That is what I though too. I was not expecting mine until mid October. But I got a notice that they are on their way arriving tommorrow!!
Has Anyone Received Their Order from Chalk Hill?
well, all 28 of mine are in the ground. nice plants. it was a big project. we had pre dug the holes a few days prior (i have done this up to a month early)and a helper had mixed the soil with all the goodies i usually put in.
still, prewatering the areas, soaking the plants and filling pushing the wheelbarrow around was enough for me.
we are just about cleaned up from the IKE storm and think daily about those in the gulf who will take far longer to recover from the traumatic storm.
good luck with your planting. hard to believe chalk hill retail clem nursery is closing, but at least the mary toomey display garden will remain on the property and their wholesale cut flower business will continue to flourish i am sure
I recieved part of my order today. Plants all look good. I not happy with a sub that was made though. Two of mine were not available and they subbed 2 different ones for two of the same.
The other part of my order is in limbo because I must have mixed up my work and home address so I will not get it until Monday.
there is(or was i should say) a place to check "no subs"however,gettting two of the same for your subs is really not good. are you going to call and get that corrected?i would for sure.
good luck. they are fine people so i am sure they will correct it.
I spoke with Murray and he is going to credit me for one. I am going to give them away to a couple of friends. He is so very nice and I had thought I checked that box I placed 3 orders so I might have missed it.
I haven't been on DG for so long, I forgot about my Chalk Hill order. The garden just got away from me this year. No order yet here either (zone 5/6). My card was charged immediately after placing the order. The way this season is going, I probably wouldn't have found time to plant until October anyway :-) Here is what I am getting, and am I ever grateful that I "restrained myself." Nine is more than I can figure what to do with right now. So glad I am not in the 20+ club. (someone remind me I said that in the spring).
Dominika
Põhjanael
Vostok
Star of India
Amanda Marie
Beata
Kommerei
Nikolai Rubtsov
Solidarnosc
Great choices. I spent my weekend wondering what the heck I was thinking of when I ordered mine!!. I have 3 that are being given away . I have 2 that still need planting and 12 more coming today!!! Not smart I think I was having a very week moment back in May.
That is the only problem with spring -- one series of weak moments after another. My bank account shreeks from the time new catalogs come in January through the end of June :-)
MIne too. I get into just as much trouble in fall too. I really need my own Bank dedicated to just plant purchase funded by someone other than me!!
I received an email letting me know my order is on the way - but it looks like it wont be delivered until next Monday. Does that seem like a long delivery time, will the clems be ok for that duration? Thanks everyone!
my chalk hill order was shipped on the 15th and received on the 22 and planted on the 23 and 24th.the reason they wait till mid sept is to make sure temps are cooler...adequate water and temps not too high are more important than the number of days dark.
remove all the packing material around the top of the pot...damp paper usually. place plant in semi shade to shade and water immediately and plant as soon ad you can and keep a every two or three day deep watering up thru the time when most everything in your yard has gone dormant. this could be all winter in your zone!!!!
I'm starting to get a little worried about my HUGE Chalk Hill order. With the shorter days, it's getting dark before I get home from work now, so planting time is getting limited. I ordered early in the sale, and I'm zone 5, so I thought they'd be on their way by now. I e-mailed at the beginning of the week to ask about possible shipping dates, but I haven't heard anything back.
I haven't emailed them yet, but I haven't heard anything about my 2 orders either.
I did call as I had indicated in my posting above. They did say they were busy because of the sale, but I don't think that should have come as any suprise. I too am wondering my order - Fall seems to be starting early here this year.
They also take my money as soon as I placed my order. I am hoping that in the next week to 10 days I receive my plants. I had figured I would plant them out in gallon pots and plant them out in the back yard for the winter anyway. But I do wish they would hurry up. I don't think it would bother me half so much if the warmer zones were not receiving theirs.
I still haven't received my order and my card was charged right away as well. I've sent several e-mails and no response. Does anyone have the phone number so I could give them a call., never mind I found it. Night time is coming way too early for me as well.... and it is usually the weekend when I'm doing any gardening now....
thanks
ps
if mine do come later do you think I could plant them in pots and winter them over in the garage?
