Welcome to the Carolinas forum!

This forum was suggested for those from any other sites who are used to being able to chat about gardening in your region. Enjoy!

Dave

Thanks for setting up this regional forum! -Ais.

You're very welcome.

And welcome to DG. :-)

Dave

it's good to see an old friend, ais :)
i'm thrilled with our new Dave's space!
marsha

Hey Ais and Marsha. I'm here too....waiting to see what happens. Adele

Thanks Dave. Have never posted on your site in the forum area before but welcome it as a nice change from the last place I frequented!

Hey y'all! I'm glad this is available and hope everyone will climb aboard.
Thank you Dave for giving us this new forum.
Shari

guess i'll have 2 places to ck now- hey everybody! thanks, dave for setting this up. tammy

Hey guys! I'm here too.
Dana

Hey, y'all. Feels just like home. Thanks, Dave, for giving us our own bed.

claire in sanford

You are all very welcome. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. :)

Hi, Y'all!

This is my first post since joining....

I live in Georgetown, SC, 38 miles from Myrtle Beach. My husband built me the most beautiful deck at the end of last summer, and I want to do some landscaping around it... first of all for visual pleasure, but also to discourage my 3 dogs from lying up under the deck. I figured I'd use latticework to keep them out, but I'd like some suggestions of native(or not) plants to provide beauty and aroma and attract butterflies...... really any and ALL thses things. Is that clear as Catawba red clay?
Thanks in advance!!!
PS: I LOVE those miniature gardenias...do they have a name?
kdawson


Happy New Year!

Hi all,

I am happy to see a Carolina forum-I need all the help I can get!!!! :-)

dawson, i have some gardenias but am unsure of what the name is, sorry. they would certainly look lovely though, i am sure of it. seems like i get a new plant catalog in the mail every day and i sit inside and drool at all the things i want....can't wait till spring!!!

Tia

Hi Everyone! I'm glad to see a Carolina forum too! I live in Manning SC and have been a Dave's garden addict since last year. I have some of the miniature gardenias growing around my deck in the full sun and they just love it there. Not sure of the name though ...

kdawson, I would suggest planting some lantana around your deck, it just loves our neck of the woods, plus it's a perennial that comes back every year. Just be careful, some varieities get 4-5 foot around. I have a corner with two sets of steps and my lantana fills the entire area. I cut it back in the fall and plant the area full of pansies. Butterflies love lantana.

Other perennials that come to mind are Butterfly bush, Hybrid Tea Roses, hydrangeas all are doing well around my deck. As far as annuals go, I planted Gerbera Daisies, Sunny lady impatiens, and begonias (white outperformed pink 3-1). Hope you enjoy your deck as much as I do mine.

Thank you Dave for starting a Carolina forum!

May I please join in, even if I'm in Georgia? There is no other forum approprite for my climate other than this one. I'd love to be here if y'all will have me!

girlgroupgirl

ggg
i always lurk in the georgia forum on that other site, so i'd say you're good to go here :)

this forum's new, i sure hope it gets discovered and takes off!
dig

Welcome ggg! Like dig I also lurk(and sometimes post) in the Georgia forum over there too. I've even bookmarked one of your posts with seed source recommendations. Thanks BTW- I was thrilled to find Seedhunt. Has Georgia been as warm this winter as the Carolinas has? I'm finally ready to start WS now but I'm hesitant. May have to stick some baggies in the frig just in case for some of the perennials.

Shari

Hey y'all! Chamthy, I grew up in Wilson's Mills- good to see someone from home. Live in Henderson now. I'm in the process of looking for a vanilla orchid... does anyone have any ideas? kdawson, to keep the dogs out from under the deck, may I suggest KUDZU?? :) (evil grin)

This message was edited Jan 25, 2006 11:40 AM

wtliftr, there's a mailorder place in ohio that used to sell small pieces of vanilla orchid. drat- i can't think of their name right now. i'll repost when i can recall it. sorry. tammy

I'm new to the forum, new to Dave's Garden, and new to Carolina. We moved to Currituck County close to the Outer Banks about a month ago. I have a very blank canvas to work with although we back to 404 wetlands and have lots of native grasses on one side and neighborhood yards on the other. That still gives me 110 feet x 150 ft to play with. I want minimal lawn, low maintenance. I also have more dreams than budget.

