Hello Signet,

I'm sorry that Jeff and my comments have offended you, they were perhaps stated a little bluntly. It's been my experience that over 90% of plants in and out of the gambler's circle have been labelled. I regularly do bring extra labels and a pen so I can label things that I'm unfamiliar with.

If you are still looking for mini blinds to cut up to make labels I have some I can share with you. I don't see how a request to label plants is so onerous a deal as to take all the fun out of a great get together. When I man the tables at my neighbourhood swap I label everything or have the donor label it as it comes in.

Part of the fun of the swaps for me is learning from other gardeners about what kind of home to give a plant they have given me. If the plant is labelled and I can't remember their advice, I can look it up and make sure I put it in the right place.

I think since we already have the rule that we have to take home any of our own donations to the Gambler's Circle that aren't taken by someone else, that labeling them is the logical extension of that rule.

Cheers,
BlueIris3

What about if the owner of the plant doesn't know what the plant is called? That is one of the reasons there might be unlabelled plants in the gambler's circle. Those are the plants that we can't trade because we don't know what to call them. I know I have done that couple of times in the past and I know I am not the only one. Sometimes somebody can recognize the plant and we get the name for our unknown plants. So I don't think we should be that strict...just don't take the unlabelled plants if you so prefer. I want to point out though that if I know the name (which is almost every plant) I do label it.

I am not offended at all by comments by you or Jeff , it is your opinion and you are entitled to it . I just dont feel the need to have everything so structured .

My feelings are that this is supposed to be fun event. If we have to always have more and more rules to do this , I am not interested, I will just join the hort society ( been there done that, no thanks ) I dont join most groups because of this kind of thing.

We already went thru this with the Gamblers circle a couple of years ago . Some people got their knickers in a not because plants werent labelled in the gambler's circle.

The big hint is in the name..... Gamblers Circle . You take a gamble by taking a plant from there named or otherwise.

My position is simply this . If I absolutely need to have a label, I will go buy a plant at a nursery and pay big bucks . I am not interested in labels . I am interested in having some fun , meeting with some fellow gardeners and adding new and interesting plants to my garden at no cost other than some time and some soil and pots. Some plants may work in my gardens some may not .If I get one that I know nothing about , I plunk it in a garden and I watch it . If it grows well , then I have put it in a good spot , if it doesnt I move it.

The idea behind the swap was to get to talk to people who have like interests in plants We bring plants and chat and learn about them labels or no labels.

Do I know the names of all the hostas I trade? nope ! do I know the names of all the iris I trade , nope ! I have a few wonderful plants that I picked up in the gamblers circle a couple of years ago . No name . Should I have not chosen them because they came with no labels? should I not trade them in the future as they increase cuz I dont have a name for it ?

I have to agree with Flowergirl as well, Some plants I grow I just dont know the names. I love them anyway and may want to share them with others. Do I trade them , yup , if I have enough.

I really dont want people to feel intimidated and not bring great plants because they dont know the name or to feel bad cuz they didnt use a label. The names are just not that important to me and neither are rules.

Thanks for the offer of the miniblind tags.I have already traded for some from Greylady.

Signet

Well, Carol, it is showing 90% chance of rain and a high of 18 degrees. I think I want to disregard this forecast and remember that it will probably change a dozen times this week, sooooo....let's believe that it will be fine!! :-)

Well 'most' of my trades are potted and ready to go. Just have a few things that need potting, but they will be done early this week. So that means that if I find other things in the garden, they will be potted for the gambler's circle.

If there is anything else that anyone wants from my list, please let me know as soon as you can so I can get it ready asap.

thanks everyone for the great trades so far!! really looking forward to Saturday. :-)

Setting aside an unnamed purple and white intermediate iris and a trillium variety unknown. No trade necessary as I believe I am on the plus side of our trades and if I am not it is not a big deal! Glad to pot them up for you .

Signet

GARDENG8: How about gaillardia Arizona Red for canadian columbine...any more of that left?

GG: Did you see my earlier post about the trade with you?

