2015 Fall Plant Swap General Discussion Thread

you got it, SSG!

Wow CAM, you've got your work cut out for you that's for sure.

Plant, maybe not. Endlessly debate placements, you bet.

Aw, come on, Sally. If everyone just digs ONE hole..... ;)

Yeah, Jeff.... reworking and expanding one bed and creating those beds I've been talking about on both sides of my driveway. Lots of work but going hopefully worth it. That list isn't including some of the shrubs I'll be buying locally.

Maybe a separate thread with a sign-up sheet for the plant one wishes to dig in for you?

Sweet CAM! I'm more of a fan of doing these things in the spring. When it gets to be this late in the season, I'm worn out and looking forward to my 'winter break'. I guess I'm just getting less ambitious in the fall. I think last fall darn near killed me with all those bulbs I planted. I was gardening until the first week of December.

Yeah, I prefer Spring planting but as you can see, I'm not against Fall planting. I almost forgot, need to get more Peonies this fall too !

At a previous house, I planted somewhere around 550 bulbs one fall. Yes, you read that right. It was all in one bed so it wasn't as much work as it sounds. Took me maybe 6 hours.

Cool... found the old pic...

Nice selection, Cam! Love the photo.

Wow, that's beautiful, I like that fence too.

Thanks x 2 ! Yeah, that bed was more full, that photo was taken the second year after I put those bulbs in and the voles had eaten a bunch of them. The fence kept the deer out but never could rid that yard of the voles.... tried fox urine, a trap, ultra high frequency sound waves... they still did considerable damage.

Maybe someone will enjoy a few more photos of the work I did at that house in Eldersburg.

1. Chenille Firetail

2. Nikko Blue Hydrangea

3. Ice plants and a mixed bed

4. ever seen a more healthy and beautiful Russian Sage ?

That is a pretty sexy Russian Sage....

Thanks, yeah, he was a beauty. I plant to put one or two in my new beds, maybe between a couple of rocks.

M U S T remember to put my spade in the trunk.

LOL... I was kidding ! :)

Hehehe

Such a neat place, CAM!!! Also, that's the first upright Russian Sage that I have ever seen :o)

Thanks, Donner ! Yeah, that Russian Sage was gorgeous. Of course, I did take that pic at it's peak. Come July/August, they start to look a bit ragged. Still one of my favorite plants though because during May and June, they are really stunning, if you cut them back each year and make sure they get plenty of water.

We have quite a few Russian Sage plants at the HD right now.
Not sure--gallon pots..I think....

Check your local HD and see... G.

I'll bring my little shovel! But if we can choose, I'll volunteer to plant the columbine seeds...

when do you cut back russian sage? i've tried spring, just when new growth starts, with varying success... but mine doesn't get much extra water.

Haha, Jill... funny ! :)

I cut my Russian Sage back in late fall. Seems to work best.

thx! think I might try that with butterfly bush and roses this year too

In 2004-2006, I had a row of 15 butterfly bushes that used to stop traffic in the summer. Besides constantly dead-heading them, I did cut them back to about 12-18 inches in late fall. I also had a soaker hose on them. They were thick and beautiful and during blooming season, each one would have around 40-50 blooms. Multiply that x 15 and yeah, I had strangers stopping in my driveway to look at them.

sweet!

I would not prune back a butterfly bush nor Roses in late fall
as this will force new growth, which will be killed in the winter,
opening up potential for diseases. We can still get warm temps in early winter--
I have seen 60* more than once at Christmas time.

Roses are usually pruned back in early spring just as you start seeing
new leaf nubs --about the time Forsythias start to bloom.
This will also help--as you can see where to prune.

I prune my Butterfly bush in late winter or very early spring just as it is
starting to put out new growth.

Gita

Gita, I never had new grown on my butterfly bushes during the winter if I cut them back around the end of November, beginning of December. Of course, I was up in southern PA at the time but still....

I always wait to cut back my butterfly bushes till Spring. One of them is well placed for the birds to perch on while waiting their turn at the feeder.
I thought it was fine to do either late fall or spring, I just chose spring.

This message was edited Aug 13, 2015 9:50 AM

Seems I read late winter on Butterfly bushes. Mine never go totally dormant. In late winter I look for more vigorous looking shoots and prune above those, whether a foot or two above ground. It sounds like any pruning works fine. It's sad when you see them planted at a commercial area and not pruned- get really thin and spindly blooms. (Millersville Post Office, are your ears burning?)

Yeah... or when they don't get dead-headed, which makes an incredible difference in the number of blooms each bush will produce. My parents didn't prune or dead-head theirs until I explained the difference in the bush's performance to them. They can't believe how many flowers are on their bush this summer.

Mine is in serious need of deadheading right now it is the first thing I'm going to do when I am up and running. Come on Friday night.....

Need to deadhead mine, too!

Sally, if you get a chance, I would appreciate a couple of Maypop starts. I'd like to plant one in place in my deck bed and try to overwinter the other in a sheltered spot... I know this is a plant that, once you have it, you've got it, but I've had a hard time getting it established here. Thanks!

Cam--

I totally agree with you on the dead-heading of BB's. What a difference!
I even try to do it at work--if I have time. Gotta cut at the right place, though...
WHO wants to buy a gray, ratty looking Butterfly Bush?

Sometimes--when I water plants at work--I have the hose in one hand and I am
dead-heading flowers with the other as i go.

It really makes a huge difference in Geraniums, Gerberas, and all the
hybrid Cone Flowers. Also Daisies--but they take a lot of time.
Snipping spent Marigolds as I work is a breeze...snap...snap...snap.....

Gita

Yep... when I had 15 butterfly bushes in a line the length of my driveway, I would go out every other evening and dead head them and it took about 45 minutes each time. Worth. Every. Minute. Thanks for the head up on the Coneflowers, going to have a bunch of them blooming next year.

If you have native Coneflowers, don't deadhead them, because then you'll miss the incredible sight of happy Goldfinches twittering around and eating the seeds, and I don't believe deadheading brings about a fresh flush of blooms in the natives anyway.

How can the goldfinches tweet when they don't have fingers?

Ah, I see what you did there, Jeff. Haha

ha ha ha!! I should have said "sounds" of birds twittering around ...birds "owned" the verb "to tweet" before people did!!

My sea of BES's by my front door is a pig-out for Gold Finches.

I first noticed them when I would walk outside--ans a pair of these
bright yellow birds would take off across the street.
MNow am more careful--and will slowly walk up to my door
to see if they are feeding.

Tried taking some pictures the other day. They did not turn out very well--
as I was in full zoom and shooting through the screen of my storm door.
And as usual--anything I take in zoom is out of focus....

What the heck--here are 2 pictures.

1--can you find the goldfinch?
2--this one is really going at it on one of the seed heads....