1267 To plant or not

Woww, It's a bit like the piece of string question, the best bet would be to ask your neighbours which plants can look after themselves in your area, almost everything can take an absolute hammering here, if you have a well, you could run timed pump, cistern, irrigation system maybe.

The nice thing about bouganvillea is that they thrive on neglect - you should plant a few and see how they get on.

Anything planted directly into the ground has a good chance of surviving, things planted in pots would be more dependent on you or the neighbours to water it regularly.

I'd LOVE to grow Bouganvillea but I bet it won't grow on a north facing wall up in the mountains. Do you agree?

We're just about at the point where we can turn our attention to planting out and we plan to put in a lot of ivy, and shrubbery as background cover. I had a thought that if I had lots of luxurious greenery I could sneak some silk flowers in amongst it and nobody'd guess - well from a distance anyway .

[QUOTE=Licciana]I'd LOVE to grow Bouganvillea but I bet it won't grow on a north facing wall up in the mountains. Do you agree?

We're just about at the point where we can turn our attention to planting out and we plan to put in a lot of ivy, and shrubbery as background cover. I had a thought that if I had lots of luxurious greenery I could sneak some silk flowers in amongst it and nobody'd guess - well from a distance anyway .[/QUOTE]

I've just been up to a friends house in the mountains near Amandola and we were talking about plants, he pointed out the Bougavillea line down the hill, there is a definite tolerance zone for them, also, if you're looking for shrubs, the Corpo Forestale can supply indigenous shrubs at very reasonable prices from their own nurseries there is one in Amandola. Sneaking in silk flowers is a great idea, perfectly acceptable and give you a bit of exotica...

Would there be a Corpo Forestale in all regions as I too want to plant some shrubs while the earth is still warm. How do I go about finding out if there is one near me?

[QUOTE=ferginitaly]Would there be a Corpo Forestale in all regions as I too want to plant some shrubs while the earth is still warm. How do I go about finding out if there is one near me?[/QUOTE]
My mate is sending me the link to the national site I will post when /if I get it. or, google "corpo forestale" mid you, he said that they normally release plants in November to March, I prefer planting in Autumn too, as they get more of a chance to sort out their root growth before next summer, but, try anyway, the prices are very re4asonable

Well thank you all for the above suggestions. I'm relieved nobody laughed derisively at my bouganvillea dream! :)

Thanks George, I looked on google.it and corpo forestale was first on page. Some very interesting reading. If I have understood correctly they seem to do, amongst lots of other things, the work of the RSPCA here in GB. However, I could see no mention of plant selling! If you happen to get the link from your friend please post it.
Linda

I love bourgainvilla as well and noted sano's comments about neglect and it appears to be true...I planted about 5 recently ( 2 in pots round courtyard gate -rest in ground) and nurtured them lovingly...watered every night....talked to them ! ;) and quite frankly thought i'd lost them as they appeared very sad.......this week been so busy with other things, the garden had to be left ....guess what...loads of new shoots and looking very healthy ...keeping my fingers crossed ( perhaps it was my voice !!!! :eek: )

[QUOTE=ferginitaly]Thanks George, I looked on google.it and corpo forestale was first on page. Some very interesting reading. If I have understood correctly they seem to do, amongst lots of other things, the work of the RSPCA here in GB. However, I could see no mention of plant selling! If you happen to get the link from your friend please post it.
Linda[/QUOTE]

This is the thread from this site I was thinking about, sebastiano's post was the one which explained the system. OK, too many posts today, so better leave to avoid offending anyone [url]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=538&highlight=corpo+forestale[/url] :(

We have a house in Ostuni and are only over there for short periods. A friend has suggested that we plant some of those flowering plants that grow on the side of the motorways as they seem to be resistant to drought. We were over there last week and sure enough they were flowering away - similar to geraniums possibly! Anyone know their name so I could go into the garden centre outside Ostuni and possibly plant some in November to get established before next summers really hot spell.

Christine, you could easily grow geraniums, pelargoniums and cosmos around Ostuni and they would do quite well. Other options would be vygies (don't know the English name) it is a succulent with daisy-like flowers and is very hardy. The 'kaffir fig' of South Africa is also a good hardy plant to grow, and has the advantage of producing edible fruit (it is a creeping succulent with large daisy-like flowers as well).

Other options for the climate would be nemesias (nemesia strumosa) otherwise known as Cape Jewel - comes in a lovely range of colours. Tree paeonies might also do well in a semi-sheltered position.