Plant propagation part XVI based on my own experience

Yes Jeanette I am up but not for long... still spitting rain.
JB: I am glad to see that you do your pots like they are suposed to be done. By cleaning with 10% bleach it kills all the nast diseases (we think, does it really?).
Believe it or not I go shopping with my mom also. when I drove more I used to go to lunch with mom once a week. sometimes we would shop after lunch. she just does not have the spirit left to shop much these days. I don't know if its energy or just wanting to get home. My grandfather was that way. we used to tease him. when he comes in the front door he is looking for the back door to leave. really short visits, but he was in his 80's so he had earned the right to do that. I think he was 92 when he passed. My other grand father is celibrating his 80th (I think 80th but might be 90th) this junuary. He has a lot of the bone issues I have...hmmm wonder where I got them from....
well its time to lay down again as the ole back is screamin
Dave

Well, I've never had a disease in my plants Dave. Maybe if I ever do that will make me be more careful with my pots. Before I take them out of the water tho, I will dump some Clorox in them for a bit, but that is it. Then just have a bucket of clean water to dip them in and put them to dry. When it quits raining that is.

Maybe that would be a good thing to invent, an automatic pot washer. LOL, my daughter says, "isn't that a dishwasher?" Yup, guess it is.

Oh, Dave ~ Those yellers are mighty purdy! Sorry about the rain, again! And sorry for the loss of Katie - a special dog for sure. If you have 5 kids and one dies, the others do not erase that loss. It is the same for animals, especially when they have been close companions. Not just a dog or cat (or bird..)...

JB ~ Yes your chiro charges fair prices. Mine are slightly higher. Hope you feel better.

Jeanette ~ Yes, when it rains it gets discouraging as how can we get ANYTHING done? (Just in between the storms...)

Ibartoo ~ Just think how many plants/seeds you can buy with one boat and one Miata!

Now I am beginning to get the opposite problem since we have had several warm, dry days. The ground is getting hard and not so easy to weed. If I water an area that I plan to weed the next day, if I don't get around to it for some reason, then they just grow and inch or two when I see them again...LOL

Today, I go to the chiro...and run errands in town, shopping, etc...so far, it is partly cloudy and 60° and I hope to be back in the not so late afternoon to check on all the plants. Right now, too cool to water, as I don't want them to be waterlogged.Have a wonderful day everyone!

Evelyn

Hi guys, you have been chatty lately. I can't keep up. I had to put my dd's Chihuahua down yesterday after work, since my dumb son let his friend move in with his Pit Bull, in a house with two Chihuahuas. One female and one male with a female Pit. Needless to say how it ended.

Glad you guys are all having fun.

That is too bad about your dd's dog. Not a good mix as everybody found out. Sorry, but I don't think that pit bulls should be bred. Maybe eventually there wouldn't be any. I know there are people that disagree, but that is just my opinion.

People don't use them for the purpose they are meant for. And unfortunately it is the dogs that pay.

yes.

Evelyn, is that a gerbera daisy, and did you grow them from seed?

Hi Everyone,

I'm not sure I have the heart to sell the miata. LOL it is 1 of the first ones to come out and my Brother in law waited a long time for it.
I bought it from him once before, but gave it back to him when I was having terrible pain and couldn't drive it. It turns out that his son isn't driving it either and he doesn't want it to just sit and not be used. Trust me, if i can't drive it, I have a teenager who is chomping at the bit. LOL
The boat, I can do without, but hubby is a lot easier to deal with if he has a way to get into the creeks and ocean once in a while. He sold our big boat because it had gotten to be too much for us to handle.
Mom and I had a great time yesterday. I love to go with her, but it just doesn't happen often enough. We hit the craft store looking for a birthday gift for my sister and well, now I gotta make some new jewelry because of going in there. I was doing good staying away. LOL

On a more interesting front, my daylilys are gorgeous. I have some that are blooming for the first time this year and many more that need to be potted up. I updated my blog and posted a few recent daylily pictures there. you can check it out if you like. www.sandypetals.blogspot.com.

I plan to stay in today until about 5 and then get out and start potting. It is just too hot during the mid-day to work out there. ( or maybe I have become a wimp)

Hope everyone has a great day.

I am so sorry about everyone's pets. It is so hard to lose one.

So nice to have a good shopping day with your mom Linda. Dave, you need to get off the ball and do the same. You guys are lucky.

Fun to see what your crosses produce isn't it?

Where did you go JB? How did the chiropractor visit go? Did it help?

