Pugh Bear's Propagation Thread

>> Rowdy is not a problem for me, I have 4 teenage boys. They sometimes say and ask me things just to try to get me worked up! I refuse to let it work though

Oh, you're going to handle these bad boys & girls just fine. You already know the drill. Glad to meet you.

Probably the very earliest threads with a similar name have more concentrated nuggets of information buried in relatively less chat, but asking here is the fast track.

Corey

OT:

clyoung1

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION!!!

Hi Dawn... no... the screen name is the same....no change. How're you feeling?

Well everyone... remember those phlox I asked about? The cuttings that came in a box that looked like the postman danced on it?? :) I did what the seller suggested kept the cuttings chilled and then planted them in a pot... shallowly etc....I didn't think they would make it... when I planted them they were brown and withered.... they really looked 'done for'... and then I went off on vacation and worried about them... after all.... as good as he was.....my garden caregiver really isn't going to give them the attention that I would have given them.... but I went out to check on them Wednesday evening and again last night and I think a couple of them might have ralleyed.... I see some new leaves... fingers crossed. Yippee!! Therein lies the joy of gardening.... seeing how tough some of these plants can be... their will to survive.... just like people....

so... any suggestions on how to make sure they florish? I thought about giving them a foliar spray of kelp as it seems to help so much with stress....

Welcome to the group clyoung1... I am sure you will enjoy the camaraderie we all share here. The folks who participate in the thread are all very knowlegable.... I'm fairly new here myself although a long-time gardener, but I have learned a lot in a short time and really enjoyed the fellowship... I hope you will too.

Evelyn... thanks for sharing the photo... that garden bed is lovely! Can you explain to me what that 'hot-bed' is that you mentioned previously? I've been curious about that... is it a hot sunny location or just a place to 'start' your plants ?? I'm probably being dense... but I'm puzzled.

Has anyone had experience propagating tomato cuttings? There is a critter coming into my garden at night trying to steal the tomatoes and he/she is breaking off branches... (Amanda... I think it might be a possum... any thoughts on how to deter him/her?) will they root for me if I put them in water or pop them back into the ground...(the temps are in the 100's here so the planting would have to be in the shade if at all) A penny for your thoughts everyone...

Rick... I loved your 'garden' analogy... well said....you speak my language! Happy Friday everyone.... Nancy

Ha ha - Nancy - IF it's a possum it might be looking for your juicy tomatoes. The only thing I could recommend if it's a possum is to have a ginormous plate of other appealing fruits somewhere on the ground to keep it from climbing. :D

I have birds, squirrels, rats, what else God knows pulling down branches of most of my perennials out there trying to get the seeds. It's that time of year I guess. I am still trying to go vertical in my driveway ebuckets to see if I can avoid the critters.

Very slow this season due to illness and injury, but my spring crops are now my fall/winter crops. :D

Have a good one - and good luck Nancy.

A.

Help! something is eating my seedlings!

Yesterday I finally got outside for a little while to check on things. My precious little birthday present has been sneaking outside ( I was for a while happy she was entertaining herself) and she has been destroying my seedlings and their pots. Oh well, I love her anyway. I just need it to be about 60 degrees so I can work for a full day so I can get everything caught up.

Hi Clyoung, Welcome to the group. I can imagine that these nuts can be a little overwhelming at times, I guess that is why I fit in. I have been in and out since the beginning of this thread but there is so much info here.
Ask questions and you'll get more answers than you probably ever wanted. LOL

Evelyn, I didn't realize we made you feel that way in the beginning. I agree though, I have asked questions in other threads and been made to feel very unwelcome. I don't want anyone to feel that way.

Sharon and Dawn, I hope your shoulders are better. That surgery was awful for me, but I do not regret it for an instant.

Jnette, Lee, JB, You all are too quiet, you're scaring me!

Nancy and Amanda, I am glad you joined and Rick you've got it right about dealing with teenage boys and girls. I have a house full most of the time and only 1 is actually mine.

Well, I am off to the studio. I will try to work outside late in the afternoon.

Has anyone had any luck with glory lily vines from seed? Mine came up and looked great, but now they just seem to have stopped growing.