Janet
edited to say I had found the #
This message was edited Oct 4, 2008 7:17 AM
gardenmouse, get your holes dug and soil amended and ready so planting will be easier!!! i understand. you will be find in your zone if you plant deeply..read the chalk hill recommendations closely as to planting depth!!!
meadowyck, ditto!!!
will be so worth it in the spring.
I received an email Friday at work (took the day off) stating that mine were on their way and that I should see my clems by this coming Friday.
Just wondering Melva if you received yours yet. I know you are a warmer zone than I am, but didn't really seem to matter.
Carolyn
Well, I received my clems yesterday when I got home from work, it was after dark so I couldnt really see them. I only ordered four and two were substitutions... not too good on the odds, I am a bit worried about some of you who ordered so many more - I hope you have much better luck receiving the ones you really wanted!! Maybe they have set aside the bigger orders to be sure they get what they want first??? The two that were subed in are ok but not what I would have ordered - and I could have sworn I didnt want subs but I probably didnt mark the right check or something. Anyhow I will let you know how the roots look once I have had a chance to look through them, the note in the box said they have begun to go dormant due to the temps where they are located so I wouldn't expect much on top but I am looking forward to seeing the root balls tonight, if I can get out of work early enough to 'see' them :-)
I finally emailed them today and here's the response:
We are totally inundated with shipping literally hundreds of orders. We are shipping to your region through October, while it is safe to plant Clematis. Your order is scheduled to ship within the next few weeks. You will receive an email confirmation from UPS with a tracking reference once the plants are sent.
Still doesn't explain why people in warmer zones are getting theirs fist...oh well...
Gardening NC I did get two subs out of mine . They did not send the ones I ordered because they were not healthy looking. What are the 2 subs you received?
I received Vanessa and Savannah as the subs. Have you received all of your order Marie? What were your subs?
i checked no subs when ordering and got no subs.
all of mine are in the ground. i question my sanity now as i scramble to take care of them and fret over the ones going dormant already....very natural both the dormancy and the fretting....have been here before.
spring will be a riot of care and joy around here. think i will need the winter to mentally prepare for it and rest up!!!!
Niobe, I requested no subs as well but when I received my order confirmation the no subs box was not checked so I emailed them to make sure the same day. I'm still a little worried since they have so many orders that it will be interesting to see what ships. Only time will tell.
Arlene
I checked out my roots yesterday on the two I really wanted and they look great - the other two look good too, but not as important so didn't look as closely... :-)
I thought I had checked no subs too. Either way I am happy.
clem roots are so hardy..if they are well watered and well planted very hard to kill. however, the fussy ones that keep disappearing and reappearing are the real challenge of clems!
next year we can all remember chalk hill fondly as we watch or plants come alive and hopefully, thrive!!!
Got my shipping notice! My order should be here on Monday.
I received a shipping notice on the 6th and just checked it now and it says they won't be here till monday. 1 full week.... I now starting to be concerned that the plants will be dead after a week in transit....
Did anyone else order take a week and if so what condition were the plants???? when you received them???
Janet
Mine were shipped when it was still very warm across the country . The soil Chalk Hill uses retains moisture very well. The soil was still moist when I received the plants, but the leaves looked bad. Two had powery mildew and the leaves dried on the third plant a week later. However, two of the plants started growing almost immediately after planting in the ground.
mine were a week in transit also.....no harm done. some looked better than others, some starting to go dormant. if kept hydrated and planted properly there should be no issues. look at your cems plants in the ground already, it is that time of year or all of them, no?
niobe:
I have several and I thought they were headed to their winter sleep only to find that this week with the warmer temps I now have 4 blooms about to open again..... This from 1 plant that was almost dead at kmart this summer......LOL
I'm very excited about getting these and I have the area all prepared for them.... then next spring I'll be having a new back drop built for them to climb on and provide some much needed shade into out living room window....
I already have the posts in place so there won't be any disturbance to the roots next spring.... I did a mix of top soil sweet peat and leaf humus so I hope this will be good for them, plus I have some root developer to water them with this year....
