What an awesome day! My biggest accomplishment was cutting bamboo to make this habitat for mason and other singleton bees. It's not in its permanent location yet, but it's ready for occupancy should bees be looking for nests already.
Yardening mid March 2015
I had a great day, outside almost all day. Got another bed cleaned, did some general clean up outside, Aspenhill stopped by to pick up some plants. All in all a great day.
((schmoozy game show host announcer voice))
It's time for everyone's favorite garden game,
Dead...or Dormant???
This noid thing in a nursery pot, dead or dormant?
Followed by bonus round
Did I Plant This??
Followed up by Weed or What?
LOL
Lol, Sally, I've been playing that game this week, for sure!
I really need the Joe Pye Weed to wake up so I know where to dig.
Critter
Thanks for letting me pick up today. I've got one bag of hostas in as we speak (just taking a short break). They are huge!!! I don't want to think of how many I have to go. One question. Are we going to do a group buy for fall plants? If we are put me down for frittilarias for sure the Yellow Imperials. There are a few other things I want but these are for sure.
Thanks for doing the group buy
Yehudith
Good one, Sally and Holly. Also, Wonder What Does This Marker Go To?
This message was edited Apr 12, 2015 8:47 PM
Ecnalg, I played that game with JR this weekend when he helped me clean one of the beds. LOL
hahaha!
Also, _ _ _ _iana _ _ _ _ _ afolia Name That Bloom!
oh yes faded label lollapalooza!
we had errands to do and house hold stuff to catch up, I guess I got all my outside time yesterday. All I did today was up-pot Datura and basil, and trim a few dried stems from perennials.
I'm at the stage where I don't dare plant anything until everything has emerged because I don't know where seedlings might be emerging. Between the squirrels, birds and the slippery slope, the seeds aren't necessarily where I left them!
I'm so glad Sally told me about using old blinds for plant markers. I find that the permanent marker lasts longer on them than on any other label I have used. I've been pulling up blank white plastic garden markers and throwing them away.
The blinds don't get brittle after a couple of seasons like the white plastic garden markers. Who would buy blinds that deteriorated from a couple of years of sun exposure?
This message was edited Apr 12, 2015 9:15 PM
....not to mention that blinds make hundreds of markers at a fraction of the price!
I found this little tiny potato-like thing growing on the surface in an area where I had sowed seeds. It just occurred to me that it might be the corm of something that was growing there last year, but I can't think what it might be.
Pot it up and see what it becomes.
That's exactly what I did. I thought that even if it turns out to be a potato vine, it'll be pretty.
It's not sweet potato and pretty sure not air potato... can't place it though.
Neither could I.
I posted on freecycle a few weeks ago looking for old (broken ok) miniblinds and didn't get any response... didn't realize the posts "aged out" after a while... I was about to give up and actually purchase a blind, LOL. And yes, I stopped by lowe's and home depot several times looking for blind trimmings, without much success.
but I re-posted on Friday and got 2 responses! I'll be swinging by on my way to the Y this week to pick up a big vertical blind (3 inch slats, but that's fine... I can cut them cross-wise for short labels to toss into holes or make stubby labels that might stay put for a change). Another lady posted that she had 6 windows' worth of old blinds, not sure whether they are out of her windows yet though... waiting to hear.
Jill--
I like the bigger trimmings of vertical blinds too, as they are sturdier.
My supply is dwindling. I have asked the people in Floor and Wall
(at tmy HD) to save some for me but so far there is none.
Maybe you can leave your phone # at the F&W dept. at your local HD ?
They DO clean up during the day, as there is nowhere to store the trimmings.
Sometimes, they put the longer trimmings in their trash cans by the desk.
Walk around and take a look.
I have a blind to cut up as I replaced the old one. It had 3 broken off slats in it.
New windows--new blind!!
G.
Seq, how is your blue azalea doing?
About 90% of my leaves look crispy. I thought it was supposed to be hardy to -10F?
Ric and Holly, did you get one of the blue azaleas, too? How's yours looking right now?
Well, that's disappointing. But... an azalea, that's blue? that's just wrong
;^D
I don't know of a blue azalea. I used to have a Blue Baron Rhodi but it died in spring of '14 after I transplanted it in summer of '13. I actually only have a single evergreen azalea and it is a Girard Fuchsia.
Sally, you can talk smack but it's truly beautiful ;-)
Oh, that's right, it's a rhodie. It has small leaves so I thought it was an azalea. Well, add that to the growing list of small-leaf rhodies I've killed!