Wishing everyone a great day, Linda

OFF TOPIC - AS USUAL WHEN I AM OUT HERE ALONE AND TALKING TO MYSELF.

HELLO AND WELCOME clyoung. Hey, you are on my time, Linda is from the South also and on our time. Great. Now I have more company in the morning.

First, please accept my apology for all the things I said that may have offended you.

I am too old to frequent bars, too young to enjoy bingo , except on Lotto tickets, and too cheap to join the Country Club, but I do enjoy this group of crazies (I say that because I am one of them) and I have learned so much from them I can not tell you. I came on this list looking for information about propagation of tropical house plants. I looked all over DG for my answers before I found this thread and those that said they were "my topic" were not my kind of people. I am a hobby/business and I sell starter tropicals and tender perennials on eBay. I like the "common" names because at my age I forget the botanical names or whatever they are called. And I can not spell them without taking the time to look them up. : )

My questions to these people were not really down their alley but you know what, they helped me find answers and they welcomed me with warmth and not an attitude of "I know more than you do". Therefore on this thread the working together and the kindness gave us all a feeling of satisfaction. So now because of our sharing, I began to grow some of the plants they are familiar with, and I found many of them share my passion for tropical house plants and we share both plants and seeds. WE had a merger and it has been such fun. These people are a special group of fun loving, devilish , intelligent professionals who came together to share our common interest, propagation of plants.

Last winter our weather was horrible. I lost so many babies and these people were here for me. I was depressed and angry and bored and their "chatter" kept me from going to therapy. I owe them so much when it comes to my mental attitude and health. What I am trying to say is that when the weather sucks, we mess around off topic just to keep our spirits up. I drive Jen crazy with my weather. If one of us is missing for days, there is always one of them that check on us privately to see if we are o.k. Tell me how many of DG propagation threads do that?

I just want those lurkers out there to realize, we are really a group of very nice people and there comes a time in everyone's daily real life that you need to let your hair down. We do it here. Frequently if necessary. So please stick around and get to know us.
Do not judge this book by its cover.

Now there is my two cents worth and I am going to try and get some work done in the Christmas Tree Field. The grass needs mowing again and it is not really too hot. High 80s is better than high 90s . It is to rain again and since the Hurricane fizzled and now is no threat to the coast this weekend other than just showers, thats a good thing. Off I go. Hugs to all, and Dave, Honey, I hope you are feeling better today. Yesterday you were fussy wuzzy pughbear for sure.

Linda, I took the cuttings from the camellias but I think I messed up. I am not sure I have a bud on each one. D***! I hate when I do that.

This morning I checked the plants in the bird room and the two gardenias I have in there have mealybug. Where do the little devils come from. So, I am off to wash and spray and then bring them inside again after a day on the deck under the awning. They would cook out there without the awning.

See you are all still sleeping except Linda so I will get some work done until Jen gets awake then I will heckle her for awhile during my lunch break. Wake up Woman, I have so much grass to cut I can not fool around today. LOL

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I have one problem though I stayed up too late last night breaking out of my shell yawwnnn! Must work now though, I have to pay for all of my darn daylillies I have ordered! Ya'll have a great day!

OFF TOPIC

Afternoon cl, you must learn to do what I had to do, those Western Wingnuts are night owls and believe me, when they all get going, you just have say Good Night Sweethearts. I have learned to get to bed before they start because then I can have my say and sleep until I check in. I must admit, my cell phone keeps showing me my private emails and Jen sneeks in there , so when I wake up about 3 a.m. I check in and there is my girl, Jen. She is so dependable. LOL She is also a PITNeck......aha, you thought I was going to say something else didn't you. LOL. Later lovies.

Nancy,

Could it be a raccoon? Or, better yet, a whole family of them. That is the way they travel this time of year. How long is your season for those tomatoes? i.e. if you root them now and get them going will they have time to grow tomatoes and ripen? If not, throw them away.

Those phlox are amazing aren't they? I think if it were me, (course you are lucky you aren't) I would wait until the new leaves get a mite bigger and then cut the old stalks off. They are a drag and not doing anything at this point other than marking the spot you planted them in. I don't believe you can kill them. I have a white one I have been trying to pull out for years and it keeps coming back.

