Hi Everyone!! I've been taking pics of my containers this year throughout the summer so I thought I'd come over and share them with everyone! I'm really pleased with how everything is coming along this year and hope you enjoy!
Steven
My Containers 2009
First is my hanging basket
pic#1 June 16th
edited to add: the basket is planted with: 'Knee High' Sweet Pea, burgundy petunias, mixed heirloom petunias, purple 'Fortunia' petunia, nasturiums, poor mans weather glass, white alyssum, jewels of opar and a black eyed susan vine.
This message was edited Jul 20, 2009 6:44 PM
pic #2 July 6th
and pic #3. I just took this one a few minutes ago :)
July 20th
Heres the nexts one. This ones planted with a NOID Brugmansia, a Canna indica, Bishops Children Dahlias, red Marigolds and Celosias. I've since taken out the Celosias and put them in their own pot since they turned out to be dwarf and couldn't compete.
pic #1 June 5th
pic #2 June 16th
everything has grown since the last pic.
pic #3 July 9th
you can hardly tell it's the same pot!
Here's one more for now, it's the plantstand outside the sliding door. It's planted with: White Nicotiana alata, burgundy petunia, heirloom petunias, purple salvias, ivy geranium, candytuft and a celosia.
pic #1 June 5th
pic #2 June 16th
pic #3 July 6th
and lastly pic #4 just taken a few minutes ago on July 20th.
I hope you enjoy my containers as much as I've been enjoying them!
Steven
Very pretty pots Steven and #3 is really gorgeous.......what are you feeding them?
Very nice, Steven. Love your hanging basket!
Here is one of my favorite containers this year. It's on my front stoop and really catches your eye from the street. Hmmm...maybe that's not a good thing for people driving by. lol
Very,very pretty Steven. Is that a sweet pea cimbing up the fence in #3? What is your watering routine? It's tough keeping pots watered here in our hot,dry summers.
Thank-you everyone for your compliments!
bugme, I was feeding them with Miracle Grow but I've switched over to a mixture of Fish Emulsion and Epsom Salts and I try to do that every 2 weeks or so. I use 2 tbls of Epsom Salts for 2 gallons of water....and as for the Fish E, I don't really measure it I just pour it in the bottom of the can before I add the water. I'd say I probably use twice as much as the bottle says.
ImaMes, I really like your container as well! And your sweet potato has a flower on it! I wish I had enough self control to plant a container like yours but I always end up cramming it really full.
snowtop, the Sweet Pea in #3 is actually the one in the hanging basket. I think I might have a pic of them next to each other................................................................................................................................................................................yup I found one! I try to water my pots daily and especially if it's sunny or windy out. Today it's overcast so I probably won't bother to water really unless I see something wilting.
Steven
Here's the one container I actually planned this year! It's 'Marine' Heliotrope, Vanilla Marigolds and I think it's called 'Limelight' Licorice Plant. The Marigolds are just starting to open now but they're covered in spidermites so I'm not quite sure what to do as I don't like using chemicals...
And one more for now, the pots actualy sitting in an old iron chair but the pic doesn't show that very well. This ones planted with Burgundy Petunias, Heirloom Petunias, Persian Carpet Zinnias, Nicotiana alata, Candytuft and Ivy Geranium. I also stuck a Balsam in the other day since there was a bit of a bare spot.
Steven
They're obviously happy with the feeding routine. I feed mine weekly, once with fish emulsion, next week bloom burst, next week 20-20-20. I'll have to try adding the epsom salt with fe.
SW Gardener----I tried worm poop tea sprayed on the leaves of a Brug plagued by spider mites. Knocked most of them down with one application.....two and they were all gone. And it didn't hurt the plant. Spray top and underside of leaves.
Love these last two containers as well! Nice mix. I love heliotrope but it doesn't do well for me. It's happy in the spring, but once the heat and humidity come, it just doesn't do much.
Insecticidal soap works on spider mites. Spray the plants every couple of days till the mites are gone. Or you can use a forceful jet of water to knock them off the plants. Spray from the underside of the leaves.
bugme, you sound like you have a pretty good routine going as well! I just started with the Epsom salts after hearing lots of good things about then. I heard it contains magnesium which helps make your plants stronger(thicker petals, that sort of thing),they also help your plants absorb more nutrients as well as building stronger root systems!
morganc, how do you make worm poop tea and what do you spray it with? Did the tea spray act as a fertilizer for you?
ImaMes, Thank-you again! I started the Heliotrope back in February and they've just started blooming the last week or so. We've had almost no heat and humidity this year....right now it's about 59 out when it really should be around 86.
I've tried spraying/blasting the marigolds with water to get rid of the mites and that worked not to bad but it has to be done a lot to work well it seems. The hard part when spraying with anything is getting the bottoms of the leaves as marigolds and most other annuals are short and bushy.....So far I've got mites on my Brugs, Marigolds, Morning Glory and Zinnias.....but in good news I saw the first lady bug of the season today! So maybe she'll eat all the mites!
Steven
I got it from these folks. http://www.wormpoop.com/
Also makes great fertilizer.