I've enjoyed reading through this thread and am inspired to dig up more plants and pot them up for better blooming.
I've been doing some of that to save some after the drought we've had for two years now.
Yes, I hope Kim (and her lovely plants ) are safe from the hurricane damage.
Enjoying all the beautiful photos and lovely blooms... Kristi
Summer Container Gardening
Marcia, we mostly have dipping into freezing from Dec. through Feb. That is the normal...but here the plants have to go back out, because it can be 29° one day and back up to 80's the next or they cook in the FL room. So we cover and uncover a lot, but some precious tropicals in their huge pots are lugged in and out. Some years it is a longer cold season and more lugging in and out...but it is all part of gardening.
I actually live in a very hard zone. North or South FL plants grow here but the heat and cold can make perennials an annual very often.
Kim is fine, she was far enough away from the storm to escape any damage or flooding. Thank goodness.
Sherri
Sherri ~ thanks for letting us know Kim is all right.
Do folks in Florida have shade houses for their plants? I've noticed many in Australia have them for their Bromeliads and have thought I need one. lol Kristi
Sunkissed, I start all the caladiums indoors. When it starts to get warm during the day, I take them out to play, and they flourish. Before the nights warm up, they have to come in. By early May there were days when they went for a drive in my car because it was still too cold for them. I lost a coleus nurtured over the winter with a sweet potato vine when it dipped into the 40s this spring. The sweet potato is still going strong.
I am certain there is nothing funnier than a chubby old lady running around to put her plants in a protected area. The first photo is preparation for Hurricane Irene last August as they were being herded up on my porch. The plants in the car had to come out before they cooked! I could really use a sun porch.
This year I know it will be a thrill as the containers have gotten even larger. The second photo also has a tomato in it (thus the netting). I'm just not worried that containers that size will blow around during a storm. The third is just a "holding" box for just rooted plants, but they seem to love it. Fourth is a begonia that is bloomin' happy and fifth is Gingerland. I did not know I'd like her as much till she was born!
What I love about containers is their portability and versatility: the ability to control light and other conditions; the ability to pull it out when it is no longer attractive; and the ability to make a quick gift to a friend or potential friend.
This message was edited Sep 1, 2012 8:28 AM
Ditto Marcia. Containers also add a little "tropical touch" to my garden in late summer and early Fall in my climate when most hardy perennials were winding down for the season. Hey Kristi, welcome to the thread. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the photos. Thanks Sherri for the well wishes.
1. 'Lolipops" lilium bloom this time of year. It's in a container. The first for me. :)
2 & 3 Various gingers' blooms (tender perennials).
4. Duranta's (Honey Dew Drops) another tender perennial that needs overwintered indoor).
5. Bush Morning Glory, another tropical bloomer.
Sherri, maybe a fan in your Florida room would help.
Just a few of the ones that are hanging on.Some nights in the 60's,leaves are dropping off.
Your deck look like it had a very enjoyable summer. Still looking lovely.
Some of the cooler evenings have encouraged the tomatoes to ripen. It hasn't dropped below 62 yet. Keeping a close eye on some of the coleuses.
If there is a run of cold nights,say 3 in a row,coleus will go bad. I believe they will really look awful in about 3 weeks,thats when we get verycold nights and frosts.
Yes, Jo Anne, our growing season is winding down.
The Wrens have been gone for a few weeks,not many Hummers lately and Robins long gone. Squirrels are storing black walnuts from neighbors and I can hear Nuthatches and Chickadees in the evergreens.
They always remind me of quiet winter walks.Guess its coming.
Yes, Fall is officially here. Cool temp. in the air, hummingbirds are migrating South, they pass by here in number. Saw many hummingbirds at neighbor's feeder earlier today. Quiet walk to enjoy this beautiful time of year. Yes!
The flush of flowers are pushing through their final blooms for the growing season. First two pics. are those of Thunbergia grandiflora, the last two are MEM brug, then 'Eternity' brug. And last one is a lamb-ear turning red as it's in full sun. :)
As always, beautiful blooms Kim.
Isn't the last flush of blooms bittersweet in the fall.
I really like the succulents in the last photo and love that container.
Good morning Kristi. The succulent plant is a cool plant. Remember the 'Mother of thousands' plant? This one is similiar. However, not as prolific. The "mother" plant produces "babies" on each mature terminal tips of the leave. A local gardening friend gave me one of these "babies" leaflet several years ago. Now I've ton of them to share. They're tender perennial; I've to dig them up and bring them indoor. The pot, it's heavy and durable, so I'm going to leave it out.
Speaking of succulent; the last pic. in this serie is of our 'Starfish' Geez, I've got to remember to de-buds those flowers to rid of the larvae that's being deposited there by the flies! Middle pic. is of the Nightblooming Ceurus 'Queen of the Night" and the first; an unlikely 'Bonsai' I'm making. I just transferred the ficus into a driftwood hollow. It's temporarily situated on the pot that I had planted it this past year.
Kim ~ I like that driftwood planter. It will be very attractive when settled in.
I made a mistake of planting a bromeliad in a piece of firewood that was hollow in the center. Now that it is time to move indoors, I find the roots are embedded in the wood and it can't be removed. Nothing to do but move the whole thing into the greenhouse.
Hope you don't mind but I'll post a photo of it here. The second photo is from the other side. It is a bit lopsided but the bromeliad doesn't seem to mind. So you see, I like your driftwood idea. Very nice. Kristi
Mind? I'm delighted that you're sharing your gardening joy with me and others. Yes, the short coming of using woods that it will eventually degrade, though driftwood may last longer I surmised? I've a piece of driftwood that I purchased coming home from Fla. vacation eon ago, and that piece has stayed with me over the years, it has been too long, I'm unable to recall its age! It has been that long.
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the idea. So you now see where I got the driftwood idea.....from a memory of a distance vacation that I took when my children were little. :) Oh, by the way. I sparked the thought of planting that ficus into the wood hollow because I saw one of the branches that was injured. There at the injured site it formed an aerial root. Yes root! So I thought to myself, if the roots will over time intertwine the driftwood that it's mounted on. I'd have a pretty neat conversational piece in the garden. What say you? ^_^
#1. The driftwood before I worked the tree into the hollow.
#2. The ficus in its pot prior to transplant.
#3 The driftwood in a different angle.
#4. Another 'bonsai' made in early spring with a cotoneaster.
Beautiful drift wood.
Good Morning! It is a beautiful piece of driftwood.
Kim ~ my first thought was that it may be bad for your plant due to any residual salt from the driftwood but it sounds like you have weathered it outdoors for years before planting so shouldn't be an issue.
I think it is amazing that your ficus air rooted that easily. I will be interested in seeing how your driftwood planting progresses. I am sure the driftwood will endure. I know my piece of firewood will deteriorate but that will be all right as the Black Chantinii will also die after it blooms so should work out about right.
Kristi, and all;
Okay here is an update on the ficus driftwood container.
#1 I am air-layering the injured branch into a new plant. I first applied moist spagnum moss around the site ...
#2 I dressed up the driftwood container with same moist spagnum moss.
#3 & #4 The airlayer site is wrapped up in plastic strips.
#5 Happy Fall grouping.
Please come and join me on the new thread. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1288445/
Autumn is here, happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
This message was edited Nov 20, 2012 8:23 PM
