So remember a couple months ago when I ordered the "shady perennial garden" from Gurney's?? Yup...18 plants for my shady south side of the house (we have large trees). Well, today the plants came...roots of the plants in sealed plastic bags with a little dirt/mulch in them. NOW what do I do with them? I can't plant them today because its been raining and I haven't gotten out to dig the area up. There was a pamphlet included that says if you can't plant them right away to sprinkle the roots with water, rewrap them, and store them in a cool basement. So that's what I do then?? Right?? I got hostas, bleeding hearts, ferns, and lilies of the valley. I'm hoping to get out to plant on Saturday when its not raining and I only work half a day. Am I doing this right as far as storing them until Saturday???
The pamphlet also tells how to plant the roots. Everything that I got basically gets planted entirely until the top of the soil. Just double checking to see if that's what I need to do.
posted
Not to worry, they should be fine. Open the sealed bags and check to see if they are dried out. If they're not, then just keep an eye on them that they don't dry out. If they are dry, I'd wet them down and wrap the roots, loosly, in a wet paper towel. Again, just try not to let them dry out. And, I think keeping them cool is a bonus...they'll be going in the ground in a few days, so try to mimic the outside temp, in a garage or basement. Hope this helps, Raven P.S. Post pix!!!
* * * * "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for mankind if we spent less time proving that we can outwit Mother Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." Plants: 51 | From: Z9a/b-Holly Hill, FL | Registered: Jun 2003
| Seeded: 65.140.6.85
posted
Thanks Raven. I will wrap them with damp paper towels right now. There's still a good hour and a half of sun light today so I'm going to try to dig up the ground at the side of the house. Its been raining for like 4 days, so the ground should be pretty soft. Before and after pics will definately be taken.
posted
Hi, This happened to me last year when my plants came and we still had snow on the ground. I found that spraying the roots with water once a day and keeping them covered in plastic worked for about a week. As long as the roots don't dry out they should be fine. I ended up potting up my roses because the ground could not be worked for several weeks! The daylilies did fine in the box with the spraying. Good luck!
Plants: 4 | From: Eastern MA | Registered: Apr 2004
| Seeded: 66.30.247.252
posted
another option that may or may not work for you (depends on what resources you have) - - I got my trees in at a "bad" time for me from the Arbor Society last fall. I simply used some plant containers I had, placed a mix of potting soil, mulch and dirt (knew it would be sometime before I could get them in the ground) and they did great. So, if you have the potting soil - and something to simply place them in temporary - you might do that. That way - - if for some reason you don't get to them this weekend (life and weather do happen ) - they'll be good to go.
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I got hostas, bleeding hearts, ferns, and lilies of the valley. I'm hoping to get out to plant on Saturday when its not raining and I only work half a day. Am I doing this right as far as storing them until Saturday???
Printer-friendly view of this garden