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Carolina Gardening

moving from NY zone 5/6 to NC zone 8

14 years ago

I am moving from zone 5/6 where I have gardened for 20 years. Besides the crape myrtles and hydrangeas that i know about,I'm lost. I have a acre of mostly grass,full sun in the front, shaded areas in the back.A large empty front porch not a container in site... Help!!!

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Comments (9)

token28001
14 years ago
Gardenias, camellias, azaleas, daffodils, brugmansia, datura, echinacea, shastas, lobelia, rudbeckia, cosmos, hibiscus, joe pye weed, daylilies, monarda, oriental/asiatic lilies, osmanthus fragrans, verbena, agastache, heucheras, hosta....the list goes on and on. Pick up a copy of Southern Living Garden Book - Southeast Edition. Your local library should have it too.

This really is a sweet spot. We can grow so many things here.
Teresa Jennings
14 years ago
Welcome I too am a ny transplant (1 year) This is my first summer.
Related Discussions
Moving to North Carolina, zone 8b
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Comments (9)
I'm in NC, Wake County (Raleigh) so not the same zone or climate as you are planning but I have some experience with everything on your list. I only have a one acre garden and it is focused mainly on berry bushes which require the least amount of care in my opinion. It all depends on what you mean by "organic". If you mean absolutely NO chemicals, then some things are going to be very difficult to grow in that environment. If you include chemical sprays deemed "organic" by the fruit growing industry you can grow most but even then a few things will be pretty hard to get a decent crop. I have a greenhouse full of tropical trees and after a few years I had to give up on the organic idea and start spraying just to keep the insect pest levels down (they're still not gone completely). Citrus and Guavas are bug magnets in the winter when everything is closed up. Outside in the garden the things that require no spraying whatsoever are Blueberries (but I do have to acidify the soil around them constantly), Aronia, Goumi, Pineapple Guavas, Elderberry, native plum (Prunus angustifolia), Figs, Crabberries, Jujube, Mulberry, Wineberries, Pawpaws, Raspberries (reds are difficult here), Persimmons (Asian and American), Muscadines and Kiwis (both hardy and fuzzy). All the pears, peaches, nectarines, quince, blackberries, apples and plums require a lot of spraying (organic sprays failed me after a few years). Blackberries, Table Grapes and Bush Cherries only need a few sprays and the organic ones usually work. Peaches grow so well but the fruit is always ruined by Brown Rot without some form of protection - either a lot of work or a rigorous spray program. Of the apples, William's Pride produces the best with only a few sprays and Arkansas Black could go without any sprays but it isn't my biggest producer and the fruit doesn't taste all that good until the tree is in production mode for 4-5 years (last year was the first year my 5 year old tree gave decent flavored fruit). The experts will tell you that over towards the coast with the warmer temps and sandier soil they can't grow much but when you talk to old timers they all remember apples in their grandma's garden. Good luck. Welcome to NC.
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MLa = ? Question Zone 7 to Zone 5/6
Q
Comments (15)
And some of us lots more north are still considered zone 7. Most of Long Island is listed as zone 7. Thats because we almost never get down to zero. In fact I can't remember when we last did get down that low. Getting down to 5 degrees is very rare and might last only one night or so. But our spring does not start as early in the year as the more southern states and of course winter comes sooner. So just adds to the confusion. But I think its great that we are all discussing late bloom and related issures here on the forum lately. I am always for finding more late bloomers. I wanted to add a note about bloom sequence. I have noticed that everything listed as late, and this would be even from the same hybridizer, does not bloom late before some I have that are listed as ML bloom. This would be after a complete cycle here in my garden having gone thru a winter here. I want to use Murphy/Reed intros as an example. ALCHEMIST listed as a late bloomer, is totally finished blooming by the time all my late and very late bloomers are starting to bloom. This is annoying to me because first its in the late blooming gardenbed and second, I bought it because its a late bloomer. Didn't want a midseason bloomer. RED HILL listed as late, really is while NUCLEAR MELTDOWN listed as mid/ML? starts blooming after ALCHEMIST and just before RED HILL. But really close in time. I know that this does not clear anything up but I just thought they were interesting observations.
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Steeply sloped, messy "lawn" - suggestions? (zone 6b NY)
Q
Comments (5)
Don't do that! If you're like me you'll come home with a car full of plants and still not know what to do. Lol. Suggest googling gardening on slope and see what you find. Take a preliminary list so you're not seduced by all the pretty colours. I'd start with a couple evergreen shrubs, something flowering for spring and maybe a big grass to give you some structure. Then assess what you'd like in terms of colour, size, form for fill in perennials, annuals and ground over. Plan to buy 3 , 5, 7 of things to avoid spotty look of a bunch of individual selections. Cruise your neighbourhood for what is doing well. Hit up gardening friends for divisions to stretch your budget. Spend a lot of time sitting on that patio and day dreaming about what you'd like to see. That last one is very important. Lol Here are some good inspiration pictures.
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brown turkey in container zone 5/6 NY
Q
Comments (0)
Hey everyone - I have a brown turkey fig I got from a garden center in May - it was on a partly sunny porch in its original container and was re-potted into a larger container - it was very happy and green and producing new leaves so fast , I never pinched or pruned bc I had read mixed reviews about it , I even had 3 baby figs pop up in early July that were growing fast and then suddenly stopped - recently I moved and the fig tree is now in full sun , south facing - the tree is still growing new leaves but they aren't as green as they were when they were small but they are slightly larger than the leaves that are lower than them - they are slightly yellow and I've been trying to keep up my watering we have very hot summers and I've read container figs need lots of water - also the fig is starting to get so heavy it is drooping - I guess my question is - what to do now ?! Prune / pinch the actual fruit to let it concentrate on leaves ? Any advice greatly appreciated - First days on the porch - first fruit Fig tree now ( figs are towards the bottom )
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ncgardengirl
14 years ago
WELCOME to NORTH CAROLINA, I hope you'll love it here if you can stand the hot hot summers that is.

