Everything You Need to Know About the Upstate Fall Plant Sale!

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We’re busy putting the final pieces of the online Plant Sale together. The floodgates will open to the general public at 12:01 AM Tuesday morning (that’s TONIGHT!!!).

But, before all that happens, here are some Very Important Things for you to know:

  • The URL for the SCNPS Shop is https://shopupstate.scnps.org/
  •  If you CREATED A SHOPPING CART during the viewing period, please be aware that THOSE PLANTS ARE NOT YOURS until you actually pay for them! They remain in inventory and might be grabbed by other customers if you’re not fast enough on the trigger!
  •  Once you’ve paid for the plants online, our amazing nursery volunteers will pull them and put your entire order in a safe spot awaiting pickup. You will then receive an email telling you to come on down!
  •  The Upstate Native Nursery is located at 180 Lakewood Drive, Greenville, 29607. For complete directions on how to find it (it can be a little tricky the first time!), visit the UNN page on our website (scroll down to the bottom of the page).
  •  Please DO NOT COME to the nursery to pick up your plants before you have been notified that your order has been pulled! We expect a mad rush in the first few days, and will be pulling plants as fast as we can. We’ll let you know when they’re ready for pickup!
  •  The sale will end at 11:59 PM Friday night (the 13th – just sayin’!). The plants MUST be picked up by 4:00 PM on Monday the 16th (but please, please, PLEASE, don’t come until we tell you to!). After that time, the plants will be carried back up the hill to the nursery and returned to inventory. (Which will make the plants very super sad. ????????????)

That’s it for now. Stay tuned!

Image Credit: Cynthia Gibson

Ta-Da! The Final Upstate Spring Sale Plant List (with map locations!)

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The Plant List has been updated with map locations!

So: Get out your pencil and start strategizing! All plants have limited quantities (some more limited than others), so make sure to formulate your sale-day plan accordingly. (And, remember to bring your own wagon — we won’t have any to loan out this year.)

Cash, credit cards, and checks accepted. A 3% surcharge will apply for credit card orders to cover our processing fees. (Sorry! But, you know: non-profit, and all that!)

  • Full details about the sale and links to our FAQ pages can be found HERE.
  • Download a printable copy of the plant list in PDF form, HERE.
  • Download a copy of the plant list in Excel form, HERE.
  • Download the Sale Map, HERE.

 

September 2021 Annual Meeting

Featured speaker: Doug Tallamy, author of “Nature’s Best Hope”

Douglas Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. His sequel to Bringing Nature Home is Nature’s Best Hope. His presentation to the SCNPS in September 2021 was based on this book in which he outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Douglas Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. He has taught courses in insect taxonomy, behavioral ecology, humans and nature, and insect ecology.

If you weren’t able to attend the Zoom session, you can watch the video here.

Save The Date: Upstate Fall Native Plant Sale

Upstate Fall Native Plant Sale 2021
September 18 @ 8:00 am – October 16 @ 5:00 pm

We know from all of the inquiries you’ve sent that interest is running very high for a Fall Native Plant Sale. So (drum roll!), without further ado, we’re announcing the SCNPS Fall Plant sale! These are the important dates to remember:

· September 17th: Volunteer Appreciation Day. Volunteers working the sale get to shop first!

· September 18, 20-23rd: SCNPS members only. Orders open online on the 17th (to be pulled on or after the 18th) and members will be notified when orders can be picked up.

· September 24th-October 16th: Open to all. Orders open online on the 23rd (to bepulled on or after the 24th) and customers will be notified when orders can be picked up.

As you can see, the first day, when all the plants are at their best with the deepest inventory, is set aside for the plant sale volunteers only. This is a new incentive to tempt members to come out and volunteer to work two or more shifts at the sale. Shifts are 4 hours long and training is provided. All you need is a smart phone and a desire to save the Earth one plant at a time.

 

The benefits of fall planting are many:

· Roots, roots, roots! When it comes to a plant’s health, it’s all about the roots. Fall planting gives a plant, tree or shrub plenty of time to develop their root system before the first frost.

· Free watering! One of the best benefits of fall planting is the cool, rainy days for your newly planted beauties.

· Less stress for both you and your new plants. Fall’s cool air provides a nice buffer from the summer heat and it’s easier to plant in cooler air.

· Warm soil. The soil will be warmer in the fall than in the spring. The tops may be getting ready to snooze but the roots will get set up to go through the winter and will come up in the spring ready to go.

