13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Funny how many times they beat us by a day, and the repellents don't work well still in the bottle.
I got caught 'day late', can't even tell you how many times with new growth on roses. I'd see they'd put out buds and foliage, make a mental note to spray (I use Bobbex), then leave it till the next afternoon and they'd come that night :)
I feel your pain! I have been through that same scenario more times than I care to admit. My main problem is tulips and yes, just as soon as they emerge I make a mental note to spray them... but the deer often beat me to it.
Last year, one summer night I heard a strange snapping sound outside the bathroom window. Snap...... snap...... snap. I didn't think much of it until the next day when I saw a formerly wonderful hosta reduced to stems. The funny thing is that this spot was under construction and there were materials strewn all about and it much have been rather uninviting to walk through. Plus, deer had never before visited this spot nor have they ever eaten a hosta here. But last year our deer turned an unfortunate corner in terms of eating anything and everything. Sad.
Thank you, Fun! You knew exactly what I was after. Didn't even think of washing off the bush. Talk about "duh" moments.
Cear, that made me laugh outloud! This little guy is only about 20 pounds. We do keep him out of there, but goodness gracious dogs can be persistent. No idea what makes this particular bush so attractive. It's just a pee magnet.
Thanks for your suggestions!
If there's no reason to remove the pine, it sure would be a lot less expensive (ie: FREE) to move the viburnum. I'm like Terrene and move shrubs of all sizes. I do however like the idea of buying a 2nd one! One can never have enough viburnums.
I should clarify, 6 feet isn't exactly small either - it's a decent effort to dig up a plant that size, but certainly not too big.
Another good reason to get more than one Viburnum is that they need to be cross pollinated to produce abundant berries - so you need two genetically different individuals with overlapping bloom times to get good pollination.
Just a clarification......perlite DOES assist with drainage. That's why it is a standard feature of many potting soils, including cactus mix. It is an expanded volcanic rock - nothing there to retain water but plenty of texture and porosity to provide aeration.
It is vermiculite one needs to be cautious with, especially in container soils. It does absorb water (to more than 300% of its weight) and once fully saturated, collapses, compromising both drainage and aeration.
hey!!!!
bog's idea is brilliant ...
get lots of pots .. perhaps from the recycle bin at a nursery .. and some good potting media... pot up the ones you want to save ... put in shade in back .. out of sight ...
planting time is fall .. so target that ...
and just start ripping things out ...
think of it as saving the good.. and destroying the rest .. OVER TIME ...
perhaps you are overwhelmed.. because you are thinking this is a weekend project.. its NOT ....
just start with one section.. work it over.. and move on.. when you have the time ...
and dont save anything you can replace for $5 .... everything is NOT a treasure .. get over it ... lol ...
i can teach you how to use roundup if you wish ....
a hold-over bed.. is not a work of design.. just put plants one foot on center ... and jam them in there .... give over the veggie bed for this summer... etc ... do not try to 'design' a holding bed.. just jam things in .. and save them ...
cull bulbs at the proper time ... most can be saved in onion bags.. after proper drying.. and planted.. again.. in fall ...
the hardest lesson i learned.. when i moved from suburbia to 5 acres .. and got older.. lol .. and had kids to care for .... was that the days of weekend-warrior were over ... it was hard to conceptualize.. that i couldnt do projects in two days like i used to ... now.. if i want to accomplish a goal.. and if it takes all summer.. so be it .... i just plug away .. when time allows ....
good luck
ken
Believe it or not, plastic grocery bags work great for plant storage. And most of us have a good collection available :-) Just make sure they have a few holes poked in the bottom for drainage. Pop out the plant with as much rootball intact as possible and just transfer into the plastic bag. Place in a semi-sheltered position (part shade) and don't forget to water regularly. I have stored plants to be transferred in this manner for a number of months (and a few upto a year or more) without problems.
