OT Peonies, was Banned from the Garden!--very long

Debra wrote:
I have gotten the urge to "scratch in the dirt" as my aunt calls it.
Five years ago I would have said gardening is for the birds. Now I
want to plant things that will provide food and shelter for the birds.

Like needlework, there's something about gardening. It gets under your
skin (or your fingernails, depending upon your point of view) and
doesn't let go.

I started with an 8-foot row of marigolds along a wire fence. Anything
to make that little shack look better. Within two years, the whole tiny
front yard was a garden.

Dianne

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 07:11:24 -0300, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:18:16 -0600, "Dawne Peterson"
wrote:

Thanks Joan and Sheena for this. I now think that the location I tried was
not the best--against the house, so facing east and in shade much of the
day. I will have to look carefully at various hours to find a better
spot--I also have two huge fir trees in my front yard so shade is easier to
find than full sun.
What are their watering requirements??
Dawne

When the flower buds start to swell, if it is very dry I will treat
them to the odd watering, but don't always remember and they always
bloom.

One other thing, people often seem concerned because the blooms are
busy with ants. Do not kill the ants, they are not harming the plants
and should be there busy about their tasks.

My mom told me that they won't bloom if the buds don't have the ants
running around on them.

I think you need to move them to more sun and that will make them stop
blooming for awhile. But they are worth waiting for!

Sheena

I need to move some of my peony bush because it's spreading in the
wrong direction. How do I do that? Just dig it up and move it?

By the way, some folks say you can't split up a hydrangea but my mom
and I had to move one and we split it in half. It didn't bother the
plant at all and now I have two. I do know it was an Annabell, and we
moved it in the fall.
Debra in VA

Debra wrote:

I need to move some of my peony bush because it's spreading in the
wrong direction. How do I do that? Just dig it up and move it?

After they are dormant (leaves & stems all brown), dig them up and move
them. Replant so that the "eye" (the part where the stem meets the
fleshy root) is no more than one-inch below the soil. Deeper can affect
how well it blooms in the future.

By the way, some folks say you can't split up a hydrangea but my mom
and I had to move one and we split it in half. It didn't bother the
plant at all and now I have two. I do know it was an Annabell, and we
moved it in the fall.

I made six out of one small Annabell. g And I've made several
Viburnums by making the stems root (burying in the soil). Also have
divided a couple other hydrangeas. Like daylilies and hostas, some
plants are really easy to "get more".

Spirea (the newer hybrids) root from seedlings all over my property. I
saved two very interesting ones with darker blossoms and chartreuse
leaves. At 3 years now, they are filling out nicely.

Now, if I can just get the squirrels to stop planting walnut and
chestnut trees, I'd be all set!

Dianne

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:

Now, if I can just get the squirrels to stop planting walnut and
chestnut trees, I'd be all set!

Hi Dianne

I'd like to pick your brain about walnut trees. We have some small
trees at the cottage that we're told are black walnut. The leaves are
similar to large maple leaves and the bark is striated. There aren't
any big trees like it on the property and so far we can't find any
others on the island. Do they usually start from a nut having been
buried? If so, from your experience, how fast do they grow? How big
would they have to get before they produce nuts? They now range
between 3-18 feet tall. We lost a larger one to the beavers a few
years ago. We've been trying to discover where they are coming from
since we identified them about five years ago.

Mavia

Mavia Beaulieu ) writes:
Hi Dianne

I'd like to pick your brain about walnut trees. We have some small
trees at the cottage that we're told are black walnut. The leaves are
similar to large maple leaves and the bark is striated. There aren't
any big trees like it on the property and so far we can't find any
others on the island. Do they usually start from a nut having been
buried? If so, from your experience, how fast do they grow? How big
would they have to get before they produce nuts? They now range
between 3-18 feet tall. We lost a larger one to the beavers a few
years ago. We've been trying to discover where they are coming from
since we identified them about five years ago.

