Got Questions? - Bec's Mid-Atlantic Swap

Good grief, Judy. There are lots of highly respected longtime plant nurseries out there that don't act like they're the Area 51 of plants. I think it's hilarious.

"Ack!! There's customers out there and they might find us!!!!"

edited because I have apparently lost my ability to spell today

This message was edited May 31, 2010 3:10 PM

Note: I was just teasing....my apologies if I offended anyone...I tend to run w/a joke if given enough leash

Deep shade I can provide. I guess I am best to take up my now getting sun bellflowers and repot for more coddling. I just misunderstood the needs. Me and my dry shade WITH pm sun--feel my pain?

Oh Robin, the Brazilian Snow is tough but hates the wind! Seems to dry it out fast and it will curl.

Ya know--Crownsville used to be right on a main road out of Annapolis. I'm sure they had there more than their share of unwelcome drop in visitors. You know how people can be. Anyhoo...

Sea holly?

I think highly respected long time plant nurseries and small scale specialty nurseries are rapidly disappearing, at least in this area. They are an endangered species like small family farms.

"Sea holly?"

What do you need ot knwo about sea holly?

I don't know the cultivar, trade seed pack just said "sea holly," but I think it's Eryngium planum, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/827/

Well Chantell - I missed whatever it is you are apologizing for. I am not offended in the least.

Hart - what a sweetie you are to have put the time and energy in to researching the Lemon Bee Balm I asked about. It was some really interesting reading for sure. All the talk of mixing the Balm with the wine - I was wondering if just the wine by itself might have been remedy enough. hahaha

Also a big thank you to Critter and Foxnfirefly for their two cents worth too. I can tell that I am going to learn a lot about plants during the next little while as people instruct others on how to care for the trades that were made on Saturday.

After reading about the Bellflowers needing shade I now see why the first ones I brought home died too. Definitely from too much sun. I have several shade areas so I am sure I will find them a nice home. I am waiting for the 90 degree days to pass before I do too much planting. I did check all of the plants I brought home yesterday late in the day and gave all the thirsty ones a good drink of water. Most everything seems to be holding its own so far.

In a while after I finish indoor chores I will go out and get a few things that were bare root potted or in the ground. I felt like it was my birthday or something yesterday when I went out and looked at all the great gifts I received all lined up on the table on our porch. I am going to have so much fun tending to the things.

Also thank you Hart for the info on the Mock Orange. I had looked it up last night and saw that it has the potential of growing rather tall. What height is yours? I am not sure the cutting will live or not but I am certainly hoping so.

This was great information today. Thank you to all who shared their knowledge. Can't forget coleup!!!! I am the happy recipient of several of your Bleeding Hearts. Thank you so much - I really love them and can't wait to get them in their new homes and enjoy their beauty when they bloom next year. Sorry that we missed seeing each other but there will hopefully be more chances to meet at other get togethers with the group.

Ruby

Thanks, Chantal.

In the spirit of things then:

BEWARE The plants I sent to swap at Beck's house were decendants of plants originally aquired from the elusive Crownsville Nursery(sp?) reportedly now somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. These plants should be considered armed and dangerous and placed in a dark place for ten years before planting out. Allow them to mingle with your other plants at your own risk.. They may have been genetically encoded with a GPS tracking system monitered 24/7 by CNI (Crownsville Nursery Intelligence) to ascertain the eminent encroachment to their headquarters of any visitors, well intentioned or not. I was unaware of this at the time of swapping due to the need for coddling in a shady place until I was acclimated to this forum.

My appologies,
Judy

LOLOLOL! Hilarious, Judy!

Ruby, the mock orange with the bigger flowers (may be the stems with no flowers since it bloomed earlier and is pretty much bloomed out now) doesn't get real tall. Mine is now about 13 years old and is about me height. The old timey mock orange with the smaller flowers does get tall and wide but it's easy to keep it to whatever size you want by cutting it back every spring after it blooms. Make sure you prune right after it blooms. If you wait until fall or the next spring, you'll be cutting off the blooms for the next bloom season.

I made my cuttings/ rootings today. LOL on the mock orange no petals left so I'll just be guessing. But as long as it has the scent (yes I know you swore to that hart) it would be fine. Ah the power of that little jar of rooting hormone which will last me for years!
My mom has an old mockorange bush and it does not get huge. Asked Mom if she could use a shasta daisy- she said Well I have those blackeyed susans--LOL as if that is an answer!!
Speaking of scent I forgot to offer my little Calycanthus bubby bushes, well they'll have more time in the pot wihich is good for them. They say better get one in bloom or rooted from a known good one.

