Planting Roses and Camellias in a Bottomless Planter
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
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jjpeace (zone 5b Canada)
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Rose in half wine barrel with no bottom?
Comments (10)Hi, I read about the half barrel idea here a week ago or so when I was frantically trying to rectify my misguided attempt to dig a hole under a tree for my newly arrived Cecil Brunner rose. I quick ran out to a local garden center and they sold me an old half barrel. I took a chisel and hammer to it and gently knocked out the bottom. I nestled the bottomless half barrel in the soil where I had started digging and put in manure and then a mix of top soil and peat moss as per Heirloom instruction which always have worked for me. The tree is a very old, on its way out, Norway maple which I have had pruned back to conserve it. There is a split in the tree some 10 feet up and then branches. I am thinking of putting trellis at the bottom to get the rose started. So far the little thing is doing great. I'll post a couple of pictures. The rose is planted on the south side of the tree. Good luck with your rose! Here is a link that might be useful: newly planted climbing rose in a half barrel...See MoreNew big planters? Now what? Need your help!
Comments (7)Stick with evergreens.....and leave the perennial plants out of the picture. This planting area reflects directly on the look of the face of your house....which, right now, is rather blank. Michigan is, more or less, zone 6....but zone 5 is not out of the possibility of plant hardiness. You might wish to break the green line---if you plant nothing but evergreens but keep it soft....don't use plants that show their demise early in their lifespan. Clematis is a very nice vine to grow up a trellis.....but it is a rather short lived perennial of color......keep such vine away from the entrance of the home. The color of your entrance door, roof, and garage door, can often influence what color of perennials you choose for plantings near the front of the house. For evergreen hedge material I suggest 'yew'...for its many forms, soft needles, and easy maintenance. The planter in front of the large picture window could take such yew hedge....it can be kept low so as to not interfere with the window. On either end, a pyramid yew could be used as a sentinel plant to raise the look near the corners and the entrance door. If not yew, then consider 'box' evegreem plants which also can be kept very low and they look great with minimal clipping. I do agree though, the small space does offer problems of keeping sufficient soil there in a moist condition. Make the soil there a fairly even mix of compost and good triple mix. If the area here is kept to a pH level for evergreen plantings, it can keep the maintenance of the plot fairly simple. Evergreens are not water hungry plants....so there would be no need to water often. They should be watered well into the winter months to keep their roots alive through a cold winter. A yearly feeding of a high nitrogen fertilizer is all the food they require....See MoreAny help for my Camellia bush?
Comments (9)Hello, Cristina. Ah memories. From my years in Atlanta, I too remember seeing potted hydrangeas in malls around N Buckhead (Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square). But the type of camellia and its location made all the difference. Sasanqua camellias –with their smaller leaves- withstand the summer sun well. Japonicas have larger leaves that need only morning sun. Both sasanquas and japonicas can be grown anywhere where they get afternoon and evening shade. The shrub you have is a camellia japonica, whose leaves require either dappled sun; morning sun + afternoon/evening shade; or bright indirect full shade. It is not going to be happy getting 90 degree sun over there in the summer. If you give japonicas afternoon sun, the leaves turn orangey-brown and eventually the fall down leaving the shrub with a look that says ‘should it not have leaves in some of these leafless branches…’ ;o) If you want to, I suggest you take a short trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and Piedmont Park near the Ansley Park Area to see camellias and hydrangeas (both have leaves that prefer afternoon shade). If you have time, take a 2-3 hr trip on I75 South to Fort Valley and visit the American Camellia Society’s Massey Lane Gardens near Fort Valley. This should give you many planting ideas. I basically have them in the north and east sides of the house, where shade is furnished by the house. I also have several in the south side but there some structures that provide shade most of the day; they probably get 2 hours of sun there. A bright location in the north side is in full shade but the shrubs like the indirect sun and it does not affect blooming much. Regardless of where I have them, I try to give them shade from the summer sun by 11am-12pm. I basically follow the fert suggestions from the American Camellia Society. I originally got them from a visit to Massey Lane Gardens but they have worked for me here in TX too. The