PLANT ADDICT'S CHAT #1

Terp, this was my first auction and I didn't know it was cash or check only! They only announced it just as they were starting the auction and it wasn't in the ad. I guess it's common knowledge but I had no idea. I had just enough cash to buy some pots. I could have gotten a tree or two (some went for $20 and less) but the one I really wanted was offered very late and went for more than I wanted to spend... well, more than I had on me!

Thanks Holly! That is good to know about the osteospermum. I didn't realize there was an annual osteosperm as well as the tender perennial.

Holly

I know how you feel. The corner of my yard where my compost bin is is also where the previous owners planted a bunch of daffodils. Its visible from every window in the back of the house and is packed with weeds. Every year its packed with weeds simply because by the time the "greens" on the daffodils die down the weeds have taken over and its too hot to go out and do something with them. Well that ends this year. There is also a lot of poison ivy in this mess. My son is extremely allergic to it and our dogs bring the oil in on their fur. To make it worse their poor little feet end up blistered and bare from it and last year they looked like they had cold sores on their jowls and lips from licking it off their feet.

I'm going to suit up hubby and get out and dig up the daffodils, the pathetic azaleas and a few other hangers on then give the whole area the Round Up treatment. GASP!!! Don't run for the AED yet! I know chemicals in my garden. I'll wait two weeks then hit it again. I'll take my mantis and plow up the whole area, wait a couple weeks and repeat. Last plow I'll add a bunch of organic stuff till replant the bulbs and azaleas and hit it with a good dose of corn gluten. Right after the first good frost I'll cover the whole area with Remay and replant next spring. If that doesn't get rid of the problem nothing will. First I have to finish my new bed in the front and plant all the dahlias and everything else I got from the group buy.

Yehudith

Catmint you are a Zone warmer than I maybe for you it would be a tender perennial.
Yehudith, There is a Ortho Product that is specificity for poison ivy. I think Ric posted something about the product in Yardening.

yehudith, sounds like a well thought out plan. I really hope it works out. Poor dogs, I didn't know they could suffer from poison ivy. I do.

Holly, I'm feeling some version of that too. Some parts of the garden go from glorious to godawful mess overnight, in my eyes. Some of it is poor planning on my part ,. A big part of my perennial bed is larkspur, tiger lily, Asatic lily, false dragonhead, aster, montauk daisy= IE no bloom right now and all green. Classic "plant as you go, with whatever you come across!"

I have a serious mass planting of spring bulbs in the lamp post bed and I truly love it when in bloom but right now not so much.
Ric was just perusing Breck's Bulb Catalog he thinks we should heavily plant low growing spring bulbs in the Peony Tree Bed. They would bloom under the Peony Trees. I really like the idea now we just have to deceide which blubs to plant. I am thinking about a Grape Hyacinth Mixture of different shades of blue and white. I would think they would be done blooming before the Peony Trees bloom and the foliage wouldn't be an issue in that bed.

Hyacinth sounds like it would be so pretty under the tree peonies!

My grape hyacinths foliage is all flat and pretty unobtrusive right now. Sounds like a winner. although, I can probably never restrict myself to just one kind of bulb in one area.
And what about AFTER the peonies blooms and the bulb foliage is gone, what then?

Anybody addicted to yarrow? Yarrow took over a 3 foot round chunk of my sunny bed, shot up to four feet, fell partly over into the sidewalk, and I am just dying to rip it all out, once it blooms and the bugs have had their treat. I've never found a way to live happily with any yarrow. I think it should have stayed in the meadow!

I really like yarrow! Have 3 cultivars of it right now. One is huge and looking ready to bloom soon. No flopping yet.

Yehudith, those poor dogs!

If anyone needs Roundup Poison Ivy Killer, please let me know. I have almost a full bottle.

Sally, my yarrow was being a nuisance, choking everything else out. I wintersowed a few seeds a couple of years ago, so how did I end up with this giant patch? O_o They've now been exiled to a mostly shady spot. I didn't "transplant" them there, but rather yanked them out of the ground and threw them in a hole. And they're getting ready to bloom!

What color is the yarrow? I have pink and yellow. I'd love to have some white or lavender. So far I haven't had any problem with it.

Thanks Yehudith

I think its white, should know soon. I'm happy to bring some. When I dig it, it tends to drop all the soil from the roots.

I have pink, red, and apricot. No lavender or white.

If I may--I would like to show you a yarrow arrangement they had for sale
in one of the endless flower stalls all over the City of Riga. I was there in 2008.
Of course--they are like a zone 5 or 6 there...?

This really blew me away! SO gorgeous...a bouquet of all different colors
of Yarrow. Must grow better there....

G.
Forgot to say that this was in Latvia--my country of birth.

This message was edited May 25, 2014 6:34 PM

Wow, my yarrow blooms certain don't look like that!

I think mine are yellow? Or red?

That is a very pretty yarrow arrangement Gita!

Very pretty. Makes you appreciate those tiny blooms.

SS--

Yarrow does come in many different colors. You can buy seeds for a mix.

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/yarrow.html#gsc.tab=0

very pretty!

