In a recent thread, Pirl displayed a photo of earth staples. I found those at Gardener's Supply Company, but are there other places that also sell these? I haven't found any others so far. I finally bought two 5 1/2 ft. towers today for my clems and I will need to anchor them.
Also, my order arrived from Silver Star today!!!! They are very large and I'm extremely pleased. Holes are dug and I will be trying to get them in tomorrow between all the family gatherings. I'm trying to keep them damp in the meantime.
Lowe's finally received their clems today. They are liners for $6, but I couldn't resist, as they had Niobe. I also bought one I'd never heard of before, Warsaw Nike (III) and I like the photo I saw on the clem on the web site. Do any of you have this one?
Where can I find earth staples?
I don't know if they're the correct size that you need but I see online that tractor supply company has them, landscape staples.
I would think that any local farm and/or garden place would most likely have them?
Good luck
I didn't think of that, Bonnie. I was trying to find some place locally, so I wouldn't have to wait a week or more. In NW Fla., we certainly have lots of tractor supply places, as this is a farming community. I think I'll wait till Monday and check before ordering on the internet. Thank you!!!!
The ones I found were 10" and I think extra long will be best. The others were 6 inches.
You can go to the website to see if they have them at your local store. Also on the upper right hand side you can get a $5 coupon to use in-store! (says Tractor Supply does not sell or rent the information you provide us.)
Hope you find them..
Sharkey, I buy the earth staples by the box at Home Depot. However, the staples aren't really long enough to anchor a trellis or tower. I use the large steel stakes with holes already drilled in them... they are sold by the rebar in Lowe's. You can get them in 18", 24" or 36" lengths and then hammer them deep into the ground. Then I use zip-ties to attach the stakes to the structure I am securing. Everything has survived hurricane force winds with this setup. I had a tower with Don Juan anchored like this when Gustav came through... the fence blew down, but the tower stood strong!!!! =P
I'm glad you mentioned Lowe's got their clems. I had checked there the other day and couldn't find any at all. I'll have to go back and check again.
Edit: Here's a link to what I use:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&N=4294961544&Ne=4294967294&Ntk=i_products&Ntt=stake+holes
This message was edited Apr 12, 2009 5:12 PM
BG, those would take care of things for sure!
Do zip ties dry rot fairly quick?
Nope, the zip ties seem to last forever! Many of mine have been in full sun for three years with no sign of weakening at all.
BG, thanks for the tip. I also saved the photo that Jeanne (I think) posted showing how she uses rebar and hose clamps. I think either one of these would be better than the 10 inch staples, especially if yours survived a hurricane. We also have to deal with hurricane winds here at times, so whatever I do will have to be very secure. Did you submerge any of your tower in the ground? Mine are round, so I guess one on each side would be sufficient. Right?
I was going to have to order staples on the web and pay more for shipping than the staples. Thanks, again.
Most of my towers came with four very short legs at the base, though a couple have just the round base at the bottom. For the ones with four legs, I've used four of those stakes... one by each leg. As I am growing very heavy roses on most of mine, I didn't want to risk that the roses would cause the tower to lean any direction, nor did I want winds to catch them. By using stakes on all four sides, I've covered any direction the hurricanes might travel. There have been quite a few hurricanes that have come through in the three years we've lived in this house (two of them this fall!), and all of my towers, arbors and trellises have not been displaced at all. If you're in an area that doesn't get significant winds, I'd think that two would be sufficient. Just pick the least protected directions to anchor. Ev =)
Within the last two weeks, we've had winds that blew my heavy swing all the way across my deck and this wasn't even a hurricane! So, I might ought to consider using 4 of those per tower. You people in LA have certainly been hit hard over the years. I'm only an hour from the coast (Panama City) and we've been pretty lucky compared to you so far. Let's hope this summer is a very light season.
Sharkey;,,
Did you find those staples yet?.... If not, how many do you need, and what length... I have to deliver a bunch of raspberry plants to a nursery in the next day or so and they have them.. Can pick them up while I'm there....
...Dave
Wow! Not only do you sell excellent clems, but you're a nice guy as well. I guess I should have checked this thread before I answered my Dmail. After discussing this with my husband, we've most likely decided to use the steel stakes that BG recommended. He also said he has some rebar he can cut if necessary. I'm afraid the 18" staples won't be sufficient with the winds we sometimes have here. We narrowly missed a tornado today, or maybe it's the other way around. (It's usually hurricanes we worry about here, though.)
