Milan Hirst Farm
400 yds. South of the only traffic signal in Milan
On Rt 220
Milan, PA 18831
Call in an order at 215-651-8329 or
Call Keith for hours at 570-561-8016
Email Us Your Order
Welcome to
Milan Pa Map
Need Help???? Call Keith @ 570 561 8016
Our Milan Hirst Farm
Milan Hirst Farm is located in Milan Pa. on Rt 220 on the south side of town. This nursery sells a full line of nursery stock and also has a consignment shop to sell your unwanted items. The nursery stock is from fields on this farm, over 2000 acres in the Milan area and from the Doylestown farm known as Highland Hill Farm or Digatree.com
. The seedling and liner operations and web site for these farms is Seedlingsrus.com
This Spring we will bring to Milan lots of potted and bareroot fruit trees as well as a wide selection berry bushes. We will also have a large variety of deer resistant Aborrvitae as well as hundreds of other landscape plants.
Here are the fruit trees we will have available for you in Milan.
Berry Plants Available In Milan Pa
We stock at least 10 or more varieties of fruit bearing plants in Milan at any one time. There are many more varieties available which we sometimes have in stock. If we don't stock the variety you want we will find it for you if possible. The varieties that we usually have on hand are listed below.
Raspberry Plant Seedlings
Gooseberry
Blueberry Liners
Arrowwood Viburnum
Black Chokeberry
Blackhaw Viburnum
Elderberry
We have a wide selection of berry producing plants. We can also get others we don't grow and custom grow and supply them for you.
Growing plants that have berries offers many rewarding benefits besides fresh fruit. You will delight in seeing your children run around the plants and picking the fruit. The berries will be as fresh as one can obtain. Many of the plants will reward you by attracting numerous species of birds. These plants offer a rewarding experience for all ages.
Berry plants produce the best amounts of fruit in full sun conditions. Fruit production is energy intensive. Select a site in your yard where you have all day sunlight. This also helps keep the fruit dry and helps avoid diseases. The faster a plant can dry after a rain will reduce the amount of fungicides needed. If you have less than a full days sunshine, don't plant the berry plants if you don't have morning sun. Plants may have dew in the early morning and morning sunlight helps to quickly dry the plants.
Locate your plants where they have adequate plant spacing. Crowding prevents drying and air circulation. Snow cover in the winter can protect plants from freezing and thawing of the soil.
You can buy plants and shrubs from seedlings to large caliper trees at this location. Because Northern Pa. has such a huge deer problem, we have you a wide selection of deer resistant plants and also many plants for habitat improvement.
Green Giant Sales in Milan Pa
We Grow Green Giant Arborvitae in Milan Pa.
The original Green Giant got its name not from ancient lore, but from unusually extra large, hence "giant," green peas. These "Green Giant Peas" were introduced by the Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1925, in contrast to their previously marketed LeSueur baby peas, early-picked in June. Founded in 1903, this pea company was located in the valley of the Minnesota River, the Dakota Sioux name for "cloudy water," just southwest of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the state capital. This is where there's a "confluence" with the even cloudier and muddier Mississippi River giving the whole area, including the surrounding towns like LeSueur, the title of "the Minnesota Valley." Lesueur is the name of the original explorer of the area, a Frenchmen of the early 1700's. By 1950, the "Jolly Green Giant" was so popular, such an "icon" as we say today, with a cartoon character created, etc., he became the basis of the company's new name. So that is where Green Giant comes from, modern marketing, not ancient lore...
The Green Giant Arborvitae is more properly named by tree scientists the "Thuja Plicata," with the other common historic names being, "giant cedar," also "western cedar," and "red cedar." There's only one other Arborvitae specie in all of North America, the "eastern cedar," or "white cedar," with "Thuja Occidentalis," as the tree scientist's Latin name, the botanist's name. This short tree is actually what we usually think of when the "genus" juniper is mentioned.
Funny that the eastern cedar was given the Latin name for "west" which is "occidental." You see? As I have observed before, what's in a name? Highland Hill Farm is not located in a town called Highland Hills, or, on Highland Hill Road, etc. Scottish Highland Hills cows that we grazed on our first property provided our company with a distinctive name when we sold our first trees in 1978.
