I live in Alaska, and our temp now is in the 50's at night and the 60's during the day. My USDA zone is 3, in some cases 4 or 5. Last danger of frost is June 1st and the season is pretty much over by September. First frost generally happens by Oct. 1st.
As you can see, it is difficult for me to trade plants with southern gardeners, and international plant trading is generally prohibited. I have lots of 1st and 2nd year plants that are potted, so shaking the soil from the roots and mailing them out is pretty non-invasive. I'm always up for new perennials, but I really can't take them before mid-May or after late August. Anyone out there in the same boat?
Northern Garden Plant Traders?
Depends on what you are looking for. I live in zone 4a and am always pushing the zone.
You never know what will grow depending on your location.
Maxine
Technically, I'm similar. Our official last frost is end of May, so when I order from someplace that says they will ship at the "appropriate" planting time, I don't get it until Memorial day or later. Snow can fly first of October, (and has!) before the first frost, which takes out the trees since they haven't lost leaves yet. I really get a major case of tapping my foot, and serious garden withdrawal in about March when we have lovely 60 and 70 degree days, and I want to start planting but I know I can't. So, yeah, I know what you mean. Come April I'm ready to strangle some of these southern gardeners who are already posting pictures of blooms!
What do you have to trade and what do you want?
I guess I'm just opening the door at this time. I have many, many plants that grow in cooler, shorter, moister climes. I'm always looking for something I don't have, especially something that I can't grow from seed... my usual method. I'd like to establish some connections with gardeners so that we can trade each spring or summer. It's always easier when you know what someone wants or has. I guess I've hesitated posting a plant trade list because I can't use many of the perennials offered by warmer climate gardeners.
I'm wondering about some of the things you can grow. I probably have a much wider range than you do, but the similarity is in shortness of season. You would have longer days, right? Does that help make up for the shortness in any way?
Longer days aren't necessarily better. For instance, some veggies, I know, can be inhibited by long hours of sunlight. As for flowers, I can grow Lychnis, Campanula, Aquilegia, Digitalis, Sedum, Dianthus, Lupine, Hosta, Primula, Saxifraga, Lamium, Hardy Geranium, Mints, and many more I can't think of. I can venture outside the Zone 3 if the plants like cool, moist weather. Our winters are really rather mild compared to some northern climes.
I am in zone 5, Chicagoland. Our frost date is May 15th and we get our first frost usually mid to late October. I've had trades in the past where others can sent plants a couple of months before my stuff is even up. Mid May is a good time for me to send stuff too. The perennials are up pretty thick at that time and I can send a nicer chunk.
I don't do very well with seeds but can save them for you. I have quite a bit and might have something here that you don't already have.
We grow a lot of the same things, but I have to either water like crazy, or make sure things are fairly drought tolerant. I have Campanula, Aquilegia, Digitalis, Sedums, Shasta Daisy, Dianthus, Hosta, Lamium, as well as echinacea, cannas, callas (I know, I'm pushing the limit there) Jacobs ladder, bleeding hearts, and just started with daylilies and lillium, as well as heuchera.
At least we can all sympathize with each other when everyone else starts trading in April!
Yes, Terre_, I can grow Shastas, Jacob's Ladder, Heurchera & Bleeding Heart, but haven't had a lot of luck with Echinacea wintering over. I don't know why I start it every spring... just hoping, I guess! Asiatic lilies winter over here, but Orientals are a one trick pony. However, we can also grow the himilayan blue poppy, as well as Icelandic & Oriental poppies. Wish I could grow calla lilies here. :(
Branka, maybe be could consider a plant trade in the spring. I winter over lots of perennials in pots, so I should still have a good selection. I can't send much until late May, however. I'm familiar with your climate because I was born and raised not far from where you live. I've always loved Hobart. My mother's family were from that area. I was raised about 6 miles south of Chesterton. Your summers are hotter and your winters are colder, unless it's all changed in the last 40 years! LOL!
Interesting. I've had my echinacea several years with no issues, but lost 5 of 6 jacobs ladder last winter. But maybe that also had to do with the drought the summer before. I am sure that is why I lost a bunch of my persicaria red dragons, becuase they are supposedly hardy to zone 3. Do you lose your echinacea the first year? I have a couple of two year old plants that haven't bloomed yet, maybe a more established plant might survive? Callas are a first for this year, so no telling what they will do. Like you I'm sure, it may depend on whether or not we have an early winter.