I've been reading lots of Carolina/Southern Gardening books looking for ideas. Nurseries in the area are very limited and some are closed for January-February. I've never ordered plants online or through a catalog. Anyone experienced with ordering ornamental grass plugs? All help appreciated.

Nancy

A hearty WELCOME TO DG to all ya'll newcomers! It's very nice to see so many familiar places listed (as to where ya live). Soon I imagine you'll all become familiar "faces"!

DG is about the best laid-back, downhome garden you could choose to lounge around in and just plain enjoy yourself!

Hope this finds you and yours healthy and happy! See you around the site!

Shoe.

Winter has been very mild here, thank-you for asking. But today it's cold.
I also WS, and have containers stacked in the extra fridge!
Seedhunt is particularly good for agastache's that will grow well in our climate.

I love experimenting with plants that people are not always sure will take a combo of heat/humidity...or are unsure if the plant can withstand more winter wet than it has...pushing the limits (although I'm not insane. I always research the native climate for the plant, first).

Last year a friend turned me onto Serenade. This is a spray which is considered all natural, and it really helps the foliage of plants that can be damaged with high humidity (like powdery mildew). Helps BS too on roses!

Grandy, have you ever thought of growing ornamental grasses from seed? It's easy, and you can get plug size grasses very quickly and for very little money.

GGG

GGG,

Where can I buy plug size grasses? I've been internet searching but haven't had much luck.

Nancy

hi grandy & welcome to north carolina!
oh, my dream is to have a seashore garden :)
don't worry about limited nurseries in your area -
with your blank slate and needing ideas, spend
time reading through the plant forums - SO
much info, both creative & horticultural, is right here.
reach out to your local agriculture extension office -
they should have great info specific to your location. check
out what's growing in other places around you.
take great notes! make prospective plant lists and research
them via dave's plant data - the data sheets will also tell
your what vendors sell them online. dave's garden watchdog
rates a zillion plant-sellers - it takes a lot of risk out of
ordering from the great unknown :)

you've got a wonderful palette - enjoy the process!
dig

Howdy Folks!

I'm sure glad Dave gave us a forum for our region - Thanks Dave!!

It's really neat to see some of the places everyone is posting from. Grandy - I grew up on the southern tip of the Outer Banks! You're gonna love the sandy soil..... I'm inland now and one of the first people to offically welcome me to DG was Horseshoe.. Now here is a real treasure... This man is a world of talent with a great big green thumb.... this will be a fun forum and will catch on quickly.

To the new folks joining in - Welcome and sit to stay often - we love the chats.

Swoz

I know where you can find the seed, but sorry, I don't know of any reputable companies I can recommend for your grasses.
Do a search on "ornamental grass" LINERS on Google. See if they will ship to individuals. Then I'd look up the name of the company on Gardenwatchdog to see if they have a rating. Better to be safe than sorry!!

GGG

grandy...if you dmail me I can probably help you with grasses/plug size. (Or perhaps something affordable. Give me a list of what you'd like to try growing; I'll see what I can do for you)

Shoe.

Wow am I excited to have our own special forum. Thankyou Dave. A lot of times what the rest of the country is doing just does not apply to us. I am so appreciative. Yay.


Ginny

HI ALL!
I'm moving to Charlotte, NC in August and can't wait to get a garden going on our new land...I have a big 30'x50' plot at a community garden where I grow 12 David Austin Roses, 21 Dahlias, about 50 lilies as well as agastache, kniphofia, and many others(I'm moving all these down to Charlotte).
My inlaws live in Myrtle Beach, SC and I've planted their yard and am still planting it...
So, just wanted to say hello and start to get acquanted with you all!!!!!!

HI Midepots, boy are you in for a change temperature wise and culturally. Everything that you are bringing should really thrive in your new weather, the Austing roses will get ginormous with the longer growing season. You will be able to garden for a lot longer part of the year. I have a question, how do you successfully stake the dahlias. I do not have a separate dahlia garden and incorporate them in with everything else. I would love some ideas. Thanks.

