Plant propagation part XVII based on my own experience

Sharon ~ I would love some Tropicanna, but not right now...as I mentioned before, I need to plant what I have...but would you please save just a little bit for me...??? Yes, Sharon, the salad spinner! Last night was better as I thought I would have to make another chiro appt., but I really feel much better.

DWMike ~ Thanks for the info...yes, I had no need to pick it (the snake) up or anything like that... I treat them with respect, and hopefully I will be treated the same way. I did not actually get that close, but used the camera for the closeup. I will continue to seek its identity. I am sure it was not a rattler as there was no rattle, though I still thought it might be one because of the pattern on its hide. Well I guess I was really not so sure, was I? And I wonder why I have difficulty making decisions at times...LOL!☺

Here is a picture showing the tail...I did not think to get a closeup of it...

It was most definitely a gopher snake, as it looked just the same as the 4 -5 foot one in our carport a couple of weeks ago and we looked it up. http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/p.c.catenifer.html

This will make you certain. Ours hissed and flared itself up to make us think it was a rattler, shook it's tail and all. But in fact it would have been great to have it to eat all my vermin, except it would have scared the snot out of us, if it kept coming in places where we walk in the dark. I have quite a jungle out front this year, with my wild flowers and 12 foot zinnias. No thanks for surprises while watering.

Well, I now have a new phone. Does everything but make breakfast. I can now access DG while in my car. I need to get a life. Also got the smog check on my car for my license plate renewal.


Anyone that wants Tropicana Cannas is welcome to them. The others are only in their second year and not ready for dividing. I do have the seeds on the one Cleopatra and I will read what we are suppose to do with those. Dave, I would love some of the Day lilies.

I have attached a photo I took this morning. I had walked the back landscape to pick up the dogie droppings before the mow and blow guys showed up. Then I came into the house, sat down with a diet Pepsi and spent about an hour on the computer. Then DH got up and I decided to go get dressed and freshened up. When I got off the couch, I made the comment to DH, "Oh, look, I have a clover stuck to my clog". When I arrived in out bathroom I took the clog off to wash it in the sink. There to my surprise was, (See Photo).....

It looks magically delicious.

Sharon, will you please tell me what the business is with the salad spinner? Just curious.

Oh yes, let me know how much for postage etc. when you send me the pieces of the cana. Thanks.

I love Cannas but I can't have anything sent this time of year and live through the mail and nor can I plant much and have it not succumb to shock. I wait till Sept.

DWMike ~ I looked at the pictures of gopher snakes and the ones of rattlesnakes, and I cannot tell the difference. It actually looks more like a rattlesnake to me...as I looked at the pictures of a lot of rattlesnakes, so I am just not going to worry about it right now as it is long gone. If it shows up again I will get the gun, or have DH kill it. Still the gophers haven't bothered my gardens even though there are plenty of gopher holes around. Now if those snakes eat ground squirrels, well I don't want to kill them as it is harder to kill gophers and ground squirrels. Maybe I should not upset the balance of nature unless it threatens me.

Sharon ~ When I was in town last week my cell phone stopped working, well, actually it was stuck, and the only way to get it unstuck is to take out the battery. So then, as I proceeded to do so, I tried to close it up and the battery fell out, but where I do not know...somewhere in my car, probably in between the seats somehow, but I could not find the battery. So then I went to the cellphone store and they did not have that battery in stock, but would mail me one for $40.00! Yikes! Well these days we need cell phones, so I paid them and then got it two days later. Then, this week...I left my cell phone in the car since I could not charge it up. Then I brought it into the house when I realized that I was going to town, and where did I put that battery? So I just left the cell phone in my room and when I went to open my purse, I found the battery, but of course the cell phone was back in the house....GRRR! ROFLOL!! So now all is well...all charged up and ready to go. Now I will see what I will leave behind next week! (As it happened, we both agreed to call each other that day, and Steve left his phone at home as well...)☺

Dave, if you want to get rid of those daylilies, I will take some off your hands as well. Pls d-mail when you are ready to ship and I will get your stuff together as well.

(edited for lack of spelling)☺

Cat who is as thirsty as those weeds....she won't drink the water in her water bowl...



This message was edited Jul 1, 2010 9:01 PM

I will drive over there when I have a free moment. Where is Rosamond? I am planning a three to four month driving trip in my SUV and my DH and dogs. Just got to get my DH better or I will send him to his daughters and head out by myself. This is on my bucket list and it is getting where I need to do it or forget about it. After September it is the time because the heat is gone and I can get someone to sit the house and the garden will take care of itself along with the caregiver who will be staying at the property.

