by Connie Oswald Stofko
Hurray! One of Western New York’s favorite gardening events is taking place on the planned date!
Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses will hold its yearly 59-cent perennial sale starting this Friday, April 24.
The plants are sold only in packs of four plants at $2.36 per pack.
You will order your plants online. When you order, you’ll indicate what date and time you would like to pick up your plants at Mischler’s, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville.
When you drive up, the Mischler’s staff will place your order in your trunk for you. Tip: Make room in your trunk before you leave your house to keep the pickup process moving well for everyone.
The order form will be posted tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22. Check for more information and updates on the 59-cent perennial sale here.
Meanwhile, you can see the list of plants that will be available in the 59-cent perennial sale here.
Below you can see two plants that are new to the sale and find out how to care for the plants you bring home from the sale.
Two of the new plants
Perennial flower
The common name for Centaurea montana is mountain cornflower or bachelor’s buttons, but don’t confuse it with other plants called bachelor’s buttons that you have to plant every year. Centaurea montana is a perennial in our area.
Centaurea montana produces blue, starlike flowers in late spring and early summer and is long blooming.
It has a bushy growing habit and is drought tolerant, so you don’t have to worry about watering it after it’s established.
It does best in full sun and grows about 18 inches tall.
Groundcover
Sandwort is the common name for Arenaria montana ‘Avalanche’.
It grows about six inches high in an attractive bushy mound. You can grow it as a ground cover, in rock gardens or in pots.
The plant blooms with one-inch, white flowers in late spring to early summer.
Arenaria montana ‘Avalanche’ needs well-drained soil. It’s drought tolerant.
It likes full sun or partial shade.
How to care for your plants
People often ask whether they should keep their perennials in the house until they’re ready to plant them.
The answer is no. The sale perennials have been hardened off, which means they were introduced to colder temperatures several weeks ago.
The perennials are hardy to our area, but all young plants are susceptible to frost damage. If you encounter severe weather warnings or frost warnings, you should cover your plants or take them into a protected area under a porch or into an unheated garage.
Get the plants into the ground as soon as you can work the soil. The sooner the plants are in the ground the sooner they can establish a substantial root system.
Here’s an update from Mischler’s: Online ordering for the 59-cent perennial sale is over, but there are still perennials left. Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses is looking forward to the time when restrictions are eased. Then you will be able to come onto the premises to shop for the 59-cent perennials. In the meantime, you can order hanging baskets, order select items from the garden shop, and order other items.
I’ll keep you posted!
Hello I could not get my order in
please let me know when there is new date and time to order…Im not fussy just looking for color SMILE and thank you
FYI everyone,
I went today to pick up my plants at Mischler’s at my chosen time. Arrived, got in line (3rd vehicle) and was out of there in 5 minutes. I don’t know what I expected after having some difficulty with placing my order online but I was pleasantly surprised by how efficient and smoothly the pick up process was. I didn’t have to get out of my car because the young lady, after asking me for my name, loaded the plants in my trunk and away I went. Mischler’s should be PROUD . Not only did I get everything I ordered but I also found “How to Care for My New Perennials” sheet in my trunk (nice extra touch),
I am looking forward to putting my plants in the ground as soon as the weather permits.
I hope everyone will have the same pleasant experience as I did today.
Hi Karen, you can plant perennials in containers, but yes, you have to protect the roots. During the winter, store the pot in a sheltered place such as an unheated garage. You can even plant trees in containers if you protect the roots. See this article.
It’s interesting that you found the ordering system helpful because you researched the plants ahead of time. Thanks for sharing!
Natalie, follow Dave Mischler’s advice: Call Mischler’s at 632-1290. Our office ladies have become quite good at computer support.
Maggie and Julie are the most experienced. We have 5 phone lines. call back if you get a busy first thing in the morning.
In response to Eddie K’s inquiry: You should purchase plants for Zone 5 or lower.
