I need spring now ! ! !

Seriously, I'm running out of holding space for new arrivals. So far, I have...
- Astilbe Federsee x 20
- California Poppy x 10
- Christmas Fern x 10
- Dicentra Spectabilis 'Alba' x 10
- Gladiolus Traderhorn x 100
- Gladiolus White Prosperity x 100
- Helleborus NOID x 4
- Hosta White Feather x 6
- Hosta White Feather x 10
- Leatherwood Fern x 20
- Tennessee Glade Fern (the other 'ostrich' fern) x 15

Still to come ...
- Helleborus, Searchlight Giant x 1
- Helleborus Winter Plum Giant x 1
- Helleborus Dark and Handsome x 4
- Hosta Kingsize x 5


The good part is that everything above was purchased on sale. I'd love to get some real Ostrich Fern, but they're hard to come by at a reasonable price. (And no, I don't consider $10.00 for a quart container reasonable.)

How about the rest of you? What are you thinking of acquiring?

I just acquired 5 peonies at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Jill succumbed to something called Japanese "wonder" flowers and "flowering" ferns. There were real botanical names but I don't remember what they are. I think it was the sales pitch from the cute young man from the Netherlands. He was adorable and the accent didn't hurt

The 'flowering' ferns are most likely incarvillea delavayi, more commonly known as a hardy gloxinia.

Rick, try requesting Ostrich Fern for the swap. Someone brought a bare root one to a swap a few years ago. I don't remember if we specifically requested it or not. Ours is situated on the N side of the house and is doing okay but unfortunately it's not big enough to divide.

I think I have Ostrich fern, but can't swear. I think it is the local wild one, if that's 'true' Ostrich fern...
I could maybe acquire something for a new small bed near the deck, but just as likely to move something from wherever it is crammed in the yard, already.
I DO have a nice new bed made for two blueberries.

I actually did get one at the swap a year or so ago. Not sure where I put it, but it should be spreading by now.

Rick, you can see mine at Swap and have some if you like it.

Thanks!

Oooh, I didn't see this thread until now but will have to wait until I get home to see what's on my Spring 2018 spread sheet. (yes I keep a spreadsheet, I'm a nerd)

Muddy and I have both shared ostrich ferns at plant swaps.
Not sure anyone but a grower can supply the quantity you desire.....

Jeff, I don't know how you add so much to your yard and still make it look so neat and beautiful!
Rick, I have three nice crowns of ostrich fern to give away this year. They will multiply when happy, but I know you know that.

We have a lot of gardens Sally. And I try to plant items so it looks natural. So I don't hesitate to plant a fern behind a shrub or whatever. I don't know. I get a bunch of plants every year but seem to always have room. I am running out of room though. Another reason I can plant a lot is that this yard really didn't have any gardens when we moved here 8 years ago. So I've been going hog wild at making them I didn't get to turning on my computer last night so my list will have to wait.

Ok, here's my list. I went a little (ok, a lot) overboard on the daylilies (list in pic).

Hydrastis canadensis  1
Eurybia divaricatus 1
Corydalis leucanthema 1
Cheilanthes lanosa  1

Podophyllum peltatum 2
Smilacina racemosa 2
Dennstaedtia punctilobula 5
Dryopteris marginalis 1
Gymnocarpium dryopteris 2
Onoclea sensibilis 1

Helleborus x hybridus NGN Sin Apricot Blush Strain 1
Helleborus x hybridus NGN Sin Golden Sunrise Strain 1
Helleborus x hybridus NGN Sin Blue Diamond Strain 1
Helleborus x hybridus NGN Sin White Pearl Strain 1

Hey,take the Onoclea off the list and grab some here..

Too late for that as the Onoclea was the plant that got me to $100 and free shipping. However, I would still take some from you if you were giving. I love Onoclea. The patch you gave me a couple years ago is doing well. I love the spore pods.

Ken (DrDawg) is having a FIRE SALE because he's moving soon. I've bought wonderful orchids (both mounted & potted) and plumeria from him, and he also has a few ficus (banana-leafed and fiddle leafed), staghorn ferns (bifurcatum, Netherlands variety which is a little more compact), and possibly some small mounted tilsandias (his mounts are gorgeous!). Everything is half price, maybe better, and his prices are really nice to start with.

If you are interested in a GROUP ORDER, please tree-mail me. We can have things shipped to me, to Lisa, to Terri, to whatever location seems most central... we can also hold things until the spring swap. One big order will be easier for DrD during this busy time, and it'll also save you on shipping if you only want one or two items.

