Miscelaneous questions!!! I need suggestions!!!

I have few questions: (some questions can be dumb questions... but I am still new at gardening!!! so help me!!!!)

1- Labeling Plants
gladiolas - I have to dig them up for the winter rigth? how do you guys do it? how do you label them??? I can't write on them.... just want to be able to say what is what....

Dahlias - Andy besides writing on them how to you label yours???
Misc questions:

2- daylilies - do you cut then now that they are done??? mine are ugly and somewhat dry... just want to clean up...

3- I have some hibiscus seed... any suggestion for planting them??? can I plant them now???

4- daysies - can I just cut the spent flowers??? how much should I cut?

5- Cannas - can you plant them in the ground???

Thanks everyone!!!

Not knowing the answers to many of your questions I thought I should look them up in my favorite "maintenance" book...then I thought I would tell you about the book. Tracy DiSabato-Aust has a book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden. It tells you when and how to cut back and how to maintain most perennials. It is one of my most used books and worth every penny. I made myself a laminated cheat sheet for my garden bucket that has the cut backs and leave-alones for my fall cleaning of the gardens based on this book. She has many valuable lists in this book and how to do and when to do's. Oh I know that # 2 daylilies--I keep cleaning up any dead flowers, stems and foliage all season. I do not cut them back until late fall when there is little good foliage left.

Good Luck
Rose

Kass - there is good end of season dahlia info in tis thread
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/662385/

#5 Cannas can only grow in the air ;)~ Did you mean leave in the ground over winter? Probably not for your zone either, they are lifted after a freeze too.

Kassia - I do cut back my daylily leaves because they look awful and new growth is emerging anyhow. In two weeks they'll be nice and green again. The old leaves are not coming back to life and they do harbor pests over winter so I compost them.

For anything you dig and store - better to be safe with two labels than to lose the name!
Cannas get stored around room temperature while Dahlias want it cooler - like the 40's.

I tried planting my cannas and topping them off with 6" of compost, then some of those cement patio blocks on top (trying to save them over the winter without the digging and replanting) and they all died. Bringing them inside is the only way to have them survive.

Which daisies? Generally I just cut back the Anthemis (Golden Marguerite) to where I can see a nub where new shoots and flowers emerge. Just one plant had 209 stems when I cut it back last week!

I know nothing about planting Hibiscus seeds.

Good luck!

thanks everyone... good stuff you gave me!!!!

Thanks for asking the questions Kassia - this thread helped me as well :-)

Glad to know !!!!!

Great thread for saving dahlias... wow... I hope to be that good!!!

Hi there...I hope I can help a bit. This is going to sound odd, but believe me, it works...first...buy the following: a few pair of cheap panty hose, a good stapler, if you have them or can get them-venetian blinds, a Sharpie, either vermiculite or perlite-I prefer perlite, and, again this sounds even more odd, pizza boxes from Dominos, Pizza Hut, or Papa Johns...they usually don't give you a hassle if you only need a few! Glads...I store in a tied up/knotted piece of panty hose, cut a piece of venetian blind, label with sharp and pack up in a short box...shoe boxes work nice! Dahlias...if you need to...zip ties work nice, with the stapler, venetian blinds and sharp to keep them labeled...I place them in a pizza box, with about an inch or two of perlite, and spritz it every now and then, I keep them in my basement. daylilies...my joy and love...After the scapes are finished...do one of the following: If you have large swaths of daylilies, mow them down, with the mower being about 3" off the ground, or on the high setting, if you don't have huge swaths of them, after the scapes are done, shear them back to about 3" or so...for the love of everything sacred DON'T FERTILIZE...unless you can guarantee you aren't going to have a frost day in October...In regard to Cannas, I pretty much store them the same way as Dahlias...I have planted them in the ground, sometimes early, sometimes late...with differing results. If you pot them up, I would suggest a minimum pot size of 14-18", just shear them back to about an inch or so, after they are done, and before your first frost, and store them in their pots in the basement. In regard to daisies...not sure what kind? I ramble...sorry about that...but I do hope I helped someone out there!! Happy gardening everyone!

Hem ... thanks so very much... I have some shoeboxes and finally I have a use for them!!!!

I don't have a basement... but I have an unheated garage attached to the house... last year I had some pots with roses and they did ok... hope they will do fine!!!!

love the pizza box idea hem.... thanks for that

Test the temperature where you'd want to keep the dahlias in your garage, Kassia. Some people store them in coolers and I think that's described on the Dahlia sticky.

I was going to start a thread but I see Kassia has done it for me! Thank you, K.

