too late to plant ground cover?
 

Well, I managed to get 12 rhodos in about three weeks ago, but the rest
of the garden that I want to plant with ground cover is still bare.
Would it be foolish to go off to the nursery on Monday and fill the back
of the car with various things? Is it too late?

Thanks.

Eddy.

too late to plant ground cover?
 

In article ,
Eddy wrote:
Well, I managed to get 12 rhodos in about three weeks ago, but the rest
of the garden that I want to plant with ground cover is still bare.
Would it be foolish to go off to the nursery on Monday and fill the back
of the car with various things? Is it too late?

No. Provided that the ground is not frozen, most container grown
plants can be put in at any time.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

too late to plant ground cover?
 

wrote in message
...
In article ,
Eddy wrote:
Well, I managed to get 12 rhodos in about three weeks ago, but the rest
of the garden that I want to plant with ground cover is still bare.
Would it be foolish to go off to the nursery on Monday and fill the back
of the car with various things? Is it too late?

No. Provided that the ground is not frozen, most container grown
plants can be put in at any time.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



In fact, now is the best time:
Ground still warm = root growth
Air esp night time temps low = no top growth
= better start as things warm up in spring

(Valid for most things except mediterranean plants which hate water logged
roots and are beast planted as the ground warms i early summer.)

pk

too late to plant ground cover?
 

On 25/10/08 17:06, in article , "Eddy"
wrote:

Well, I managed to get 12 rhodos in about three weeks ago, but the rest
of the garden that I want to plant with ground cover is still bare.
Would it be foolish to go off to the nursery on Monday and fill the back
of the car with various things? Is it too late?

Thanks.

Eddy.


Are you expecting frost in your area? Are the things you're proposing to
buy grown 'hard', i.e. outdoors, or are they grown under cover or in
greenhouses/tunnels? And by under cover I mean, even so much as a
pergola-type arrangement. If they're grown 'hard' and are of a reasonable
size and if your ground is still quite warm, they should be fine. But
personally, I wouldn't plant things that have been protected, given that the
forecast isn't exactly balmy. They won't get away any faster if the ground
is cold so you might as well wait until spring as it warms up.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

too late to plant ground cover?
 

Sacha wrote:

Are you expecting frost in your area?

265m above sea-level here in Shropshire Hills. Frosts are a certainty
over the winter. (Ice on the roads etc.)

Are the things you're proposing to
buy grown 'hard', i.e. outdoors, or are they grown under cover or in
greenhouses/tunnels? And by under cover I mean, even so much as a
pergola-type arrangement.

Some things at the nursery are outdoors and some things, though quite
developed, are in polytunnels.

If they're grown 'hard' and are of a reasonable
size and if your ground is still quite warm, they should be fine.

The ground I'm planting is drainfield close to the septic tank, so
there's a degree of underground warmth and moisture beneath the ground
at all times. So it sounds like this might be OK for plants grown
"hard" at the nursery.

But
personally, I wouldn't plant things that have been protected, given that the
forecast isn't exactly balmy. They won't get away any faster if the ground
is cold so you might as well wait until spring as it warms up.

Right. Thanks for this. I have been thinking that if I put them in now
they'll be bigger by the end of next summer, than if I put them in in
Spring, but you're suggesting that won't be the case - in which case I
just need to adapt to the idea of a rather bereft-looking garden over
the coming winter!

Regards,
Eddy.

too late to plant ground cover?
 

too late to plant ground cover?
 

PK wrote:

In fact, now is the best time:
Ground still warm = root growth
Air esp night time temps low = no top growth
= better start as things warm up in spring

(Valid for most things except mediterranean plants which hate water logged
roots and are beast planted as the ground warms i early summer.)

And valid for container plants that I find outdoors at the nursery?

Thanks.

Eddy.

too late to plant ground cover?
 

On 26/10/08 10:55, in article , "Eddy"
wrote:
snip

I have been thinking that if I put them in now
they'll be bigger by the end of next summer, than if I put them in in
Spring, but you're suggesting that won't be the case - in which case I
just need to adapt to the idea of a rather bereft-looking garden over
the coming winter!

Regards,
Eddy.


If your ground is still warmish and you're putting in tough plants, that can
indeed be the case. But if the soil is cold and wet, you're not going to
benefit and small plants may just die off. One year, Ray planted a whole
row of Corydalis down the edge of one long border in the autumn. We had a
very wet winter (that makes a change!) and by spring very few were left
alive!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

too late to plant ground cover?
 

In article ,
Eddy wrote:
wrote:

In article ,
Eddy wrote:
Well, I managed to get 12 rhodos in about three weeks ago, but the rest
of the garden that I want to plant with ground cover is still bare.
Would it be foolish to go off to the nursery on Monday and fill the back
of the car with various things? Is it too late?

No. Provided that the ground is not frozen, most container grown
plants can be put in at any time.

Provided they have been stored outdoors at the nursery?

Er, yes, quite.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

too late to plant ground cover?
 

Sacha wrote:

I have been thinking that if I put them in now
they'll be bigger by the end of next summer, than if I put them in in
Spring, but you're suggesting that won't be the case - in which case I
just need to adapt to the idea of a rather bereft-looking garden over
the coming winter!

Regards,
Eddy.


If your ground is still warmish and you're putting in tough plants, that can
indeed be the case. But if the soil is cold and wet, you're not going to
benefit and small plants may just die off. One year, Ray planted a whole
row of Corydalis down the edge of one long border in the autumn. We had a
very wet winter (that makes a change!) and by spring very few were left
alive!

Thanks a lot, Sacha. Really appreciate your advice. Yes, I had better
put up with an unfinished-looking garden for the next 6 months or so,
rather than risk wasting a lot of money on plants that could just die.

Eddy.

too late to plant ground cover?
 

On 26/10/08 15:25, in article , "Eddy"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:

I have been thinking that if I put them in now
they'll be bigger by the end of next summer, than if I put them in in
Spring, but you're suggesting that won't be the case - in which case I
just need to adapt to the idea of a rather bereft-looking garden over
the coming winter!

Regards,
Eddy.


If your ground is still warmish and you're putting in tough plants, that can
indeed be the case. But if the soil is cold and wet, you're not going to
benefit and small plants may just die off. One year, Ray planted a whole
row of Corydalis down the edge of one long border in the autumn. We had a
very wet winter (that makes a change!) and by spring very few were left
alive!

Thanks a lot, Sacha. Really appreciate your advice. Yes, I had better
put up with an unfinished-looking garden for the next 6 months or so,
rather than risk wasting a lot of money on plants that could just die.

Eddy.

Not just me, Eddy but I'm glad if it helped you to make up your mind. It's
such a waste of money if they die and it only means waiting a little longer!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)