The 2019 Gardening Thread.

[DreamerRose]

I've got a few pics from years ago when my garden was in its prime.

Fourth of July climber

 

[rubysmama]

foxxycat : I don't know what to say, other than "wow". And good luck.

 

[NY cat man]

I was at a garden center yesterday, and saw several azaleas there. Does anyone have experience growing them? We had roses a few years back, and they turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, so we ripped them out, and I don't want a repeat of that.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Oh azaleas are so pretty. My friend's father was pretty....um...low maintenance when it came to yard work. So they had some that were pretty untamed. But they still made a beautiful backdrop for our prom pictures. I just wonder how much the climate difference affects them. I know I'm in a different grow zone.

We put in roses a couple years ago and they just started blooming. So far the most care they need is some feeding here and there. The hardest part is weeding around them. Ask DH. I will need some pruning guidance at some point.

I need to look up information on pruning the lilacs too. My blooms are spent now and I want to be sure I care for them right. I put my 3 tier shepherds hook in a new location this year and it's giving Mama and Papa Bluebird a direct path to their little house. I am LOVING watching them sit there (sometimes together) and fly back and forth. Unfortunately my cell phone can't get a clear picture from the house.

 

[maggiedemi]

Then I could turn the master bathroom into my indoor greenhouse. Rip out the carpet in here and put linoleum.

In NY all the apartments had to rip the carpet out of the bathroom. At least that's what my landlord told me when he came to rip it out.

 

[maggiedemi]

We had roses a few years back, and they turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, so we ripped them out

We had a rose bush when I was a kid. It was so pretty, but my dad ripped it out. I wonder if it was too much trouble for him too.

 

[foxxycat]

I was at a garden center yesterday, and saw several azaleas there. Does anyone have experience growing them? We had roses a few years back, and they turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, so we ripped them out, and I don't want a repeat of that.

Azals like acidic soil if memory serves me...you can plant these if you have pine trees. they like composty dirt and medium watering. they bloom in the spring...you can spread pine needles around to use as a compost medium-it will break down. Or leaves or grass clippings-anything that gives the worms food. They are low maintenance. I have a small one but the weeds have taken over-each year I try to keep it weeded, the crab grass is a pain.

My plants are doing well in the bathroom-the table I built out of the garden tub is working just fine. Tonight I will repot the tomatoes. I will work on the smallest pot plants next=the petunias are still little but have a few more days-so I intend on repotting a flat or two each night. the plants are super small. I found some videos on YouTube how to make it go faster..just need it warm. Today it's 54 degrees right now-hopefully it hits 60 this afternoon. I know tomatoes hate cold weather. This morning we had a hard frost again. The furnace ran last night.

I managed to get rid of 12 of the plants so far-I think I won't have trouble getting rid of them. Seems I am not the only one who waits till the last minute=it's way too early to plant in the ground right now.

 

[DreamerRose]

I was at a garden center yesterday, and saw several azaleas there. Does anyone have experience growing them? We had roses a few years back, and they turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, so we ripped them out, and I don't want a repeat of that.

Azaleas like warmer climates, especially the evergreen ones. The deciduous varieties are hardier. We can only grow a few here in Illinois. Google hardy azaleas for a list that does well in zone 4.

 

[foxxycat]

yes I forgot about that=the zone=make sure the bush you choose is appropriate for your zone. I am in zone 5. Although you COULD make a zone 6 work IF you covered with a foot or so of straw/compost-to protect the bulb/roots from hard freezing. Planting against the house offers more protection than out in the middle of the yard. The air around your home is usually 5 to 10 degrees warmer than out in the middle of yard=especially if you plant on the south side of your home. Avoid the north side if it's sensitive to cold temperatures-since our winter winds usually blow in from the west/north during the winter.

I have to post some pictures of the setup I built. I will clear off the computer on my kitchen table and put the plywood over that if I need another surface. So far Bee wasn't interested in sniffing them or anything...she did take a nap on the newly vacated chair in the master bath-It was a chair we use for piling up winter blankets/cushions of outdoor chairs etc...so she was cute sleepign there facing the plants. I feel good about this project. I am seriously considering rototilling the yard instead of hand pulling weeds etc...it would be faster this way. Then I can mix in compost easier. then a bit of sand to break up the clay dirt...and mix it up to have good drainage...

