Myrtle Topiaries From A to Z

Riding on the coattails of our last post on propagation and with our debut at Plant-O-Rama next week at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in New York City next week; we have had a lot of questions, emails and calls about our signature myrtle topiaries. Here is a quick look and examination and explanation on how we create a myrtle topiary from A to Z!

We put a tremendous effort into growing our signature myrtles and all the plant material we grow here on the farm. We propagate, re-pot and train our specimens for months onto years. It's quite amazing to think about the care that is put into these living green friends of ours and its even a greater pleasure to share them with you the public!

It all begins with the cuttings and propagation which you can learn all about from last weeks post right here http://snugharborfarm.blogspot.com/2014/01/plant-propagation-101.html .
But in a quick synopsis we take cuttings from our older topiaries about two inches long, de-leaf the lower half, dip them in rooting hormone and supplant them in vermiculite in neat rows.

Months will pass until a greater root structure is started and the small cuttings are potted up into 2" plastic black grower pots. Here the baby myrtles will again stay for months until even more roots are established as pictured above.

After time we again transplant the young plants into either smaller Snug Harbor Farm pots or into a standard terra-cotta grower pot depending on what the actual myrtle is destined for whether it is a spiral, standard, globe or triple tier topiary. The one pictured above is a year old, so patience and long care is the theme here.

On now with meticulous care of pruning and training which can take years, not to mention watering, pest management, disease control, etc. We pride ourselves as having the best topiaries in the country and our product speaks for itself. You will never find a more well rounded specimen in a mossy pot than from right here at Snug Harbor Farm. The 12" topiary pictured below is 2 years old so you can now gain a sense of the time it takes to create a finished product.

Onto the care of these living collectibles. A well written blogpost from us Myrtle Topiaries Demystified tackles on all the care of our myrtles can be found right here http://snugharborfarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/myrtle-topiaries-demystified.html
It is our most popular post to date still and explains everything you would need or want to know about myrtle topiaries.

We truly hope you enjoyed this closer look at the way we grow, train, and care for our wonderful myrtles. It is our signature and we take extreme pride in growing these wonderful, collectible plants. Please feel free to come to the farm any time of the year and behold what we are cultivating!