1. Can I plant sweet peas now? Or am I crazy?

2. Our compost tumbler is making compost - what do we do with it?

3. We need to move lots of plants around. Do we just dig out EVERYTHING, rearrange it how we want it, fill in with topsoil or something? Do we have to do it all at once? (How long will a perennial live in the open - how fast will the roots dry out?) This includes potentilla, dianthus, monarda, echinea, daylilies, foxgloves. The hollyhocks and lupines can stay where they are. Some achillea needs to find a new home. The columbines can stay. The agastache can stay (when the achillea is gone, you'll be able to see it). Then I need to add wintersowed asclepsis, more agastache, rose campion. Species geranium can stay. Geum can stay.

4. The general what to cut down, dig up questions - I need to buy that book!

Apologies for any spelling mistakes.

xxx, Carrie

I have a suggestion, and only a suggestion...
When you say, "dig out and leave in the open." Do you mean that literally, or do you mean, "dig out and leave in the open, until I plant it really soon?" If you are moving, dividing, and then going to replant, this is the best time, you can do the old newspaper thing if you are worried about stuff drying out until you replant them...just lay the transplants on the ground, on top of a few sheets of newspaper, soak them, then put another layer of newspaper on top of that, and soak that also...to keep the newspaper from flying away, put a couple of scoops of mulch on top...this by the way is short term advice...I suggest to do this only if you are going to plant them soon, or as soon as you can. MOST, divisions/large transplants need about 4-6weeks, before the last frost date in your area, to set a good healthy root system down, some plants do it quicker than others...To answer your compost question, wherever these new plants are going top dress them, and bottom dress them with a little bit of compost...compost should never hurt! I'm also going to assume that after you transplant all of this you are going to cut everything back to the ground...if you weren't, I'd suggest doing that. Daylilies, I'm brutal, even though I love them, I simply pitchfork, lift, divide if I need to, and plop in a hole. Monard, and Echinacea, I've pretty much been abusive towards, I also will dig them up, AND if the clump is LARGE enough, I stress this for a reason, then I will divide said clump, plop in a hole...compost...blah blah blah...I think you get the idea. I've never really divided dianthus, and believe it or not, I have no potentilla, and I'm assuming you have potentilla perennials, or potentill the shrub? Moving foxgloves...hmmm...if you gathered any seeds from them, that's what I would move, I've never tried to divide, nor lift any foxgloves...they usually seed themselves everywhere. To question number 4, there are a buttload of threads in DG to help with specifics. I, essentially, hack all of my perennials to the ground, throw most of the cuttings into a compost/dirt pile...ornamental grasses, I tie in the middle with garden twine, and cut them back in the spring...I go pretty crazy with my Felcos come early to late fall, I'm crazy cutting out in my beds. I hope that helped, again, sorry if I ramble...it's just that gardening gets me so excited...I'm like a kid in a candy store!

Thanks, Hem, all of what you've said helps.

xxx, Carrie

I too have a number of questions though only one comes to mind at the moment. I bought a maypop earlier this summer because the catalog said it would survive in zone 5 though it would die to the ground. Now I'm seeing in other sources that zone 6 is the limit. I'm wondering if I should just dig it and make it a house plant I have a set of windows that gets plenty of sun and would be perfect for vines. Has anyone grown these with any success here in New England. I believe I'm in 5A. Thanks, Dave

Noreaster, again, just a suggestion...It's what has worked for me. When I put compost on anything new, I try to put about a 1/2" to an 1" layer on top...If you are fall planting I don't think mulch would be a problem...if you have a really "wet" winter though, that can impose a problem...if you do have a really/typically wet winter, I would use the compost as mulch...Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes (I'm guilty of this myself) if you place to much mulch on something (to overwinter) and forget to remove, or atleast decrease the amount of mulch in the spring, you can end up cooking things...I've lost to many things for this to happen...and yes, "gasp" I actually lost Britt Marie two years ago...I was in tears...almost, more from kicking myself than anything else. From what I've read, and from what I've talked with other gardeneners (any scientists out there or botanists, or arborists(sp?) please correct me, if you are planting in the fall, and cut everything, top growth wise back, the plant sends more energy into its roots than it does it's growth...That has always been my reasoning. Dap, I have no idea what a maypop is. For a great article on "Zones" go to Epic plants, there is/should be an archival article about the pros/cons of "zones." I'm typically Zone 5b, but I have had Hydrangea 'Lady in Red' and Black Mondo Grass (I'd kill the spelling if I had to do it by memory) Ophio...something or another...between microclimates, placement, sunrise/set, etc...Things that aren't typically "cold hearty to your zone" can/could be. I'd have to research maypops.

