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Home Depot usually has really knowledgeable people (at least at ours) and almost always a master gardener sitting at a table on weekends to ask questions.
Have fun plant shopping
(I spent a bit of my morning in the basement as we got the tornado warnings first time ever here in Longmont since moving here 10 years ago)
Really? A master gardener? okayyyy. Actually we decided to hit Lowes for tools tonight. We have to remove the gravel first. There is a HD right down the street from our house though, so I'll check them out for plants. I really like their return policy.
I cannot believe that about the tornado. Those poor people. I'd just cry. I might even just move out of state and not bother starting over here. And now FEMA and the governor are going to ask the feds for money. They didn't dish any out for Holly, and I think that one was worse, so once more we are screwed. And my guess it's cuz they are busy fighting over oil. ok, no one jump on me now!
The master gardener's are volunteers (not employees). When you are a master gardener you have to fulfill so many volunteer hours and that's one way to get them. So for the last few summers up here at the Longmont Home Depot, there are always master gardeners sitting out in the greenhouse area to answer questions.
The Evergreen Nursery is worth a drive up there, because they have truly winter and drought hardy specimens that take all kinds of tough soil. If you want flowering perennial shrubs you can't beat the perennial shrub sections at the larger older nurseries. They sell exotics but avoid them. Potentilla is an example of a very colorful shrub that lives great out here.
Potentilla, cool, never heard of that. Yesterday we agreed that we like dogwoods.
I think I'll only be putting flowers in a whiskey barrel, so do you think I should just stick with annuals or can you actually plant perennials in a potter? I get confused with this terminology, but I know that there are some flowers that you plant that bloom every year, but only begin to bloom the year after you plant them. These I don't want. But I do want something that'll look pretty right away and could possibly stay all year. Maybe impossible in Colorado.
Potentilla, cool, never heard of that. Yesterday we agreed that we like dogwoods.
I think I'll only be putting flowers in a whiskey barrel, so do you think I should just stick with annuals or can you actually plant perennials in a potter? I get confused with this terminology, but I know that there are some flowers that you plant that bloom every year, but only begin to bloom the year after you plant them. These I don't want. But I do want something that'll look pretty right away and could possibly stay all year. Maybe impossible in Colorado.
In that situation, plant annuals. They'll bloom all summer (to keep them blooming nicely, deadhead and occasionally cut back and fertilize). In the fall you can put pansies in there - they like cooler weather. They are also the first you can safely plant early spring. I actually have some in the ground that make it through the winter sometimes.
Perennials that you buy in the nurseries will bloom the first year you plant them - most likely they've already gone through that cycle. And not all perennials are that way.
Phlox is a wonderful spring bloomer you may want to consider. Daylilies are nice and easy....the beauty of the perennials is you don't have to replant each year.
ok, so annuals die after one season right? I usually plant petunias, but then they die at the end of summer, beginning fall. I know pansies are heartier than that.
Why do you think annuals are the better bet? Since perennials will bloom that year, why not plant those? Do perennials not do well in pots?
If we go with the burning bush, which I really want, I have to be careful on the color of flowers I use, probably will go with white or cream. We decided to go with the larger sized dark bark wood.
ok, so annuals die after one season right? I usually plant petunias, but then they die at the end of summer, beginning fall. I know pansies are heartier than that.
Why do you think annuals are the better bet? Since perennials will bloom that year, why not plant those? Do perennials not do well in pots?
If we go with the burning bush, which I really want, I have to be careful on the color of flowers I use, probably will go with white or cream. We decided to go with the larger sized dark bark wood.
I've never tried perennials in my containers. I guess because I like to do different things each year. Perennials in containers might not come back though because the roots, being above ground in the pot, would probably be exposed to colder temps. in the winter whereas those in the ground stay warmer. For instance, I have holly in the ground that does great, but when I tried it in a pot, it died in January.
I have pansies growing right now that I planted last September (in the ground) so they're a long-lasting and extremely hardy annual. Again, the pansies I planted last fall in window boxes lasted until early December, but didn't come back this Spring.
Some perennials will come back, but as Denverian says, not all, and some get root-bound right away.
I had some luck with herbs in pots making it through the winter. My mint did fine, as did chives. I had a huge rosemary bush in a pot, but I brought it in during the winter. My parsley would struggle all winter long, then finally expire in March. I always took it out and planted lettuce, which did great all spring.
Basically, for fall/winter interest, we'd look for something other than flowers.
Examples:
European alders are deciduous trees, but they make these darling little pine cones every fall, and those stay on the tree all winter long.
I agree with JkCoop: Dogwoods are a beautiful rusty-red color, they look beautiful against a snowy landscape, and brighten a dead lawn. Chokecherries are a huge mess, but I always liked them anyway because the birds loved them. My dog would track the berries into the house, but they don't stain.
Plumbago has nice blue flowers, but for me the best thing about it was it's red/orange color during the fall. It almost looked like it was on fire. (Plumbago here in Florida is something completely different.)
You can think about ornamental grasses, or pick out a nice blue spruce.
But as others have said, junipers and other coniferous shrubs can get awfully overgrown unless trimmed wa-ay back.
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