Yardening Fall 2013 Part 2

I always cut back the bloomed out/gone to seed branch tips of my KO Rose
in the fall.
Then in the spring--I give it a more serious cutting back. It always re-grows nicely.
I have to keep the size of mine somewhat inn check--as it may infringe on my
neighbor's property if I don't. It DOES grow quite large...

I have a question on bringing in Coleus for the winter.
I have some in 5" pots--just like they grew in the Nursery--and they have now
grown kind of tall.
I don't need any more cuttings--so I now am stuck over-wintering a couple in the pots
they are in. These are the Satin Mocha ones. I don't want to lose them.
I have cuttings rooted--but, still, they are pretty.

OK! My question---Would they do better in the house if they were cut back
and then the new growth would be totally acclimatized to the indoors--OR--
should I just let them grow as is????????

Karen--what are you doing???? You have Coleus to bring in too.

Thanks, Gita

Gita, thanks! One of my KO Roses is pretty gangly (I've been cutting it back the past 2 springs but still needs more pruning). I'm wondering if I can cut it back more severely now, so it doesn't have such a wild looking "skeleton" over winter. Hmm. I suppose worst that could happen is that I'd be shopping for a replacement or moving another into its position in spring.

I've never noticed Coleus (either plants or cuttings, including plants I've rudely uprooted and shoved into other pots) even blinking at being brought indoors.

Catmint, I am interested in your large azaleas! Could perhaps come and dig them out this weekend.

Have you thought about transplanting them to the slope to your neighbor's driveway? They are certainly tall enough to see and enjoy their show in spring and then be back drop for red bud whereas little ones wouldn't work as well... They would also give the illusion of your yard continuing rather than dropping away But maybe my mind picture is totally off from your reality! Also, it takes so long to have such mature azaleas that they would be worth keeping if it was me.

I've rescued lesser ones and been thankful, so if you want to pass them along, I'm willing!

WOW Catmint, you still have more azaleas left, after you already gave some away? Your house must have come with quite a few! I wish my house had come with some azaleas. :/ I know they're common but I just love their spring blooms.

I'm under the impression that it's hard to transplant large azaleas... I tried it with 3 that Pat (ecnalg) wanted to be rid of, watered them faithfully through a really hot summer, thought they might be done but 2 of them had some leaves this spring, but I guess this wet summer did them in. (Sorry, Pat, I really really tried to save them!) Maybe moving them in fall has a better chance of success. Certainly they won't live if you don't try to replant them. LOL

Critter, I picked up a free craigslist azalea from last month. It was a PITA to dig up and plant, so I'm really hoping it survives the transplant!

Critter, do you keep your coleus with your other plants in the room over looking your back deck area? As long as their growing conditions can be met 'inside' they will do ok. They need bright light , temps around 65 . relative humidity above 50% and good air circulation so that room filled with other plants should be good for them.

Yesterday's article mentioned that trailing coleus are easier to overwinter as house plants and that some vaieties will do better than others. They used to be routinely grown as houseplants or kept in bottles or vases of water on a window sill.

Gita, I imagine the biggest transition for yours would be the good bright light. Pinch them back, but not so new growth will acclimate, but to slow down the stretching for light process! Go light on the watering and do not feed. Let them be semi-dormant and not in active growth, active growth will be when they can again enjoy the out of doors! Might address your concerns on the Coleus Forum here at Daves for other opinions.
You are trying to induce a holding pattern not a growth spurt.

We've transplanted a number of very large azaleas with no problem, provided we watered religiously for the next year or so. I can't imagine that overwatering would be a problem -- but they do go limp at the drop of the hat if not watered frequently.

Typ, good for you for being almost ready for the fall! I'm feeling a bit behind right now. I know what you mean about hating to pull up the annuals that are still blooming prettily. I have a few I haven't pulled yet for that reason, and now I'm tempted to try to overwinter them, just because the blooms are so bright and pretty...

thanks for the advice about the garlic chives, Critter. I might try growing them in a container and then keeping an eye out to deadhead them before they drop seeds next year. I know the beneficial insects like them.

