# Gardening Season 2024 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** gardening\ **Created:** [April 10, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107 "2024-04-10T17:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/41 "2024-04-12T23:08:21Z")
Yeah, the fruiting hedge is more like both sides of a path that goes up a hill - on one side there is the edge of a wood - the Saskatoon Berry is planted so as to blend into that. On the other side of the path are the smaller bushes ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/42 "2024-04-12T23:11:02Z")
I’m also trying to germinate some pawpaw seeds and if I succeed, these will be planted in the woodland ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/43 "2024-04-13T15:24:33Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Any opinions on flowering ground covers? We have [Waldsteinia ternata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldsteinia_ternata) both in the sun and the shade and it grows well. I did a search for it with New Jersey and got this result: > **[Waldsteinia fragarioides - Jersey-Friendly Yards](https://www.jerseyyards.org/plant/waldsteinia-fragarioides/)** > > Appalachian Barren Strawberry features small, yellow flowers, which bloom April-May. The flowers produce inedible fruits enjoyed for their ornamental qualities. Appalachian Barren Strawberry offers evergreen foliage, but can brown in very cold... Unfortunately some of our neighbors’ boxwoods us got infected with boxwood blight and had to be replaced. I had planted three raspberry plants, and two are doing well. I found 2 plants for $4 at the grocery store today, so I removed the dead one and planted the cheap plants in its place. Maybe I’ll get lucky. Now that somebody’s mentioned peas, I’m considering throwing a few in one of the planters. I do plan to add some cherry tomato plants in a week or so. > [@Lancia](#): > > Decisions Or maybe a Euonymus? I prefer something than just plain green. [Euonymus japonicus Elegantissimus Aureus-Golden Variegated Japanese Spindle | English Woodlands](https://www.ewburrownursery.co.uk/euonymus-japonicus-elegantissima-aurea-variegated-japanese-spindle#:~:text=Euonymus%20japonicus%20'Elegantissimus%20Aureus'%20is,metres%20and%20spread%202%20metres). > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > So these daffodils arrived here sometime prior to, say, 1985; and presumably after 1894, as that seems to have been when the house was built. My sister-in-law lives in the house she grew up in, which was originally bought by her grandparents. Her grandmother loved gardening and planted daffodils where the fields meet the forests. They are still blooming after 50 years. Our daffodils and hyacinths are already done. Even the tulips are getting towards the end. The lilacs, which usually bloom for mother’s day, are just starting to bloom. I find this worrisome. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/44 "2024-04-13T16:28:36Z")
Daffodils are still on full here. Snowdrop bloom has dropped and gone. Forsythia has started to shed petals; lilac is budding out, leaves just starting to open; tulips have sizeable leaves but no sign yet of bloom stalks. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/45 "2024-04-13T17:16:45Z")
Ooh, can I visit? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/46 "2024-04-13T17:19:19Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Daffodils are still on full here. Snowdrop bloom has dropped and gone. Forsythia has started to shed petals; lilac is budding out, leaves just starting to open; tulips have sizeable leaves but no sign yet of bloom stalks. Sounds like you are a day or two ahead of me. But my forsythia get shaded by my house, and are a little later than other forsythia. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/47 "2024-04-13T20:32:09Z")
Mine is shaded by my house all afternoon; but I think individual forsythia bushes also vary some. Or I might be a little warmer than you are; in addition to regional variations, there’s a lot of microclimate effects around here. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/48 "2024-04-13T21:12:54Z")
I’m in zone 9b, so I’m a lot farther into the Spring season than most of you guys. There was mixed success with my winter veggies. My Napa cabbage never really formed heads before they bolted - it got too warm too soon, plus I didn’t sow the seeds until mid-January. The beets grew well and I got lots of greens off them(a good portion of them are in the freezer), but the beets themselves didn’t get very big at all. The largest were only golf ball size. The spinach did OK, and I continually harvested the outside leaves from the end of January until about three weeks ago when they bolted. I tried Buttercrunch lettuce, supposedly a good variety for Texas, and it grew well. I did the same as with the spinach by harvesting outside leaves and only ripped it out when it bolted. But the flavor and texture were very disappointing - no crunch at all in the Buttercrunch. It was the first time I tried growing lettuce, so it could have been something that I did, or didn’t, do. If anyone has experience with growing lettuce varieties on the Gulf coast I could use some pointers. The greatest success of the winter was with sugar snap peas. They really should have been planted in late October, but the seeds weren’t sown until just after Christmas. I harvested a good handful of them at the end of January, and by mid-February I was getting a quart or two each week. They were way past their prime and looking pretty sad when I ripped them out three weeks ago. I might(if I didn’t like them so much) have enough in the freezer to last through to Fall, and I promised myself that they _will_ get planted in October this year. Right now I’ve got three tomato plants that are doing well. They all have at least small fruit on them, and the Celebrity will give me a ripe tomato within a week. Unless the !