A nice day to sit by the fire and visit... Come sit a spell

I think it's El Nino. It gave us the rain we needed, but now we have to pay the price for our good luck by freezing our derrieres off! Off to make sure I will have a pair of clean thermals to wear later this week. I SO hate moving potted plants...at least I have my shed now...but darn, it's still back-straining work!

I have a new motto, if it can take the weather, I'll tend it, if it dies, I won't get another like it. I'm slowly getting rid of most of my potted things. They're just too much trouble to water daily when it's so hot and drag in when we have one of these rare hard freezes. I guess I'll be turning water off and draining pipes on Thrusday and Friday nights too. What a pain in the patoot!

Pod, the crinums came through without a problem. They're still green and no damage to them at all. I may need to cover the entire yard in them :)

Crow

Crowelli, I'm with you on the tending if it survives. There are too many plants that can take the extremes and live. I love the potted look but no longer do them. Too labor intensive.

I have larkspur and poppies that reseeded, up and happy. I have put off the cutting back altho it is so hard to leave it all hang there so pitifully.

Well, most of the plants I'm talking about are hardy but not when they are in tiny four inch pots, not enough insulation for their roots.

I learned my lesson two years ago, I left 35 Turks Cap plants in four inch pots outside all winter thinking that they are very hardy, and they are, but in those little pots, no way, so I learned my lesson very well that year.

Pod, I did have a few blooms last year. I'm expecting a load of them this year. They have certainly been the perfect thing to plant in that street side bed that floods so often. I now have it planted in nothing but crinums and Louisiana iris. Neither is bothered by the ocassional heavy watering. I have also spotted quite a few of my Lycoris Radiata spider lilies popping back up in another bed. I planted 500 bulbs only to watch most of them float away in a minor flood that washed up into the yard. I'm glad I have a few left and hopefully they'll multiply quickly.

Josephine, how horrible on losing all your Turk's Caps. I lost a lot of my angelwing begonias in this last freeze. Some were in ground and had been there for 6 years with no problem. I think the problem with this last freeze was that the temps stayed so low for hours rather than a dip and back up. I lost a lot of stuff that'd been in ground for a long time. My two plumerias are goners.

Crow

Ahhh ~ Plumerias. I was given two cuttings. Everyone says they root easily but not for me. One was terminal immediately... the other lasted the summer and would put on leaves which would turn brown and fall off. Finally removed it from the pot to find it had no roots. I was disgusted and pitched it in the compost. At Thanksgiving, we were at a friends and she showed me her large Plumeria (in a pot) It was lovely so I came home and rummaged thru the compost till I found that one and am trying again. Want to peek for roots but hate to disturb it. It is sitting on the gas stove pilot light under the halogen range hood light. Maybe it will have a chance. Anyway, that gal was here on New Years Day and told me her Plumeria was in their garage and died back from a freeze. Wonder if it will come back from roots.

Crowelli ~ I wondered how that large Angelwing Begonia tree survived. Sorry to hear that. Those Crinum bulbs won't wash away, they only dig themselves deeper. You may hate me if you ever decide to remove them ~ LOL I have another Crinum ( I think ) which I will share a start of later in spring if and when you are ready. The original bulbs were given to me by a friend ( now in her mid 60s ) her Dad grew these when she was a child. He called it a milk 'n wine lily but it is not. She dug them at their old home place. She asked that I save her a start but she's never been ready for it. I have shared a limited number of bulbs over the years, saving some for her and a few for me. This one blooms in the heat of summer (July and August) and the fragrance is exquisite.

Kristy, the plums should be taken from the dirt, put root end in a paper bag and lay on shelf for the winter. Keep it around 50 degrees. It will go dormant no matter what you do. About April stick it in potting soil. Keep the soil damp but not soggy. Mine bloomed the first time last summer. Two years ago Feb. we were in Maui and every tree was bare even though they don't get below 65. Nature still puts them to sleep. Keep it on a regular, seasonal schedule. I have some 7-8 and all are in a lunch sack together laying on a shelf. Next fall before the first frost, take it up, clean the dirt and start all over. It won't like too much heat this time of year.

Christi

Go to the tropical zone and Dutchlady is an expert. She has a grove of plumeria. There is a plumeria sticky somewhere.

