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[SG]

>> I bought Torenia's from the nursery and
>>planted them along with impatiens under a large pine tree
>>  When planting I included bagged potting soil in with theexisting
>> soil in the planting hole; applied a small amount of Pete's fertilizer
>> around the plants.  Since then I lost one plant within the first 2 days.

Hi, Donna.  I have not found anything that grows well directly under pine
trees
without heroic efforts.  I did get Beacon Silver to barely live for a few
years, and nurseries claim that pachysandra will grow under pines.  I used
lime to counteract the highly acid pine-tree soil, and various fertilizers.
 Then the pine tree started looking sick.  Your potting soil is designed to
be used in containers, and not to be added to the soil outside.  It has a
higher content of clay, for one thing, than is desirable in a garden.
There is someone else on this list who knows more, as they once gave
details (on another list) of why we should not use potting soil in the
garden; perhaps they will enlighten us again.

>>  i also directly sowed into the ground Bachelor Buttons (never
germinated), >>Cosmos (small and laying on the ground) and Larkspur
(stunted).

I start almost all of my seeds indoors; one can control conditions easily
and get better results.  Many types of flower seeds are fussy about temp.s,
moisture, etc.

>  I have only been gardening 3 years and I have been feeding my
>plants bonemeal,bloodmeal,fish emulsion and compost.I alternate
>giving them bonemeal and fish emulsion every two weeks.

I don't know about fish emulsion, but the standard 'wisdom' on bone meal is
to apply it in the spring and the fall.  The usual type takes several
months to break down, so there is no benefit to be derived from applying it
constantly, and you may end up with too much.  The application rates on the
box are for once or twice-a-year.

>At 10:16 PM -0400 6/5/98, Daniel Nelson wrote:
>>Do you know if a Bouganvilla or perennial vine will grow well
>>in the shade?

Bouganvillea won't, but there are others - Aristolochia durior, Hedera spp.
and cultivars (have you seen the golden-variegated form?), and I think
schizophragma, but I could be wrong about that.  The first two I have
growing in dry shade (no direct sun), with no supplemental watering, and
they are flourishing to the point of being pestilential.  I would
appreciate tips on exterminating them (glyphosate doesn't quite do it!).



Sheila Smith
mikecook@pipeline.com
Niles, MI  USA, Z 5/6
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