SSG, can you say more about what led you to your decision to do in-container annuals only next year? Inquiring minds want to know! :-)
Really end of summer blooms- September almost here
Very pretty, all of you!
@Karen yes they are...unique!
Catmint, it takes *so* much effort to prep my ground for planting that I want to save that space for perennials and shrubs. Also, I'm so nuts about moving everything around and transplanting the perennials, so the annuals in the ground just got in the way.
And I'm lazy about watering! Plants in the ground are easier to water, especially in my water-retentive clay. If I neglect annuals in containers, I might lose a few bucks worth of annuals. If I lose mature perennials, they're going to be more expensive to replace. Also, I can cheat by making a really water-retentive potting mix for the annual containers, but most perennials don't like having their roots so wet.
My perennial herbs are still in containers, but I need to make my herb bed and get them in the ground. That might happen in the next year or two!
Gita, thank you, YES!! Cardinal Climber, that's just what that plant is! It used to be in the half whiskey barrel, but then I removed that ... due to half of it being eaten away by termites! EEEK!! Apparently one little bit of it got into the soil in the bed beside where it used to sit. Still not sure if I want to keep it or yank it. I'm thinking yank, I don't want it to strangle my Dahlia!
Judy, what LOVELY Sumpatiens you have there!! (I'm guessing the pics you shared of your fav. colours are your plants)..?? I may want to try those next year, maybe. I'm with Ssgardener though, with my very same negligent gardening, my Calis, Petunias, and Begonias (not to mention the verbena and Alyssum) really thrive!! All the Calis, Petunias, Begonias and Verbena ever seem to need is 2 or 3 waterings when I first install them. After that I can totally ignore them and they take off like nuts! =) I don't do anything with the Alyssum 'cause they're all volunteers at this point... as long as I fail to pull them out as weeds they are happy. :)
Oh YES, Petunias have a WONDERFUL scent!! I've got the dark purple ones, dark pink/magenta, and white ones, and when I bend down to the bed I can enjoy their lovely scent. :) I LOVE it when we've got a greenhouse full of 'em in the Spring!
It definitely would be easier this fall if my annuals were all in containers. But probably I will try to overwinter only a few of them due to space issues. Some of them I'm sure I will want to grow again next year--like the angelonia and all the herbs.
hope the cold stays away couple more weeks. I have a bunch of buds on my Brug s to enjoy 'en pleine aire' before I have to dig them.
Montauk daisies are pretty crappy for me., lost lower leaves and not many flowers.
Sally--
October is when the Brugs usually dazzle you.
A bit of cold does not faze them.
My Dr. Seuss is, once again, loaded with buds for its Grand Finale.
If I could only find someone with a PU truck si i can take it to Cylburn!
Scott cannot come and get it. My other option is to cut it back, and cut up
all the stems as cuttings and take those to him. He said he would accept them
Cylburn is ONLY 13 miles from my house--but I cannot deliver the whole plant
in my Subaru. Sad! I want so for Scott to see it in its full glory.
Gita....;o(
Gita, this is the first year that I put brugs directly into the ground. The cuttings that you gave me did very well over the winter in tall glasses filled with Fafard and water. I used to try to leave them in pots and then overwinter them in the garage, but they never grew as well as the ones that I put into the ground this year. I'll be happy taking cuttings and starting them all over again!!
Sally--
Fafard and water?you mean like a slushie? Or--mostly just potted in Ffafard
and watered as needed with water???
Mine root and grow well in 5" pots all winter. I am sure you have seen pictures
if them all lined up on my light shelf's top shelf.
Did you not do the pot with the holes cut in the sides and them THAT
pot planted in the ground? That is how I grow all mine.
Even the ones by my shed (in those large pots) are in a black pot with the
holes cut out first and then placed into the BIG pots.
I always mix in a generous amount of Osmacote in the soil. They seem to
like it--as they grow quite well all summer...
When it comes time to bring them in--you dig up the inner pot, severing all the roots
that have grown through the holes, and that is what you bring into your basement
for its winter dormancy. Remove all but the top leaves before you bring it in,
as they all will drop off anyway and make a mess. Light is not really needed.
Place a plastic bag around the dug up pot to keep the cut off root ends from drying out completely. Water ONLY slightly, now and then, while they are dormant.
IF there is ligh& warmth around them, they may put out leaves--then water a bit more.