Goood ...... afternoon??? lol
yea I know jeanette I need to get moving, its just so dificult because when I have the energy and time its so hot out. I am guessing tomorrow will be a good day to get outside and do some of the needed evils of maintenence and planting. I am doing good to get pics and hybridixe (cross) some DL's. I am seeing some huge seed pods though.
Linda: how do you catch your seeds or do you just wait and pull the pod when it starts to open? I feel for you with the humidity from the ocean adding to the heat. nothing like the afternoon heat with a nice short rain burst to drive the humidity through the roof.
Oh well Its time to go get some new pics and do some crosses. the pic is wild horses
Dave

I'm here. Just came in from weeding the Iris bed. That is one big old bed and the Iris are new so the weeds, chick weed especially take over. I still havee about half to do yet. I wish I knew what to put down to keep the weeds out of that particular garden. Any ideas. Mulch of course I think is the only answer I know of.
Whats the matter Dave, did you run out of knee high nylons? You remember it was all your fault last fall when I finally decided to go to church and all my knee highs were on the
peony tree to catch seeds and I had no nylons to wear......yep. that is true. BTW. all those knee highs and all the seeds, not one of them germinated. Just one failure after another, Now I have no nylons, no I did not buy any yet, and no peony trees. What can I tell you. !!!
I am much better today, the visit to the chiro went well....a few snap, crackles and pops and I am good as new. I must go back tomorrow for one more adjustment and then
I will be o.k. I feel sure. Monday is my regular appointment. I will be on the tractor mower today again and after an hour and a half on my knees pulling the chick weed, I will need that extra visit tomorrow.
The rain has stopped and the ground is really soaked again. It must have rained alot. I think I slept thru most of it.
Anyone here an Iris person? I bought some from someone last year and I do not remember who it was, but they are just great and so nice and healthy. Many of them bloomed even being the first year. Do you feed your Iris? We always jsut left our go and they do well, but I wondered if I should be doing something else.
Darn I must go mow .....it is almost two and I need two hours to do my part of the farm. I am not doing too much today because of my back. I do not want that pain again. It almost drove me to drink.....come to think of it, maybe I will have a cocktail tonight to celebrate my recovery. LOL.....Have fun guys, I am off to mow othe grass. JB

JB:
I feel your pain as I have a nice weed patch going by the GH. I need to get more energy and get outside to do some stuff, like weed...lol..Yes there is a weed barier that the comercial growers use to stop germination. I have used rout before with great success but its expensive and sold in 50# bags. I might be willing to go in on a bag but I don't need that much and I am sure you don't need 50# either. its 133.00 for a bag. I would be up for 1/4 of a bag but I would prefer not to be the handler for this one.
I already have the looks of a specialty item shop with all the string tags hanging down. I found some small cotton bags to use as I don't have access to the number of knee high's I will need for the seed collection on my DL's.
I agree a drink is just what the dr ordered. well its off to do crosses ...yes Is aid that earlier but now I am out of the house in a second ...I think ...ummm

JB, I am going to send you those knee highs so you can go to church, then you can say one for me. LOL

Dave, what are the cotton bags you found? You all just reminded me of the organza bags I put on the helebores. By now I might have little plants sprouted. LOL

JB, About 4 or 5 years ago the weeds were almost 3 feet high in my perennial bed. Every year I put up with that 'cause they are on a hill and I can't do hills. So my daughter and I took tons of newspapers out with a large container full of water. Wet 12 newspaper sheets at a time and laid them all down in that bed. Then compost and mulch on top of that. After all this time it is still working. Any weeds (normally dropped by birds etc.) pull easy as they can't anchor in anything but the mulch.

I had another problem I will tell you about, but you probably don't have it or you would have said something. I had moles and voles in that area. Then my dog would dig for them and make a bigger mess than they did. So, before I put the papers down, I put chicken wire, 1" holes. Then the paper. That worked too. But since then have found that caster beans planted every year seem to work for the moles and voles.

Don't do wire. Ever I don't think. If I want to plant something I have to cut a hole in the wire. Worse than the moles and voles? Not really as at least cussing the wire lasts only until the plant is in.

The cotton bags are 3" x 5" with a draw string. I thought about useing them on the smaller seeded things. I am just up in the air on them. here is a pic of a new aquisition I can't find a pic of the mistery ground cover in bloom. next the foliage
Dave

mystery plant
It has a rose and white bloom kinda bell shaped. any help would be great

This message was edited Jun 10, 2010 4:26 PM

Hi there,

Could the first one be Lithodora? and the second be some kind of Saxifrage?

The first one is blue star lithodora. I will look at saxifrage to see if it matches. Thanks for the id on them. I want to propagate them but need to have a name 1st.
Dave

PM you got it right on. Saxifrage is it and I like it especially due to hardiness to one zone up from me.
thank you so much
Dave

Good call guys.

