man, I just gotta get Joe to wanna move to Florida.. LOL
*sigh* I can just dream..
thanks Rachel for the re-assurance. Babies are still in bean patch, momma is still in dog run and there are three others I need to get out of the ground before freezing. My sister said her friends in Arkansas leave their EE's in the ground and they come back. How does this happen?
Need to get the Gloriosoa tubers inside I guess, gosh so much to do..
This message was edited Sep 13, 2011 10:06 PM
no worries here, but I better tell my sis in law, Paula, cuz that is what she feeds her house plants and orchids. ( the tag says to do this she says)
I have this green tip on my Anthurium sticking up, I am so hoping to see a leaf one of these days.. how long do they just sit there anyway?
in Rogers, about 20 minutes north of Fayetteville.. she says their bananas come back too.. I am thinking she is in a zone warmer than me, even tho my zone is a 6, I think sometimes it is a 7.
Good morning, everyone! The flowers you post are so pretty and a breath of fresh air. Sure, Deb - send them on - we are slated to have temps in the 80's for the next week or so.
Deb, you can leave your Gloriosas in the ground until a frost kills the tops back, I think. Mine here stay in year 'round and survived our two cold winters very well. They are about 2in. deep underground.
Last year they came up just fine, and this year they have spread, and blooming has been the best ever. So it appears they don't mind a little chillin. If you get 6 weeks of Indian Summer, you might even see a new vine and another round of blooms. Take a chance. I'll send you more if you lose them.
Good Morning everyone,
Here's my little project I started on this weekend. Had this thing lying around forever, so I decided to put it out by the barn. I am going to start planting some of my plants around it in the next day or so. I hope to start on the big koi pond in the next week or so.
Debra, you were so right about B. Charles Grimaldi - this morning he was turning peachy, tonight there's more yellow, it's fascinating. Like watching a really . . . re ee ee ll yy slow sunset. Or sunrise.
Paula, will you post the instructions for the aerator and pump on here for us? I have a BIG pre-formed pond liner, but it's just sitting by the fence in my back yard - haven't researched how to do the above. I appreciate any 'lessons' you can provide.
Kay, there's a good book about ponds 'Water Gardening for the South' by Teri Dunn. I got it when we moved into this house with the pond. It has terrific pictures and instructions for siting, digging, leveling, plumbing etc. etc. as well as all the info about fish and plants and pests and other hazards. I learned a lot and still refer to it quite often.
If you're embarking on a brand-new pond project, I'd highly recommend it as your first step. There are pitfalls.
lovely pond there Paula...
my first pond was a preformed one, a 20 or 30 gallon one, it sat outside for a year and then inside for a year, Joe dug the hole and we sunk it last spring, it leaked all summer, had hairline cracks in it. I tried everything to seal it up, no go, so this spring, I bought pond liner and laid it inside, I use a bubbler hose from an aquarium pump inside the house it runs thru the basement window with the electrical cord and that idea came to me after I got tired of constantly cleaning out the water pump filter. Now, the water is always bubbly, no more filters to worry about, and it all comes inside with me this winter
( well, not the pond, just the fish and plants ) I will have a nice new water tub going downstairs in the garden room to keep humidity high and and ( get to enjoy the fish and pond plants too) Leaving the water in the pond outside seems like a weird thing to do, thought I would rain it and put the bog plants in it for the winter ( in pots) those would be the swamp milkweed. Possily the pitcher plants, if I can find them.
Kay,
I have to say, I haven't gotten that far yet. I do have a pump and filtration system that came with it or we bought separate, can't remember now, but I haven't taken it out there yet. Best I remember its a big black box and has these little round balls in it with a filter. I will try to go dig it out today.
A little off topic (sorry), but has anyone tried the barley in their pond to keep it clean? I put one in my horses water hoping it would keep it clean....that was the most digusting thing in about a week I ever seen.
OK, Deb - you MUST come down and help me set this pond up! I will wait for you!
Thanks, gals, for your information.
Paula, I use the Barley in liquid form, it isn't bad at all. Works well, too. Kay, I will be there before u know it! ;D Anyone have gingers blooming still? Lets see some pictures, if u do..
I have hidden Ginger blooming - hot pink Siam Ruby tulip.
Gingers? Heck yeah. The new bed of Dr. Moy will be in bloom until November, at least. I would have cleaned the dead flowers off for the picture, but the foliage was all wet, and I was in my slipppers .. Two new flowers coming along in the foreground.
Little Peacock Ginger blooms every morning.
Butterfly ginger smells heavenly. Leaves look awful, but this clump is moving next spring to somewhere with a bit less sun in the afternoon.
Lastly, Rita's stripey costus has lots more flowers coming plus two more new shoots that will bud soon. It's not showy but the flowers are gorgeous!
My 'yellow' brug is orange today!
