Seed Swap & Chat # 56 Whacha planting ??

Yep! KL has it !!!!!!!!!! : ) That the name that been escaping me. Way to go KL. Plant file s may say full sun, but it will burn up in full sun. I know. I ha d all mine in full sun and ha d to move to them shady spot s under the trees to keep them alive. Just caught them in time , few more hour s and I would have ha d to have composted them from the sun.

I love that little poka dot plant I planted some of that in some of my containers last year and forgot about it this year really don't think I saw any this year or I would have gotten some.

That fan plant is cool Ella I saw some of that at the nursery last week :)

Ok toofew think it will be alright to mail the plants off Monday? I hate to mail them off if they are going to be in the PO over the weekend, don't want these puppies getting too tall lol We are having rain a couple of times today and storms tonite and I hope that's it for the weekend that rain will make them grow like crazy :) I need to get mine in the ground yet :)

We are going to be in the 80's for next week :)) I got a lot of plants in the ground yesterday and moved a few lol Haven't even made a dent in the plants I've grown for this year or the annuals that I've gotten for this year but it seems like I have planted a LOT lol Going to pitch some cosmos seeds today and a few others just hope the birds don't get all of the seeds!

I bought this little blue bicycle to plant my mimulus in all the time I was thinking they needed shade for some reason and I was going to nail it to my dogwood tree out front but now I'm thinking they need more sun how much sun can they take? I have them in pots right now in the sun most of the day but this summer they will be hotter they don't like the heat that much do they I planted them in morning sun last year didn't get that much though and they didn't grow like they should have, how much sun can they take?

You should see this bicycle it's so cute it has a basket on the front and back I hope to end up with enough to plant in both spots I've already lost one pot of them :( I have three left but one isn't doing very well it's started doing better when I put them in the sun.

Terese, I planted my bee balm yesterday and I bought another one a pink one it's not Croftway Pink or what ever the other one is I think this one is shorter I've got the tag but can't remember it's outside still need to get my JC moved and the others but they are so tall wonder if I can cut the height in half and plant them of course with the JC they will still be too tall but I'm just hoping they will be alright for next year either way the JC will end up on the ground there is so much wind around here!

Lea, Monday will be fine to mail out the plants. :o)
The blue bike sounds interesting ... is it a real bike, or one made for planting?

We have a light rain this morning, I went to the neighborhoood garage sales, didnt' find a thing.
Supposed to stop raining mid day, then start again tonight. I hope to get ALL of my babies planted out tonight.
Yesterday evening I managed to plant all of the Japanese maples that I grew from seed into pots. I had plans of growing only about 10, but it is so hard to toss them, so I used big pots and planted 6 in each pot. I know they each need their own pot, but that takes up too much room. So anyway I have 21 plants. Most are Bloodgood, but a couple are lanceleafed with a touch of pink at the edge. It should be interesting how this experiment of growing JP maples turns out.

I've been contemplating what my next experiment should be ... been thinking of propogating clematis. So I may be out there layering stems today. lol
Anyone had any success with cuttings? And if so, when did you take the cutting, time of year?

I layered my Clematis ' Polish Spirit', super easy, but when I dug it up the next year and potted it, the new plants all died ... all three. Will try again.

Toofew, if you figure out the knack, let me know! I've got quite a few clematis, and friends that would dearly love some of them!

Toofew, the bike is a planter :)

We are getting ready to have storms again my poor plants are so water logged!

If it weren't starting to storm I would find the thread on here about a bubbler system for clematis maybe if you do a search for it, if you don't find it I'll look after the storm is over not sure how late it will be :)

I found it over on simplyclems Lea. A branch form the clematis cubit.
http://simplyclems.com/cloning.htm
I never did get to do any layering. My order of Lily bulbs came in and I had to get them all planted. got it done. I planted the Osteospermum pluvialis Glistening White that I had started from seed with the lilies. It was threatening to thunderstorm, heard the thunder and even worked though a light steady rain, but the storm passed to the west. Poor Kye, the dog we are watching again for a week or so is deaf, but can hear/feel the thunder and it scares her. She was outside with me and all over me.