Our last frost date here in Wisc. is May 15th and have had frost by Sept 1st, but usually around the 15th of Sept.
I also have lots of mature echinacea that you could try if you wish. Also have mature bulbs of asiatic lilies [named and un-named].
I garden on amended sand and am watering once a week if we don't receive an inch of rain that week.
That means that the sprinklers and hoses come out today and I will be starting to water an acre of flowers.
Oh yes, can you raise peonies?
Maxine
Yes, Terre_, I lose echinacea when I try to winter them over the first year. An established plant might be the answer. I just love them, but they always fail for me. Every year I grow purple ones and white ones, kill them over the winter and start all over again in the spring... not getting the hint, am I. LOL! I consider a plant a perennial here if I don't kill it two winters in a row.
I'm not familiar with the Red Dragon, so I looked it up on the web... love those leaves! I'm a sucker for great foliage, since perennials bloom for such a short time. It looks like it's zoned for USDA 4 according to the website I visited. Some plants don't like other conditions besides the cold... such as standing water, etc. Someone once told me it isn't the winters that kill our plants, but the springs. I think that is often true.
Maxine, I'd love to try one of your echinacea, or any Asiatic lily bulbs you care to share. I winter them over in pots and start new ones from the little bulblets. I can send you a list of the plants I have available. Email me if you are interested.
We can grow lovely peonies here, though I seem to be peony impaired. I've had one or two peonies for about ten years. I keep moving them around, but I've never seen a bloom! LOL! On the other hand, I have garden friends that have huge, lovely ones... sigh!
This has been a very dry summer for us. Finally, the rains are starting, something that usually happens in July, not August. I usually don't have to do too much watering, but this year the sprinkler was on most every day, all day.
Wheezingreens, I knew I had to look at that name again.
How deep do you plant your peonies? The eyes can only be 2" deep in the soil.
Of course you know that, dummy me!!
Have you ever tried clustered bellflowers, campanulas?
Will e mail you separately.
Maxine
Yes, Maxine. I grow clustered bellflower (C. glomerata). I also grow the great bellflower (C. latifolia), peachleaf bellflower (C. persicifolia), Carpathian Bellflower (C. carpatica), Pink Cloche Flower (C. takesimana), and some new ones this year. Love those campanulas!
Weezingreens, I had forgotten that you were raised in this area, you did tell me that before. We still have the crazed winters, that's for sure! Everything else is changing, it's built up so much, just like everywhere else, I guess. But it's home.
Keep me in mind in the spring if you want to trade. I can let you know then what I have available. I can already think of a couple of things off the top of my head that you may not have. Do you have white wood aster (zone 4) or pericaria, moutain fleeceflower (zone 5)?
No, Branka. I don't have white wood aster or pericaria. I'll have to do some research to see if they survive here. I'll put your name in my file for the spring.
Yes, I bet I wouldn't recognize your neck of the woods anymore. I always loved the home town flavor of Hobart, home of the 'Brickies'.
Do you have these varieties of the campanula, Cherry Bells and Elizabeth?
Maxine
Went to Alaska last year and saw many of the same plants we have in the mts., here. (I live about 30 min. east of Terre...Hi, Terre;)
Terre, you have to LIFT/dig the cannas in the fall, place with peat moss in a plastic bag (grocery bag is fine if it has no holes) and store in the basement until spring. In March or April, you can put the bulbs into pots (potting soil) and leave indoors if you want. "Hardy off" in May and put in the garden. If you leave them in the ground over winter, they will die. Heck, I've had them die in the basement, too! Still, the majority of them have made it, that way, for me. I just love the exotic element they add to the summer garden!
Have some bluechip campanula for trade if anyone needs some:)
Diane/Mtnmama
weezin If I remember what I read properly peonies do not like to be moved. My daughter waited 3 years for her to bloom again after moving from one part of her yard to the other.
It was after that I cam across an article that said they did not like to be moved once they were put in the ground.
I will see if I can find and mail it to you.
