Sequoia, Heh heh, well, it's been nearly 25 years since my last college days, so I guess I'm ready for a bit more. ;) (and over THIRTY years since high-school, YIPES!!) Gotta knock the rust off the ol' brain cell. =)
I've got a a really cheap "katcha bug" bug catcher.... ;P
That's what I always used too -- we went "high tech" when our kids would scream at the sight of a bug. And they are especially great for catching stink bugs!
Geez 25 years!...I was going to say distant past but realized that most people on here are older than me and wrote not so distant....it's only been 9 years for me
Haahaahaaa "Geez 25 years!"... now I feel like a real geezer!! < =D LOL!!!!!
GEEZERS ROCK!!!!!!!! =) (I dunno... does 49-years old qualify for geezer-hood?)
Mid-to-upper 40's predicted for down my way today -- maybe the rest of the snow will melt and I can see what/where will need to be dug and newly planted in the Spring? =) At least I'd be able to SEE it, and maybe start marking my new territory. ;)
Of course you're not a geezer! If ever you want to feel younger, just hang out with someone older than you ;P
I can't wait until the snow melts so I can check on my cyclamen and helleborous.
If your cyclamen and hellebores are "doing anything", please share some pics?? =)
Honestly, I don't feel geezer like at all... until I get into the classroom, where I'm even older than the instructor! < =/ heeheeheeheeeee
Now---Now...
Even though I don't look it---I don't feel it--I don't act like it---don't think like one....
I AM A REAL GEEZER!!!
I graduated from high schooll in 1955.
:o[
My Hellebores are a sad thing right now. I was just looking at them the other day and thinking how sad they look right now. All you can see of the ones out front are a fringe of damaged leaves hanging over the rocks. The ones at the side of the house have a few damaged leaves poking up out of the snow piled there. Even the ones in a much more protected spot under the junipers where there is little to no snow look dead. I don't see any new growth and certainly no flowers.
Maybe so, but you're the most BEAUTIFUL Geezer in the world Gita!!!
I don't see anything at all of my Hellebores (that I installed at the end of this past Summer) except maybe a few brown sticks. I'm not hopeful. =(
Speedie, Don't give up yet mine are large established plants and they aren't doing anything yet either. May be just this terrible cold is too much for them. I do expect them to perk up sometime.
When we all were talking about Hellebores having buds--I went out and looked at mine.
Deep, deep down--they all had bloom buds barely sticking up out of the soil.
Yes--the leaves look like crap--but i am glad they are there--
kind of protecting the buds a bit..
Lets just hope we don't have a cold spring like last year after all this Arctic stuff....
G.
Last time I was able to see our Hellebores they had a bunch of damaged new foliage as well.
I think I'll die if we have a cold spring like last year. That will be the disappointment of the year that's for sure. It made summer feel so short, sort of like summer in Alaska.
I dug yesterday and replanted a winterberry. Soil report: below the sod layer, the dirt (mostly clay) wasn't soggy. It wasn't even all that wet. The bagged garden soil I mixed in, however, was frozen, as was the shrub's root ball.
Thank you so much for that report! I went out this morning and stuck a knife in the ground -- it only went in 3/4". But I'm hoping that with the expected highs today I can get a few hours of planting in late this afternoon. Your report gives me hope. I'm not surprised that the ground isn't too soggy. That last storm was very fluffy -- I read that it was only the equivalent of an inch of rain -- and it has been melting very gradually here.
I'm surprised the soil wasn't more moist that what you've reported. Usually as the snow melts, the soil gets heavily laden with moisture. Last spring on 3/2 we planted 30 Pyracantha and used a hydraulic hole driller. The soil was so thick with moisture, it was coming up in cakes.
We only got 4-6" of snow here, Sequoia.
I think the fact that there was a 3 inch layer of healthy sod made a big difference because it absorbed much of the water. It also helped that it was in a sunny area. Come to think of it, though, I also dug up some hollies that I wanted to get rid of, and the soil was easy to dig in there too. I use a straight edge shovel on which I can put my full weight.
Honestly, I think the difference here had to do with the type of snow we got -- as Muddy said, it wasn't too much snow, but in addition, it was very dry and light snow -- so not very wet.
Hmm...well stinks for you guys! Winter snow is really helpful for a good start to spring. Last year was terrible though, not only did we get miniscule amounts of snow, but right at a crucial time (late April thru May) we got hit with drought...terrible.
Happy and Muddy, the ground in my yard is soaking wet and completely un-frozen! And we're not that far from each other! Very interesting...
Mine is still frozen -- I can get down 1-2", but that's it. It feels as if it has thawed, but when I stick a knife into it, the knife only goes down a little bit. But ssg, you have a sunny yard; mine is shady. That may make all the difference.
Happy
First of all---you need a plump, healthy AV leaf to hope to root it.
The one you are describing does not sound all that plump or healthy healthy.
I am sure, somewhere--you can find a broken off, healthy lesaf to practice on.
There are three ways I have rooted AV's. Always successfully.
1--One I do not use a lot is in water.
You get a small container--fill it almost to the top with water--stretch plastic wrap tightly across
the top and poke a small hole through the wrap to slip the AV leaf stem through.
You can rubber-band around the top to keep the plastic wrap in place. That's it! Then-=-WAIT!
