tall phlox from BB for swap on May 24

I just came across a sale on tall phlox at Blooming Bulb that's a really great deal (60% off on several varieties, and even Bright Eyes is a good price at 30% off)... and I'm going to order some. Ordinarily, I'd see how many people wanted phlox and offer to pot it all up and bring it along (the more we order, the better the price). But I need to be in Pittsburgh next week, returning Thursday afternoon. I think I'm going to have my hands full as it is trying to get things potted up and organized to bring for Saturday without trying to pot up a bunch of phlox.

I just called and talked to Brad, and he said the bare root plants would be OK for about a week after arrival if I just kept them in a cool place (like my basement). So... If I tell them to ship on Monday, they should arrive on Thursday; if they ship tomorrow, they'll probably arrive on Tuesday. If I can't find time to pot them up, I'll just bring them bare root.

Here's the deal:

First, this offer is only for people attending the swap at Becky's on the 24th (unless you're in Frederick and can come by on Friday the 23rd, in which case you can help me pot them up, LOL)

I'm planning to get 5 of each variety, 10 of 'Laura'. The price per each drops at 15 of a given variety and drops again at 25. Given my time constraints next week, I definitely don't want to order more than 25 of each, and I'd be happy ordering just 15 (or just placing my order). There's no shipping charge on these. :-)

I'm planning to plant mine out in clumps of 3 divisions for a nice, full look. (No, I don't know exactly how big a "number 1 divison" is, but I've never been unhappy with BB.) I'm going to do it like this... I think Bright Eyes, Starfire, and David will look great together, so I'm doing both mixed and single variety clumps to get 5 groups of 3 out of my 15 divisions:

(BBB) (SSS) (DDD)
(SBD) (DBS)


For David, Franz, Laura, and Starfire, the price is 90 cents per division if we order 15 of a variety and 76 cents each if we order 25. For Bright Eyes, the price is $1.57 per division if we order 15. If nobody else wants Bright Eyes, that's fine.

I'll keep track of where we are by editing this post:

Variety number ordered

Bright Eyes 5

David 26 (I'll order 30 and take 4 more)

Franz Shubert 11 (I'll order 15 and take 4 more)

Laura 15

Starfire 15




Numbers look good to me... I will place this order TODAY... let me know right away if you want to get in on this


This message was edited May 15, 2008 10:50 AM

reserved in case I need another post for organizing stuff :-)

Critter, before you get any dark fuschia ones, keep in mind I have phlox David Poore I'll be bringing to the swap. It's a good one - I've never seen the first spot of powdery mildew on it and it's very fragrant.

Ooh, that's very pretty! Maybe I'll take 'Starfire' off the list... I was wavering on it, anyway.

I'll get 5 of the Starfire and 5 of the David. Can we pay you at the swap?

Starfire is supposed to be red. Hmmm, red is what I was looking for but the photos in plant files show it to be a dark pink. Robert Poore (not David Poore, sorry) is a dark fuschia, darker than my photo above but more purple and less rosy pink. I know the Starfire plants I've seen at Webers were red, not pink.

More like this.
http://www.carrollgardens.com/catalog/Perennials/detail/420-06-11850

OK, so Starfire can stay. :-) I like the sound of a dark fuschia one! Actually, I don't think I've ever seen one I don't like. :-)

Paying me at the swap works just fine.

I love the scent of R Poore too. It scents the whole yard when it's in bloom. I've heard the David is extremely mildew resistant too.

The other one I've been trying to get besides the red is Orange Perfection. The color is gorgeous. The plant files photos aren't accurate at all on that one - it's bright, dark orange.

The are just about as tough a plant as you can grow and I have some in full sun, some in shade and they all do well. The foliage is nice when they're not in bloom.

For moi

Starfire 5
David 5

I have Robert Poore and Starfire I like them both, they do very well for me. Sorry I can't attend the swap, live to far away. : < (
Chris

Anyone know how mildew-resistant these cultivars are? My yard gets a lot of mildew.

Jill, I'd love to try 5 David.

Hart: If you really have extra R. Poore, I'd love to try . . . .

I think I've heard Franz Schubert & Bright Eyes are "resistant" to PM, but to what degree, I'm not sure.

By the way, I figured this was obvious... but we need to wrap this up pretty quickly. If you're thinking of jumping in and haven't posted, at least let me know you're considering it so I don't place the order without trying to check with you.

Ouch. See http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/staff/rbir/phloxmildew.html
Franz Schubert is not supposed to be resistant; nor is Starfire. 2/3 of Laura died during the trials.
Bright Eyes is also moderately susceptible: www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-6111.pdf

I'll stick with 5 David, which is supposed to be resistant.

