Blooming in April

Gary, from Gary's palms here in New Bern, was discussing hollies with me (he had sold me some needlepoints which died over the course of a couple of years). I told him I had put Holly Tone on them, and he said "Holly Tone! That's for Yankees! Makes me smile every time I see Holly Tone at Lowe's.

Entlie

Sombreuil buds on the way...

Fire Witch dianthus, smells like heaven...

well at least he called that one right Entilie...cause I'm a yankee lol

Rhoddy is in full bloom today...sweet!

Espoma products have been around forever, I remember my parents using Holly Tone in NY when I was a child - a loooong time ago, they were the original organics. In the south they used cottonseed meal on the acid lovers in the "olden" days and it had a horrible odor when it was damp . I don't notice the smell when I use it now.

I love Espoma, Holly Tone and all- and I'm a NC southerner, born and bred ;) This Mutabilis got some Espoma Rose Tone treatment. Now look at it! I will admit that my grandparents swore by cured cow manure (which they collected themselves from the neighboring pasture), Peter's and Sevin dust in the foot of an old pair of panty hose. Sevin or no, I miss her green beans in July.

American Wisteria (Amethyst Falls) buds on the way, a baby Clotilde Soupert and one red Don Juan bloom peeking out in the corner.

I love all the "Tone" fertilizers but sadly, my dog loves them too. He rolls and rolls in them until he reeks and I have to give him a bath.

My dogs want to do the same thing, then try to eat what they can get to. Bone meal is their favorite. Holly Tone is their second fave. Nasty little boogers. I scatter a thin layer of top soil over the organics if I can. That seems to help deter them a little bit.

I rely on mushroom compost, it is "cooked" enough so it doesn't smell anymore. Makes life so much easier.

Ooh, I love mushroom compost too! I got a tumbling compost bin of my own at a holiday gift. I've been steadily filling it up. Now that the weather is turning warmer, it's really starting to cook. I can't wait to spread it out over the beds this autumn... and save some cash!

I tried to make my own fish emulsion last year..... nah....didn't turn out so good..... maybe because the sardines had bones.... ..... whooo whoooo. Well, you gotta try these things.

I pour water from the two Betta fish bowls on whatever needs watering. Seems to help.

missingrosie: I admire your efforts, laudable for sure. I'm sticking with the bin for now. Goodness knows I've tried all kinds of tricks though. A few years ago I had to have my furnace replaced. The old one had a nice pile of rust dust underneath it. I put it in an old pot, boiled it, let it cool then poured it in my rose beds. When any little discovery leads you to think of how it may benefit your plants, you know you've git it bad.

Linny: My papaw used to pour sour milk on his tomatoes once a week. I don't know if it really helped or not but they were awfuly good tomatoes.

Woodland Phlox (he's a one year old baby)

It wouldn't be spring at my house without purple bearded iris in bloom come April. That greenery around the base of the plants is pink primrose that creeps everywhere!

Baby Clotilde Soupert. This is supposed to be the climbing sport. He's blooming like crazy already and is only 2 feet tall.

Blue Flag Iris...sits right in the pond and loves it

Peonies starting to bloom...

Yup, first peony of the season opened up today. This is Blaze.

I tried growing peonies in filtered shade 5 years ago, and they never blomed. I was told they couldn't handle direct sun this far south. I was amazed to see my sister in law successfully growing them in full sun last spring. Back in March, I moved my peonies to sunnier locations, and they should be blooming any day now. Lowes is marketing them like crazy, and I've bought several new cultivars. Pink Sorbet is really pretty and so fragrant. if I had to choose between growing peonies or curcuma ginger, I'd definitely go with peonies:-)
Sarah Bernhardt peony.

I think the biggest issue with Peonies is they get planted too deeply...I learned a few years back to plant them with their eyes pretty close to the top soil line....I also treat them like I would Clematis...feet in the shade...face in the sun...the seem to like this treatment thus far... :)

I think I did have mine planted too deeply. Next winter, when morning temps are in the teens, I'll remind myself that those chill hours are benfiting my lovely peonies and rhododendrons. Doesn't mean I won't still have a hissy fit, though.

Anybody in zone 8b growing peonies. I've tried several times but they did not come back the next year. Buying for one growing season is to expensive.

I have one in zone 8b, but it has yet to bloom. Looks like zone 8a is about the limit. I like to lurk on the peony forum, they're so beautiful. It seems like the itoh tree peonies would be the best bet. They're so expensive, though, I've been too cheap to buy one.

Guess I'll bite the bullet and try one more year. Have really been waiting for Plantasia to see what they have. Look for me if you are going- working 10 to 2 Friday and 7 to 11 Saturday. Susan

Which area will you be in? DRAT, just found out I probably won't be able to go to Plantasia. So disappointed!

I would love to be able to grow peonies. Years ago my cousin's daughter got married beside a lagoon on Seabrook. My cousin brought hundreds of peonies from her own garden in PA and floated them in the lagoon where they moved back and forth with the tide. It was such a beautiful sight.

This message was edited Apr 27, 2011 7:27 AM

This message was edited Apr 27, 2011 9:55 AM

that must have been expensive bringing hundreds of people down from PA (lol just kidding - I knew what you meant to say - darn spell checker :)~

LOL, thanks, I'll edit that. I have changed the defaults on this darned laptop many, many times and it still automatically corrects what it thinks I want to say. Aghhhhhhh

The Southern Living Garden Book states that the early blooming varieties of peonies are better for the deep/lower south. They cite these peonies as dependable bloomers (among others): Festiva Maxima (#1), Kansas, Felix Crousse, Big Ben, Do Tell, Sarah Bernhardt, Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt, Edulis Superba and Shirley Temple. I've had good results following their specialized climate zone map. The "lower south" zone in the Carolinas cuts just north and inland from Charleston, SC. I've also read that in the deeper south (zone 8), peonies should be planted with their "eyes" just even with the soil level as opposed to deeper planting recommendations farther north. I hope this might help someone.

b&j: your description of "lurking" in the peony forums gave me a grin. I lurk jealously in some of the forums too. I would so love to grow an Oleander here but it just gets too cold for brief periods in winter.

Southern Living garden book is my bible on plant purchasing and growing yet I never looked at peonies. I'm sure that is what I did wrong- planting them to deep.I am used to northern planting even though I have lived south since 85. What do you all think about growing them in ceramic pots? I just always thought they needed the cold winters-

Gotta love French lavender !