Visited: Michael Bros. Nursery in Russelton, PA

Yesterday, I decided to visit Michael Bros. Nursery in Russelton, PA. If you are in the Pittsburgh area and you have no idea where this is, it's more or less located just northeast of the Route 910 corridor out of Harmar Twp and Cheswick borough. You can hit (47) Michael Rd from Saxonburg Blvd or Rich Hill Rd. It's set in a mostly still-rural area dotted with farms and small towns, but also has new high-end housing plans popping up. You can't miss the property, as their large annual greenhouses come right up to the roadway. Their sign is a painted wooden one that stands about 8' tall. From the road, there is a packed gravel drive that leads to a sizeable gravel lot that can hold about 20 cars. From the lot looking north, the annuals, veggies and herbs are to the left along with the shop. Directly ahead is the perennials greenhouse (about 50x150' in size). And to the right is mainly the tree and shrub area. There are also some perennials in long hoophouses (about eight in total) of the tree and shrub area.

I'd like to start by saying that for the pot sizes they carry, their prices on plants blows lots of other nurseries' prices out of the water! The selection is what you'd call traditional or "expected", but is also very large, with large quantities of a wide range of specimens that are hardy to PA. For these reasons, both novices and experts can easily find things to suit their needs.

Most 3-gallon shrubs run around $24, which is an excellent price and is competitive with even the big box stores. I got a Wine & Roses Weigela at this price, which was three times as tall as the same plant at Lowe's, which have all been pruned down to 12" and go for $27. Some other noteworthy things I saw included 5-gallon magnolia trees, for which they charge $40-60, where most other places charge from $80-120.

I'd recommend Michael Bros. to anyone who doesn't mind making the short trip. Their staff is friendly, knowledgeable and present, just as advertised on their website. You can learn more about them at www.michaelbrosnursery.com