Rowan County 4-H is now taking orders for their annual Fall Plant Sale.

Varieties available include: blueberries – Brightwell, Climax, Premier and Pink Lemonade; blackberries – Apache and Navaho; raspberries – Heritage and Nova; muscadines – Cowart and Triumph; and figs – Brown Turkey and Celeste.

Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, muscadines and figs are in one-gallon containers and are well adapted to the Piedmont growing conditions. The cost for each plant is $10 each or $9 if five or more of the same variety are ordered.

When planting blueberries, it is recommended to plant at least two varieties to ensure cross-pollination. Brightwell blueberries ripen mid-season over a long period.  It is very productive with large fruit and excellent quality.  Growth is vigorous and upright.

Climax blueberries ripen early over a short period and produce a medium size berry with a sweet flavor. The growth is upright with an open spreading crown.

Premier blueberries are large in size with excellent flavor. They ripen early to mid-season and are light blue in color. Plants are upright with good foliage.

Pink lemonade is a new variety to our plant sale. It produces a sweet fruit that is bright pink when ripe. Bushes have pink-white flowers in the spring, bright pink fruit in late summer and orange-red leaves in the fall.

Both blackberry plants are a thornless variety. The Apache blackberry ripens over a five-week period.  It is an erect-growing plant that produces a large fruit with good flavor.  Navaho ripens late and produces a medium fruit of superior quality.

Heritage raspberry plants produce a fruit that is large, dark red and very sweet. Growth is vigorous and upright. It adapts well in most well drained soils. The Nova raspberry produces an early ripening, medium to large berry with good flavor.  The plant has good disease resistance.

Cowart muscadines produce large black fruit in large clusters with good flavor. They are good for eating, making juice, jelly and wine. Cowart ripens early to mid-season.

The Triumph muscadine has large, thin skinned, greenish-bronze fruit with high sugar content. The plants are winter hardy and productive. The fruit ripens early to mid-season and is good for eating and making wine.

Brown Turkey figs bear fruit twice a year. The skin is copper-brown and the flesh varies from shades of amber to pink. It is very hardy and ripens early and late summer. The Celeste fig produces fruit that is small to medium in size with a light brown to violet skin and a whitish-pink color flesh. It contains very few seeds and ripens early summer.

If you would like to help support the Rowan County 4-H program, please call the Extension Office at 704-216-8970 to place your order today. Orders must be received by Oct. 15. Whether you order blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, muscadines or figs, you will enjoy the sweet yields for many years to come. Not only will these plants help beautify your landscape, but your purchase helps support the 4-H youth development program in Rowan County.

Master Gardener sale 

Rowan County Extension Master Gardeners Volunteers will host a plant sale Oct. 13 from 3 to 6 p.m.

A wide variety of shrubs and trees will be available for immediate planting. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions and information sheets will be available for each variety on sale.

The sale will be at the Extension Office, 2727 Old Concord Road Salisbury. For information, please call Brooke at 704-216-8970.