So, please mark your calendars and join us for another wonderful Native Plant Society sale at the Upstate Native Nursery. Appointments will be available for on site visits. This will still be a virtual sale with contactless pickup as in the last two sales. You must be a member by September 11th, 2021 in order to qualify for the members only period. Questions? Contact Kathy Harrington at pharmkat1965@gmail.com or send us an email from the SCNPS website (go to the dropdown menu The Plants) or send to UpstatePlantSale@scnps.org.

We hope to see orders from all of you. The volunteers have worked very hard all summer to keep the plants in tiptop shape for the Fall sale. Many hours of propagation, germination, potting, pruning, weeding, mowing, maintaining and brainstorming have gone on to make this the best sale ever!

Click here to see all of the plant sale details.

July 20 Going Native to Attract Beneficials

Upstate Program:  Going Native to Attract Beneficials

Join the Upstate Chapter on Tuesday, July 20, at 7pm for a timely presentation on attracting beneficial insects.  Drew Jeffers, our presenter, is a Spartanburg County Extension agent.

The Zoom link is: Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84388373145?pwd=c3JxUDVFUERhWlhSVEJ5MDBoRGM2QT09

 

Meeting ID: 843 8837 3145

Passcode: 725876

Join the virtual gathering at 6:30 pm for socializing.  The meeting will start at 7:00 pm hosted by Dan Whitten.

 

Jeffers has wide ranging experience.  He says, “I am a native of the mountains of eastern Tennessee. I have a B.S. in Agriculture and Plant and Soil Science, and M.S. in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Tennessee. My thesis project focused on woody tree and shrub liner production. I have worked as an herbaceous perennial grower for Zelenka Nurseries, a production manager for Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery, a bedding plant grower for Van Wingerden International, and an Integrated Pest Management(IPM)coordinator for Costa Farms – Costa Carolina.

Chat with your fellow SCNPS members and learn how to draw more beneficial insects into your landscape.

Upstate Program: Flower Color and Pollinators

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February 18 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Did you ever wonder how so much variation in flower color is maintained within species? Have your heard of ultraviolet ‘nectar guides’ on flowers?  On Tuesday, February 18, at Tri-County Technical College 7600 US 76, Pendleton in, Matt Koski, Assistant Professor at Clemson University, will discuss his research on flower color evolution. He will offer some explanations of the forces affecting floral evolution.

Koski grew up in Michigan and became fascinated with flowering plant diversity during field courses as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. Later, he worked as a botany intern for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the high desert and Sierra Nevada, and then conducted field work on tropical forest community dynamics in Puerto Rico.  He discovered that flower color variations are due not only to pollinators, but to environmental factors as well.

DETAILED DIRECTIONS TO OCONEE HALL/ PARKER AUDITORIUM:
As you enter the campus at the traffic light (the south entrance), the driveway you want is to the left.  HOWEVER, you cannot turn left as you enter.  Please drive ahead to the first place you can make a u-turn and head back toward the traffic light.  Just before the light, turn right onto the one-way access road in front of the buildings.  You will pass Miller Hall, Anderson Hall  and Pickens Hall before coming to Oconee Hall on the right.  You may park in any of the student/faculty spots along the one-way drive.  There are also two  parking lots just past Oconee Hall.  Lot H-1 and Lot H-2 are available for us in the evening.   Please go to https://www.tctc.edu/media/2966/pendleton-campus-map.pdf and print a map of the campus.  There will be signs  marking the meeting entrance.

The program starts at 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public.  Arrive at 6:30 for socializing and refreshments.

Upstate Home & Garden Show

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The Upstate Chapter participated in the Southern Home & Garden Show in Greenville March 4-6.  Steve Marlow worked his usual magic in pulling together a great booth filled with information sheets and a lovely selection of native plants provided by Carolina Wild (Anderson, SC).  SC NPS provided 26 volunteers for a total of 23 hours of Show time, and the volunteers collected 44 names of folks interested in native plants.  The new “Wild Plants on the Rabbit” brochure was especially popular with booth visitors.

Steve Marlow, Rick Huffman, Dan Whitten (Upstate Chapter President)

Steve Marlow, Rick Huffman, Dan Whitten (Upstate Chapter President)

Bill Stringer, Bill Sharpton

Bill Stringer, Bill Sharpton

Jo Anne Connor, Dan Whitten, Guests

Jo Anne Connor, Dan Whitten, Guests