The neat thing is you can see the babies start growing under water through the glass.
2--the second way is to to stick the leaves in a vented container--like the kind 3lbs of grapes come in.
Fill the bottom with at least 2" of soil mix--then stick the leaf stems in it (standing up!)
and making sure the leaf does not touch the soil. The babies will grow from the buried stem
and then up through the soil. When they look a decent size to pot up--remove the leaf and the
clinging soil and roots and, gently, separate the baby AV's. Pot up each little plant in its own pot.
Then---replant the mama leaf TO GROW MORE BABIES...It will!
3--Is to get a 2 1/2" pot, fill it with Mix, and stick the stem of one leaf in it. keep the leaf from
touching the soil. Water in slightly. Put a clear, plastic glass over the rim of the pot, fitting tightly.
What you are doing is creating a mini Greenhouse environment.
The little pots and tops that Venus Flytraps are sold in are perfect, but you can buy clear glasses anywhere. .
The glass has to fit tightly over the top of the pot.
You need not do anything else until the babies are growing up through the soil.
Any one of these will do. I usually opt for the leaves in the deep plastic container.
It truly acts as a mini, vented Greenhouse.
Copy this out--you may want to refer back to it.
Gita
Gita
Thanks for your suggestions, Gita! I'm going to go with a Forsythe pot since it is all set up. I bumped into many posts on the internet that suggest it should work fine (assuming a healthy AV leaf, which of course I don't have). Only problem is my Forsythe pot uses Tapla's gritty mix, not vermiculite which is more absorbent and, with the benefit of hindsight, I think would work better. But it is so unlikely that this leaf will take that I'm not going to make any special effort.
Gita I have a few broken AV leaves and instead of rooting them by my usual method I decided to try your water jar method. I put a piece of cling wrap over a glass of water and put the stems of the AV thru it and into the water.
Holly--
*I am glad you will trey this...just not sure id "several" leaves in one small glass
will work once once they all start rooting. A lg. shot-glass is a good size for this.
The "healthiest" way is the high-domed plastic container--it makes very robust babies.
Next time you buy any fruit or produce in the bigger, vented containers with lid--
try it in there. You can do about 6-8 leaves at one time. I keep mine under lights.
I am now rooting CC sections also in water...seems many people do it this way.
was always a stickler for doing it in Pro Mix. Trying something different...
Did a few a little while ago--and they rooted pretty quickly.
G.
I have been rooting mine in a mini greenhouse in potting soil and have been doing very well with my process but thought I would give your water glass method a try.
I was outside for a little bit yesterday, but there was still 6-7" of snow on the ground so I couldn't do much but soak in some fresh air. I'm itching to get back to the things that I left unfinished this fall - heck, my wheelbarrow is still sitting out in the yard with bags of compost in it, and from my kitchen windows I can see the plant bench staging area with numerous things on it that didn't get planted.
With all the rain that started sometime last night, I noticed that most of the snow was melted so if these temps hold, maybe I can get out there next weekend - fingers crossed. Look at all of us talking about gardening outside in Feb - are we crazy or what!
P.S. Speedie, you may be a late bloomer for those math classes, but I'll pass on that it might be better for information retention to be a late bloomer than an early bloomer. I was a math major in college and can't remember even the basics of any of the classes I took 30+ years ago (also giving away my age for you younger whipper snappers) LOL.
Lol..nice. Yeah Speedie, in addition to what Aspen said, you don't have college parties and co-eds running around distracting you all the time like I did in college :) Actually, college is where I met my wife....she was a freshman and I was a senior. I reckon I'd pay a lot more attention if I went back to school now..
Holly--
I took this picture just now of my one and only AV leaf that has been rooting
in the little pot with the clear glass cover over it.
This is a good way if you just want to do ONE leaf.
The pot is 2-1/2" diam. In this case--a snack-pudding cup.
I use these a lot....nice size for all kinds of small plants..like CC's.
G.
Gita: Those pictures are lovely -- there's something so spring-like in the appearance of those new leaves.
Sequoia, yeah, 'cause she'd be making sure you're not paying attention to any of the coeds! < =D Heeheeheeheee
Well, I guess the ol' brain cell is retaining something....DH is starting to call me FatHead. =)
Gita, those pics are really pretty; very fresh and Spring-like! =)
Haha...for sure :)
I'm doing a lot of digging around here right now. Not the type I would like to be doing.
R'uh R'oh, what's Holly getting herself into now!? < =P
Digging out snow silly!
LOL, Sure am glad that Ric is now allowed to carry, lift and shovel,again. I did dig out the front walk, lower deck, a path out the side door and too the garage and a path down to the GH. Ric did the path to the barn and is cleaning off the upper deck plus he broke out the tractor and plow and did a lot of plowing.
Oh DUH me!! < =D Sorry I didn't catch that, all my stuff is brown and green again, snow all washed away with the rain.
I'm really glad Ric is allowed to do all that again too (and I bet he is as well, HA!!), but I hope he's not over-doing it. < =/
OMG speedie, I thought the exact same thing! I thought Holly was digging up more boulders from her yard! LOL
ROFLOL,
Heeheeheeee Ss, wouldn't surprise me one little bit! < =D