Did you give them any Superthrive when you planted them? NO???? Oh my goodness it is a wonder they survived at all. Anytime you transplant ANYTHING, you MUST water them with Superthrive. Oh, you say you did? Well then that is why they are making it.

Amanda you are lucky you live where you do. You could never switch your seasons the way you just described if you lived in the north. You are lucky to be able to do that.

Linda, is that a picture of your birthday present? I must have missed it. When was your birthday? Sorry I missed it too. How old is she?

LOL, I see you wrote this at 5 o'clock our time. That is why we are quiet. You can't hear us snoring???? That is what rips JB all the time. She expects us all to get up when she does. But she goes to bed with the hens and gets up with the rooster.

clyoung, I am sorry you felt ignored. I suppose most people new to our thread do, or so we have been told before. We really do not know everything about every plant out there. We just act like we do. But, normally we can point you in the right direction if we can't help.

As a matter of fact that just reminded me of the Glory Vine, is that what you called it Linda? Glory Lily Vines. Had to go look. Linda, I have never heard of them. do you have a picture? We might know it by a different name, but more than likely, we have never seen them as they are probably a Southern plant. Sorry, maybe clyoung can help you with that one. Think he is closer to your location.

cl, do you have a name other than that we can call you? Would like to know what the cl stands for. If you would rather not, that is ok too. Sorry if you find I am too abrupt. A lot of people tell me I am only in a ruder way. LOL Actually, I am trying to be nice until I get to know you better. I really can be that way, huh Corey? LOL

Corey and I were up until almost 11 o'clock last night. He is so funny. Bet he sleeps your day away too JB. cl, please do not take that literally, to mean that we live together. We do not know each other. Are only friends on here. We were chatting late last night.

Anyway, I was admonished by Admin first thing this morning so I guess I am going to have to be a bit more "staid", is that a word they use in the South to mean not so light?

ttyl, Jen

LOL, we crossposted JB

Well I am here, now 69 years young and Todd and family are in town and on there way to the house.

clyoung1, welcome. You will grow to love us all. We try not to talk about politics or religion but everything else in on the table.

But if we get out of line, I hope one of us will d-mail that person and tell them to back off.

Beside a few threads on SW forum, this is the only place I go and I would be lost without you guys. I do lurk a few threads and occasionally comment. Probably have a lot of Master Gardeners on here. We were just to selfish to get the credentials and volunteer our time.

Take care, have fun, and be safe and I will return in a while. I am so glad I moved to cash a few months back. Yesterday's stock market was scary. Sharon.

Nancy ~ Yes, you are right. Originally the term, "hot bed", was employed by those using beds of fresh manure, then laying straw or similar bedding on top of that, and then the new seedlings on top. This method was employed for many years before electricity was introduced into greenhouses and cold frames. This kept the seedlings warm in order to aid quicker germination. Now usually there are electric heat mats and propagator boxes.

So actually, I have used a "play on words", as I like unique terms for each of my garden beds. My husband asked me last year if he could have a bed of flowers right (in that spot) there...indicating by placing rocks in a (very) weedy section which was previously partially a bulb garden. He wanted the bright colors that I used for the color bowls last year, which were "hot colors"....yellow, orange and red. I have to admit that I do not prefer these colors for a garden, but the gardens are not just for me, so I started it this spring. It has been blooming ever since, adding a few things here and there from time to time.

Some of the other beds are called - "The Dark Side Garden", "A Peach of a Garden" (for my peach-of-a-husband), (I never used the color peach either), " The White Flower Border", "A White Daisy Border" which have now become one to make room for the next one, "The Cottage Garden Border"....the rest are unnamed areas on 3 sides of the house, two driveway "landscaped" areas and a garden strip by the side of the road.

Sharon, I will be 70 in November so you'll never catch up....LOL!! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)

Also it was the president's birthday yesterday, a young 50 years old.

Well Todd's birthday was today so we went to daughter's home for a BBQ and the kids played in the pool. It was a dusk and the weather was beautiful.

