Midnight Visitor Digging Hosta and Other Shade Plants
frankielynnsie
last year
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (8)
bkay2000
last yearken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last yearRelated Discussions
Visitors to your plants.
Comments (269)Toni, the ants are usually crowded inside the nests but "pour out" if the nest's disturbed in any way. It's a good trick to always be in the lead when hiking here. The first person to brush past a nest gets them out and the next person brushing past gets covered in them. It's funny watching someone desperately trying to get a backpack off along with clothing to get rid of the ants. I've provided that sort of "amusement" many times for my walking companions, as they have for me. No one really takes it seriously, apart from the ants. I don't keep any plants indoors at home, they stay out all year. But no matter how much you try, there's always all sorts of bugs and spiders getting into the house, they don't wait for transportation by pot plants. A lot of spiders live in the soil, some near the surface but others burrow deeper. Generally I don't worry about them, I'm more interested in what they are rather than where they are. Over the years I've found spiders, scorpions and centipedes in my bed, but I just evict them. They can go buy their own bed, LOL. Horti, that's interesting about the Harvester Butterfly. Butterflies aren't usually associated with being carnivores, but yet there are are dining quietly away. What happens when one visitor to the garden meets another visitor to the garden?...See MoreNew hosta shade tree question
Comments (6)hey i move 8 footers all the time.. the key is timing .. in my z5 .. april and october are the ONLY times this happens.. bare root ... each foot of height increased the risk of wasting your money on total loss ... and i am pretty sure ... that your budget isnt limitless to risk total loss frankly .... check out early spring stock at bigboxstores ... and buy a couple/three potted 6 to 8 footers for for less than the $100 to move one tree .. drag them home.. and plant them where you want them [in april if z5] ... and remove the one under the power lines [kill it]... and one of the other two .. liberal application of a chainsaw at or slightly above ground level and an application of 100% roundup will take care of those ... ya know ... you can spend a lot of time and effort .. and losses.. trying to save something a squirrel planted in the wrong place ... all i ask .. is why waste the effort... the squirrel is long dead.. lol .. ken PS: too close together??? i have three 2 foot caliper oaks .. some squirrel planted 60 years ago .. living on top of each other... why do you think yours are too close??? leave them there ... only one has to go ..... to dispose of the power line issue .. before you have to spend $1000 to have it removed professionally ......See MoreHave/would you dig up plants at a foreclosed/abandoned house?
Comments (33)The other day I drove past this lovely old farmstead, unoccupied, "For Sale" sign. I pulled up to check for rosebushes, to take cuttings, when I find these MASSES of crowded peonies around the garage out back. The poor things really needed dividing ;) So on my next trip I brought a shovel, a jug of water, and a bucket of compost. I divided three of the clumps, took the extra rhizomes, watered the others back in neatly spaced and with a bunch of compost mixed into the soil as a bonus. Weeded all around them too, because I can't help myself. I imagine the farm wife who planted them fifty, seventy years ago, watching out the kitchen window and chuckling. I don't feel even a little bad about it, as I l took nothing that will be missed (and they'll probably be trashed when the new owner tears down the old garage anyway), did no damage, and left the property and plants in better shape than I found them. I would never just tear up whole plants unless the bulldozers were already parked on the lawn....See MoreGarden Etiquette for Visitors
Comments (12)Ken, Very funny! So many of these things have happened to us that it is like you have written our biography! Not only did Fido smash a G.E.,he left us a major deposit right in the middle of our driveway! I guess the visitors just figured the "heap" would break down overnight and just vanish. We were having a cookout for fathers day and these folks took down the chain and sign that says Hosta visits by appointment only ,please. at the gate , Asked if we minded if they just walked around while we ate. It wasn't 15 minutes later that they all had the call of nature and had to use the restroom. They all had those 44 ounce "Glug Jugs" as you described. As we all know it is difficult to enjoy a meal with your family when there are 5 complete strangers walking all over your property so Even though it was my day, I kept getting up to answer questions and keep them from wandering into the woods where the Poison Ivy thrives and the Hornets are angry. After about an hour and a half they meandered back to their van .They casually thanked me and told me that they were amazed by all of the Hostas but were really looking for a tree that day and the nursery that grows trees down the road was closed. I quietly wondered how the closed nursery had kept them out? Perhaps land mines or an 8 foot electrical fence? Thanks for the laugh and letting me know that there are others that feel my pain. Denny Denny...See Morebkay2000
last yearlast modified: last yearfrankielynnsie
last yearbkay2000
last yearfrankielynnsie
last yearundertheoaksgardener7b
last year
Related Stories
FLOWERS AND PLANTSShade-Loving Hostas Shine in the Garden
With thousands of hostas to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect plant for your garden
Full StoryGARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIESGreat Design Plant: Columbine Grows Happily in Shade and Sun
Its ethereal beauty comes from complex forms and wide-ranging colors, but columbine’s benefits are highly attractive too
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGreat Design Plant: Axminster Gold Comfrey for Sun or Shade
Plant this perennial for bold color that will light up shady spots, sparkle in the sun and add interest from spring until fall
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES7 Shade-Loving Rarities of the Plant World
Cultivate a discriminating air in a shady garden patch with these uncommon woodland wonders
Full StoryPLANTING IDEAS8 Sumptuous Shade Garden Plant Combinations
Enjoy these plant combinations made for spots with varying levels of shade and different garden zones
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNGreat Design Plant: Retreat to the Shade of Hardy Catalpa
Big foliage and a towering height provide a shady respite in summer, but that's not all hardy catalpa offers dedicated gardeners
Full StoryNATIVE PLANTSGreat Design Plant: Hydrophyllum Virginianum
This reliable, shade-tolerant native plant provides spotted foliage and clusters of pink flowers in eastern U.S. woodland and shade gardens
Full StoryPLANTING IDEAS9 Beautiful Shady Yards Overflow With Lush Plantings
Find out how to mix foliage colors and textures to brighten dark areas and create dynamic shade plantings
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESIncrease Your Chance of Shade-Garden Success
These plants and tricks can help a garden flourish where light and, often, moisture are in short supply
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGreat Garden Combo: 6 Beautiful Plants for a Shady, Wet Site
Transform a shade garden with moisture-loving golden grasses, textural leaves and a sprinkling of flowers
Full Story
frankielynnsieOriginal Author