13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Another thing is that not every home depot carry really cheap compost. The stores here don't sell compost at 1.5 for 2 cf, it's like $2.69 for 25 lbs. I can't even get them to tell me what brand it is. The guy on the phone tells me it's Manure brand and mushroom brand...
Paul
I concur with paul on the HD. I just went to a different one than i usually go and their compost/manure is more $$. So i guess the one by me is selling it for less for some reason. It is still more product in comparison though.
You can always offer to buy the torn bags for cheap too. That has worked out nicely in the past too for compost and for mulch.
I can't say for certain but don't think Paul needs to worry about them reverting. I also grow double white balloon flowers and they come back reliably season after season, growing just 18-22" tall. Right now they're loaded with plump seed pods that I will harvest once they're ripe enough.
Let's face it, once this plant is done blooming it is no beauty.
I'd have to disagree, Kevin. While I fully agree that BH can and usually does look rather ratty by this time of year, the one at my folks' place looks good throughout the summer. Theirs must "like them" better than yours like you. LOL
If it's so water hogging, how are day lillies and sedium thriving there?
====>>> ESTABLISHED plants can compete with the tree.. and successfully deal with drought ...
your issue is how to get a recent planting.. or transplant to get ESTABLISHED .... which will take some time ...
also.. from experience .. its the feeder roots.. the thin ones.. that use the water.. and if you dig a hole thereby slicing all the roots .. and put a plant with improved soil in a hole .. and hand water only that hole.. i will give you one guess where the tree will grow new feeder roots ... and NEVER fertilize that hole ...
so.. if you can get it in there.. and get it ESTABLISHED ... many of the hardier plants will compete with the tree ..
this is why if you grow a plant to a large clump.. and then move it under a tree.. it has a better chance of succeeding.. rather than trying to get a bunch of babes to grow in there ...
ken
Agree with Ken on the "clump" transplant. . .learned after many failures
that smaller, immature plants will really struggle. Under my two birches,
established epimedium and ferns have thrived; when first planted as a whip,
one birch was underplanted with Vinca minor and has developed into a lush
carpet, accented by a golden Hosta "Sun Power". . a .young hosta didn't make
it, but a 2-gallon "SP" is thriving. Several Nandina domestica and a
Stephandra are successfully nestled under the other birch.
Carl
pull back the mulch ... add a layer of compost.. and garden fork it in.. breaking the surface.. and opening your soil ...
then remulch
this time of year.. you could pop out the plants.. rework the whole bed .. or a portion.. then replant the plants ... though a lot of work.. your rewards could be very high ...
ken
Thanks Terrene. Like you I also like to remove all of the growing material, be it peat, paper, burlap, etc. I've never had good results leaving it on and found that the plants often suffered over the winter with that junk left in place. Lots of companies have moved to plantable pot material but I'm seeing really difficult growth or even losses with them, so now I'm using the hose to blast off the paper plugs before planting and already am seeing better root and crown development. I can't imagine leaving a coir pot in the ground either.
I have ordered from them for years but the price increase alone caused me to stop!
The higher cost of gas -- and with it heating and electricity --has caused a marked increase in many things. Can't really fault them there. I've seen a lot of nurseries going out of business which is unfortunate.
I know, mxk3...it goes against the grain, doesn't it? There was a volunteer Crapemyrtle on this property when we bought it. Pretty color but without the genetic improvements of modern hybrids. It would develop PM as soon as the new leaves began to grow. All I had to do was hose it down every day until the foliage matured (3 or 4 weeks) and the issue was solved.
Nevermore...you need to treat this disorder early before it is able to completely infect the cells of the plant. It's too late to do much of anything at that point. Even Neem oil can only cure this disease in its earlier stages.
Wieslaw...you did such an amazing job with your garden. I love the way the plants flow together as well as the way you meandered the lawn throughout the garden. Looks amazing!
Would you mind sharing what those colorful plants are in your garden...I am still fairly new to gardening so my identification skills aren't completely there yet. Some look like Rhododendron but I can't quite tell.
Than you!
ATekk, they are basically all rhododendrons, most of them deciduous(azaleas)
The first three on the first picture : Golden Eagle(orange), Feuerwerk(red), Golden Sunset(yellow)
Picture 2: Klondyke(yellow-orange), Blue Peter(light violet), Homebush(pink)
Picture 3: Persil(white), Klondyke(yellow-orange)
Picture 4: Klondyke and Hachmann's Feuerschein(dark red)
Picture 5:Silver Slipper(cream), Hamlet(salmon orange), Narcissiflora(light yellow) Jolie Madamme(tall pink)
Picture 6: left for the tree R. Kokardia
Picture 7: R.catawbiense Grandiflorum, in the background R. catawbiense Album(white), Borsault, and azalea Gibraltar
Picture 8:dark purple is Tamarindos, the light pink on the left in the background is Soir de Paris
Picture 9: Ballerina (white), Sylphides(light pink), Gibraltar (red), the yellow is either Gold Flame or Gold Flare(possibly mistaken identity)
Thanks for the comments.
I've been overwintering a wax begonia someone gave me for a few years now. I save one to keep on a bookcase next to a lamp(with a compact flo bulb). It tries to put out small flowers occasionally through the winter, but I pinch them off. The leaves get lush and it makes a nice houseplant. In the spring I split it into 3 or 4 plants and use them in different areas.
Maybe you could keep a pot of it and try a wicking watering system while you travel. I haven't tried it myself, but here's a link to wicking info on the African Violet forum via a search on the Houseplant forum...HTH
Here is a link that might be useful: wicking info
Al - the French roundabout plantings would not be left out over the winter. They are summer bedding plants. Usually Begonia semperflorens are grown from seed every year for this purpose.
mytime - you say "I travel a lot in the winter.." I don't blame you ;) Zone 3/4 brrrr.
The fleshy roots of the Alstroemeria contain a lot of energy stored that should cause it to regrow. Do your best to keep moisture in the root zone, as they are not considered drought tolerant. We have several flushes of growth and bloom per year. After bloom I will pull the stems, not letting them make seed, and in a few weeks new flowering stems will emerge from the ground. Al
It does look like Autumn Joy, although there are a couple similar ones. Autumn Joy is probably the most common one. VERY easy to propagate. I like to cut mine back by half or so sometime in May. If I want to propagate it, I push it in the ground where I want it to grow. If no rain expected for a while I water it for a few days, but probably not necessary. I cut some in May this year & never put them in the ground. Left them on a rock pathway, they aren't dead yet. I really should find a place to put them, they want so badly to grow.
In this part of California, we have a lot of propagating nurseries who sell their product to everyone. The small retail nurseries as well as the big box outlets. In most cases the producing nursery has his label on the plants. There will be growers who produce a better plant than others, and a buyer can easily tell the difference. Except for specialty plants these growers all use a bark based mix. The advantage is the mix will last for several months, without collapsing. The disadvantage is that frequent watering will be required, as the mix is fast draining. A fast draining mix will also require either timed release fertilizer, or frequent liquid fertilization. As for myself, I buy my mix by the yard from the same landscape suppliers that mix for the commercial growers, and I buy the same mix for the same reason. My potting mix costs me $50 per yard and is only used for pots. Al
Real dirt, real fat and real sugar cost real money. So you have to pay more.
There is an immense difference in the mixes growers use for their plants.
Better mixes cost more money. Better mixes also grow better plants.
In this, as in everything else, you get what you pay for.