Thanks, I'll need to be mindful of how far I hack. I didn't last year, cuz when I reached toward it a mockingbird flew out at me and scared me witless. There was a nest in there, so I left it alone.
Yardening Spring 2013
My GOld mop junipers are way too wide for the spot. Might take them out this fall and find something new. They also get too much shade so they aren't as gold as they could be.
My Oakleaf hydrangea is budding out! Some bunny ate a couple buds but it should survive OK.
I have a native elderberry thats getting really tall and I am struggling with whether to prune it and how. It can likely be cut nearly to the ground.
Good time to look at your daffodil/ narcissus clumps and label them. If too thick mark them to dig and replant. Hm if you stick multiple labels in there you will know they need to be diviided AND you will have a handy extra label(s) to go with them.
Last year I divided clumps of Ice Follies. DOZENS of bulbs per hole. I swapped away what I thought was worth saving, replanted also, and then threw the rejects into the leaves by some bushes. Guess what. More Ice Follies blooming!
SallyG: We have a lot of daffodils in the front yard (on a less hilly spot than my awful front hill). There are areas with lots of bulbs -- and then some empty spots where the bulbs didn't take or I didn't plant them right or whatever. I want to fill in the empty spots in the fall. What is the best way to mark them that will last until the fall? If I use regular markers, they are likely to get tramped on. I thought of outlining the spots with green tracking tape held down with garden staples.
When do you divide bulbs? Not until the fall?
How do you know they are ready to divide? How often do you divide? Is that something you need to do to avoid the bulbs declining? My daffs were all planted within the last 5 years, so maybe they aren't ready. I'm not looking for another project....
I pruned my elderberry when I cut back the butterfly bushes.
happy- Best way, if you feel you must, is Divide them after six weeks AFTER blooming. In other words, when they start to yellow, do the digging and dividing. Use the leaves as depth gauges. You will see just where you have and where you want the bulbs, and then the foliage dies soon after. No worrying to keep it marked all summer .
I have many that I just wedged into the ground below tree roots. But to be more careful you would dig enough hole to amend UNDER the base of the new planted bulbs.
If you feel you have too many leaves and not enough flowers, divide them. In my experience, with maybe a dozen various cv, there is always something blooming no matter how thick the bulbs get.
When you dig, replant or save just the biggest. Toss at least half, there will be many small ones. Or save them go ahead and be obsessive about it. Most of the smallest will NOT bloom until they've grown another year or more. Replant with room to spare. Most of the largest will bloom the following year.
Jan any tips? I'm debating between heading back partway or taking out entire large canes...tho I am sire it'll grow in again either way...
I really think I will take my potted dormant Brugs and put them in a south facing sheltered spot and let them become undormant right there. I know they can stand a bit of chill. And what a boost over the pitiful sunlight I can offer from inside some windows here.
Ok thanks. But how do you mark spots that need a bulb or two (or 50) for the fall?
Oh I haven't mastered that. Plant something else there? Is this in lawn? We even lose 4 inch white cleanouts in the lawn. Stick landscape fabric staples in there and then find them with a metal detector? Do measurements and draw a treasure map?
Maybe you staple a piece of bright plastic to the ground and then hunt for it?
I just cut back to about half of its length. No real knowledge of proper method. Sure hope it worked. I'll have to go out and check. I see some new growth.
Sally - that's the problem. We've used tracking tape before to outline the area that needs bulbs, using garden staples to anchor it, and that works perfectly in theory. But in reality between now and then we'll trip over it and it'll get shoved out of place. That's what has happened in prior years. This area is stuffed with bulbs, so I don't want to dig in areas with a lot of daffs, because we'd overplant and probably kill lots of the existing bulbs. So I want to demarcate the bulb-less spots.
Morale: I guess we just need to respect the tracking tape for 6 months....
BTW, for those looking for bulbs, Carlton has been the most successful of our daffs. It is a bright cheerful solid yellow.
This message was edited Apr 5, 2013 2:58 PM
Happy, what about those yellow flags that lawn companies use to indicate that they have sprayed the lawn? I remember seeing yellow and red flags at Jill's house. They were to indicate plants to be pulled vs saved...?
Like these? http://www.redappleauctions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Cable-TV-orange-construction-flag.png
Or these?
http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/52209/52209,1209741406,1/stock-photo-yellow-flag-marking-underground-natural-gas-line-in-yard-12136174.jpg
Thanks, ss. That might work -- the problem is I need to draw an outline with them. I could put them close together I suppose, but I think we may be less likely to trip on the tracking tape. Maybe I need to do both -- that's really remind me to walk carefully. (Problem is it isn't just me -- delivery people take shortcuts up the hill, etc.) What I really want is something like a garden thumbtack, so it would stay put and be visible but we wouldn't trip on it.
FINALLY, was able to get in the yard. Cleaned out all beds, pruned Butterfly bushes(hubby was messing around in the shed and I can't find the heavy duty trimmers, so still need to cut a couple branches that I couldn't cut thru with my little pruners), laid out where veggie garden is going, still have some weeding to do and spread some Preen
Today--my big plan is to get the mower out, change the oil and mow the lawn for the first time.
