Good luck to everyone on over wintering some of the favorites from this year. I too have spent some time the past few days getting most plants inside and taking cuttings of the ones that won't come inside. Most things I have been successful with, but there are a few that I have no luck with. Gosh, I took a good look around yesterday and decided that I could get rid of several pots of wandering jew and several pots of begonias, and never miss any of them. How I ended up with so many pots of each, I don't know.
I am taking Gita's word on Holiday Cactus being able to take a bit of chill and haven't brought them indoors yet. That collection too has doubled since going out last spring. Good grief Charlie Brown.....will I ever learn?
Hope that everyone has a great week coming up. Stay warm folks.
Ruby
Sally's Plant Swap: After Word
I think the folks who have been swearing by coir for rooting and potting seedlings are mixing it with moisture crystals.
Gita, thanks so much for sending along those fig cuttings! One was already putting out new leaves when Terri brought them to me. Maybe we'll have figs all along the side of the house. :-)
Just heard the weather forecast for tomorrow---highs in the low 60's.
Wednesday--highs around 70*.
On a different topic. Can any of you ID, or guess, what kind of a Lily (I think it is a lily)
these seeds and the pod come from?
This is a Lily that is in a tight area between my birdbath,the Butterfly Bush, a stump
and the RR tie along the edge of the bed. If it bloomed this summer--i did not notice it.
What i DID notice were these oval, long (1"-1/2"), fat seed pods on it. Hmm...Never saw them before!
There is another Lily next to it, that i have always called the "Lily by the Stump".
That one did bloom.
Yesterday I was back there cleaning up--and saw all these split open pods with bright orange seeds in them.
These seeds are about the size of a pea.
I have them all on a plate to dry. Not sure what will be inside them. Maybe a lg. round seed?
Like a couple of the black ones you can see in the picture.
Here are a couple of pictures.
Here is how broad my Dr. Seuss has spread. You can see that it is, once again,
full of bloom buds. The last flush---I think. Maybe not!
Just took this picture this morning. As you can see--the Coleus all survived a 42* night.
Gita
Just wanted to share some of the photos I snapped earlier today. Many of the following plants came from you good DG folks, so I wanted to let you all know how some of them are doing.
First pic is of a pot of Oxalis that Chantell gave to me at Ric and Holly's. It was really slow to start blooming, but has really put on a beautiful show ever since.
Next two pics are two of the Streptocarpus that Donnerville gifted me with. They are still blooming and bringing me a lot of joy.
Next two pics are different angles of the plant room which is housing the majority of my houseplants for the winter.
more of the plant room
some more.......
Ruby,
Your plant room is so lush and full! My friend Cheryl also received a Streptocarpus from Donnerville that she absolutely loves. For half of the year it lives on her kitchen sink window sill here in Lucketts, and then she takes it with her to spend the winter months in Florida.
Nice, Ruby! I hope you saved room for a comfy reading chair...
I'm making a last set of labels for anything I've managed to miss before I plant it out or up-pot it for the winter. I have a Columbine from the spring swap that I got as a little seedling, in a green pot labeled "COLUMBINE ? ? ?" I can't remember who gave it to me, and I'd like to put their name on the tag, so if it's you, please let me know. Similarly, I have what looks like a little Tulip Poplar seedling... maybe from Sally?
Also, among the plants Terri brought back for me from the fall swap, there's a nicely rooted cutting of... something... with red leaves... a red hibiscus? or a japanese maple? I need to know if it's tender or hardy!
Holy Cow, Ruby!!!!!!! Your house is jammed! Must take you 2 days to water everything..
Do they not mind being so crowded? And I thought that I had a lot of plants......
The Streptocarpus looks beautiful. Mine had one flower so far. Also from Donner--but later that Holly's Swap.
What do you feed it with? any other "secrets"???? or--does it just take time?
Gita
Gita, your blue strep probably just needs time to grow... it's an african violet cousin, so you can give it a little diluted african violet fertilizer. 1/4 strength is generally the way to go, IMO, especially if you add it to the water every (or every other) time you water. I don't have that much experience with them, but I seem to remember something about them blooming from older leaves, so don't pinch them back too much (tempting to do, because those older leaves can get really long and soemtimes a little ratty looking).
I must get a photo... there's a beautiful strep from Donner that's blooming this week, with 3 drop dead gorgeous velvet red blooms! Wow!
I stuck a couple of cuttings from my half-price cinnamon "tree" (more of a really tall stick, although it does have a few branches)... so far so good, but I don't think they've really rooted yet. I'm pretty sure Chantell has "dibs" on the first one. I pruned back my big new night blooming jasmine, too, so I'll be sticking those cuttings soon. I did a lot of cleaning and organization this weekend, so I think I owe myself some play in the dirt time. :-)
Gita, your neighbor's sweet bay still looks good... nicely rooted at this point, and it even has some new growth. When Sally gets back, we'll try to find a date that we can all get together -- maybe a Friday? I'll bring it then, and I'll find something for you also. :-) I've got plenty of extra coleus cuttings for Coleup, too, although I'm afraid most are rooting in water because that's all I had time to do with them before we left for NC.
