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Itching to plant some fall bloomers? One-weekend-only sale should have some beauties

Posted Sep 17, 2010 by Loren Omoto

Updated Sep 17, 2010 at 04:50 PM

Finding that special plant can be one of the biggest, and most frustrating, challenges for us Bay area gardeners, which is why we love big plant fairs.

But here it is almost fall, which always makes us want to dig, and there are no big fairs on the horizon. That means vendor George Griepenburg and his able assistant Cindy Deloy have some spare time for one of their in-between sales.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, they’ll sell plants from Cindy’s yard at 801 W. Country Club Drive, Tampa (click for a map.)

At top is a blue butterfly clerodendrum, one of the first plants I bought from George and one of my favorite shrubs. They’ll have some at the sale this weekend. Below is red firespike, which they’ll also have. Cindy says they’re just starting to bloom.

They’ll have about 350 plants, most in 3-gallon pots and selling for $10 to $20. George and Cindy will both be at the sale, and they can tell you everything you want to know about any of their plants.

George does his growing in Dade City, propagating plants from cuttings and seeds he and Cindy find in their travels around the state. Many of the plants are old-fashioned, hardy favorites that are hard to find in nurseries. Some are unusual specimens. All of them George experiments with to ensure they’ll grow well here before he sells them.

This weekend’s sale will include lots of butterfly and hummingbird plants, Cindy says. Among the more unusual varieties: swamp hibiscus, variegated jasmine, lots of honeysuckles, vitex, and several varieties of cassia (or cassia-like) trees, including necklace pod, Bahama, and candlestick (this photo is Kim’s candlestick, which is blooming now.)

Thanks to FOD Pumpkin for the heads-up on the sale. That woman has a nose for plant sales if ever I saw one, so I’m glad we’re on the same team!