Beginner Gardening: Help with watering terminology, 1 by kTalia

kTalia wrote:
Thanks for the detailed information. Most of my established plants I'm only watering every few days now (such as my trumpet vines once a week, honeysuckles about twice a week, etc). However, I took advantage of the huge fall perennial sales to fill some new beds I had just finished rather than paying full cost next year.

One bed I have hostas, shade bulbs (snowdrops I think they were called) and coral bells. Those all seem to be doing fine with water every other day but the hostas are laying on the ground I think from being in the ground rather than a pot. The leaves are a good color and firm still.

The other bed has some monkshood, wild geraniums and garden phlox. The garden phlox is very limp on a few stems and others have new growth. It was pretty root bound too though, so I cut a lot of the existing roots before planting. Maybe that's why it's wilting some? I've been watering this bed every day since the plants went in two weeks ago.

The bed I'm having the most trouble with is my "constantly moist" bed by my faucet. I don't always have a lot of control over the moisture there because despite changing out hoses and O rings and other things, it still leaks. In any case, I wasn't too worried since all those plants like water it just saves me time when I get to that bed. :) In there I have some Corydalis, a Hydrandgae and a Toad Lily. All things that I'll be lucky to keep alive through winter. The Hydrangae leaves all firm but all pointed downward and the color of the leaves all went from red to purple except for a few new leaves. The Corydalis is starting to turn a little yellow and look a little droopy. The lily is loving life and just put off 6 new flowers. The soil mix is 1/3 native grainy clay and the other 2/3 is a compost, potting soil, peat mix I made up. I've been watering this bed once and sometimes twice a day since I planted it a week ago.

Normally by now we would have our first snow about two weeks ago. But the temps have held in the mid 80's and only barely dipping below 50 at night. It's really crazy and all my plants I just put in are acting like it spring already. I've been watering heavy to get them going before any freeze, is that bad? Should I start backing off more and let them die back?

Now I feel like this is getting really wordy, sorry. I hope I got the important stuff in. Here's a pic of the Hydrangae. The flash washed out some of the purple.