I made the mistake of ordering an althea hibiscus shrub from Wayside Gardens without ascertaining the delivery date. I'd actually forgotten about placing the order when the plant finally arrived, way past the proper planting date for the climate here.
I made a second mistake. I should have kept the poor tiny thing in a container until fall, when the odds of its survival would have been greater. But no, I decided to plant it out, at my weekend home.
Since the baby plant has to go several days between watering, I mulched it heavily, but even that wasn't enough. Every weekend when I get here, I find it a little more stressed and crispy.
Clearly, its days were numbered unless I could think of some way to give it some shade. So I made a wire frame on which I draped branches newly cut from a pecan tree. Time will tell for sure, but the little althea looks a bit better already.
I made a second mistake. I should have kept the poor tiny thing in a container until fall, when the odds of its survival would have been greater. But no, I decided to plant it out, at my weekend home.
Since the baby plant has to go several days between watering, I mulched it heavily, but even that wasn't enough. Every weekend when I get here, I find it a little more stressed and crispy.
Clearly, its days were numbered unless I could think of some way to give it some shade. So I made a wire frame on which I draped branches newly cut from a pecan tree. Time will tell for sure, but the little althea looks a bit better already.
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