I should have taken more pictures of the "Dr." Ginger. They are spreading like a plague!
I am going to miss the brown soles on my feet! It sucks having to wear shoes 5 months out of the year! It does help to clear up cuts and scrapes though.
Variegated Xanthosoma
Thought this lloked like a great picture with A. Borneo Giant, Musa Siam Ruby, Ensete Ventricosum and AeAe.
Petioles of Variegated Xanthosoma.
wow, nice blooms and nice tropicals, everyone. I feel warmer already.. ( very very cold here today and tonight)
Brought in Sarian and elpaio and mayan babies tonight.. everything else is going to have to tuff it out.. supposed to get back into the 80's by weekend..
hope the furnace doesn't come on between now and then.. I am still looking for a humidifier for the grow room..right now I have little pans of water around everything since they are under warm lights..will that help?
Will my gingers be okay in the cooler temps? won't get stuff in until this weekend and all week long..
poor caladiums.. they are all droopy from being cold now, went ahead and brought some in that were in pots.
Debra,
Gingers will be fine! Put some pebbles in the pans of water and place the pot back on the rocks in the pan (make sure water is below drain holes). Mist! The Sarian; mist maybe twice a day inside!
Big box has decent humidifiers.
Drew, your big leaf collage is just beautiful. Looks like AeAe survived its upset nicely. Keep those shoes at the door, but don't put them on yet! I'l bet we're going to get lots more warm weather.
Debra, you can leave the gingers out until all the top growth is dead, if needs be. If you do that, you can keep them cool/dormant in the basement until spring, just like you'd do for Cannas or caladium bulbs. Gee, your weather went from hot to cold in a heartbeat, didn't it!
Don't think Texas got much rain yet, but at least it has cooled off, too. Hope we hear from our Texas friends soon.
I'm repotting an orchid this morning - so much to learn!
We are cooler temporarily. High 80's for a couple of days and then back to high 90's. The rain was very scattered and stingy.
We could see all the way around some rain clouds in the distance and actually could tell it was raining. Never reached us and wasn't enough to write home about. They are forecasting an unusually dry winter. UGH!
Going to cut the ferns to about 5-6 inches today. Can't bear to look at the dead and dry any longer. Everything looks much worse than it would if it had been through a frost. The Dallas Paper continues to comment on the loss of old growth trees statewide. The bananas are usually 10-12 feet, this time they are under 4 ft. The gingers came up here and there but almost immediately turned crispy. Got my third water bill yesterday that is over $350.00. We have three bird baths and about a dozen feeders. Because we water we have become a sanctuary for the birds and lots of other wildlife right here in the middle of an urban area. Have an armadillo that is digging holes all over my yard. Guess that is ok, he is eating grubs. We have so many birds and anole lizards this year that we shouldn't have a bug of any description. Well, except for the Argentine black ants. They don't make a mound just all in the grass and flower beds. I have bites on my hands and feet because they are hard to avoid. Later, gator. Going out to enjoy the day while I can.
It's nice to have your own sanctuary! I am quite proud of mine! part of my slice of Heaven!
LouC
So sorry to hear the on going dry news. I'm still praying for some wet weather for you and Texas.
Jan
Thank you, Jan. God the Father is the only power that can end this torture. There are many here in this state that are on our knees (and I am not talking about Perry).
{{{{{{{{{{{{lou}}}}}}}}}}}} GLAD U HAVE YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR!
Vietnamese gardenia, this one seems to like cooler weather, it is full of buds right now. The flower looks like a pinwheel.
I have 3 large buds on a brug, called Super Spot. I have never been able to get them to bloom for me before so these will be my first flowers and I am on pins and needles. My patience is wearing thin, these sure take a long time to open. LOL
That is beautiful, and can't wait to see the results of your patience with a brugmansia.. ;) Never seen a "super spot"... so this will be a treat!
;D
remember the plant with the pretty flower and I couldn't really say what is was... here is the link to PF : will have seeds..
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/333/
Debra, I need this plant! I've tried growing it from seeds a few times without success - they germinate, set a couple of leaves and die.
Good morning Everyone!!
After a 1" of rain last night and a tremendous donation of plants from Rj, I am ready to start anew and put the memories of this bad summer behind me.
I have scanned the last two threads and realized that you guys are outstanding gardeners! I saw the what Dyzzy did with that little costus start I sent to her and mjspoines has blooms from a little cutting that originaly came from Joeswife.
I would like to thank everyone that offered to help replace lost plants but Rj has given me so much, I don't think I will have room for any more.
I have a few pictures of a few old reliables that thrived in the heat, later I will show the plants that Rj shared with me.
Dyzz,
This is a new purchase from Hawaii Costos, as soon as it recovers, I will send you a start, you are so good at growing these.
Parasol flower
