Oh man, I haven't finished planting all my spring purchases, Neal!
I broke my own rule and widened 2 beds this morning so I could plant one of my new iris orders. I have 2 more iris orders to plant and the Schreiner order that isn't here yet. The daylilies all need to be divided, but I have no clue where they will go, and same with the poor peonies that are getting crowded by lilacs and evergreens. The roses I ordered from A Reverence For Roses are in pots, doing well, but they will need to go into the ground in a month or so. Four of them did get planted in the ground, I guess, and they are really growing fast! Some of the OGR's will need SPACE, and I don't have time to clear land just yet! I hate planting anything in a temporary spot. It's been so hot here for 2 weeks that I can only work in the garden in the mornings, and much of that time is spent watering.
Sharlene, you made me feel so much better by posting those pics of sad roses. That is what so many of mine look like right now. Like Neal, we had so much rain that the weeds just took off, and then I was awol from the garden for 3 weeks with my traveling and pneumonia. I'm looking forward to fall so I can take a break! I don't know how you warm climate people do it.
Neal, I will most likely make another fall order from Palatine. The fall planted ones from last year look like 5 year old established plants now. The Regan delivery from this spring is struggling, and I lost 4 that just never broke dormancy. The weather was ideal both last winter and this spring, so it's hard to say which way is best. For me, it's easier to cover them in the winter than it is to protect them from freak spring heat or freeze, and then hot summer winds. In the fall, there are fewer gardening chores, so I tend to do a better job with the planting then too.