As to the time involved to accomplish something like this, I find it is more efficient and successful if it can be accomplished more or less at once. At least the clean out. Planting can be done later. But to stagger it out over an extended period of time gets to be discouraging and tends to overwhelm. Can you plan a few days of vacation time? Or a work party with some gardening friends? Sometimes it is even worth it to hire someone for the day to do the removal and preplanting prep work.
Thanks, you've sure got a pretty shade garden! The tag says "Garden Phlox -Flame Coral - Phlox Paniculata" Height 12-20", Spacing 24", Sun or partial shade". So if I'm understanding correctly, the tag is telling me something completely different than what you guys are telling me. Obviously it makes more sense to trust you experienced gardeners, but why make tags that are inaccurate? That's slightly frustrating for someone just learning.
I never feed any plants upon planting- I only feed after I see active new growth. That tells me they have established some new roots and are ok to feed.
And depending on climate don't feed after mid-summer. They need time to slow down before winter hits.
A non-blooming cultivar of lamb's ear is named 'Helen von Stein' (aka Big Ears) and while it grows slightly larger in circumference, it doesn't self-seed or spread like the species. So far, after three growing seasons, I'm well pleased with its performance and appearance in the full sun perennial garden.
Well I experimented with a container barrier by cutting a Lowes paint bucket in half, about 5-6 inches long. I dug out the dirt, inserted the bucket, and refilled and planted some of the Lambs Ear back. I hope this works. If not, I think I might be ready to move on to the suggested Silver Mound 'Nana' Artemisa.
IâÂÂm in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, in Buffalo Grove. I have about ü acre. Not big, by most standards, but enough for me to handle (and often TOO much). I have mostly perennials, and do annuals for porch planters and to plug in here and there. I am at the point where if I want to plant something new, I have to kill something first.
Gonativegal, I see you are in Cicero. I have a friend who lives there! We often trade plants and give each other advice. He is a retiree with a very small yard, but crammed full.
Hi folks: Glad to see we are keeping this going and finding more Illinois gardeners. Hubby was out to work at 3 a.m. this morning, Monday and he had to scrape his windshield. Is it May???? Hope no one that lives close to me planted any annuals or veggies....better cover them. Now, tomorrow is suppose to be 87. Amazing. My front garden is finally drying out and recovering from the flooding, and we are suppose to have more rain and thunderstorms Thursday thru Saturday. My plants are already scared. Other parts of the gardens that were not subject to all that water actually need some rain. Go figure. Let me see some of your gardens, let's share pictures. Did anyone elses gardens flood?
This post was edited by illinoisdoglover on Tue, May 14, 13 at 1:11
ken, Lake Ontario (Golden Horshoe). You know the drill... freezing now, mid 20s (70s if you're still using Farenheit) by May. The frost date here was traditionally May 24, but we've been able to plant earlier for the last 5 years. I just don't know how fast these guys start, assuming everything is to their liking. They'll be indoors unless it's over 15 (60 F). They'll winter dormant in a dry pot in my cold cellar.
campanula - my summers are easily hot/sunny enough enough for mediterraneans. IMO UK summers aren't harsh enough for some plants (I lived in Cumbria for a while, where the sheep are mossy :-D )
I find that as long as my dianthus is in a spot with good drainage such as a slightly raised bed and the voles don't get it (unfortunately, it seems to be a favorite) dianthus comes back pretty consistently for me. I have grown a variety of groundcover dianthus for their spring bloom and frosty foliage, but not tried any of the longer blooming taller dianthus.
Here is a fairly good writeup about the clay + sand = cement debate. Turns out, it does if not mixed in the right proportion. I would avoid doing it.
I almost hate to share this with you, Ellen, but I grow these successfully in hard red Alabama clay soil. Some composted wood chips were tilled in originally 8 years ago but that's it. We do maintain a layer of mulch on top. We do not have an irrigation system and any plant we choose must be able to thrive in near xeric conditions.
So, blazing sun, clay soil, no irrigation all seem to work for our Arizona Sun. If I'm not mistaken, the first few plants we planted were from Bluestone, but have added many more that I grew from seed. They bloom the first year from seed.