I am back. Remember, I am the liaison with the landscape company and the HOA Board. Had two major breaks in the irrigation system on the street scape. And of course, we had one of the crazy neighbors e-mail neighborhood chat stating she felt the landscape company were breaking the lines on purpose, to make more money. Both lines were broke under driveways. The problem, custom homes, and each home was built by a different home builder. Some put a sleeve for the irrigation pipes, under the driveways and some did not. The one that are breaking, of course, have no sleeve.

I got my order in today of my 33 hardy hibiscus. I have to get them into the holding garden first thing. Right now they are resting after being watered with cool water. Today 97, Sunday 82. Still crazy weather. If we hit 82, we have not hit that low of a high on that date since June 1942. The weatherman said 70 years. I said, not so fast, I was born in 1942 and I am not 70 yet.

Tomorrow is not going to be a good day. My daughter's neighbors sun, 17, killed himself Sunday early am. The whole neighborhood is very close and a combination of many religions., But they are all working together to help the family and themselves. No note, nothing. Lutheran private school, top student. Many questions left unanswered. Anyway, my daughter and many friends and neighbors are putting together a lunch for after the service. And then Saturday night is the going away party for my Son and his family. He has been in Spokane since January and now the family is joining. Then Tuesday his wife and the three children hit the road with the movers on their way to their new life in Spokane. My son is a very good gardener in Las Vegas. Spokane is going to be so different for him but the home he purchased was owned by two retired individuals that were gardeners and he says it is beautiful.
So a whole bunch of tears this weekend but life is good.

JB and Dave. I, at one time, had horrible Sciatic pain. Tried everything. Went to someone house for a BBQ and I sat on the couch outside on the patio with my left leg, sciatic leg, under me. Proceeded to drink two very potent vodka martinis. I sat down, because at that time I was having that fire burning pain. Next morning I woke up with no pain an d it has never returned after over a 5 year battle. Doctor thinks I was sitting on my leg the right way, had two drinks, got relaxed and whatever was out went back where it needed to be. Have not had any sciatic pain since. My mother did and my daughter and my brother still suffer from sciatic. I jokem with them that all they need is two stiff vodkas and sit on their leg. Well neither one drinks so no go.

I grow many iris and I purchased the majority from Dee at Snowpeak. She is on DG and Cubits. It is absolutely amazing what they have done with iris in the last 5 years. I do not have weed problems. Probably because we get no rain. I also use Preen if needed. Stops seeds from germinating. But I am with Jnette, I use a lot of mulch. I have an EZ Flow unit that automatically feeds everything every time they are watered. It is an organic solution that is mixed for me by a friend that is a horticulturist. I pay for the ingredients. He is a very young christian man about 40. He is also helping me with my side of the greenhouse, so he now has 1/2 of my 1/2. LOL. I am not stupid. My old back or his young back. You decide.

Elevlyn, look in on the Iris Forum. They are a great group and very helpful. And ther Coleus group are the same. All about our age, all have something wrong somewhere.

Last remark. With medicare, I moved to a physical therapist and also a balance therapist. Medicare pays for both. My Chase Manhattan Retirement Insurance picks up the rest after deductible. There is a limit per year on the balance but I think it is 10 visits. That was for my Vertigo. Vertigo is gone but balance problem is still here.

Sorry this is so long but have not been on line and tomorrows probably will n ot be any bettrr. Love you all and you all have my angels hovering overhead just in case you need help.

I am so sorry about the dogs. When I get to heaven, there will be so many dogs there greeting me I will need at least 20 acres but in my mind it will have running streams, perfect weather for gardening, fishing near by and all my friends and relatives.

Baby Luke's new photo today. Big boy 7 months old sitting up.

Hi Everyone, Wow yesterday seems to have been busy.
Dave, I really don't use bags to catch the seeds, I just watch for them and then collect the pods as they split. Then I put the tag marking the cross in with the seeds and after they dry for a week or so, they go right in to the little ziplock baggies with the tags.

Wow Sharon, you sound like me. It is always 1 thing or another. I hate dealing with my hoa. I'd rather avoid it any time I can.

I had more Iris bloom this year than ever before. I don't know what I did differently, but I have some that need to be moved because they are in too much shade and I will have to research a good time to plant them.

I am heading outside, I will try to get back online after lunch. I may be taking the kids to the mall though.
Hope everyone has an awesome day.

