my 2013 flowers

It may not be a peace rose, but it also could be one. I'm just now entering the world of roses with my iceberg rose, so it's hard to say. I had heard that Tea roses open a certain way, but I don't know if it true.

At least it is healthy, here is an updated picture. I thought it was going to be bigger than that.

Here is the first bloom on my hybrid tea rose, I figured out since it is still small the blooms won't be as big until she grows more, but I promised you that your site would get the first bloom picture so here it is! She might not be the color it was supposed to be, but she is healthy and beautiful, got a question, got me some Jobe's fertilizer spikes for beautiful houseplants, would it help the rose to put one with her too?

I would check the balance of nutrients on the houseplant spikes and the needs of a standard tea rose, in case there is an imbalance in nutrients.

ok, thanks Bloomfly22, I just planted my moon vine that I had in the bedroom, it had been out in the pot for a few days, and it is cloudy and cool today so I thought I would see what it does. I put coffee grounds in the hole that I dug, put a lot of the miracle-gro potting soil that it was in with it and coffee grounds and cayenne pepper to keep the squirrels from digging it up. Tell what you think about it. The red of course is the cayenne pepper, here is the overall pic. I am hoping it will grow up the lattice and bloom.

Is a nkp of 13-4-5 ok for the hybrid tea rose? They say that roses are heavy feeders, so I don't want to mess her up, I won't use these spikes until I hear from you.

Teddie, you can use them, but that breakdown will mostly promote foliage rather than blooms.

N=Nitrogen for healthy lush growth

P=phosphorus for strong healthy roots and stem growth and aids photosynthesis...the plants ability to feed itself.

K=potassium for good disease resistance, cold protection and helps roses survive during droughts.

For bigger stronger blooms, you would need a fertilizer with a low N (nitrogen) number and higher P(phosphorus) and K(potassium) numbers. Those are generally called Bloom Boosters and have numbers like 2-35-28. The more nitrogen the plant gets, the more leaf growth.

http://www.oldheirloomroses.com/nutrients.htm

http://kerogarden.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-does-n-p-k-stand-for.html

Here is the second bloom, the squirrels bit off some of the other buds, and totally shredded them, I decided to let you see the damage they did. I guess I am going to have to try to find something that will fit over the rosebuds to let them grow and still deter the squirrels. Here are some morning glories too, so far they have not dug up the moon vine that I planted yesterday. The third picture is the second bloom.

Teddie, if you want the squirrels to leave your plants alone, feed them. Go to your local Feed store and purchase a bag of cracked corn. It is cheap and squirrels like it. We get it here for about $9 per 25 pound sack. Check out your local WalMart also. Find an area of your yard away from your plants, and either use a feeder or a flat piece of concrete or a small chunk of plywood and place a cupful of corn on it. Hungry squirrels will eat or try to eat just about anything in your garden. Read the link below and it will give you some insight into their behavior


http://www.birdsforever.com/squirrels.html

that is a good idea, I have a side yard that has no flowers or plants in it and I can put a piece of something to put the cracked corn on. The corn won't bring the starlings will it?

It may, but I would think the squirrels would pretty much eat it all.

Can someone tell me when these are supposed to bloom? I have to try to see if I can see the flower stems from a distance. I can't go into the backyard anymore because of the poison ivy.

they should be early to mid summer bloom. those are the ditch lilies right? i know in NY they are done around the 4th of July...or at least that's how i remember it

I have two different colors on my rose bush! I have dark pink and red, here is the picture. Here is another bud opening up, it is going to be red too. I really wish it had been the other color, but it is healthy and blooming so I really can't complain.

I got some Hostas from my neighbor, she dug some up and I planted them and watered them good, I also got some Daisys. She said that it might look like it is dead but it will come back next year. Here is a picture of the hostas that she gave me, I put some of them in with the Irises, and also here is the Daisys.

Teddie, hostas can't handle very much sun, so make sure those get shade from late morning until late afternoon.

They will, thanks for the info.

Will hostas bloom the same year they are transplanted or do they need time to sulk?

I think, and somebody can correct me on this, that it depends on the plant size. I have seen hostas at the local Lowe's and Home Depot with flowers, buds, dead spikes, and nothing at all.

Due to the lack of shady areas around my house, I cannot plant hostas. Most of my plantings are of the Full sun to part sun categories. Ray-wood ashes do not create a lot of shade to to their upright growth.

