Good Plants for Lower Delaware (Lewes: how much, beach, yard)

[Arezzo]

I think I might need large planters for some things. I have a lot of sand in the soil. Or I guess I can improve the soil in some beds. But also because, like mint, some things can take over the beds. I can't wait to try the knock out roses and, maybe ornamental, holly. And nothing signals spring like forsythia so i must have some of that. I'll stay away from the hosta. (Rdlr, you are funny! Deer are shameless). Part of my neighborhood had been around for about 5 years, even though my house is just finished, so I think I will cruise the neighbors and see what they have planted.

I have used photinia or red tips in the past in a sunny location. They grew fast and helped with wind and privacy. I also like Leyland cypress if you have enough space. They can get pretty big.

Has anyone planted any grapes? Or berries? I recall my grandparents near the Jersey shore had raspberries.

My last gardening experience was in Northern Virginia and all we had was clay, so I wasn't sure what it would be like in sandy DE. Thanks for all the tips.

[rdlr]

Arezzo - I guess you've seen all the beach grass in yards. They do look nice and "beachy" and do well in hiding little areas you don't want seen from the street. I have a couple of those and they are murder to cut back in the winter. The blades will cut you to ribbons if you don't wear good gloves. Some people don't cut them back, though. Good luck with everything! This has been a great thread!

Don't know about grapes or berries in that soil. In Kent County, I've planted all kinds of berries

[DelawareLiz]

RDLR--we have that beach grass too, and I leave that for my husband to tend .

Our cypress trees went from being three feet tall to almost 30 feet tall in ten years. They DO grow fast. We love having them though, given we like our privacy.

Blackberries grow well around here, it seems. I find them while hiking in the woods all the time and treat myself.

[doctorjef]

rdlr is right about knockout roses. They are highly disease resistant shrub roses and need little care. They are now also available in yellow. We have planted pink, red, and yellow specimens. Like any rose, you do need to make sure they are planted in an adequately sunny spot and in a place where the soil drains adequately (roses like plenty of water but don't like their roots to stay in continuously wet soil).

[Arezzo]

I am very excited about the roses. I had forgotten about grasses, but I don't mind cutting them back (or letting my guy do it like Beachliz). I think the grasses give a coastal look and fit in, hydrangeas do that for me, too. Grasses are a great idea!

My back yard has some shade, actually lots of shade because it is wooded. I don't want to clear it too much. It's why I bought that lot in my development. Does anyone use ground covers? Particularly where there are pines and pine needles? Someone told me pine needles sort of poison or sour the soil. I have never tried to plant around or among pines. I was thinking pachysandra (no ivy!) or something that might fill in the gaps a little...

Thanks, everyone for helping me out with advice.

[doctorjef]

I would stay away from red tip photinias. They will grow in the sandy soil of Rehoboth, where I have seen them, but I have personally found them to be unreliable and disease prone. We planted them in Austin, TX, where they are quite popular, but found that some of them would unpredictably sicken and die. My observation of a hedge of them in Rehoboth suggests the same problem there too. I'd never plant them again.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by Arezzo

Someone told me pine needles sort of poison or sour the soil. I have never tried to plant around or among pines.

We have 8 huge pine trees and I use the pine needles to mulch my azaleas, which LOVE the acidity that pine needles provide. Around the pine trees, I plant pink, burgundy, and white-veined caladiums, which are beautiful in the shade. Only thing, they need to be dug up in the Fall and replanted in early Summer. I got lazy and didn't dig them up last Fall. They are quite costly, though. Periwinkle is the only ground cover I have in my yard now. Moles ate up my pachysandra.

[Arezzo]

Oh I remember moles from my childhood in Cecil Co., MD. Forgot about them and what they do to bulbs. But daffodils are my favorite flower so I might go at risk there. I will stomp around to see if i have any tunnels.

I'm glad azaleas are compatible with pines. I have seen them naturalized among pines so I should have thought of that. I don't have any dogwood in my woods which seems strange to me. I would like a few of them. I am such a fan of spring (or more like a fan of the end of winter) that I want lots of early bloomers. Here in Italy we have a lot of witch hazel in bloom now. In the summer I can have bright, showy annuals in pots or in beds. And i will have those roses!

Does anyone grow jasmine with good results?

I do recall my photinias getting some kind of withering disease that dried the leaves and they fell. It wasn't every year, but I had forgotten until doctorjef mentioned it. Never mind!

[Mary2014]

My favorite berry is the beach plum. You see the bushes growing wild near the dunes and along the roads near Lewes. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and picking wild beach plums during the late summer/early fall on Long Island. My mother made jellies and jams of just about any berry we could find gowing wild and could pick for free.

My absolute favorite is beach plum jelly. I don't know of any place where it is commercially produced- so after 50 years I rediscovered it when I was visiting Lewes a few years ago. I recognized the beach plum bushes on the dunes and found a little shop in Lewes that carries several homemade jams and jellies. Beach plum jelly tasted as great as I remembered!

My retirement plan does not include a yard to maintain -so no beach plum bushes - but, does anyone know if you are permitted to pick the wild beach plums? I might be up for making some homemade jelly if they let you pick the wild beach plums.

Mary2014

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by Mary2014

- but, does anyone know if you are permitted to pick the wild beach plums?

So far, it's allowed. I've picked along Lewes Beach in front of Breakwater House, but this past October, I noticed there were a few more pickers. Then, up the coast into Broadkill Beach and along Beach Plum Drive, is another area. Like everything else, there will probably be a law passed against picking those beach plums. Several shops around Lewes and Rehoboth carry beach plum jelly, as well as north into Kent County.