Thursday, September 22, 2011

Green Giants, whats going on?

By SKEETERI have not really talked much about the new additions to my Georgia Gardens. I did show you the new arrivals from the McCorkles Nursery sale back in June. The steamy days of summer were in place by June when the sale occurred. Above picture was taken a month later in steamy, hot, humid and dry drought conditions. Those were all Dirty Words this year as it was brutal on a gardener. This new area holds 3 Evergreen trees. They are located to the back of this new garden area. I shall talk about the other additions at a later date. As you can see, I had to resort to setting up a Sprinkler to keep the trees moist. They were holding their own, until we jump forward to September.
Two of the three are not looking so well now.
This Arborvitae Green Giant started out as a 15 gallon pot of beauty at the bargain price of $15.00. It is now turning brown as if on fire and dying on me! I have brushed out the dead and am left with a sparse tree. Sigh...
This one is smaller because it is not a Green Giant but rather a Leeland Cypress. It was a 10 gallon potted tree at the cost of $10.00. The poor thing looks so puny now. Sigh...
The third in this group is another 15 gallon Green Giant and it is happy as can be! This grouping of 3 Green Giants that are located nearby, received more direct sun and were watered the same amount as the others. Thus far, all three of them look fine. This past weekend, I added fresh compost and a layer of pine straw mulch to all the trees. I am hoping that with cooler temps in the air, that maybe the two will bounce back. But just in case they do not, I am planning on picking up 2 replacements at this weekends Big Sale. That is, if they happen to have any available. Poor GREEN GIANTS, whats going on? In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

18 comments:

  1. Skeeter,
    Bet they need replaced, it was a bad summer. We lost two new camellias, paid a lot more than $15 for them.

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  2. Summer can be brutal on new plantings especially during a drought. Sorry Skeeter.

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  3. Go out with a piece of white paper. Hold the white paper under the leaves/branches and shake the branch. Check and see if there are small dots on the paper. The dots should be moving. If so, these are spider mites and they can indeed take out mature or not so mature arborvitae. If no mites present then it may be the soil that is the cause.

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  4. I've lost several plants this summer, too, and most of them were not bargains. It was definitely a tough summer for the garden.

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  5. I've noticed in our drought, that the sun really takes a toll on the plants. The plants that are in shade - even the full sun plants - have fared much better in our drought. They are just too stressed out to deal with drought and the sun's glaring rays! So sorry to hear of your trees' possible impending doom. I have been very reluctant to purchase anything this year. A real downer!

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  6. Good luck with the Green Giants. It's been quite the summer for loosing beloved plants :(

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  7. Good Morning everyone! I am excited to say we had another 2 inches of rain over night! That on top of 1 inch the day before is working wonders in the gardens!

    Randy, I am sorry you lost the Camellia’s, especially at full price. I am only out $25 which is not so bad but still stings like a Bee. Yes, pun just for you…

    Raqcuel, I would have never made the purchases if I had known how brutal our summer would have been this year. Those things just cannot be predicted though…

    Tina, I did look for bugs of any type with no luck. I cant believe it could be the soil as the third one is so healthy. Maybe air pockets under the roots on these two. When we replace them, I will look close to see if I can find the culprit and give an update…

    Darla, No, I cannot blame this on the Deer. Ha ha, just had to say that….

    Rose, I know it was a tough summer on lots of gardens. I am happy we are getting rain today! I can only hope those folks in Texas are being so lucky…

    Hollygardener, If only I had a crystal ball to see the future on that day I picked up these beauties. I would have passed them up. I was lucky to not be out of the garden much during the summer so I was able to keep things watered somewhat anyway. My water bill was on the moon though and I am happy to see the rain now taking over for me….

    Joey, it has sure been a horrible summer in a lot of gardens this year. The Green Giant is looking better but the Leyland is not looking so good today. I hope they bounce back…

    Drizzle rain now, yippeeeeeeeeee… I just hope we don’t go from drought to flood conditions… Gee….

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  8. HolleyGarden, I cannot leave a comment on your post (darn google) but know I have been there to read about your passion......

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  9. Sorry Skeeter. Hope you find good replacements tomorrow.

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  10. So sorry that you lost your trees, Skeeter. It has been a rough yr. for shrubs & trees.
    A lot of trees were lost here due to lack of water. We have had a couple shower to help. Night before a storm came through, hard rain, wind. Raining in J'ville now.

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  11. You sure had a tough summer with the lack of rain. Concidering 2 out of three doing well is good.
    Is there ever a perfect summer ?
    Seems to be getting hotter each year.

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  12. I agree with Randy in the hot horrible summer statement. I have my fingers crossed for my two Camellias.....there are still some green leaves on them. Maybe you will be able to find some replacements at the sale this weekend.

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  13. I am sorry about your plants Skeeter. I saw someone whose arborvitae looks so healthy and he just removed it for the bin, I wished someone could have used it. By the way, we already got some flowers, second generation from the marigolds you sent me. They look great.

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  14. Skeeter,
    At those prices, I would have to had to taken a bite as well. Hope you found replacements.

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  15. It was raining this morning but did not stop us from hitting the sale! Us along with hundreds of other crazy gardeners! 15 gallon trees now have replacements. Plus lots of other fun stuff is now calling my gardens home! Hopefully, we shall get it in the ground in the next week or so. I am a happy camper.....

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  16. it's fascinating how some survive and others nearby don't or have to struggle. In terrible heat it is hard to get established. But you're very insistent, and just may get voted president of the Green Giants Fan Club! (lol)

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  17. Good to hear that you are having rain. Those plants should bounce back... I hope.

    The mushroom is doing the Marilyn Monroe Moment now. Congrats! Your caption has been selected. 2 new photos have been posted.

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