13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Too funny?! I don't understand . . . Sure there are nurseries around you! In a quick web search of Ocean County NJ where you say you are, there are at least 20. I live in a state considerably smaller than yours as far as population, and within an hour's drive there are probably 30 nurseries or garden centers. Not all of those will sell oriental poppies, but a few minutes on the phone will find the ones that do.
Enjoy the winter sowing, but be aware that poppies usually aren't too happy about transplantation, so do your replanting very carefully or sow directly in place where you want them.
i gave up on dianthus here in MI long ago ..
just too foo foo ... short lived ... PIA .. etc ...
you might find phlox to have a similar scent ... and easier to grow ...
no matter how much you like a plant.. you can only bang your head against the wall for so long.. before you move on ... eh????
ken
I love reading all of these stories. Socks, that jug is awesome, and greenhearted, it must be a great feeling to wear that apron. Aw, Ken, don't rain on my parade...just kidding, I was actually thinking about the same thing. I have so much hard, or heavy, crummy soil (yes, I compost, etc.), that I'm not sure how useful this will be. I can use it to plant in pots, or maybe I'll just enjoy looking at it.
I have Caryopteris 'Sunshine Blue' and have been quite pleased with it. It has survived temperatures that range from -22 to upper 90's without problems, though occasionally there is some tip die-back that I prune off, but far fewer issues with winter hardiness than other Caryopteris I have tried. It starts the year a pure gold and changes to this slightly chartreuse-gold that still reads as gold in the landscape. The late summer blue flowers are the icing on the cake.
They are obligingly easy from cuttings...and right now is a good time to do it although you may have to search for a non-flowering shoot (we don't want any energy going into making flowers). I take the whole shoot, strip back the lower leaves and put about 5 or 6 around the edges of a clay pot (cooler than plastic). They generally don't care for being enclosed in polythene bags or plastic bottles but will appreciate a cool place with a little shade under a ventilated cloche. Root to transplant in about 6 weeks.
Probably just some bacterial leaf spot - not much you can do about it other than picking off and discarding (not composting!) the affected leaves; clean up any dead leaves on the ground from the winter. It's unlikely to be fatal.
how long are we talking about ... a couple days .. or weeks??
gotta think a couple days in z6 ...
just try to figure out.. how to shade the pots .. from direct sun.. so the roots and media doesnt cook ... it doesnt matter if the plant is in sun ...
i would not hesitate .. to put them inside ... for a couple days .. during the heat of the day ...
and in my MI .. these short little heat waves.. this time of year.. usually end in a rain storm ... and i would try to plant them just before.. or even in the rain ... even if i had to take the day off work ...
next time.. ask the nursery to HOLD the plants for you ... presuming you didnt go bigboxstore ... most good place would have been able to hold a flat or two in some back corner ... and the extra cost would have been worth the hell you are going thru now.. lol ...
ken
It's 3 days starting tomorrow. They are nursery stock. We weren't looking at the weather forecast when we bought them. We were just so pleased that we found them at this time of our season, because stocks are very low. I'm going to prepare the holes for planting and have them all ready to go once it breaks, like you said, probably with a thunderstorm. Don't dare do it right before as it's likely to be accompanied by hail!
I'm keeping them in our glassed in balcony until Tues. It's not really that different from the nursery conditions which were closed in.
two thoughts ...
first.. learn how to deal with the soil you have ... and how to amend that soil ...
but it would be better off if you learned how to plant in native soil ...
because.. what it sounds like you did.. was dig a kettle of a hole.. that probably doesnt drain.. and then filled this non draining hole with water retaining products ... you created a bog ... but you didnt plant bog plants ...
looks like i am repeating junco ...
second.. i wonder if you are trying to bring in old favorites from your prior location .. when other plants might be more forgiving in GA ... in other words... did you move from far away ... in other words.. plant selection might make it all easier ....
one easy solution.. might be to join a local garden club ... make some new friends.. who usually give away plants ... but also.. peeps who have to deal with this stuff .... you can search the globe on the WWW .. but i will bet .. one hours with some 80 year old grey top .. and you will learn more than we can ever surmise ...
good luck
ken
ps: when i moved out to the country ... i used to pass this one glorious place ... i would see this couple of late 70 year olds out there all the time .. ... and one day i just sucked it up.. and stopped .. OMG ... they were so happy to have someone to talk to about the garden... that i left with a trunkful of plants.. and more garden wisdom then i ever thought possible ... and they forced me to sit down a have a bowl of ice cream ... i thought i was transported back to the 1950s.. lol ... they said beaver was out back back with eddy haskel.. lol ...
Ken....what a GREAT story! We've been attempting to amend but I believe y'all may be right on the "bow" thing. I noticed today that the lantana is finally starting to sprig some new flowers so thats good. We've been planting what we've been told is good for this area and deer resistant...another of our issues.
Anyway thanks for your advice.
Deb
I everyone, sorry it's taken me so long to get back here. Also, thanks for all of the kind words! The pink flowering plant in the third picture is weigela Wine and Roses. The small purplish flowers are perenial geranium, I wish I could remember the name :(. The plants stay small and compact and they have a relatively long bloom time. When I added these to my garden I wasn't to concerned about the specific names, just got what I liked. About the solar lights, after many years to trial and error these particular ones have been the best! They have a round reflector in the top and give off a lot more light than anything I have tried. 90% of them are still working for the third season. Got them at a local big box hardware store in my area, Menard's.
Sherry
There are many species of Monarda and some are not aggressive at all. My favorite of all native plants is an annual, Monarda citriodora. I have not even had it reseed, so I need to start it from seed every year if I want to have it at all. But, Imalso have the varieties that spread by roots, and they can move far and fast, but they are easy to pull out with no digging required.
Martha
Oh good, you DO have a balcony! That should work for winter. Hopefully there is some protection there (solid walls on the balcony, hopefully not 20 storeys up, lol) and they should be okay. Even if you can get a garbage bag of leaves, put the pots in a corner, and smush the bag of leaves against/around/on top of them, after they are dormant, that will help a bit. Good luck!
Toronto would be about zone 6 ; depending on proximity to lake maybe 7. Canadian plant zones differ from the U.S. I believe zone 6 here would be considered US zone 5. Btw, winter temps would be minus 20-30 C. Only wish they were on the plus side lol.