美国雪绒花多年生苗圃 Edelweiss Perennials – 俄勒冈州家族邮购苗圃

苗圃背景与瑞士渊源

Edelweiss Perennials 是一家家庭经营的邮购苗圃, 位于美国俄勒冈州威拉米特河谷的坎比镇 (Canby)。1998 年, Urs 一家从瑞士搬到美国, 随身带了一箱多年生植物, 在这里把生意做了起来。Urs 十五岁起在瑞士做园艺学徒, 第一份工在 Wildensbuch 的 Frei 苗圃——Max Frei 老鹳草的老家, 后来到 Unterstammheim 的 Friedrich 苗圃管多年生植物部门, 经手过三千五百个品种。苗圃至今和瑞士、德国的同行保持来往, 隔一段时间就从欧洲进一批苗。店里只有一位全职员工, 不印纸质目录, 也不做场地零售, 想上门取货得先写邮件约时间。

栽培方式与自家繁殖

苗圃种苗走的是老办法: 不在冬季集中育苗, 也不靠加温温室催长, 而是提前一季甚至一年上盆, 整年放在露天或没有加温的冷床里过冬。这样养出来的苗结实, 经得起邮寄路上的折腾, 下地之后恢复也快。所售植物全部在自家苗圃养大, 其中 99% 是自己繁殖的。约三分之二的苗用 3-1/2 英寸方盆 (实际 3-7/16 英寸见方、3¼ 英寸深), 标 4 英寸盆的容器大约大一半, 少数长得慢的品种用 2-3/8 英寸盆。装箱时尽量发整株带花, 季末有些植株长得高, 会剪短一部分再寄——六出花的软茎抽得快, 留长了装箱容易折。每年 6 月苗圃有一次开放日。

特色植物类群

除了招牌的雪绒花 (Leontopodium), 苗圃主打的是平时不容易买到的多年生植物: 六出花 (Alstroemeria) 89 个品种、报春花 (Primula, 以 auricula 系为主) 61 个、瑞香 (Daphne) 42 个、龙胆 (Gentiana) 39 个、仙客来 (Cyclamen) 29 个、银莲花 (Anemone) 26 个、雪绒花 18 个、流星草 (Dodecatheon) 9 个, 另有火烧兰、淫羊藿、猪牙花、雪滴花、老鹳草、黄精和 Rhodohypoxis 等小组, 目录合计 461 个品种。挑品种有一条标准: 不用天天伺候, 开花好看的时间也不止几周。最受看重的喇叭龙胆 (Gentiana acaulis 一类) 长期缺货, 前后做了二十多年才攒出足够的量。

自有引种与栏目设置

目录里有 49 个自有引种 (Own Introductions), 大多是自育或筛选出来的六出花, 编号沿用 EP.GPIV、EP.LII 这类内部代号, 龙胆也有几个自有品系。成套组合共四种: 雪绒花 5 株、阿尔卑斯雪绒花 5 株、喇叭龙胆 5 株和 Rhodohypoxis 6 株。「半打优惠」栏目里的品种, 一次买 6 株大约便宜一成; 裸根特价从 10 月发到次年 4 月初, 主要是替落基山以东的订单省运费; 微型花园栏目收了一批适合浅盆、花园铁路和微型造景的小型植物。标签上带「雪绒花奖」(Edelweiss Award) 记号的, 是苗圃自己认为特征或表现突出的品种。

起订量、邮寄与付款

每单植物最低 35 美元, 只寄美国本土, 不含海外属地。落基山以西全年可发, 落基山及其以东是 3 月 1 日到 11 月 30 日, 都以天气为准; 淡季下单如果没有写明发货日期, 就按下一个季节的开头发。小单一般走美国邮政优先邮件 (2 到 3 天), 大单走 UPS 三日达; 四月最忙, 从下单到寄出有时要两周以上。苗圃保证寄出的是健康、对版的成苗, 收到后 5 天内可以联系处理, 但不保证当年开花, 也不会不问一声就换别的品种。付款收 Visa、Mastercard、Discover、American Express 和 PayPal; 另有 10 到 1000 美元的礼券, 邮寄免费。

官网：https://www.edelweissperennials.com/

Nursery Background and Swiss Roots

Edelweiss Perennials is a small family-run mail-order nursery in Canby, Oregon, in the heart of the Willamette Valley. The family moved from Switzerland to the United States in 1998 with a suitcase of perennials and started the business here. Urs began his apprenticeship in the nursery trade at fifteen; his first job was at Frei Nursery in Wildensbuch, home of the Max Frei geranium, and he later managed the perennial department at Friedrich Nursery in Unterstammheim, Switzerland, where he handled three and a half thousand varieties. The nursery still keeps in touch with grower friends in Switzerland and Germany and imports plants from Europe from time to time. One full-time person runs the place, there is no printed catalogue, and the nursery is not open for on-site sales, so pick-ups have to be arranged by email first.

Growing Methods and On-Site Propagation

Plants are grown the old-fashioned way: instead of potting starts in winter and pushing them in heated greenhouses, they are potted a season or even a year ahead and kept outside or in unheated cold frames all year. The result is sturdy plants that travel well and settle into the garden quickly. Every plant offered is grown here and 99 percent are propagated on site. About two thirds go out in 3-1/2 inch pots (actually 3-7/16 inches square and 3-1/4 inches deep), plants listed in 4 inch pots come in containers about half again as large, and slower growers go into 2-3/8 inch pots. Orders are shipped whole and in bloom whenever possible; later in the season taller plants are trimmed back, because long soft alstroemeria stems are easily broken in transit. There is an open house in June.

Plant Groups

Besides its edelweiss (Leontopodium), the nursery concentrates on perennials that are not commonly offered: 89 alstroemerias, 61 primulas (mostly auriculas), 42 daphnes, 39 gentians, 29 cyclamen, 26 anemones, 18 leontopodiums and 9 dodecatheons, plus smaller groups such as dactylorhiza, epimedium, erythronium, galanthus, geranium, polygonatum and rhodohypoxis, with 461 plants in the catalogue altogether. A plant has to earn its place: it should perform in the garden without daily fuss and look good for more than a few weeks. Trumpet gentians (Gentiana acaulis and its relatives) were in short supply for years, and it took more than twenty years of work to build up a reliable crop.

Own Introductions and Catalogue Sections

The catalogue lists 49 of the nursery’s own introductions, mostly alstroemerias raised or selected on site under internal codes such as EP.GPIV and EP.LII, along with a few gentian selections. Four collections are offered: edelweiss, alpine edelweiss, trumpet gentian and rhodohypoxis. The “cheaper by the half dozen” section takes about ten percent off six plants of the same kind, bare-root specials ship from October to early April and mainly save postage on orders going east of the Rockies, and the fairy gardening section gathers small plants for bonsai companions, garden railroads, dish gardens and small containers. Plants marked with the Edelweiss Award are the ones the nursery considers outstanding in feature or performance.

Ordering, Shipping and Payment

The order minimum is 35 dollars and plants are shipped within the United States only, excluding US territories. Shipping runs year round west of the Rockies, weather permitting, and from March 1 to November 30 east of the Rockies; off-season orders without a requested ship date go out at the start of the next season. Small orders usually travel by US Priority Mail (two to three days) and larger ones by UPS 3rd Day. April is the busiest month, when dispatch can take more than two weeks. Plants are guaranteed healthy and true to name and problems should be reported within five days; the nursery cannot promise bloom the same year and never substitutes without asking first. Payment is by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or PayPal, and gift certificates from 10 to 1,000 dollars are mailed free.

Official Site: https://www.edelweissperennials.com/