 

[doomsdave]

N NY cat man , why were the roses more trouble than they were worth? The answer to that can help advise as to whether azaleas, purty as they are, will be right for you.

I did this for years helping people avoid impulse purchases of living things they later regret.

 

[doomsdave]

I've got a few pics from years ago when my garden was in its prime.

Fourth of July climber

Obscenities have been duly screamed down the elevator shaft of the Dark Tower.

 

[doomsdave]

Clemantis are weird=the plant itself has to get at least 4 hours of sun-but the base in the dirt has to be shaded...if that makes sense. I have several growing-I have one that is mostly in the shade and gets maybe 3 hours sunlight and then maybe 2 hours in late evening, it does just fine. The thing to do is put something in front to keep the base in shade. it likes cool roots but sun/shade for the plant. Average watering. It likes composty soil. There is one spot that I am always loosing clemantis because the base gets too hot from the sun-despite my putting 6 inches of bark mulch in front of base. This year will put a huge pot of flowers in front to see if this works.

I don't deal with veggies. Too picky and too many bugs/fungus always get them. I have 2 or 3 plants of tomatoes though. The rest are annuals and perennials.

I have to catch up with this thread=I took on a huge project that I will post in next post..I must be insane.

Clematis are so pretty! So worth the trouble, and one of the big things I wish we could grow out here in the land o'La La. Especially purple "Jackmanii"!

 

[NY cat man]

Where we live, there is a lot of heavy clay soil, although I have been adding compost, perlite, and peat moss to loosen it up, and running my tiller over it to blend everything in. The roses did fine for about 4 years, in spite of the various bugs that attacked them, but one by one they just stopped producing blooms, no matter what we did. It probably didn't help that the last year we had them there was a bumper crop of Japanese beetles.

 

[NY cat man]

About the azaleas, the ones I looked at were listed as hardy to -30, but in reading up on them, it seems that they don't like too much direct sun, so I probably will have to pass on them, as the area I had in mind gets full sun all day.

 

[DreamerRose]

About the azaleas, the ones I looked at were listed as hardy to -30, but in reading up on them, it seems that they don't like too much direct sun, so I probably will have to pass on them, as the area I had in mind gets full sun all day.

That's true. Azaleas are shade plants. They won't do well in full sun; they'll burn. I miss them so much. Atlanta turns into a kaleidoscope of color in the spring. Different varieties bloom at different times; the Master's golf course uses tents to heat or cool them so they all bloom at the same time for the tournament. Another interesting thing about azaleas is that you can tell by the size of the leaf how big they get. Small leaves mean shrubs under 3 feet; big leaves mean shrubs up to 5 feet. Many of the large azaleas are fragrant.

 

[Norachan]

Azaleas are shade plants.

Hmmm, I wonder if they'd like it here.

 

[NY cat man]

Hmmm, I wonder if they'd like it here.

From what I have read, they prefer open shade, like under a tree, and no more than 2- 4 hours of direct sun, best in the morning. They also like a well-drained, acidic soil, so you should be in good shape where you are.

 

[NY cat man]

Clematis are so pretty! So worth the trouble, and one of the big things I wish we could grow out here in the land o'La La. Especially purple "Jackmanii"!

I had to look it up, it was so long ago that we planted it, but the clematis we have had longest is called Roguchi- Violet Blue.

 

[doomsdave]

That's true. Azaleas are shade plants. They won't do well in full sun; they'll burn. I miss them so much. Atlanta turns into a kaleidoscope of color in the spring. Different varieties bloom at different times; the Master's golf course uses tents to heat or cool them so they all bloom at the same time for the tournament. Another interesting thing about azaleas is that you can tell by the size of the leaf how big they get. Small leaves mean shrubs under 3 feet; big leaves mean shrubs up to 5 feet. Many of the large azaleas are fragrant.

Not necessarily about the sun. There's many many kinds, a bewildering array, actually. Some of the deciduous types will take sun quite well.

And don't be afraid of the species types, those pure unadulterated noble savages of the plant world . . . .

 

[doomsdave]

Hmmm, I wonder if they'd like it here.

I'd say if you have even a bit of forest cover in your garden, especially pines, your place ought to be azalea heaven! They like the acid soil, the shade, the fast drainage, all the elements are met.

And, Japan has a number of endemic azalea species, a couple of which have found there way to the U.S. and Britain.