I see that you have 2 trades of canadian columbine . Can I ask for one of them ? What might you like in trade please?

Signet

SIGNET: Do you still have another Trillium left? If you do and would be interested I have another Pine/Spruce sapling that I discovered a couple of days ago! Thanks. Ross.

Hi Ross , sure will pot up the other trillium for you . Thanks for the trade.

Signet

SIGNET: Actually it was 1 trade of 2 columbine seedlings. I have a 3rd one but I kept it in case one of those promised didn't make it. But if they all live happily you are welcome to the 3rd one. No trade necessary. They are small still.

GARDENG8: I wrote a post earlier about the trade. If you have couple of gaillardia Arizona Red seedlings that is enough. These columbine seedlings are small.

Just wondering about your cuttings you were rooting . Did the salmon phlox take ? how about Lemon Verbena ? Just wondering if those trades are a go ?

Let me know please

Thanks

Signet

Just went to dig up the Trilliums !!! Turns out they are not trilliums but jack in the pulpits ( the first one the bloom was done and looked purplish that is why I thought they were trillium ) I potted that one up and went to dig up the second . Its bloom is still there and turns out to be a JIP. Do you still want these ? If not let me know I can go to the place where I ususally get them a dig a couple of trilliums up.

Signet

Hey not to worry if small , but I am only interested if you have enough If the original trade is Gardeng8's, that's fine . Maybe you want to keep the 3rd baby for yourself.

Oh I wanted to ask you cuz I know you are the person who trades the Columbines. Did you ever have a pale yellow with pale pink one? I have one growing here and dont remember trading for it but it is gorgeous , just a short one but big blooms and I am just wondering if I got it from you ? I know some of my deep purple and a deep burgundy I have from you are blooming their little hearts out and are absolutely lovely. I just wanted to say . thanks for sharing them !!!!!!!

Oh, and not to clog up the forum, I will be emailing each of you individually to confirm trades so that I dont arrive and discover I am missing some trades.

Signet

Wasnt Lilac supposed to have surgery around now ? Has anyone heard how she is ? I was just wondering. Hope everything is on the up and up and that you are feeling ok.

Signet

Hi guys
Thanks for thinking about me! I had the surgery and it went well. It's still quite painful though, so my posts might be few and far between...Just gotta keep drugged up!
I've got almost all the trades dug/potted up I think though, so it's ok.

Signet, I know you are looking for grapes, and I got a couple of seedless green 'Niagra' grapes this year that have lots of new growth if you'd like a cutting.

Hi Lilac

So glad to hear that the surgery went well ! Thank you for offering cuttings from your seedless green grapes. I would love some but I will hold off just for a few days before saying yes, till I do a bit of research to find out if it is possible to root green cuttings. I have no idea as I have never done it .
Signet

Hope you can make the swap on Saturday and that the pain is not so great that you cant bear it . Thanks again for the offer and I will get back to you.

I know it is really very late to be doing this, but I have something to trade - a potted Azalea 'Pink and Sweet'. It was an end of season sale plant two years ago, bloomed for me last spring (still potted since I had no idea where to plant it) and the colour clashed terribly with my other flowering shrubs and perennials. It is a very warm pink, not a blue pink, and it should not be in the same yard as a flowering raspberry or Aglo rhododendrons... anyway, it is still in its original pot, still healthy. Does anyone want this?

Hi BARB, I would love to have the Azalea. Is there anything on my list that interests you?

GARDENG8: A small piece of burgundy gaillardia would be great for the columbine, thank you so much.

GARDENG8: Never mind the previous post. I started to look at our trades and saw that I am getting rudbeckia seedlings from you and was wondering what did I trade for them...and there is no trade made. I know you said that trade is not needed but since my seedlings are small also, we can put these columbine seedlings as a trade for them. Ok?

Signet,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. It has been busy around here with getting things done.
Of course I will set aside tomatoes for you.
I have a pest eating everything I plant, so I am planting castor beans to teach it a lesson.
Went a got 2 fillings done yesterday and that made me useless for the better part of the day.
Can you put me in for a trillium please?

