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Oklahoma Gardening

Need Opinions on my Unplanted Babies!

19 years ago

I need opinions and/or concurrences that my new babies will be alright. Just received my order from Heronswood (oh my! Impressed is not expressive enough!) on Thursday. I unwrapped them and set them in the cardboard box, with some newspaper around them and put them in the southwest corner of my very shade portion of the yard. Also microclimate area that stays warm and out of the wind. I am sure they will be all right there for a couple more nights if necessary, but I was hoping to PLANT THEM OUT THIS WEEKEND YOU SEE!! Now, my plans are being sabotaged by the weather---grrrrrrrrrr.

Do you think instead, I should plant them up in pots and put them back in the corner until next weekend? I can put them in the box, or put crumpled newspaper around for insulation, or do you think it is okay to leave them in their little plastic-wrap makeshift pots (just to hold the roots together - that's how most companies ship now)? I worry about them sitting in plastic, though, without any oxygen to the roots.

Dilemma, dilemma...... You know, you can get a handle on gardening, but the weather is another thing, and it's just NOT cooperating this weekend.

A couple of the plants, I'm not too worried about - the verbascum and the phlomis. They could probably be planted out and I would not have to worry too much about them. But the others are specialty shade plants, and yes, a bit finicky, like the epimedium, astilboides, rodgersia, disporum, arisaema. But for gosh sakes, I don't want to lose them either. The epimedium I found on one site was selling for $100.! Wow. I got it for $18.

I want my babies to survive and I'm feeling this protective nature, not just because they are plants, but they are like small children dependent on this adult to help them adapt to life in my garden.

So, what do you think?

Susan

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Comments (2)

OKC1
19 years ago
Hey, Susan, don't sweat the small stuff.
Plant them, give them a good anti shock drink, and cover them with pots or whatever. Take the covers off during the day. Put them back on at night. They'll be fine and you'll survive too, I promise! LOL!
susanlynne48
Original Author
19 years ago
Well, I decided to fill the wash tub (3' diameter, beer and ice kind) with a mix of my compost and peat moss, unwrapped all of the plants, and "heeled" them in for the time being. Also, mulched them with straw, after watering them in. I stuck the wash tub in the same southwest corner of the back yard protected by my shed on one side, fence on the other, oakleaf hydrangea on the other, where it stays pretty protected from wind and cold.

Such nice plants, too. They all look great, the arisaema nepanthoides is getting ready to flower; the podophyllum (may apple) has gorgeous thick waxy honey green leaves; also got my disporum 'Night Heron', mahonia gracilipes, verbascum 'Caribbean Crush', phlomis fruticosa, epimedium wushanense hybrid, astilboides tabularis, rodgersia, and a couple others I can't remember off the top of my head. I'm really excited about growing these.

OKC - the tetrapanax I mentioned I could've sworn you said you had in your garden - rice paper plant? Does that ring a bell? Also, don't you have the variegated petasites, too? Mine is just gorgeous this year! Finally, after about 4 years, it is looking so fine!

Susan
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