Green Giant Arborvitae ranges naturally all across the United States from Massachusetts, southwesterly to Texas and New Mexico, through northern Arizona, up the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the state of Washington, and British Columbia beyond.
What does arborvitae mean anyway? Now that we know about the derivation of "Green Giant," here's how the Latin name Arborvitae, or "tree of life," came about. As the first explorers of Canada were mapping the St. Lawrence River in 1536, the tree was used for medicine which saved their leader and most of the men too. Jacques Cartier explored the islands off eastern Canada, and then sailed westward where he entered the St. Lawrence River and found Quebec and a Royal Mountain (Mont Real, which is now called "Montreal"). Cartier was searching for the passage to China so many other explorers would also fail to find. Cartier and his men had to spend a long winter inside a little fort, away from the any sun, where they subsisted on meat, fish, and bread, eating no fruits or vegetables. As scurvy was killing most all of them, a friendly Huron Indian gave Cartier's crew tea made from the needles and bark of a tree which looked like the white cedars of Europe. So Cartier took some trees back to France with him, these Thuja Occidentalis Eastern White Cedars, naming them "Arborvitae," the tree of life. How about that?
Arborvitae are native to the pacific northwest where they grow to 200 feet tall, usually 50 to 70 feet is the common height, even including here in Bucks county. Arborvitae do best in wet forests and swamps. The Green Giant appearance is due to this specie's wide 15-25 foot wide base, the slightly tapering conical shape, and the dense branches and leaves casting great dark shadows. The Arborvitae grows in zones 6 to 8, environments with temperatures that get as low as 10 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit, such as in Missouri or Pennsylvania, to environments where winter temperatures get only as low as 20 degrees above 0 Fahrenheit, such as mid-Texas and northern Florida.
Green Giant Arborvitae have pretty, yet surprisingly tiny yellow flowers. The "pine cones," the fruit actually, of the tree, follow the budding of the flowers and are also surprisingly small compared to the size of a mature tree, being no more than a half-inch in size. There are no problems with tree litter understandably, and so few animals are attracted to the Green Giant Arborvitae, perhaps because of this description.
The Green Giant Arborvitae is recommended for growing as a hedge or privacy buffer along a property line, or driveway. Thuja Plicata, Western Red Cedars are ideal "windrow" trees. In a row, they'll truly diminish the wind. The Green Giant Arborvitae is justifiably considered wind resistant considering the windswept mountains of the Pacific northwest. The wood itself is weak, but it is very light. Green Giant Arborvitae trees are decay resistant, too, but the "Achilles Heel," the one and only vulnerability, is to being eaten by deer. Any Arborvitae are a favorite "deer browse," or as we jokingly say, "deer candy." The Western Red Cedar, the Green Giant Arborvitae do have better deer resistance than most arborvitae. Do not plant arborvitae too far away from structures, lights, roads, etc., where there's quietude and privacy for the "browsing deer."
Now that you know all about 'em, Highland Hill Farm has at least 50 or more Green Giant Arborvitae in our nursery ready for pickup at any time. They will range from 1.5' to 12' and be balled and burlapped or potted. We also have field liners and seedling Green Giant available. There are many more varieties of arborvitae available which we have in stock. If we don't stock the variety you want we will find it for you if possible.
We also sell Arborvitae that are very similar to the Green Giants. One variety is called the Excelsa. It has bright grren foliage,pyramidal in form, is fast growing. I believe it will reach 30-35'. The best exposure for this plant is full sun. It is cold hardy to -20F. This plant responds well to pruning and shearing. Its foliage color is retained throughout the year. For a hedge or a screen the plants should be spaced 4-5' stem to stem. A 10' screen needs only 2 plants. A 50' screen needs only 12 plants.
The Thuja Plicata 'Can Can' is another interesting variety. Its is a semi dwarf. Its deeper green foliage is complimented by a touch of white on its new foliage. This is an adaptable plant that can widthstand heat,drought,poor soils, and wet conditions. For hedges and screens its plant spacing can be 4' from stem to stem. A 10' screen needs 3 plants. A 50' screen needs 12 plants. See Can-Can
We are growing in Milan Pa. thousands of trees and plants. We have over one thousand acres here. Each spring we will be planting 20,000 or more trees on our farms in this area. If you would like to learn about trees and planting tree seedlings or starting a tree farm we can help. We offer lessons in tree seedling growing by having you help us in our planting. This way we can teach you how to plant seedlings. Call us or Email Us for more information at 215 651 8329.