But, thank you so VERY much for the offer. I'm hesitant to turn down your offer, but I've never seen one of these staples and don't know how sturdy they are.
By the way, after comparing your clems with some others I got today, I won't be ordering from that other company anymore.
UncleGreenThumb, clem ordering info, please? I'm a clem newbie and looking for good sources. Thanks for any info! Ev =)
Edit: Just found your listing on the DG Marketplace. Unfortunately, it looks like I found you too late. You're sold out of what's on my wish list. =(
This message was edited Apr 13, 2009 11:59 PM
BG, I was just about to log out and saw your thread. I also have some on my wish list that he didn't have, but after I received two from him today I decided to order 4 more from him. I looked at his list, then looked up the photo and picked out some more I liked because the ones I received had such good root systems (like Silver Star.) They were sent very quickly and were packaged so very well. The price was very good for what you receive.
I could use another white in Group III. I don't want to transplant my Huldine I planted last year because it's growing like a weed!!
are earth staples for layering? or for holding down trellis etc?
i use landscape mat metal ,squared at the top, u shaped pins for layering. about 4 inches long, an inch wide at the top.
BG here is a post showing how nice that his clematis are:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/970845/
UGT you've got to get more clematis so we can buy more from you! :)
The staples are to hold the new trellises in the ground. The trellises are about 66 inches tall and round at the bottom. I assume that in layering you could use a much shorter staple. Is that correct?
By the way, Guru, I took your advice and planted my Avant Garde by itself instead of pairing it. That was the day before the storm hit. It looks okay, but I just hope it doesn't drown. The 2 ft. hole right next to it is almost full of water. It has only receded about 6 inches. I had gone ahead and put some sand and pine bark mulch in the bottom because of the clay. Oh, and I actually used a collar like you suggested.
I'm so tempted to plant three together because I have more clems than I have good places to dig holes. Didn't you mention that you sometimes plant 3 or 4 on one tower?
This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 11:23 PM
yep, i plant several on each structure..let the best clem win.....i have to with the number i have. just use a separate collar on each so you can keep track of them.
yes i layer with a 4 inch pronged landscape mat pin! 66 inches..wow. big staple.
i never do 2 foot deep holes wither. true clems need a nice big hole, but i go 18 by 18 usually. i would put 2 clems, each with a top collar in a whole that big.
also consider letting them trail over shrubs vs artificial support. i have some growing up lilacs that i keep very limbed up, and on some cedars, arborvitaes, and hydrangea which is a signature in my garden. (for hosting clems i mean)
do you normally have drainage issues? or is this just wild weather? wait to plant maybe till drainage under control?
i do have an alpina pink flamingo with an avante garde, but it has established so slowly i barely know it is there, but will get shots of it this spring. i only started photos last year, and did not get all of my clems, even half of them. this year i am going to be on it like craZy.
Guru, top collar? Layering? I have no idea what's involved with either of those terms. Could you please explain? Thanks for any help! Ev =)
hey , blissful. there is a thread called "serpentine layering" that explains and layering is referred to in many of the threads here. ways to keep your clem going with baby plants.
top collar, well guess we need s stickie, i am out of energy. if you love clems, or are starting a true addiction, you will enjoy going thru a lot of these threads and reading all the myths, science, lore and prayer tactics we all use. if you are not motivated to wade thru it, you are not on the way to true addiction.
collars are a way to hold the soil high up on the clem and also not lose track of it....protect against erosion, keep the base defined. many comments on these threads on it. it is a clemguru thing, not that widespread as a planting technique. but works for me. i like to define where that clem is, mark it and take care of it. if i lose the clem, at least i am aware of it!
i have so many clems this helps me immensely. i will post a photo of a collar on a baby plant (clematis consort in ground from last year) here again, and when it is warm and dry outside (my zone crazy wet. cold right now) take a pic of it on a bigger clem. also i believe snails do not like to cross the top of the collar. if you have a lot of snails, place the collar in the soil cut side up vs top of pot side up. a snail will not cross a rough surface that will cut it's body.
may your addiction and love of the genus grow and develop...you are in a great zone for clems...GO FOR IT
Guru, thanks for the info. I've already invested in 31 clems, so I'm definitely going for it! =P
I will be planting many of them in pots with the bottoms cut out already, so I guess it's somewhat like a collar. I'll try to search for the layering thread. Ev =)
Guru, we have had unusually wild weather lately--much more rain in a shorter period of time than usual the last few weeks. The ground was already saturated from receiving 5 inches in one day last week. In another part of the yard we had also dug holes, but they had drained sufficiently so that I was able to plant them today. I love your thoughts on "let the best clem win."