Now I see lightening and thunder ... a new round of storms. Glad I'm done for the night.

I made potato salad for dinner. when I took the boiling potatos off the stove, I did it with a towel that had a rip in one end. The rip caught on one of the grates on top of the stove and lets just say the boiling water went all over my had. Yikes! Amazingly it isn't bad. I put it under cold water for a long while, then looked up on the web what to do ... cold water, then antibiotic lotion if it's not too bad. Well, that what I did. Soaked the hand for a good hour, then slathereed it with the antibiotic lotion. A few red spots that may have a blister or 2 tomorrow, but not much pain ... a minor miracle if you ask me! God knew I had planting to do ... lol.

I was able to go out and finish planting the bulbs (with gloves), so you know it wasn't bad. Only hot pads and hot gloves for me from now on!!!!!

Have a good night all.

toofew-

Use that Comfrey for the burn!!! Great burn healer.

I think soon I'll be known as Comfreyspirit rather than Herspirit, as much I I talk about the virtues of Comfrey. :)

herbspirit/comfreyspirit, sorry to say the comfrey never came up from the root you sent me. I'm sure it had something to do with the hard clay soil I have. Otherwise that would have been a great idea.
Please save me seeds for next year.
I'm sure the wine I'm drinking right now is helping the slight pain I'm having ... I'll never be known as toofewwines, well, absolutely not as toofewwhines. lol

Ouch! Glad you didn't get seriously burned! You hate to throw those old dish towels away too huh lol They are just good and broke in when they start getting holes in them! Toofewines :) That reminds me I need to pick some wine up lol

Mine didn't come up either but I kept and eye on it and looked like all this rain got it before it got established not your fault herbsprit it sure was worth a try ;) I had traded for roots one other time and the same thing happened. It's getting in the 80's this week and was going to make my first batch of comfrey tea and now they are talking about rain for Monday? I hope we get some of this rain this summer!

Glad you found that link, we had some nice storms here last night :) I got all the things together to try and start some clematis I had this beautiful blue one I wanted to clone but my clematis died and never got to try it doesn’t look that complicated. That home made system would come in handy to start a lot of plants with. I’m trying to root a hibiscus right now and never even thought about using that.

herbsprit, my comfrey is flowering really nice should I let it flower or cut them off, I cut them off last year it was the first year for them and read I was suppose to do that, if I cut the flowers off before they seed will it keep it from multiplying so much? The hummers like the blooms or at least this one I have does, I saw him on it a few times today :) Need to start a nice compost pile I keep doing other things! I've got all of this yarrow that I'm getting rid of this year and have a bunch of leaves on the comfrey lol Plenty of leaves and grass and have some scraps I've been saving along with some coffee grounds sounds good doesn't it but I'm so busy planting before it gets hot, I just can't get around to do it, maybe this weekend since it's going to be too wet to plant.

I was watching it rain last night where I took all the carpet up for the rest of my mini shade garden and it held about 2 or three inches of water the whole time it was raining from all of it draining down from the storage sheds it's hits there first before it goes under my holly and floods the other side of the yard :( I guess it will be alright my shade garden out back used to sit in three or four inches of water when it rained hard and never looked like it hurt anything the only time I really worry is when it washes the dirt away from my plants like in the other side of the yard.

It's cheles_garden's birthday today!

Happy Birthday to you girl :) Hope you have a beautiful day!

Cheles... hope you ha a great day.

we're getting HOT this weekend... well today is saturday, an it's getting stuffy... but the heat is on the way... i'm already dreading Monday -- supposed to be 90f.

Monday going plant shopping with a gal to get our hanging baskets done... she wants to go to HD, but i didnt care much for the plants they had.. not much for shade... but Menards is much farther away. I may call the landscape guy i go to.. they are a bit more expensive but i think we get 10% off. our budget is 126.00

Been a bit lonely up here... been here almost a week, and no Dh or furkids. They should be up next friday... [ugggg... my "d" key is sticky... most are not showing up]

OH.. i was thinking of adding creeping Jenny to the baskets... we have tons up in the front planter.
do you think they will do OK in shade?? i know it's really like a weed.