Paul warned me that they didn't do well on the east coast. Apparently, Rhododendron society members have been unsuccessfully trying to find a blue variety that would survive out here.
I guess I need another replacement shrub...
What kind of growing conditions?
Muddy, was that question for me regarding the rhodie?
Mine grew fine in an exposed location. It just didn't like being moved. I could try it again but at the moment I don't have a location for it. I have a large leafed Rhodi called Blue Boy but even that is purple with a hint of blue. I don't think there is a true blue rhodi, that is, without any purple in it.
SSG - No, I meant what would the growing conditions be for the replacement shrub?
Oh, okay. The replacement shrub area has good morning sun, complete shade in the afternoon, very well protected from winter winds, in a sheet mulched bed (so about a foot of very good soil on top of extremely hard clay which has softened a bit). And very good drainage.
The oakleaf hydrangea in this bed is doing great. And the native honeysuckle is a little too happy and needs a trim.
Sounds like a great place for a FIG!
Haaaa...SS---Maybe a great place for a Fig--but if you get a growing cutting of mine--
it will be 2 more years before you can plant it outside.
Before that--a fast-growing houseplant.
SS--
I want to ask you about the raspberries. May wan to give one to my DD.
(She loves Blueberries too. I may buy those at the HD. )
How big will the Raspberry cuttings be? Rooted? Not rooted?
What is required in planting the cuttings and what kind of light and soil?
How soon would your cuttings fruit?
Thanks, Gita
Oh no, no fig for me! :) My next door neighbor has figs right up against the property line, and I'm constantly digging up fig roots. Those huge fig roots are everywhere!
And I would need a very small-scale shrub for this area. Nothing with the potential to get tree-like.
Gita, the raspberries have all been potted up. I dug them up, roots and all, and they should transplant very well. You'll most likely get fruit this year. They're about... one foot tall now, I think.
I have about 10 pots of raspberries, so there's plenty to go around! They like at least half day sun. Mine's really happy in clay soil. I think keeping them watered enough in sandy soil might be tougher.
ssg- Dwarf Fothergilla is a shrub that sounds like you ca count on it staying small. Never owned one myself.
Your raspberries- these are not the ones I might have given you once, right? Mine get to four or five feet tall. I think you said these get big berries. I might like to try one.
Sally, these were planted by my parents when we first moved into this house. They didn't bother saving the labels (from HD) so I don't know what kind they are. I'll save you a pot!
Hmm, fothergilla isn't something I'd thought about. I was leaning towards daphne or even witch hazel or edgeworthia. Or a rhodie, even though I'm at >50% kill rate... it'd be nice to have an evergreen in that spot.
thanks!
SS--May I have a pot of raspberries as well?
Are these that only fruit on new growth from the previous year?
Do the older canes get dug up and discarded?
Does anyone have a well established Blueberry starts?
Would love to give my DD one of those too. Her fave fruit.
Thanks. Gita
Witchazel!!!
I never heard of Edgeworthia before so I looked it up and it's beautiful. It does look borderline hardy for you though.
Gita, I got you down for a raspberry.
I think mine's considered everbearing. I get a big flush of fruit early in the season -- maybe June? Then they fruit sporadically until around October or so. I think I get early fruit from last year's growth and later fruit from this year's growth. The dead canes seem to "go away" on their own and become mulch. I rarely need to prune them out.
Seq, I missed out on witch hazel this year! The nurseries I went to said that they didn't get their regular spring shipment this year.
This blogger is in the VA mountains (probably around 6b), but his edgeworthia seems to have handled our recent winters with just a little bit of damage: https://davermfarm.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/winter-casualties/
SSG, I would be happy to have additional raspberries from you and would give any 'unwanteds' a home. They seem to like my conditions! I agree on the water rich for them.
Fothergila has not done well for me, nor have I seen many around here to say it is 'just me'. I also find them slow growing to get to the size I want from the size of the few I have found for sale.
Have you ever considered making a 'raised bed' of 6-12 inches of ideal azalea soil above your twelve inches and then clay layer in that spot? PJMs are from mountainous cold region parents along with other parents, so I think root rot/moisture probs is main killer not cold. Good luck.
Also, just because a plant is available for sale doesn'y mean it was weell grown or cared for and thus has the best chances for successful growing in our gardens. How many of the azaleas and rhodies sold and planted this year will be alive and well next year? 10 years from now? The envy of the neighborhood?
Perhaps a trellis/hardscape would give the same effect in that spot?