13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

So I was going to leave them in their containers but I was curious how much they had grown so I checked and found one of the containers was completely empty, only dirt. The other had bulbs in them. What could have happened to them? Did they maybe rot to nothing? This is very strange to me, especially because they other planter was fine.

mice?
Many creatures think lily bulbs are a delectable feast.

If you have egg, I've got a half a ten pound bag of superK on mine. In the shed. And I read whatever I find written by Linda Chalker.

I swear as recently as a few years ago a really competent nurseryman said to put a handfull of super-K in the planting hole. Myths don't dissipate as quickly as they they multiply.
We all just want to take care of our plants. I concur with ken about profit motivation of agri-business, but at the local level we all just want our plants to thrive.
I'll continue to be part of the problem if I feel compelled to use up that 5 pounds of algae food.

What can I do with it? Put it on my cereal?

marie

Some of my past soil test results have shown a need for phosphate on my lawn and around a tree. And it is expensive. So don't get rid of it. Save it for when you might need it.

Shake out as much soil from the sod as is reasonably possible. Throw remaining sod on the compost pile or use it to sod/level/raise other areas of the garden.

For new beds I lay down recycled corrugated cardboard over the garden bed soil and overlap the edges. The cardboard smothers weeds and doesn't break down as fast as layers of newspaper. Use a box cutter to shape the cardboard to your needs. Cover cardboard with bark mulch.

Thanks , I read a lot about that today. I was just hoping to be lazy, roll out a roll of plastic , and deal with it in the spring! Probably too cold for that .

I thought for sure Red Velvet and Karen North would not need staking.... oh well, I'll probably get them anyway and you can say I told you so when I complain.
Glad to hear the good comments about the bloom color of Scheherazade. It gets such great reviews, but the bloom pictures don't always thrill me, so it's on the 'must have list' again.
Better get off to the lily garden website! ;)
I like the idea of a tree lily, plants that I can walk next to are so important in a garden of ankle-biters.

Isaphan-I know this is an old thread but I really appreciate your feedback on sturdiness & heights of your orienpets. Even though we're in different climates, it still helps me with placement on a few I was wavering on, thanks!

If the tree is near enough to the sensitive plant for its leaves to fall on it, the growth can be stunted. For example I have three double file viburnum all planted at the same time 10 years ago. The one near a black walnut (although it is at least 10 feet outside its drip line) is sbout half the size of the other two. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the info! I am investigating this further!

arbo,

We've had a couple conversations, the last I know of was as recently as Oct 12 about plant sales & SRG (Santa Rosa Gardens). HGC (High Country Gardens) is another online place that came up the other day along with SRG (again) in the "backlit plants' thread. I guess we all just know these names and figure everyone is in on it since this was so recent and we are probably lazy with our typing IYCR&I (if you can relate and imagine). The spring and fall sales at SRG always get threads on GW about people ordering and loosing their self control. I was joking just the other day here about being an SRG addict in need of therapy.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/peren/msg0922170716914.html?28

Thanks texasranger :-)

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' .... on this small portion I count a dozen bees. Happy bees!

I've heard the worse you treat them the better they do....unfortunately mine must be too prissy for that, because over the last months i've transplanted them, snipped & cut them, put them deeper in the ground, taken rootings and so far everything just flops...even the rootings taken from straight-ish stems have decided to corkscrew..LOL. I do love the idea of the tomato cage..think I might try that next year with some smaller plants and see what they come out like..

so odd how some people have theirs standing upright and others have floppy-no-mater-what plants.....seems like there's no real rhyme or reason to it. =P

logixSTI ... I haven't found many seedlings from this type in comparison to my other dianthus varieties that give plenty and some turning out to be very interesting. I'm surprised that your plants have grown so very short, do you have them planted in the ground or in a container?

they were in containers until a few days ago..but they are only just past the seeding stage...i forgot I had the seeds a friend had given me last year, once I found them I decided to just start them since I wasn't sure they'd do anything if I waited until next year....even though it was around mid-late august when I started them they came up pretty nice and now that I finally know they have a chance to make it through the winter I put them in the ground, otherwise I was probably just going to let them live out the rest of their short time on earth in the little seed starter trays (in hindsight it's pretty silly I even bothered to start them not knowing if they would make it through the winter and figuring I would just let them die if they weren't winter hardy. I wonder what goes through my brain when I make decisions like that... haha)

Our Labrador Retriever wanted to help with the tomato harvest. I guess the big ripe tomatoes looked like his ball that we throw for him to retrieve. (Color blind I guess) He "picked" almost every large tomato and lined them up in a straight line along one edge of the garden. When I found the row of tomatoes I was at a loss as to who could have done it... until I saw that each and every tomato had puncture marks from large canine teeth.

When we lived in pa we had a chain link fence and a pretty close neighbor. Our dogs ( his boxer and our bulldog) would run the fence line till it was bare and muddy chasing each other. My solution ? I'll put a flower bed there !
I probably wasted 200$ , lots of labor . I did a fantastic job . If it had filled out it could have been beautiful . Even with one of those wire fence borders , it did not stand a chance to my bulldog! He was determined . He also destroyed a batch of bare root roses I had soaking in a bucket . In no time at all ! I had no idea he would be interested in them , and left them on the porch , and him outside unattended. Oy.

Since you plan two very big borders, I would like to suggest that you visit the Winter Sowing forum and the Winter Sowing FAQ and learn to get a large number of plants the most economical way.

You can start collecting recyclable containers such as plastic milk jugs, cake containers, bulk salad containers and watch for seed offers on the Winter Sowing exchange forum and other exchange forums. Buy a few bags of good potting soil now and start sowing seeds in mid December.

You won't regret it.
Have fun gardening.

I'll add my voice to the suggestion of winter sowing if you have the opportunity. I designed, planned, and dug my garden beds in 2007. In 2009 I discovered winter sowing. I grew perennials & shrubs (from seed) and started planting out in 2010. My garden beds were filled in 2011. It's fast, inexpensive and just about the most garden fun you can have in winter.

I supplemented my winter sown perennials with a few nursery-grown plants that offered either color or textural contrasts. I've let go of biennials and prefer perennials that perform year after year so all I have to do is enjoy them.

The link below takes you to the home page of Wintersown.org. There's very little recent activity on the GardenWeb Winter Sowing forum.

Check out the GW Seed Exchange for seeds.

Buy a few bags of good potting soil now and start sowing seeds in mid December.

Oh, yeah. If you're serious about winter sowing, buy your growers mix NOW. Picture someone trying to thaw a frozen 3 cu. ft. bale of growers mix with a hair dryer.

And yes, botanical (Latin) plant names will help you avoid mistakes/confusion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown.org website

Thanks, Camp! I've had disappointments in the past and just figured they took more fussing than I was willing/able to give! Now, throwing seeds on the ground, I can do!

I tend to buy one plant, grow it for a while, then divide it if I am happy with it. Little seedlings tend to get trampled in my garden.

I cut off and trimmed about 30 pieces and replanted them. Hopefully they will make it. If not, I still have the original plant.

These roots are very common on my phlox. This is a good thing! It's a clear sign that you can cut these off and increase your supply of these plants. If it looks like a root, it probably is a root! Seedlings of phlox usually will not be true to the parent plant, but divisions like this always will be.