suggestions apply to the Atlanta Area of course but if you were to be outside of GA, I would touch base instead with a local chapter of the ACS (see link below) so you can tweak fertilizer times, etc. Go to the link shown below for detailed planting/fertilizing information: https://www.americancamellias.com/care-culture-resources/general-culture-requirements Per their suggestions, I use cottonseed meal as a fertilizer in March and May. Then in July, I apply another dose of whatever fertilizer I have with a smaller level of nitrogen in its NPK Ratio. Or in very hot times, I do not fertilize in July at all. The mulch that I maintain all year around decomposes and provides enough food then. Besides, it is not like the plant will die if you do not fertilize it. I have left them without fertilizer for a whole year and could not tell a difference. You will not need to amend the soil as your soil is already acidic enough for camellias. As far as watering goes, try to maintain the soil as evenly moist as you can. That means do not water it and then let it go dry; then get wet and go dry again. To help determine when to water, use the finger method daily for 2-3 weeks: early in the morning, insert a finger into the soil to a depth of around 4” and water if the soil feels dry or almost dry. If you are hand watering, water from the main trunk outwards. No need to water the leaves. Each time that you water, make a note in a wall calendar. After 2-3 weeks, review the notes of when you watered and average out how often you were watering: every 2/3/4/5etc days. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to water every 2/3/4/5/etc days. The aim is to water deeply and not often. As average temps change by 10-15 degrees and stay there, consider using the finger method again to tweak things. As temps get into the 90s, you will need to water more or water more often. And in the Fall, check again to reduce waterings once temperatures moderate. Again, maintain 2-4” of organic mulch like your pics show. If the shrub gets periods of prolonged dry soil in the summer/fall (when it starts to develop the flower buds), it may not produce any or many flower buds. Also, if you hear there will be low temps below freezing in the winter, water deeply the night before to prevent flower bud drop. Water in winter every two weeks if winter is dry. The link above has planting information in the link titled Planting Camellias; fertilizer information (for the GA Area) in the link titled Camellia Fertilization and pruning information in the link titled Pruning Camellias. Your young shrub may not need any pruning unless you have some dead wood. I generally cut this after the plant leafs out in the Spring. You can find local clubs of the American Camellia Society in this link: https://www.americancamellias.com/about-american-camellia-society/clubs-societies/local-clubs-societies The worst of the leaves can be removed as they will not get better. They may even catch some fungal infection. I almost always leave any sun scorched leaves on the shrub and let the plant take care of them though. Luis...See MoreCan I plant wax begonias along with Camellia?
Comments (9)@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK what you meant by "the begonias are in the noise"? And also should I put in as many begonias in as possible leaving some space around the roots of Camellia? Good catch about the timber. Yeah nails might come out. I will put in some screws. If the timber starts falling apart the plan B is to nail more slats around it. Lol. The timber is actually left over al-cheapo pine slats from previous project. It is treated pine and after looking it up it is H3 CCA Treated Pine. CCA: Copper, chrome and arsenic H3: Outside above ground, periodic wetting but where the timber can dry out; some leaching I guess I will line it up with the builder's film which I have in plenty. They do sell Professional Rose, Gardenia, Azalea And Camellia Potting Mix which does NOT have ericaceous written on it. This is what is there on it. Boosted levels of iron and magnesium encourage healthy dark green foliage Controlled release plant food provides plant nutrition and trace elements for up to 6 months Includes next generation water crystals and coir peat for better moisture retention Professional grade wetting agent added for uniform soil wetting and prevent drying out Use for potting up roses, gardenias, azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias and other acid-loving plants and adding to the garden soil when planting out into the open garden. Will it do?...See Morewestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoDDinSB (Z10b Coastal CA)
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
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3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agototoro z7b Md
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoluis_pr
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValleywestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValleywestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValleyluis_pr
3 years ago
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