Tender Spots
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- Gay_Klok
- JaneHollis
- HollyT
- CarolWallace
- JaneHollis
- Gay_Klok
- JaneHollis
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» Gay_Klok - A very useful article
I would like to see folk experimenting more, especially if the cost is not involved. I am sure nearly every garden has a micro climate or two. The zones give some help but they do not seem to use rainfall as an important guide and are very general by necessity. Camellias were not grown in your part of the World until someone was brave enough to leave them out of the greenhouse in winter time.Mulch can be an enormous help too
-- posted by Gay_Klok
» JaneHollis - Experimentation
I agree with you - I think experimentation is the only real way to gauge what will grow in your garden - zones can only be a very rough guide.When I started gardening I avoided shrubs like Escallonia and Pittosporum which the British reference books describe as being a little tender. However, I soon realised that they do very well here which encouraged me to try some other tender subjects.
If you can grow them cheaply from seed or cuttings then there is really nothing to lose!
-- posted by JaneHollis
» HollyT - alchemilla mollis from seed
Hi Jane,I have just discovered your lovely site and informative articles. The www is the best thing for gardeners since fertilizer!
Would you mind telling me how you start alchemilla mollis from seed? I have just been given a package of seed, and wonder if this is a good time. I saw a rather complex method on Tom Clothier's site, including a cool period, and I wonder if this is necessary in your experience?
-- posted by HollyT
» CarolWallace - Tender spots
You are so right! I planted Phyllostachys nigra years ago - it's supposed to be more than tender here - but it keeps on going. I am in zone 6, but have often had luck with plants that are allegedly tender here by choosing my microclimates, One of my gardens is surrounded on three sidees by stone walls - and I can grow all kinds of things there that shouldn't be hardy here, as long as they aren't terribly fussy about drainage. As a matter of fact. I have a few plants thriving there that are allegedly demanding of perfect drainage - but they are thriving and multiplying like mad in clay.Calla lilies are supposed to be far too tender to leave in the ground over winter here - but I have one clump by my pond which has been there for at least 5 years. It's definitely worth experimenting and when you have a success with something that shouldn't be hardy for you - let others know. It could be that you've found the perfect microclimate - or it could be that the plant is hardier than most people thought. One of the wonders of the Internet is that we can share these findings - and then the range of plants we can grow with fair confidence will keep growing.
-- posted by CarolWallace
» JaneHollis - Alchemilla from seed
Hi Holly,Sorry to get back to you so late on your query - been having a few problems with my computer. I have grown Alchemilla mollis from bought seed myself, but I must confess that only 3 actually germinated. I just chucked mine in a seed tray and left them over winter (which provided the cold spell). However, if you want a higher success rate then perhaps the complex instructions are the ones to follow!
However, seeing the ease with which Alchemilla spreads around the garden, it seems that fresh seed must germinate very easily. If you know someone with a few plants, why not pick a few seedheads and scatter them around your flowerbeds so that they self seed.
Hope this helps.
-- posted by JaneHollis
» Gay_Klok - Computer troubles
and Ladies mantle.I have been virtually off air for nearly 3 weeks, Jane, but I am nearly back to normal.
I am sure that if you scatter the seed in situ, when fresh, it will soon be the bane of your life. No that is not strictly true - in the country garden it pops up everywhere. Sometimes, when plants have got away unwanted, I dig them up and take them to the town garden, where they grow like a languid cousin. I do not the difference except a more regular rainfall at the country garden.
-- posted by Gay_Klok
» JaneHollis - Alchemilla in different gardens
Interesting that you should say that Alchemilla (lady's mantle) selfseeds more in one garden than another. In my last garden (quite shady, clay loam soil) it didn't spread at all, whereas here (sunny, sandy loam) it reproduces at an amazing rate! I don't mind though, they are easy to pull out if they are in the wrong place.-- posted by JaneHollis
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