Good news, bad news. Bad news is I stepped off a step on the patio I did not know was there. Good news is I fell but did not hurt myself. I had just said about 40 minutes before I had not fallen since I was in Spokane. Jinked myself.

All is well and everyone had a great day. Todd and family leave for San Diego tomorrow morning. They will return next Saturday.

Evelyn, you and I will be 70 together for a period of time in 2012. We should celebrate.

I will have plenty of time tomorrow to check in with you guys. Take care and be happy and safe.

Sharon.

PS: I need to go back and read bout 20 posts. I am way behind.

Morning, looks like a beautiful morning, more or less the calm before the stormy next few days, so I must get out and get a few things done.

First, I wanted to say that the mealy bug situation on the Gardenias still exists and they are still having treatment today. I got most of them but if you just leave one little itty bitty sucker, they are like rabbits. Thousands appear soon again.

I took some cutting of the Tea Rose Begonia today. Only 4 because the plant is still young.

My next problem is what to do with all of the Christmas Cactus Stock Plants. They are in the house now, but they are growing and I have no clue where to go with them. The GH is not a good place for them as stock plants. They do not need as much water as the growing starter plants and therefore, I am afraid they would get too much and rot. Any suggestions?????? I guess I am just wondering what kind of containers to put them in and how to display or place the containers. They take up so much room I was wondering if anyone else has a problem finding places for them. Shelves do not work for me. OK, I will try the cactus forum but I already know what will happen there.

Still no word from Dave. Have a nice weekend all of you. I am going to get some GH work done if it rains because maybe the temperatures will not be so hot ....the humidity is a killer. I hope this post was not too much off topic.

Morning Everyone! JB I slept in this morning. I stayed up late last night forging some earrings into new designs so I just want to be lazy today.
JB, Take those christmas cacti outside and if you have trees, let them sit at the base of the trees and then water them whenever you water your other beds. They love to be outdoors and the natural daylight/dark and variable temperatures encourage them to set buds. Oh I almost forgot, dishwater is the best thing in the world for gardenias. LOL My grandma used to save some from a dish pan and go out and throw it on the plants. I guess the soap kept the bugs at bay, but her gardenias were gorgeous.

Now does anyone know what to do for black sooty mold on plants that are growing in too much shade? I cannot possibly wash each leaf.

Yes, Jnette, She is my bday present, Her name is Bonny Blue and she is a rescue from the local shelter. They listed her as american bulldog and lab, but they listed her twin brother as american bulldog and hound. I think she has a lot of pitt bull in her and that is the only way they could adopt them out rather than euthanize them. She is 11 weeks old and has more puppy energy than I or the other 2 mutts know how to handle. BTW, My birthday was july 24 and i hit the big 50!

Sharon, Happy Birthday to you too. I am sorry you fell. I fell this past week too and took the skin off my knee and really bruised my shoulder. I was so happy I didn't break anything ( like both feet) this time. I am sore, but it's ok.

Evelyn, I think it is interesting that you don't use hot colors or peach in your garden. I never really thought about flowers that way. About the only flowers I don't use are pansies. When I landscaped the golf course, I planted about 4500 flats in one season and I just got so tired of them.
They bloom constantly in the winter here ( not much of anything else does) and so all of the resorts and golf courses use them. If people are going to vacation in an area, they don't want it drab, even if it is january. LOL

Clyoung, what daylilies did you order and where did you find them? I cannot get enough daylilys and last year I started hybridizing them. I love to grow them from seed, but sometimes I forget what I crossed by the time they bloom. LOL
I am trying to concentrate on tropicals, lantana, daylily and hardy hibiscus, but I have a gotta have em all kind of ocd when it comes to plants and I can't choose. It is like telling 1 child you love them more than the others.

Dave, I hope you feel better. I am keeping you in my prayers.

Dawn, I hope you are better soon too.

Jnette, Here is the glory lily vine pic.

I gotta go buy some bug spray. My son owes me 20 bucks worth of work and I think he is going to plant seedlings for me.
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Linda

Linda, do you want an hibiscus cuttings? I will be cutting my double salmon one before I take it in for the winter. Let me know. By then the weather should be o.k. to ship.

bBoy you guys, I lost count of all the different plants you covered in 2 or 3 posts. All that should have had their own threads!!! I don't know how to play nice. I guess we need lessons from Terry on "how to play on DG". Not being facetious. We just lost our touch I guess if we ever had it.

