Hi GardenStew friends. I saw an offer from a catalog (SpringHill) for a collection of 6 varieties of Tall Phlox. But it says they are shipped as bareroot divisions and I have never worked with bareroot plants before... What do they need to thrive? Would they bloom next year, do you think? Do you buy bareroot plants? From a catalog? Is this a good way to acquire plants? Thanks, guys. Appreciate your feedback. Daisybeans
I've bought bareroot plants from catalogues Daisy and they have (mostly) been fine. Just remember to soak the roots overnight before planting them up. Water them well once they are in the ground and wait. It can take a few weeks sometimes before the plants show signs of life so be patient with them. :-D
Thanks Eileen! We're in the hottest part of the summer... Would it be better to wait until September to plant them? And... if I were to buy them now, can I hold them until it's cooler to plant them or do I have to plant them right away?
Daisybeans, if you order from Springhill now they won't ship until fall as they don't ship during the heat of July and August. This is the Shipping Schedule on their website..... Fall Shipping Schedule Zone Ship Dates 4 and North-- Aug 31 - Nov 7 5A-- Aug 31 - Nov 7 5B-- Sep 6 - Nov 7 6-- Sep 14 - Nov 7 7-- Sep 21 - Nov 7 8-- Sep 28 - Nov 7 9 and South -- Oct 6 - Nov 7 Last Order Date Nov 3 Bareroot plants, like Eileen said, need to have their roots soaked before planting then will take weeks to show signs of growth because they are getting their roots growing first before putting out energy on the above ground part. Fall is a good time to plant bareroot plants, they get established before frost and freezes, then come up very strong in the Spring.
Well, there's not much to add to this advice, Daisy. The only thing that I can say it to stress the absolute need to soak the roots overnight. As I see it, soaking is not an option, it is a must. If you plant them in the fall, I do not know if they will bloom this year, in fact the Spring Hill folks probably will have clipped the bloom stalks off before shipping if the plants are adult plants. It doesn't matter, the important thing is the survival of the plant so that it will bloom for you next year. When I buy plants from a garden center or from online, I sometimes clip off the bloom stalk anyway because I am more interested in the long term--so I want the plant to concentrate on forming a nice, large root ball. As I have said before--it's the roots that determine the success of the plant. Good luck. Oh, BTW--which ones did you order? I LURVE phloxes.
Thanks! You guys are so great! Toni, now that you mention it, I remember seeing the Fall shipping schedule but I didn't put two and two together... It's a collection of 2 each of 5 varieties and PLUS you get two more of another variety if you order the collection so 12 plants, 6 varieties! And the freebies are ORANGE (my favorite color!)!. And it's on sale. Whoo hoo! If I can find the link I'll post it so you can see. http://springhillnursery.com/product.as ... 1248964219
I've seen that offer Daiseybeans and have ordered from that nursery before. They should do very well, but it seems to take a while for phlox to get established. I found a surprise one that I had planted over with Bee Balm. It's a tiny stalk and it's blooming. Don't you love finding surprises in the garden?
i have nothing more to add here except that we have ordered from Springhill before and have been very happy with their plants and service! oops, forgot...yes gardengater! love finding those surprizes, too!
I get flyers in the mail from Springhill quite often and have ordered from them several times. In fact I have a fall order waiting to be finished and mailed. Those Phlox have been off and on and off and on my order list several times. Guess I should just give in and order them this time.
I keep reading and learning from this site :-D . Went to the Spring Hill site and gosh ...the double fancy hellebores : the wonderful phlox . I had to go out to the garden and try to figure out where I could put plants if I did order. This could be bad, bad, bad. good, good, good!
I buy bare root plants too, and it works like a charm. I'm drooling over the hellebores, I want a Jade Tiger but I guess I'll have to wait until the Norwegian nurseries get them.
Thanks for the link, Daisy. What a lovely group of Phloxes! I am partial to orange as well. I have bought 3-4 orange Phlox plants over the years, but they have never bloomed orange for me--must be my soil, I reckon. Anyhow, your choice is a supurb one and keep you in Phloxes for a long time to come. I wanna see piccies next year though.
