Re: Kalmias, Tree Peonies, African Violets & more for zone 4a!

Cindy, lucky you!  I wish I could order from Rice Creek because they have a
wonderful selection of plants, but except for peonies, they aren't shipping
this year.  They do have an amazing website at ricecreekgardens.com


Gail Korn
Garden Perennials
Wayne, Nebr.

At 11:52 AM 3/26/01 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi everyone!
>
>I got to hear Harvey Buchite, co-owner of Rice Creek Gardens in zone
>4a,  speak at the Rock Garden banquet Saturday night.  He showed 138
>slides of wonderful plants in his presentation "The Glory of Spring and
>Rock Gardens".  He started with the woodland in springtime, one of my
>favorite places to be and to garden.  I'll just mention a couple of the
>beauties  and what he said about them.....
>
>Kalmia 'Eloise Buttler'
>(his list of slides spelled Butler with two "t"s, a typo??)
>anyway, he said it will be available this year.  He said it's the most
>northernly grown of the Kalmias.
>
>Cypripedium calceoulus (Yellow Lady's Slipper)
>to double the growth of this plant in one year, fertilize it with 1/4
>strength liquid fertilizer, twice.....once when it's 2"-4" high and then 4
>weeks later.  He also said the showy lady slipper will get 36"tall  in
>cultivation!
>
>Arisaema sikkokianum (Asian Jack-in-the-pulpit)
>listed as zone 5, but if we plant them 3"-4" deep, they'll survive
>here.  Mark the spot though, because they'll come up later because of the
>deep planting.
>
>Paenia suffruticosa (Tree peony)
>He thought these were not long lived here in MN until a fellow rock
>gardenener showed him her tree peony that was over 30 yrs old.  He said
>they often come grafted on the tough garden peony root.  We need to get
>them to root above the bud by planting it deeper than what we do with
>other peonies.  Plant the nurse root 3-4" deep, which means burying 2 or 3
>of the flower buds.  You won't get much bloom the 1st year, but after that
>you'll get alot of blooms each year.  He said the  tree peony root looks
>different than other peony roots  in that it's long, woody, and doesn't
>have much branching.  These are woodland plants, so give them some shade
>and humusy (sp?) soil.
>
>Haberlea shodpensis (relative of African violet)
>plant on northeast exposure and where the water will shed off the
>crown.  Impress your friends with growing an African Violet outdoors!
>
>Rhododendrons and Azaleas.
>Harvey showed 15 different varieties of these, including large-leaf rhodos
>and late blooming Azaleas.  Here are just a few:
>Rhod. 'Henry's Red' - large leaf, always blooms
>Rhod. 'White Peter' - lg leaf, very dependable
>Rhod. 'Haagi' - Finnish hybrid, bud hardy to -35 deg
>Azalea 'Apricot Surprise'
>Azalea 'Jane Abbott'
>
>Helleborus purpureus & H. orientallis hybrid
>since their leaves are evergreen, they store food in them, so protect
>their leaves over winter with pine boughs or leaves so they have the
>energy to put out new leaves in the spring.
>
>Dianthus alpinus and hybrids
>these will survive our winters a lot better if grown in sandy, lean soils
>because they'll harden off sooner.
>
>Soldanella montana
>this one is hard to grow.  I planted one last spring in area with sharp
>drainage in afternoon shade.  I heard the slugs love it, but I just had to
>have it anyway...a tiny clump of round, waxy leaves....reminding me of a
>tiny hosta with thick substance.  I sure hope it comes back this spring!
>Is anyone else growing it?
>
>and many others...Primula hybrids, Haquetia epipactus, Trilliums, mossy
>saxifragas, phlox, Aetrionema, Androsace mucronata and A. sar. chumbyi,
>Arabis albida, Silene maritima rosea, Adonis vernalis, Geraniums, Gentiana
>hexafarii and G. acaulis, Rosulara sp, Pulsatilla apifolia and P.
>vulgaris, Genista pillosa, Anemonella thalictroides, Hepatica nobilus, and
>more!
>
>Cindy Johnson
>White Bear Lake, MN
>zone 4a
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