I've purchased so many clems that I plan to put them in an Excel spreadsheet to keep up with groups, attributes, vendor, date purchased, etc. I DID put two in the same collar, but I learn something new every single time I read these threads. What's your main reason for using separate collars?
I'm also going to try your idea of using crushed oyster shells to discourage slugs. We buy them by the bag--oysters, not slugs--and eat lots of them (I need to preview my writing a little more carefully before I click "send.") No, I've never seen a 66" staple, but thanks for making me laugh after a long planting day!
well. i put each one in it's own colllar so i can go down an whack the vines if it needs it without disturbing the wrong one. also to be very clear about what is thriving and what is not. you can prune a plant by cutting the vines off from the bottom and then following them up and whacking at intervals and gently removing vs ripping them out. i am also hoping that each one becomes so vigorous it will need a whole collar, but as we know that could take YEARS. nothing wrong with some sharing collars, but better to use a 12 inch collar, or even 10 inch and give them their own. but your wholes are big enough for two collars for sure. to me, better to use collars. i plant impatiens around the collars to hide any edge showing, or bruild rocks up around the collar as the season gets underway. i used to make the collars out of medium size rocks placed around the planting area, but it did not hold off the erosion of good soil as well as the plastic collars do.
i use excell spreadhssets too. this year i have power point pages annotating each garden area and pages for the ones i am waiting to be shipped. then i move the clem to the page it goes on after i receive and plant it. i have to to this to be organized with the plants. i can also print a cc and take only the appropriate page to the garden i am working, make notes and then enter them when i am back inside.
i like to plan where i am planting each clem before it arrives, but sometimes have gone off plan and done "freestyle "planting as well as freestyle pruning!
you are in a great area for container growing of clems. i plan to do some in containers this year too as my arrivals come in. i haven't done this is YEARS, but am going to do it with the small plants this year for a few reasons including the pants, space, and wanting to have a walled area with pots.
Love using rebars for support of trellises I put up in the yard. Can put a trellis anywhere with tall rebars for support.
Also, I made hose guides with the rebars, pounded rebar into groung with 6-12 in. showing, covered with black tubes ( plumbing dept. has all kinds ) cut to cover rebar and turn easily, then " I put a whiffle ball " on top for decoration. Painted it all black, looks like black iron!! Works great, no hose in flower beds when watering!!
Plastic hose guides were either too short or broke easily...
Geraldine, that's a neat idea. I'd love to see a picture of one of those.
Guru, I hadn't thought about using PPT, but I have printed out last year's before/after photos in my camera of my newly planted flower gardens and my pepper project. I put them in a separate album with notes about dates, vendors, etc. I also downloaded photos of all the clems I have (until I can take photos of my own plants) and will link to the photos from the SS when planning color combos. I had to devise some organized way of keeping up with all of these clems. It's sounds as if you've already done this.
well i used to use spreadhseets from american clem society. used the dormant months on their sheet to track place of purchase etc. ised one sheet for each garden area.
then i started making spreadhseets for each garden.
then this year i switched to power point for a complete journal and tracking. we'll see how that works. but i need to be organized.
your sheets are amazing and better than any i have for sure. love them. headed back to ohio after a 2 week absence tonight to see what mother nature has wrought and brought. ther ewill be evidence of both i am sure!
Whose sheets are amazing? I would love to see the format y'all are using so I can better organize my own record-keeping. Ev =)
sharkey posted her format on one of these threads earlier......it was very impressive, i'd day beyong my patienece or capability!
acs has spreadsheets for bloom tracking
many of use excel sheet
i stated using power point this year
love the nicknames on here
CG
actually wanted to say that i am assuming sharkey is a female, but i always read "marianna, fla" and think marianne is a name. apologies if i have pegged you wrong sharkey!
This is so funny to me because many times I've wondered whether people I depend on regularly on these threads are male or female. It's kind of nice to be anonymous because I don't worry about asking stupid questions and having someone really know who I am, in case someone else from Marianna joins. But I am female. Got the nickname several years ago because I was as obsessed then with catching big sharks as I am now of gardening. I still like to fish, but no longer care about the sharks.
I don't know why, but I assumed Guru was a male until recently something was in a thread that led me to believe otherwise. I also love the nicknames on here, Guru.
What's even funnier is that for a year, I've been seeing people refer to their husbands as their "DH" (I think that's what it is.) I've been wondering what the "D" stands for, as I can think of several possibilities. I've been hesitant to ask.
