I’d been waiting for the tour of Griggs Wholesale nursery in Watsonville for a while. This company bought Suncrest Nursery last year and has breathed new life into it. A favorite for years, Suncrest had a reputation for excellence and this new version is living up to its name.
On a warm summer day, my friend Carri, who is a retired Master Gardener, enjoyed touring the grounds, learning about the propagation program and just being wowed by all the beautiful plants growing at the nursery. Although Griggs is a wholesale-only nursery, they provide plants to many of our local nurseries, and I use their availability to suggest plants to clients that they can find at their favorite store.
Griggs grows tons of native plants as well as low water use shrubs, succulents and perennials. One of the beautiful plants I learned about is the native abutilon palmeri (Palmer’s Abutilon). This showcase plant sports masses of bright gold flowers in spring and summer. The silvery soft, velvety foliage is equally showy. It’s a relatively rare species in the mallow family native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Besides being beautiful this abutilon is a tough, semi-evergreen shrub with a dense, rounded shape and grows to 4 to 5 feet tall and as wide.
The tour of the propagation and planting areas was enlightening, too. The new owner, Ken Griggs, has modified the soil mix to accommodate warmer climates but still provide good drainage. I learned that an eight-member crew can pot over 18,000 gallon cans per day or 2,300 5-gallon cans. The conveyor drops the prescribed amount of soil amendment, such as gypsum, automatically depending on the plant material requirements.
In another greenhouse, flats of plant starts were being shifted to 2 inch or quart pots where they eventually will be hardened off outside under shade cloth before being potted up. The flats start life on benches where they are watered with warm water to encourage rooting.
Back out in the growing grounds we learned about all the different crops being grown for sale. With over 50 acres total the vast selection of beautifully grown plant material was jaw dropping. One empty section recently held 400 Narrowleaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) that sold out immediately to nurseries and contractors when they were ready for sale. I bet the Monarch butterflies are happy.
Griggs grows thousands of different plants. Our cart drove past myriad blocks of grasses, vines, alstroemeria, epilobium, agastache, gaura, coprosma, achillea, euphorbia, erigeron, eriogonum, salvia, ceanothus, arctostaphylos—the selection is seemingly endless.
One of the perennials that really caught my eye is a hybrid between echinacea and rudbeckia hirta. Summerina Orange Echibeckia is a real showstopper. It looks like a rudbeckia with the vigor and disease tolerance of echinacea. The orange ray petals with a rust-orange inner halo surround a dark brown center cone. The flowers are huge on a compact plant and bloom for 2-3 months. It’s fast growing reaching 18 inches tall and wide.
So if you’re looking to add some shrubs, ground covers or perennials during the fall planting season, look for some of these plants at your local nursery. Many order from Griggs Wholesale and if they don’t have what you’re looking for they may be able to order them for you.
Jan Nelson, a landscape designer and California-certified nursery professional, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Email her at [email protected], or visit jannelsonlandscapedesign.com.
