Catmint, What's that palm-looking thing on the right side of the picture? It's beautiful!
Yardening end of April 2014 continuation
That looks like Mahonia Soft Caress! I forgot to add that to my shopping list. :)
Thanks for the reminder! I love my enablers!
Ecnalg, ROFLOL
I have a friend that has been looking to pic up a Skimmia for a while now.
yes, it's a mahonia soft caress! I moved it this spring out of that spot into more of a morning/dappled sun spot. I think it will do better there.
I got 2 photos of the skimmia this morning. I'll attach them separately. 1 is of the baby male skimmia that I have. The other is of the 'Berri-Magic'. You can see both a few berries and the tiny white flowers.
Here are the 2 photos of my skimmia, both the baby male and the berri-magic male/female one.
ooh thanks! it's going on my shopping list!
I think I may have figured out what the green mystery plants are...Helianthus of some variety. I do seem to remember getting one at last springs swap(?).
Catmint, your skimmia are so berry pretty! =) I think I'll need to order some of those for work. Heeheeheee.
Catbird, Helianthus, really!?!? Oh boy!!
Got a couple pics of my Otto Luykens this morning. First one is the bigger of the 2, has loads of little buds on it... close up of the buds. Second one, a farther-away shot, showing its growth habit at the moment. (it's been pruned once only - and only to make room for Orkin to come trench for termites).
Third shot: my new yarden addition, the turtle. (keeping the Paeony company) Forth shot: The new little snail to replace the decapitated one. < =/ (he's guarding the Irises)
Catbird, that could be it. Maybe the "Jill's not chocolate daisy' which is Helianthus Helianthoids var scabra or some such tongue twister
I'll have to look into the Otto Luykens, Speedie! It looks very pretty.
I love your new turtle and snail--very cute! :-)
Sally---
I thought what ill used to call the NC Daisy--is a Heliopsis?
I have had it growing for years. G.
That's it, Heliopsis helianthoides var scabra I think the scabra meant it's a bit rough feeling under the leaves?
I really like the look of Otto Luyken. I'm going to look for a good sized shrub on sale. :)
more chilly nights. Coleus has to stay in another week at least looks like.
and here i potted up all my caladiums--abd they are sitting outside
by my basement entrance door. it was sunny and warm when i put them
outside---and totally forgot to bring them back in for the cold nights.
typing with one finger--left hand......really messed up my wrist yesterday
at work.....was doing a cart-full of boxes..packing them out.
didn't hurt this bad till i sat here and typed on dg for an hour.
it is more the wrist.....not the incision....
us diehards learn our lessons the hard way. g.
Gita: I'm so sorry -- it must be so frustrating to have your hand hurting when spring flowers beckon.
I do have a question. What tool do you use to cut back the remains of last summer's growth? My hand pruners are a bit too small. But hedge shears are too big and heavy and ungainly. Maybe I need something electric?
The attached photo (not mine) illustrates the problem -- little pruners, big mess to cut back.
Sally, you may be correct about it being Heliopsis. Guess I will wait and see.
happy, I can relate- I have some grasses I have to take bunches, twist them and chomp away with hand bypass pruners. Or an old serrated knife might saw through it if you hold the whole bundle up.
Catbird, keep us posted. We all might recognize it better after a little more growth.
I keep forgetting to look up Aster Avondale and then deciding where to put them, happy. Sun, shade, summer, fall bloom? The two pots are looking healthy!
Home from work, and its so nice to take a break on the deck and listen to birds!!
Happy---
What plant are you asking me about--the question of what I use
to cut them back? Was it caladiums?
Since I don't know--I cannot answer you.....mostly, I use my pruning sheers for everything...
The hardest thing of all to cut back are the canes on my Kopper King Hibiscus.
They are as big as bamboo canes--but inside--they are white pith-like Styrofoam.
My sheers are too small to cut through them--and then I have to try from the other side....
The stems splinter but do not break. Horrible...
The clump is now so tight--that i cannot get in there with my little hand saw.
Takes 2 years until the remaining stems get brittle enough to just break--if you bend it.
G.
I have a question for all the plug buyers.
What are you doing with your new plugs? Are they going in the ground or in bigger pots?
