Teddy's plants

I wanted to know if any of my plants are going to bloom this spring, I read that my Irises may need a year off before they will, and not too sure about my Rose of Sharon, one of the ones I planted last fall looks dead, and the other one has greenery on it but that does not mean it will bloom and I also got two plants this spring, one has greenery on it the other doesn't. Does Rose of Sharon need to take time off like the Irises? My Rose bush is growing quite well and so is my Cosmos and flowering cabbage, but my Cosmos looks kind of funny, here is a picture of what I mean. I believe that is just the way they grow, hopefully I am not wrong.

That is precisely how cosmos grows!

Rose of Sharon only shows signs of life a bit later for me, in zone 7. What zone are you?

Irises do take time. Some will bloom the second year but some may need another year - patience is required.

Patience? Are you kidding me? I think I am lacking in that particular virtue, but I am glad the Cosmos is doing fine, I have a picture of my Iris plants, they are big but like you said they won't bloom this year, but the plants are pretty though.

When my neighbor's Irises bloom I will take a picture and that will show you what kind it is, the only thing I know about it is that is purple, other than that, I know nothing about them. I hope the Cosmos will get big enough to bloom this year, they are doing quite well. I know my flowering cabbage will bloom because they did last year. And like I said my Rose bush is doing good too.

Maybe an iris will surprise you with a bloom. I hope so.

YES, the Cosmos will get tall and bloom this year - they are an annual and that's what Cosmos does. The goldfinches will love dive-bombing it in fall for the seeds. They're great fun to watch.

Thanks pirl, that makes me feel better, I love to watch those bright goldfinches, they are so pretty.

Teddy, be encouraged. You have the heart of a gardener. That's a lovely virtue.

Your irises look wonderful against the trellis.

I have a yardful of irises, and it seems I must get in there and divide the beds about every two-three years, or else the blooms become fewer and fewer.

Iris comes in many, many colors and varieties. It's likely you have the tall, bearded type. Here is a picture of some of my irises last year. This year, I might not get as many blooms since the beds need to be divided again. (I'm forever creating new iris beds, but I don't mind—I enjoy a workout with my shovel.)

Some of my irises did not bloom last year because a nearby tree had grown very large and shaded them out. There was just too much shade in that spot that was once a full-sun location. Do you get enough sun with the trellis irises?

Well, take care, and Happy Gardening! Any questions, feel free to shoot me a d-mail or use this forum; there are many helpful folks here.

(You might want to go to Plantfiles here on DG and search Iris to see what you can find out about them.)

They are beautiful! Purple happens to be my favorite color, so whenever they do bloom it will be pretty. They get some sun where they are at, not a whole lot but some, especially in the summer. The prime spot happens to be taken by a Rose of Sharon bush, its not very big, but it has some greenery on it, as to what zone I am in, I don't know, I am in northern Ohio, close to Indian Lake, if that helps any. My neighbor who gave them to me has some more and they are ready to bloom, but I think that is because his has been around longer than mine, mine was just planted last fall.

I was thinking, is it a good idea to just leave things be, or should I use any kind of growing aid, I have some Miracle Grow, what do you think? Would it make the Cosmos grow faster, or mess them up?

At this point realize they have the tiniest of roots so they can't absorb a lot of food. I'd leave them alone until they get another pair of leaves and then feed only at half strength or less - like quarter strength. We all want blooms but you don't want to burn the tiny roots either.

Hi Teddy. Lakeview Ohio is in zone 5B.

Teddy, if you read this article, at the bottom is a zone link from the USDA to see a zone map:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/578/

Dappled sunlight is fine for irises; if you just planted them this past fall, maybe they will wait to bloom, maybe they won't.

I don't do a thing to get my irises to bloom besides just moving them about every few years.

Annuals like Cosmos could use a little Miracle-Gro if you want, but I would suggest diluting the granules to 1/4 of what the package says. Wait 'til they're big enough like pirl mentioned.

I have a similar granulated product called "Bloom Burst" that I use. I put about 1/2 of what the package calls for into an empty milk jug, then add cool water to make a solution for my flowering houseplants and for outdoor flowers.