Thanks folks for sharing your experience, most helpful.
Janet
you are getting clem fever! it is fun. there is no cure. give into it.
we are in the same zone i think. i have had clems blooming at thanksgiving..not as large or sumptious of ourse as spring and summer. clems are always ready to amaze us!!!!!! like good friends!!!
I received a e-mail on the 8th. of Oct. and said I would be getting mine on the 15th., I am afford that it will be dead because it is still in Calf. sating in a trailer. I am not very Happy about this. If it is dead than what do you do? I order Land Bird Johnson ant this is the only place that had it. I believe that it is UPS's fault for not moving it , and they should be the ones that should found me another one which will never happen.
when you get it, open the box immediately and take a picture of the plant.next place the pot with the plant in it in a bucket of water to rehydrate it completely. leave it in the bucket of water until oxygen bubbles stop coming up to the surface , even longer. eventually set it out to drain.
call chalk hill and e mail the photo asking if the shipping delay would allow them to re ship a fresh plant.
plant your lady b johnson, properly in a full sun location as soon as possible. clem roots are amazingly hardy and resilient. the plant will probably be going dormant already, but depending on the location and the weather it may even start re growth this fall.
i have a healthy plant (abundance) that sat , unwatered in an unopened shipping box from silver star for 6 weeks before i
found it (hubbie had placed the box in a dark utility room and forgotten to mention to me it had arrived.......)
clems roots are amazing and it may be ok. still i'd ask for another shipment and let them duke it out with ups as to who is responsibile. maybe you'll end up with two plants, you never know!
good luck!
niobe:
that is some good advice. One thing that does puzzle me, is here I'm paying for UPS (which the shipping was more than the total of my plants) and I don't understand why it is taking a week for it to get here.
I sure hope the plants make it. I so need them for sun relief next summer. Plus I really wanted to add some unique ones that no one in my area has.
Janet
i'd definitely take up that delayed delivery with chalk hill and ask for replacement plants.
if first year clem growth may not give the vigor you want, consider some annual climbers that do no easily re seed themselves and become invasivie to add coverage in the beginning. clems take a while to establish in most cases and first year growth made not be adequate to provide "shade".
For those of you worriesd about receiving dead plants. Please do not stress yourself. I had two of mine get lost here in Tempe for a week, over 100 degree weather. The leaves were dried a bit but as soon as they were watered and in the ground they started to green right up. Now is the time for a lot of clematis to go dormant also so as long as your roots are healthy there should be no problems.
If by chance there is all you have to do is call them and you will be taken care of.
Niobe:
thanks again for your reply, I guess I really knew in the back of my mind that it would be a while till I had good shade coverage, but a person can dream......LOL truth be told, I prefer things that take a while to come into their own. I found that when that is the case that particular thing is much more worth the wait. I found this especially true in breeding dogs. the lines that took a while to mature out, ALWAYS stayed together better and the traits lasted their lifetime. I never was one for the puppy bloom fliers. I was always content to wait for the beauty to come into its own time. So it seems that this particular plant is right up my alley.
Marieortiz thanks for giving assurance to those of us who haven't ordered from them before. Its nice to know the company will take care if anything goes wrong.
Janet
what kind of dogs do you breed?
Rough Collies, but I no longer breed them since moving to northern Ohio. There are several other large kennels in the area that send the puppies that they aren't able to pawn off on newbie show folks to the rescue groups in the area. I believe if you breed you have to do rescue for your breed. I currently have six ranging from 13 years old to 4 years old.
I received my clematis order today, but unfortunately they sub when I had specifically asked for no subs, unless it would make for even shipping, but I guess they forgot to read my comments....
Anyway, I have them soaking now and hopefully will get them planted in the next day or two.
I received Minuet, Mrs. T. Lundell, Ltttle Nell and Montana var rubens Tetrarose two others were not available and they gave me credit for one Peveril Pearl and then sub hendryetta for my selection of Veronia's Choice. The tops are what you would expect after a being boxed for more than a week, so we will see. I'm not going to take them out of their containers to look at the roots until tomorrow, I want them to have time to drink in the water......
Janet