I am new to all of this and not sure how to research on this website. I see abbreviations being used and not sure what they mean.
SASE
SASBE
Round Robin
Also - I dont have much to trade right now since I am a beginner. But I am willing to pay, or do some sort of trade. I am looking for dry shade plants for zone 9.
Thanks
Sherri
NEW
SASE = self adressed stamped envelopes,, for trading seeds- if you see someone posting seeds for sase that means you send them postage on a self addressed stamped envelope inside another envelope
SASBE = self addresed stamped BUBBLE MAILER. = sending 1 bubble mailer addressed to the person who is offering seeds and another Bubble mailer addresses and stamped to you inside the first mailer.
Hope this makes sense
ROUND ROBIN = a box of seeds is sent to several people on amailing list from a post and this box can travel handreds of miles with all kinds of seeds in it. EACH person takes out the seeds they want and replaces ALL( seeds you have of your own) the seeds in equal amounts back in the box., and sends to the next person on the list thats inside the box.
vicki
Just something to add...
When looking for plants put : "Need" or "Want" in the title of the post and state what you would like. In the text of the message, state if you can trade or for postage. If you have plants to trade, state what you have.
Example: Wanted Dry shade plants
I am willing to pay postage.
When you have plants put: "Have" in the title of the post and state what you have. In the text of the message, state what you would like in return (SASBE, other plants etc.)
Also, if you are looking for plants, post in the Plant trading forum.
If you are looking for seeds, post in the Seed trading forum.
Best of luck, ROX
This message was edited Feb 1, 2006 2:05 PM
I have heard that hostas are supposed to do okay in dry shade after they are established. I have a ton of seed from hosta 'Frances Williams' - would you like those? for SASBE?
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I do not have seeds for the following, but do have lots of seedlings that happily volunteer and bloom in very little shade here:
Anchusa myosotidiflora - a Siberian forgetmenot that is extremely drought and shade tolerant. self-sows like crazy, but what a sheet of blue about 8" high when in bloom. evergreen leaves, but after it goes to seed just horrible. I love it. Some people find this too invasive, so think twice - in your zone - about growing this one.
Digitalis purpurea (foxglove) ditto to above, but can tower to 5' or 6' with long "gloves" in red-purple to paler shades. strong self-sower. Be careful with this one, too.
Another one for these conditions is vinca minor (periwinkle) - I grow the cream/grey-green variegated one. Very nice as a groundcover under a solid green conifer like yew. Takes about 3 years to make a thick ground-cover. also considered invasive in some places.
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) - these come up through the vinca under a monster maple every February and have self-sowed into a lovely sheet of tiny white bells. Can share some of those, too.
Asarum canadensis (native ginger) - dormant in winter - not a self-sower, but spreads
Remind me know in March if you would like any of the forgetmenot, foxglove, vinca, snow drops, wild ginger, and Euonymous kiautshovikia (see below) seedlings or divisions or rootlings. Postage would be fine.
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Some other plants I don't have enough to share but do well in dry shade for me and would be worth seeking out are:
bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) - comes up and blooms in spring, and then without water, dies back for the summer. Returns every spring.
there are many ornamental ivies - worth a search on the web - they have different shapes, sizes, leaf colors
liriope - there's a gold variegated one that, when allowed to echo its colors with similarly colored hosta and ivy really lights up a dark, dry corner.
there is one hardy geranium I know of that is good for dry shade (once established): Geranium macrorrhizum. The species is dark pink and there are cultivars in pale blush pink called 'Will Ingwersen' and a white one.
and don't forget ferns! The Christmas fern seems quite shade and drought tolerant, but again, needs TLC in establishing it.
