Mike's Backyard Nursery

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Abbotswood Potentilla, Growing, Propagating and Selling them.

Updated : June 17, 2024

4 Comments

Potentilla fruticosa 'Abbotswood'

Abbotswood Potentilla is awesome plant!  It’s easy to grow, easy to care for, super easy to propagate and it really easy to keep it looking nice in a landscape. Abbottswood, like most Potentilla is a prolific bloomer.  It starts blooming in June and blooms all summer long right on into fall. Hardy in zones 3… Click here to read more…

Gold Flame Spirea, Growing, Selling and Propagating this Awesome Plant.

Updated : June 17, 2024

14 Comments

Gold Flame Spirea

Gold Flame Spirea, Spiraea x bumalda ‘Goldflame’ is extremely colorful and eye catching.  It’s easy to grow, easy to propagate and sells like wild fire!  I’ve got a few of them planted around the nursery and as soon as people see them they ask about them.  This is a plant that we can’t seem to… Click here to read more…

Pruning plants in the nursery before winter.

Updated : December 1, 2015

7 Comments

Anthony Waterer Spirea.

Many of the flowering shrubs that we grow are vigorous growers and we want them to look fantastic when it’s time to sell them.  The only way that can happen is if we keep them pruned so they look good. When I’m doing the pruning things get cut back really hard.  I mean really hard! … Click here to read more…

How to Winterize Sprinklers, Irrigation Lines.

Updated : November 5, 2019

5 Comments

Mike McGroarty getting ready to winterize his irrigation system.

One of Our Members asked me to show everybody exactly how I go about winterizing my sprinklers and irrigation lines in the nursery.  All of my irrigation lines are PVC and PVC is very unforgiving if it freezes with water in the lines.  Black plastic well pipe, on the other hand, does give a little… Click here to read more…

Growing, Selling and Propagating Tango Weigela

Updated : June 17, 2024

4 Comments

Tango Weigela.

Weigela florida ‘Tango’ Hardy in zones 4 through 8. I think Tango Weigela is an awesome plant and it’s a crazy hot seller for me.  It is one of the more compact weigelas and has  redish, purple dark leaves with flowers that are red to deep red. This is one of those plants that I… Click here to read more…

Moving a Large Laceleaf, Weeping Japanese Maple Tree.

Updated : March 9, 2025

19 Comments

Digging a Balled Tree.

I’ve had this beautiful Laceleaf Weeping Japanese Maple in my landscape for years.  The variety is ‘Waterfall’.  But eventually it out grew the bed that it was in.  It was encroaching the sidewalk on two sides.  Pruning it to keep it from blocking the walkway would have ruined the shape of the tree. Then I… Click here to read more…

Unrooted Hardwood Cuttings for Sale.

Updated : November 24, 2015

19 Comments

Rose of Sharon Hardwood Cutting Ready to Stick.

Crazy right?  Getting paid to sell sticks?  It’s true, in Our Members Area sticks are a hot, hot, hot commodity in November, December and January.  Some members sell thousands and thousands of them. The look like sticks, but they are really valuable, Unrooted Hardwood Cuttings. One of the easiest ways to propagate plants is during… Click here to read more…

Growing, Selling and Propagating Variegated Liriope Liners and Plugs.

Updated : June 17, 2024

22 Comments

Variegated Liriope

Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’, also known as Variegated Lilly Turf. Variegated Liriope is an awesome landscape and I tell you why.  It’s colorful, it flowers, it’s attractive and it’s super easy to care.  I’ve used this plant in landscape plants for years and 20 years later it still looks good.  It never gets too big, it… Click here to read more…

Growing, Selling and Rooting ‘Alleghany’ Viburnum

Updated : June 17, 2024

26 Comments

Alleghany Viburnum

Viburnum x rhytidophylloides ‘Alleghany’ Doesn’t matter if you are looking for a plant to grow and sell or if you are a home owner looking for a different kind of plant for your landscape, the Alleghany Viburnum is an interest and awesome plant. These are just a few of the highlights of the plant.  Loaded… Click here to read more…

Who will Buy the Plants that I Grow?

Published : October 28, 2015

25 Comments

Firewitch Dianthus

That’s a fair question and I am going to attempt to address it as thoroughly as I know how.  There are so many options, places and ways to sell plants both large and small it’s a big mind boggling, but let’s give it a whirl.  This is the list that comes to  mind right off… Click here to read more…

How to Grow Japanese Red Maple Trees from Seed

Updated : September 27, 2019

80 Comments

Sowing Japanese maple seeds in a black nursery container.

Japanese Red Maple Trees are actually quite easy to grow from seed.  In this article, I will give you step by step instructions for doing so. A Step by Step Guide to Growing Japanese Maples from Seed. But first, we need to chat about what kind of Japanese maple can and cannot be grown from… Click here to read more…

Annabelle Hydrangea Propagation, How to Root Cuttings

Updated : April 18, 2020

36 Comments

Annabelle Hydrangea, hardwood cutting.