Thanks, Jill----
I learned one thing about the Streps----DO NOT try to pull off those dead stems that the blooms
leave behind! The whole leaf will come off with it. Yikes! I learned that the hard way....
So--I cut the leaf back by about 3/4 and stuck it in the soil right next ti the plant. I hope it roots.
Is the Sweet bay the Mediterranean bay leaf plant? I read somewhere that those are the best....
I am looking forward to getting together with you and sally and coleup and...?
I also got about 3 -4 different Coleus cuttings from Judy at the swap. Lobe the deep red one
with the lime color on the inside of the leaf. I really do not have room for too many other cuttings...
AND--the seeding season is going to take all that room away--and then? What do i do with all the rooted plants?
My Coleus are all rooted--as are all the Persian Shields. I never thought that they would root
just as easy as the Coleus! Thanks for the nudge--terp! Will save me a lot of money!
I am also "playing" around by rooting the Blushing Suzy vine--all those little bunches of plants on the vines.
So far--they have not wilted--I do not dare to tug them yet.
Also have about 8 pots of my red Easter cactus rooting. All the regular CC's are still outside--
and now my "juveniles" (no longer babies) are setting flower buds. I am excited to see the other colors,
as I went 'picking"last fall at Lowes on their racks of CC--and came home with a lot of broken off pieces.
I know there will be some pinks and maybe even pink and white ones. We shall see.........
OK! Bedtime for me.....Gita
Yes, the sweet bay is the one I got from DeBaggio's, the kind you'd use for cooking.
You can stick the leaf like you did, or if you want a lot of strep babies you can split the leaf lengthwise, right down its midrib, and put it (whole or in sections) in potting mix with the midrib tucked firmly into the soil surface. That's hard to describe in words, LOL... check out this tutorial from the Violet Barn: http://www.violetbarn.com/lessons/streps_by_leaf.htm
Gita- glad to have helped! The purple and green foliage is very nice. I'm waiting for my water coleus cuttings to root... might just stick with Persians
Paul--
I never use water for rooting anything--seems I have said it a hundred times by now...
I stick my Coleus cuttings right into Pro Mix..Done! They are rooted in about a week..
Did two more 6-packs of the Persian Shield. These will go to 2 ladies I work with at HD
who are avid gardeners....I have enough....
Be well! Gita
Oh well. I guess after I have my own failures it will sink in, just trying something different.
Is anyone interested in what might be Miscanthus gracillimus? My neighbor's plants have reseeded into my front hill and I'm pulling some out. I may use them here and there, but probably will have extras.
Happy, I'll happily take your extra miscanthus!
I could use a few. Love grasses, I was excited about oats at Sally's! Haha I guess I just love the beach.
Paul---
If you want Oats--I have all the seeds you can use of the Northern Sea Oats.
Sally's Oats came from me--as did anyone elses that have these.
Warning!!!!! The seeds fly all over and this plant becomes disgustingly invasive.
The seedlings are wiry and hard to pull up. They will grow in all your nearby beds ad infinitum.
They DO look serene with their drooping seed-heads...but once they dry--they go with the winds....
One solution is to cut the seed heads off before they dry. Look!
Gita
Thanks gita! I took a rather large clump from Sally's so I should be fine. Thank you for the advice though about cutting the heads off.
I really enjoy them though, maybe not so much in a few years...
This message was edited Oct 16, 2012 9:33 AM
Ok, ssgardener and UMD -- pls dmail me to let me know how many you want. These won't be large -- they are the reseeded babies.
Anybody looking for grasses... Santa Rosa's sale is still going on, I think. Grasses are mostly big 2 inch plugs or 4 inch pots from them, and if you up-pot into a trade gallon container and put in a somewhat sheltered location (eg, protect from freezing for the next month... I'm putting some pots up against the south side of the house, on the patio), you'll have nice sturdy plants in spring. There are some real bargains in their fall clearance, and a selection that's just amazing. I think they're sending me another box with a couple missed items, so if you can get them from me this fall (or even at the Feb. seed swap; I'm easy), LMK if you just want one or two things and you'll save on shipping.
I'm so sorry... I just got an email that my missing items were shipped out this afternoon. I was thinking they'd go out next week, but I think Jude wanted to straighten things out asap. But if you're considering an order, post here, and maybe you can go in with somebody.
Oh well. Any takers?
I'm just placing an order with them now.
Excellen Terri want to split shipping?
It's Devon, and I'd be happy to. Dmail me?
