Hey everyone,
I've been tempering off my plants for the last week now and aside from the stupid freeze warning this morning (it got down to 34F for a few hours), but everything I had made it through looking just fine. The site I have cleared and selected for them gets nearly all day sun. I'm in Zone 6, but my site can still get pretty hot in the summer. The plants overwintered in a greenhouse which gets full day sun and didn't mind it at all, except when I neglected to water them because of trips or school closings. I would have the plants in a good amount of mulch, and I've planted castor beans and sunflowers near them, which should provide some shade by mid-June if I crank out the fertilizer. I really want to plant the plants in ground, but the only site I have the space is this one. Any advice? I know the do so much better in the ground, but that they also do best with morning sun/afternoon shade.
Peace,
Nate

Close together ( i.e. 3 feet apart either way) they will shade each other Nathan. Mine in the lasagna garden are planted that way and get sun from sunup to about 7 PM and do fine. Being in the ground will also help big time, as will the mulching.






Forum Editing Tech
Zone 5b

Thanks for that info Ruth Ann-- been wondering that too.
I don't mean to take this OT, but Nate, I'm selling Caster Bean Plants at my backyard plant sale in about a month. No one sells them around here. What would be a good price to put on them per plant? They should be over a foot tall by then (or more?). Thanks.
Is it OK to email or PM you about some ideas of pricing of other plants,.. since you've just done this? Thanks

Patty
Milwaukee, Wi
zone 5

Patty, I'd go from $5-$7 a plant. They are annuals in our zones but self seed profusely. Just remind people that they can get to be pretty huge by the end of summer and can be used as an "instant hedge" during the parts of the year where you spend the most time outdoors. I'm assuming at $5 each you'd still make a very good profit off your sale. Good luck BTW.
Peace,
Nate

Nate it takes a while for my brugs to adjust to the sun after I take them outside. I had loads of burned foliage earlier this season but once they have acclimated they are in full sun all day. I have a few varieties that I have to keep in morning sun only, mainly some variegated varieties. It is looking like my Snowbank can take more sun than the other variegated brugs. Just how much I don't know yet because I received it as a cutting in the fall. My container brugs are pretty close together and do shade one another, as well as some of my other plants that need it. Shade is one of the things that I have very little of in my yard so I improvise by using other plants to provide it when possible.

Karyn

PS: It was nice to finally meet you last weekend. I was so impressed with Henrietta's gardens. Maybe jealous is a better word. lol Now I want tree peonies.

I just had to move some out of the full day sun. Now we were close to 90 today humidy 90%. Mine seem to like morning sun and afternoon shade. I do have some Grimaldies in 70% full sun all day and they like it so far.

Z6 good soil, sun all day would be good for flowering.






Jim

Hi Jim. I was wondering what happened to you. A bunch of people on GW were wondering where you were.
Karyn

I will check in. I am running a plant hospital here. I start them great put them in the ground and they want to die. I am working on it and making progress. It's a combination of pests, nematodes, soil, ph jump, well water quality, temperature, humidity and heat. Then there are moles, gophers, soil dieases,salt in the air etc. I have learned a lot.

I sometimes envy the z7s and less. There are not all the perils as I have here. Cold and good soil cures a lot. When I was a kid living in Virginia I grew tomatoes as high as the 2 story house. I have never been able to duplicate that in the south.





Jim

Eventually you'll find what works. You've done well in a very short time. I think we all kill a good number of plants until we hit upon the right combination of conditions that best support them. It's funny to hear that you are envious of us in the cooler zones. Most of us are wanting to be a zone or two warmer. Where in VA did you grow up?
Karyn

Mt. Vernon, very pretty area. Forest soil, you could grow anything. Now it is country clubs and golf courses.



Jim

It is very pretty there. I have friends in Mt. Vernon. It's not too far from where I live. It's been built up so much over the past 20 years but so have all of the DC suburbs, especially in VA.
Karyn