Last winter was cold enough.
Hope this one isnt colder.
Favorite Astilbe?
It flew by. Plus, it was not a good growing year here - 134 growing days compared to the average 160. Heat lovers like Cannas and Caladiums were just really slow to get going and many never achieved their full potential. We are forecasted a frost Thursday night. I shudder to think what this means for winter. I plan on taking extra precautions for the plants that are marginally hardy. I'm going to rose cone a few things that I don't normally cover. Extra mulch over others. None of my dwarf Cryptomerias are zone 5 hardy. They'll get the cones, probably in late December when the ground has frozen. I'm late planting Ajuga 'Golden Glow' ( not arrived yet ) . I'll bury that under oak leaves. Bubble wrap the containered Japanese maples and bring into the garage for January and February. A Cedrus deodara 'Ttwisted' ( first year ) will need a burlap wind screen. You all know the drill. Last winter all the rhodies and azaleas did well in spite of the -17° lows. One semi- evergreen 'Girard's Crimson' is 22 years old and 15' across. That I cover completely with snow. DH happens to like that one so he's right on it. As soon as we start to shovel off the driveway he starts covering it. ( We don't use any salt. ) It's only hardy to -10°. It's right outside the front door so every winter we have this enormous snow mound just off the front deck. Once our yorkie walked out on the mound, sank and almost disappeared!
You had to talk about winter didn't you.
Low 40's again tonight but I'm not seeing frost warnings yet for me. I always wondered how containerized JM's were handled. I should have put burlap around my Hinoki cypress last year - it's exposed to north and west winds (the worst) - but didn't. It's been in the ground for years but got hit really hard last winter. Let's just say that once I gently pulled off the brown needles that I had quite a minimalist looking thing. Can I translate that into a rather contemporary/zen look? :) I'm trying to nurse it back to health. Another cold winter won't help it much. Maybe I need to invest in some burlap...
My cannas never got to the bloom stage either. Once door to GH gets installed this weekend, I'm going to start moving things inside. And drag out the tall cold frame.
no winter talk we havnt had fall yet
I'm wondering how much of a fall we'll really have. Even though the trees here are just starting to turn - some yellowing but still mostly green - the temps are way cooler just like our summer. Dreaded doing it but had to turn on the heat the other night. Don't get me wrong - I like cooler temps - but it was 66 degrees in the house at 6 pm.
Will have to wander the yard to find a home for my impulse Astilbe buy today. What was I thinking.
Found home for 'Key Biscayne' but had to remove one of several 'Moonbeam' Coreopsis to fit it in. I may divide it next spring since it was a nice size. Also found a spot for the Amsonia but had to move a bearded Iris out of the way. Hoping to hide the naked lower stems of the Clematis with that. And still doing the spot composting thing but doing some fall cleanup as I progress from one end of the bed to the other. Next project is untangling some Japanese morning glories from a trellis without damaging the ripening seed pods. Even more challenging because they're growing in pots in the middle of the bed. My first year doing that and will have to rethink that for next year.
We had a freeze last night. Unbelievable. Two weeks before the average first frost date. There wasn't any frost damage on the plants, but there was a crust on the bird bath. I think the warm ground must have radiated just enough heat to keep the plants from freezing. I'm still planting too. And mulching heavy.
Our frosts havnt been that heavy, rooftops mostly and nothing under the trees
Yikes! No frost here yet. I think Lake Michigan gives me a little more protection from the cold northwest air and all of the trees shading the yard tend to help too. I think the coldest it will get here during the next week is 45. Gives me time to finish moving plants indoors. I've been doing a lot of shrub cuttings this summer and have to get about 20 small pots into the cold frame as well. It'll be a busy week.
Nice! Mine aren't as showy. Right now the best garden color is coming from a Berberis thunbergii 'Sunjoy Pillar'. ( Not exactly a shade native!) The collors are intense yellows, corals and oranges. I'd recommend this to anyone for fall color.
Had no idea Astilbes came in yellow and bloomed this time of year
ge - The fall leaf color is more striking than the seasonal bloom color.
Also experiencing significant yellow color on all of the fading Hostas. Usually they're kinda blah but this year, they've all decided to turn yellow at the same time. Now that really brightens up my shade garden. :) Very striking in the lower garden - about 40% bright golden yellow, 60% green with my (now) bright orange Japanese maple. The yellowing leaves on the trees are also lending a brighter quality of light to the landscape.
Snapple - You came through the flue okay? Did you get caught up on all of your planting?
I LOVE the yellows. I'll pix my hostas
Survived the flu. Got all the planting done. Working day by day to winterize the gardens. The hostas here too are glorius shades of yellow. Figure they will last another week or 10 days, then it's time to cut them back. I used to let them go until spring but I discovered that removing the foliage in the late fall cut down on slugs significantly. Now I clean up everything for winter. Makes spring much more enjoyable too. More time to watch the spring show and less time raking etc.
and by april everything that has blown in frome somewhere else is getting the pitch treatment.
I'm not a fall cleanup gardener.
Comes with the territory here.
We also get LawnJobs and landscapers notices.
