Planting Guide

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=21.875% BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Animal Planters"><U><B>Animal Planters</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dish Gardens"><U><B>Dish Gardens</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hypertufa Planters"><U><B>Hypertufa Planters</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Collections"><U><B>Collections</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sempervivums A thru Z"><U><B>Sempervivums</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sedums"><U><B>Sedums</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id111.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Special"><U><B>Specials</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.paypal.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.paypal.com"><U><B>Paypal</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B>About US</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Help"><U><B>Help</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Visit Nursery"><U><B>Visit Nursery</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Guarantee"><U><B>Our Guarantee</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Privacy Policy"><U><B>Privacy Policy</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ordering Information"><U><B>Ordering Info</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shipping Information"><U><B>Shipping Info</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Planting Guide"><U><B>Planting Guide</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Display Garden"><U><B>Display Gardens</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Miniature Landscapes"><U><B>Miniature Landscapes</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Slide Show"><U><B>Slide Show</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sempervivum Bloom"><U><B>Sempervivum Bloom</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links to other Sites"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Growing Areas"><U><B>Growing Areas</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="back_to_top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><IMG SRC="0644b480.png" border=0 width="75" height="72" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">     </FONT>North Hills Nursery   <B>|</B> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Lucida Bright" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Page"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>  </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>Specializing in sempervivums (hens and chicks), sedums, planters, dish gardens, hypertufa planters and collections</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04658020.png" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Planting Guide</B></div> <div> <B>       </B><B>     </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>updated   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>25 Dec 06  </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>added hyperlink for USDA Hardiness zones and Garden Watchdog</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>     </B></div> <div> <B>My planting guide is very simple because hens and chicks are one of the easiest plants</B></div> <div> <B>to grow. However, they do </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>require very good drainage</B></FONT><B>. I recommend a cactus potting soil</B></div> <div> <B>or if this is too expensive, you may make your own with any soil or soiless mixture and </B></div> <div> <B>50% course limestone sand, granit sand or grit. Course sand or grit may be purchased</B></div> <div> <B>for a nominal fee at any builders supply or if not available there, at a concrete block</B></div> <div> <B>manufacturing plant. Pure milled peat and the course sand mixture is cheap and will do </B></div> <div> <B>just fine for potting soil. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>They will even grow well in pure gravel.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The only insect problems that I have experienced is an occassional grasshopper or mealy </B></div> <div> <B>bugs. An over the counter insecticide specifically for mealy bugs will do just fine to control</B></div> <div> <B>them if you ever have a problem. A mealy bug is a very small whitish wax covered insect that </B></div> <div> <B>looks like the flecks of perelite in potting soil. If it will squash leaving a jucie residue, its a</B></div> <div> <B>mealy bug. Treat a couple times with appropriate insecticide to be sure you've killed them all.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Hens and chicks can survive sometimes for up to 3 months  without watering and without</B></div> <div> <B>showing visible damage. So, simply dampen soil mixture and press the plant rootball into </B></div> <div> <B>the soil. Baby plants may be removed from the mother plant and simply placed butt first </B></div> <div> <B>down on damp soil. They will be rooted within three weeks. There you have it, very simple, </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>contact me</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> if for any reason you need additional help.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The hyperlink to the USDA Hardiness zones may help you understand the temperature zone</B></div> <div> <B>that you live in. I have not had feedback to tell me whether sempervivums will grow in all</B></div> <div> <B>temperature zones in the United States. Therefore, you purchase at your own risk for a specific</B></div> <div> <B>zone. I am updating the zones on </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://davesgarden.com/ps/c/3713/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://davesgarden.com/ps/c/3713/"><U><B>Garden Watchdog</B></U></A></FONT><B> for my plants listed there as I get feedback</B></div> <div> <B>from you. I will also be contacting my customers in the future to find out if they have experienced</B></div> <div> <B>problems with growing in their area and I will use the information to help determine if a particular</B></div> <div> <B>zone is unsuitable for sempervivum growth. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Within the US, Southern California, Arizona and New</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>Mexico are the only areas that I'm not sure about. </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzma"><U><B>http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> © Copyright 2004-2006 North Hills Nursery.  All rights reserved.</B></FONT><B>                           </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#back_to_top" TITLE="Planting Guide"><U><B>Back to Top</B></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>