I thought it would be fun to see, in one thread, what everyone purchased this year . Easy for me to do because I only bought 9. Controlling how many clems I bought was hard to do, and I often thought of all the nurseries I didn't visit this season, wondering what treasures they held. lol. In the long run it will be worth it, though.
Here's my list. I'd love it if you posted your list, too.
Blue Angel - local
Pink Champagne - local
Sunset - local
Hagely Hybrid - local
Niobe - local
Rouge Cardinal - local
Maria Cornilia - ordered
Dominika - ordered
General Sikorski - local. I already had GS in the garden, but I wanted a second.
Purchases - 2009
JJ, just made a long post and somehow I lost it??? Will redo for you (good idea for topic) shortly..not sure where it went..went to preview and realized I left off some; wanted to go back to add to original post (had not sent yet) and it went to the land of the missing socks...!!
I hate it when that happens.
I can't wait to see your list though...
Well, I just started with clems this year... so all 75 that I've planted are new. Here's a link to my journal page with all of them listed. I've noted where each was purchased in the "Location" column:
http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/vbc/BlissfulGarden/75672/name2/
There are another 50+ on my wish list too. I got bitten hard by the clem bug! =P
if i sorted my spreadsheet by 09 purchases i would break into a cold sweat and probably go for counseling. this year i also invested in many dupes due to wanting larger displays or favorite clems and strong performers in more than one area as well as collecting expanding.
i am near 300 types after netting out deaths of last few years and abt 500 plants counting dupes.
kind of like looking in one of those lights that shows skin damage.....can't go there.
BG - 75 in one year..... Oh, I feel faint just thinking about doing all that planting. lol
I'm impressed though.
CG - lol
Oh, my! I wonder if this is how an alcoholic feels when asked to stand up and tell how many drinks have been consumed since the last meeting? LOL
My spreadsheet is not up to date since last purchases, but if I were to take an objective look at it, I'm afraid it would scare me to death to see how addicted I have become. I will say that most people will think that I have bought too many. On the bright side, I bought a LOT of them at a real bargain that my Italian blood just couldn't refuse. The best one, though--Rebecca--was given to me by a wonderful person on this forum.
i am not counting wine bottles or clems!
This is why I never put the price I paid for a plant in my journal. I really don't want to see the tally!
i'm with you on that blissful
This is one reason I love the clem forum. It's not only informative, but entertaining. I'm still laughing at the hubbie story that was told by someone recently--Julia?
I don't know if I should answer this question and I will ONLY tell you on this forum, but 79. That includes those I have ordered to arrive in September. JuliaJayne, you actually made me admit it. And, yes, I am very tired of digging holes. It looks like I go to work just to buy clems. See what you girls started!
Ok, one more try. Bought several liners early on before I "knew better" . Liners: 2-Duchess of Albany, Princess Diana, Prince Charles, 2-Omoshiro, 2-Parasol, Madame Julia Correvon, Perle de Azure, 2-Ville de Lyon, 2-Comptesse de Bouchaud. Actually, the 2-CdB's were supposed to be 2-VdL's...oh well :-) Rescue from HD: MultiBlue and Ville de Lyon (still trying, but not sure yet what it is) All the following are from SSV: 3-Rouge Cardinal, 2-Minuet, 3-Rebecca, 2-Etoile Violette, Savannah, Juuli, Barbara Harrington, 2-Madame Julia Correvon, Westerplatte, Niobe, Justa, 2-Blue Bell, 2-Margaret Hunt, Prince Charles, Blue Angel, Piilu, Betty Corning, Perle de Azure, Ville de Lyon, Avant Garde, Little Nell, Wisely, Semu, Pagoda, Dominika, Galore, Purpurea Plena Elegans, Guernsey Cream
Existing clems: Ruutel, Blue Light, Patricia Ann Fretwell, Ramona, Princesse Alexandra, Multi Blue, Avant Garde
I can't order anymore because I won't be home during the day to intercept the mail lady before she pulls in the driveway. Always tried to get hubbie on his way before 9:00 am... Wednesday mornings were so stressful ;-)
With as many addicts as we apparently have here, I really do think we need to start a group. Vertical Gardeners' Society? Nahhhhh, from the sound of all the hubby-hiding going on (here too!), I'd say we should stick with Vertical Gardeners Anonymous! ;-)
I like the word "anonymous." I don't really hide anything, I just get rid of the flat rate boxes the best I can or tear off the return address labels. But this is more out of my feeling a LITTLE guilty--not much--than anything else. He's so use to seeing so many plants that he doesn't know what was purchased 6 months ago or yesterday. I'm glad that Debbie ships to PO boxes because our UPS guy doesn't show up till very late in the pm. But, CG, he doesn't think they all look alike. LOL
In fact, yesterday when we were leaving together to go to the doc, he backed up a minute to look at Jackmanni's second round of blooms for the season. I think he appreciates their beauty and my hard work really. He DID ask just how many more holes I needed to dig. I changed the subject quickly.
Mary, I can't think of a better reason to work ;) Wow ladies, I have a lot of catching up to do. lol
Come on, Sharkey, you'll feel better if you admit it... you too, CG. lol
Very funny ladies!
My husband works from home, so I can't intercept anything. I have considered a PO box!