\*%&# squirrels or possums or raccoons get it first. I’ve got bell, ancho/poblano, and banana peppers going with only tiny peppers on the plants now. Japanese millionaire eggplant has always done well for me and there are several small fruit on it now. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/49 "2024-04-14T18:30:40Z")
The Mexican sunflowers are now planted outside. I also noticed several more tulips coming up in the tulip/ranunculus patch. Better late than never, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/50 "2024-04-17T16:08:03Z")
Anyone know of a good place to order Iris Bulbs(?) from? Reliable but not too expensive is what I’m looking for. We might end up buying them as plants from a Garden store. It appears they’re very pricey except maybe the small Dutch Iris? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/51 "2024-04-17T17:26:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Iris Bulbs(?) To pick a nit - rhizomes. Wish you were in the area. We could give you plenty of several varieties. No idea where to buy them - I’ve just gotten them from other folk - including some that were from my mom’s home as a kid - descendents of stock close to 100 yrs old. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/52 "2024-04-17T17:55:51Z")
I was pretty sure bulb was the wrong term. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/53 "2024-04-17T18:08:17Z")
A online seller I’ve had positive dealings with is [Brent and Becky’s Bulbs](https://brentandbeckysbulbs.com) in Virginia. They seem to have a fair selection of iris. Garden Watchdog has [a big listing](https://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?category=15&submit=Go&cat) of mail order nurseries that sell iris. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/54 "2024-04-17T18:17:48Z")
If the ground can be worked it’s time to plant peas. Certainly anywhere in the continental US by now. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/55 "2024-04-17T18:20:23Z")
Those look promising, I’ve bookmarked your post with a reminder. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/56 "2024-04-17T19:38:30Z")
This thread reminded me to check on the blackberry lilies (which are actually iris) along the back fence line to see if any had come up this year (they have). To my surprise, I also found two purple bearded iris growing back there too - and they’re blooming. No idea how they got there. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/57 "2024-04-17T19:42:15Z")
Peas were planted shortly after that post. And I’m just about to go out and plant a new hazelnut bush. ---
**Author:** ![Deanna\_D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@Deanna\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deanna_D)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/58 "2024-04-17T20:15:34Z")
I’m trying really, really hard to keep up with pulling weeds out of my flower beds, and got a nice surprise the other day. I pulled out a little tiny _something_, and realized that whatever it was had a pecan attached to the roots. I’ve always wanted a tall, noble pecan tree, so I very lovingly tucked him into a nice comfy flower pot to let him grow a little, till I figured out his new permanent place in my yard. I wanted to be a good tree Mom, and make sure I pick out the perfect location, so I hit Google. And now I know that it takes 10 years to get any pecans from a tree. So, if y’all want to just go ahead and reserve a pecan pie for sometime in 2034, just let me know! I’m very patient, and will still be happy to have him in my yard family. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/59 "2024-04-17T20:21:14Z")
The best time to plant nut trees is twenty years ago. The second best time is now. (Not original with me; though that may not be quite the original wording, and I don’t know who first said it.) ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107/60 "2024-04-18T13:49:53Z")
We’re still more than a month away from doing any planting. My zone is 3B. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with putting in gardens for pollinators? My mom (83yo) told me that she no longer wants any gifts for Mother’s Day, birthday or Christmas. Instead she wants us (4 daughters) to plant her a butterfly garden. We are more than happy to oblige. A county over from us is having a native plant sale in June. They have different packages you can order. I ordered the pollinator package. We’ll be getting live plants (36 for $65): Lance-leaf coreposis Rough Blazing Star Purple Prairie Clover Showy Goldenrod Golden Alexander Little Bluestem Any other recommendations? Any advice? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardening-season-2024/1000107.md?page=4)