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Post by Peek on Mar 1, 2009 8:52:22 GMT
I have a new Weigela and a fabulous Fatsia ( love the name !)...plus a couple of Digitalis to plant .It's a plot that we've dug over, and added delicious home made compost to only a couple of days ago.
The weather's turned chilly again , so I'm wondering if the ground will be too cold to plant the shrubs yet...what do you all think ?
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Post by Grumpy Ole-Gitt on Mar 1, 2009 11:00:28 GMT
Stick'em in this weekend if you have time; it won't hurt - but you don't have to. If they are pot-grown, they will last until you feel better about it.
Bare root plants have to go in quickly, but pot-grown ones have a massive degree of latitude.
Check weather forecast sites to see if there is a cold snap coming, and, again, do what you feel best with.
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Post by sarah on Mar 1, 2009 22:18:56 GMT
oooooooooooooh Peek is it a Fatsia Japonica? my all time favourite - wopping great big leaves (great for when the autumn comes and the kids have to take a *leaf into school*) and near crimbo you get those lovely white berrry things shooting up the top. xx
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Post by Fi on Mar 2, 2009 0:47:45 GMT
Stick'em in this weekend if you have time; it won't hurt - but you don't have to. If they are pot-grown, they will last until you feel better about it. Bare root plants have to go in quickly, but pot-grown ones have a massive degree of latitude. Check weather forecast sites to see if there is a cold snap coming, and, again, do what you feel best with. I can't fault that advice Peek - they are all tough plants. I admit I'd err on the side of caution and hold back planting, as well as covering the soil in a blanket (well, we are forecast to maybe have snow tomorrow) to warm it up and dry it out a bit before planting, but that's not absolutely necessary.
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Post by Peek on Mar 2, 2009 7:27:40 GMT
Thanks Grumpy and Fi, I decided not to plant this weekend after all, the plants are up against the house so they should be fine for another week or so. Hopefully the slugs/snails will not have reared their heads yet to attack the Digitalis before I've got them in.
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Post by Grumpy Ole-Gitt on Mar 2, 2009 8:58:23 GMT
Thanks Grumpy and Fi, I decided not to plant this weekend after all, the plants are up against the house so they should be fine for another week or so. Hopefully the slugs/snails will not have reared their heads yet to attack the Digitalis before I've got them in. Careful even with that, Peek. If wind hits the wall, it can accelerate. Sit 'em in a box, or stand something beside 'em to slow the wind a bit.
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Post by Peek on Mar 2, 2009 10:17:38 GMT
oooooooooooooh Peek is it a Fatsia Japonica? my all time favourite - wopping great big leaves (great for when the autumn comes and the kids have to take a *leaf into school*) and near crimbo you get those lovely white berrry things shooting up the top. xx Yes it is a Japonica, it looks lovely and glossy right now, just hope it survives as our soil in the part of the garden it's going into has quite a high proportion of clay, but I think the compost boost will help.
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Post by Grumpy Ole-Gitt on Mar 2, 2009 11:22:18 GMT
Hope this is helpful.
Cultivation Grow in moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.
Pests Can get scale insects , thrips and mealybugs .
Diseases May be affected by a leaf spot.
Soil Acid, Alkaline or Neutral. Moist but well-drained or well-drained. Chalk, Clay, Loam or Sand.
Aspect East, West or South facing. Sheltered.
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Post by Fi on Mar 3, 2009 0:12:22 GMT
Thanks Grumpy and Fi, I decided not to plant this weekend after all, the plants are up against the house so they should be fine for another week or so. Hopefully the slugs/snails will not have reared their heads yet to attack the Digitalis before I've got them in. Careful even with that, Peek. If wind hits the wall, it can accelerate. Sit 'em in a box, or stand something beside 'em to slow the wind a bit. We live in an especially windy corner of Scotland, so we wrap slightly tender shrubs in bubble wrap during the worst that winter can throw at us, and before adjacent shrubs get enough leaves on them to provide an effective shelter. It doesn't look pretty, but it does the job.
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Post by Grumpy Ole-Gitt on Mar 3, 2009 10:20:48 GMT
*Aside* Fi, I understand fully. Go to Aiberdeen, jump on the ferry going northwards, and get off at the first stop, then head as far east as you can - that's windy too!
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Post by Fi on Mar 4, 2009 23:56:08 GMT
Forgive me for being picky, but I prefer to do that trip on a big chopper. Being serious for a moment, we're far enough inland to reasonably expect some shelter from the east, north, and west, but the local topography is such that we get it from the south irrespective of what the prevailing wind direction might be. Our garden should be an ideal, south sloping, location, but we're having to get very inventive to protect some of our plants, and especially the acers, from wind damage. We moved only 2 years ago, so we will learn eventually. Our previous garden was much simpler - anything that couldn't survive -20 in winter wasn't worth trying.
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Post by Grumpy Ole-Gitt on Mar 5, 2009 9:43:57 GMT
Hippophae rhamnoides is a very tough beastie, as are Fuchsia magellanica, and Hebe veronica. Failing all else, a BIG bliddy ranch fence.
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Post by Fi on Mar 6, 2009 12:00:15 GMT
Done that! *grins* And the garden - it is, if anything, overmature - is surrounded by trees and high hedges, all of which help, but it's not enough for some of the acers. Still they are easy to transplant, so we'll just have to keep moving them until we find the right spots.
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Post by Grumpy Ole-Gitt on Mar 7, 2009 8:40:42 GMT
Try chucking extra water at them when it's windy. I could be a dessication problem.
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