For instance, I want to ask you JB, what do you use for the mealy bugs? I think my gardenia has it. Linda, where do I get dishwater to throw on the gardenia when I have a dishwasher?

And, Linda that Glory Lily Vine is beautiful. Is it related to gingers? I have a plant that I got in a trade on the tropical swap that they tagged a ginger that the foliage looks just like that.

Well, gotta get off of here before I screw up worse. I just named more than one plant that I should have a thread for each. Oh man, this is a killer. jen

Afternoon all, well morning for somel!
Jnette My name is Carol, brief background.... 39 years old, 4 boys 19,18,16,14 and one sweet angel daughter 20. Married to a very patient and wonderful man that has yet to understand that there is never a such thing as too many flowers! LOL! Ya'll will have to bear with me a while until I get names figured out.
I had to take advantage of the brief period of cool in the morning to get some work done. I have way way way overshopped and have been a mad potting fool. It is just too blasted hot here to stick anything in the ground I don't know anything about the glory lily vines, but the pic sure is pretty.
Ibartoo I have ordered daylillies from several different sources, but the most impressive ones have come from Shaws Sunshine Garden and Blue Ridge from ebay. They both sent HUGE divisions. I did order another set from ebay and the Lily Auction that I haven't recd so I will let you know how those look. So far I have ordered Joan Senior, Magic Amethyst,Sugar Candy, Mountain Violet, Lilac Greetings, Lavendar Doll, Fairy Tale, Double Action, Jessica Lillian, Missouri Beauty, American Revolution, Cuban Skies, Lavender Dew, Prarie Blue Eyes and a few others. I am still sticking with purchasing the ones that are older. I can't bring myself to spend anything over $30 for a plant, not with 2 kids in college. I am interested in hybridizing myself and have been studying. When you are applying pollen to the pod parent do you just rub it on the pistil? The picture that I saw looked like the stamen had been removed and the pollen was being applied to the part on the pistil where the stamen had been removed.

Evelyn.... thanks for explaining that.... it makes perfect sense. I have some old gardening books that described that method of using manure. Such a great idea to personalize your beds.... is the 'dark side' garden for plants that grow in shade or for purples and dark colors? Or maybe 'evil' plants.... is there such a thing? LOL!! Thanks again... I can almost see all the flower beds in my minds eye... your yard sounds lovely.

Amanda... Jen... about those critters.... one night my little 'min-pin' who thinks he is a 'rat terrier' hunting dog :) was barking his little head off and I could hear him running outside... he sounded like he was hyper-ventilating he was so excited... so I went outside with the flashlight and discovered a possum... I did manage to chase him away.... so I am assuming he is the culprit as there has been some damage.... the problem I have is that the garden is in a corner of the yard with two walls bordering it... at the end of one side of the garden is a tree.... it's soooooo easy for him/her to walk along the wall.... climb up into the tree and drop down into the garden... he has a tree on the other side of the garden that allows him to climb up and escape via my roof.... almost like a 'mission impossible' jewlery heist.... only in his/her case it's tomatoes that go missing.... Amanda... wouldn't I just be inviting the entire nighttime community if I offered up goodies? Are there any 'smells' that would deter them? Maybe a spray I could use that smells like a predator?

Jen.... my season lasts up through early October and then it does cool down... but I could try to root them... I do have some super-thrive that would help.... (I did use a little of it on the phlox....how did you know? :) Love that stuff....) I think I'll try it just for kicks and see how that goes.... I can always drop the branches in the compost if it doesn't work out.

I didn't realize the Phlox were so resilient... that's fantastic.... and I'm glad you addressed the issue of trimming back the brown stalks.... I've been chewing on that idea for a couple days now.