Take care, Keep on Gardening,

Timmy Jo

BEN LADIN IS DEAD!!!!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!

Proud to be an American. God bless all of our troops.

Well I sure don't have to worry about watering anything for a while! We have had so much rain I was afraid for my plants, but it seems like they are doing just fine. I wanted to plant just hummingbird friendly plants and I think I succeeded, but for the flowering cabbage, but those little butterflies seem to like it a lot and they are pretty. But all in all, I think I have done pretty well, if you have any advice, please let me know, this is the first time in 49 yrs that I have planted anything so I am understandably nervous and edgy especially with all this rain. Thank you for all your help.

Sounds like cabbage moths. You might want to Google it for more information.

I have a question, my neighbor gave me these plants last year, he says they are flowering cabbage, but I think they are a plant called forever plant. Could you help me put this question to rest once and for all?

It's called Sedum.

Stonecrop sedum

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/75993/

This is what my Sedum looked like last year, they bloomed quite well. I didn't think they were flowering cabbage, I was pretty sure they were forever plants because that is what the picture looked like when I called it up on the Internet. So thank you for clearing that up for me.

This is the Rose of Sharon that I said had the prime spot. Sorry its a little fuzzy, but I AM a amateur not a professional photographer. As you can tell, it is leafing out quite well, do you think it will bloom this summer? It did not last year, it might not be big enough to bloom, I hope it does.

This is my Rose bush I transplanted last year from my other neighbors yard, as you can see, no trouble here and in the next picture you can see some new plants right next to the old ones.

Here are the new plants growing right with the old ones, they are going to be interesting to trim around, especially if they spread out like they usually do, they are small roses.

Sedum divides easily if you want more of it. Just break it apart with your hands.

Rose of Sharon blooms on new growth. I think you have a good chance of getting blooms this year.

The rose seems happy so good luck with it and remember to feed it - they love to be fed and watered.

Hey Teddy, Are you getting as much rain up there as we are in Dayton?
You have a great Gardener (Pirl) there for advice she has helped me out a great deal.

Well, roseycats, I was thinking of renting a boat so I could drift down to the Marina! Yes, we are getting a lot of rain this spring, I think it is the rainiest spring that I can remember. It has rained so much I was afraid for the flowers, I didn't know whether it was going to drown their roots or not. Thankfully I have friends on here that will help me out with my NUMEROUS questions! How do you plant it if you break it apart, won't it break off the root? If I get blooms anywhere I will certainly post them here, you have been so helpful, thank you.

Thanks, roseycats. That's very sweet of you.

Teddy - just for you I will take up a sedum, split it and take photos so you can see how simple it is. Sometimes when you pull out an old stalk (even one that has been cut back) you'll tug on it and it will come out with a small piece of sedum that can just be replanted.

You can also take cuttings, strip off the lower leaves and just stick it in the good earth and it will grow.

Good luck to all with that flooding. My friend in Arkansas has major flooding and it's wreaking havoc with her gardens. Just look here for the photos:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1177354/

With all this rain, if I plant new plants of sedum will I still have to add water?

Not as long as the soil is damp.

Ok, thanks.

I did it, I filled in some bare places between the older plants that were already there. I just took a clump and pulled and it came out and I took a screwdriver and made a hole and stuck it back into the ground. I just wish all flowers were that easy to plant. I did not ad any water because with all this rain, the ground was pretty moist already, Now the area where I have them look a little more filled in. I appreciate your help and advice pirl. You have helped a lot. It was easy as pie!

Good job! We all wish all plants were that easy!

Does Sedum spread or do I have to break it apart and plant it where I want it? I don't mind doing it, I just would like it to be more filled in, will it do it on its own or will I?

Each plant gets wider and wider every year.

Oh, boy, that should be interesting!

It is supposed to frost tonight, will it kill my plants, obviously I can't bring them in.

Cover them with nursery pots (upside down, of course), boxes, big pots, anything that will protect them. Put a brick on top in case you get wind.

Don't worry about the sedum. It can handle it.

The temps are supposed to get into the 30's, they have been that low before and they have been ok, If I don't do anything to them will they die?

It will not hurt the sedum. They are tougher than you think.