After raking and hauling leaves for the 4th time in the fall, I've fantasized about hiring someone to haul leaves for me. Most neighbors on my little street rake the leaves to the curb for pickup by the city. Of course, the leaves will sit out there for a month until most of them are blown into my yard. I haul all of mine out to the back of my property where they'll break down and help control erosion or to the compost bin if it's not already full.
We use fall leaves in our compost too.
I remember living in an older suburb where the town came for pickup.
Never a neat job by them and neighbors who didnt care made things worse.
Leaves blown in from neighbors who dont do any fall clean up are a major irritant to me too. I just get out there and get rid of them but I don't think happy thoughts about the neighbors in the process! By the first of December I have things bare and buttoned down. I keep the koi & goldfish pond free of leaves and other debris right up until they ice over. What I really hate are plastic grocery store bags. I swear some folks just wait for high winds and then stand outside and let a few go on purpose.
Our town picks up the leaves curb side and they are very, very good at getting to them quickly. The town covers less than a square mile and is heavily forested with mostly towering oaks and some maple. Those folks that do rake, tarp them until they are picked up. The leaf collection guys are very curteous about folding the tarps and leaving them where they won't blow away. There is no way I could compost all my leaves. They are sometimes a foot thick over the lawns. We have about a 70' long row at the curb up to my waist when we rake. And ths usually happpens twice before we get them all.
theyre noisy too
Ahhhh, I remember the day in early spring when I couldn't wait to open a big box that I knew held a large custom ordered fiberglass planter ( destined for a Japanese Maple) on our front deck. You know where this story is going. As I opened the flaps, a huge gust of wind swirled over the deck and packing p-nuts rose in a great white column, enveloping me then disbursing over the deck furniture, out into the lawn, settling over the flower beds and deep into a large rhododendron. I'm still finding them. Sigh.............
I know Bluestone orders are spiked.
I try to open boxes in the garage and have a garbage bag handy
Heh, heh, heh! Spiked indeed. Don't you wonder how they ever get them in there? I mean, I can't corral them without swatting, sweeping, picking and last resort - sticky tape. Then if they get full of static you can't let go of the @&%#*@ things.
Yes I did. They (2) were bare root - very substantial in size and solidly healthy. I labeled the spots to remind me to mulch them heavily to protect them from heaving because they can't possibly root in sufficiently in time for winter. I checked them just this morning and they look really good. There are many bud tips for next year just barely showing. I'm pleased so far, but the mulch will be crucial.
thanx for the mulch hint.
I have new astilbes that will need it.
I've been doing some spot composting in between plants and have been adding some SB coffee grounds and bagged composted manure as top dressing. And did some mulching with some shredded leaves and grass clippings, topped off with a tea concocted of molasses, composted manure, liquid kelp extract and fish emulsion. Hoping to improve the soil over winter although I'm not honestly sure how much it will improve when the ground is frozen. But we'll see come spring. It really made since to do some mulching since I had moved so many plants around but I didn't put it down too thickly so maybe 2" deep. Other than my two new additions a few weeks ago, most everything else was planted or moved by the end of Sept so that should be enough time to settle in.
Gulp....I didn't mulch any of the 40 new plants I planted after our RU in September.......uh oh. The NH winter is supposed to be brutal this year. I think I blew it.
Hey DB - if your planting was in September you could be fine. Root growth takes place as long as the soil temps are at 40 or above. I've moved hostas as late as September 30 ( with a decent root ball ) and have had no problems. The ground temp here is right around 52 to 55. ( Same temp as my koi pond at 3-1/2 feet deep).
But bareroot on October 15th when I put in my astilbe? Not a chance. By the second week of November (on average) the soil is below 40 and won't warm until late March early April. You know the drill. 40 plants? You've been busy!
Just noticed I lost a Astilbe Lilliput, just planted in Sep.
Hope its just sleeping.Blueston order.
ge - Maybe just playing at Sleeping Beauty. I did lose some foliage on some of the smaller divisions of my Astilbes when we had our dry spell. Hoping that they'll rebound in the spring.
DB - 40 plants in the ground? That's some dedication.
I'm hoping for another couple of weeks before the ground freezes so that I can do a little more spot composting in one bed. Now the leaves are starting to really fall so I won't be doing any more shredded leaf mulching. Now everything will go to the big compost pile.
DG er said some varieties take a early nap .
I wont count them out until mid May when they are up high enough to see the leaves.
Just gave the garden a heavy dose of horse manure, that should do the trick
I think your astilbe will be fine, Jo Ann. I've had some pop right back up in the Spring once I've written them off for good!
Snapple and Cindy - Many kind DG friends brought plants to our RU in September that I had on my wish list, and then we had lots of plants left over from the plant swap part of the RU. Planting the 40 was a labor of love that Hank and I split up. Can't wait to see if they all do well in the Spring! When I plant something from a friend, I feel like he or she is right there with me in the flowers when the buds pop. It is such a nice feeling. I have a friendship garden that is filled with plants from friends. I treasure each one! Now, my friendship garden also has a beautiful pink stone contributed by a new DG friend as well. Lucky, lucky me!!