Today wht you want to do when planting a tree, or shrub, is dig a hole deep enough so the root ball is at the same level it was in the nursery and do not disturb the soil under that root ball, anymore than necessary. While it was once thought, and taught, that adding fertilizer was a good idea today that is strongly discouraged because most any fertilizer could burn the trees roots. Fill the hole around the roots, trying to eliminate any air pockets and water your tree in well. Mulch around the trees dripline to aid in soil moisture retention because until your trees roots get well established they will need good access to water. The single most common cause of failure in newly planted trees is lack of water. You can, in the fall, put some plant food, compost, around the tree in the mulch. The link below takes you to a web site with very good information about tree planting. Here is a link that might be useful: Tree Planting

Roserobin, I orignally that that Roserobin was actually just your moniker on GW and that Cass was still you! Thanks for linking to the awesome photo though! I bet your Penny Lane was very beautiful anyway! Huttnem, technically, Penny Lane gets no sun because it is blocked by so many things, it is blocked by all of the tall companion plants, the trees, the house, the potted Frederick Mistral (which has become a very dense thick rose by the way); Penny Lane is blockaded by everything, and the only dappled sun it gets is if the breeze just happens to blow a little space between the leaves of the tree and the Freddie in front of it. At its current stature, Penny Lane is not getting any light whatsoever. If it ever rises to full height, climber proportion, it still is not going to get more sunlight because the canopies of my trees are very dense so very little light can reach the roses. Frederic Mistral is growing, but cannot bloom in this condition it seems. Frederic is luckier in that he can receive more dappled light, but this is no good for this kind of rose. If Freddie cannot bloom he will be swapped out to a different location and Distant Drums will go there. I have seen DD at Powell Gardens in very shady spots, so this will be another shade-tested rose in my garden if FM cannot bloom. I am actually looking forward to seeing if DD can be that other non-rated shade tolerant rose.... Anyway, Penny Lane also faces North-West so the house casts a very deep shadow on it. And my neighbor's big house is just 4' away, yikes!!! More shade cast on that rose. In the fall the sun direction again shifts and the "west side" technically gets far worse in terms of how much shadow the rose will receive. Even my East-facing roses in the backyard face this same issue when the sun shifts direction....and the fact that Penny Lane faces North as well is pretty scary! Poor rose! but wow, it's got so much spunk!

I am interested in your galax urceolata. I have bloodroot and other natives. Let me know if interested.

Posted by Donna - 6: My husband and I have been trying to reintroduce natives to an old forest. Lots of wildflowers have reappeared as we have cleared scrub. We have three types of Trillium, Dwarf Larkspur, Wild Phlox, Celandine Poppies, Cimicifuga, Early and Zigzag Spiderworts, Wild Hyacinths, 9 types of ferns, etc. The site has a gradual slope leading down to a spring. It's the boggy area immediately surrounding the spring that's giving me fits. I can't use water plants because this area dries up Aug-Sept. The rest of the year, I don't like the look of a giant mud puddle with nothing in it. Whatever goes in must take standing water for much of the late winter and early spring. It's high dense shade during the summer. HELP! phil hosick - 4b: Have you considered modifying your spring? We are putting in a 'natural' bog garden this spring. We hope to purchase an old pool liner, dig a hole and put the liner down. Then we will put a good layer of black muck over the liner and fill with water throughout the year. Plants I have observed growing: blue flag(wild iris), boneset, marsh marigold, bulrushes, cardinal flower. Kirk Johnson Zone9 Oregon: Phil, if you can find a source for Bentonite clay, it should work better than a liner to keep moisture in a seasonal bog. A liner is likely to get pushed up by moisture underneath it, especially if there are any springs. Bentonite is sold by the bag in a powdered form, the local cranberry growers use it to line cranberry bogs. Petasites japonicus is listed as hardy in Zone 3. Alex T. - 5: Yellow Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton) or Jack-in-the-Pulpits could work for you. Globe Flower (Trollius) has been known to thrive in standing water, as they like their feet to be wet. Marcia Taylor: Japanese Iris can also stand wet feet. You could try some cat-tails. Susan Tice: A few suggestions for tall perennials that don't mind wet feet. Most of these will tolerate or prefer at least part shade. Aconitum spp. (Monkshood) 3-4 feet; Eupatorium maculatum (Joe Pye Weed) 4-6 feet; Delphiniums 3-6 feet These like lots of moisture and are very hardy but don't like to be soggy; Digitalis purpurea (Foxgloves) 4-6 feet; Filipendula palmata 3-4+ feet; Helenium autumnale 3-5 feet; Lobelia spp. L.cardinalis and L.siphilitica 2-4 feet; Lysimachia clethroides (Gooseneck Loosestrife) 2-4 feet; Pyhsostegia virginiana (Obedient Plant) 3-4 feet; Barb Mich Z5: Don't overlook boneset, flowering rush, monkey flower, wild for-get-me-not (not the dry land one usually sold), wild geranium, marsh marigold, wild ginger, blue and yellow flags. You could try the native Clematis virginiana, Old Man's Beard, let it cover the weeds and choke them out, then keep it pruned back. Some beautiful Viburnums are high-bush cranberry (big clusters of white flowers followed by red berries), arrowwood with blue berries and handsome leaves. Red elderberry is wonderful in wet shade. Susan Z7a/NC: I planted Lobelia cardinalis and Primula japonica 'Redfield Strain'. The Lobelia would have been nice if the deer machines had not come through. The japanese primroses did not bloom, but formed very wide basal rosettes. Bernice Grey, N. Alberta: Lily of the valley, pulmonaria, and astilbe. Be sure to add bonemeal to your soil where you plant your perennials, and give them all a top-dressing of it every fall before the snow comes. If snow cover tends to be light before the temperatures drop to minus 10 degrees, plan to mulch for winter protection. Joyce N.E. Pa.: Some of the shrubs are: Winterberry / Ilex verticillata, Sweet Pepperbush /Clethra alnifolia, Swamp Azalia / Rhododendron viscosum, Sheep Laurel /Kalmia angustifolia, Spicebush / Lindera benzoin, Buttonbush / Cephalanthus occidentalis. Some of the wildflowers that tolerate wet conditions here are: Day Lily /H. fulva, Pink Lady's slipper, Joe-pye weed, Marsh merigold, Swamp candles, Blue and Yellow flag Iris, Swamp buttercup, True forget-me-not, Monkey flower, Monarda, Blue-eyed grass. Bruce - NH 5: Let me put in a plug for the following: swamp milkweed, turtlehead, swamp rose-mallow, shinleaf, and ferns of all kinds. Some shrubs would include leatherleaf, gray dogwood, alternate-leaved dogwoog, red-osier dogwood, chokeberry, dwarf birch, serviceberry, hobblebush, and sweet pepperbush. All these are not only attractive, but offer excellent food and shelter for wildlife, something that far too many gardeners never give a thought to. Michelle Safirstein IL/5: You may a some wonderful native plants. Do your homework. Get a native plant guide and carry it always. Carole Musengo OR/z5: Cimicifuga (bugbane), Aconitum (monkshood), Gaultheria (wintergreen)...