Happy! I was just thinking Terp needed to connect up with you... he just mentioned to me that he's especially looking for part-shade plants for a woodland setting... Do you know anybody with that kind of garden? *whistling* I know he's willing to dig/divide for plants, 'cause he's planning to help me with a daffodil dig.
:-)
Jill -- you called my name! Yes, Terp and I have been talking. My shady yard is looking pretty bad right now, so I don't know how much he'd want from it.... It wasn't a good gardening year for me!
But what you have is KNOWLEDGE... your experience with the plants that grow really well in shade in this area.
BTW, I just got an email from Santa Rosa... $25 off an order of $75 or more... Dmail me if you want the coupon code; I am going to resist!
OMG -- I just put in a bit earlier what I swear will be my last order! Next thing they'll offer to come plant the plants in my yard!
If you put it in just today, I'd call or email Jude and ask her if you can please still apply the coupon. If you're on their email list, it's in your in box, otherwise check your Dmail. It's "good on new orders only," meaning if you're just adding to a shipment you started ordering for earlier you can't use it, but since you just placed a new order I think you should be able to use it. I'm not sure I even have to ask if you ordered more than $75 LOL.
I didn't hit $75 on my latest order -- but you should have seen what I ordered earlier this year from them! I think I finally hit buyer's fatigue. My latest order was just for a few plants to fill in empty spots on the plans for my awful front hill.
Jil that red leafed thing is a tropical hibiscus from me. Rooted off one of cv HaightAshbury from coleup.
Yup my life is back to normal.
Hey let me tell you every plant in that plant room of ruby s is neat as a pin. Exc ellent care there.
Thanks, Sally! Now I can make a label for it... and make sure it comes inside this winter!
That's my thought looking at Ruby's plant photos, too... She must putter around with those plants every day, making sure there are no leaves out of place, no plants drooping from too much or too little water... They look fabulous!
I had the great pleasure of having Sallyg visit my home on Monday as she returned home from her father's funeral. What an absolute treat to have one of my very favorite Dave's Gardeners visit my home. Sally can attest to my obsessive/compulsive personality tendencies just from being here a short while. The five or so minutes we stood in the plant room I was busy deadheading anything yellow or brown. I keep an aluminum tray in there to hold these dead leaves until it is full enough to be emptied in to compost pail. Also, being a country girl at heart, Sally joined me in battling stink bugs on my porch and front deck. I had to laugh at the ones high on the screen when she was able to reach and pick them off when it is me, I use a full size broom to knock them down in order to reach them. I especially appreciated the fact that she didn't judge the mess that our yarden ended up being this year.....as Devon said....it was not a good gardening year here either.
Critter, you must have the Streptocarpus that has the word Ruby in it, if it is the red one. I have one of those too but it bloomed earlier than the blue ones did.
So glad that there is still activity on this thread. It is so great to come and hear about everyone's plants. As for feeding any of my plants......I use SuperThrive and Hydrogen Peroxide in a sprayer to water my plants when they are indoors for the winter. Most seem to love it. I too have a few plants that refuse to flourish for me and they are often ones that I hear other folks say are invasive....go figure.
Anyway....let me close by wishing everyone a great fall week coming up. I will turn a year older on Thursday which John just reminded me of. He said I will be as old as he is then, because he turned 57 on September 30. Until we meet again.......
Ruby
The pleasure was all mine or so I thought- Ruby fed me lunch and she and John gave me a nice break on my long drive home. Little did I know then, that if I had not stopped I would have faced a huge backup on the DC beltway. And since I did still get stuck in it I survived a bit better, having had a rest, and a piece of chocolate pie from Ruby to eat while I watched brakelights. Talk about a cozy country home! Ruby's great big screened porch and huge front deck- I could spend a lot of hours there listening to katydids. The goats even said HI to me. Ruby sent me off with a few new houseplants, John insisted on sharing from his small patch of reblooming iris- one of which is named Harvest of Memories. What a great name and great plant gift for the occasion
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/35227/
Thanks again Ruby and John.
Sally---Good to have you back! Missed all your comments.
I knew you were away--but did not know why or where.
Please accept my deepest condolences on the passing of your Father. I did not know....
Ruby---
I have both Super Thrive (should use it more!), Liquid seaweed fertilizer, and Hydrogen Peroxide--
and water-of course. What ratio do you mix them in for spraying your houseplants?
You said--
" As for feeding any of my plants...I use SuperThrive and Hydrogen Peroxide in a sprayer to
water my plants when they are indoors for the winter."
Do you water the pots as well--or just spray the plants? Almost sounds like a silly question,
but so it sounded.
Your plants all DO look well--in all the pictures you posted, even if a bit crowded. More humidity--right?
Well! Lots of posts today! I am happy.....Gita
Sally: I'm so very sad to learn of your Dad's death -- that's very tough. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.