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| I saw a Minuet Weigela at a family member's house and fell in love so I rushed out and picked up 3 Java Reds to fill a 6 ft. wide space that gets full sun. I realize I'm very late in the planting game (newbie... can you tell?!) but does it matter? And does it "change" how often I should water them? The nursery said once a week but I'm finding conflicting info when I google. I'm also second-guessing my variety choice and am thinking of exchanging for Wine & Roses... any reason why I should or shouldn't do that? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 26, 10 at 13:20
| hey crazy ... IMHO.. in my z5 Adrian MI ... it is CRAZY to plant anything in late july ... you are going to completely interfere with its root system .... at the hottest time of year ... if it were me.. i would put the pots in full but bright shade.... water them properly ... which mean letting them nearly dry in between watering .... and delay planting until at least mid sept ... when no matter how hot the day is... the cooler nights will allow the plant to recover somewhat ... just because you buy it.. doesnt mean you need to plant it ASAP ... if potted.. you will probably need to do some root surgery to reduce circling roots in the pot .... ken ps: actually.. if it were me.. i would have asked to TAG the plants at the nursery.. for pick up in Sept.. and would have let them take care of them for the next 60 or 90 days ... perhaps if you call them back.. they will do so .... |
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- Posted by crazywheaten 5 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 26, 10 at 15:28
| Wow... I didn't even know a nursery could do that. But I think I trust myself more than I do someone else to care for them in the interim. Thank you, that is very helpful and I will leave them potted until fall. I am confused why you say to put them in full but bright shade... shouldn't they be in full SUN? |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 26, 10 at 17:23
| a black pot in full sun.. can easily raise the temps of the media and roots over 100 degrees.. one thing i am absolutely sure of.. is that roots wont appreciate that.. nor will the roots of a shrub appreciate a lot of water .... let the pot nearly dry in between waterings.. and you can tell the difference in the weight of the pot.. wet and dry ... if you rot the roots.. with too much water .. they are done for.. better??? ken |
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| I agree with Ken (except for the asking the nursery to babysit part), but keep a watchful eye on the containers. They might actually NEED watering every day, if hot enough. Only you can be the judge. You don't want the plants to reach a wilting point before you water them. Don't sit the container on a hot, reflective surface. |
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- Posted by crazywheaten 5 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 28, 10 at 14:20
| Currently I have them on our brick paver patio but they can easily be set in the grass. This feels harder to me than taking care of a new puppy... lol |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 28, 10 at 14:39
| aw come on .... you wouldnt put the pup in a black suit and leave him in the sun all day would you ... heck.. if it were near 100 .. you probably wouldnt even leave him outside all day ... you would protect him from heat extremes.. so why is keeping roots cool all that hard ... just hide the black pot ... and keep it properly watered ... not too wet.. not too dry .. and you should be all set ... they are not really all that foo foo of a plant ... you are going to have to really ignore them.. to kill them ... ken |
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