Mailorder Nurseries Online and Off,Part 6, Forestfarm Nursery

Over the years, I've ordered from a lot of nurseries. Some of them were disappointing, but not Forestfarm. It has been one of my favorites since I discovered it somewhere in the 1980's. I am so totally delighted that they've finally come online. This is a nursery you simply have got to know about.

While everything is listed online, you really do want to get a copy of their fat catalog to keep as a reference tool. Theirs is an enormous list of plants, particularly woody plants, but also perennials, ferns and vines. If you're looking for a woody, you can probably find it here. For gardeners looking for plants for shady places, they have large lists of Clethra (summersweet) as well as Cercis (redbuds), Cornus (dogwoods), Hydrangeas, Ilex (hollies), Rhododendrons (including both evergreen and deciduous Azaleas), species roses - some of which tolerate partial shade, Sambucus (elderberries), Viburnums, and Clematis...and much, much more, both evergreen and deciduous.

You won't find glossy photos in the print catalog, but there are some online and I understand the goal is to have many more. Both the print catalog and the web site give you a short, but good description for each plant as well as light and moisture requirements, zone recommendations and uses, such as bonsai, cutting, etc.

The site focuses on the plants; these can be found alphabetically, as the entire list or by various categories. Each plant name links to a page of information about it, some with photographs, and a form to use to add the plant to your shopping basket. You can order online or fax or snail mail an order form printed from your online shopping basket. Shipping charges are calculated via your zip code.

Ordering information can be accessed if you put something in your shopping basket, but there needs to be a link to this information on the home page. The site is very new, so I expect that more will be added as time passes. I hope additions include a bit of information about Forestfarm so that people, who don't know it, will realize that Ray and Peg Prag have been growing and selling plants since about 1974...they aren't newcomers to mailorder.

Also worth a bit of explanation online is the "tube", a size in which many plants are offered. This is a biodegradable 2 x 2 x 6 paper tube that you can plant with the plant. I've always peeled them off, but you don't have to, which minimizes root disturbance. Plants in tubes are very reasonably priced and I've always been quite pleased with the size - many being larger than pots offered by other nurseries. The extra length makes for a well-developed root system.

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