Thanks for the compliment, Guru, but I'm not finished with the SS. I've been spending all day in the yard trying to get planting and landscaping done. I'm thinking of joining ACS. I visited their site and I like what I saw. They had a list of easy-to-grow clems--for one thing.
This message was edited Apr 15, 2009 7:31 PM
Last name "Mariani"! Will surely remember Marianna!!
Ha Ha Ha
Sharkey, where did you find the list for easy to grow clems on the ACS site? Could you please provide a link for me? I've already joined ACS, but I still can't find the list. =P Thanks for any help!
ACS is a good cause. anything for clems! tell edith i said hello. i met her at chalk hill a fe wyears ago, very nice lady.has done a lot for clems in USA.
i never even knew DH was a hubbie..thanks for the inside tip. maybe "dear hubbie"?
Yep, CG...
DH=Dear Hubby
DD=Dear Daughter
DS=Dear Son
DW=Dear Wife
BG, I was mistaken. Last night, after I joined, I thnk I read everything on their site and looked at EVERY single clem. I never found the list, so I think I found it on a link from their site the night before. As soon as I have time, I'll find it again and send it to you. It's bugging me that I couldn't find it last night. I followed links to some of their highly rated vendors and I also went to the International site and it may have been there.
I made a note of which ones were rated with 5 stars. Do you know if these ratings came strictly from members or otherwise? I also found out that the FL Seiboldi that I bought will probably freeze here, so he's going in a pot. One thing I wish their database would do is state what pruning group they are in. I guess you go by the part that says whether it needs a heavy or a light prune, but I like things spelled out for me. Also, it said that Roguchi wouldn't do well in a pot. I just put her in a pot with Princess Diana, so I guess we'll see.
i have seen rooguchi in a pot flourishing, maybe depends on zone. i do not think it is super hardy, so maybe that is a caution for those that will not know to protect it in winter of any sort?
BG left out some valuable information about the D in DH...
occasionally it does NOT stand for dear, use your imagination !
Guru, do you know if the ratings on ACS came from the members?
One reason I decided to buy more clems is that my mandevillas, which I dearly love, froze last winter, whereas I had left a liner, jackmannii, on the deck all winter by mistake and he actually survived. But, we're now talking again about building a GH. If we actually follow through this year, I can take Roguchi and the Princess in there, along with FL. I guess I need to spend some time on the GH forum now. I found a great price on a 10 by 12, but I know it's not going to be large enough. I need at least a 12 by 16 because I don't just want it for storage of tropicals. I want to spend time in there and take my pepper seedling operation out of the dining room. I know this is not the forum to discuss GH's--just thought I would mention that.
Bonnie, that is what's SO funny. Last night my "DH" and I had quite a few laughs during dinner when we were discussing all the possibilities of what "D" could stand for. I've been wanting to ask since I joined, but assumed it was something I was supposed to know.
Sharkey, the international site does have a list for those that do well in the heat. I used it when I was initially selecting my clems. I can't find the web link anymore, but the International Clematis Society list included:
Clematis for the heat
C. 'Alba Luxurians'
C. 'Arabella'
C. 'Bałtyk'
C. 'Betty Corning'
C. cirrhosa 'Freckles'
C. 'Duchess of Albany'
C. 'Etoile Violette'
C. 'Gipsy Queen'
C. 'Henryi'
C. 'Huldine'
C. 'Jackmanii'
C. 'Kakio' (PINK CHAMPAGNE)
C. 'Lady Bird Johnson'
C. 'Marie Boisselot
C. montana var. grandiflora
C. 'Pangbourne Pink'
C. 'Polish Spirit'
C. 'Praecox'
C. 'Princess Dianna'
C. 'Romantika'
C. terniflora (can be invasive)
C. x triternata 'Rubromarginata'
C. 'Viola'
C. 'Westerplatte'
Clematis that grow satisfactorily in the heat
C. 'Ernest Markham'
C. 'The President'
C. 'Rouge Cardinal'
C. 'Ville de Lyon'
C. 'Warszawaka Nike'
From what I can tell on the ACS site, they limited voting on favorite clematis to their members. Remember, though, that some that may be rated poorly or well may be due to the environment of the majority of the growers who voted. For instance, if a clematis thrives in heat but doesn't do so well in cold environments, it might have a poor rating... but for me, it might perform beautifully. I'm going to the library now to pick up a copy of the Fine Gardening issue that has an article on "Clematis That Can Take the Heat"... it was recommended on the ACS site.
Ev =)