Re: Thanks for the Advice!

Frost in Balt:  Well, unless a Baltimorian replies, I think you should
figure worst case scenario to be first week of May.  Generally, I figure to
be pretty safe by mid April - but you never know in MD - can change over
night.  Depends on what you're wanting to do.  If it's plant tender
veggies, I'd say 1st -2nd week of May.  If it's move out your houseplants,
I'd say just watch the weather end of April, 1st of May and be prepared to
haul them back inside for a night or cover with Remay.

Cyclamen under trees:  Yes, Cyclamen do well right up next to a tree trunk
or under a shrub as they like to be a bit dry in summer as someone else
mentioned.

Flowering Crab lifespan:  Dunno, but I've got one that has to be at least
40 years old...was old when I built here and that's around 23 years ago. 
Lifespan has a lot to do with environmental factors...

Foxglove seedlings:  If you don't see any now, you won't.  When they
reseed, the seedlings germinate during summer and you will see them all
around the base of the mother plant.  Sometimes, they don't reseed, or if
they do, the seed don't germinate because the soil or conditions are not to
their liking.  They will do better in highly organic soil that stays moist
and isn't disturbed.  If you'd like some seed, email me privately and we
can talk about getting it to you - mixed Digitalis purpurea...have tons of
it.

Butterfly bushes:  Yes, Buddleia blooms on new wood and can be pruned back
hard now...all but  B. alternifolia which I doubt is what you've got...you
probably have a B. davidii cultivar...prune away.

Privacy plants:  Others can probably give you a good list for sun, but I do
use Miscanthus gracillimus as a "hedge" in part sun - makes a nice one IMO.
 Clumps increase to quite a size (some of mine are 3' in diameter), but not
all that quickly and more or less in a circle...however, does tend to seed
about, so you have to keep an eye out for seedlings.  Some ornamental
grasses are rhizomatous and fairly rampant and others aren't...depends on
the species.   This web site has lots of photos and info on ornamental
grasses...

http://www.hostas.com/index.html

And, so does this one in the UK

http://www.grasses.co.uk/index.htm

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
current article: Mailorder Nurseries - On and Off Line, Part 6, Forestfarm
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----------
> From: Maria Nauman <mnauman@mountdesales.org>
> Date: Friday, February 19, 1999 10:56 AM
> 
> Cyclamen - Thanks for the advice! I've seen the cute potted ones in
stores,
> and might invest in a few to fill in as houseplants when I move all my
ferns
> back out onto the porch this summer. For the coum variety, Marge
mentioned
> "woodland gardens". Does that mean it will survive planted right at the
base
> of a tree?  Also, thanks for the URL.
> (http://suite101.com/article.cfm/shade_gardening/15051 if anyone missed
it).
> I'll look it up.
> 
> Frost Dates - Devon, I'm in west Baltimore. Does your book list frost
dates
> for Baltimore?
> 
> Primroses - Ah-ha! Good. I'll nurse the two I've inherited until spring.
> 
> And again, if anyone (in addition to Charlie and Devon) is interested in
> plants swaps in Maryland, let me know. I have two other (off line)
gardeners
> interested, and will find out what they MIGHT have to swap come Spring.
> 
> QUESTION: Looking for privacy plants. Any suggestions for tall
perennials,
> non-invasive, full to partial sun? Do the ornamental grasses expand
across
> the ground much? I'm already seeking permission from the neighbor to put
> some of the lovely vines you all suggested on part of our shared chain
link
> fences.
> 
> SECOND QUESTION: What is the life span on a flowering crab apple tree?
Ours
> is at LEAST 15 years old. FanTAStic show 6 years ago, decreasing ever
since.
> Sheds leaves all summer  >:-(
> 
> THIRD QUESTION: (I warned you I'm a novice!) Last year, I planted fox
> gloves. No sign yet of re-appearance. Do they self-seed and spring from
> THAT? If so, when can I expect them?
> 
> FOURTH QUESTION: I have several butterfly bushes (my apologies for not
being
> fluent with the Latin names), which I did NOT trim back at the end of
last
> season. Do they bloom off new growth (therefore trim back now), or can I
> just leave them, like a lilac bush?
> 
> I'm in Baltimore, Maryland.  Your thoughts are genuinely appreciated! 
:-D
> 
> Maria in Maryland

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