After event questions and answers and chatting 2

Thanks, David....
I checked out the PF link you provided--and it sure looks like it...

I don't mind KNOWING names, if someone ID's it, and always write it down on a small slip of paper
which gets put in a little box that sits right by my monitor. Other things this little box holds are
DG people phone #'s and addresses.....I'm always digging for these....

This fern is many years old--and probably needs to be divided. The base of it is "climbing" pretty high up.
So is the other one--on the right in the picture. That is the one I gave you a piece of a couple Swaps ago.
What is the name of that one??? How is it growing?

Any advice on dividing ferns, David? There seem to be 3 big, separate clumps--as it marches on...
Just break, dig up a chunk of it? Pot it up?

Here is a better picture of the one on the right. Gotta go out and take it.....
1--fern on right
2--fern on left--Autumn fern
3--fern by Bird bath--also perennial--small, but it is in my "YUK" bed..so....
4--close-up of the small fern by my BB.


Thanks, Gita

Gita - In early spring, just as your Autumn Fern is beginning to break dormancy, dig it up, and using a sharp knife, cut the individual clumps apart. Replant (or pot) each clump with plenty of compost, leaving at least an inch of the crown above the soil surface. When crowns get overly "tall", and perhaps unsightly, replant deeper in fall or early spring, again with crowns at least an inch above soil surface.

Pis below of a lovely form of Lady fern from Jan. Note the split of the fronds at the end (Pic 2) and the lovely moss or liverwort or? growing in the pot around it (3)

Also, alive and well and unfurling, the Australian Tree Ferns (with the 'pettable' stems)

David--to further pump your brain----

As these ferns are now--they are so old that the base of them is sitting quite high up.

When I dig these sections up--and when I pot them up--do I bury the whole high "mess"
into the new soil? Leaving 1" of it above the soil.

Will this "mess" of a base make roots? It all seems SO old! SO many layers of growth!
I am sure you know what I mean......

Thanks again--gita

Jill--Paul--Happy--Karen---Nisi------

OH MY!!! OH MY!!!!--I owe you all an apology!!!!! Though-it is NOT my fault!

All of you that got the "Purple Aster" from me at the Swap--by now should see that it is NOT an Aster at all.
It IS pretty---it IS purple----but--WHAT IS IT????? It IS a perennial, that much I know.

My Pakistani neighbor (Samirah) assured me it is an Aster--or, perhaps, through her lack of English, I assumed
that she was saying that it is. She often agrees with me--when she does not, completely, understand....
One could say--this was all "Lost in translation".......:o(

SO--I am SOOOO sorry!!!! I know you all will know what it is--but I do not. Something like "Penstemon"????
I thought it was odd that it was growing so fast....Asters are not so wispy either....

it is starting to bloom. Here are some pictures. They ARE pretty!

1--My neighbor's "Aster" bush--she keeps moving it around.
Seems it has found a good place for it on the driveway side of the house.

2--The blooms close-up???????? Should look pretty when ALL the stems are in bloom...

3--MY "Aster"--that I planted in the corner of my YUK bed...

4--My neighbor's "Aster" that he planted in his corned bed right behind my Bird Bath.

Gita

That's so funny -- I think I already planted it in my awful front hill. I'll just change my notes -- not a problem! It's beautiful.

Gita- not a problem at all

pretty, whatever it is Gita... fireweed?

wind--Does kind of look similar--but in Googling it, the leaves seem to have a more
thick, sturdier texture.
Also--seems there are this same color blooms--as well as more red.

AND--What would Fireweed be doing growing here? It loves colder climates--NOT our heat.
Seen them several times in AK (visiting my sister there) and also on my trip to Latvia in 2008.

They have a cute belief in AKabout Fireweed.
When the last of the flowers are done blooming on the tip of the spike--Summer is over!
It is mind-boggling seeing all the hills and wooden slopes ablaze in red there.

G.

hehehe Gita, had no idea of where Fireweed grows - it was just a wild guess from a photo!! Does anyone know what it is?