Right now it is only a dream. Need to get DH healthy but I am getting our passports for Canada and Mexico only so we can go up into Canada. I have no intention to go to Mexico. Been there, done that and no reason to go back. But Canada will be fun. Less money for Canada/Mexico passport instead of the world. My world is still my gardening friends and my family and I will stay inside the USA except a step into Canada to see their beautiful gardens. . Sorry Red Head.....

We cross posted, I will see you all tomorrow. I am shutting down NOW.

OK, after much research, I have come to the identification of that snake...tell me if you agree, OK?

Pacific Gopher Snaker - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pacificgophersnake.jpg

Yep that is the conclusion we made too with our snake. Looked just like it. Very unsettling to find out they swim and climb too. No bueno yall.

I think the road trip sounds so fun, that is something that I have always wanted to do to, but I was self employed for so many years and then worked part time for more years and never had vacation days to use. Rosamond is south of Mojave and North of Lancaster/Palmdale, on the way to LA an hour away.

Snakes just freak me out! I would just have a rip fit if I found something like that at my house. That would be heart attack time.
Beautiiful weather since Wednesday. A few more days like it and back to the 90s again
but I at least got the greenhouse cleaned out and the heat took a toll on the cuttings. I lost about 40 or 50 total of all the different tropicals and tender perennials I had started. I pruned and repotted and transplanted and had a great time until noon and then it was mowing time for what little grass there is left.
Must get into town to the Chiropractor stince he is closed Monday and get some supplies. I am taking it easy today. I overdid it yesterday and am paying dearly for it today. Oh yeah! Have a great day and enjoy the 80 deg. weather wherever you may be.

I am having the same problem on the ID. It took my message, but didn't post the picture. Lots of good that will do huh??? Anyone know why that is?? Thanks for trying tho. I agree about the snakes, I would just keel over and die on the spot. I know some are good to have arround, but please not in my yard. I just cannot tolerate them. Bugs are OK, just not the snakes LOL Lee

Especially when they look like rattlers and you know you are not going in closer for further identification. That and Black Widows freak the snot out of me. I found one in my one of my lasagna beds, that is edged with brick and it is made from the inner structure of a water bed so spiders find a lot of cracks to hide in. This one was one of those 3/4 inch fat, swollen looking ones. I hosed the poo out of it and found a small one too and he had the same bath.

After seeing the last photo of the snake with its tail and all...I would say it is a Gopher snake....the body is long and slender and the pattern is different than a rattl'r..Just don't get careless about snakes in the garden...it can be very painful =0(

Y'all have an absolutely great day and weekend !!!!!!

Well you guys, I wrote a long diatribe a bit ago and then my computer went down and dropped the whole thing so I guess somebody up there knew you didn't want to read all that crap.

Just one thing I had written Lee, since you had the same problem with the picture on the ID forum, it must be something wrong with the way your camera took the picture. I will call my friend and see if hers are blooming now and go take a picture if they are. I will try to put it on the ID forum. Maybe I can get it to work.

JB, so your temps are down in the 80s!! Well mine dropped too. Back into the 60s and rain. Getting ready for the 4th. It always rains thru the 4th and then on the 5th, all of a sudden it's like the area discovered the sun!! That is when our summer begins. Which is fine with me since it keeps the tourists away and the noise down. No fireworks so far this year!! It is so nice and peaceful!

A couple years ago the summer people that have a house on the river below me live in a county where they don't allow fireworks so they come up here and blow their fool heads off. They started in the middle of June. I finally had enough about 10:30 that night after listening to them all day so I called 911 and the dispatcher told me someone else had called and the deputies were there talking to the people right then at that very moment. So, they must have convinced them it was not the neighborly thing to do, plus the forests were really dry that year. We haven't had the problem since.

Well, guess I will clean house today since it is so grey, gloomy, and wet outside. yuck.

Finally I got the picture--two of them posted. Hope no one gets upset with me. When you are old sometimes things take a longer. Lee

Just the pest again. ID is saying Dave you are right!!! Campanula Glomerata is what it is. I looked up and it sure does look like it. Go ahead Dave, say I told you so. LOL Honestly tho, I have some Campanula and it doesn't even come close to looking like this, flowers are more sparce, and plant is more spindly and runny. These are pretty compact and hardy looking. Thanks for the help, Lee

Clustered Bellflower 'Purple Pixie'
Campanula glomerata


This one Lee. Maybe your other one isn't Campanula. Altho, if you go thru them on the plantfiles, there are a lot, so it might be one of the others.

