Mama and I chose this plant and several others from the Farmer's Market (a very nice retired school teacher was selling) and we failed to get her to write down the name. By the time we got home and got everything planted, neither of us could remember what it was! It bloomed for the first time last week, and I'm so happy with what I think is Coreopsis tinctoria (golden tickseed). A happy surprise.
There was another wonderful surprise waiting for me in the garden this week. I had attempted to move a mature gardenia (Chuck Hayes) in the late winter as it had outgrown its spot in the garden. I loved that gardenia, which bloomed all summer and stayed green all winter. But after the big move I didn't see anything but stumps until....In April, as I was relating my sad gardenia story, my Aunt Betty told me you should always prune something severely before moving it so that the root system, which is bound to be shortened by transplanting, won't be trying to support a larger system above ground. Chuck Hayes triumphed despite my poor planning, but next time I'll prune first.
1 comment:
HGTV's Gardener Guy agrees with your Aunt Betty and offers the following advice:
-measure 1 foot up tree, then measure the diameter at that spot, multiply diameter times 18 to find size of root ball to dig
-cut inside branches and stems back 1/3, don't do top b/c it ruins natural shape
If you have time before you move it...
-use his rule to determine ideal diameter of the root ball then dig a trench at that distance, slicing thru roots as cleanly as possible
-fill trench halfway with compost or shredded leaves
-if a long time passes before move, sever any roots that creep into trench
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