Blueiris
I think you mentioned something about barerooting your irises and digging them up on the day of the trade. I don't think I have iris boreers either, but it is better to play it safe. So, I think I will follow your lead there.
Any advice would be good.

Thanks and a good day to you all.

Nes

Just read about the trilliums, if you don't have them , it's okay. JIP would be nice if that isn't taken.

Hi Lilac,

Well it seems you can root green cuttings ( I had never heard of this ) but you need to dip in rooting hormone and plant immediately. So I guess taking cuttings is out unless you have some rooting hormone and some coir or perlite to place them in the day of the swap . Seems like a lot of work for you especially right now with you suffering from your surgery. So as lovely as it would be I think I will pass for now and hope I can find some plants or cuttings elsewhere . If you were feeling better I would jump at the chance but with you not feeling yourself I dont feel right asking you to do this .

Thank you for your offer anyway though I do appreciate it .

Signet

Setting aside the JIP for you . Thanks for the trade of the tomatoes.

Signet

If you are bringing iris bare root, at this point , it wont make a difference as the borers (if they are there ) are already inside your plants .Just an FYI . Here is an exerpt taken from www.irisgarden.org.

" Borers begin life as eggs, laid on garden debris in the late summer and fall. Each spring, the borers larvae begin to hatch after the first two days of temperatures greater than 70 degrees. New England gardeners also have observed that hatch begins about the time the tulips bloom and it continues into June. The � inch long larvae crawl up the iris leaves. Near the top they chew into the leaves. Then they eat their way down inside the leaves to the rhizomes, where they gorge themselves until they reach a length of about 1 to 1 � inches. Borers often will hollow out whole rhizomes causing fans to collapse and the remaining tissue to rot"

Signet

SIGNET: First of all, you are welcome about the columbines. Glad you like them! :) What comes to the pale yellow/pale pink one...I am not 100% sure but I think I had one years ago. If you got it in the last couple of years ago then not because this memory is so faint. :)

sorry, but I shouldn't have had the lychnis alba still on the available list. I have some in my Port Frank's garden, but will not be going there before the swap. If there is nothing else that you would be interested in, then maybe someone else would like the hosta 'stiletto' this time. :-)

GG: No problem, I just pick something else. :) Do you have any more Convolvulus tricolor 'Ensign Mixed' or coleus cuttings left? Either one is good.

From Jeff / Nyssaman - I didn't mean to come off as being rude and for that i apologize...you're right Heather we want to keep it fun and a great time...Labeling was brought up 3 years ago and many of the members did seem to agree on it..The next year it wasn't brought up and i had a heck of job figuring out what was what...i still have things i don't what it is..lol...I understand there are some plants no one knows what it is and that can be a fun aspect of the Swap is seeing if someone else knows what it is...I know Bev used to bring some plant books to the swap to see if we could identify something or to see what a plant looked like @ maturity...I just share a frustration also with getting plants home in June heat and not knowing if it is a shade plant or a full sun plant or if it is an invasive plant..Sorry if I came off a too structured. I am just hearing these horror stories of these invasive plants...Using MonSatan RoundUp lol is never going to be an option in my garden but thank you for the sifting idea...I will pass that on to the lady with the Goutweed problem. The Lady has a beautiful garden like you Heather (Signet)and it has wiped out her Asiatic lily collection, which was quite extensive ( She runs the local Hort Society). If anything the labeling idea was just a gentle reminder to Label if they know what it is. Sorry for the abruptness , going through many things right now..I know it takes some time but it just ensures we can get the plant in the ground in the proper location and enjoy our new plants...It also ensures that next year if we make divisions to share again we can pass on the info...

Here is what I have to trade...I may also have some strawberry plants...i have to check..
2 Hibiscus Cannibus babies
4 Penstomen Barbados
10 Scarlet Gillia
4 Laxton's Progress Pea
4 Oregon Sugar Pod Pea plants 1 pot - not dividing
4 Shining Light Watermelon - 2 in one pot - not dividing
4 Lambs Ear
2 Pink Columbine
2 Tamarind Plants
4 Snail Vine - Vigna Caracalla - Special Trade - make me an offer
2 Cilantro Slow Bolt - Great for Salsas - Mercury Removal from body
6 full size Scarlet Bee Balm for trade

Signet,
You will be getting the onions, and flower pots too.That you requested too. I am going through my trades, in between the rain, and checking them twice. Will post a list today, hopefully.