Gita, all of my coleus did well when I moved them into a pot indoors--both the larger ones that I dug up out of my garden, and the smaller ones that you gave me as cuttings at Sally's swap. :-)

Coleup, I'd love to have you come for an azalea dig this weekend! Happy and Darrel were going to come by also to help with a couple small trees. Maybe we could have a 'dig party'? :-) I'd also love to get your advice about things. SSG, you sure you don't want some, too? I think there will be plenty for everyone!! The (smaller) ones in the backyard were easy enough to dig up, but *very heavy*. Anyone have a handcart??

Coleup, yep, most of the coleus end up in that "morning room" with a lot of the other plants overwintering inside. A lot of the cuttings get tucked into hanging baskets (even the non-trailing ones)

Garlic chives are very tasty, too! Try snipping them into cottage cheese, especially in early spring when you're longing for that fresh green flavor. Just be careful not to confuse them with muscari foliage... of course, that pungent scent helps with ID!

Catmint, I just sent you a dmail!

Gita, I dug up two or three of my big coleus and potted them up and brought them inside into my ~60-65° basement. I have 6-8 rooted cuttings that are ~6" tall, also in the basement now. All of my coleus are under regular shop lights (not gro lights) timed for 16hrs/day. They have all tolerated this well, minimal leaf dropping. One plant started putting out buds, but that may have nothing to do with me. I cut that plant back pretty hard, also cut back my Velvet Mocha (was loathe to do that!). Circulation and humidity are my biggest concerns, since I have no regulation for either. But I don't want to add humidity (basement, remember) and I don't currently have an extra fan for this purpose. I am watering minimally to keep the plants from drooping or getting mites, but trying to keep things on the dry side so they don't rot and absolutely no fertilizer unless I see symptoms.

As someone else said, the plants haven't even blinked at this treatment. It is fun to see that the new growth on some of the plants looks different, more intense, because of the different light conditions.

I'll take some pictures soon, if anyone is curious.

FWIW, I think digging up azeleas is my least favorite thing to do in the garden, ever. I salute you, Catmint!

Garlic chives spread ONLY by seed in my experience and they are very easy to deadhead as Jill said.
THose huge azaleas are spectacular! ( and your sweet DD) But I do understand not wanting the whole garden limited to huge azaleas. You know they CAN be cut back drastically and survive well. Can start pruning back into them this year and watch them fill in in the middle.

Why am I thinking Paul has said azaleas need (some) sun? Paul..Paul? what's the scoop on azalea sun?

Ditto what sally said about the huge azaleas. I would love for mine to get that big in the understory along my driveway. They have been there for years but are still small and unimpressive. I really think the shade must be too much, even though all the trees are deciduous, for my daffodils and azaleas to grow and bloom well.

I had two hours of daylight when I got home from work yesterday and made another good dent planting the things I've been getting at the end of season sales. I counted 17 perennials that I got done. Tonight I plan to dig up and move a viburnum carlesii and put the new winter daphne in its place. I thought the viburnum was a dwarf shrub, but Cheryl has one that is now the size of a dogwood tree. I need to move it away from the front entrance sooner rather than later, and that location should be perfect for the daphne.

I saw critter's newly reworked front garden on Saturday, and it looked really nice.

Azaleas are pretty easy to dig they have a fairly small shallow root ball. Azaleas need sun to bloom, the preference being high filtered shade. Direct sun for more than a few hours can make the shrub suspetible to lace bugs and other stressors.

You can also cut them back very hard, I've seen people cut them to the ground.

Hey, you guys wanna go in with me on this? We could start a commune.
Would love to yarden here.

http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/MD/GLEN-ARM/21057/12112-HOOPER-LN-85531080

OMG it's so gorgeous!

This message was edited Oct 22, 2013 2:16 PM

Only had a quick second to look at that - but yes Gorgeous!