We have thousands of plants for you to see and always have hundreds ready for you to pickup. From 2' to 15' we have inventory balled and burlapped. We want to move our stock and will make sure that you go home a happy camper. If you are coming from a long distance, we will give away free inventory that is surplus to our needs. We will stay open til the last dog dies or we sell out. I think we have more stock than what we possibly can sell.
Great Plant Selections For Northern Pa and NY
This dense, compact, green arborvitae is not carried by many growers. We report that 'Holmstrup' is deer resistance and we know deer. Their maximum height is about ten feet. It retains their color through out the winter. They are $24 each.
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This dense green arborvitae is not carried by many growers. This is the Green Giant. We report that it is deer resistant and we know deer. We have hundreds in our area and they don't bother this plant. Their maximum height is about fifty feet. It retains its color well through out the winter but can have some slight reddening on some of the tips of the foliage.
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Green Giant
Arborvitae are commonly used evergreen shrubs or trees useful in urban areas where low maintenance and durability is needed. Many cultivars with forms such as being globed in shape, columnar, or narrow pyramidal, tend to be near buildings, doors, and walkways. Other forms which are larger are used for screens and buffers that are planted in rows.
The form of arborvitae is small, medium, or large depending on the cultivar. Some reach 50', others only 3'. Most prefer full sun to partial sun. Planting in dense shade conditions should be avoided. A moist , well drained, loamy soil in full sunlight are ideal conditions for growing healthy arborvitae. These plants will tolerate rocky, clay, urban conditions of heat drought and pollution. The most important pest we have is bagworms which must be controlled to prevent complete defoliation. Some cultivars have multiple leaders which also prove to be a detraction for the plant. Pruning out multiple leaders in some cultivars is a simple remedy.
Our most popular Arborvitae is the Emerald Green arborvitae. This arborvitae is damaged by deer. If you can this problem and want a similar arb try the Can-Can. Many people prefer to spell them Arbor Vitae . It is a bright light green color and narrow in shape. It makes a distinctive and impressive natural fence. It is easy to grow ,plant, and keep in shape.
The Hetz Midget arborvitae is a dwarf globe variety. This is a good choice for along walkways and gardens. This is a tough plant that is easy to install and not going to cost a lot. It will maintain its color in the winter and will withstand snow loads well. We carry these plants in 2 and 3 gal. pots. The prices on these dwarfs vary from $15 to $30 depending on size and quantity ordered.
Another small arborvitae that we grow in pots is the Rheingold arborvitae. This is a small globe shaped plant that has a golden green cast to it in the summer and a bronze winter color.
We also have the American Arborvita known as "Tiny Tim".This arborvita grows in zone 2 - 7. Its is a needled evergreen
in the Cupressaceae Family. It will grow in height from a half a foot to 1 foot tall. Its
spread will be about 1 to 1.5 feet. This is a plant that requires little work.
Selecting quality arborvitae for the home landscape :
When you get to the nursery or garden center where you will buy your arborvitae, pick out the healthiest, most robust plants that have no evidence of disease or insect damage. The potting medium should be moist, but not wet, and the roots should well dispersed in the medium. Arborvitae that have roots growing from the drainage holes or circling the top of the pot are less desirable. Many people choose to buy arbs from a mail order company, which is perfectly acceptable. However, realize that most woody plants purchased from mail order catalogs will be shipped dormant and bare root, that is, without any soil attached to the root system. Such plants may be smaller in size because of the expense of shipping. It is important to plant such material immediately upon arrival. Generally it is best to purchase one-year-old material from mail order companies since this material is more vigorous and will transplant better. The larger material that is offered is often composed of the less vigorous plants held over from previous years. Most large sized arbs are balled and burlapped. Don't buy any arbs bare rooted over 3' tall. Any plant larger should be balled and burlapped.
We also offer arrowhead hunting on some of our fields, fishing,hunting, and camping. We are a family run operation and like to keep busy.
If you have any comments, please Email Us
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Specials Must Sell!!!Land in Doylestown is sold
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Thanks, Bill Hirst
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Highland Cattle at MilanHirst Nursery