ROFLOL Oh Judy, you do fit in well with this bunch. :-)

I have one of your bubby bushes, Sally! Actually, this is the first one you gave me, and I thought I'd lost it the next year, so you very sweetly gave me another. When I dug up the first, it seemed to still have good roots, so i potted it up. And this spring, the replacement plant has perished. But! I have the first one, and not only has it recovered nicely, it bloomed in its pot this spring! However, I am afraid to plant it in the ground. Maybe I'd better try a different spot for it...

Woo hoo. You might at least sink the pot. I had a huge bush and would cut the sucker (umbilical cord) but leave the sprout in place another season/ year to become independant. I lost several by cutting suckers and potting right away. I think by now it'd be happy to be planted though. Haven't had trouble moving bigger ones. Gosh I have moved them! They've seen moist am sun, moist pm sun, whatever sun and dry...

LOL so you're saying it probably wasn't the location... but if I put this one in a different spot, I can put it pretty much anywhere...

:-)

Uh Ohhhhhh....did I get plants from you Judy? I simply cant' have "big brother" plants amongst the others. ROTFLOL

Found it! The pink-flowering plant that Sally got (and seedlings were in one of the pots I gave to Greenthumb also) is indeed "some sort of catchfly." It's Silene armeria. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/209702/ I've got little volunteers in a bunch of different pots and even in a railing planter... must have had a plant by the deck that dropped seeds around!

Oh, Judy! That's a great characterization of the "elusive Crownsville nursery." Yep, you fit in. In fact, you should visit the Herb Forum and join the "Chocolate Basil" thread. More National Lampoon jokes there.

Oh, oh, did I mix up labels? Critter, both you and Hart requested the persicara. Sorry for the label mix-up.

Critter--what is the cultivar of the honeysuckle you gave me? And will a trellis suffice? Or does it need a long fence? Also, can it take a lot of shade? I'm trying to figure out where to put it. I'm thinking behind the pergola swing in my herb garden, but that is pretty shady, and it might not be ideal.

thanks jill, just clicked over and added to my journal. Which I should go ahead and do with other new stuff too before I forget

I don't think the american honeysuckle has a cultivar name... mine came from Brushwood Nursery, so you should be able to look it up. It will try to overgrow a standard trellis, yes. You can prune it hard, or you can give it a fence to run on. Mine is in full sun like most things in my yard, but I think they can take some shade.

Aha tha not American honeysuckle- jill you and your nots LOL
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/73169/
Inclues the link to Brushwood for good info you'll probably enjoy. One of about fifty reasons I wish the neighors would get rid of the forsythia hadge and let me have a fence with 49 other goodies on it. Course I should get rid of my own crappy euonymus hedge... No I should write more to make the money to justify and buy the fence.

Made a gorgeous bouquet yesterday of Jill s yellow daisies, Jills lysimachia, Jills chocolate mint, Jill penstemon digitalis LOLOLOL No wonder I was quick to give a replacement on my 'bubby shrubby' for her

Becky, I uppotted , slightly, and carefully LOL, that really fat fat plant, and added some little succulents to the base of he pseudo bonsai one--pics to follow

hart, those bellflowers are back in a bucket of shallow water and in the shade for R and R!! Looks like a hot week to come.

The view in the rear-view mirror of all the plants was great on the way home. We really enjoyed visiting at the swap. Not sure where to post the requested recipe for the seven layer bars, aka hello Dolly bars, so here it is.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.Place butter in 13 x 9 inch pan and melt in oven. Remove from oven.
3.Mix in crumbs and spread evenly on bottom of pan.. Layer chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and nuts over crumbs. Pour condensed milk over nuts. Sprinkle coconut over condensed milk.
4.Bake until edges are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool.

Great recipe. Thanks. I'll think of you all when I make my first batch.

I have a question about honeysuckle...I sent cuttings from my honey suckle vine to the swap with Sallyg and Gita, in the hopes that someone there could id it. Who ended up with it and any body id it?

In the interest of transparancy and full disclosure said cuttings were from a vine I acquired from a nursery that shall remain un-named...

The vine is fairly well behaved and is growing in mostly full shade.

Ruby, glad you like bleeding hearts! And thank you for the plants you sent to me. I confess that with this heat I haven't tackled dividing that huge clup of day lillies. I just plopped them in a large container half full of old potting soil to keep. Awaiting the blooms on the others (yours too Gita).

One of you offered, as did I, Itea,Henrys Garnet. I mentioned to Sallyg that it might do okay in her dry shade sitatio. Do any of you grow this small shrub? Your thoughts?

Judy

Thank you so very much for the recipe ecn!!! Those things were melt in your mouth good. I ate more than I should have but that won't prevent me from trying the recipe at home. These and the beautiful fruit tray were my favorite foods of the day.