Linda ... your 'pup' is so cute.... I have heard that they like to dig... a friend just told me a story yesterday about a neighbor whose pit could hear the water running in the drip line and would dig up his pipes. They are working on breaking him of that habit. My little 'min-pin' was an escapee... I opened the front door one morning to leave for work (about 5:15am my time) and there he was sitting on my front porch looking at me... in the dark... I thought to myself.... what in the heck is that? A baby possum or a rat? He was so small and it was so dark.... I couldn't tell... I scared him when I opened the door (he was munching on the cat food).... and he ran into the bushes... I had to leave for work... so I woke my daughter up and she and my son coaxed him into the house... we gave it a month and when we didn't find his owner.... (checked the shelter... asked all the neighbors etc)... he became a permanent resident! He's an interesting dog.... has lots of personality.....and I have really learned to love him... he's very loveable. Happy Birthday to you!

Sharon... so sorry to hear that you fell.... I am glad you weren't hurt badly. Have a great day everyone! Nancy

Totally off thread. But I have been that way the majority of my life.

I was told at a very young age, "If you do not conform, you will not succeed". Well I showed therm, huh!!!!!!

Well I am here. Got Todd and his family down the road to San Diego. They will be back next Saturday. Then mid week they go to Lake Powell with another group of friends.

When i got up this morning everyone was watching me walk. They were sure I hurt myself and was lying. BUT, thanks you God, I had a gentle fall.

I went out and harvested another 8 seeds pods off the 25 year or older white Hardy Hibiscus. The Moy Grande is also producing seed pods. The Moy Grande is suppose to be sterile.

I ordered 6 new hardy hibiscus from Momma Jack co op on Cubits. They will not be sent until March but ordering ends mid August. They are from Walters. I got the ones I now have from Walters in an other co-op. They are, I think $7. Not a bad price.

I also harvested some more ripened seed pods from the photo rain lily below.

Seeds are for anyone that wants to try them in this group.

Some little creep took my two wonderful Italian peppers down to sticks. I have searched for two days and cannot find it or them. Maybe the birds ate them between a break from my figs and worms.

I have daylilies NOIDs. I could find the order and send it with the daylilies and you could determine what they are when they bloom. I have decided, except for a few, which I have had for a long time, I am going to get rid of them. They just do not like all our heat and I really do not have any room for them.

Love you all. No cost for above and no postage.

I am going to take shower, do my hair and go to the store. Sent Vern with a list and he cold not find the items I had marked were on sale. He went to the wrong store chain.



Also the Louisiana Iris Black Gamecock seed pods are just about ready to be harvested and so are the plants. I turned off the water yesterday because I think they were getting to much water.

I must apologize again to you all, this morning when no one was up and about I offered Linda some cuttings of the salmon hibiscus I have when I cut it. God knows you are all welcome to some. I just was not thinking. It will be several weeks before I cut but please do not hesitate to ask. I forgot you were a hibiscus fan. Please forgive me. I am not myself today. Again, I am sorry I missed you all but you were asleep and with me it is out of sight out of mind. What do you expect from someone my age?

Well darling JB, if you are talking to me, it will not do any good to send me a cutting. You will have to root it because I appear to be an idiot when it comes to rooting cuttings. But I would love rooted cutting or a blow by blow lesson on how to root hardy hibiscus. And I am not a hardy hibiscus fan, I am an addict.

I am off to get dressed, go to the store and then a neighbor girlfriend and I are going to Toby Keith concert tonight. Sharon.

Nancy I am afraid I cannot offer you any advice on how to deter an opossum. I guess I was only kidding about putting food out for them. I live in an urban landscape in an older neighborhood. The yards all adjoin eachother and back up to the yards in the next street. We are bounded by 3 major roads within a mile in any direction, but I garden for wildlife anyway.

Mostly butterflies and birds. Any mammal that makes it this far is also welcome.

As much as possible.

Thank you for offering cuttings Jnette. I am preparing to prune tropical hibiscus and have heard they are difficult to propagate. I have several links to resources on "how to" so I will pay careful attention. I have a red and two yellow. The red is the prettiest red flower I have ever seen, and I do not particularly care for red flowers. I have a couple of DG ladies who have asked for cuttings though, and I would like to root them. Trouble is, like Sharon, I have trouble rooting things, but I think that's mostly because I am a newbie.

Trial and error. Blah.

Have a pleasant afternoon.

A.

