Friday, March 14, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Springtime means paydirt for area lawn and garden supply stores.
"It's crazy here," said Shamaine Commins, assistant manager of Star Nursery on West Cheyenne Avenue, the largest of the chain's five local stores.
"It's busy all the time. Weekends are just nuts," Commins said of their nursery, which opens at 7 a.m., except on Sundays when it opens at 8 a.m. "We have lines of people waiting to get in when the store opens, and we usually have 10 registers going."
It's the same story at other lawn and garden supply stores.
"Right now it's really busy here," said Jay Harrison, owner of the Plant World Nurseries on West Charleston Boulevard and East Tropicana Avenue. "March, April and May are our busiest months."
"We're very busy," said Venna Davis, owner of Davis Nursery on East Bonanza Road. "The town's growing, and a lot of people want green."
Davis, whose late husband, J.D. Davis, started the family business in 1951, is among those who prefers greenery to desert landscape.
"I was born and raised on this old desert," Davis said. "Give me a blade of grass anytime and you can keep your rock."
Still, Davis Nursery, like all others in Southern Nevada, will sell conservation-minded homeowners everything to desert landscape their yards, from the fabric weed barrier that's buried beneath the ground to the drip system for irrigation.
"Whatever they like, chances are we've got it," Davis said.
Nursery owners say the rapid influx of new residents from different parts of the country especially helps the lawn and garden business, because the new residents take with them their own floral tastes.
"A lot of people come here from different parts of the country, and each one has his own taste in flora and landscaping," Commins said. "A lot of them want the green. They live in the desert, but they don't want it to look like desert."
They also want help when it comes to picking out the right flower or plant.
Managers at all local nurseries say they keep plenty of attendants on hand at all times to answer all kinds of questions about planting and gardening.
"We have many knowledgeable people who can answer any question, whether it relates to lawns, bugs, trees or plants," Commins said.
The most common questions, nursery managers say, are about soil preparation and irrigation.
"For roses, you need good potting soil, and you should use sulphur," Harrison said.
"You have to make sure you have good soil," said Commins, who recommended the use of soil amendments before planting to offset the area's natural alkalinity."
Drainage is also very important, Davis said.
"Before you plant, you should dig the hole twice the size, then fill it full of water and time the drainage," Davis said. "If it takes any longer than two hours to drain, then you should dig it deeper and wider."
Many shrubs and trees will survive when their roots are in running water, Davis said, but standing water will kill most anything.
Hot sellers this year include: many groundcovers such as aptenia (hearts and flowers) gazania and verbena; conifers such as junipers, pine trees and cypress, and even fruit trees.
"Some (fruit trees) do better than others in this climate," Commins said. "Figs do the absolute best. Pears do well, especially the Asian pears. But apple trees don't do as well because we don't have the chill hours for them. They like it cold."
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