Mavia

Mavia, I am not Dianne, but I have a book which describes Black
Walnuts. The leaves are nothing like maples. They have a long central
stem, about a foot long with 15 to 23 slightly stalked leaflets arranged
alternately. I have not grown walnuts from seed, but I have grown
Butternuts. The ones I have at the cottage must be 12 years old or more,
and show no signs of bearing fruit. According to my book, Black Walnuts
only grow in Southern Ontario. HTH.
--
Jim Cripwell.
The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of one's life, any
time that is spent in stitching.
Adapted from a sign on The Cobb, Lyme Regis, England.

My parents have had mature black walnut trees since they bought their
current house (33 years). Here's a common type of walnut.
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrol...alifornica.htm
They look nothing like a maple. Is it possible you have black maples?
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrol...us/anigrum.htm

Maples and walnuts can both start from seed with no human assistance.
In fact I've found both cause an annoying number of sprouts each year.

Mavia Beaulieu wrote:
I'd like to pick your brain about walnut trees. We have some small
trees at the cottage that we're told are black walnut. The leaves are
similar to large maple leaves and the bark is striated. There aren't
any big trees like it on the property and so far we can't find any
others on the island. Do they usually start from a nut having been
buried? If so, from your experience, how fast do they grow? How big
would they have to get before they produce nuts? They now range
between 3-18 feet tall. We lost a larger one to the beavers a few
years ago. We've been trying to discover where they are coming from
since we identified them about five years ago.

--
Brenda Lewis
WIP: J. Himsworth "I Shall Not Want" xs
J & P Coats "Dancing Snoopy" latchhook

My parents made tomato cages with wire fencing and stout wire. Some are
still in use almost thirty years later. Making them was much cheaper
than buying back then and probably still is.

Debra wrote:
I've been cutting mine down a week or two after the blooms die for a
couple of years, and the previous owner did too, and I don't know how
the blooms could be any bigger. They are as big as a luncheon plate,
and very full and heavy. I wish the blooms wouldn't make the plant
fall over, but I can't find a peony cage in my area. I've looked for
them for three years now. Tomato cages are as scarce as hen's teeth
too.

--
Brenda Lewis
WIP: J. Himsworth "I Shall Not Want" xs
J & P Coats "Dancing Snoopy" latchhook
Now listening to 22 Years http://216.201.164.62:8000/

"F.James Cripwell" wrote:


Mavia, I am not Dianne, but I have a book which describes Black
Walnuts. The leaves are nothing like maples. They have a long central
stem, about a foot long with 15 to 23 slightly stalked leaflets arranged
alternately. I have not grown walnuts from seed, but I have grown
Butternuts. The ones I have at the cottage must be 12 years old or more,
and show no signs of bearing fruit. According to my book, Black Walnuts
only grow in Southern Ontario. HTH.
--
Jim Cripwell.

Thanks Jim, that did help! After reading your description I did a
Google search and we definitely don't have Black Walnut trees! LOL The
person who identified them for us is a local lumber man and we never
questioned his word. I'm glad I posted about it or I'd have spent the
rest of my days waiting for the walnuts to appear!

I located a good web site to identify trees so I'll bring back a leaf
the next time there and try to see if I can find it.

BTW how as the Painted Trilliums doing this year?

Mavia

Brenda Lewis wrote:

My parents have had mature black walnut trees since they bought their
current house (33 years). Here's a common type of walnut.
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrol...alifornica.htm
They look nothing like a maple. Is it possible you have black maples?
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrol...us/anigrum.htm

Maples and walnuts can both start from seed with no human assistance.
In fact I've found both cause an annoying number of sprouts each year.

Thanks Brenda, for those two sites. I'll take a closer look at the
leaves of these trees and see how they compare to the black maple.
From all I've read about the black walnut I'm not too disappointed
that we don't have any!

Mavia

I stake mine. 4 little stakes, wind with string.
Dianne

Brenda Lewis wrote:
My parents made tomato cages with wire fencing and stout wire. Some are
still in use almost thirty years later. Making them was much cheaper
than buying back then and probably still is.

Debra wrote:

I've been cutting mine down a week or two after the blooms die for a
couple of years, and the previous owner did too, and I don't know how
the blooms could be any bigger. They are as big as a luncheon plate,
and very full and heavy. I wish the blooms wouldn't make the plant
fall over, but I can't find a peony cage in my area. I've looked for
them for three years now. Tomato cages are as scarce as hen's teeth
too.