Creeping Jenny grows like crazy in the shade too is there any place that it won't grow lol

Did you decide what kind of plants you're putting in your baskets or are you kind of waiting to see what they offer?

Robin came by today and brought me a couple of Mr. Stripey tomatoes :) I haven't even planted my tomatoes yet! I always get side tracted lol

well, i have my list ...some of it, i have no idea what it is, and will have to look it up... but i also have to see 'whats offered'
I do think Landscape Techniques would have a better selection... but probably more costly. I may shoot out there today - for something to do.

I need to get my pots planted today and I bought a fountain a while back I got it out of the living room yesterday and set it on the front porch then drug it back in yesterday because I didn't have time to put it together lol Didn't want to leave it on the front porch over night we have a questionable teenaged boy that walks by all the time that just got out of jail lol It's been raining so much that I've put off putting it out there. Just got my caladiums planted yesterday. With all of these flowers blooming outside I feel like I'm so far behind but we have had some cool weather we're getting in the 90's for today too! So maybe finally spring/summer is here lol

Good luck with your search for basket flowers for the shade today Terese :) I sure wish we had more choices on annuals for shade. Oh and I guess you got your job there?

My problem this year too herbsprit not moving as fast as I should lol

I'm making my first batch of comfrey tea today I was going to start it yesterday in a 5 gal. bucket, I use my wheel barrow all the time and it's metal anyway, but couldn't find a bucket that wasn't filled with rain water lol I'm emptying one today they don't set out in the sun by the garage with the rain water or I would just make one right there.

My neighbor is suppose to get me a couple of big barrels I hope he doesn't forget I sure could use them he's getting ready to get married so I'm gonna have to remind him today lol I got one out of a big dumpster a couple of years ago and washed it out real good but the water still isn't right in it it's killed a few plants so I'm just going to use it for a weed barrel lol The good Lord knows I have plenty of those LOL I just raked tree seeds out of my beds out front for the forth time this year from them washing down the hill again and still got as many as the first time!

Lea -- Yes, i did. worked this weekend -- and she will give me extra hrs this week [the May sched was already made out ... i was covering the hrs of the gal that left] Have the first week of June off to go home for a while.... more planting there too.

allergies are kicking up today with the heat... Ugggggg. i feel like i need a nap already and it's only 11am.

Sounds like every thing is working out for you with your job I'm so glad for you :)

I've been checking the Electric Blues out on line getting ready to plant mine today and can't make my mind up where to plant them, stokes seeds I think said they were perennial for z6 then other sites says 7 I hate that lol

The humidity is kicking today had to come in the house for a while! The temp. says 90 the humidity makes it feel like 100, be careful for what we ask for huh lol I want ice cream!

Do slugs nibble on salvia seedlings? Something is nibbling my seedlings....I spritzed them with some ammonia-soap-water, hope that stops the culprit. I have started seeing more slugs, arghhh.

I saw a hummingbird at my feeder two weeks ago. Then I ran out of sugar and brought the feeder in. Now, I have it refilled with sugar water...waiting for the hummingbirds.

GQ -- I had that happen last year... didnt get the sugar water out earlier enough ... then i didint see them til mid summer. I've had them here for a few weeks.

cutest thing... this morning - there was a gray squirrel, clinging by his toes to the tree, horizontally, and his upper body hanging on to the hummer feeder, drinking... and yes it was quite obviously a male. cute lil bugger.

GQ, I think slugs will eat almost any seedling sorry :( Maybe you can put some slug bait around them wouldn't take much I buy a cheap box at wal mart but dont' have that problem 'yet' with the sun plants knock on wood I haven't had that trouble with my hosta yet or anything in the shade.

I'm too ckicken to plant my seedling out until they fit a 3" pot lol

I have something eating my canna leaves as they come out has to be bigger than a slug they are big old chew things almost like rips haven't seen anything around them I've been watching.

