I Love Dandelions

Shrubby-goodness

I bought a couple of shrubs on the weekend, one for the front bed (Weigela Florida Minuet) and one for the back bed (Genista lydia). Here's the low-down:

Genista lydia (Dwarf Genista)
After I got home (and of course after I already planted the Genista) I did some googling and found mixed info regarding its hardiness zone. I like this page because it tells me what I want to hear which is that this shrub is good for Zone 3. Other pages (like this one on the Ontario Gardening site) say as high as zone 9. After looking at the Canada Zone Map and confirming that we are indeed at most Zone 4a, we'll have to wait and see what happens with this one. Worst case scenario it's going to be a $14 annual. Personally, I have a hard time believing that a local greenhouse would carry a shrub that is only good to grow down south. P.S. Lois Hole says it good for Zone 3. After reading her book I realize that (I think) the above zone confusion comes from a slight difference in classification between this genus (Genista sp., common name "Genista") the genus Cytisus sp. (common name "Broom"). Apparently they are often confused, and I've seen G. lydia refered to as "Lydia Broom" which I suspect is outdated and/or wrong. I think it's all good.

Weigela Florida 'Minuet'
Thankfully I spoke to the greenhouse owner about this one before I bought it, and he said it should do really well in my front bed. Good for Zone 3. Phew. The hummingbirds also love them! One discrepancy - according to Lois Hole they are one of the longest blooming shrubs, sometimes up to 6 weeks, well into the summer. The greenhouse guy actually said the opposite, that they were more like Lilacs. I guess we'll see.

Other quick jobs I did tonight were plant my tomatoes & onions as well as that stupid seed tape basil. If that grows I will be super surprised.

posted by The Sauce at 4:04 PM