Hi Linda:
I kind of tought it was watch for the pod to split and collect. If you have any iris you are going to trade off please let me know. I would think anytime except for the highest heat of july/august would be ok to move them. Most of the time I don't pay attention to when its to be done I just move it.
this one is cosenza
Dave

When I bought mine, the lady who sold them to me, and I still do not remember who it was, said she does not divide hers until six weeks after they bloomed. I had to wait quite awhile to get them.
I planted them when I got them and they were wonderful and I did not loose any of them.
I wish I could remember who she was.
Got my last treatment today at the Chiro. I am almost back to normal. Came home weeded more Iris and finished cleaning pots. I would like to take a few weeks off to just go to the beach, but I would get there and want to come home. I do love to fish but not surf fish as much as sitting by a stream and just let the fish find the hook. LOL
I am still selling plants on eBay and I put the prices up. The feedback is so good theykeep on coming. That is a good thing. I sold gardenias this week at $12.50 for a 6" pot. Not bad.
The black pussy willows are only a month old today. I am concerned about shipping them just now because all of you except one person will have to have them shipped bare root. They are too young to disturb just now, so we will wait. Thought I had better tell you now since I was pretty sure I was going to mail them in a week or two. I am not sure how old is safe. Any suggestions. Remember, I must strip them of all the soil that is on them now in order to ship.
Off to have dinner. Have a good evening.

JB, you don't have to send mine bareroot do you? I get stuff all the time with soil on it. One nursery just sent me two Sweet Olive trees from Florida I think it was.

Jeanette


edited to add.
Forgot to say she just took them out of the gallon can and knocked the outer soil off and left the rest.

This message was edited Jun 11, 2010 2:29 PM

It's a dreary darned day again. Done nothing but rain all week and my daughter and family have been here. They went fishing one day for an hour or so in the rain, but that's no fun.

Tomorrow it finally is suppose to be in the 70s, which we have not had yet this year, and sunny, then they are going home on Sunday. All week they have been here in the rain. Whenever I went out between raindrops to pot a plant it would start raining again.

It is so bad that the humming birds are even at the feeders in absolute downpours. Raining so hard you would think it would knock them out of the air.

Sorry, just had to vent. (which I don't do much, LOL)

Jnette, Honey, I must ship according to the State Regulations in order to keep my Nursery status. If you got plants from East of the Mississippi that were in pots they were illegally shipped and you were lucky to get them. Our shipping regulations state that any shipping West of the Mississippi River must be shipped bareroot or you are not guaranteed delivery. You loose the plants and the money it cost to ship it. I ship too much to do anything but what is expected under the regulations. I do not need any red flags that could cause me to loose my nursery certification. Not worth it.
The inspectors can open any package they want to unless it has all the necessar papers on it. You will see when it comes all the crap I need to put on the outside to guarantee delivery. No problem.....I will get it to you but not in a week or two. I want to be sure they will live through the process since they are gifts from me to you. LOL. Hugs and nighty nite.

Hello all, Is anyone familiar with Ashochoca tree? I fell in love with this tree last year and there are none where I live (Antigua) - I got seeds from my FIL and have planted dozens (all different ways, soil, soilless, soaked, nicked) but only one has come up. It is a big hard seed but when I soak, they go moldy very quickley. Any tips?
sue

coco, have you tried using hydrogen peroxide? That should help. Don't know if it will take care of he problem but it should.

Jeanette

No, JB, I didn't mean to say they were in pots if I did. I said I don't think they were "washed". I think they knocked the soil off and that was that. However, what about soiless? Maybe it wasn't soil at all.

You are right JB to do it all legal. When I said I thought you could send them, I didn't know it was nothing West of the Miss.

Sue: is the seed still hard after soaking? I have soaked palm seed so long they were reaking and the small could be noticed a block away. My guess is either infertile seeds or not liking your conditions. where is your FIL at???
I wish I were where you are nice beaches????
Dave

I think JB has a strickter rule set to follow than some of us. I know we run pretty fast and loose here.
I have been tempted to wash all the soil out of some of my hostas but I am not that brave, even though they are mailed that way all the time.
Dave

Sharon you said many things and I will try to comment on them. I feel bad for the family of the guy that killed himself. How helpless.

I will have many animals waiting me too.

Sciatica is a beast, especially when it goes down into the foot and calf area. Try to get a massage on your booty, in the area when when you clench, it puckers or dig a fat spatula spoon into it until you have tears, then move it around. It may help. I was a massage therapist for 16 years for Chiropractors and a Physical Therapist too, doing Work Comp mostly.

Is it windy there, it is crazy windy here but oddly from the North. From you! Where are you trying to blow down my house Sharon? lol

You guys seeing your little plugs taking off now?