Yep Terese if you can get past the damage they do they are quite cute, I'm not there yet myself lol Never got the cuteness of chipmunks either too much damage and too many twisted ankles!

I have been planting the tiny seedlings. Except for the slugs, they have been doing well. They really take off in the garden. The 10% ammonia-squirt soap-water mix helps with the slugs and earwigs, I'll get some out tonight. It was raining today, so I have to spritz neems again anyway.

I plant some things with a plastic bottle "collar" around them, suh as sunflowers. That seems to deter the slugs/cutworms.

I guess i've been lucky not to get critter damage... though i know in years past, a few plants have vanished... but i had so many plants - it didnt make too much difference.

Last year, some tomato seedlings disappeared... but i had others... Sunflowers rarely survive, i quit planting them... and i figure... they have to eat too.

got in a small nap... wasn't long enough though.... LOST starts in less than 2 hrs.

well, since it's 88degrees at 4pm ... i think i'm heading up to the pool for a dip. I can see the pool from my place... and it looks like most the weekenders have gone home.

i can't believe I left all of my 101 swim suits at home!! had to go to wallyworld to buy one this morning.

Not so hot here today, maybe 80.
Daughter had an impromtu garage sale yesterday (the subdivision was having one). Well, it rained till about 1pm ... off and on. She sold a few things, I dug up my blooming Iris and sold all that I dug ... about 10 I think. I let her keep the money. I was going to give them all away at work anyway. First time I made money on plants, although I have sold some daylily seeds in the past.

I did go out and layer some of my clematis. :o)
Oh and the first of my Linaria Enchantment are blooming. Just love them, but next year I think I will plant them in a pot.

I have been planting the tiny seedlings. Except for the slugs or whatever is nibbling them, they have been doing well. They really take off in the garden. The 10% ammonia-squirt soap-water mix helps with the slugs and earwigs, I'll get some out tonight. It was raining today, so I have to spritz neems again anyway.

I plant some things with a plastic bottle "collar" around them, such as sunflowers. That seems to deter the slugs/cutworms.

After 4 days off from work I just hate to go back!!!

After about five years of taking care of dad without working I hate to go back LOL I really got spoiled! I need to go wrap your milkweeds up to mail :)

Anyone ever use mothballs inthe garden for chipmunks?

I have a critter (chipmunk) than will not stop digging a tunnel in a particular place. Tried all kinds of stuff... predator urine, cayenne, rotten egg spray. He keeps re-digging that hole, and more importantly to me- digging up my surrounding plants. I'm not a fan of the water bucket method which kills them, so someone mentioned putting mothballs down the hole.

Now, I really do not want to poison the soil, so I'm not sure if I want to do this ( I grow everything as organically as possible). Has anyone tried this? Does it work? Do the mothball chemicals break down and ruin the soil?
This is a flower garden area, not herbs or food.

My grandmother used to plant a mothball a few inches below each bulb she planted to ward off bugs and rodents. She kept them in a glass bottle in the shed, never in the house, thank goodness. I put them with steel wool behind my siding and around the gardens (not near food or herbs) to deter rodents as well. This spring, something was digging near my lilies. The bulbs weren't damaged, luckily. I replanted them with mothballs and scattered coffee grounds on top of the area. The digging stopped. I think I will start planting with mothballs, from now on. It is my understanding that moth balls are volatile, so most dissipate in the air. They aren't healthy to breathe, but lots of rodents around aren't healthy either.

I also had voles/grey mice (not sure how to tell the difference) around my strawberry plants. In lieu of mothballs, I put out a few traps. My Westie, Tiffany, terminated 10 of them. (The rodents, not the traps) We walked out the door, down the sidewalk, woosh....she grabbed one by the neck, shook and dropped a dead rodent....ewwww....I got the snow shovel and dropped the specimen in the garbage. She has all of her shots, but I still don't like her messing with rodents. At least she didn't seem to break the skin and didn't want them once they were dead. I have noticed a lot more rodents around since two new neighbors put out bird feeders. I wish they would change to less sloppy feeders or use less seed so as not to increase the rodent population.

