Shop for new plants from home

Fall is always a wonderful time for planting as it gives your plants time to establish great root systems for the spring. If you want to buy plants to enhance your garden this fall, but want to avoid crowds, visit the UT Arboretum Society’s Annual Fall Plant Sale which will be held online only from September 25th to October 10th. Our plant sales are some of our biggest fundraisers of the year and help support the arboretum’s community education, trail improvements such as our Nature Book Trail, and children’s programs.

For two weeks, you can browse the selections of perennials, trees, and shrubs available from our vendors Tennessee Naturescapes, Riverdale Nursery and East Fork Nursery of Sevierville. The three vendors offer a wonderful selection of plants including dogwoods, unique conifers, both evergreen and native azaleas, hydrangeas, milkweed, beauty berry, and a wide variety of pollinator plants to name just a few! Quantities are limited so we suggest early shopping! Beginning September 25th, log on to https://utas-plant-sale.square.site/ to shop and make payment. All payments must be made by credit card online in advance. No sales on the pick-up days are possible.

Upon ordering, you will be provided a link to choose a pick-up time on either Friday, October 16th from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. or Saturday, October 17th, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the UT Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Arboretum Society members will have your plant orders ready for pick-up. This is a no contact pick-up system. When you arrive at your scheduled time, you will come to designated pick up spots and your order will be brought to your car.

This is an amazing opportunity which allows the public to shop for an extended period of time without gathering in large groups on one day. People will also have access to a wonderful selection of plants from three outstanding nurseries all at one online site.

Though many of our normal day-to-day activities are being curtailed right now, working in our yards this fall and planting new plants can still take place. The UT Arboretum Society is grateful to our vendors for making this opportunity possible. The UT Arboretum Society hopes the public will support these loyal vendors as many of their plant sales have been cancelled this season.

The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, is one of ten outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the plant sale, contact mcampani@utk.edu.