Lots of things will grow well here, some better then others and it also will depend on the area you are in as to what will do well and what won't.

Might want to check with the Co. Ext office to see if they have a list of things that grow well there....

Good luck and hope you love it here!

:) Fran
K
14 years ago
If you are near the beach, consider salt tolerance of plants, too. Extension agents are a great help.
zigzag
14 years ago
Welcome! Spend some time here reading back thru old threads - a wealth of knowledge and advice for the price of a few keystrokes!
PRO
Lavoie Boho
14 years ago
girlsrulerj: WELCOME! I have been here in NC for 7 yrs now and can help you get started. I live near Winston-Salem. Where are you moving to??? Please fill out your member page to say where you will be located AND to enable direct emails. Your member page is not set up for anyone to contact you at this time. Perhaps once you are settled here, we can all email you with suggestions later, especially those near where you are planning to settle. You will love it here, I promise. I am from Hackensack, NJ via NYC and Boston, so can really clue you in on the differences in growing climates. It is a very happy gardeners paradise here in NC where we really stretch the seasons. Please join us for our twice yearly plant swaps. They are incredible, posted at the Carolina Exchange link from this page. The next one is in September. You are about to see how many flowers bloom in January. What? Yes! It is true. I have plenty to share. Email me. Welcome!

Here is a link that might be useful: trade list
girlsrulerj
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks everyone for all the info... I forgot to enable direct email.. I'm moving to Roxboro NC will be there around Aug 15th. I also am entrusted with the care of what is known as Ms. Sarahs' rose.She's a climber has clusters of petite deep pink blooms. No one knows where miss Sarah got it from. I must bring it with me. How do you tranplant a rose 600 miles??
tamelask
14 years ago
take cuttings & root them. If it's big it would be the easiest way.
dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
August 15th is pretty often 'hump day' that weird day when suddenly the air isn't as humid and the evening is cool and you know you're over the hump of hot summer.
Sept can be hot and humid and hurricany but that's pretty much temporary weather.
Get moved, get in the car and get familiar with the area around your new residence and buy yourself some potted plants for the porch to enjoy while you ponder where Ms Sarah will most like to grow. And, Welcome from the rest of the Northern transplants!

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