I'm not familiar with that area but 550k seemeda little off for house that ssize with that promoximity to Baltimore. 6 acres, 8 bedrooms, 5 baths!?!

It is amazing though.

Paul, think Money Pit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CJ9EDtZ2p8

That house is lovely -- needs a little tlc.

Zillow thinks it is worth $606,533.

This message was edited Oct 22, 2013 2:51 PM

Karen--that clip was hilarious....

Man! So many Posts between Jill's question re KO Roses--
and my chance to reply....

Anyhoo.....

The main thing I have always heard is to not cut back Roses in the fall,
as this may induce new growth which would freeze in the winter. Damaging!
I am sure most of this advice refers to Tea Roses--not ones as fossiliferous
as a KO Rose!

With the above in mind--I would wait until the rose is completely dormant--
and then hack away. Less work in the spring....

There are people that advocate cutting Roses back in the late fall.
And there are people that do it only in the spring.
Since most of my Roses are the Tea roses--I cut them back in early spring
before the leaves unfurl. Then it is easy to see where the new growth
will be coming from. Then cut 1/4" above an OUTWARD facing leaf bud
as this means the stems will grow outward and provide good air circulation
to the Rose bush. You are empowered to make this happen by how and where you prune.

On the KO Rose--I don't think any of this matters....They grow anywhere....

Karen--
Thanks for sharing re your Coleus. Makes me feel a bit more confident...


Cat--

I agree with everyone on cutting back your Azaleas.
I have two OLD, beautiful, white Azaleas on each front corner of my house.
They grow big--and the white blooms are spectacular.

Every 3 years or so--I cut it down as far as possible--right after they are done blooming..
and they ,immediately, start re-growing.
By next Spring--you would never know it was cut back.
SO? hack away!

That's interesting. Terp has suggested I do that to help heal some damaged azaleas. But we have some huge ones in front of our house that are healthy, but just too big. Could I cut those back to the ground?

Thanks, Gita, all of that makes sense! As you said, the KO Roses are pretty near bullet proof, but I'd like to see them grow as well as they can because of their very visible location in front.

May I please just "second" what Gita said about the Knockout Roses, and cutting them back when they are dormant. At work, we cut ours back somewhere between the end of Feb, and beginning'ish of March, while they are still dormant, but just getting ready to wake up.
I hope this helps, and I'm not too late! < =)

I'll send my $5 count me in. It even has a partial GH. We will need a pool though. LOL
Ric got all the mowing done today. I got a few hours outside when I got home this afternoon. Pulled some annuals, spread grass clipping and sifted and moved the old dirty sand pile. I'll be home all day tomorrow hope to get out there and get more done. Starting to look semi decent if you don't look too hard.

LOL on the house! I think we should add a jacuzzi while we're at it. ;-)

let's throw in 70K per bedroom, the first 8 get in, and the surplus starts the maintenance savings acct…
It probably is a weird layout inside, with all the additions…but sure looks great in the picture.

Well, the reason I'm thinking of digging up the azaleas is to make more room for my new shrubs.

Right now, I have the large azaleas lining the front of the house, the large ones lining the west side of the house, 3 younger ones in the backyard, and a few more in front of the Redbud. I *really* love the ones in the front of the house, and I want to keep the 3 in the backyard, but aside from that I'm happy using the space for other shrubs.

I took some photos of them when we got home this evening.

(1) and (2) are the long hedge on the west side of the house, taken from different directions. These are almost as tall as I am (okay, I'm only 5').
(3) is a single azalea on the west side, maybe about 4' tall.
(4) and (5) are the azaleas in front of the Redbud. These are smaller than the ones on the west side, and you can see the Redbud roots between them.

My thoughts about digging up the ones by the Redbud are that it might be difficult to get them out if they are intertwined with Redbud roots, and even if I got them out, it might be difficult to plant something else in their place. So, I'm thinking it makes more sense to dig up the ones on the west side, thereby creating additional shrub space--as well as azaleas to share with you all. :-) However, I don't have much experience with any of this, and so I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

A possible alternative would be for me to dig out spaces in the backyard for new shrubs. But the long row of azaleas on the west side of the house are less than satisfying for me--I love azaleas, but they bloom in April and that's it. Given that I have so many of them, I'm happy with removing some of them for the sake of variety.