I will read up on it ~ thank you for pointing me in a direction, Christy. Do you remove yours from the soil every year? Do they still get quite large? This gals' plant was taller than I am.

Yes, the one that bloomed this year was about 6 feet. Will not bloom until it "Y's" regardless. They are not near as finicky as we believe. Somewhat like a brug.

I think you just gave me permission to pull it out and see what it looks like. But I've not had a chance to read up on it yet and now I am totally confused. Does it not make roots? Do you dust yours with sulphur or let it air dry or???

And, if y'all will bear with me, this thread has gotten too long for my Possum Bell phone service.

We need a new thread, if you will please join me by the fire over here we will try to stay warm together. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1066678/

I've found they root really easily if you put them on a heat source from the bottom. I usually put mine on the hot concrete patio and they have roots within days. I never pull mine from the soil. One's in a pot, the other in ground. Of course, they may not live through this cold, but they're been out through freezes and didn't suffer as I expected. Most people say they'll croak before the temps even hit 32, but mine have lasted through several dips into the 20's without obvious damage and without any cover or special care. The in the ground one is about 8 feet tall and has many, many branches. I've had it tied to the fence to keep it from toppling over.

Pod, the other crinums sound great. Don't worry about me moving, they'll take me out of here with a toe tag on. I'm too old to have to pack up all my "stuff" ever again.

DH had chemo again yesterday and we spent10 hours at M.D. Anderson. My tailbone felt like it was about to come squirting out the top of my head by the time we left there. I don't understand why they can't put a comfortable chair in hospital rooms. What's up with these torture chairs anyway? I can't imaging how bad they'd be for a skinny person, I come with my own padding and it's still rough!

Throw another log on, it's getting colder by the minute.

Nobody ever accused a hospital of being either restful or comfortable. To me it's kind of like being a new recruit in the military...not much freedom, everybody else in charge, you're just a number (or diagnosis), you're miserable a lot, no privacy, etc. But we're praying it'll be worth it and those labs will show an improvement!

There's a new thread since this one was getting a bit long. Here's where we've gone: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1066678/

Crowelli ~ thanks for the rooting info. Until you get snow, I am jealous of your climate. My little stick is languishing on the 50°s back porch for now. When I uprooted it I was not surprised to find the bottom end looked like the top end... LOL

Speaking of " bottom ends " and hospital chairs, I sympathize. In 2000, I tested every chair in every waiting room and lobby at Methodist in Houston for 2 1/2 months straight. Never thought about bringing a pillow to sit on. I read two grocery sacks full of books. I visited with folks from around the world. After a while I started walking. I walked walkways, neighboring hospitals, parking garages, I took the stairs both down and up from the 9th floor. Pretty soon, I had other folks joining me on the walks. Mostly ICU waiting rooms so patient time was limited and I was only a phone call away. I ate well but lost weight ~ about 10lbs. When I would run home to tend to business, everyone here worried that I wasn't eating enough. I wore out a brand new pair of good quality walking shoes. So, my dear, my thoughts and prayers really are with you both. Wishing you only success and patience. And pack a butt pillow ~ LOL

If you get a chance, please join us on the next thread. Possum Bell really is so slow that I open a couple of windows and set some of these longer threads to loading while I do other things. See you...

Why not keep both going a couple of days? We need all the fires we can get!

LOL Linda ~ I could probably do four fires. One at work, one in the living room, one in the greenhouse and maybe cold enough we will light the fireplace in the bedroom tonight. I dislike this crummy weather!

Pod--what a neat greenhouse!!! Hats off to you and DH

Thank you! So far I am happy with the results. I do intend to work on tweaking a few things in it thru the coming summer to improve it more.

I am glad to see you joining us over here in the TX forum. In fact, I hadn't noticed you posting much lately since the Herbs forum. Hope all is well with you.

pod,

The last postings were from deep Alabama-I have been busy moving and let my DG expire. I have now moved to North Central Texas and just rejoined

I am glad to be back on Dave's

I hope you are settled in and things are back to normal. I didn't think you had posted from TX before but couldn't recall the state. I expect that north central TX will be a change from Alabama for gardening. Did you bring your herbal plants or seeds on this move? We've been up thru Mount Pleasant into OK before but never thru the Pottsboro area. If I recall there are a few DG members from that general area.