I just hung the hummingbird feeder last last season. Before that, I always had hummingbirds by my lilies and morning glories as well as by the trumpet vine on the black walnut trees. It is early in the season for them here, we did have freezing temps a little over a week ago. I'll keep watch for them in the morning and evening, they may be back. There were several varieties last year, so I am hopeful. I wintersowed some salvia and other plants for them, but they are tiny, yet.

It has been rainy and is now terribly humid out. I was out with Tiffany briefly and need to get back out in a bit. I need to plant some wintersown seedlings, foxglove is first on the agenda. Most others, including the hollyhocks, coneflowers, clematis and rose of sharon are getting bigger in the garden. I am washing and saving my bottles to wintersow again next fall!

My Hungarian Paprika peppers finally germinated. I am late, I know, but I didn't get any seeds started inside this year. My tomato seedlings have their second or third leaves and beans are going gangbusters. There is still hope for veggies here, barring any freak early frosts!

No zone envy here. I don't want to live anywhere hotter than this! I feel like a wrung out dishrag at the moment.

My Little One passed away today...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1046475/

ants

Just noticed that the Bluestone 50% off plant sale is going on til 5/31. http://www.bluestoneperennials.com

Hi All! Was away for the weekend in Atlanta. Finally dragged my DD to the botanical garden (usually it's All about her, this time I got one choice, and she got the Coke museum, Zoo and American Girl Doll store :P

Have never been there before, but it is Very Nice! I have pretty high standards, growing up right near Longwood Gardens, but this compared favorably in a few respects. DD even enjoyed it, as they had a few great things for kids going on.

I love Bluestone, I sure wish you hadn't put that on here LOL I can't look, I can't look, I can't look!

It turned hotter here than a firecracker here all of a sudden like, I can't even get my plants in the ground that I grew this winter lol Can't fight that humidity like I used too!

I did get my comfrey tea made early the other day and used it the next day had three buckets and still didn't have enough lol I have more going today and will use them tomorrow :)

Now herbsprit let me tell you something about chipmunks :) You can't mess with them lightly because they don't hold anything back on us believe me I know from falling and springing my ankles so many times in those 'too little of holes to step in' is what some people say but I had the hurts to prove it! I put moth balls in the holes they just pitched them back out, yes they did lol I put those ant things in the ground all around the house and one must have been bothering the chipmunk and he thru that to the ground too! They have hands LOL Someone said to put a jar with a wide mouth and put seed in that so the other critters would get it like birds and the cats wouldn't get the chipmunks so I did that and they still dug my plants up so does the water method sound any better? D-con maybe down the hole I did that too and it seemed to work pretty well not positive but I saw less chipmunks but couldn't hit every hole my cat has been the best thing they don't even bother to try and live here anymore maybe if you don't have a cat, go to a grooming place and get some hair and poke it down the holes I did that too but couldn't tell it worked very well it did for a while didn't see them much but they came back guess they figured out I didn't have a pet running around it was just a joke, they are smart little critters not dumb at all! LOL You have to get mean with them forget how cute they are the cuteness wares off fast! Then you have a million of them around I had holes everywhere and those little pests calling to each other like the picture of a prairie dog at the top of his mound! I think that was around breeding season lolm

I'm a critter lover for sure but not with chipmunks, voles and moles way too destructive!

Hi all. I just ordered from the 50% off Bluestone sale. It seems almost everything is 50% off. How can one resist? Besides, I've just had my spring cheap perennial sale, and had designated plant money burning a hole in my pocket for a few hours before I started spending it at bluestone.(Money from plant sale= guilt-free money to spend on plants). Got anemone whirlwind, astilbes lilliput and white wings, centaurea gold bullion, dianthus itsaul white, geraniums purple who, wargrave pink & striatum Lancastriense, monarda grand parade (a mini), and veronica teucrium crater lake blue. Then I forgot I ordered the geraniums, and some are 3-paks - and ordered nine more from geraniaceae.com. If you like wild geraniums, you have to check them out!!! They must have hundreds of varieties, and reasonable prices. Shipping is at cost, and is probably going to be a lot, as they're in California, but what the h....

well I just spent $53 for 20 plants at bluestone. Not a bad deal.