Coleup don't feel too badly about not planting things yet. It has been way too hot for me to spend a whole lot of time transplanting things either. I am tending to things that were brought in bags first and then all of the potted up things can come later when there temps are better.

While we were away for one day on Saturday we returned home to a quite nice blooming show of some things that hadn't bloomed until that day. There are several things in my back bed that I didn't even know were getting ready to bloom and this week they are showing such wonderful colors. I have a Hydrangea that is either three or four years old and I have been concerned that it wouldn't bloom blue enough to satisfy me. I was so happy to see this morning that the blooms are taking on a wonderful blue tone. I am a happy camper with it for sure.

I haven't even had a chance to go to my front bed and see the difference from last week to this week. Hopefully I will have some beauties there too. We had a short storm a bit ago and now the sun is coming back out. I might go outside and spend some time with my new plants and see what I want to get in to today. I have indoor chores but my name is being called to go out. I hope that everyone is having an enjoyable day.

Ruby

Okay - Me again with questions.

First - David (if you are reading.) Really great to meet you on Saturday. What beautiful plants you grow!!! My friends and I were commenting on the beautiful plant with the bell shaped blooms. Little did I know that later in the day you would bring it to me because I had asked for it. I had no idea and was really really thrilled to be the recipient of something so gorgeous.

Now - I need to know the proper care for keeping it as healthy as it is now. What sort of lighting will it need and any tips for the soil? This is my first Campanula so I know nothing about them. All advice is appreciated. Thank you.

And then......Second question for now is to Sally. I need to know the care requirements for the Lysimachia that you gave me. Again - I don't want to kill it because I didn't ask. Thanks Sally. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your place.

I am sure there will be more questions for others as I work my way through these things.

Ruby

Ruby, both the Campanulas thrive at our place where they get direct sun from perhaps 11 AM to 4 PM, but they supposedly can do full sun. We have three plants in bloom where they get perhaps 1/2 hour of direct sun (see photo) but they are not as robust.. They are all grown in a mix of our not very spectacular soil and leaf mold. (Leaf Gro) Just make sure they don't get too dried out if in a lot of sun.

David

Ruby, I have that Lysimachia in two spots, both get sun and sahde for different parts of the day I'd say it is not fussy but would need some amount of sun for good foliage color. Note that foliage became green after done with bloom period (soon) and then very pretty dark purpley red when it emerges in spring as rosettes, till what you see now. Yellow flowers.
What a coincidence, I just found a (new) wild yellow Lysimachia at a pond on Monday, knew it right away because Lysimachia was on my mind.

David, Dioscorea- should I give it a tree trunk to clamber, or will it stand on its own? I have a maple it might dress up if I can get a hole dug anywhere next to it. I should have asked if you want Blue Eyed Grass. I have a huge patch of it by now.

Sally, the Dioscorea I gave you only gets about 5 feet tall. It will more or less stand free. In the woods it generally encounters some understory branch after 3 or 4 feet and ends up with its uppermost growth supported, but it is not necessary. I have never seen it growing next to a large tree, always at least several feet away from one. Just as well, as the attractive whorls of heart-shaped leaves display better that way.

As to the Blue Eyed Grass, we certainly would be happy to have more. Pat finds it particularly delightful and hunts around to find what little we have.

Thank you both David and Sally. John looked up the Campanula in a good plant reference book we have and it really didn't specify one way or the other for light requirements. We decided upon a place in our major front bed where it will get plenty of morning sun and mainly shade during the hottest and sunniest part of each day. I believe it will like its home there. Thank you so much for such a beautiful plants.

Sally - you are correct in that I will be surprised when the plant blooms because I know not the first thing about them. I just liked the name Firecracker hahaha I might decide to put it somewhere near where I will be planting the one I received from David. The area has some unplanted areas and I believe that both plants should do well and put on a beautiful show for us there.

Again....thank you both for everything.

Ruby

Thanks David, will go looking for the right spot. The Blue eyed grass has multiplied like gangbusters for me under a silver maple. But I have clumps in other spots too. Subtle but charming, I agree with Pat!

ruby, you like the name- LOL! thats a fine reason!

Sallyg--is the "bubly shrubby" the foxglgove?? Yep, I bagged one, too. It went into the ground out front. It is doing well so far. Thanks a bunch!! I assume it will bush itself up, no? Re: honeysuckle: I went to PF and Brushwood. Since I haven't seen the full decked out flowers and branches, I wouldn't be sure what it is. But Critter says it is "americana", so that's what it should be. Gee, Brushwood had 14 kinds!! Jill, are the flowers pale pink or magenta??

