Re: Summer planting

Whilst I would never professionally advise anyone to do so I must admit that I have summer planted several times.  Lots of factors to consider; when in summer?  (our June = your December is better than our July/Aug, your Jan/Feb)  indigenous plants or not?  ability to water after planting?  My most extreme summer planting was in 2003 (when we had severe drought here and record temps, up to 42°C), I planted over 100 native type plants ie lavenders, cistus, thymes etc etc etc from small pots in early June just after some rain in poor soil (pool excavated stuff)  - shame on me, I never watered them and lost only three or four.         That was a bit extreme so, in general, if I were summer planting I would do it with indigenous plants or plants that were similarly drought resistant, dig the planting hole, fill it with water & let the water drain away, repeat this process several times, plant a plant that had been standing in water for a while & was bouffé with water, improve the soil in the planting hole a bit, water well again, then keep damp throughout the summer.  Surely if you can water over summer a planted plant will do better than keeping plants in pots??  If the plants you are putting in are a little difficult then perhaps providing some shade during the hottest days would help also?
 
Good luck,
 
Gill Pound,
Carcassonne,
Southern France
----- Original Message -----
From: khe36747
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 12:05 PM
Subject: Summer planting

Has anyone any experience with summer planting? It is late spring here in Victoria, Australia, and I am so far behind with planting tube stock I'm likely to be faced with the choice to plant in early summer or carry stock over summer. I know some people in Australia do summer plant but I don't know anybody personally who does and I was wondering if anyone in the wider world has any experience of it and especially any tips.
 
Margaret Healey
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