Thank you Blueiris for doing this. Some extra work for you here. :)

JEFF: I would be interested in your Penstomen Barbados and Cilantro Slow Bolt if you like anything on my list. Also I wanted to tell you that I brought digitalis lutea last year but I didn't know it's name then. We were discussing about the plant in the end and you took one of them. So now we have a name for it. It had crossed between my biennial digitalis that is how I knew where to start and look into the name. Flowergirl aka Merja

I sent you two messages yesterday .One had a picture of a plant that I think MIGHT be the one you saw in my pile last year at the swap. Can you check your emails please. and let me know what you think

Thanks
Signet

Jeff / Nyssaman
I would be interested in your tamarind plants, if we could work out a trade.

Nes

I dont like to use Monsatan either but sometimes it is impossible to go another route.

You can tell your friend another thing that she can try is horticultural vinegar . It is non selective in what it kills so make sure to dig up any plants she wants to keep. Wash their roots to get any soil off and pot up or plant elsewhere till this bed is ready to use again. I would use it straight , not mixed with water and you can boil it for higher concentration if you want to try that . Spray it on the goutweed. It will probably end up costing a few sheckels but if she wants to get rid of the goutweed that may be an alternate route to using Roundup along with the digging and sifting of the soil to get at all the bits and pieces of the roots that break off . Then hit it with the vinegar, drench it if you can, wait a bit( a few days ) and do it again. She may want to do this a couple of times before trying to plant in that spot again . Here's a link that might be helpful http://www.organic-lawn-care-guide.com/horticultural-vinegar.html

Only other thing I can think of is to excavate the soil down a foot or so and replace with new soil .(Now that will definitely cost !)

Signet

Hi Signet,

The Lemon Verbena cutting took (1/10 and they are supposed to be easy!?). The salmon phlox is a go, I'll just do a division, I thought more people would be interested in cuttings than turned out to be.

I've got at least a dozen well rooted honey melon sage cuttings, and just started another eight so no problem giving you 3!

Thanks for all the trades!

P.S. late addition: If anyone is interested I have 2 pieces of a super late 4' white phlox, it blooms in late August as my others are finishing, and goes on for ages.

Hi Nes,

I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cancel the trade for the flowering quince. The pieces that looked rooted for you and Signet turned out to have no roots at all. I'll try taking cuttings, but those won't be ready in time for the swap. Could I cancel the second black cherry tomato plant, or would you be interested in another different kind of sedum, or a small succulent/houseplant cutting?
Sorry about this,
BlueIris3

LUCKYNES: I have to give you a warning about the japanese quince after reading Blueiris' post. I did 3 tries and it finally worked but it looks terrible. Lots of the leaves are brown but some of them are perky and shiny green so it is living. Not an easy thing to share...I thought the little plants were seedlings they were so far away from the mother plant. But no, they had long underground roots going to the mother plant without small roots at all.

whoo hoo! I am excited about the salmon colored phlox and the lemon verbena ( I have been looking for this one for ages) If you are able down the road to root some flowering quince I would love a piece please. These things take time I realize. Just like me rooting some rose salvia. So far only one cutting has taken but that is ok cuz it will contineu to root now and it will send out hormone signals to the other cuttings that will help them root too. Thank you for the rooted cuttings of the melon sage. It is hard to find red for the garden for mid season so I will love having those too.

Just an aside. I went to Bev's place last year and bought some plants from her. I also bought a pink gas plant from her neighbor . It is about to bloom and I am soooooo excited. I always wanted one of these .

Jeff

I would be interested in your Penstemon Barbatus ( I couldnt find barbados????? so I am assuming it is Barbatus) Is it red by any chance ? or orange?