LOL Sally! Will you 8 who get in need groundskeeping and gardening staff? ;-)

I'd feel the same- too much of one thing! Look like good candidates for pruning down. That must be some big Redbud.

oh MAN I just looked at the interior pictures. Wow it looks nice. But is there any A/C ? I saw baseboard heat in one room, and no sign of ductwork in any other room….curious.

Paul, it's in a prime area. Must have some really big problems to be so cheap. I seriously doubt the a/c. Maybe that's why no one wants to buy it.

But all those windows for overwintering tropicals! The copper door! The tiles in the greenhouse! The stone LIONS with the coat of arms for Pete's sake! What's not to love!?

FYI: Sean told me no, I can't buy the house. :( party pooper!

can you beleive this one is
229K. Ergh.
http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/MD/GLEN-ARM/21057/11710-GLEN-ARM-RD-83545626

Now that's depressing.

Cat--

I just want to say that--the advice to "cut them to the ground"-- is not realistic.
Is that just a common word-usage? Do not take that literally!
Do NOT do that! Besides--I don't think you will be able to!
Azaleas as old as yours--will have "trunks" near the base....NOT just branches.
Use your common sense!

When i start pruning back my big, white Azaleas--I start by just "cutting back"
the branches that hang over my sidewalk--and i cannot get by them without
brushing against them. As I cut--I cannot but help to keep cutting...
SO! I start pruning...and then I see more that has to be cut back---
and then--more again...and, before i know it--I am cutting them down
pretty darned low.
How low can I go???????............;O) I try to not cut any lower than where
the main stems still branch out. You DO want to give the plant something to
grow new growth from.
To the ground?? That may take 3 years or so till blooming. But it WILL...

IF you have never cut back an Azaleas old as yours seems to be--go ahead and do it--
BUT--you will, most likely, have to wait another year or so until there is enough new
growth that will produce bloom. HAVE FAITH!!!! IT WILL HAPPEN!!!

Gita

I agree Gita, although I do think it is possible to remove one or two of those main branches as well. In any event, I would let them bloom gloriously this spring and after bloom proceed with 'pruning. Wouldn't want to cut off all those blossoms!

Here is a link to American Rhododendron Society site on transplanting
http://www.rhododendron.org/transplant.htm

Typ, I'll GLADLY pitch in my $10 for the house... and I'll happily sleep out in the greenhouse, too!! Wheeeeee!!!!!!!!

That second house.. well, it's sure got a LOT of potential, huh? Thankfully I've got an electrician in my back pocket 'cause that house needs MORE PLUGS!!!!! < =D

I'm here to second what Judy said about cutting back the Azalea in Spring, after the Spring blooms have begun dying off; that's when ya wanna do it.

So it sounds like you all are suggesting that I remove *part* of the azaleas to make room for new shrubs, but keep some of it?

Guess I need to think about this some more...

Cat, My 2 cents about the azaleas:

1. Evaluate whether or not you actually want all the azaleas there in the long term. There's no point hacking them back if you really just don't want them there, right? It's your house and your garden, do what you want! :) If you cut them way down and then decide you don't want them, they will be a real pain to dig out because you won't be able to get a good hold of the trunk to pull them out.

2. If you do decide you want to keep some/all of them: I can attest that it is totally OK to hack those bad boys back to nubs. I have some that are probably 50 years old, they were totally overgrown green blobs when we bought the house. I cut them down as far as I could (like Gita said you can't reasonably go all the way to the ground) to about 6 inches above ground, in late spring after they bloomed. I kept them well watered and fertilized them, and they bounced back beautifully. They even bloomed the next Spring.

Good discussion here of various ins and outs of old azaleas

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/azalea/msg0509112416088.html

Good luck and good weather and good gardening friends for what ever you decide!