I have a large plastic zip lock bag filled full with nursery plant tags. The bag is labeled "the departed". Some things just won't grow high on the low spot. Maybe I haven't tried enough times in different locations. Maybe I did not weed the competition out enough to suit their needs. Maybe they didn't take to mountain top weather. I don't always know why things die. I don't even have tags for everything I have killed.
I just know one thing for certain. Plants have to be tough and show some aggressiveness in order to thrive in the wild cultivated gardens.There is no pampering here.
The chances are slim to none, but the cambium was still green. There is a sliver of hope. I brought a shriveled up daphne home with me and planted it. They are notoriously fussy to begin with, dropping dead on a whim. Maybe my cool mountain air will revive it. Maybe it will be compost by spring.
I had to dig it up and get rid of it some how. This is how I did it. I might even have a tag for it even though it was not planted in my garden originally.
My kill rate in client's gardens is significantly lower than in my own garden, but it happens some times.
Some plants keep you guessing. Will they live or are they toast? The Clematis stans comes up every spring looking great. A month later it starts dying back to the ground one stem at a time. A few stems manage to survive and bloom quite nicely. They have even self sown a little bit.
The tiny pale blue flowers are not much individually. Together they make a nice show in the Tall Flower Meadow. It would be nice if half the plant didn't die every year.
I have diagnosed this as clematis wilt. The cure seems to be to keep things tidy around the clematis. Maybe I'll try that next year.
I may kill things, but you would never know it. There are no blank spaces in the Lush. I have to make blank spaces to plant things. When something thrives, it thrives. No space is left unused.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Love all your butterflies. They don't seem to use our Joe Pye. Maybe I just don't look outside at the right time. I have a couple of clematis that have had that wilt. Weird how it works. They are in a crowded situation, most things in my garden are. Maybe I will pull back some of the vegetation and see if that helps them. I keep most of my tags too. I mark out on a list what dies. A lot of mark outs on my list. I like to try new things. Stretch the zone so to speak. Happy gardening.
I adore Clematis stans. Not sure it would do very well here.
Lisa I can't promise I'll tidy around the Clematis stans next year. I can only try to remember to. Part of my killing spree is from pushing boundaries. I just don't always know what mine really are up here.
Sallysmom be like me and Lisa. Try the Clematis stans and find out. I planted another grouping a couple years back and all those have just sat there.
I too have a gallon jug full of tags. Seem to loose the ones that live.
Post a Comment