I looked today and most of the stuff I split coming out of the plugs is looking great. I love it when a plan comes together. now if I can get the pain to let up on me. I had thought I had the time to do cuttings today but the pain said no way. so I spen the majority of the day flat on my back.
Dave

Oh that sucks, too bad I am not there to rub that pain away. I would torture the pain right out, by comparison. lol Not really.

I'm sorry, Dave that you are have so much pain. I seem to be having that problem right now, so I might as well go to bed. I did finish putting together 6 color bowls for DH, as he likes to see color in front of the house at all times, if possible. I had to actually go to the nursery the other day when I was in town, as the plants that I have started from seed are not yet up to size. As well, I lost quite a few due to drying out in the times when I was having pain. So these color bowls are in lieu of having a window box, as the window box rotted and DH made a shelf, so I could put container plants on there. I must admit that I had to shop in just 10 minutes as the nursery was closing. I just picked out a monochromatic scheme of "screaming yellow" which he loves and I hote. Normally I would take more time with it but it was so late anyway, so I went with marigolds, zinnias, sanvitalia and yellow violas. On the north side I added lobelia and blue violas. They don't look awful, but still, not my idea of beauty....not my best work, for sure. Later one, when these peter out in the hot summer sun, I'll put up a better combo.

I guess it is fibromyalgia as I do not have the flu, though I did have an earache. The docs don't do anything for viruses anyway, so why bother to go. I have eardrops if it gets worse, but the heat did good for the ear.

Must go now...hope everyone is well.

This nutty weather is bound to cause flare ups. If you have a pool that is heated near by, pool exercise therapy is one of the best things for Fibro, that and Massage, both are a killer combo, in case you have not tried it.

Just chiming in about that hot, dry wind here in Northern Ca. yesterday.....I still feel all dried up this morning! At the nursery we couldn't hardly keep things watered and upright! And when I got home the shade cloth had blown off my shelf of dome-covered cuttings and a few things were fried....

PM: what a shame. I hate to hear when it fails because of the wind. I am trying out a new aproach. I am going to do cuttings 1st then crosses of the DL's. I hope it works. this is suposed to be wild horses but I am betting the tags got switched. not a fav so I will be either trading or seelling him
off to cut plants
Dave

Beautiful color Dave. I just love DLs and remember the collection I had at the other farm I owned. They were beautiful but I left them there and the new owners, who are now gone due to economy, the place is empty and owned by the bank, just left the flowers die. Nothing makes me more angry when you sell a place and then watch it go down the tube. So upsetting to me.

If I were not a certified nursery I could send plants anywhere but again, the inspectors on the other end could open them and then they would be history. California laws are the worst regarding incoming plants, I am amazed how many get thru. My luck my babies would not make it. LOL. You all will get yours and if I can sneak some soil on them I will, but it will be only enough to hopefully keep them alive.

The weather here is about to change and go back to the 90 deg. again by Monday.
Give me a break. Holy Cow. My old bod just can not handle hot, cold, wet, dry, up, down, whatever. I feel like a truck hit me most of the time when the weather changes.

I am so sorry so many of you have pains and I pray it is nothing more than the aging process with most of you. I realize there are some serious health issues here among us but we h ave each other to help us deal with them. I know I am here for anyone who wants to vent or just talk.

Most get busy. Will be back later. I sold another gardenia, now I have to find one that does not have mealy bug and trim it and then get it ready for a trip. LOL mealy bug gets on them all year round and even those that are outside. I think they are my only problem when it comes to bugs. I wish I had my ladybugs back. I have not seen a ladybug for weeks. Where are they?

Here is a picture of my Amazon parrot biting my toes. He is so bad. He ate my antherium yesterday.
He is such a bugger.
Sorry it is so dark, I took it with my cellphone because I was sitting at the computer. LOL

JB, don't you go putting soil in w/plants that you shouldn't. Don't want the plant poilice taking you off to jail, they would sure regret having you in there. Poor things. LOL

Well the weather is suppose to get nice today since my daughter's family is going home tomorrow. It has been so nasty and wet all the time they have been here that they didn't get to go fishing at all. Just sit in the house and count the raindrops.

Yup, suppose to get into the high 70s today. Suppose to. That doesn't mean it will. Haven't seen that since last year.

My gardenia I got from you is looking so good JB, no mealy bugs. I think that is just your imagination. I have never seen one.

I think you ought to feed that bird something besides antheriums and toes JB. They say there is a special kind of food that they like, I think you can get it at the local pet or feed store in most towns. If not, I would bet you could get some online. LOL

Jeanette