Next plan is to pot up my Tomato seedlings.
Pretty soon--I also need to separate and pot up, individually, all my Snapdragon seedlings.
Need to pinch them too--They are still so thin! Will use my cuticle scissors...
Sounds enough for one day......G.
If you have bulbs to dig/divide and places that need bulbs, you can do both at once... no need to wait until fall to plant the "extra" bulbs, as far as I know.
I'm debating the "how to mark" thing right now too... I like Sally's idea of sticking multiple tags... don't really want to use my "flag" trick in the middle of a pretty spring flower bed. I do like the flags, though -- I use orange for "bad, must go" (including poison ivy sprigs that I'm not equipped to deal with in regular garden gear) and pink for "something good is here, needs a label or extra protection." Problem is, the flags stay for way longer than they should before I attend to the plant, one way or another LOL.
Happy, you might be able to outline the area with an old piece of garden hose... might stay in place with staples longer than the tape. I like old hose for doing outlines anyway, because it's easy to make nice curves with it.
Big box of water lilies & lotus came yesterday, and I'm not ready! Will have to "float" them in a bucket while I figure out where their pots will go. Two jobs at once for the ones that need garden clay in them... I'll get out my little edger shovel and clean up the edge of a bed, putting the chunks of clay/weeds right into the water garden pot!
Happy, I like your "garden thumbtack" image... what about taking a couple of short pieces of the marking tape and tacking them down with a garden staple? You wouldn't need to make a continuous outline, just close enough that you could "connect the dots" later (with a hose, landscape paint, etc). BTW, I do like landscape paint during a project... use a hose to figure out a line, then mark with the paint. Yes, I know you could use flour or sand, but the paint is easy, and the line stays for a week or so (my projects usually don't get accomplished all at once).
If you hire garden "help," marking paint, flags, tape, etc. is invaluable in helping to explain/remind about the project, where to dig, good plants from bad, where you want the rocks, etc. (Work smarter, not harder!)
Happy, and Jill and Sally...I'm thinking along these lines
Most daffodil bulbs I plant have been groups of 5 - 8 in a 12 inch hole. Makes for a nice clump. Assuming you will be doing somewhat the same, instead of marking the diameter or perimeter of each clump, maybe just marking the center point of each proposed new clump will be sufficient as you will know you have 6 inches out in any direction to plant in. Use 3gal pots to simulate clumps of gorgeous blooms til you get the layout and spacing adjusted and then mark the center point for each new clump with three garden staples that form a triangle in the center. I say three in case one goes missing!
If it is a large irregular area you with to festoon with sping bloomers, just mark the contiguous centers withe staples along the outside edges, so that (like finding wall studs). you'll have another staple triangle 12 to 16 inches away on either side. At planting time, just fill in the interior area using that 3 gal pot again. Fewer clumps? Just plant every other triangle...
Second idea is to use a different kind of "mulch" to mark where you want a clump.
Third idea is to plop a clump od ditch lilies where ever you want new clumps of bulbs to go and then pull them out in the fall as you plant bulbs, Just throw some extra mulch around the daylily clumps and they with be okay without officially planting them!
Oh, by the way, I read somewhere that on a slope not to use bark as mulch because bark floats and has more of a tendency to wash away.
Hope this helps. Now how to deter deer and delivery drivers from taking short cuts.,,how about a sign that the ski slope is closed for the seaso! Or, one of those motion detector activated sprayers. Or a fake "rattler" out sunning on the path?
With my island bed, I'm almost tempted to "lift" the Daylily clumps and a few other perennials, giving me room to dig all the daff clumps and spread them out so the whole bed is covered... bet there would still be lots of extras. Actually, I could probably do that without disturbing the DLs, just remove the groundcover sweet woodruff plants while I'm working and dig the whole bed over, digging up and spreading out the daffs as I go.
OOO I forgot to say my suggestion to use those yellow plastic tent pegs as markers if you can pound them in deep enough not to be a tripping hazzard! Or, a piece of duct tape on the horiz ontal cross bar of a staple would make them more visible.
Jill, I've rescued so many plants from areas or gardens that are being re-done or done in, that some of my "quick and dirty" methods with plants are actually now tried and true.
I often 'transplant' something like the sweet woodruff you are thinking about to a trash can lid or even a cardboard box jamming each happy little clump tightly against its neighbor. Point is to keep as much soil around the roots and the less air as possible until they can be put in a better situation. Out of embarrassment I won't say how long dug up plants will live like this if sheltered from sun in mostly shade and not drowned by rain, but it is more than a week or two! lol I put mine under my picnic table.
Do your sweet woodruff last all season? Mine always faded in the hot hots. Haven't had any for awhile now. Miss them.
My suggestion for marking spots is this.....
Go to a craft store and buy the little bags of colored sand--the kind we used
in sand scenes in a container. Remember that craft? They come in all colors.
Sprinkle any color you want on each different plant/bulbs and note down the code.
Red--for this...Yellow...for that....etc.
Wonder if there is anything you can get to color your own sand?????
G.
Remember these--we all did them years ago...kids in school did them...
