average, about October 15 so these plants are getting ready for that eventuality as early as September. There's nothing special you need to do...just plant it as outlined in the CARE section above and to give it a little bit extra TLC by applying a layer of mulch about 2" thick to act as a blanket. Our plants are exposed to outside conditions as part of our growing regimen as our greenhouses are not heated. Plants purchased during the late summer and fall are already preparing for winter and there's no turning back for them. Plant your plants as you would a plant in full leaf and let them get plugged into your soil before winter sets in.


A NOTE FROM THE GROWER...

Thank you for considering purchasing your plants from my nursery! It's our hope that you will be rewarded with lots of blooms and butterflies over the years. Please note again that you're buying plants from a nursery in OHIO. If you're purchasing plants during the OHIO growing season (roughly April to August) you'll be receiving plants that are green and growing vigorously. If you're purchasing in them in September and later (this being fall or winter in OHIO) our stock may be going dormant or be totally dormant when you receive it. Dormancy is a natural, physiological response to shortening days and colder temperatures which allows the plant to survive the rigors of winter. Even if these plants are lucky enough to be going to Florida or any other warmer climate they'll still be attuned to Ohio's climate until they are acclimated and grown in your climate. We cut back all of our perennials in preparation for winter during October so plants ordered during this time and until March may show no top growth. We do inspect each pot of plants sold to be sure they are displaying live buds and/roots.

During the growing season we prune all of our plants as necessary to fit them into their shipping boxes. We cut them back to nearly the top of the media for late season sales and to overwinter them. Most of our plants sold late in the growing season will not have any or very few green leaves. This is the natural way the plant prepares for winter. Plant the root/taproot and the potting soil mass as a single unit as you would a plant in full leaf. Do not plant the plastic pot and do not remove the taproot from the soil mass as this would only injure the roots. Please see full planting instructions above. Please see picture labeled "Dormant Milkweed" if you're ordering during Fall, Winter or early Spring. This picture accurately illustrates what most of our plants look like going into winter and through early spring.

Any of the picture(s) on this listing are for reference purposes only so you can see what the flowers look like. You should not expect to get a plant that is in bloom because most would be too tall to ship.

Please read the entire description and look at the pictures so that you aren't unpleasantly surprised when you open the box. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me through this site.

Sorry for all the disclaimers but they have become necessary to try and further educate especially gardening newcomers to the wonders of native perennials and buying plants online. Some buyers have purchased our plants in November and December expecting to receive plants that are in flower and that will never be the case for our perennials. This would understandably be a huge disappointment when you opened the box and we're trying our best to prevent that. We'd rather provide too much information than not enough so that you can make the best gardening decisions! Thank you! Rev. 3/6/2024