Maypop is the passiflora vine. I got two this year and have not been impressed with either one's bloom production. You could try bringing it in and letting it go dormant for the winter or giving it protection outside. I plan on letting mine take nature's course outside.

The whole "mulching over for winter" thing is something that confuses me altogether....does that mean bury the entire plant, including the crown with a couple inches of mulch? I thought when you planted late in the year, you had to make sure to cover those plants with a good layer of mulch to ensure their survival thru the winter? Is just an inch of compost, with no additional mulch, adequate protection for things planted now (and in the next week or so? I still have hostas and daylilies to move/plant!)

Noreaster...what has worked for me, when I planted later in the season and early fall, is to chop everything back, compost about an inch over the crown, and then mulch lightly on top of that. If you have good compost (I've seen horrible) by good I mean, loose, black, friable, doesn't stink, it just feels good...you really shouldn't have to worry about mulching over. The reason I caution about mulch vs compost, is that compost, to what I am aware, will not smother a plant, like mulch can. I have used 3 methods, compost+mulch, compost alone, and just mulch. I just need to be diligent in knowing the difference of what got covered over things that did not. I hope that cleared it up...again...this is just what has worked for me.

I mix the compost with the soil used for planting and I do cut back the daylily foliage (began that job in early August - still not done) and then use more compost as mulch - about and inch or two. Please remember I'm not in your zone so while it works for me it might not be what you should be doing, Noreaster.

HH: so true about compost. So many people think of a compost bin as a place to "dump" old plants, etc. and can't or won't grasp the fact that there are rules to be followed to make good compost. You get what you make. If it stinks then the person making the compost doesn't follow the rules. "Earthy" is how I'd describe it.

This is a fabulous thread. Thanks for starting it, Kassia. I've taken several notes already.

Oh yeah, my Amaryllises have had their foliage ripening all summer. When do I get to put them in a cold box?

x,C

oh I am so glad for this thread too.... I am actually taking everything and making a word document... and a check list....

today I planted Zebra ornamental grass... 2 sedun autum joy (got at Home Depot) really pretty plant... and also I clean up some of the daylillies... I spent so much time watering everything (my mom forgot to water yesterday) and it was really dry....and I hope to start to do some more tomorrow after work!

Alright, here is another question...my husband keeps asking me, "Aren't you done watering yet for this year?"....So, when DO you stop watering your plants for the year? It is so dry right now.

Also, why does the compost you buy at the nursery feel so different than the home made kind? I get the home made stuff from my father in law, but sometimes buy compost from the local garden center out of convenience. It feels....less moist and earthy, I guess. Is is not as good as home made? I'm working on my own compost pile, but mine doesn't seem ready for this year's use.

I don't stop watering while the plants still need it. The company that services our irrigation system puts us last on the list for shut-offs and first to go on in spring. They should be here the very end of October.

I've purchased composted manure (deodorized) but never just compost. We have six compost bins and when I see what friends buy it just is not the same. How many bins do you have, Noreaster? It takes three for best results.

Thanks for the tip on the watering, pirl. I was wondering the very same thing, especially since we are still planning on putting more plants in and want to give them a fighting chance over the winter months.

Pirl, I don't even have a single bin..I just have a pile that I turn every now and then. I still have to get my husband to help me build something, or I was even thinking of purchasing one of those composting tumblers. We really don't have a lot of room in the yard for much of anything, I'm afraid. Those look great, Pirl...very clean and tidy. Do you have mostly leaves in there?

I put some new raised beds in late this summer and purchased topsoil along with compost from the local nursery to fill them. All my other beds were made with my FIL's compost, so I'll be curious if I can see a difference next year.

I use composted manure and compost mixed together to mulch or top dress the roses and other perennials, if I can get to it, in the fall. In the spring a little top dressing around the drip line but not on the crown of plants helps them get off to a good start and suppresses weeds from sprouting. Then I mulch unless I want something to self seed. Here is a link that may be helpful all about composting. http://www.compostguide.com/

I realize space is precious for many of us and was for DH and I in previous homes. Believe me, I'm very grateful we have room for six!

The bins are layered: green (grass/leaves), household, brown, over and over again. Most of what you see at the top is from DH's chipping of branches, leaves, etc.

ngam - your plants must love you. Ideal uses for everything you mentioned.

We bought a $350 compostumbler on CraigsList. We haven't 'harvested' any yet but it smells good and we do clean out the fridge more often now!

xx, Carrie

we do clean out the fridge more often now

Oh Carrie! That's way too funny!!
It just hit me in the right spot at the right time. Sorry for laughing so loudly!!

Why do people plant sunflowers and corn together???

Same height? Both grow in rows? Neither need staking?

Glad I could be of service, Candyce.

xxx, C

hummmmm...