Hey, maybe that's a use for the otherwise obnoxious colored mulch (apologies if anybody here uses and likes that "redwood" color).
I'm still not clear whether happy needs to mark in grass that gets mowed.
I rescued red mulch from the community dumpster and did use it to mark certain spots. It was not really noticeable until you looked. Worked out well. I prefer natural mulch
My sweet woodruff had trouble spots last summer too. And seems particularly easy to kill with leaves laying over winter.
My sweet woodruff isn't ever the total "blanket" I'd like either... I just keep propagating it and spreading it around -- it's super easy to pull out a clump and pot it up or just stick it in.
Usually I have tons of extra sweet woodruff, but because it can handle dense shade I need to move all the extra I have to the back area where we are struggling with erosion..... But I have plenty of little bits if that would help anyone.
Between the cold weather and being sick, I'm starting to get really discouraged about the lack of anything going on in my gardens. It still looks like the middle of winter out here. Paul and his girlfriend stopped by this morning to pick up the Bleek lily order, and there was nothing to see in the gardens other than winter debris. Can't wait for good weather and a good cleanup effort to get this season kick started. Oh well, will just need to come up with a reason to get him and the rest of you guys to stop over when it is in its prime.
Oops, got a bit sunburned today. What a gorgeous day to be outside. I actually didn't get a lot done. Just felt good to sit in the sun!
Gee aspenhill. With your woods, maybe your ground is still just a little cooler.
Yes Terry- I was in the sun too, some. A little weeding and digging. then I took some large seedlings onto the deck to wash aphids off each leaf. And then let them have a little sun
Don't know if this is the best place to post this, but this morning I saw a butterfly, a big one and I saw one last week, too. What in the world are they eating? Isn't this too early with all this cold, too? And the butterflies I saw didn't immediately look familiar to me...they were as big as swallowtails and had a bit of blue, black, grey and dull orange. They were in flight so didn't get a good look
Any thoughts? Gives me a strange feeling when things are out of place...
I think I read that a few may go into dormancy in fall and hide somewhere, and come out when it warms up. I saw one today- sort of brown/black, with a buff or yellow edge to the wing, medium size...
Coleup, there were quite a few bees out today and I felt bad for them. Not much blooming out there right now.
Your right it is neat
On this thread there are some good links to butterfly/plants info.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1299280/
We are probably all too aware that the population of butterflies, .moths, bees and other pollinators is in shocking decline along with a decrease in the wide variety of plants they depend on for food and reproduction and health.
I'm feeling an urgency to overplant those nectar providers everywhere I can I hope Greenthumb will have some starts to share at the swap of some of these milkweeds or other plants
http://www.butterflyencounters.com/milkweed.html
http://www.onalee.com/catalog.php/onaleeisrael/dt66015/Butterfly_Garden
Thanks for listening and any suggestions! Judy
Our diverse and blooming gardens have to be a gift to the bugs. I just interesting notes about Liatris asperula that greenthumb gave me. Different flowers support different kinds of bugs to be very general .
The common pink Asclepias syriaca will happily take over your garden and yard. I can proviee roots boy can i provide roots....
And our bugs are gifts to our birds that whole Circle of Life cycling round.
Sally, thanks to your link above I have identified the buterflies I saw as Common Ringlets. They emerge in the south Mar-May and eat grasses and their host plants are clumps of matted grasses. They are often found along roadways or fields. Found pictures of adults but not the caterpillers yet. Maybe I'll start a Life List of butterflies and Moths to pair with that of birds.
cute!
Mourning CLoak seemed the only to match the one I saw.
I was at a seminar on caterpillars and their importance in the food chain. They talked about the native plants they need and how you need to provide for them if you want birds in your gardens. Beautiful photography and a witty speaker.
Anybody want to chat native plants, visit the Native Plants forum, and help liven it up while you're there.
I have lots of Pussytoes and I do think I see some of whichever butterfly they are the caterpillar food source for.
I'm not making a flat-out effort to do anything but improve the garden here, but I do try to include some natives (or selected varieties of native species), and a lot of our favorites are good nectar flowers... I've been adding some things here & there, but I need to make more of an effort to get some caterpillar food planted. For some reason I can't seem to get my swamp milkweed patch restarted, so Sally if those are A. incarnata and not A. syriacus (that puts roots to China), I'd love some.
I love the idea of a butterfly/moth life list... with a star to indicate those I've lured to provided for in my garden.
FYI
All of the Spring Swap at Jans threads are now stickied at the top of our forum.
This should help the organizationally challenged among us
(we know who we are! lol)
to always be able to easily find all Spring Swap threads.
Just look at the top of the forum.
When these threads have served their useful life they will be 'un- stickied'
Beautiful weather today. I always like it when I don't mind getting from leaky hoses and surprise sprays from the sprinkler. Today was the perfect day to re pot the two baby fig trees that I had in my garage. Cleaned out more of the shed and finally pruned the rose bushes, butterfly bushes, russian sage and juniper bushes. Took my new baby Magnolia tree out to the shade to get it used to some sun. Shoveled more of the amended topsoil (provided by truckload from the town) to beef up all my raised beds. (Can't dig or plant in the rocky clay soil here).