Hello from New Bern

Hello! I am fairly new, and was happy to see this Carolinas forum on the list! I love to garden, but since we spend part of each year on our sail boat, have to be really careful about what I plant so it blooms when I am home, and requires little care. Here's a photo of part of my back yard. We just put in the arbor and planted confederate jasmine to climb over it. A friend made the adirondack chair for me, and I am about to paint it plumbago blue. What do you think of that color choice?

I love shade perennials, but am coming to realize that we really don't have a lot of shade on our small lot. Even though the back part has a number of pine trees and a few other tall trees, the afternoon sun angle really cooks stuff back there.

We have three windmill palms that we baby - one is at the left of the picture. Also two very small fig trees that we bought at Tryon Palace. One purchased 2004 with absolutely no fruit, and one purchased 2005 which was loaded this year with small but very tasty figs. Anyone care to speculate about the difference? My neighbor also has a 2004 tree with no fruit, and another has a 2005 tree which was loaded like ours.

One of my favorite plants is Virginia Sweetspire (itea virginica). Just planted three of them - they were hard to find even though a native. Had them in Kentucky (7 years before here) and they were lovely. These seem happy so far, and they spread themselves, so I should have some good iteas to trade in a couple of years.

Also, there are some terrific American beautyberry bushes growing at the end of our cul-de-sac. I have dug one of these up for the back yard, and hope to dig more (and avoid snakes while doing it). A house is scheduled to be built in our cul-de-sac and I know those beautyberries are doomed.

Also just planted three good sized hydrangea panic unique. The blooms are very much like the oak leaf hydrangea flower (white), but the leaves are more ordinary. I am going for whites mostly where I can - iteas are white, this white hydrangea, and some pink annuals and blue plumbagos thrown in.

I have completed one trade (with MacLaren), which was so much fun! Since this is a new yard and I'm gone so much, I don't have a lot to trade. Hotounniya, mostly. Would love to find some tall and fragrant ginger - does it grow in this area?

I have some big pots that I plant exclusively with annual vincas (pink and white), and ivy. They seem to require less care than anything else on our sunny deck. However, one pot has the leaves curling up and looking almost dead, even with regular watering. The others are fine. Any thoughts? One of the confederate jasmine is also acting this way. I am wondering if maybe grubs, and if a homemade solution of liquid dish soap, mouthwash, tobacco and water might cure it. I make my own deer spray, and while others in our neighborhood have electric fences and still get deer in their yard, my deer spray and my dog seem to be working great.

My user name (Entlie) is based on the breed of dog we have, an entlebucher named Toby.

My daughter (Sstateham) is an active DG'er and a wonderful gardener. She has contributed a lot to my new space. I can only hope to have a garden half as nice as hers someday.

Well I rambled on much longer than I intended. Nice to meet everyone!

Entlie- Hey, I think we share the same taste in plantings. The sun here can be brutal (even to those plants that claim to thrive in full sun) This is a great place to get info and sage advice.

I just hope you don't have the same experience with Virginia Sweetspire I had. I had remembered one from my Grandmother's yard and searched until I found a nursery with some. I drove two hours to get them and was so thrilled to plant them. About a week later I was doing my morning "scouting" and all that was left of my Sweetspires was one little stick in the ground. No trace of anything.

I did some reasearch and found out that Sweetspire is like bear candy. Highway Dept. actually plants it to attract bears to special "crossings" I subsequently discovered that I have a black bear who frequents my back yard. So, no more trash cans, no more bird suet, and sadly, no more Sweetspire.

A question- how old is your Confederate Jasmine? I started a smaller plant in a large pot last year. It had some problems and I did not know if it would come back this season. It surprised me and is about six feet tall and healthy as can be this year (same pot, same spot)

Thanks for your note, Carolina Blue. What a bear story! We live in a development, but I guess you never know. There are "watch for bear" signs on the road to New Bern from Kinston.

Our Confederate Jasmine is new - bought four and planted two on each side of the little arbor. Maybe it's just having a rocky start, but I am going to give it a shot of my grub mixture anyway.

Appreciate the welcome -
Entlie

Entlie welcome I have been here just a year and love this place.
I will be retiring and moving to Kennel's Beach next year -right around the corner from New Bern in Pamlico Co. I gotta land scape the yard there also.
I do think Elephant ears will grow good.

I have lots of the Carolina Jasmine so if yours dies let me know.

Lavina

Thanks, LavinaMae. Kennel's Beach is a great area. If I can help you with any plant starts that I have when you move, just let me know.

I do see lots of Elephant ears down here.

Entlie

Gotta love the Watch for Bear signs on the Tuscarora stretch!! Black bears are making a comeback Downeast too - on the fringes of Open Grounds farms and military outpost forested areas.

LavinaMae - describe to me where Kennel's Beach is - bring me in from Hwy101 and Cherry Branch ferry area....