Coleup--I was the one who offered Ita virginiica "Henry's Garnet." I have an established shrub and greenthrumb took a cutting. I hope he can root it. Mine grows in part shade. It has a bit of a meandering habit but I shape it every other year. It flowers from late May through June here. I wonder who got your honeysuckle sample for id?? I didn't notice any plants set out for ID. They were all for good homes!!

My bellflower is revived!! It has been getting TLC and lots of water for now. I'm debating where to plant it where I can best enjoy the blue bells. Those little bells need to be highlighted. You wouldn't notice them so much in a dark corner or under a shady branch. Hmmm.

Dang, I didn't get any of the sweets at the swap but those "Hello Dolly" bars sound really great. They'd be worth an experiment in the kitchen. I would have made my ginger cookies but the thought of baking in hot weather turned me away. My kitchen is too stuffy.

Here's a photo of the blooms on my American Honeysuckle... when I got it from Brushwood, it was an un-named cultivar, just Lonicera americana. The blooms change color as they mature, a nice combo of delicate pink, gold, and green. The plant seems really succeptable to aphids, but they don't do any bad damage (it's just too vigorous), so I just try to blast most of them off with a strong spray from the hose.

Foxnfirefly--Sorry, I was being too cute ^_^ the bubby shrubby is Calycanthus floridus aka Carolina allspice or Sweetshrub or bubby bush is a west-central Carolina (or further?) nickname for it.
That foxglove was named Grecian foxglove by David grenthumb, but in plantfiles (which can have errors!) it looks like straw foxglove. I've only had it for one year. I divided it this spring and found they took dividing well and have flowered here a little shorter than those I brought, in part shade.
I'll tell you where my bellflower is going--in an area of shade with the variegated Vinca behind to help show off fthe flowers (and because the vinca is already there.)
Anybody want to come and rip out my 18 yr old $2 weigelia so I can put a Hydrangea there instead? Not that I hate Weigela but it's now in almost full shade. Last couple years I've barely noticed when it bloomed. I put coleup's Tovara next to it and realized how similar the leafshape is. The Hydrangea would give a whole different texture in the spot instead of the same. And Hydrangea would bloom in fairly shady spot right?

Byt the way, hart,, I stilt think I got this
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2193/
ferny corydalis, as a nice bonus when you gave me golden creeping jenny If you spot this weed you might keep it!. I have a nice little clump and will hope to offer seeds or plants at a future swap. Even if you didn't buy one, it might have been a fallen seed in something you bought.




This message was edited Jun 3, 2010 8:31 AM

Darn, just lost what I wrote. Here we go again. That's so odd, Sally. I have a completely different yellow corydalis, from Holly I think or Critter? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/828/ I've never seen any like the ferny one. Could have come in with a plant or from birds but I think you must have gotten the only one.

I don't think you need to worry about the bellflowers not being noticed in the shade, Foxnfirefly. LOL I took this photo a couple of days ago.

I have a question: Who made the salad with the sweet potatoes that tasted like carrot salad? And are you willing to share the recipe? Ok so that was 2 questions.

Sally, the yellow foxgloves I gave out are Digitalis grandiflora, both straw and Grecian foxgloves have considerably smaller flowers.

Catbird, I made the sweet potato salad and I'll post the recipe later. I just ran in to to look up some information and Pat is waiting for me to come back out.

David

This message was edited Jun 3, 2010 10:39 AM

trying a photo upload. Wow, I did it first time! Now if I can just remember the steps I took...

Anyhoo thiis is Itea "Henry Garnet with white flowers in background.

Judy

And this is Itea with the honeysuckle (cuttings I sent to be ID ed.) Interior of flower is yellow. I was told many years ago that it was some type of Himalayan honey suckle? Who got the cuttings?

Cat, am really loving my little turtle critter from you! Thanks again

Judy

Catbird, here is the basic recipie for the sweet potato salad. I made a double batch for the plant swap.

4 cups shredded raw sweet potato
1 apple, unpeeled and chopped
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon anise seed, freshly ground in mortar and pestle
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper


Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well.
Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir well
Pour dressing over sweet potato mixture; stir well.
Cover and chill
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Note: I prefer to prep the apples after preparing the dressing so that the apples have less chance to discolor.

David

Just a suggestion, but it's a lot easier to find the swap recipes if you put them in the swap recipe thread someone started. And I can promise you some of us do come back weeks or months later looking for the recipes.

Hart, I did have a yellow corydalis I was sharing around... for me, it seems to be short lived or maybe just tender... usually, I don't get exactly the same plants back the next year, but it's fairly good at reseeding. This year, however, I don't think I've seen any of those easily recognizable leaves pop up, so who knows. So spread it around when/if you can!

Speaking of recipes - I am hoping that Foxnfirefly will post hers for Ginger Cookies. They sound like something I would enjoy. A recipe thread would be great.

Ruby