I have a small list compared to y'all. Will post soon
regarding plants, garden supplies, etc here in my house we operate on "don't ask, don't tell" policy. but there are those suspect passive agressive instances, like the one ssv box that arrived while i was away (one of several) that ended up in the utility room for 6 weeks......hard to believe how one box could get there, and the other could be opened by him and handled nicely till i got back the next day. whatever.
this is when i started adding clems to my spreadsheet when i ordered not when i received and also making a label when i order so i have some checks and balances to track what i have ordered vs received and what might be left lying in the utility room.
ps , one of those clems actually made it after rehydration (allanah) but abundance did not. i still do not have abundance, never in stock when i am thinking of getting it. but allanah is alive and moderately vigorous, but did it not bloom this year. however, it is a tricky clem and i did prune it a few times, so i expect some normal behavior next year from it.
and no sharkey, he will never be forgiven for those comments about them all looking alike........
I hid my last clem purchase from the husband. In past years he's actually walked around the garden pointing out everything new, saying crap like "Oh, when did you get that?" It drove me nuts that he was paying such close attention to what I was buying. So I decided that every time I bought more plants, I'd leave them on the deck instead of planting them right away so he could see them. Then I would give him detailed descriptions, all the while referring to them by their latin name until I could see his eyes glaze over, and then I'd keep talking about the plants until his brain completely shut down. Now he rarely says anything; I think he's afraid he'll get an long essay on the plants. lol
jj this is a technique borrowed from our ancestors and genetically encoded in us from time immortal.
after 29 years of togetherness, the clem zone here has been don't ask don't tell from day 1, but i remember doing this with clothes or other purchases.....look at them like they are senile and say "i've had this for years" always works.
I don't know what it is about him, CG, but he's been overly interested in the garden, but not interested enough to be useful, except for digging.
Julia, just be thankful he will dig, especially if you have clay. You know, it's strange, but if I owned a dog that liked to dig in my garden, I'd probably give him away to a good home, but a husband that will dig is a "keeper."
I have a FULL day ahead of me, but will smile every time I think of the comments on this thread. Have a great day, ladies. (BTW, I don't have any pets.)
Sharkey, ahhhh, we are no longer twins then! =( I've got two Australian shepherds (who unfortunately are bone buriers!), a Sheltie, and a Turkish Van kitten. We've got a full four-legged house, with the two Sheps and kitten added after the "empty nest" feeling hit! Our Sheltie is very old (16 years... old for a Sheltie) and we lost her son a few years back. She's not too active anymore. But, the Aussies keep us hopping!
if my hubbie gets interested in clems, i'll quit. he is a retired aerospace/(outerspace really) engineer and it would make me crazy.
Sharkey, I am grateful that he digs and I should mention that does a lot of the other grunt work.
Btw, In the spirit of this thread, I found 2 more clems today. lol. I was only going for bamboo, really....and looking for supports. rofl.
I couldn't pass up Polish Spirit in bloom with roots filling out the gallon pot for $6.50. You all would have thought I was nuts if I had passed it up considering it was on my want list and I don't have one yet. The other one also had roots filling the pot, but it wasn't in bloom, so I won't know if it is really Mrs. Chumly until spring. I felt it was worth the risk. If it ends up being something I already have, I'll plant it with its duplicate.
JJ, if I found ANY clem here busting out of a 1-gallon pot for $6.50, I would snap it up! Clems are just not a common site in our garden centers, let alone those in a gallon container.
They also had a bunch of Scartho Gems, but I haven't heard much about it, so I'm checking it out to decide if I want another group 2 or not.
It's so pretty, though
http://www.joycreek.com/150-199-1.htm
i'm with you blissful, gallons for 6.50, haven't seen that around here in a while, i would snap on. scartho gem is a must have.
p 2's just need more disclipine in the beginning and routine and let them be children....then you will have a good adult. and an reticent or otherwise troubled p2 can be treated as a p3 for later blooms and to build a healthier plant.
i don't get the p2 obstacle.
they bring out your best as a gardener, and if you want a good collection you shoudn't avoid the p2's. unless you just have to have instant gratification. i love that, of course, but clems take some time and that is a reward in itself.
It isn't about instant gratification, it's about die-back during winter, so only those that can be treated like G3s are worth growing. Plus, the weather this year was strange, so I had 2s & 3s blooming at the same time and then it was all over. I don't need more clems blooming in spring, I need summer blooms.
My 2s are blooming now... When do they normally bloom? (Newbie here!)
I've had Ernest Markham in constant bloom since June.
Are your plant new this year?
I don't know when normal bloom time is in your zone, but here it is May and June.
Well, I'm guessing I would be earlier, and then perhaps rebloom? We are typically warm beginning in April and downright boiling by late May.
Pirl, what do you consider constant bloom? Do you get a big flush for 4-6 weeks, and then it's just sporadic? I'm asking because that is what happens here.
Probably rebloom, Bliss.
BG, the few 2's I planted last spring were blooming here in April and May. They are now blooming for the second time after being pruned. So, my guess is that you will have blooms in April for sure in our climate with your G2's. I'm talking about fireworks, Dr. Rupple, Candida, Nelly Moser. Not sure about others.
This is the one I cut back severly in March and again in April because I don't want it blooming when the azaleas have their dead flowers on them. I seriously doubt it hasn't had a day without at least 10 blooms since it began.
It's about 10 to 12 years old now.
I'm guessing there should be a pic with that...? =P
I'll take one tomorrow. We've been busy spreading chips for a few days now.
pirl, would like to see that pic if you do post by cutting it back twice you delayed blooming which is something. sounds like it is a good clem, tho 10 blooms at a time for a 10 year old clem is not what you would call floriferous. by letting it bloom earlier and then cutting it back immediately you may have more blooms next year? 'sound like you know how to handle it and having nice blooms now is nice.
next year i really want to delay some of my blooms. or half of them by removing some vines from the base, which usually produces replacements which will bloom later than the initial spring growth.
p 2's usually bloom on the early side of the season.