Hey Gardener,
Thanks for the welcome! I'm very much looking forward to the longer season...I moved to Boston from Taos, NM. Taos is a LOT colder than Boston. Taos is Zone 4 and Boston Zone 6b. COuldn't grow most of the things in Taos that I can in BOston...Although, all cool weather plants like Delphiniums, Poppies, Penstemon, etc. thrived in Taos...
I use tomato cages for all my dahlias...That way the plants can branch out and I don;'t have to worry about having any part of it flop over. THe wiring is small enough to not be an eye sore. I usually keep the dahlias in seperate beds but will grow much shorter plants between them, like asters, or annual coreopsis.

Mikepots, I was talking about the summers. Do you have a clue what it is like here is July and August? I am sure you do if you have been to Myrtle Beach in the summer, steamy. I am not far from there. So, Becky, from Brent and Beckys Bulbs tells me that they do not stake their dahlias, she says they plant them deeper and cut them alot for flowers. But I wonder if she is talking about the dinner plate ones, those are so tall. What do you think? Thanks.

Hi everyone, I'm from Anderson, SC and am new to this site...it is great to see replies from neighbors here in the south....I'd say any southerner is welcome on this sight...you don't have to be from SC or NC....I'd like to hear about your gardens, what you've done/plan/wish...I'm kind of new to gardening...(thats the only thing new about me...no maybe a few new wrinkles. )I retired from teaching 3rd graders 3 years ago and have become obsessed with my yard. I'm lucky(i think)...I have a little bit of everything...I started a shade garden on the side of my house last year, a woodlands area out back with rhodies, hydrangeas, and azaleas. I started a "tiny" butterfly garden. We are about to rip all the plants out of the front yard and re-landscape. I am also planning a 18 by 30 kitchen garden. I'm excited/scared about all this work and I know I will need plenty of advice from ya'll in the coming weeks. Tell me about your place

Deb

Hey All,
I must have not pressed the 'send' button because my message didn't post...
Gardener, why not experiment...plant one root deep and the other shallow and see how either does.
SHady, my attitude about gardening is it will make you live longer and GET RID OF THAT LAWN!!!!!!!!!!!
You're going to love life even more than you already do because you're gardening!!!
I have a question: has anyone grown or seen growing OAK LEAF Hydrangea in full sun? In the north they are grown in full sun. I'm creating an island bed in my in-laws yard and want to use oak leaf hydrangea's but if they do poorly in full sun in the south then i'll look to other plants.

Do not plant anyy hydrangeas in the full sun in our area of SC. They will fry. They need come protection particularly in the afternoons here in the late spring and summer.

Ginny

Thanks Gardener, I'll use other plants instead...So many choices.

Yup, thats the beauty of our area, 12 month gardening. The hydrangeas are beautiful around here, just not full sun. How about viburnums or lorapetulum?

Ginny

i've definitely decided on viburnums, also going to use a bottlebrush buckey and possibly the black sambucus (elderberry)
I'm considering a few types of Salix, too.
i'm growing a lot from seed for the rest of the yard...

Good morning. I'm new to DG and thus to this thread. Glad to see it here (even if it lists our state flower as jasmine rather than jessamine!). I'm originally from Anderson County, SC (the town of Williamston) but live in Columbia now. We're in the process of buying a new house which is exciting but will also be a lot of work. Plants to move, too, especially daylilies (we love Singing Oakes Gardens in Blythewood!) and some family plants that have been passed down. New yard is beautiful--mature Camellias--but has zoysia grass, which I know nothing about. We also will be moving a small pond liner w/plants. We'd like to root some Lady Banksia from my husband's grandmother's plant and know that it can be done by weighing down branches in the dirt. How long should this take? Also, will hydrangeas move easily in another month or two? Thanks!

Yes, move those hydrangeas as soon as possible before it gets too hot. How old are they? They will be blooming fairly soon so be careful. If they are huge you will need to cut them back to a manageable size. It should probably take a few months for the Lady Banks to root. You might also take cuttings from the plant, put some root hormone on the end and stick in some nice potting soil. Keep moist.

Ginny