Impatiens do surprisingly well in these conditions, too.
and Cimifuga racemosa (snake root - has a new Latin name now - dunno wut it iz)
Mertensia virginiana (M. virginica?) (Virginia bluebells) goes dormant in summer
Hope this is useful.
karen
PS The Brooklyn Botanic Garden lost a collection of rhododendrons that were shaded out by beech. So, the evergreen substitute that worked for them was Euonymous kiautshovikia (also known as E. patens or the Manhattan euonymous) - In my garden, it espaliers itself up a fence with little help from us in quite beastly dry shade - very pretty wall of evergreen. There's probably some rooted creepers I could send, also.
You are all so wonderful. Thank you for explaning to me. It looks like I need to purchase items to grow seeds in. I can start them up in my sunroom and then replant in pots and my yard. This sounds like a lot of fun.
Bluespiral:
I would love to try and grow the Frances Williams Hosta. According to DB plantfile list, it says its only hardy up to 8. So I am not sure if it would grow where I am at. What do you think? The same for the Digitalis Purpurea - It says zone 8. Would it hurt to try?
The Manhattan Euonymous sounds like it could help me with my fence between my neighbors house. I want to find something that will fill in the fence to provide privacy.
What amount do I use for the SASBE, and what address?
Thank you all again.
Sherri
Eager Newbie
Sherri, I could send you the hosta seed now and then the foxglove seedlings and euonymous rootlings some time in March - April.
However, I think it might be a pretty good guess that the reason the hosta and foxgloves are not recommended beyond zone 8 is that they don't do well there. Plus, euonymous, in general, can be invasive, and I bet in your zone it would go berserk. I don't mean to belabor the obvious here, but sometimes it seems like a dunce cap is permanently attached to my cranium - I should have checked plant files for your zone before recommending these plants.
How about typing www.google.com in the Address bar at the top of your webpage and then hit Enter. Next, in the Google search box, type: plants + "zone 10a"
There's tons of great info on plants suited to your zone, including a few sites that all go back to - SURPRISE - Dave's Garden! I can feel my dunce cap slipping now, as I type. One of the links that came up is: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/443219/ There's a great discussion about plectranthus species, and that is a fascinating, beautiful genus very tolerant of dry shade - lucky you. Maybe frogsrus might be able to share some cuttings with you?
Apologizing for leading you on a wild goose chase and hoping you won't grow anything I recommended in previous post before checking out what is more suitable for your area - karen
Karen - no worries. It actually helps me with my research. The very fact that I caught it is a big step for me. A month ago, I didnt even know what a hardiness zone was or meant :)
Thanks for your further advise :)
and then there's -
Rainfall - would xeriscaping for low rainfall be something to consider?
pH - how acidic or alkaline is your soil?
Drainage?
What kind of soil do you have? Sandy? Clay-ey? other?
Are wildfires a consideration in your area? If so, there's information out there about which plants are best planted near your house that are least flammable.
All of the above factors could find a solution in the use of plants native to your area. The Japanese model their gardens on nature, and nurturing a habitat native to your area could be very satisfying not only aesthetically, but environmentally with regard to pesticides, water, and energy.
Speaking of wildflowers in California, John Muir wrote extensively about them in his books which can be accessed for free, on-line with the links I put in the fourth post of: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/566811/
Well, California is huge, and the conditions where you live may not be at all like the Yosemite that Muir wrote about. But then he's also writing on planes other than wildflowers that have to do with the larger view of habitat which concerns us all.
I'd love to know what you decide to do - the possibilities of zone 10a to a zone 6 Plant Hound are extremely intriguing.
Karen - I will keep you posted. You cant even imagine how much research I have put in deciding what to do with my yard.
I am considering hiring a master gardener and/or an Arborist to do further research - but unfortunately they do not come cheap - $150/hr plus $75.00 for a soil sample - and I would need at least 3 soil samples.
I am crossing my fingers that the plants I have chosen to try this spring will do well.
- Barrenwort
- Hellebore
- Someone sent me some honeysuckle
- And someone sent me some BRUG clippings - I am going to keep them in pots.
Thank you again for all your wonderful information.
Sherri