LeBug- I know about the ankles. Those rocks just seem to always jump under my feet! I have a picture in my head of mis-stepping on moth balls now :)
Actually for the last 3 years I've had either a broken ankle or a major sprain every spring. Went to the acupuncturist last summer- no sprain this year, no ankle weakness either. So let them critters bring it on!! I'm ready for a fight!
I feel a bit like the movie Caddyshack... chasing that chipmunk down.

As of today I put in moth balls, put down some more cayenne and rotten eggs mix, AND predator urine. Re-covered the tunnel. So far, he has not dug it up yet. Instead I see a new entrance. But this time it's in a place I can live with, so I may need to make the best of it. The chipmunks are all at my house as I have the Shagbark Hickory trees. They love the nuts.

On another note, found out today I have flying squirrels in my attic. We found a dead one in the basement on Friday. The wild animal guys came out and ID'd it and put in one way doors so they could get out, but not get back in.
I feel a bit like I'm living in the wilderness with all these animals!

Acupuncturist, was that expensive herbspirit I've been wanting to go to one I wonder if they could help me quit smoking ;P

Do you live in the woods you have more critters than me and there is a wood right by me they keep threatening to build houses so I do thank the economy right now for just threats but that's it :) Everyone here wants me to sell the field but if I put it on the market I'm afraid the guy with the storage sheds would build more it's right beside them there is no way I would let that happen but I really don't need this field too much work lol I still have tree limbs down up there from the ice storm a guy wants to charge me like $200 to cut the limbs and take it away as far as I'm concerned it can be another wild bird garden I need more of those anyway lol

Perenniallyme sounds like you got some nice perennials too I'm still not looking trying my best lol Hey :) How big are your Marsha's lol Mine are about 1/16" LOL But I planted mine a little later than you did. My container was a little dry yesterday so I just poured a little water on the top of the dirt to the side and laid one down flat had to pick it up with my nail lol They are in the sun now and doing good the last time I had a plant like this it was Jack Flash and never got to see that one bloom by the second year of it being in the ground my middle bed was covered in weeds last year and lost it but took it forever to get big enough for me to feel comfortable putting it in the ground.

I forgot the dirt in the hole I did that too and the chipmunk just dug it out again lol I'd have pictures of all of this because this was about four years ago but that's about the time I got a new computer and my old camera wouldn't work on XP. I started a thread about that time and got into it with a lady on here about the holes being so small lol Well almost got into it lol I wanted to take pictures of the holes so bad! If they are big enough to twist your ankle in they aren't small that's all there is to it lol Let me know if they pitch the moth balls out I can always use a good chuckle :)

Anybody with cats or dogs (or pets running loose in the neighborhood), please read Palmbob's article (he's a vet ) on rodenticides before resorting to poisons. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/601/

(He wrote an article along similar lines on snail/slug control.)

Patricia, what did you get from Bluestone? I can't believe you have flying squirrels just miles from me. I've never seen one and thought they were some kind of exotic creature from the tropical rain forest or something.

Lea, we cross posted yesterday. Loved your chipmunk stories (but sorry for the trouble they cause). I haven't run into them here. If you have the will-power to not look at plants, you just might have the will-power to quit smoking. I certainly don't. Acupuncture is a great thing. I went to an acupuncturist and got my heel spur cured. it took 3 or 4 weeks of 2x a week, so it wasn't cheap (my insurance didn't cover it, but covered the 2 or 3 months of physical therapy that didn't do anything at all before I decided to try acupuncture). If you're asking about gentiana makinoi "Marsha," I think I killed my seedlings through neglect during my construction project this winter, but I do remember them staying tiny for a long time.