You know what, Sharon, I will send you a starter plant. I have four little ones I was going to sell, but I would be happy to give you one. This is a double salmon. I must ask for your address again. Send it to me in the dmail and as soon as the weather breaks I will get that little sucker in the mail for you. We are expecting nearly 100 deg. Monday and Tuesday of this week so it will be at least two weeks before I ship anything.

Oh, this is a tropical hibiscus ladies, I forgot which thread I was on. Sorry. This baby must come in the house when the weather gets below 60. Sorry. You are still welcome to cuttings if you do not mind.

NF2932 I propagated tomato cuttings dipped in rooting homone in straight perlite. I kept them in the shade (just a hint of morning sun) and made sure the perlite stayed damp. It took them about two weeks to root. I didn't have any luck rooting them in water.

No, Nancy, I do not have any "evil" plants, unless you count the millions of weeds that come up every year, though less each year and easier with a good layer of mulch. It was just that we had cold and wet weather until June 1st, when it hailed then. After that we had a few (2?) weeks of spring then it turned hot. That is why it is taking me so long to complete my weeding.

That garden has a mixture of dark flowering plants and dark-leaved plants. I have been doing some re-arranging, so it's a mess right now. That is the project I am working on at the moment. Then to continue the rest of the weeding....the "clay hill" (south side of the house), and the two driveway-landscaped areas as well as where the one turns around onto the road and there is the area in front of the road. Then, I suppose it will be fall or raining, or something. Of course in between that, I want to start biennials from seed, sow a fall veggie crop, and then later when it is actually fall, I want to sow the hardy annuals in situ and then after that wash all my pots and trays, clean up the back porch, and then prepare for winter sowing.

Would Neem oil work on mealy bugs?

I guess that would be between August 5th and November 20th....

I am sorry, Jen, I have been very busy today with family and business and therefore,
I missed that post on the mealy bug. I use the neem oil, mixed with dawn dishwashing liquid and water. But, before I spray I wash them thoroughly each stem at a time, each leaf. Then spray. It seems to take forever but if you want to slow them down it is the only way to do it. I also wash and spray the soil and the pot. Many people do the leaves with alcohol but I do not. This is what works for me. Still they keep coming back. I swear someone put a "curse" on us.

Jeanette ~ Would Neem oil work for sooty mold as well??

Linda ~ As far as hot colors are concerned, I just think that they are just too glaring for me, but that is just my own opinion. That is why I have not used them, though I do have some dark reds. Now as for peach, I just felt that I would not know how to use it as there are so few peach-colored plants. It is still quite a challenge to make the "peach" garden have a show as not too many things bloom at once. The bulbs in spring, in summer the lilies, daylilies, salvia and yarrow. Also I have hollyhocks, gladiolus, and will start some foxglove again. I don't have any that bloomed this year. It is a constant challenge to have (lots of) blooming plants all year, well at least for three seasons.

Ah, JB! You got it before I put my post in. That does seem like a lot of work. A couple of years ago I had sooty mold on corn and washed them until they got too tall. After that I had to then just pull them up. This year the pine tree that shaded the fenced garden area was felled, so maybe next year I will try corn again.

Does anyone grow corn here?

Well you guys, a couple of you are giving me credit again for other's posts. Amanda I think you were talking to me about some cuttings of something I know nothing about. JB and Dave have scared me so I don't do cuttings for anyone but myself.

Evelyn, JB is the one talking about neem oil. Ask her about whether or not it will get the sooty mold or whatever it is.

Jen

Evelyn.... would coleus suit your 'dark side' garden? I thought immediately of this really lovely 'chocolate' coleus I bought this year when you were describing it.... kind of a brown/burgundy combo with a slight hint of red... really unusual and when it flowered it had a very pretty lavender flower.
You mentioned yarrow in your post... I noticed that some of mine stand straight up like soldiers and others tend to lean or droop... is this because of the type of yarrow? I always thought they were pretty sturdy and tall. I grow all of them in full sun.

Carol... thanks so much for the tomato propagating advice.... I need to buy some rooting hormone so I can try that!
Nancy

Happy Sunday Everyone!
Ya'll are gonna be stuck with me today because our heat index is already 108 and it isn't noon yet. All I can do with plants today is dream about something being alive when the heat breaks.

