Have you ever gotten a plant that others could grow and you can't? Have you tried that plant year after year, trying different combinations of sun, soil, fertilizer and still failed to be able to grow that plant?
The dirty little secret that the Renegade Gardener doesn't realize is two-fold. First, goatsbeard thrives in clay (regardless of what the tag said). Second, it thrives on neglect. It is the perfect plant for my yard and gardening style. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate nursery tags? The tags tell you that most plants need a certain set of circumstances to grow, which is a crock (some do, but most do well in a range of circumstances). They lie to you all the time and tell you things like "fertilize" and "rich, well-drained soil". Goatsbeard is a native plant, and as such, does not need pampering and certainly not fertilizing.
Another plant that tags lie all the time about is Rugosa Roses. Just ignore any tag that make rugosas sound complicated to care for. They are so easy; plop them in the ground and let them do their thing. Whatever you do - DO NOT AMEND THE SOIL, OR FERTILIZE, OR USE ANY SORT OF SPRAY ON THEM! Perfect for my yard. I have a neighbor who I have given countless pieces of Rugosas to. They have failed to thrive. He laments, "I water them faithfully and put them in nice soil and . . " I keep telling him he is babying them to death. I proved this point by planting a rugosa for him a couple of months ago and not telling him about it. It has thrived wonderfully and started blooming a month after planting.
Friday afternoon I dug up a bunch more rugosas and potted them up. I will give them away to 3 people that have dibs on them (the roses went so crazy after the pruning in spring that the spot I had planned to plant striped rugosas in was over-run, so I had to dig up that whole section). The pots are filled with clay and after two weeks I should know which ones will make it and which ones won't (some were literally ripped out of the ground so don't have much root). When I told the neighbor that I had more roses for him that should be ready in a couple of weeks, he started talking about how if I just kept them in water they would be fine.
NO! NO! NO!!! That just drowns the roots AND means you have to check it every day to see if it needs more water to cover the roots. Although, yes, the rugosas would probably recover, they would have to develop new roots before being able to concentrate on putting out leaves and stems. Put them in clay, water well (or not), and ignore them until next weekend. Water again if needed, then ignore again.
In another week they are ready to give away with strick instructions to NOT amend the soil (clay or sand, doesn't matter), not to water except perhaps at the time of planting, not to fetilize, and especially not to spray for fungus (black spot, powdery mildey etc) or bugs. Rugosas resent all that and will sulk (or worse). Oh, and I also go against grain and tell them to plant anywhere from sun to shade.
What plants have you found to be so super easy compared to what the nursery tag claims? And what plants have you had no luck at all with even though you see them thriving elsewhere in your neighborhood?
actually, the one thing i am really good at is planting things and then ignoring them!
Posted by: bod | July 23, 2007 at 12:13 AM
See, you would do great at growing rugosas!
Posted by: Bogie | July 28, 2007 at 06:33 AM