Hi,

I live in Grantsboro, Pamlico Co. NC. I love palm trees and currently have five in my yard doing great. Two are pindo or jelly palms, two windmill palms and a mediterrean clumping fan palm. They are all supposed to be cold hardy palms, so I hope they can handle this winter or I will be trying to throw flannel sheets or boxes over them to protect them from frost exposure. I baby mine too. I don't know if you have heard of Gary's Nursery off of James City near you, but he is a great palm tree dealer with excellent prices. I would definitely recommend him if you would like anymore.

Southernleegirl - Thanks for your note. We did get our three windmill palms from Gary's - planted them late spring 2005. During the winter we were off cruising, so we made little shelters for each tree - three stakes wrapped with netting that formed a cylinder around each tree, which we filled with pine straw, being careful not to cover the crown. They say if you cover the crown, it will rot. We asked our house sitters to pour a couple of buckets of warm water around each tree every few weeks. They survived the winter, and are growing great. We also have a sago, which is hanging in there but not exactly a happy palm.

In lieu of pine straw protection, Gary's said that some folks wrap the trunks with the larger, old style Christmas lights. The newer, smaller lights aren't warm enough to help. So I might try to get some on ebay.

I like Williams Nursery in Merrit, east of you. They don't have a huge selection, but nice, healthy plants. I bought a Natchez crape myrtle from them for $12 this spring, and it's doing great.

Well have a great day in Grantsboro - it's a cute spot.

Entlie

Thanks. I too visit Williams Lawn and Garden. I have bought several butterfly bushes there because I love to see nature in the yard. They not only attract butterflys but hummingbirds as well. We live back in the woods and there is a lot of nature here. Some of them unwanted of course like many snakes. I live less than two miles from Kennel's Beach. To me, it is way over populated there, but different strokes for different folks as they say.
Oh, by the way, elephant ears are very abundant and very easy to grow here. They come back year and year and multiply each time. We also have a pond and they are even growing up out of that so I pulled one up by the roots and put in my beta fish bowl and it is growing just fine in the house too.
When you refer to the crown of the palm tree, do you mean the top of the trunk or actually the palm leaves themselves?

Southernleegirl well sounds like you make be my neighbor.LOL
We own gray doublewide as you turn to go to the Beach, we almost bought down in what I call the village but I'm glad we are so far back and we can get on the golf cart and ride down there .
I have seen the bear . I was told last spring someone killed her cubs. She is a beauty but so big. If you know where the Rice Farm is she ran across in front of us to get into the soy bean field. We were on the golf cart and kinda startled.
We have a resident bob cat I've seen and a beautiful Eagle in the neighbor hood.
Guess you know by now the bluffs were sold for $22 million and the rest of the Brinson Farm I was told went for $8 Million. We were told this 2 weeks ago. Hate to see so much progress as we were trying to get there to get away from all the hustle and bustle.
My DH spent his summers at Kennel's Beach as his grandmother owned a place there . He has lived there 2st. This time we plan on staying for ever.

I love Pamlico County.

Lavina



This message was edited Sep 10, 2006 9:02 PM

Southernleegirl - It took me a while to get back on this thread, so I hope you see my note. You asked what I meant by the crown of the palm tree. Gary from Gary's Palms tells me that the crown is where the new growth is coming out of the center, and that's what needs to be protected in the winter. He told me that the worst thing usually to happen is we get a big rain, followed by a bad freeze. The rain collects in the crown, freezes, and damages the crown.

Our windmills were 15 gallon last year (his $75 size) and they have grown about 2 feet. He says now that ours are established, we don't need to build the little shelter for them, but I might do it anyway if I can't find some of the older Christmas tree lights that I mentioned.

I have a great book about growing palms in cold climates "Palms Won't Grow Here and other Myths" by David A. Francko. He says to spray the crown with copper based fungicide before the winter, and he suggests watering it periodically through the winter with warm water. I looked all over last year for copper based fungicide and couldn't find it, so just gave up.
Well that is probably more conversation than you ever wanted to have about palm trees.

Hope you are having a great day!

Entlie

Entlie, isn't the state flower or tree rather for South Carolina the palmetto????? Is the temp difference that drastic for them??? Now that I think about it I dont think I have ever seen a palm of any kind while in SC.

I am going to have to check to see if my pontail palms and date palms are going to be okay there. I might just leave them inside their containers and put them in the garage for the winters.

Carat,
Looks like you are in zone 9b, and I am in 8a. A considerable difference. I think you are right that the Palmetto is the state tree - (Love the logo on the flags and license plates!)

Palmettos do grow here in our zone - but the windmill is supposed to be the hardiest, so that's what we planted. A neighbor down the street from us planted 6 palmettos last year, and during the mild winter lost two of them. Could have been because he bought big ones, which were too big to shelter their first winter, mild though it was.

We go through SC every year on the Intracoastal waterway on our boat, and we see LOTS of palm trees - the waterway in many places is like an alley running between the back yards of homes in both ordinary and very upscale neighborhoods. It's the ultimate garden tour!

We also have friends who recently moved to Mount Pleasant from Chicago, and their home and neighborhood is full of palms.

I doubt that you'll need to garage your stuff, but your extension office near Filbert should be able to help you with that.

Have a great day!