13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
So I've been going with texasranger's suggestion of dri-fit pants for almost a month now. I wear long ones vs. capri's because of bugs, poison ivy and ground-in dirt. I absolutely love wearing them for gardening!!!!!!!! They're super-comfortable, reasonably cool, don't show the dirt as much as other pants, wash well and seem to be wearing well too. Until it's really cold and I switch to sweats, I doubt I'll ever go back to other pants. Thanks for the great suggestion!
When I was starting out I learned a lot through books and from my sister who likes to garden. This was before the 'net. The 'net is ok to quickly look something up, but I prefer my tried-and-true books, and of course the GW forums for personal experiences/advice. I also learned a lot by doing and observing.
Now that I think of it I do use Garden Web first when looking for information, I find different people's personal experiences with certain plants are much more helpful than anything I can look up. How they grow in different locations is very helpful when I'm deciding where to plant or if it is even worth trying it. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here. Also when looking for certain plants or seed usually someone on here can head you in the right direction :).
Annette
I just found some very small ones on eBay, from a seller in Arkansas, for $6.95 each. They have 100% positive feedback, so I bought two, as the price was right.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371351440172?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I planted one today, we'll have to compare notes as they grow :). I'm hoping mine will go up a plant pole I used to hang fuchsia baskets on, since we took down the big cherry tree it's too sunny for fuchsias now. I still have the clemie Rebecca on this pole, although mine is not the right shade of red the two might look good together, if not it can be easily remedied.
Annette
I have a few also but I have such dense shade, so mine do not bloom as well as yours. I just have to add......so my husband can never remember the name of this plant. He knows it has an animal in it, and the second word starts with "B". He continually thinks it is called "donkey's breath" - I die laughing every time he says it.
Emerogork..you can go into your posts, even an older one, click the little edit feature and xxxxxx out the entire post.
I keep a pair of garden mini snips in my apron at all times, along with the secateurs. In most (not all) instances, the act of cutting is far preferable than ripping. Plants have a very strong reaction to injury....the greater the injury, the more stress for the plant.
A few years ago my son bought a bird feeder that was supposed to be squirrel proof. We were visiting and sitting out on their deck after dinner. We watched a squirrel come to the bird feeder. It had a bar on the bottom that closed off the seed opening when weight was applied. Birds could land on it and feed but a squirrel was to heavy and would close off the opening. This crafty squirrel laid on top of the feeder and with his paws worked the bar up and down and fed heartily on the seeds he extracted from the feeder. My son and daughter-in-law came out on the deck after putting their toddlers to bed and asked what we were laughing at. We pointed to the feeder and said your squirrel proof feeder doesn't seem to be squirrel proof
Dawn, I'll suggest a great solution for you and your orchard. It's a product called Surround WP. It's a spray consisting of kaolin clay and some additives to allow it to be in water and applied with your sprayer.
The clay dries on the foliage and fruit, forming a barrier that beetles, weevils, caterpillars, and a host of other pests don't like to feed on or even lay their eggs on.
A couple of coatings will probably do it for the JB season; it wears off in time but the beetles don't stick around very long.
I don't recommend Surround for ornamentals because the coating is....well, kaolin clay! It's ugly. Looks pretty awful on our ornamental plants, but I sure use it in my veggie garden on leafy stuff, squash stems, and vegetables themselves.
It's used in commercial orchards, by the way. So if you feel overwhelmed, then there's one more useful tool for you.
Mmm, I think the fungicide was a good idea as convallaria do suffer from a number of fungal issues. If possible, avoid spreading the spores by top watering - either use a seep hose or direct water away from the foliage - unless you are in a very dry area, I would probably avoid irrigation altogether.
Fungicides cannot 'cure' the lily-of-the-valley...but applied pre-emptively next spring may well prevent another outbreak .
it is of little use to apply anything.. if you dont ID the problem first ... period ..
i am on glacial sand.. and except the day i planted them.. i have never watered them ... and the three sprigs i planted now cover about 50 square feet.. and are plotting to take over the universe ...
ken
Here are the two photos I have of mine from last year. I was quite impressed with how much it grew from a dormant little ball of dried roots I received from Gurneys. It was a little more purple than the photos let on but I loved the blooms. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
The word "phlox" led to free associated thoughts about their own problems with phlox. I don't understand why 9 year old posts would be high enough on the search engine list (not the corrrect term, I'm sure) that someone would be inclined to look at it and respond. I really think people aren't looking at the dates. I know that with houzz Gardenweb I have frequently gotten half way down a thread when it occurs to me to look at the original post. 2008, 2010 whatever. OLD.
Here's how it happens. You google a question about phlox tips, and the Gardenweb thread comes up. I hang out on Gardenweb/houzz anyway, and so I go to that thread because it is likely to have relevant information even if not the exact answer to my question. And to preserve that information It makes more sense to tack my question on the same general subject rather than start a new thread. I guess I don't get what your problem with that is..
The good news is that young clematis actually benefit from a good pruning, so no harm done. They will put out new stems from below ground and end up bushier in the end. For my wire mesh rings I overlap ends about an inch and sew them together with wire, but my issue is voles (which eat the roots and growing stems) and moles (which just tunnel around the roots, exposing them to air), so I am using 1/4" hardware cloth to 5" below and 3" above ground.
It was just a bummer to happen halfway through the growing season. Thankfully the two stems that were lopped off were the smaller of the 4 and didn't have any buds yet. I ended up cutting a new ring about 2 ft tall out of hardware mesh and secured the overlapped ends with twist tie to the trellis (thanks for all the advice). So hopefully they leave it alone now! It rewarded me with a little bloom this morning.
I think mine is about 9 years old. It started as a crammed-full one or two gallon pot that I divided when I got home so I could plant a few in a short "row." I was out there this afternoon, and it's over 6' tall.
Catkin, not long. maybe a couple of years.
It has a reputation for smelling bad, which I had never noticed. Yesterday I kept smelling really strong cat pee. Realized it was the polymorpha. Don't want to move it, so I'll just exhale in its vicinity.