I think I'm going to plant the Espresso geraniums (gorgeous color!) in the ground, since they looked very established, but the others may spend a few weeks in a raised bed that I was prepping for perennial herbs.
Well, I went ahead and planted mine. I hope I did the right thing!! :-o
Last year, I planted all the plugs directly in the ground and made sure I kept them watered. They did fine, and they came back this year and are growing on nicely. I plan to do the same with the plugs this year. SSG, I think your plan is a good one though with directly planting the more established ones and staging the others. Catmint, wow you are on top of things - already planted!!! I know I'll be lucky if I get it done this weekend :)
Catmint, one big concern is that I'm going to forget to water them all, since they're all going in different corners of the yard. At least they'd all get watered if planted in the same bed! :D
ssg --I agree it is most important you don't forget any early on. My first few swaps, I planted many thing in ground right after, then would forget them and lose them. Nursery bed sounds nice.
I read your first sentence too quickly and thought you said 'bug players' hahaha
Happy, depending on what you're cutting, you could try loppers or scissors. I've found loppers to be very useful for cutting ornamental grasses, thick flower stalks and many other things.
Scissors are great for plants like liriope.
I'm going to plant my plugs directly into the ground as quickly as possible.
That's good to know it was okay to plant them directly in the ground! I took off from work a little early yesterday so I could spend time planting them. Plus, the weather forecast is saying some rain today and tomorrow, so I wanted to get them in the ground before then so they could enjoy a good natural soaking! SSG, that's a good idea to keep them all in the same area so it's easier to keep track of the watering!
SSG: I'm going to plant mine right in the ground. I saw your espresso geraniums; they looked beautiful! You're lucky you got all 50!! ;P
I'll probably end up planting mine. They weren't quite what I expected as I thought they'd be more advanced. Had I known all my delosperma would perish this winter, I'd have bought two flats of the Bevan's Geranium.
These geranium sure are thirsty buggers. I've had two water them each day so far. I think we're going to get some decent rain next week so getting them in this weekend should do them well.
oh, SSG, was it you who got the espresso geraniums? I was thinking it was Happy? At any rate, could I get 1 or 2 from you (at cost, if you'd like) at the swap?
thanks!
Robin
Catmint -- I got the Espresso too, I think, and you are welcome to some.
Seq, I only got 6 or 8 of the Espresso geraniums. They're gorgeous! I need to find the best spot for them to show off their color.
Gita: My question was really for anyone with any ideas on how to cut back last season's growth efficiently, on plants that have quite a bit of growth.
Muddy: Thanks for the suggestion of loppers or scissors -- but I want something in between -- something I can hold with one hand but that will let me cut a good bit at a time. Sally gave me an idea -- I think I'll use my garden knife.
Those grasses- you need one hand to hold them and two more hands for loppers= whoops. I've tried holding one end of loppers in my knees or whatnot and its really awkward!
Plus loppers don't cut enough grass at one time. It isn't just grasses that are thwarting me -- there are some other perennials and shrubs that are challenging to cut back if you have a lot of them. I'm going to try my trusty garden knife.
If you're talking about grasses:
If I actually had any, this is what I would do. Tie banding (string) around them, top, bottom, middle as tight as you can. Then use two hands with the hedge clippers, and timber, they fall down like a tree trunk.
Good theory I think but I've never actually put it to test.
Happy, could you try tying bunches of grasses up before cutting? I don't mind using the hedge trimmers though.
Jinx, Seq! We crossposted!
Great minds....
My grasses aren't huge yet -- I've read about that approach, and it makes sense, but I'll hold it for future years. Now my concern is perennials and grasses that aren't (yet) even 12" across, but that still take at least 10-20 snips of my pruners to lop off. That gets old really fast. Again, I think my garden knife is the solution. I drag a garbage bag with my and drop the cuttings into it immediately as I cut them, so at this point I don't need to tie the grasses.
Also, I'm trying to shift away from non-native grasses, and I know Miscanthus can get ridiculously huge. So when that happens, I think I'll swap out the Miscanthus in favor of some more native grasses.
Man, if only rabbits and deer liked to eat dead grasses!