Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

  • Home
  • Recommended Tools
  • Products
  • Categories
    • Complete Guides
    • Gardening
    • Growing
    • Landscape Design
    • Plant Care
    • Propagation
  • Contact
  • About Mike
Home » Growing » Page 3

A Review of the Field Tuff ATV Cultivator.

Updated : April 20, 2017

2 Comments

Side view of the Field Tuff ATV Cultivator.

Recently I purchased the Field Tuff ATV Cultivator to keep a small field as weed free as possible.  In this brief review of this product I will tell you exactly what I like and dislike about this piece of equipment. When I unpacked the parts of this cultivator I found that many of the components… Click here to read more…

How to Sell Plants from Home.

Published : April 19, 2017

5 Comments

Roger Higgins standing in container growing area.

Roger Higgins of Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa has really impressed me not only with how successful a plant propagator he has become after Joining Our Backyard Growers Group, but with how efficiently he uses the limited space in his yard.  I think I like Roger’s place because it reminds me of My First… Click here to read more…

Braiding Golden Curls Weeping Willow Trees for Patio Planters.

Published : April 19, 2017

13 Comments

Braiding Golden Curls Willow.

Golden Curls Willow is a very attractive plant with branches that twist and turn like a pigs tail, but they can get big.  One of Our Members, Roger Higgins from Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa has a very unusual approach to growing and selling this tree. A late friend of mine discovered and brought… Click here to read more…

The Simplicity of Rooting Thousands of Cuttings in Your Backyard.

Published : April 15, 2017

25 Comments

48" Golden Curls Willow Cuttings rooting in nursery containers.

Recently Duston and I took a trip to western Pennsylvania to visit One of Our Members, Roger Higgins in Cranesville, Pa.  Roger has an amazing backyard nursery in a really small area and it is packed full of plants that he is growing. It was pouring rain that day and cold, 37 degrees!  So we… Click here to read more…

Growing, Rooting and Propagating Dappled Willow in Tree Form from Cuttings.

Published : April 14, 2017

25 Comments

Roger Higgins with a Dappled Willow that he grew from a really long hardwood cutting.

The easiest and most predictable way to grow Dapple Willow, Salix integra ‘Hakuro Nishiki’, from cuttings is to do them as Hardwood Cuttings in the Winter.  They can be done as Softwood Cuttings in the Summer, but that can be a bit tricky.  But as hardwood cuttings they are very easy to root. Plants in… Click here to read more…

Growing, Propagating, Dividing and Selling Hostas for Profit.

Updated : April 8, 2017

33 Comments

Mini Skirt Hosta

In this article I want to talk about the simplicity of growing, propagating, dividing and selling Hosta varieties from home.  There is an insane amount of different kinds of Hosta varieties and they are a great item to grow and sell because people love Hosta, they do well in shady situations and there are a… Click here to read more…

Homemade, permanent plant tags.

Published : April 6, 2017

7 Comments

Permanent plant tag made from a pop can.

Don’t get all worked up over the quality of this image, I clipped it from the video that is posted below.  In short, Roger Higgins from Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa makes these homemade plant tags out of used Pepsi cans. I often use Aluminum Plant Tags in my nursery because they are very… Click here to read more…

Growing Seeds, Winter Sowing, in Milk Jugs and Kitty Litter Jugs.

Updated : April 4, 2017

32 Comments

Roger Higgins and Duston McGroarty discuss growing seeds in the rain.

Meet Roger Higgins from Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa.  Every one of those plastic jugs next to Roger contains seeds.  Some are perennial seeds, some might be Dogwood Seeds, maybe some Japanese maple seeds. Some of the jugs are milk jugs, the bigger jugs are kitty litter jugs.  If you look closely Roger has… Click here to read more…

How to Buy and Resell Raspberries, Blueberries and other Fruit Plants from Home.

Updated : April 5, 2017

4 Comments

Mike McGroarty talking plants with Cathy Ward.

Fruit crops have always been hot sellers but today the demand is stronger than ever! Today I’d like to introduce you to One of Our Members from Edinboro, Pennsylvania, my go to person for blueberries and raspberries. Cathy Ward is the owner of Genesis Backyard Nursery. 7408 Sherrod Hill Road Edinboro, Pa I’ve have been… Click here to read more…

The Correct Way to Pot Rooted Cuttings, Nursery Stock Liners and other Plants.

Published : April 2, 2017

16 Comments

The correct way to place the rooted cutting in the pot, on top of the potting soil.

This article includes both still photos and a movie. When potting small plants it’s easy to make the mistake of potting them too deeply or fertilizing them with the wrong kind of fertilizer.  Or even using a poor grade of potting soil. In this example I am potting a rooted cutting which is basically a… Click here to read more…

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 28
  • Next Page »
Rooted cuttings of variegated weigela in bunches to harden off.

Over Wintering Rooted Cuttings.

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

Mike's Big Perennial Bed.

Mike’s Big Perennial Garden

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

A Profound Thank You from Mike.

Posted On September 1, 2022 By Mike

Finnegan keeping the sun off his head.

An Old Guy, Two Donkeys, a Puppy and a Hammock. What could possibly go wrong?

Posted On July 17, 2022 By Mike

This upside down donkey is a hoot!

An Upside Down Donkey and Cute Puppy.

Posted On July 14, 2022 By Mike

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ Hosta

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

'Humpback Whale' hosta.

‘Humpback Whale’ Hosta.

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

Complete Guides

Growing, Rooting and Propagating Dappled Willow in Tree Form from Cuttings.

Growing Seeds, Winter Sowing, in Milk Jugs and Kitty Litter Jugs.

The Correct Way to Pot Rooted Cuttings, Nursery Stock Liners and other Plants.

Training Arborvitae and other Conical Evergreens to Grow with a Single Leader.

How to Propagate, Root Cuttings, of Dwarf Alberta Spruce.

Recent Posts

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

'Blue Angel'hosta is by far one of my favorite blue hostas. A big hosta like this in a perennial bed covers a lot of area and that keeps a ton of weeds at bay! These giant heart shaped leaves are very slug resistant. We have this plant in full sun. With … Read Full Article

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ Hosta

'Big Daddy' hosta is one of my favorite big hostas, mostly because it's big, it's blue and it has very interested leaves that are a bit dimpled. Big Daddy hosta gets about 24" tall and 36" wide. It's hardy in zones 3 through 9, the flowers are blends of … Read Full Article

'Humpback Whale' hosta.

‘Humpback Whale’ Hosta.

We sold out of 'Humpback Whale' hosta pretty early this year. Humpback Whale is pretty impressive hosta and this one really hasn't matured yet because they can get three feet high and 7 feet wide. I've also seen photos of them that show them to be a lot … Read Full Article

Ice Plant, delosperma

Ice Plant, delosperma

How pretty is that? And it's a ground hugging perennial that comes back year and year. These plants were new to our nursery last year so Pam and I planted three of them in our landscape at home. Not only did they do really well last year but they wintered … Read Full Article

Electric Red Dianthus

‘Electric Red’ Dianthus

I've been working on my perennial bed at the nursery and this Electric Red Dianthus caught my eye and was screaming "make my picture". So I did! Dianthus in general are great perennials for your garden. They are super winter hardy even here in cold … Read Full Article

Copyright © 2023 · Hill Country Digital Media, LLC · Privacy Policy · Earnings Disclaimer · Terms of Service