Isn't it nice that I received my packages from Edmunds' and Brushwood today (maybe yesterday by now because it's almost midnight here)? They were like birthday presents from me to me.
Brushwood is a reliable Clematis source. I always take delivery of the plants very early in the year, so they have almost no top growth, but I'd rather have them grow here than at the nursery.
I've learned to order six at a time. They fit into the box perfectly, in two rows of three, with no need for extra filler of any sort.
Each plant is encircled by damp paper, which is then rubber-banded to keep the paper and the planting medium from falling out of the container. A tall stick included in each container also protects the plant and holds up the top growth up when it starts growing.
Here are all six. They are 'Shin-shigyoku,' 'Andromeda,' 'Vyvyan Pennell,' 'Dancing Queen,' 'Kiri Te Kanawa,' and 'Diamantina.'
The cost of the order was $120.75 -- $89.70 for the plants and $31.05 for priority shipping.
This nursery has never been the same since it was taken over by Jung Seed. The roses are never as nice as the roses from other nurseries, but they sell some of the newest roses a full year before they're available elsewhere, so I still buy a few each year.
There's nothing wrong with the packing method they use for bare-root plants, but the plants themselves are somewhat substandard. They arrive wrapped in damp sphagnum moss. These five are 'All a'Twitter,' 'Whimsy,' 'Cinnamon Dolce,' 'Music Box,' and 'Raspberry Cream Twirl' (the latter is actually 'Ines Sastre,' but they rechristened it, probably to make it sound new).
This next one irritates me for so many reasons. First of all, the top was completely unprotected and the box was not marked "This side up," so it consequently traveled on its head and is quite damaged. Second, they said this was a brand-new, previously unavailable rose, 'Lady Ashe,' but when I saw the registration name I realized it was good old 'Dixieland Linda,' which has been available from many sources for years. Third, it's an own-root plant. I am not a fan of own-root roses. I buy them only when the roses are unavailable grafted. I already have three own-root Dixieland Lindas from Vintage Gardens and they're fairly puny little things. Unless Edmunds' Roses is a whiz at growing own-root roses, this probably will be a fourth puny specimen. Too bad!
Edmunds' started selling Clematis vines this year, so I bought one, 'Patricia Ann Fretwell,' just to see whether their clems are better or worse than their roses. Can't tell yet. This one has no top growth, but it does have two little signs of life, so I know it isn't dead.
Outlook kidnapped a bunch of my mail, so I can't find the itemized bill for these, but the packing slip says the merchandise subtotal was $121.70. I'm pretty sure I received a discount for early ordering.
I actually received these in the mail a week ago, but haven't had time to jot down any comments.
Barb sold the double Southern Belles in 4-inch containers for $8.60 each -- a great price. She's a whiz at packing. These were packed in wet newspaper and then in plastic bags before they went into the shipping box. This is a photo of six of them. I can't separate them for the photo because Barb mails them without containers and I'm not quite ready to plant them, so I don't want to expose their roots to the air.
I bought eight of them (six for me and two for Sue) for $82.40 -- 68.80 for the eight plants, plus a $2.00 co-op fee and $11.60 for shipping.
Here are the five bare-root roses I received from Regan today. Amazingly, I called yesterday afternoon to request the delivery, and the roses were on my front porch before I woke up this morning.
The canes and the roots were perfectly pruned for planting before they were shipped. That's a nice bonus. They were $19.99 each, plus $17.00 for shipping and $7.87 in state tax, but I received a 10% discount for ordering 3 or more at once, so the total was $114.82.
Four are brand new to commerce, and all five are new to my garden: Dawning Moment, Eyeconic Pink Lemonade, Ketchup & Mustard, Tangerine Streams, and The Wedgewood Rose.
After adding them to my list of roses on HMF.com, my total is now 1599. I wish I could identify one of my mystery roses to hit that 1600 mark, but I'll be getting more roses from Edmunds' and S&W soon, and perhaps even from that ridiculous Jackson & Perkins, which is still hanging on to the roses I ordered months ago.
I haven't been keeping up with this blog very well. I received a package of Hibiscus plugs about a week ago from BigBadFlower.com. I had never even heard of the place, so I have to thank Susan (lakesidecallas) for telling me about them.
I ordered six tropical Cajun Hibiscus plugs from them: Bayou Rose, Beau Vie, Bold Idea, Creole Lady, Sweet Pink, and Voodoo Magic. The total price was only $47.16, and that included $6.00 for postage and $3.66 for tax.
They called the next day to say they were out of Beau Vie and Bold Idea and asked whether I wanted to order two others because the postage would be the same for 4 or 6. I opted to just take the ones I had ordered.
The plugs arrived very quickly and I was pleased to see that they had found a Bold Idea plug after all (with an actual bud on it!). They were sent in trays that fit so snugly into the mailing box that they can't move at all during shipping. There are two trays in this box, one on top of the other.
The trays open just like take-out boxes from a restaurant.
The plugs have a nice root system and healthy top growth.
I planted them in one-gallon containers right away, but I made a stupid mistake. As you can see from the second photo, the plants were labeled on the box. I neglected to make labels for them or to keep them straight, so I have no idea which plants are in which pots now (except for Bold Idea because of the bud). I guess I'll find out when they bloom.