I don't know. It kind of looks like a blanket flower right now. I really have no clue.

I believe that the mystery plant that Gita posted is Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, a lovely plant but dreaded destroyer of wetlands in New England.

Ouch. Thanks, David.

I agree, that stuff is BAD here in Maine!!

Thanks, David.....I think.............:o(

NOT good news! What should all the recipients do now????

--How will it behave in my flower bed here in MD?
--How fast will it spread, or how big would it grow?
--Is it invasive here as well?
--Should it then be dug up and gotten rid of? Or, given away to someone with
a lot of property? Maybe Aspenhill? YOOOO--HOOOOOOO Teri!!!

I better decide quickly.....G.

Ric and Holly, something interesting is happening with one of the hydrangeas I got from you. All of the stems with variegated leaves are dying and being replaced by non-variegated green foliage. The other hydrangea is not doing this. I've read that variegated leaves are less efficient at photosynthesis. Could this be a reaction to transplant stress?

Gita, since your yard is not a particularly moist environment, the Purple Loosestrife will not take over your yard. The problem lies in the fact that where ever it is it serves as a reservoir of seed for spreading elsewhere. Since Aspenhill has wetlands at the upper end of her pond, it would be very ill-advised to introduce at her property.

That is interesting SSG, I have no idea why it would do that.

Greenthumb -- I need to take it out as well since I am so close to Rock Creek....

As many of you that I met on May 18th know, I'm a newbie to all of this and have lots to learn. I am mostly reading and learning because sometimes it seems y'all are speaking a completely different language at times, with terms like "brugs" and such. LOL

That said, I have little to offer in conversations. Maybe I will get there eventually. I can say I am making beds and transplanting the plants so many of you gave me. I thank you all and I am so excited to see them growing so well and anxious to see blooms eventually. I am only able to get a little work at a time done due to many factors, including physical limitations - but I have 3 beds dug and probably 3/4 of the plants transplanted. In buying supplies to get started I purchased a few more I wanted too, and rescued a very sad, lonely, badly shriveled white Hydrangea. It is over 3' tall and was starting to develop blooms on it but everything; stems, leaves and blooms hung down, like they were searching for water. But there was some green left and for $3 I thought well, I'll try. It was in a pan of water for days and came back to life. It has actually started to produce some now as the leaves are green, blooms are noticably larger and no longer "droopy". I got it in the ground today with some garden soil I purchased before the big rains come.

I have a question though, and hope someone can help me. I pulled the dead leaves off of it when I brought it home. They were so dead they were brittle and there was no way they were coming back. Everything else perked up and was nice and green - looking good. Sunday was full of chores including mowing and trimming. M-W I was tied up running family members to doctors and dealing with their other needs. In those few days, a few of the green leaves are starting to turn dark. Is this a sign that it is going to die even after it perked up and looked healthy? Is it because it was just ready to be put into some nutrient rich soil? (Maybe water logged) Should I pull those leaves off or just leave it alone and let them die and fall on their own?

Oh and Fireweed. I don't know where else it grows. I had never seen it before we went out to Banff and up the Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rockies a few years ago. (long trip to make by motorcycle, by awesome too) It grew everywhere, under trees in a semi-open area, around sandy/gravel, dry parking lots, alongside the roads. To me I thought it was absolutely gorgeous. I asked someone familiar with the area what kind of flower that was and they laughed and said "That? Oh it's just a weed and grows everywhere. It's called Fireweed". I took some photos but it was pre DSLR (for me) only SLR 35mm. The work I was doing at the time required slides. So it would take some work to get a picture posted but I might try to get the photo scanner configured to this computer. Anyway, they were more red-pink toned not purplish-pink. It's possible it grows in different colors but what I saw was more red.

The Fireweed seen out west and in Canada and Alaska is Chamerion angustifolium, a similar-colored but much different plant than what Gita posted. Chamerion angustifolium has 4-part flowers, while Gita's has 6-part flowers.

good catch Gita and Greenthumb!