  Looking for a plant to grow and sell that is crazy popular, super easy to grow and sells like hotcakes?  Annabelle Hydrangea is that plant.  People love Annabelle Hydrangea because of the great big snowball type blooms. The Hydrangea that never fails to bloom. Annabelle never fails to bloom because unlike many other hydrangeas,… Click here to read more…

How to Make Your Own Awesome Potting Soil.

Updated : October 17, 2015

66 Comments

Mike's Dagwood Sandwich Potting Soil Ingredients System.

Potting Soil has to be the most confusing thing ever! Really it is.  You look around on the Internet and you find recipe after recipe after recipe for potting soil.  And they vary a lot and for the most part they are very different. The worst thing about all this variation? Very few of these… Click here to read more…

All Summer Beauty Hydrangea

Published : October 15, 2015

31 Comments

All Summer Beauty Hydrangea.

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘All Summer Beauty’ All I can say is Wow!  This is a spectacular plant! This is a plant that I’ve been trying to get my hands on for sometime now, not readily available in local markets and not all that available on the wholesale market.  In my opinion, this is a plant that… Click here to read more…

Variegated Weigela, an Excellent Plant to Grow and Sell from Home.

Updated : January 17, 2021

35 Comments

Variegated Weigela

Variegated Weigela, Weigela florida ‘Variegata’, is a staple in my nursery and has been for years.  The ultra attractive variegated leaves are plenty eye catching, but as soon as one of these plants makes a flower in the spring it flies out the door! Seriously.   Sometimes it’s frustrating because it’s nice to have some in… Click here to read more…

Backyard Nursery Tools of the Trade, Things to turn you into a successful grower.

Updated : June 17, 2024

140 Comments

Mike McGroarty hugging miniature donkey Finnegan.

I, Mike McGroarty, am committed to turning you into a successful Backyard Grower.  This post is all about you and your success.  There truly are handful to things that you need to get started and be successful as soon as possible. One of those tools is education.  I work really hard to bring you as… Click here to read more…

Skunks digging, moles tunneling, why are they digging up my lawn?

Published : October 4, 2015

207 Comments

Japanese Beetle Grubs silently destroying a lawn.

If you have moles tunneling in your lawn and or skunks digging up your lawn, chances are your lawn is full of Japanese Beetle Grubs.  And make no mistake about it, the grubs are silently destroying your lawn from the roots up. Japanese Beetle Grubs quietly feed on the roots of your lawn.  You don’t… Click here to read more…

Exactly what is and Where Do I Find Coarse Sand for Rooting Cuttings?

Updated : October 26, 2022

56 Comments

Can I use beach sand to root cuttings?

This question comes up at least once a week in Our Private Members Area.  The subject of what sand to use for rooting cuttings is confusing, so lets see if we can make it easier. In just about everything that I write or videos that we shoot I talk about the coarse sand that I… Click here to read more…

How to Build a Plant Propagation Bed for Rooting Cuttings.

Updated : October 22, 2024

109 Comments

Tens of Thousands of Rooted Cuttings Waiting to be Potted.

Building a Bed for Rooting Cuttings is really easy and it’s something that you shouldn’t over think.  Many people ask about putting things like hardware cloth (screen) or Weed Barrier Fabric in the bottom of the bed to keep critters out  and I always tell them not to. The roots of the cuttings will get… Click here to read more…

How to Build Your Own Solar Powered Generator

Published : September 23, 2015

17 Comments

Having a solar powered generator can be functional, economical and fun. There are many different practical uses depending on the size of generator you decide to build. You can find step-by-step plans below to build a portable solar power generator and a link to get plans to build a full size solar generator. Materials List… Click here to read more…

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Young trees planted in organized rows, sunny landscape.

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Hydrangea cuttings stuck close together.

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Mike’s Big Perennial Bed by the Month.

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$180.00 per Square Foot? Is it really possible?

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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.

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A Profound Thank You from Mike.

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Recent Posts

Finnegan keeping the sun off his head.

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

… Read Full Article

This upside down donkey is a hoot!

An Upside Down Donkey and Cute Puppy.

You can see more of the donkeys here. And more silly donkey stuff here. Questions, comments, mean things to say? Post them below and I will respond. Until then, by any and all means stay inspired! … Read Full Article

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Wow! I planted four of these 'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm in the perennial garden at the nursery last summer and look at them now. They are in bloom right now, end of June here in northern, Ohio and every person that sees them asks about them. This beauty … Read Full Article

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

This beautiful Bee Balm is part of the 'Sugar Buzz' series. I planted these in my perennial bed last summer and this year they are beautiful and blooming like crazy! They grow from 16" to 24" tall, are hardy from zone 4 through zone 8. They love full sun … Read Full Article

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

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