So if you plant a perennial in a pot, does it lessen the chance of return next year because being in a smaller plot with exposed plastic walls, it gets more freeze than if the roots are planted in the ground. I’m very exited to get all the plants. i think i actually like this way better as I got to look up what each mature plant will look like and when coming in to the store, i tend to only see the small pod of green and not realize what im getting
When I submitted my order form I enter 4/27 between 1 and 1:30 for pick up,but when I printed my receipt it mentioned 8AM on 4/24. I( will not be there at that tinme. What time and day am I scheduled for. I can no longer get to my order on your web sire. In fact I can’t even sign in to your website. It doesn’t come up
Call Mischler’s at 632-1290. Our office ladies have become quite good at computer support.
Maggie and Julie are the most experienced. We have 5 phone lines. call back if you get a busy first thing in the morning.
I placed an order last nite for 16 4pks I believe. I picked a pickup time of Thursday, April 30 at 10am and left my email. I was not given the opportunity to pre-pay the order. Please advise
Jackie, I got to that point too. I called and they verified my order. Try calling before risking two orders.
Help, I paid and got my number but couldn’t get the order back to put the number on it. Now I don’t know if my order is in or not. Do I start over and risk a double order.
Krista, thanks so much for that insight!
For those that can’t get past the ‘submit’ portion, if you use autofill for your information, the system for some reason will not take it. You need to enter your info line by line. I tried several times yesterday with no success. I re-entered this morning and it all went through. It is a little confusing because paying puts you back to the main website page where you update your cart then need to resubmit your information again. Once you pay, it gives you a ticket number that you then need to enter on the order page and click ‘finalize order’. Hope this helps some…
I would really like to order but I”m not going to spend the day trying to do so. I want to pay and can’t. I called but got a busy signal. Too bad for me.
I can’t get past ‘submit’ after getting a pickup time. I feel like a pay screen should pop up but it’s not. Not sure what to do.
Thanks
I just put in my order and had success but it is complicated. Jumping from page to page to pay for your order, you have to retype some info again and that is confusing. I read the instructions few times, tried to pay for the order few times and almost gave up. But being determined …..
I’m not complaining. Mischler”s is doing the best they can and , as you said, there are some glitches that will be fixed and the ordering process will become simpler.
Would really like to order before everything is gone! Put order in twice. Went to pay – nothing works.
I just spoke to Mischler’s. While lots of orders have gone through successfully, they have some glitches. They are working on this brand new system and appreciate your patience.
Can we Only order on Friday? I just filled out the order form and then it was gone.
Can we not order until Friday. Just filled out the order form and then it was gone.
I have spent 40 minutes trying to order Foxglove, Canada Oats, Lavender, Liatris and Poppies. I have had a friend trying to place the order. I Never get to make my order go to checkout.
I started this around 9:30, even got help who said try to re-start.
I give up. Very sad.
Eddie, one of the most important things about gardening is to put the right plant in the right spot. And if you plant in containers, you can move the containers around until you find the right spot! And you know you can plant perennials in containers, too.
Thanks Connie!!
I’m a container plant guy so that makes my life a little easier when comes to planting. However, I can’t pass up some of the offerings from Mischler’s. I can feel my thumbs turning green already.
Eddie, that’s a great question. You want perennials that will make it through the winter and come back the next year. If a plant is hardy in Zone 8, it needs a warmer climate and won’t dependably survive WNY winters. If a plant is hardy even in colder Zone 4, it will do well in WNY’s Zone 5 and 6. There are a couple of things on the list that are marked Zone 7. If we have a mild winter, or if you have a warm microclimate in your yard such as a sheltered spot near the house, that plant might come back. Parsley is one of those plants. I have some parsley that might be coming back this year, but other years it doesn’t. I hope that helps.
I’m not a experienced plant person so please help me out with this. According to a hardiness zone map, zip code 14224 is zone 6a. Is it safe to assume that I should purchase plants from Mischler’s in the zone 5 on upward zones? Thanks for your help!
Brown thumb Eddie
Thank you for info!
thanks for getting this perennial sale rolling
Looking forward to ordering. 🌱🌻🌼
Thank you, Connie, for keeping us informed!