Do you Knowif they seed down? It says they are started by division. Maybe I will try seeds. Maybe that is what you got on the other ones. Started from seeds from this one. Not a hybrid.

Dave, if you look in this propagation forum you will find all kinds of cloner information. Just remember there is a difference between bubbler cloners and aeroponics. I think you want bubblers. If you can find the one I have below here, it is pretty straight forward and what I think you want.

Jeanette

Clematis: Do YOU remember my BUBBLER Method of Propagating Clematis???

Howdy:
I think it might be an issue with either the name i.e.daisy flower3-6. some sites don't like spaces or dashes in a name also file size can be an issue.
Lee I still want some of your Campanula Glomerata.
I will be gone all weekend so please don't think I am hideing. its been a nice day today. uper 80's low 90's. thank you tropical storm alex.
I will try to ship day lilies on monday the 12th. I want to trim them like the ones I get in in the spring. is this ok with everyone? they are massive without a trimming.
Have a great 4th and stay safe.
Dave

OK this way. Saying inside and puttying around the house. Jnette is inside because it is gray and I am inside because it is to bright.

Well, even with the drizzles I have to go out and water. The brugs are real thirsty plants. I am hoping I am going to have them blooming early this year. Normally they are ready to bloom when we get our first freeze. Well I have my fingers crossed and I have told them that if they don't bloom all summer this year I am going to pinch their heads off and out they go.

I can see I really scared them.

Well my ADHD kicked into full gear today. I took my shower, got dressed, did my hair and realized I needed to iron a pullover blouse. Three hours later, I had all of mine and DH's ironing done except for three long sleeved shirts. He won't need those for a couple of weeks. Cool down coming. We will have a high of 102 tomorrow.

Photo is my Hardy Hibiscus doing its thing first thing this morning. It has been in that spot for 8 years.

One of my Coleus pots in morning sun under African Sumac in back landscape...

I have some weedy but pretty wild flower thing, that I don't know what it is. I swear this weekend I am sending some pictures out to ID.

I like the Coleus a lot but did not think it took hot or cold well. I always had it as a house plant. I wish I could grow Hibiscus but I need a cold and hot hearty variety. I always plant Rose of Sharon seeds and they never germinate.

How do you germinate seeds in Perlite again? Just put a seed in it and voila? No water or anything?

Also I took all my rose seeds out of the frig, but did not have the stuff and the knowledge at this time of year on how to germinate them, so they sit out on a paper towel for the most part. Does that ruin the whole stratifying process if they don't go right into trying to germinate them? rookie questions.

OK, Darling Hellinzn11, we are in the same zone. These are Hardy hibiscus. They will take cold down to -4 and heat up to 114. The one you are looking at I have had for over 15 years. My father gave it to me because he got it as a bonus plant from Burpee and it would no grow at home because they were a mile high and got really cold. But I do not think they got below -4. When I moved here from our old home, I brought a start. Then one day esrly last year I discovered they are many colors of Hardy Hibiscus. And since I do not gamble, buy new clothes, travel, or eat a lot, I ordered 7 from Plants Delights. I ordered two from Burpee because they had the variety that Plants Delight did not have. Half the price and half the plant. One died and the one that survived is about 6 inches tall and the ones from Plants Delights plants are now 2' tall and have buds on them ready to bloom in about a week. I also have 33 Hardy Hibiscus starts in my holding garden from a co-op sale. And I have had 25 planted in to the greenbelt but they are red and pink. We just need to learn how to propagate. OK Hellinzn11, you just need to come to Vegas. I have a guest bedroom. Bring the bad guy, no dogs. See what you can grow in the hot desert with MULCH......Today's Canna Cleopatra showing off.

Yes I will. Hey while you are teaching me, nobody answered about the Perlite and seed sowing in it?

Hey Dave, JB, and any of you that send plants through the mail... I need advice.
There is a DGer on another forum that had a terrible storm ruin her gardrens this yr, so some of us are trying to send hostas (her favorite) to give her something to plant in a new garden. (Old gardens will come back next yr, but this will be a temporary distraction)
The question is, what is the best way to pack a medium-sized hosta with leaves, so that it will arrive undamaged?
We don't want to cut off leaves, as this is supposed to be a kind-of 'instant garden' thing.

If you can get it to fit I would use the LARGE FLAT RATE BOX PRIORITY MAIL AT THE USPS. It will arrive in 2 days possibly 3 and if you make sure the roots are moist and wrapped in plastic and the plant is wrapped in paper so it can breathe, you should be o.k.

