Nurseries Help Cope With Drought

Here’s what some North County nurseries are doing to help their customers deal with the drought:

Nurseryland Garden Centers--Carlsbad, Escondido, Mira Mesa, Oceanside, Rancho Bernardo.

A variety of drought tolerant plants is sold at all Nurseryland centers. Drip irrigation starter kits are available for about $12. The Carlsbad center has a drip mist system set up and on display. Polymer granules, xeriscaping, educational books and pamphlets on water conservation and xeriscaping are also sold at all centers. Staff invites questions.

Anderson’s La Costa Nursery, 400 La Costa Ave., Encinitas. Phone: 753-3153.

This nursery specializes in drought tolerant plants and each plant is tagged with a marker from the Metropolitan Water District. Xeriscape pamphlets put out by the San Diego County Water Conservation Program are available.

Weidner’s Begonia Gardens, 695 Normandy Road, Encinitas. Phone: 436-2194.

Self-watering hanging pots and patio pots that reduce the number of waterings plants need are being sold at the nursery. Price range is from $1.75 to $3.75 for a hanging basket, and $5 to $14 for the patio pots.

A potting bench has also been set up at Weidner’s and, for a nominal fee for soil, customers can transplant their purchases into these self-irrigating pots. Nursery personnel will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance if necessary.

Beginning April 15, there will be informal water-wise seminars and planting demonstrations every weekend. Weidner’s also provides written information on water conservation and planting.

Schaeffer’s Nursery, Inc., 2319 Highway 395, Fallbrook. Phone: 728-7090.

A large section is devoted to drought tolerant plants and prices range from $3.95 for a one-gallon plant to $11.95 for a five-gallon plant. The nursery also sells soil polymers.

Home Depot, 3838 Vista Way, Oceanside. Phone: 941-5990.

Drought tolerant plants are the stars of the gardening center at Home Depot and every week a new water saving plant is featured. Cost ranges from $1.83 to $2.97 for one-gallon plants. Soil polymers, three types of drip irrigation systems and positive shut-off valves for hoses are also sold. Every Saturday at noon, a water-wise clinic is held. On Saturday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., drip irrigation vendors will be on hand to answer questions about their products.

Sunshine Gardens, 662 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Phone: 436-3244.

Variety of drought tolerant plants selling between $2.95 and $14.50.

The Country Gardener Nursery, 4915 El Camino Real, Carlsbad. Phone: 729-6339.

A large selection of drought tolerant plants beginning at $3.99 are for sale. Drip irrigation starter kits range between $20 and $30, and extension pieces are also available. Xerimulch, a new moisture-saving product from Kellogg’s, is among products carried.

S.B. Nickerson Nursery, 1761 E. Mission Road, Fallbrook. Phone: 728-8379.

Seminars to re-educate people on their landscaping ideas and watering habits are being started up this season at Nickerson’s. A wide selection of drought tolerant plants sell for $3 to $13. Nursery personnel invite customer questions.

Pepper Tree Nursery, 1019 W. San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos. Phone: 744-3822.

A planted display with lots of color illustrates the wide variety of vivid drought tolerant plants available for sale at this nursery. Prices range from $3.99 for a one-gallon plant to $6.99 for a five-gallon plant. Soil polymers sold here. Literature on water conservation will be available this season.

Feather Acres Farm & Nursery, 980 Avocado Place, Del Mar. Phone: 755-3093.

Plants from $4.50 to $16 are sold here. Positive shut off valves for hoses also available. Customer questions invited.

Ganter Nursery, off E. Vista Way at Ormsby, Vista. Phone: 758-8375.

A quarter of the retail space of this 14-acre nursery has been turned over to drought tolerant plants, each marked with a blue sticker indicating their low-water needs. A selection of California natives as well as plants from South Africa and Australia are available.

El Plantio, 1322 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido. Phone: 745-8736.

Drought tolerant plants ranging from $2.99 to $14.95. Several polymer products including a spray and crystals, and an organic mulch with an active wetting agent are also available. A few books on plants for dry climates and water-wise gardening sell. Customer questions are invited.

Cactus King Nursery, 1534 Crest Drive, Encinitas. Phone: 753-6939

Cactus, a natural when it comes to saving water, can be found in abundance here. Some succulents are also sold here.

Poway Nursery, 12237 Oak Knoll Road, Poway. Phone: 748-2254.

A third of this nursery is devoted to drought tolerant plants. Sales on mulch, bark, soil polymers and other water saving products will continue through the spring. Starter kits for drip irrigation systems begin at $30. Also available are water conservation handouts provided by California Assn. of Nurserymen.

Vista Tree Farm, 825 Poinsettia Ave., Vista. Phone: 598-5588.

Primarily a wholesale grower, Vista Tree Farm is open for public sales and has extensively modified its product line to include drought tolerant, California native and Mediterranean-type plants. Drought tolerant trees make up a large percentage of the 6 1/2-acre farm. Educating customers is a big part of service.