Thanks podster,
Had to leave all plants behind and my seeds are packed somewhere deep in a storage unit. I have managed to build one small raised bed out back and plant some garlic-etc

Good going on the raised bed. You might have to hunt some things to use for containers and do container gardening this first year. If you are in need of seed, I should have some herbal seed I will gladly share?

Hope none of you were in the path of the tornado and heavy hail storms last night. We watched on tv and I tried to remember who was where.

Christi

We have a business in Canton--only minor damage, phew! The storm seemed to split in half and moved to the north and east of our house up near Emory so we only had hail. Ok course, a cow decided to have a calf right in the middle of the storm. Lovely to wake up this morning to a brand new calf =~)! So we are OK, LouC and I hope you are too!

I think Kenboy is up more where there might have been some nasty weather. Hope all is OK with him and anyone else in that area!

We just got a little light rain. Have been through 3 tornadoes since we have lived here. Glad your new baby is ok.

Lost one the night of the wicked freeze but these things happen. The new baby is going to get a lot of mothering as the cow who lost the baby is now huddled up with new mother and baby. Looks like a happy ending!

Did y'all see this? DG has been bought out again.......

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1070930/

Jeanne

Yes... it does put a damper on us but you know it is still a great resource for me. I like the people and information. The plant files have such a wide selection I rarely find something not listed and access to storing my photos and plant information thru the journal or diary is excellent. Any question posted will find an answer sooner or later.

After I read that last night, I sat and thought about all the things I've learned from the good people here and not all of it is about plants. It is an amazing site and I will continue to be a part of it regardless unless policy really changes drastically.

Still a pleasant way to start my day... 8 )

All is ok here, we did get some hail but did little damage. It was a little nerve racking for a while but all is well. I just hope the last hard freeze did not get my Blueberrys.

Good to hear, kenboy and maggie. Also thanks for posting the link, Texasgal77.

You're welcome Podster!

We had a week of freezing weather. Of course all of the banana trees are brown, a few have broken in half. All of the gingers' folage is dead.....the huge rubber tree has lost all of it's leaves. The huge Hawaiian Scheffelera on both sides of the patio has lost all of their leaves. The two huge ferns in the ground outside the hut are brown to the ground. Even the huge Mexican Fan Palms fronds are turning brown, as well as the two Majesty Palms in the ground, oh, and one sago.

Spring will tell whether they will come back from their roots. Whatever does not will get replaced with Hardy Hibiscus. After this I am not taking a chance on losing so much again. It took six years to perfect the Tropical Look and one week to kill it. I feel guilty complaining when Haiti was devastated in two minutes....and human lives were lost, not plants that can be replaced.

I am very thankful for what was saved under the Patio Makeshift Greenhouse. There are enough plants to still add a Tropical Look to the Patio area.

I know many of you esp those more northern areas have experienced the same or worse. I am sorry for your loss as well. I can't wait for Spring to get here. Every little green leaf that sprouts out will be sincerely appreciated!

Thanks for those of you who put your input into the Dave's Forum about the buyout.
I'm sure Dave appreciates it also.

Jeanne

I have a pot of dwarf cannas that I thought were toast. I keep them potted rather than in ground so they don't take over the world. I figured since it got so cold and stayed that way for so long, they weren't going to come back. Lo and behold, today I see green canna shoots sprouting up. Those things are indestructible! Wish that were true of some of my inground stuff that I think is gone for sure. I guess we all just have to wait and hopefully be surprised at what might come back from roots when things warm back up (for longer than a week).

Crow

Crow, I agree about the things in the ground. Waiting is the thing to do.

It has been quite windy here, and with the leaves gone from the Hawaiian Scheffelera, the plastic around the patio is blowing up to the ceiling of the patio cover. We now have lost even more foliage of pony tail ferns and others that are on the patio.

We will have to go out and anchor it down somehow before Sat and Sunday.

This has been the worst winter we have had in years.....What happened to Global Warming......??????

Jeanne

I was out in the flower beds today and did some cleaning up and assessing of my plants. Most that I thought were dead had some green leaves under the mulch of the dead leaves and things. Since we're getting another cold snap, I left most of the dead leaves in place to protect the tender growth. Some poppies are coming up as well as a few other wildflower seeds I threw out in the fall. The weeds are doing well....grumble, grumble

I have a viburnum that is already in full bloom. What will the sudden cold do to it?