Thanks, Alice. I recall reading the same thing about peonies. I think I just keep moving them around out of habit. Actually, I think I finally killed one, but the other is still hanging around. No matter what I do, I seem to end up burying them too deep or adding compost and ending up the same way. How's your garden doing?
Mtmama: Good information on Cannas. I wonder if I could do the same in my zone 3, though I'm not sure we get hot enough or the summer is long enough to get them to bloom. Cannas sure are beautiful. We have to dig our dahlias, glads and begonias every fall. I suppose the same would apply to oriental lilies. We can leave the Asiatics in the ground. Even some shrubs, such as hybrid roses should be kept in pots and stored indoors in the winter.
Yes, I have clips, both blue and white, but would still trade if you want something I've got.
Maxine: I don't have cherry bells, but someone has promised to send me a start. I've got C. takesimana, and some of them may be Elizabeth. I grew them from seeds, so we'll see! LOL! You just never know with seeds from cultivars. I just realized I sent you seeds last August! Three kinds of somniferum poppies and some malva. Did you get them alright? (memory is fading)
Yes, I did and the Malva is blooming now. Beautiful mauve color which I didn't have. Don't think the poppies grew as the single red poppy kind of took over with the purple ones.
Maxine
Sometimes the somniferums go to seed when they are still small... when the are stressed, I think, such as hot weather, etc. I'm glad the malva is blooming... I believe it was M. sylvestris mauritiana
Going through my stash, I find a small amount of Campanula sibirica, campanula pyridmidalis, a very few seeds of diathus deltoides "alba', new pack of dianthus 'Rainbow Lovliness' and I know I may have more somewhere if you might be interested in any of these.
djm, I started the pyramidalis this spring, so I haven't seen it bloom yet. I have dianthus deltoides alba. It's a lovely little low growing pink with small white flowers. Rainbow loveliness is one of my favorites. They are the shaggy petaled superbus type in colors of lavender and white. I would definitely be interested in those or the C. siberica. I've never tried those. Is there something you've been looking for?
I love reading stuff like this, Weezin...got lots of tips for stuff I can do here. Wish I had somethun in my garden to "trade" with...but I'm just a first year wannabe at the moment. Hopefully in a few more years I'll be able to do some tradin with you, too. (I'm good at making cuttings of coleus, basil, and sweet potato vines, LOL just in case you're interested.)
:-)
~julie~
Hi, Julie. I'd be pleased to trade with you anytime. Are you new to gardening or just new to northern gardening?
I'm not new to gardening or to northern gardening for that matter. It's just taken me 40 years to get to the point where I could put down some roots...LOL...literally! I've lived in S.W. Wisconsin since 1976, moved several times, and worked full time for about 20 years after my kids could take care of themselves (...now there's a LIE! They *still* can't!). At any rate, this is the first year summer I've had my time to myself. DH and I were 'forcibly' "retired" the end of Feb so I needed something to keep me from going off the deep end. Gardening (flowers & veggies) has always been a love of mine, so I've thrown myself into it big time.
Up until the retirement, I've always been able to spend whatever amount I wanted to for bedding plants. Never realizing that I was missing out on the FUN stuff...like planting seeds, learning to use various methods of propagation and finding out to save some of my more tender plants for next year.
That's my story...(~grin~) and I'm stickin' to it. :-)
So now you know why I value DG so much...and why I'm so glad to find people like you willing to share experiences as well as other goodies with others.
Hope I'll see a lot more of you around here.
~julie~
P.S. My dh spent 6 weeks in Alaska 20 years ago, and hasn't stopped talking about it to this day. (He wants me to get hold of some "fire weed" - whatever the heck THAT is.)
Julie, it grows wild all over Alaska. My daughter lives in Juneau.
Welcome from the NW part of Wisc. If I can help you with anything, just let me know.
Maxine
Thanks Maxine...that's real sweet of you. Glad to make your acquaintance! :-)
Yep...DH told me the roadsides look like a wild fire and for him to notice "flowers" is really an occasion. Can you tell me what it would be called in seed or plant catalogs?
~julie~
Great thread, ladies! I believe I'll hang around from time to time if you don't mind - enjoy the conversation. Not really a northern clime here but can empathize with the green-eyed envy of the Southern gardeners!