Mine only continue growing the very top leaves--which will stay on when I put it back outside.
Which brugs do you want cuttings from?
The Maya is still smallish--so I will only have some skinny cuttings to share from that one.
I am growing disenchanted with the pink NOID one. It grows very upright and tall.
I have had some kind if invisible issues with all my brugs this year.
Leaves yellowing and dropping off. The Dr. also has had some leaf-curling--but
I have not had much help from the "Plant diseses ..." Forum.
Dr. John said he was "stumped" (amazing!!!) and he has not chimed in yet.
Others have commented.....there is a possibility that I have Broad Mites on the Dr.
It is full of buds again--starting to open up. The plant seems healthy--not suffering one bit...
Whaaaaa...I need to borrow a a P/U truck!!! I want to deliver this thing whole.
G.
Just took the 1st 2 to show you....
3&4are pics of the leaf problems.
#5 is of the 2 brugs by my shed. They have been yellowing out all leaves.
I have drenched them twice with Neem...
Yesterday, I started talking to a man in HD garden. We talked for an hour...
He has 300 AV's and can't stop propagating them....
We talked about AV problems, etc...he said he has "Forbid" (retail-over $200 for a Qt.)
he uses in them if needed.. It only uses 1/2tsp to 1 gallon of water they have
Cyclamen Mite problems.
He said he would never use it all up in his lifetime.....
He said he would bring me a couple ounces of it next Sunday. How nice!!
Never know what will result when I start talking to customers.
I LOVE this aspect of me being out there....I have the chance to change,
for the better' what people use....from soils to fertilizers....
Totally converted one customer yesterday to using Milorganite for his lawn.
He was so frustrated with Scotts fertilizers--said they never work.
He asked me what I used......the rest is history......
He will use only ilorganite from this day forward......YES!!!.......;o)
Gita, use the Fafard and water mixed together in a VERY wet medium and I keep it very wet. I can't dig down far enough for very large pots in my clay and stone soil. Most of my gardens are "raised" by having a load of amended topsoil dumped over the wet corrugate that I have put over the lawns where I wanted gardens.
Looks like everyones plants are putting out their best end of season blooms. Things here have gone wild while we were away. With all the rain we got
I'm sure it was explained above, so forgive me for asking, but what is Fafard?
http://fafard.com/products
The first mix I ever experienced with the chunky quality.
Happy--
I bought a 3.8cf bale of Fafard Pro Mix ($18.99 for the bale.)
and it is half used up already. I got it at Richardson Farms here--
Will get one again in the spring. Not available now....
I just googled it and saw a 2cf bag of this going for $35+ plus shipping.
I think it was the same one in the link sally posted.
It is soil-free and mostly peat moss and Perlite. Holds water well.
Great for seeds and cuttings and potting up anything...
Gita
I use Pro-Mix -- didn't realize Fafard made it. Though I have to say I have mostly switched over to Tapla's mix.
Happy--
Last spring was the first time I bought Pro Mix from Richardsons--and it was Fafard.
The year before--it was just Pro Mix.
These Mixes are what growers use and what you see in all potted plants you buy anywhere.
That is why their soils are so light and pourous..
I use it for seed starting, all my cuttings and potting up new seedlings.
Anything I want to root....
Is there a difference between the two
?
Well--as I work down on my Fafard Mix bale--it seems a bit more "fine" than just the
regular Pro Mix--which feels a bit coarse. Very slight, though.
Alan Summers always promoted Fafard Pro Mix. May have been one of his sponsors?
G.
I feel like I missed something--what is the promix that you guys are talking about used for? Just wondering if it's something I need to pick up for myself...
Here is one link to "Pro Mix" -- one of the many: http://www.pthorticulture.com/en/pro-mix-hp-cc-mycorrhizae-growing-medium/?gclid=CNzKtN2Go7oCFYqi4AodtE0AJg
Here is a link to Fafard's website, with ALL of their yummy products: http://fafard.com/
I've not been able to find a Fafard product called "Pro-Mix", but they do have what they call professional potting mixes. Hope this helps.
so is it a general purpose potting mix/feeder?
speedie--
If I said :Pro Mix"--I thing it actually says "Professional Potting Mix" on the bale.
Kind of--the same thing...