Also I would love the watermelon . I have my 9 year old nephew staying with me for the summer once he finishes school and he is totally enamored with gardening .Last year was his very first garden and he was sooooooo proud of himself. So the watermelon would be a wonderful addtion. I would love a Hibiscus Cannibus baby, and a couple of scarlet gillia if possible and a snail vine please. If you can find something on my list to take in trade I would also love a bee balm.

I hope you can find something on my list to interest you in trade. If not , give me some suggestions of what you are looking for as trades for these please.

Thanks
Signet

There is a song playing "Don't go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John.
I think it is the same Quince as it is with roses. I found this out last fall. When you have baby plants, you need to separate them from the mother for a season, and let them grow their own roots before you dig them up. So, you cut off the tap root. I did this by making a deep spade circle around the plant. The rose grower forums are very helpful here.
But no worries, I will survive. Flowergirl maybe we should trade something else.
Blueiris, I would be happy to take another sedum or succulent.
It's turning out to be a nice day after all.

Nes

this is it as far as I know.

Jerusalem artichoke for COUPLE OF BOXWOOD
Jerusalem artichoke for COUPLE OF BOXWOOD
garlic for THORNLESS BLACKBERRY
snowpeas (2)for PORCUPINE GRASS
Leeks for DAYLILY BONANZA
Pak Choy for DAYLILY PINK DAMASK
red top purple/blue sides, with a yellow/white lip for MINI IRIS
bluish purple iris with a yellow centre for WISTERIA
highbush cranberry for VARIGATED SEDUM
fBlack Hollyhock for DAYLILY TRAHLYTAfor
? FOR flower pots for strawberries
bunching onions
San Marzano tomatoes
burning bush no trade necessary

Here is the problem, my front yard, what little of it I have, is usually dried and parched in July and August. Not a place for grass. So, this week , I thought, ground cover would do the trick. anyone know what would work? Have a trade?

Nes

NES: The spade circle trick sounds good and makes sense. Yes, pick something else instead, please. I'll plant this one in the ground for a year and it will be nice and ready for the next spring, I hope.

Luckyness :Do you have: Wormwood, Bok Choy, Pak Choy De Gold Tabacco, Goji Berry in exchange for Tamarand...Are you interested in anything else on my list if you have all these?
Lilac is Love: I am interested in your cumin, Goji Seedlings , Blood red Amaryllis
Rosco..Do you still have any Red Oleander?
Flowergirl: Do you still have Bright Pink Peony, Majenta peony, Yellow wood Poppy, Shasta Daisy, Agastache? You are interested in Cilantro Slow Bolt & Penstomen Barbados

Cheers

Jeff/Nyssaman

I have a spot at my place . it is dry dry dry 365 days of the year as it is shaded by cedars and gets no rain to speak of . Now Vinca is a good ground cover for dry sun or shade and that is what i have growing there . Bonus it has flowers in the spring . Now I wouldnt recommend it if it is in a spot that you are constantly walking thru as it is a ground cover that operates by runners as most are . The other thing icould offer is creeping buttercup . again good in dry sunny spot . Has brilliant yellow blooms in spring ( varigated so leaves are pretty too) Let me know if either of these interest you .

signet

I forgot to mention that vinca travels by runners but the runners can get your foot caught and dont give way like the runners on the creeping buttercup .

JEFF: All I have left of RED OLEANDER is a 4" pot of seedlings. I believe there are 4 or 5 in the pot. If this is what you would like they are yours. No trade necessary unless you are looking to rid yourself of BEEBALM and then I would take a piece of that. Thanks. Ross.

JEFF: Yes, I have all five available. In addition to cilantro and penstemon do you have Hibiscus Cannibus babies, scarlet Gillia and Sugar Pod Pea plants left?

Merja

Signet,
Thanks for the advice, Can I have some Buttercup please. Although, we don't walk on that part, the neighbours have been known to cut across. I don't really want them to get hurt.
Nes

Jeff / Nyssaman
I will have to set it all aside. Could use the pink columbine, mine are all blue now.Lambs ear, and good shade plants?

Will leave it up to you.

Nes