Weezingreens - you haven't mentioned any of the spring bulbs (daffs, tulips, muscari). I KNOW you have muscari as we've discussed the seed hopes we have. I assume most of those will do ok for you up there? When do they bloom for you?
Brenda
Mtnmama, I've had cannas for several years, but only a couple til now. I did and store in the root cellar. It's CALLAS that are new to me this year, although I intend to treat them similarly.
Weezin - I'm in Juneau and feel your pain with our wet and wild climate. Sometimes it is hard to understand why we cannot winter plants over when it really doesn't get so cold! In Southeast, what happens is everything freezes and thaws so many times the plants just get tired of thinking spring is on it's way! Seward seems similar when I look at the forcast. I'll try to get a trade list online soon. Maybe we can help eachother. I am a member of another service and try to trade mostly with the northern states. I think with plant starts, it helps if they've already lived through a tough winter before we try to put the things in our cold, wet ground. I would think that plants started this year would have a good chance since we've been so much warmer than usual. Can you imagine, several day stretches without rain in Juneau... one stretch over 3 weeks! I almost forgot where I live this year :-)
Sorry I've taken so long to get back to this thread! We had visitors from Indiana (where I grew up) and they brought fresh sweet corn! I fed them fresh halibut, but we Alaskans savored the sweet corn!
Hi, Akdebs! It's good to see an Alaskan on Dave's, especially someone with similar climate... we can sympathize with each other! LOL! Yes, a wise gardener once told me, "It isn't the winter that kills our plants... it is the spring." I think that is true here. Our winters are often like spring thaws that plunge back into winter. Plants wake and begin to grow, only to be buried in ice and snow again. That is why I mulch with straw these days, particularly under eaves around the house where the snow doesn't stay on the plants all winter. I look forward to visiting with you and sharing methods.
Ah, yes, Terre, my mistake. I've had a couple people from Seward ask about Calla's, so I should look into them, I suppose. They are certainly beautiful.
Langbr, yes, we can grow all sorts of spring bulbs, but our soggy winters often rot bulbs, so it's hit and miss. They don't seem to multiply as they do in many places, and need to be replaced from time to time, as well. I generally buy those cheap bags of tulips, jonquils, muscari, squill (sp?), etc. each fall, plant them, and cross my fingers. I usually add a bit of bulb booster, and in the last few years, when I dig, separate, replant, etc., I have more bulbs than I bought! That's a good feeling. I love hyacinth, but they are not as successful here... a 'one trick pony', as are oriental poppies. Heres's a photo of my south bed mid May 2003. The bed is against the south side of the house, so it is the first to bloom, and it was an early spring.
Julie88, I had a similar experience with gardening. My parents were gardeners in a big way, and I gardened off and on when we still lived in Indiana. Once we moved to Alaska, I never seemed to live in a house where I could garden. Once my DH moved us into our log home, he built some raised beds and I was off and running! That's been about 12 or 13 years ago, and I have progressed from buying annuals in the spring to growing my own plants and selling to the local growers. I'm not technically retired, but being self-employed, I can tweek my hours to suit my gardening... besides most of my business IS gardening! I'm a plant junky supporting her own habit! LOL! If you want some fireweed, just give a holler and I'll send some down to you or send you seeds.
Weezin...I'll sure take you up on that offer of the fireweed.
My DH would be SO surprised to see THAT blooming in my garden. He might just take notice of a few other things as well. Thanks
~julie~
Email your address to me, Julie, and I'll look around for a young plant that would be likely to make the trip OK.
Weezin' you have mail.
Thanks!
~julie~
Weez, there is nothing like Indiana sweet corn! There is a 200 acre farm market about two minutes away from my house. They grow all there own veggies. And they have the best sweet corn in this whole region. People come from all over to get the corn. I stopped doing a veggie garen a few years ago because their stuff is so good and picked fresh daily. It leave me more time to deal with the posies :).
Hey, branka, you lucky dog, you! Fresh sweet corn without the fuss! As I recall the Orville Reddinbocker farm is around your neck of the woods (east). I can recall visiting an experimental popcorn farm back in the 70's. There was a nice little old lady popping popcorn all day and recording data. We went home with a paper grocery sack full of popped corn! LOL!