Yes Cat, it is a general purpose container peat-based growing medium. Good for everything from seed starting to fully grown-up plants.
Gita, I confuse easily, so I'm sure it wasn't you, or how you said it; it was most likely ME and my lack of understanding... pretty much anything, really. ;)
NO problema---speedie.....I shouldda gone downstairs and looked...
Got almost all my plants in . Worked my butt off yesterday and today.
Just my CC's left outside.
Next week--starting Monday--night temps are predicted in the high 30's.
All week--until the weekend.
"tis a' coming!! G.
thanks, Speedie! Picked up some Promix this evening at Coleup's Ace hardware nursery. :-)
Used my Pro Mix today to pot up some tender perennials. Very nice!
Also got to use my new 'cactus mix' to repot the lipstick plant and also mixed it with the soil for the amaryllis bulbs. Got to see what the amaryllis roots are up to! It's amazing how they've grown. They are like long pinkish tentacles--it's like the bulbs transformed from an onion into an octopus! :-0
Eeeeek, SQUID ATTACK!! < =O heeheeheee
I was goofing off in here a bit yesterday morning before I got started on my studying and I saw what you were asking about your Amaryllis Cat... just wanted to "second" (or, is that third or fourth??) what everyone else was saying: about 1/3 of the bulb should be above the soil. That's how we pot them up at work and they come out BEAUTIFULLY. I'm sure yours will be VERY happy!! =)
Gita, ... so, you got all this work done, and you're not sharing pics?? What gives!? < =P
I'm currently gardening vicariously through you guys since I seem to spend all my "free" time doing maths, so I'm REALLY loving all the pics everyone is sharing. =)
thanks, Speedie! We're always happy to have you goof off with us! :-)
Aaaaw, bless your warm fuzzy heart!! =) I'm always FAR too happy to goof off with you guys! ;) heeheeheee In fact, I was enjoying it so much earlier this morning that I looked at the clock and misjudged the time by ONE WHOLE HOUR. (thought it was 25 after 6:00, when it was after 5:00). I PANICKED, hurried to clean up the kitchen, pick up the living room, showered and dressed, packed my lunch, put on my jacket, and ready to head out the door when... Hmmm... it seems awfully dark out, what's up with that?? Took a closer look at the clock. YIPES, I'm an hour early! LOL!!!!!!!!!
Happy Monday! < =D
I will NEVER be an hour early getting ready in the morning Never !!
LOL Speedie--much better than suddenly realizing you are an hour late!!
speedie---
You mean, you want to see pictures of where all the plants got stuffed
inside the house? Much of ir is temporary...
Right now--they all are just "in'. NOT arranged where they will really spend the winter.
That is still a big chore to do. Still have to get rid of some of them..
Outside--I still have to dig up all the remaining Iris, amend the soil and re-plant them all.
They have been, so-so and shallow as of "The Dig" last Friday. Need to get them
planted in properly. Still a big job. Gonna tackle some of it today.
Many of the smaller divisions will have to go into pots to be shared at Swaps.
The soil looked pretty good as we dug--but that does not mean it is rich.
Lots more to do later. Just cause I got all the houseplants in does not mean
I am done. far from it.
--All the Cannas will have to be dug up--my neighbor's too.
--I will remind her that all the Glads she planted need to be dug up too.
I guarantee you she will not want to do it.
--All annuals need to be pulled soon. Caladiums need to be dug up.
--Brugs need to dug up soon, trimmed back and cuttings taken.
Very few people still wans them They already have them.
--Still need to dig up the Dr. Seuss and cut it all up into stem-cuttings and deliver them
to Cylburn. Scott has not put forth any effort to come and get the whole plant.
Says he is too bogged down with all kinds of City obligations.
The Big Gala at Rawlings was the biggest. Soon--the X-mas display will be here too.
So it is understandable...
--IF i can get to it--I never finished trimming all the big, old shrubs in front of my house.
Would like to get that done. IF we ger a heavy snow--not having the branches
trimmed back will not be good.
--And--ALL the seeds I have collected and are all over my DR table need to be
bagged and organized. The seed Swap will be here before we know it.
Is that enough to do???? Many more chores were not even listed...
What do you say--Speedie...Sound like a lot of work for an old lady???
Will take some pics later.....G.
Will start a new thread
GO TO
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1338702/
This message was edited Oct 21, 2013 7:31 PM