Purple loosestrife Virginia and Pennsylvania
Purple loosestrife, hybrids and cultivars are regulated as noxious weeds in Virginia (§3.1-296.11 et seq.) and Pennsylvania (3 P.S. 255.1 et seq.), but are not listed in Maryland (Dick Bean pers. comm.). The Virginia law declares it illegal to move, transport, deliver, ship or offer for shipment into the state. The Pennsylvania law prohibits sale, transport, planting and propagation. Although it is legal to sell L. salicaria in Maryland, individual nurseries have voluntarily discontinued its sale as a potted plant (Dick Bean pers. comm.).
http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/issues/restoration/non-natives/workshop/loosestrife.html

Maryland
ttp://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Plants_Wildlife/PurpleLoosestrife/

"Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a highly invasive non-native plant that threatens significant portions of Maryland's marsh, swamp, and coastal habitats. By crowding out native wetland species, purple loosestrife can reduce biodiversity, eliminate food sources for marsh animals and change water flow patterns.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the State Highway Administration (SHA), has begun a program to identify, treat, and ultimately eradicate purple loosestrife within our state. We need your help in order to make this effort a success."


Because Maryland does not have the huge infestations of purple loosestrife that New York, New Jersey or Minnesota do, we have a realistic chance of controlling this invader before it spreads widely and does extensive damage to our Chesapeake Bay wetlands. Other parts of the country have been fighting its spread for decades, sometimes with great success, while in other areas purple loosestrife has been able to dominate.

We plan to search for the plant, identify it, report and map its locations, and use one of three methods to reduce or completely remove infestations. That’s where you can help!

We are training Maryland residents who spend time outdoors in habitats where purple loosestrife may grow to recognize the plant and report its locations to DNR using an on-line or paper reporting form. Those who take photographs in the field are also encouraged to photograph the Purple Loosestrife they have located and include these in your report.

When those locations are mapped and assessed, we will control the populations -- removing them by hand, by careful use of safe herbicides or by releasing a beetle that eats only purple loosestrife.

"Don’t grow this plant in your garden!
For many years, we thought that there were sterile cultivated varieties of purple loosestrife. But researchers have found that seemingly sterile cultivars will cross pollinate with other cultivars or with purple loosestrife growing in the wild, and can produce pollen or seed. Garden plantings of purple loosestrife can thus add to the spread of this invasive plant. There are a number of native and non-invasive landscape plants, like salvia or gayfeather, that can replace purple loosestrife in the garden."



This message was edited Jun 6, 2013 6:29 PM

lovetopaint -- I'd never heard of fireweed, but I'll take greenthumb's word for anything.

Trust me, we are all nubies at something, so you should feel just fine chiming in with whatever is on your mind. And from what you are saying, I don't think you are as green (or maybe I should say you are more green) than you make out!

With respect to the hydrangea, it might be that it was so stressed when you bought it that some of the leaves just packed it in, even though they revived a bit temporarily under your care. I'm betting it does just fine. That being said, in my limited experience, hydrangeas are one of those plants that can just go limp and die out of the blue. Sometimes the cause of death looks like root rot. I believe one of my favorite plants was the victim of a borer a few years back. So bottom line: Only time will tell. I'm not big on use of chemicals; others might recommend giving it a good spray with something toxic. Me, I'd wait it out -- if your plant turns out to be susceptible to this and that and the other, better to find out now rather than to have to nurse it along.

Lovetopaint, baby steps. You are doing great!! Yep,just jump in and ask when you see something you don't understand or recognize. Sometimes we use abbreviations or nicknames for things. Heehee.

Sounds like you have caught the planting bug. It is highly contagious and likes to spread rampantly at plant swaps/roundups. I still swear that the plants you guys brought here keep multiplying. I plant a few and then it looks like more. Yikes!!I'm getting there, though.

Thanks Happy, for the enouragement and advice on the Hydrangea. I appreciate it.

Ummm...perhaps I was not clear. I was not disagreeing with Greenthumb. I was adding another observation as to a color difference and why it did NOT appear to be Fireweed, to me. Since Greenthumb's word is all that is needed, I guess my comment was unwanted. Sorry. I guess I have more to learn than just plants.

