25 Daylilies and 50 Hosta
What do 25 daylilies and 50 hosta look like?
Actually, there turned out to be 28 daylilies and 65 hosta in these buckets. I ordered the bareroot plants in bulk from Gilbert H. Wild and Son, after receiving a flyer in the mail. The company has a so-so rating (76%) on Garden Watchdog, but for less that $1 a plant, I decided to take a risk. The roots (and the water I soaked them in) smelled pretty rank, but appeared healthy. Some of them even had a few green shoots. They roots looked freshly dug and had desiccated very little in the shipping box.
How long does it take to plant 28 daylilies and 65 hosta? About 12 hours, spread over 2 days. Thankfully, I had my garden helpers out in full force.
Where does one with a city yard put so many plants? All 28 daylilies went in the hell strip. I didn’t dare plant any hosta along the street because, while deer are uncommon on our street, they have munched the hosta in Cleo’s Garden in the past. The daylily buds may also be eaten, but I’ll take the risk. I divided the hosta between Cleo’s Garden, the NE Shady Shrub Border, and the North Corner.
By Sunday afternoon, Mike and I were grumpy, tired, and nauseated by the smell of wet roots. He kept trying to throw hosta over the fence (so that he wouldn’t have to dig another hole) and I wanted to whack him with a shovel. (Mike actually begged to be hit so that he wouldn’t have to garden anymore.) At the end, even I was sick of gardening. Admittedly, the last 13 hosta were not planted with much care.
Thank goodness the hard part is over. I’m not sure I’ll order that many bareroot plants again! Hopefully, the results will be worth the work and strained marital relations
Actually, there turned out to be 28 daylilies and 65 hosta in these buckets. I ordered the bareroot plants in bulk from Gilbert H. Wild and Son, after receiving a flyer in the mail. The company has a so-so rating (76%) on Garden Watchdog, but for less that $1 a plant, I decided to take a risk. The roots (and the water I soaked them in) smelled pretty rank, but appeared healthy. Some of them even had a few green shoots. They roots looked freshly dug and had desiccated very little in the shipping box.
How long does it take to plant 28 daylilies and 65 hosta? About 12 hours, spread over 2 days. Thankfully, I had my garden helpers out in full force.
Where does one with a city yard put so many plants? All 28 daylilies went in the hell strip. I didn’t dare plant any hosta along the street because, while deer are uncommon on our street, they have munched the hosta in Cleo’s Garden in the past. The daylily buds may also be eaten, but I’ll take the risk. I divided the hosta between Cleo’s Garden, the NE Shady Shrub Border, and the North Corner.
By Sunday afternoon, Mike and I were grumpy, tired, and nauseated by the smell of wet roots. He kept trying to throw hosta over the fence (so that he wouldn’t have to dig another hole) and I wanted to whack him with a shovel. (Mike actually begged to be hit so that he wouldn’t have to garden anymore.) At the end, even I was sick of gardening. Admittedly, the last 13 hosta were not planted with much care.
Thank goodness the hard part is over. I’m not sure I’ll order that many bareroot plants again! Hopefully, the results will be worth the work and strained marital relations
posted by Kasmira at 21.8.06
9 Comments:
I hate to say this, but deer ate ALL of my daylilies this year - the regular orange variety as well as the shorter yellow stella de oro lilies. Ate off allll the heads so I was left with just stalks. It was very disappointing, so I'd be careful to take some precaution with yours next summer...
As I struggled to plant and move hostas around Saturday, I wondered how you were faring. I couldn't believe you had that many plants waiting at home for you! I'm impressed.
I only had about 8 or 9 new hostas, but I had to move some others to make room. Of course this is in our lovely clay and amidst maple roots. I was surprised I wasn't very sore Sunday. Just tired.
Yeah to Mike for helping out!
I hope your soil wasn't all hard and dry~ that's a lot of planting to do, even with loose soil!
I feel your pain! Last year, I ordered 200 pine and spruce seedlings (they were a great deal)and by the time I finished with the last ones, I doubt they had much soil over their roots. The pines held up nicely, but the spruces had a 50% death rate. I learned my lesson this year and stayed away from nursery websites.
Amy and Christine - unfortunately, 58 of the 93 holes were in hard, dry clay studded with roots and/or rocks. I'm amazed we didn't break a shovel!
Leah - I suppose it is a good thing I like daylily foliage as well as flowers!
You have to loosen two feet of soil to get your plants to grow their roots. But I think you know this. You just want sympathy for your deer fodder. Sorry about that. Lilies are such a beauty but there must be something in them that deer love. Better luck next time.
Holy Schnitzel! That is alot of plants.
I order bare-rooted plants all the time. I know what you mean about planting...and planting. Last year my DH used the rototiller to dig a half-circle for the iris rhizomes-that made it much easier. This year's bunch went into dirt as dry as punk. I have to water them every day. No rain for 25 days now.
Beautiful pictures....
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