Gita, it's amazing what they did with that yarrow; how artistic!

Seq, my Cherry Laurels definitely had "shot hole fungus", which is really a fungal and bacterial disease, as well as what probably was Botryosphaeria fungus. Those shrubs apparently are prone to both, especially when they grow close together. http://www.gardenguides.com/119155-diseases-cherry-laurel.html

After all this time 'Misty' appears to be finally growing on my front porch! Yay! :-)

Yikes Muddy, good thing you took them out then. Still a shame though as I'm sure they were gorgeous in their prime.

As for the Yarrow conversation, I dislike it as well because it's so floppy. I ripped the one I had out a couple years ago and threw it away. Supposedly there are low growing varieties though and a lot of yarrow is xeric suitable but I haven't tried it for that yet.

LOL Catmint, all in good time...

phew, startin to feel weird for my Yarrow dislike. Seq, this latest placement- in my sunniest spot in a narrow bed between house and driveway- was my best attempt at xeric- and then we get the most rain ever this winter and spring. It is out to get me I tell ya!

LOL...mother nature does have a sense of humor, that's for sure!

Well, this is big news!

Behnke's is closing their Potomac location! Starting tomorrow, all of the plants at Potomac are 20% off.

Hmm...that would be great if I lived near that area :(

Oh wow SSG that is news! Somehow I'm not surprised though. I stopped there recently to see what it was looking like and *so* unappealing. Typing from my phone now-- I'll elaborate when I'm at my regular home computer.

great opportunity for some plant addicts, no doubt.

Ric came home the other day with several new plants, replacement Butterfly Bush, canna, Choclate Ball sedum, heuchera.

Isn't chocolate ball sedum just adorable? I can't even go near the sedum section at nurseries. I want one of each kind! :)


Catmint, I've never been to the Potomac location. I'm curious to hear what it was like!

well, it seemed to be the kind of place that does not carry sedum! Seriously, the plants looked neglected and haphazardly cared for, and the selection was disappointing--lots of herbs and veggies, and then lots of--I don't know what to call it, but the kind of flowers that people buy when they say 'I'd like a little color for the front porch--what's that one called?'--so vincas, snapdragons, that kind of thing. Not that there's anything wrong with vincas and snapdragons, but you get the idea...

I also found the service not terribly great. I was looking to see if they had any weeping redbuds, and the worker I flagged down for this was quite uninterested in the whole idea of finding me something suitable among their selections. When I asked about whether the other Behnke's might have one, she said, 'oh sure you can call them if you'd like.' (Contrast this with most places I've been that have more than one location, where they're suggesting this and are on the phone with the other place at the drop of a hat, eager to find you what you want.) I kind of stared at her and she finally said, 'Oh, I guess I could call, too' and then she basically forgot about me.

But service and selection aside, what really got me was that I was sort of browsing around and I heard this man grumping to some people who were with him. I assumed he was a customer. He said something about, "I need a couple cheap evergreens to throw in front of my AC unit" and then a few moments later I heard him say, "I *own* this @#$% place and I can't even get anyone here to help me!" Whoa. That one really threw me. :-o My instant thought was, 'okay, some deep systemic issues going on at this place...' I did buy a few herbs and a snapdragon before looking around a third time for the sedum section and never finding it....

No wonder they are closing or possibly the workers know they will be out of a job in a few weeks and just don't care anymore.

Agree--the workers' disinterest was symptomatic, but the attitude from the 'I own this @#$% place' guy was a real shocker. I have a feeling the two issues are connected somehow... ;-)

Catmint, I think the term is "bedding plants." It's probably a good thing that they're consolidating. They have much better service at the Beltsville location, although it depends on who you get. You can tell apart the temporary workers from the seasoned professionals.

'bedding plants'--thanks! :-)

yes, consolidation is probably a good move on their part. But Beltsville is a hike for me--have to make a special occasion to go there sometime!

In the meantime, might be worth stopping at the Potomac site for their sale.

This message was edited Jun 11, 2014 6:39 PM

well, I didn't mean to end conversation with my story about the Potomac Behnke's! :-( I don't know any details about what was going on there, although it has been my experience that tone is often set at the top, and I was not at all impressed with what I heard from the guy looking for 'cheap evergreens to throw in front of the AC unit' and cursing in public at his own store and about the employees who work there. I should probably go to the other Behnke's just to compare... Probably the decision to close the place had already been made at the time I was there, and perhaps people's words and actions reflected that...

that was all very interesting drama. I diid not commemt cuz I live so far away.
I bet employees knew cuz gossip like that goes like wildfire between workers.








i

That sounds like a terrible place to get plants.

If you go on up past Benkes to Falls Rd hang a right and keep going another 5 minutes or so you'll have Good Earth on your right. Now that is a great nursery. Yes its small but its packed with great unusual plants at reasonable prices and helpful staff. When ever I see patients over in Potomac I always stop if for nothing but to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.

yehudith---

We have a Falls Rd. also in W. Baltimore Co. I guess yours is a different one....
For a moment--I got all eager to jump in my car and go there....

G.