If you want to do an INDIVIDUAL ORDER, contact him via the email on his website. Don't use the website shopping cart or go by what is "available" or "sold out" at this time. You can still participate in our group tree-mail as an easy way to keep track of what's still available or to see his responses to various questions. Ken is amazingly responsive to requests for info -- he's a hobby grower and sells to support his hobby and to share his enthusiasm for these tropical plants.

I will have a list from him soon (he just got back from FL) of what named orchids are still available. He also has some nice lost-tag NOIDS to offer if you are willing to be surprised when it blooms. Then he'll make a list of plumeria -- he has about 100 cuttings, both rooted and unrooted, and he has some lovely varieties. FWIW, his cuttings are nearly twice the size as wthe nice cuttings we saw offered at the Philly FLower Show, and sometimes he has multi-tipped cuttings available.

For an idea of what he might have, plus photos and other info, his website is http://www.tropicalplantsandmo...

Please excuse the repetition, but I'll post shorter versions of this a couple other places, and you may even get a tree-mail from me if I know you like orchids etc. I don't want people missing out!

I made an unplanned quick trip up to Black Creek Greenhouse today to get 25 pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash'. I finally got fed up last summer with trying to keep the deer from eating the long line of hosta that bordered the front walkway, dug them all up, and decided I wanted to put pulmonaria there instead. They have a similar form to hosta but the deer leave them alone. I called Black Creek in July to see if I could order a large quantity of those pulmonaria for pickup this spring. At the time, they said yes - just call them in early March to confirm. However, when I called yesterday, the manager that I talked to said that they don't do that, but right now they had that many in stock if I wanted to come get them sooner rather than later - they wouldn't hold them for me until the annual trip Jill and I make up there in early April. So off I went. Got the 25 pulmonaria and also 24 polemonium 'Bressingham Purple' for companion planting. I saw a similar combination one time from catmint Robin and it looked great. Has been in my mind ever since.

I told myself that I would wait to get anything else until Jill and I go in a few weeks, but you know how that goes. Even though I think it is way too cold out to be planting right now, I got a few things. I ended up stopping at the Aldis in Frederick to pick up a few of those greenhouse shelves that RickM recommends. They were easy to put together, and with the cover, are just the thing for staging the plants I purchased today while the weather is still so bitter cold and windy.

@RickM - this nursery carries hellebores in the gallon pots for $10.99. They have a large selection of the Winter Jewel series and the Wedding Party series. Best price for that size that I've seen. I got a few there last year.

If anybody wants to browse a large selection of perennials, herbs, and annuals at great prices, Black Creek Greenhouse in East Earl, PA is wonderful. Almost all of the perennials are in 3 sizes - square pots at $2.99, square pots at $3.99, and round gallon pots at $5.99. There are a few things that are more expensive but still much cheaper than around here - specifically hellebores at $10.99 and a huge selection of clematis, also at $10.99.

Thanks! Once I get my schedule beyond Friday, we're going to start making some day trip plans.

Terri, why didn't you drop me a line?!?! You could have stopped by. Black Creek is about a half hour from me and I regularly go there a couple times a spring. Thanks for 'stealing' all the pulmonaria

I was thinking of taking Addie to Black Creek on April 7th. Darcy has a bachlorette party for a good friend that day.

I decided to check on my new arrivals to see how they re holding up. It's a good thing I did.

The Hosta White Feather that I got from both K vanBourgondien and Gurney's are all sprouting. I had to do a quick planting of them into a couple of pots so they didn't rot. The Gurney's are smaller, single eye. But, the ones from K vanB are all multi-eye roots. I just hope they're really the White Feather. I bought some last year, and they turned out to be albomarginata. K vanB quickly issued a credit, which I used for this years. (If you're looking for the Hosta White Feather, this link

https://www.gurneys.com/product/filigree-hosta?p=0515548&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8NDm3Yj32QIVwlqGCh1dWQjDEAYYASABEgLvr_D_BwE

should take you to a page where they're only $2.99. NOT a misprint! I don't know how much longer the link will work, but it's worth a try.)

Many of the fern are showing signs of life, but not to the point where they need planted. The dicentra alba and astilbe Federsee are still very dormant. Probable because they've been in the dark since arrival.

And then there's the gladiolus. At least half of the bulbs have roots sprouting. I'm going to have to put them out in the shed to slow them down!

WHERE IN THE )(@*&#@)& ARE THE SPRING TEMPS??