Announcing Good Oak's Fall Plant Sale!

Its that time of year again, leaves are starting to turn, and we once again have a few too many plants left around Good Oak World Headquarters. So I'm announcing our Fall Native Plant Sale to clear the shelves an give you a chance to get a great deal on native perennials for your garden! See the list below, which I will do my best to keep updated daily. We're starting out with over 400 plants that have got to go! Save 30-60% off of normal retail price!

Common Name	Scientific Name	Size	Qty	SALE PRICE	Notes
butterfly milkweed	Asclepias tuberosa	2.5” plug	2	$3.00
Bicknell's sedge	Carex bicknellii	quart	6	$2.00	leggy divided plants
ivory sedge	Carex emeryi	2.5” plug	13	$3.00	nice looking, for sedge lawn
turtlehead	Chelone glabra	2.5” plug	6	$2.00
Virgin's bower	Clematis virginiana	quart	5	$3.00
pagoda dogwood	Cornus alternifolia	1-gallon	1	$9.00	~18” tall
pagoda dogwood	Cornus alternifolia	2-gallon	1	$14.00	~2.5” tall
pale purple coneflower	Echinacea pallida	2.5” plug	7	$1.00	small
pale purple coneflower	Echinacea pallida	2.5” plug	8	$2.50
bottlebrush grass	Elymus hystrix	2.5” plug	12	$2.00
bottlebrush grass	Elymus hystrix	quart	5	$3.00
Virginia wild-rye	Elymus virginicus	quart	1	$2.50
white trout lily	Erythronium albidum	2.5” plug	28	$4.00	dormant
purple joe pye weed	Eupatorium purpureum	2.5” plug	26	$2.00
purple joe pye weed	Eupatorium purpureum	quart	1	$3.00
smooth rose mallow	Hibiscus laevis	quart	9	$6.00	wet spots only
common juniper	Juniperus communis	quart	1	$4.00	Possibly virginiana? Great bonsai tree!
Virginia bluebells	Mertensia virginica	quart	1	$3.00
prickly pears	Opuntia humifusa	quart	34	$5.00
solomon's seal	Polygonatum biflorum	Gallon+	33	$5.00	bare root in pot
solomon's seal	Polygonatum biflorum	quart	32	$3.00	bare root in pot
early wild rose	Rosa blanda	quart	1	$4.00
Black-eyed susan	Rudbeckia hirta	2.5” plug	2	$2.00
little blue stem	Schizachyrium scoparium	2.5” plug	7	$2.50
stiff goldenrod	Solidago rigida	2.5” plug	8	$2.50
elm-leaved goldenrod	Solidago ulmifolia	quart	4	$4.00

Fall is the best time to plant perennials. With cooler temperatures as the growing season comes to a close the plants have great conditions to settle in this fall and plenty of time next spring to put down roots before the stressful heat of summer. So take advantage of these deals and get planting!

Availability is limited, so please email me at frank at goodoak dot com, to place an order and call "dibs" on your plants!

UPDATED: 10/14/12 @ 6:45pm.

The Indomitable Hairy Aster

You can tell it's fall because the asters are starting to bloom. There are about 25 species of asters in southern Wisconsin so these species can get pretty confusing (and even more so now that the taxonomists have split this genus into three four genera, none of which are named "Aster".) Most of these asters are relatively rare on the landscape, restricted to remnant prairies, wetland and woodlands. But one species I really enjoy seeing in all sorts of odd places is hairy aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum, formerly known as Aster pilosus).

This scrappy little species is common throughout the landscape. It is a component of high-quality prairies and savannas, rubbing elbows with the most conservative of prairie plants, but can also be found duking it out with the weeds on roadsides, old fields and urban waste areas. It often 'just shows up' in prairie plantings and formal gardens alike. In fact, I have about a dozen in my yard and I never planted a single one of them. It is often considered a weed, and the overall structure of the plant is relatively unattractive with a hairy, spreading stem and long, skinny leaves. But it is a great source of pollen and nectar for butterflies and bees, and once it starts blooming its bright flowers can cheer up any garden. Plus, it blooms from late August all the way until early November. Another great attribute is that it never spreads aggressively like its distant cousin Canada goldenrod, which also tends to "just show up" in a garden or prairie.

So keep an eye out for hairy aster this fall. Chances are, if you see a white aster in full sun or light shade, outside of a wetland or remnant prairie, this is it. You may not know every aster species in our area, but you can be pretty confident that just about every one you will see on a day-to-day basis will be this exuberant species.