Bloomfly22, I have the exact opposite of your problem, I have to have shade tolerant flowers, that is why I had my neighbor give me some hostas. Due to the fact that I have trees all around the house, I only have a select few flowers that get a lot of sun, my moon vines for example are in a special place and the others are in the picture window. They don't get a lot of air but I blow on them every once in awhile. I think the moon vine in the window has woke up, it is growing good, I just watered them this morning.

Im planting some morning glory seeds this weekend. Is it too late for them to be started? My Purple Coneflower is beginning to show color, I will have to take a photo or 2 and put them on here. The only real shady spot is in the backyard of my house, where my neighbor's Oleander and Silverdollar Eucalyptus hang over and shade the garden. What makes it even harder to plant in there is sandy soil on the left side, and loamy soil on the right, and it transitions from sand to loam the further right you go as you move from the left to right halves.This year however, my garden is running out of space as the vegetables grow larger, the watermelon vines, and the flowers grow. I can only wish this happened every year lol! Good luck with the hostas and moon vine teddy!

First pic is the mother-in-laws tongue has a baby, and the second is some of my morning glories next to the lattice. They have really popped up with all this rain and sun. I have one last pic and it is the morning glory that is the picture window and it is growing up the window!

Can anyone tell me how much bigger this plant needs to get before it blooms? I had some coffee grounds but they spoiled before I could use all of them. Anything else to help it grow bigger?

I think morning glories can begin blooming relatively early, but it looks like yours will need some time.

use the coffee grounds. the morning glories do need time. the blooms should appear when it starts climbing. they can survive on pretty lean soil, but if you still have Miracle Gro soil, it helps.

My Grandpa Otts did not return from winter sow this year , it was usually hot, dry and July or August before they grew like you would expect
Also there are large white ones that grow on neighbors fences usually late summer before they look good.
Those MG's really soak up that summer sun and weather . Yours is a little smaller than the white ones here , only not all that much .
They tend to do better in bunches here also , and that is often contrary to information ..

I am confused(which happens to me a lot), I thought that moon vines were supposed to vine, mine are acting more like Daturas, they are not vining at all, I just went out and watered the one outside real good, I also thought they were supposed to like it dry, but I have been reading that they like it moist! I watered it really good and I had to make a makeshift moat around it so the water would actually get to the roots, and I watered the one in the house too. I have been watering it from the bottom, but also don't know if that is the best way to water or not. Had to throw the coffee grounds out as I said in the last post, they got mouldy, so don't have any more. Would using miracle-gro mixed in water be a good idea?

Yes, giving your plants a regular feeding, at least monthly, would improve their performance. Things like morning glories and moon vines would benefit from a half strength solution of miracle grow applied every two weeks. Annuals grow fast and use up a lot of nutrients as they have only a short time to grow, bloom and set seed for the next year. feeding them on a regular basis is important to having healthy plants.

I think the usual amount is one scoop to two gallons of water, is that right? Then what I would want to do is make that 1/2 scoop to two gallons of water right? Also I don't know how exactly to take care of the daisies, I don't know what kind they are. Here is a picture of them.

I believe the recommended mix is 1 TBSP per gallon of water...a half mix would be 1TBSP to 2 gallons or 1/2 TBS to 1 gallon.


taking care of daisies

http://www.ehow.com/how_4515624_care-daisies.html

those look like flower buds forming in the leaves. within a few days, the stem will probably grow taller and you should see them bloom

This was a group of Alaska earlier , they escape here if not careful ,,"wild things"

I discovered white spots on my morning glory leaves that are in the picture window, what can they be?

This is my moon vine seedling also in the picture window.

My Datura is in the pot with the moon vines, can I plant them outside together like they are in the pot?

My Tiger Lilies are going to bloom! I have here a picture of the fllower spikes I went into the backyard just a little bit to get these and there was no poison ivy and I did not brush up against any plant, so it is ok. I just am happy I can grow these, I see them every where up here, especially in the ditches and stream banks. So I will post pics when they bloom.

I think this unusual weather has woken my moon vine up that is in the front with the small piece of latticework behind it, it has more leaves, but I have a question, the new leaf does not look anything like the others, why is that? I will try to post the picture.

Yippee! My Tiger Lilies are just now blooming!

Better picture of my Tiger Lilies, my hubby got this one for me.