'Triple Crown' Thornless Blackberry will surprise you with its vigor, the size of its berries, and the length of its harvest season.

Blackberries are one of the easier berries to grow if you are just starting out in the edible world, they aren't as picky about soil type as blueberries and raspberries, and don't need to be refreshed as often as strawberries. They thrive in the heat and can tolerate clay soils better than other edible perennial shrubs.

The main thing blackberries require is a sturdy trellis or structure to be trained against. Most blackberries will spread to at least 5-6' wide and 4-6' tall depending on how you train them. They prefer well-drained, and we mulch well with straw to keep moisture in. Make mounds or grow them on a berm if your drainage is not ideal.

'Triple Crown' is a thornless variety so it is easier to train and harvest. The berries are at least thumb sized and ripen over at least 6 weeks in mid to late summer. Be sure to attract pollinators to your garden with other blooming perennials and shrubs so that the bees will find your blackberry flowers. Bareroot plants are typically available in Feb-March, and that is the best time to get them in the ground and established before summer heat. A weekly deep soak is usually enough to keep these berries happy. Here is a post on how to prune them in the late winter.

See our Fruiting Plant list for other varieties we carry.

To learn more about the different varieties of fruiting trees and shrubs avaliable here at Shooting Star Nursery, be sure to take a look at this list of Fruiting Trees and Plants from our website!

Witch Hazels (Hamamelis) provide delight in the garden year-round. Not only do they brighten these late winter days with their bright, fragrant spidery blooms decorating their bare branches; they turn around and repeat the show all over again in the fall with spectacular leaf color. 

Most Witch Hazels have a nice open form that provide sculptural interest even when these shrubs shed their leaves in winter.

Their vase-shaped growth habit also provides a nice opportunity to use other plants at their base – think Hellebores, Heucheras, or early spring-flowering bulbs. Flowers appear in early February and continue through March, with thick, pleated-looking leaves emerging once flowering is finished. 

An exposure with morning sun is best for Witch Hazels. They also look wonderful in a wooded shade garden - just make sure they get some bright light for the best flower production and fall color. 

Witch Hazels aren’t the best choice for a hot spot in your yard, even though you will read that they will tolerate full sun (and you will see them looking spectacular in downtown Ashland in full sun). However, you’ll find that they are prone to leaf burn in the hot summer sun, and you’ll need to mulch them heavily and water more often if you choose to plant them in a hot exposure. 

Overall, Witch Hazels are easy, low-maintenance shrubs. They do best with regular watering - including deep soaks throughout the summer months - and prefer a fertile, humus-rich soil. They’re also tolerant of clay soils as long as they are well drained.

Witch Hazels are slow to moderate growers that generally only need pruning to control their size and shape. As with most spring flowering shrubs, they prefer to be pruned in late spring once they have finished blooming. Avoid fall or winter pruning, or you’ll end up cutting off the next seasons flower buds!

Fun Plant Trivia: Witch Hazels are closely related to one of our favorite small shade trees: Parrotia persica (Persian Ironwood). Both plants tend to have outstanding fall color.

Here are some of the varieties we generally carry (check our current retail availability for details):

'Amethyst' - Rounded shrub, 8' to 10' tall. with reddish-purple flowers

'Arnold's Promise'- Vase shaped with fragrant yellow flowers and yellow fall color. 12-15' tall and wide.

'Diane'- Rounded form with red, mildly fragrant flowers and orange-red fall color. 8-12’ tall by 12-15’ wide.

'Jelena'- vase shaped vigorous grower with very fragrant large copper-orange flowers and orange-yellow fall color. 8-12' tall and wide.

'Sunburst'- upright, with lemon yellow blooms up to 1 inch long, early bloomer and yellow-orange fall color. 9-12' tall by 6-8' wide.

This is one evergreen shrub that looks great all year round. No leaf spot, no diseases or weird pests, no raggedy old brown leaves - just glossy, thick leaves that start out light green and darken to a beautiful holly-like blue green.

As a group, Osmanthus are very easy to grow and seem to be happy in any location. We have them planted on the east, west, and north sides of buildings and all seem to be thriving. A hot spot against a south-facing wall wouldn't necessarily be our first choice, but they do seem to acclimate to where they are placed and will even tolerate clay soil, as long as it doesn’t stay boggy.

Osmanthus will be more drought tolerant in a shadier location, but our established ones are rudely ignored and haven't complained. A thick mulch layer will help any evergreen shrub - or any plant for that matter - retain moisture and withstand the changes in temperature. This variety of Osmanthus is hardy to Zone 6 and has shown no winter damage through Rogue Valley winters. Like most Osmanthus it produces small, white, sweetly fragrant flowers; typically in late fall/winter.

Osmanthus ‘Rotundifolius’ will eventually get about 8'x8', but can be pruned a bit tighter. It is not fast growing but puts on steady growth each year and won't overrun its location. Flowers are borne on last year’s growth, so for best flowering prune it back in late winter once it is done blooming. This is a great foundation plant or background for showier perennials. Unlike many other varieties of Osmanthus, ‘Rotundifolius’ has rounded leaves with only slight spines - nothing to cause damage to the pruning gardener. 

O. ‘Rotundifolius’ can be deer resistant once established since it has thick, leathery leaves. But in heavy deer country it can have a hard time getting settled if the deer constantly eat the new growth. Other varieties of Osmanthus (see below) have much pricklier leaves and tend to be more deer resistant. To be on the safe side, plan on caging your Osmanthus for the first few years if you have a heavy deer population.

As you can probably tell right now, we really like Osmanthus here at Shooting Star Nursery. Here are a few other varieties that we carry regularly:

Osmanthus delavayi: Deep blue-green leaves with graceful, arching branches. Tends to bloom later than other Osmanthus varieties (April). Fast growing, 6-8’ tall and wide. 

Osmanthus ‘Goshiki’ (photo left): Gorgeous cultivar! New leaves are cream-colored tinged with rose pink, maturing to dark green with creamy-yellow splashes. Slow growing and poky-edged, about 4’ by 4’. Fun fact: ‘Goshiki’ means five-colored in Japanese, a reference to the variegated leaf coloring. 

Osmanthus ‘Gulftide’: A fast-growing, columnar Osmanthus – a nice alternative for a hedge or privacy screen. About 15’ by 10’ at maturity. 

Osmanthus ‘Purpureus’ (photo right): As the name suggests, this Osmanthus features lovely purple-black new leaves that change to deep green as they mature. About 6-10’ tall and wide; color best in full sun. 

Osmanthus ‘Variegatus’ (photo left): Dark green holly-shaped leaves that are edged n white – a really striking plant! Fast growing, about 8’ by 8’.