Tony Miklos wrote:
....
No, only 5 acres mostly wooded, I wish I could do something good with
wildflowers but it's not easy. So far my best wildflower luck is with
daisies. If when they start blooming I water them often, they bloom for
months! I don't know what it is, but I can't even grow chicory! I've
collected hundreds of seeds and just can't get them to grow. So when
I'm getting the mail, I walk along the road to see the chicory blooming
beautifully in the gutter. Maybe if I throw rock salt on the seeds when
it snows, drive on it now and then, spit a little oil and gas on them,
throw cigarette butts on them, then they will grow? And of course I
have plans for that plant, I just can't decide where to put it.... seems
like it likes filtered light or some direct sun but not too much.

i can't say for sure, because all
the roadsides here have it and the
environment is mixed (some full sun
and some shaded). i think actually
the key is that it needs disturbed
soil to get established and would
get crowded out if left alone (not
mowed regularly like a roadside).

we've got chicory growing here in
a sandy spot (one of the few we've got
in the yard). it gets full sun at mid
day and is shaded later in the day.

i transplanted a few small plants from
along side of the road. dug as much of
the root as i could. watered it a
bit until i saw new growth. i think the
key is that i chose the smallest plants
i could find.

they are surrounded by wood chips
and other plantings and we always
have plenty of volunteers to weed.

the bunnies, deer and goldfinches
like it.


songbird