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summer plant sale care
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Posted by bc_wolf 7NC (My Page) on Tue, Aug 7, 07 at 20:02
| Several local stores and nurseries are having plant sales. I know the heat of summer is not the best time for planting trees and shrubs, but 50-75% discounts are hard to pass up. Does anyone have tips for helping these plants survive the rest of the summer? Should they even be planted in the ground vs. remaining in their pot for a month? BTW - got a 3 gallon Deodar Cedar for $10!!! |
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RE: summer plant sale care
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Keep them well watered. For the ones that dry out quickly or are getting too big for their containers, place them in areas of more shade. If you are going to transplant them this late in the summer, always plant them just before sundown or as late as you can. It will take longer to establish larger plants this time of year; so you may need to water it regularly for about 2 weeks. Mulching always helps keep moisture for the plants and regulates the soil temperature too. Try not to water in the mid-day or later in the evening(unless you're watering just after you've transplanted it). Water early in the morning so that less water will evaporate, and more will get to the roots.
Obviously the plants that are outgrowing their containers should be transplanted ASAP or repotted. The ones that are smaller will establish quicker, but should be ok in pots for a while; so either way is fine for them. Also, if the plants are looking poorly, you might sift in some compost into the mix to give them a little boost. |
RE: summer plant sale care
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| Geez, homedepo only took 25% off their ANNUALS and here it is august and they're going to be dead in two months. Where the heck are you guys finding 75% off? :) |
RE: summer plant sale care
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| All of the Ace Hardware stores in my area that sell plants have them for 75% off. The selection is not great and the plants look a little rough but I have found a few keepers. The plant nursery down the road from my home is very expensive, but they are head and shoulders above Home Depot/Lowes for quality. They have weekly sales posted on their website. This week was 50% off all hydrangeas (among other things). I agree about HD/Lowes. I have been lurking around there recently and have found nothing on the cheap! |
RE: summer plant sale care
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| Well, take another look, at least at Lowe's. I just got 85 cent plants- a lirope & astilbe, both in great shape. We also got some asiatic lilies for $2.50, not too bad. They had a ton of 85 cent plants- I just didn't need all that they had. |
RE: summer plant sale care
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| Just came back from Lowes (lucky its close :) Anyway, NOTHING on clearance. DOZENS of dried up pot bound portaculas FULL PRICE!! They are so mercenary! ROFL! |
RE: summer plant sale care
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In the past 2 weeks I have picked up from Lowes...
4 Carolina Jessamine @ $3.00 each (originally $24.98 each)
12 Asiatic Lilies @ $2.00 each
4 Summer Sorbet Caryopteris @ $2.00 each (originally $14.98 each)
2 Hibiscus @ $3.00 each
3 Lipstick Wild Strawberry's @ $1.00 each
Several Coreopsis @ $2.00 each
And a variety of annuals @ .75 each (that still looked pretty good and added some great color to my beds. I stop by our local lowes at least once a week this time of year....you never know what goodies you might find! :O) |
RE: summer plant sale care
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| Hi B C Wolf...I'll tell you a trick I use. Because I am always picking up plants when I catch them on sale I had to devise a way to keep them watered without always getting out the hose. I bought one of those cheap kiddie pools and put all my plants (in pot) in it. That way I just make sure there is always some water in it. Just enough to keep them wet. When we moved I wanted to take starts from my plants with me. I had 3 kiddie pools in our driveway at one time. All my plant starts survived the move and look great. Ofcourse the pools came with me. Gotta keep looking for those sales...LOL (Actually I got a great deal at Lowes today. A whole 5 tier cart filled with mums for $5.00. Can't beat that!) |
RE: summer plant sale care
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| Kiddie pool is a great idea.. I have some of those! Just a follow up. My summer sale hydrangea went into the ground... bad idea! It lost 95% of the leaves within 2 weeks. I stripped off the dead leaves, cut the blooms off and watered regularly. It is making a great comeback. From now on, I will keep those summer plants potted until the appropriate time to plant. Funny thing about plant sales - you see something great, buy it, and then ask "Where the heck am I gonna put that?" |
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