Oh my goodness, lovetopaint, your comments are never not wanted. I didn't read greenthumb99 as disagreeing with you at all, just supplementing what you had written.

If you Google Fireweed--and them click on the "images"--you will see that many of them
look red and many look kind of rosy-purple-red.
Of course--it could be the camera.

It has been raining here all day--thanks to Hurricane Andrea which is doing its thing
along the Coast. Glad we only get rain when this happens......

I did a lot of potting and re-potting and such under mu patio roof. Nice to have one...
First chance I get--I am pulling up and tossing the Loosestrife. It IS pretty--but I have now
read enough to not keep it.

Gita

Just don't toss it in the creek Gita, Tee, Hee, Hee!

No--I think it will go out with the trash--NOT recycled.....

I am a bit sad over having to toss a plant with such pretty blooms...

Oh, well--I can look at my neighbors. I could not begin to explain to her
what "Invasive" means.....
Ever since she put that fence up--we no longer get a chance to talk a lot.
Her English was progressing nicely--now, I think, it is regressing.

G.

planted Critter's phlox today!! Thank you!! ...Critter, what color is it? I can't remember what it looked like. I know you had posted a pic a while back, but I don't have the time to go searching for it. BTW, your fig cuttings don't look too bad...I put them out with all the rain yesterday and they look like they are hanging in there...time will tell lol.

Also planted yellow foxglove from Greenthumb - thank you! And, the PB shrub from Chantell - thank you!! I was a muddy mess after the morning fun.

Wind--

This is Jill's Phlox.

The blooms are a bit smaller that the regular Phlox--but they also last a bit longer.
Pretty bluish-purple color. Gita

Just convinced my neighbor that her's needs to go.

This time she believed me....and is digging it up as we speak....


You won't believe this--but she has 7' tall oriental Lilies!!!!!! I will take a picture when they bloom.
Everything in her garden grows huge--I think it is that she plants everything in MG garden Soil--
OR--"Organic Choice" garden soil. Both have fertilizers in it...

Have any of you over-wintered a lemon Tree outside for the winter?
She just bough 2 at wallmart--pretty, variegated leaves. She planted them in the ground.
I was trying to tell her that they need to be in pots so she can take them inside.

Please verify this for me. On the tag--it says "hardy to 20 degrees."

I need to "educate her'.... with YOUR help. I have never grown one.

Thanks--Gita

thanks Gita!

Here is what's left of my Loostrife-----they are pretty--aren't they?

Even took some macros of the blooms--just beautiful....

Oh well--All gone now....in TRASH!

The Loosestrife is gorgeous. It was one of the plants that first made me interested in perennials - that and garden phlox and coreopsis moonbeam. I found each of those shockingly beautiful when I first saw them.

7 foot lilies? I can't wait to mine start! 2 years ago I had on lily reach 9 ft!!!
This is me w/hair...the fence is 6ft high.

How can all that grow from just a little bulb?

My neighbor's has been there for 3 years already. They blew me away!!!!

G.

The best part of that experience was that it was NOT what I ordered. I was so surprised when it turned out to be a lily they had yet to sell to the public. It was meant for the following falls "NEW INTRODUCTIONS" I had ordered 'Anastasia' which was my Grandmother's name, but ended up with 'Elusive'. http://www.dutchbulbs.com/product/Elusive-Giant-Hybrid-Lily

Wind, glad to hear the bear got moved to a better location for now. it's nice to see my cowslip Primula planted in your garden. I got that blue mouse ears hosta also. did I get that from Holly Ann? can't remember now. I haven't planted under an a mugo pine, near my other one. I'll have to take a picture of it tomorrow. you're quite welcome on the daylilies. glad to hear they're getting planted.

Karen

Donnerville, I answered in your dmail to me, but will answer here as well. That mini hosta is Feather Boa, and what you thought might be loriope is Carex grass 'Silver Sceptre'.

Karen