Latest news with #RobertPlanteGreenhouses
CTV News
23-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Good to Grow: Your gardening questions answered
Good to Grow: Your gardening questions answered Colin Matassa from Robert Plante Greenhouses answers some gardening questions on CTV Morning Live
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- CTV News
Flower and plant gift ideas for mom on Mother's Day
Robert Plante Greenhouses tells us what you can do outside ahead of the long weekend. Flowers and plants are a popular gift for mom on Mother's Day. And with sunshine and warm temperatures in the forecast for Ottawa starting this weekend, you may be thinking of what types of plants to get for mom on her special day. CTV Morning Live spoke with Colin Matassa of Robert Plante Greenhouses about gift ideas for mom for Mother's Day. 'Mother's Day weekend and we've got you covered. We've got tonnes of amazing gift ideas, whether you're looking for something flowering, like our hanging baskets or planters,' Matassa said Friday morning. 'Or maybe, if mom's a gardener, you can get her something to plant right in the garden.' Rose bushes Matassa says a rose bush is a great gift idea, and it's low maintenance. One suggestion he brought to CTV Morning Live is a 'Petite Rose' bush. 'It's a rose that stays very compact – only a foot by a foot. If you have a really small space, or even containers, the Petite Rose would be a great idea,' Matassa said. 'You can plant it in the garden; it will come back year after year. Sometimes people are a little bit scared of roses, they think it's really complicated but roses are actually very low maintenance. They'll bloom for you all summer.' Petit Rose bush Robert Plante Greenhouses shows off a Petit Rose bush on CTV Morning Live. Matassa says there are 'many different varieties of rose bushes.' 'You put bone meal when you plant them, and you have nothing to do after that,' Matassa said, adding the bone meal helps establish the roots. Flowering Perennials Another suggestion for mom for Mother's Day and for your garden is Flowering Perennials. A Flowering Perennial is a plant that will live for more than two years and bloom repeatedly. Robert Plante Greenhouses Robert Plante Greenhouses shows off some lupines on CTV Morning Live. Peonies Matassa says a peonies plant is a 'very nice one' for your garden. 'You plant them in the ground, they'll come back year after year,' Matassa said. Eclipse Hydrangea Matassa says new for 2025 at the Robert Plante Greenhouses is the Eclipse Hydrangea. 'This is a hydrangea that has really dark coloured leaves, and it's going to come out with these beautiful red flowers with a white interior,' Matassa said. 'It's a new variety for this year, so the chances are she doesn't have one of these.' Matassa says if mom is not into gardening in the ground, you can get her flowers or tropical plants. 'Great for the containers, great for the shade,' Matassa said about tropical flowers. Matassa also took some time to answer questions from CTV Morning Live viewers for gardening season. How do you bring back or fix patches of dry grass from the winter? 'The first thing is to choose the right type of grass seed; if you have a shady spot or a spot that's full of sun, you want to make sure you're picking the right grass seed – a good quality grass seed so you're sure it's going to grow,' Matassa said. 'Put a layer of top soil and you reseed all over. Make sure to not bury your seeds too deep because sometimes it won't germinate if it's too deep.' What is the best type of fern to use in an outdoor area that receives early morning and late afternoon sunshine? 'You can use something like the Kimberley Fern; these are a fantastic fern for pots,' Matassa said. 'They're a tropical plant; it's the type of fern that can take the most sun out of all of them.' Robert Plante Greenhouses is located on Navan Road.
CBC
24-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Seed sales blossoming as gardeners try to avoid U.S. produce
Like so many people these days, Natasha Nash has been trying to buy Canadian. But at the grocery store, Nash said, some homegrown produce is proving hard to find — particularly broccoli and celery. "If I'm going to the grocery store and I see a head of broccoli is ... coming from a U.S. farm, I just don't [buy it]," she said. That's why Nash is one of many Ottawans growing more of the fruits and vegetables her family relies on in her own backyard. Nash said she doesn't want her family "to be so dependent on outside resources, especially considering how volatile they are right now." Local seed suppliers tell CBC that Nash isn't alone. Several say they've seen sales rise in recent weeks and suspect Ottawans are increasingly planting their own gardens as a way to supplement their groceries amid Canada's trade war with the United States. Timely sales spike March is the time when seed sales usually taper off, according to Manish Kushwaha, the owner of Gaia Organic Seeds in Riverside South. But this March, there's been such a "boom" that they "cannot keep up with the orders right now," Kushwaha said. These recent sales are mostly for vegetable seeds, he noted, particularly the vegetables that Canadians usually buy from California like tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers. The same seeds are also selling well at the Robert Plante Greenhouses in east Ottawa, according to general manager Colin Matassa. While there's been a "big increase" in seed sales, Matassa said they've been able to keep up with the demand and are restocking seeds weekly and ordering new varieties. Some of his customers, Matassa said, have told him directly that "because of all the tariffs and everything going on" they're trying to grow more of their own food. Kushwaha said he can't be sure the uptick at Gaia Organic Seeds is related to the ongoing trade war, but he noted they did see an "extreme spike" in sales after March 4, the date that U.S. President Donald Trump's widespread tariffs went into effect. Trying to be more self-reliant Nash is lucky enough that the cost of groceries isn't a concern for her family yet, so she also shares the produce from her garden with her neighbours. She's been gardening "off and on" throughout her life and maintains a 25-by-45-foot garden at her home outside Carleton Place, Ont. "I'm growing a lot more greens [this year]. I'm growing celery for one of the first times ever," she said. Her garden will also include strawberries, raspberries, asparagus and beans — all of which she would typically buy from a U.S. farm at the grocery store. Her plan is to can or freeze any produce that doesn't get eaten to keep for the winter months, Nash said, something she "didn't really do before" the trade war. "It feels more necessary than it did previously," she said. "It's important for us to know where our food is coming from, but also know how to sustain ourselves should it be needed."
