Thanks. I think I'm going to experiment with the kelp and see how that goes. When I planted them, I threw in Biotone so they are already fertilized. I wouldn't say they are 'sick' just got damaged from the frost.
FIRST FLOWERS OF SPRING Frost..What the??
Very cool, Typ! :-)
Seq, No that's against the rules for a couple of reasons. One, it would be a waste of resources (running tests on unassigned samples). Two, what if I did that and then actually found P.ram on one of my rhododendrons? Not something I could just keep a secret. If I was really concerned that one of my plants had a pathogen of concern, I would send it to the MD plant clinic just like a homeowner would/should.
Anyway, I only do certain confirmatory tests here, P.ram, Plum pox virus, and HLB (Citrus Greening). I don't own any prunus for this reason, citrus is just a PITA to grow anyway and there's enough here in the greenhouse if I want to get my fix of the Froot Loops scent they emit. Pram is the only one I really have to be on the lookout for around here, and I don't grow a lot of the hosts.
SSG, phytophthoras are oomycetes, not fungi, so I don't know if fungicides really kill them.
And yes, the commute is soul crushing.
Speaking of plants that we expect to have for the swap, these babies are growing where my pentas graffiti red were last summer. Could it be penta reseeding itself?? If so I will have lits to share as there are over a dozen babies just like these!
Thanks for all the terrific info TYP.
Cat, those look really familiar to me... and I don't generally grow any pentas. I'd advise - pull them before they get tap roots!
Typ, on the label for Daconil, it says it kills phytophthora. Does that mean the label is incorrect as it's a fungicide?
How long is your commute??
Cat, no problem.
Seq, I really don't know enough about fungicides or Daconil or any of them to say anything for sure... but it often seems to me that once you see the signs of rot, you're too late. :(
My commute is 40 miles each way, including a tunnel. Public transit is not an option as there is no way for me to get to work from the nearest train stop. I try not to complain too much about the commute because I chose it. I want to live in Parkville and I have to work in Beltsville. My family, friends, church are all in Baltimore so I'd be up here all the time anyway. Plus living is cheaper up in B-more than down here.
".. but it often seems to me that once you see the signs of rot, you're too late. :("
Amen to that Typ..
Ouch! That looks like a rough commute. I pulled it up on Google Maps.
Long commutes are the pits! My first couple of years living in this area, my commute was almost an hour each way--very tiring! Typ, do you listen to the radio or books on tape to pass the time?
thanks, Critter. There are a handful of things that were growing in that area last year: pentas, liatris spicata, shasta daisy, butterfly weed, goldenrod, garden phlox, coreopsis. Does it look more like one of the others? It's so hard for me to tell at this stage of growth!!
On my way home from the grocery Store--i decided to stop by Chapel Hills Nursery.
Walked into the perennials GH--and, believe it or not--I picked up 8-5" pots of
perennials....$2.50 each. Cheaper than the wholesaler...
I got:
--2 pots of Companula glomerata (Clustered Bellflower "superba'....blue)
--2 pots of Phlox paniciulata "Starfire" 9red)--since none of thre red ones I got
last year S Part of the "freebie haul" made it. Hope these do.
--2 pots of Blanket Flower--"AZ ,Sun"--and "Gallo Red'
--And--just for you, Coleup, one pot of Goldenrod "baby Gold'....
Chapel Hill now seems to have lower prices than before...Good!
Don't know exactly where I will plant these--but a few will, definitely, go in the "YUK" bed.
I am now home--icing my hand/wrist.....it has had a busy day.
Hand is all swollen from being bandaged so tightly. No knuckles showing.
Took off the Ace bandage (said I could after 24 hrs.)and put on some gauze
dressing over the incision, taped it down all around my wrist. It is oozing a bit...
I am sure I am overdoing it a bit for the 1st day...but...that's just the way I am.
Still have not gotten to transplanting seedlings....These Posts keep me from getting to it...
G.
Typ, I guess that's the reason common pesticides/fungicides don't work on phytophthora. I called the extension service and they said there wasn't much I could do about it, and articles online said I could replace the infected soil. Um, I wasn't about to do that!
Gita, what a great deal! That's cheaper than most clearance sales.
My redbud is still in the tight bud stage. I wonder if the blooms will open up fully before falling off. I'm already getting new leaves.
Does anyone grow lupines? The ones I see online are so gorgeous but mine are just barely hanging on.
I have lupines. They just started popping up last week. One looks thicker than the other but I think that one gets a little more sun. I have a red one and a purple one.
Gita I have the Gallo Red blanketflower and just loved it! It bloomed nonstop till fall. Hasn't broken dormancy for me yet this year though... hope it's okay! And hope your arm feels better soon!
SSG, I just sowed some lupine seeds this afternoon! I hope they do okay. If several pop up, I'll let you know for the spring swap. I think we may also be getting lupine as part of our group buy, if you are interested?
My redbud blossoms are just opening now.
