Hi Penny I live in Cheektowaga NY and I agree with you. I am ready to work on moving some plants and I really want to put some new plants in. I am going to Hi-way today to get flowers because I have the bug so bad. I don't care if it is going to rain all day. Hopefully next week will be better. Do you know anything about stock? I know it is a cool weather plant and can take light frost. I am wondering if I could plant some now. I would appreciate any help. Thanks Sandy

Hey Sandy,
Yes you can plant the stocks now. THey are a spring bloomer so once it warms up that is the end of them. But they do smell wonderful and they do help to cheer you up this time of year. I was at Mennes down the road from Hi-Way yesterday looking at the stocks but I ended up passing on them as I wanted to get some million bells to do some baskets for my hummers. I am just 2 miles away from Hi-Way and Menne's so I am in both frequently. I just picked up a pineapple sage, agastache and penstemon last week. The pineapple sage did get planted out yesterday. The other two I haven't decided where I am going to put them yet.

Penny

Hi Penny' Got to agree with you, this weather does stink. I was so ready to go all day moving pernnials today and get some mulching done. I have not planted any of my ws sprouts yet except poppies, did transplant some and they ended up in my greenhouse.
Sandy, Walmart had large 6 packs of stocks acouple of days ago. I don't know anything about them but the large white flowers sure caught my eye

This weather is really putting a stunt in my WS babies' growth. I was hoping to plant some of them in the ground this weekend, but no luck. With all this rain, it'll take a week for our yard to dry out enough just so I can walk through it.

Penny: I read in another post you made here that you planted your morning glories out last week. How are they holding up so far? Are they in the ground or in a conatiner?

Hey faltered,
THose morning glories are hanging tough as nails! They are in the ground. I ws'd them in paper pots and to tell you the truth I transplanted them a day or two after the seeds germinated during that warm spring week that we had because they were going to go on a lattice screen behind my sunflowers. I put the milk jug tops on them at night for a few days after I planted them out and have done nothing since then and they have been doing well...not really growing any but very green and robust. It could be that the paper pots (bottomless) have provided them with some additinal root insulation and that is what has kept them healthy. Each morning I go look at them with disbelief that they have survived another cold night. The other morning it was 33 degrees and I just new they were total gonners but they were just fine. I had also planted out my pineapple sage and so far it is doing well too as is all my red chianti sunflowers.

On another note, I was out in the back yard yesterdy in the cold pouring rain digging up hunk of seedlings of jewelweed for people. Mine went crazy this year (with the help of the kids playing with the ripe seed pods so they would explode) and I have a sea of green in my back bed. I posted on freecycle that I had seedlings if anyone wanted them and so far have had about 2 dozen replies. So as people come I dig up the hunks for them. Most of them don't have a clue what it is and when they reply and request some I try to tell them all about it so they know what they are planting. A few that are hummingbird gardeners know exactly so I know those hunks will be going to a good home LOL! One person said I will take one seedling. I had to email her back right away and tell her that she can't have just one, she has to take a whole hunk and then I sat down and explained all about it.

So in spite of the lousy weather I was still out there digging in the dirt (I mean mud) and it was miserable! I have told the rest of the people to call me mid week when the rain stops as I am not digging anything else up in this cold rain.

Penny

and now we are having Hale on top of the cold rain!!!

Penny

HI PENNY, Cheer up, the weather has got to get better, we had a betterday today, no rain, just wind,
I would love some of your blue lobelia, I am hoping to go to the swap at Taras, as soon as I get a date, perhaps I may have something you would like. I have tons of plants!!!
Mulchy

One thing about this cold weather is that the blossoms on my bulbs are lasting longer than normal. Normally they come in stages - first come the daffs which bloom and fade followed by the tulips. This year I have both blooming at the same time because the cool weather keeps them from fading in the heat.

No tulips flowering yet but I expect them to open soon. My daffs are done and my other bulbs haven't done much of anything yet.

Mulchy hopefully I will have plenty of blue lobelia by the time of the swap. It is still so tiny I can't even really separate it to pot it up yet.

Penny

Yikes what did we do to tick off Mother Nature. I walked out the door to let the dog out and we both got pelted with more hail!

Penny

I went home at lunch to let the dog out... sunny. I drove back to work, pelted with rain. I guess I should be thankful I didn't get hail!

PS- I've got a couple small fuchsias in 4" pots in a hanging planter setup. I left them out last night, should I bring them in tonight? They seem fine today, but I hear it's supposed to be around freezing again tonight and tomorrow night as well. No idea what kind they are offhand.

Penny, did you WS the Lobelia? I've been planting them inside for the past three years and they do so well. this year is my first for WS. So far all but a couple are growing moss. I think maybe the drainage holes were too small. Do you reuse your containers?

Yes I did wintersow the lobelia but the are still quite tiny. Once they are planted out they will start to grow more. I have a million seedlings and they are so close together it almost does look like moss in my containers. My great Blue lobelia is doing much better than the lobelia cardinalis. I only have a scant few sprouts in that container. The containers that did the best for the lobelia were the 3 inch nursery pots that I have saved over the years. And yes I do reuse a lot of my containers if I don't destroy them. I save all my nursery containers from 3 inch on up but I don't fool with the little starter 4 or 6 paks as they dry out too quickly. I really don't save milk jugs either as I usually have plenty of those by the next year. I do save hard plastic containers that I have bought or deep deli containers.

Penny

Cheer up! Good weather is on its way! This weekend is looking promising - sunny and 70 degrees. Imagine that - good weather for Mother's day. Too bad I'll be visiting my mother all weekend so no yard work will be done!