Jb, I would love to have cuttings from your hibiscus. Thanks so much. I've had two more epi cactus bloom and I will post pics for you soon. You will want one in every color before I am through with it. LOL ( I know I have been called an enabler more than once).

Jnette, I just got a dishwasher on Friday. Mine died 2 years ago and we hadn't replaced it. I have had plenty of dishwater. LOL

Nancy, I don't know about the pitts digging, but I have a daschsund that used to dig tunnels to burrow through. I did have a pitt once upon a time that chewed through a chain link fence just to sit on the outside. She didn't go any where, she just didn't want to be kept in the yard. LOL
She was a house baby and only had to be put in the yard when we were moving.

Sharon, My moy grand hibiscus sets seeds too. I didn't know you were a hardy hib. fan/addict. I am too. Course what don't I collect right. LOL
They root easily in soil for me. I have only had a few root in water and only then if there was a bubbler in the water. Try root tone and a 2litre bottle for a humidity tent.

Evelyn, I think peach flowers would be pretty with blues. Also red geum would be pretty would be pretty with peach colored million bells.

Whoever has the possum needs a daschsund! before we built the aviary, the possums were drawn to the bird cages. My daschsund killed 9 in 1 year. The ones we could get away from him we released in the woods across the highway.
.
Gotta go, I will check in later.
Linda

Yes, Linda, I think I have at least 10 different Hardy Hibiscus and have 4 new ones ordered. I have 4 Tropical Hibiscus and they spend the winter in the third car garage. One is a Beautiful Red.

Linda, when do you cut your cuttings for the Hardy hibiscus. My Pink Elephant had a large a bloom this year as Moy Grande.

Evelyn, end of September, first part of October is absolutely beautiful in Las Vegas. End of September is when we plant our winter vegetables.

JB, or anyone else, I can send you cuttings of the tropical hibiscus and Queen of Sheba. Also a few other plants. I also have dwarf oleanders I can take cuttings.

If you send someone cuttings, how do you keep them from wilting? I guess I need a how to send cuttings.

JB, I do not want to take food out of Barny';s mouth. You go ahead and sell your rooted Hibiscus. I really need to get control of my addiction.

My white rain lilies are blooming so anyone that got them should be having blooms.

I need to cook dinner so I need to get up and move.

My ears are just about back to normal from the Toby Keith concert last night. I was going to get my new laptop started by my computer geek tomorrow but now I think I will do it late Tuesday. I have gardening to do. Housekeepers and window cleaners on Wednesday. May have to be Thursday.

See you all later. Sharon.

PS: Dave, how are you doing? Dave, how long does it take a rain lily seed to produce a bulb and then flower?

I guess I don't understand. JB and Dave scared the crap out of me about taking cuttings of patented plants for other people. So, what's going on? I have new growth on my Center Glow Ninebark I wanted to try cuttings from but what would I do with them? I don't need any more of them and not suppose to give them away. Right JB? I looked at the label and it has a pp number.

It also says you cannot do asexual propagation from it unless you have a license. A license to what JB? Sell, like you and Dave do? So you guys can? Just trying to make it clear for myself.

jen

You would need a license from the entity that holds the patent to propagate the plant asexually in order to comply with the patent and trademark laws.

e.g. you buy a license.

A.

Amanda, what kind of license is that? A license like JB and Dave have, to sell? You said from the entity that holds the patent. So, you would have a license from each plant patent you wanted to take cuttings of?

Night Amanda

Hey girl - don't know the specifics - just remember reading it when I posted the link to the patent/trademark law.

I don't know what kind of license JB or Dave have.

I'm pretty sure you would need one for each individual plant from each individual patent holder. But that just makes sense to me. Basically a contract which allows you to propagate the plant with the permission of the patent holder in exchange for some sum of money.

You should probably talk to Dave or JB if you have questions they can answer. Since I am an amateur gardener, I'm barely able to propagate my weeds. The only patented plant that ever came into this native plant garden was a oranges and lemons (?) gaillardia a bunch of years ago which I gave away as a gift.

A.