Robert Poore is also resistant!

Sorry to be gloom and doom, but I've had to toss a lot of phlox in prior years because the mildew was so awful.

Good googling! I think I'm remembering from catalog descriptions -- probably not quite a reliable source, LOL.

Remind me next April when it starts coming up, Happy, and I'll get you a piece of the lovely lavender-blue phlox that my MIL gave me (from her mother's garden, I believe)... it does well in her very shady, humid NC yard, so I think it's safe to say it's mildew resistant.

David is extremely resistant. So is R. Poore. Do me a favor, would you all? If you want some of the Robert Poore, post it in the haves/wants thread so I won't forget. I have a pretty good sized clump I'm going to divide up. I need to save a piece for my daughter but I'll be glad to share the rest of it with anyone who wants some.

If you want to try some of the other ones that aren't super resistant, just spray them periodically with baking soda water. That will keep the mildew away.

Okay, I just searched too by plant and Starfire, Laura, Franz Schubert and Bright Eyes are all listed as highly mildew resistant, despite what the trials said. I'm leery of trials anyway. Who knows what conditions were when and where the trial was done. I notice they don't really give any info at all on conditions at that NCSU link. They do say the poor plants were never irrigated except at planting. One of the things that will make plants very susceptible to mildew is drought.

Hart: I agree, but my yard is a mildew magnet, so I need to pay attention to trials even if they are skewed to not give plants a break. And I'm not good about spraying. But I'd love to hear how everyone else does with Starfire, Laura, Franz Schubert and Bright Eyes.

I've had them all except Starfire before (hmm, maybe I had a different eyed purple one than Laura but I know I had Franz and Bright Eyes) and I didn't have much trouble with mildew except just a touch on the lowest leaves (which David got also). It's hard to resist trying them at 90 cents each... ;-)

If I hadn't pulled some out last year, I'd be more gung-ho -- you know I can't resist a co-op. But I think my lack of full sun doesn't help the mildew problem.

I hear you! (BTW, unrelated, but speaking of co-ops... I've got those little red and pink/cream sedums planted out in a new little rock garden "pocket bed," and they're looking good!)

I understand. I'm just getting around to retrying some of the shade lovers I killed when we had no good shady spots.

Happy, have you considered limbing up some of your trees to give you some more sunny spots? It doesn't cost nearly as much as removal but can give you a lot more light.

Just got a Dmail from another local DGer... adding 5 Franz, 5 David, and 5 Laura. :-)

This is turning out to be a "just right" sized co-op for me at this point. David will be 76 cents each, the others will be 90 cents each (except BE, which nobody elsewanted). Thanks, everybody!


Numbers look good to me... I will place this order TODAY... let me know right away if you want to get in on this!

Might want to check with Larlienda. She might want some. I know she's been busy with birthing babies, aka hatching guinea keets and ducklings, the past couple of days.

She posted on the have/want thread after I put the notice there about the phlox... so I think she saw that we're doing this.

I just want to be sure they can get them out by Monday. I can probably add to the order if I call right back, as long as it hasn't gone out yet (wouldn't be the first time I've done that with BB... LOL, they probably have a note on the computer not to start packing my order for 6 hours after I place it).

Was that where you got all the crocus last fall? I think when you looked in the mirror then, there were bulbs gleaming in your eyes. LOL

hahaha... yep, that's the place! then things got a little complicated, and 1000 snow crocus overwintered in my crisper drawer!

Oh, my, you must have a really big crisper. LOL I think we all understand the throes of plant lust.

LOL Snow crocus are teeny little bulbs.

The phlox came on Thursday. DH opened the box and said they looked pretty good... he's right... moist, packed with wood shavings, just barely starting to sprout. I think they'll hold fine in bags until Saturday, but if I run out of things to do tomorrow I'll pot them up LOL.

'David' and 'Laura' are 76 cents per division (because we got 25 or more), and 'Franz Schubert' and 'Starfire' are 90 cents per division (because we ordered 15).

Here are the order totals I've got. Please let me know if I missed anything.

Happy:
5 'David' x 76 cents = $3.80

Hart:
5 'David' x 76 cents = $3.80
5 'Starfire' x 90 cents = $4
total = $7.80

Becky:
5 'David' x 76 cents = $3.80
5 'Starfire' x 90 cents = $4
total = $7.80

Nutmegnana:
5 'David' x 76 cents = $3.80
5 'Laura' x 76 cents = $3.80
5 'Franz Schubert' x 90 cents = $4
total = $11.60



This message was edited May 23, 2008 8:25 AM