Here in the East we are being told another heat wave, longer and hotter than the past three is coming in a day or so and it will last for at least 5 or 6 days. Just what we need.
Oh well, I just brought al the gardenias out of the greenhouse and put them on the side deck. They can handle the outside better than the over 100 deg. the GH gets most of the day even with the shade cloth on. The doors open, fans going, the whole nine yards and the heat in there just burns up some of the plants. I have more cuttings to plant this weekend so we will see. I have decided to just go with the flow and to heck with worrying about it. Nothing you can do will change it so I am going to sit and enjoy the summer.
Act like a lovely old lady for a change instead of a dirty old farmer. LOL

I hope you all have a safe and sound fourth of July. Bang! that was the extent of my fireworks.

Well JB, you just took care of my fireworks too. Thanks.

It is suppose to be a high of63 today. My Aimee looks soo good. Should she be out in this hot hot sun do you think JB?

LOL, She might enjoy a little light.

Jeanette

DWMike ~ Thank you for your advice. I would not even approach the snake unless I could be positive that it was harmless, as I know baby rattlers may not have rattles but have their fangs and venom full strength.

Sharon ~ Since no one has answered your question I will make an attempt. I would moisten the vermiculite first before sowing the seeds. Do you plan on enclosing it? If not, please be sure to mist them and not let them dry out...this is my one big reason that so many of my seedlings did not make it. It takes only one missed watering, for some, then, POOF! gone..cerrado, finito, dead!
And thanks for reminding me about the hardy hibiscus, as I would like to get 'Diana' and maybe some other special white one for the "White Flower Border", as that border will get a major renovation as well, after the beans, cukes, squash and melons are planted.

JB ~ Thanks for reminding me about delaying plans for a greenhouse, as it is cold in winter and very hot in the summer. Today I will be tying up the tomatoes with some old pantyhose. It is OK since I don't use them much and I do not attend church either. (My church is in my garden, LOL!)
Is the 12th OK with you, too, or is it still too hot there?

Dave ~ The 12th is OK with me unless the heat rises more, but I will contact you and keep an eye on the weather predictions.

Jeanette ~ I am sorry about your weather...I guess it seems to be either to cold and damp or just blazing hot for most of us here at DG. By the way, I was the one with the salad spinner. It was on a day that I worked in many different sections, and was already stretched to the limit, and then I brought in some fresh homegrown lettuce and proceeded to wash off the lettuce and then used the salad spinner. It was the "straw...." I hope that your weather warms up nicely for you, but not too hot...

Everyone, please have a wonderful 4th!


Evelyn ☺

Red Mariposa Lily...



This message was edited Jul 3, 2010 1:50 PM

This message was edited Jul 3, 2010 3:23 PM

We are a bunch of whiners it would seem.

No we are not.

I am.

Well young lady, how can I help you? They do not call me Mother Winter for nothing.

Evelyn, I will send you a start of a White Hardy Hibiscus, Blue Lady, when your area is ready.

I have two new babies in my holding area. Three Pink Mexican, "Thevetia Peruviana", Oleanders and a Starburst Bush, "Clerodendrum Quadriloculare". I ordered them from eldontropicals.com. Came in good shape and they are now starting their new life in the SW in my holding garden. Photo is from i planted yesterday. They are standing taller today. The one with the purple leaves is the Starburst Bush.

That is cool how you have a holding garden for your starts. good idea though. I will have to drive 3 1/2 hours to get mine ha? lol

I established the holding garden after losing to many new plants by mail that were to small to be planted and when they were panted, they died. It is in a very warm, but not hot, protected from the wind area. They get to listen to the Pool and Koi pond equipment humming all day.

I could meet you halfway. We could have a great lunch in Victorville.

That would be fun to do some time. Better yet, Barstow, it is closer to both of us. Would be fun to visit anyway and see how the rich folk live. I live in a mobile home, in a run down area where nobody cares what their home looks like. Honestly it was not a lot better when we moved here but some what better than now, we had an idea that really has not worked out other than that we have a lot of space and if the market fell, which it has, it probably would ensure us living next to the same simple people and not gang members. We made a poor investment and could buy in a tract again, but we just think with all going on, and our house has 3 more years to go till we see the principle dropping real quick. We are thinking if we really want to worry about a crazy mortgage at ages that we should not be worrying of such things and while the economy and jobs are so chancy, we can still afford our triple wide on our 5/8 of an acre of desert. Instead we may just buy a rental house and if we want less to take care of later, we can sell both and buy a nice tract home. We made the bad choice and we may have to live with it.