Dang, SSG, I'm sorry. I had asked at one point if anybody there had asked for 'David', but you probably weren't there yet... I left them to deal with later. We did divvy up the astilbe, and they looked really nice -- big divisions -- so we'll be doing bare root plants from ADR again. :-)
I'll divide up the 'David' Phlox later this week. SSG has 3, Happy and Gita each have 5, and I have the rest. Unless they suddenly start sprouting more, I'll probably just bag them rather than pot them.
Thanks for the sorting help! It went 10 times faster than I'd have managed on my own. I appreciate the cooperative spirit everybody brought to this venture!
Lily Group Buy from ADR for mid-atlantic spring swappers
Jill, the astilbe roots are HUGE! :) They're going in the rain garden next week. I'll just pick up David from you at the swap.
What's the rule for planting lily bulbs
Put them in deep.
same as other bulbs... plant them so their tops are 1 to 2 times as deep as their diameter. That means digging a 6 to 8 inch deep hole for a 2 to 3 inch lily bulb. But don't sweat it too much, because I think lilies are one of those plants with the contractile roots that they use to pull themselves down to their preferred depth.
I'll go through the spreadsheet one more time so I can send out final "invoices" before the swap.
If anybody wants markers (Sharpie industrial black or Sharpie metallic silver, gold, bronze) or polymer moisture crystals ($5 per pound), please let me know. I'll get them packed for you and add them to your spreadsheet column.
Great. Well I got them in the ground this morning in the drizzle. I think we are all looking forward to seeing them come up this year.
Critter: How long do your markers last outside? If I recall, it is really really long, unlike regular sharpies -- I'd love one black and one silver. Do you think I could use the silver to write on black rubber hoses to identify their length and date of purchase?
The industrial sharpies are definitely good for more than one season, although I can't think of anywhere I've used them more than 3 years -- they may well last longer than that; I just don't know. (For long term labels I use your idea with the avery clear laser labels.) I do have labels made with industrial sharpie that have been buried (no sun) for probably 5 years now, and when I dig one up I can read it just fine. The silver is still legible but starting to fade on black nursery pots that I've marked 3 years ago. Both would probably last longer for you in the shade. HTH
Using a good lead pencil on light colored markers (*mini blinds) lasts a long, long time....
And--it is cheap....G.
Jill - I'm sorry, please remind me what the price is on the markers?
I don't understand -- everyone says pencil marks last, but for me they don't last long at all -- maybe I need a softer lead?
Off the top of my head, I think the last batch I ordered came to 75 cents for the black industrial, $1.25 for the gold or silver metallic. (Note -- the "metallic" markers aren't the same as the metallic paint markers that sharpie also makes... these that I use have tips like "regular" markers)
Pencil lasts for me on the back sides of the zinc markers... I use it for additional notes there. But I don't have much luck with it in "exposed" locations. I haven't tried it on buried markers, since I was using industrial sharpies by the time I started trying to plant back-up markers under the plants. (I can find them when I dig the plant to divide -- I'm especially trying to do this with irises and daylilies.)
Critter -- what type of marker do you use for buried markers for daylilies and irises?
underground: window blind for the label, sharpie industrial marker for the lettering.
above ground: metal "rose" markers with avery clear laser labels
So window blinds will last a long time underground? I vaguely remember that daylily folks use those yellow (or whatever) colored "wrap-around" labels for this purpose (like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-WRAP-AROUND-9-x-3-4-plastic-plant-labels-nursery-stake-tags-pot-markers-/140965410545?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d23176f1) , but I couldn't be sure. I know that it sounds as if a 5-year survival rate is long for markers, but I'd like something relatively permanent so that if I did up a plant 10 or 20 (or more) years later -- or my grandkids do (!) -- we can still figure out what it was!
I use mini blinds in my water plant pots put them along the side all the way in and they are still readable each year.
That's terrific information, Holly; what kind of pen do you use to write on them?
I used my Brother label maker for most of them and some were done with a good sharpie. Make sure the sharpie has time to set up before you put them in, just a minute or two.
Happy, I'm going to use those yellow wrap-around labels you got for me on my amaryllises when they go out (those I remembered to label when they bloomed, at any rate. Seems to me that window blind markers are pretty long-lasting. Sometimes I find one with no writing left on it (probably from when I was using "regular" sharpie, but the plastic piece is still in pretty good shape.
So you'll bury the yellow wrap-around label? That sounds like a good plan.
Yes, I'm going to bury a yellow label with some new daylilies that just came... figure it's easier to spot than a white marker when digging up those DL roots. I'm planning to use industrial Sharpie. Holly has a good point about letting it "set up."
I may not bother to double-label my lilies, because I haven't had lilies increase enough to divide in the past... I'll just stick a marker in the middle of the clump so I don't step there as they're coming up in spring.
final reconciliation is done!
I'll be sending out Dmails the next time I come inside to take a break from the heat.
I used our total bulbs sold and the total cost of the ADR lilies to figure out our average price per bulb, which came to 96 cents. (I rounded up a small fraction, which covered the cost of packaging.)
We did NOT get the After Eight dwarf orientals, so those that ordered will get refunds.
Therefore, the leftover bulbs are FREE. My thought is that we should offer them to Jan, for hosting the swap, and also to Nuts4Daylilies, for being so generous with the her named DLs. If this doesn't sit right with anybody, please let me know.
^_^
That works for me!
Me to.
Er, OK, so the Dmailed invoices didn't happen. I've got it jotted down on paper, though. So bring your checkbook, or you're welcome to pay via PayPal if you add the fee please. I'll be doing refunds via PayPal next week.