I wintered sowed the lupines a couple of years ago and they germinated beautifully. I just wish they'd grow!
I thought they needed cool nights and couldn't take our summer humidity -- like delphiniums.
Happy, I think you're right, but I was hoping they'd grow nice and big before the heat and humidity hit.
I hope yours do and then I'll come over and admire them!
Sorry about the unfinished thought, Catmint... that little plant looks very familiar to me because I think it's one that I see fairly often all over my garden... some sort of weedling! It might be the one that gets a nondescript bloom stalk that turns into little seed pods that we always used to strip off and use for pretend "ground coffee" as kids. Anyway, I wouldn't cherish it too much, LOL.
Well, I will keep my eye on it and see what it does. It is most likely one of the plants I had growing in that area last year, all of which I liked. :-)
I agree with that approach -- I'm not persuaded that it is a weed, although it doesn't look like a penta either. And I really respect Jill's judgment that it is a weed, so if it doesn't identify itself quickly, I'd give it the hatchet job.
I think Catmint's suspected weed, is a weed, either a sorrel (Jill's) or maybe a goldenrod. too big to be a seedling.
I think that picture of muscari is photoshopped. But I also agree that muscari more often multiply like mad. I have thick patches of them under maples. I saw Gita's muscari in the lawn. Some people plant a few muscari with clumps of daffodils,; the muscari foliage in fall tells you where your daffodils are.
Sally, you might be right about the goldenrod! I had some goldenrod there that I really loved--very tall and a butterfly magnet. If it is goldenrod, I'll scoop some up for our Great Monarch Waystation Plant later this spring!! :-) Well, I guess one person's weed is another person's treasure--LOL! :-)
Okay, join me in that well-known song (to the tune of 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame')--'My hosta shoots are showing!' Yay!!
doo dee doodoo dah doo doo... got it!
Yeah haha if you had goldenrod there, its pretty sure you still do. THey make rhizomes and creep. Want any MORE??
Sally, Coleup's in charge of the Monarch Waystation planting and she might have ideas/thoughts about goldenrod from people's yards.
Since I just bought a 5" pot of Goldenrod "Baby Gold"--(Solidago caanadensis)
maybe this will help to ID your "weed"...
I have seen the small version of GR for sale at HD. Looks cute!
Will this spread by seed or roots? How fast? A bit worried...
G.
Thanks, Gita! It's possible! I didn't do anything special last summer except be vigilant about where things were growing and pull up what I didn't want. It did have rhizomes, I remember that.
You guys on the lupines: mine never went into dormancy last summer. I think the key is to not have too much sun on them. Mine get morning sun and then dappled shade the rest of the day. Both had leaves all season. I tried to grow one in full sun and it never came back after it went into dormancy.
I'll have to pay attention to "dappled" areas in the fencerow this summer and maybe give lupines another try... they're just so pretty.
Gita, thanks for that photo of your jr. goldenrod! Like the sorrel (thanks, Sally!), it's one that pops up all over... I like to keep some goldenrod in the garden, but I also end up pulling a lot of it. I'm looking forward to having more of a variety of goldenrod out there, but maybe I'll have to start deadheading in late summer so they don't take over.
I really do need to make a point of learning what my common weeds look like when they're first sprouting up in spring... I tend to "wait & keep an eye on" too many things in case they turn out to be something "good," and then I get these big weeds that are hard to remove! LOL
Critter--I know what you mean! :-)
I've started keeping a Word document with the names and photos (from the internet) of the common weeds that show up in my yard. I'd like to add to it photos of the weeds as seedlings, and then sort it by when they show up in my yard. Right now it is more of a "dump" of information -- but it is still helpful to me.
I will post this Web Site again---have done it before....it is worth bookmarking it.
It is great for ID-ing seedlings, seeds, etc. You can search alphabetically for plants...
I don't think it has weed's pictures.
We have new people on board. May help them to see this....Saved it years ago!
http://theseedsite.co.uk/db1.html
G.
Very cool site, Gita! I'm bookmarking it. Happy, that's a great idea. Maybe I should start something like that with photos--make it easier to start weeding in the spring!
Got some yardening done this weekend. I yanked a bunch of Galium Odoratum and put in edging where I ripped it out so the rest wouldn't come rushing back in. I am trying to create an oasis for other plants so they don't have to worry about getting invaded by the Galium. I also took some pics of new things in bloom. The anemone I just planted in that newly created protection zone.
Beautiful blooms, Seq! I'm still waiting on my anemone--it's been growing well but not to budding stage yet.
Mine came from NC so I cheated...lol
LOL--okay, I feel better now! ;-)
Seq, were you up at NC?
I was off the web for the weekend and I'm just getting back in...
I borrowed a new lens from a friend and I am having so much fun taking pictures with it! No fancy plants but I hope you like the pictures.
Good thing I got those shots of my neighbor's muscari in their lawn when I did. By the time we came back home in the afternoon, the lawn had been mowed. :(
