Paul--
As these were the tips of NEW growth--they are not even "softwood"...
More like "limpwood".....
In Brugs--I have never had luck rooting the soft, limp new growths.
From what I have learned--on woody plants "softwood" roots best.
Softwood is the current year's growth which has begun to harden off--so--softwood.
Just below the "softwood is last year's new growth which is now hardwood.
This is waht I learned from Mike Quinn who was my go-to foe issues with my Camellia.
He said the best time to take cuttings from a camellia is in August, when the soft-wood
is just starting to harden off a bit.
Based on that--I am not sure on the Hydrangea---but I will wait and see.
BTW--the storm just arrived! It is pouring rain. 10:50PM.
Bed time........Gita
FIRST FLOWERS SPRING!!! Next time it might be summer!
Your lilies are beautiful G, I really like the pink one, very nice :)
Jeff--
I used to have a lot of Lilies in this bed--but they have been there forever,,,
The pink one hangs on--but the yellow one has been reduced to almost nothing.
Lost in the "jungle" of my bed...
I did not post it--as it was not worthy. Will show you now....
They used to be tall--just like the pink ones..
Wow, that one's a shorty! What has happened to them as they've aged?
Need some input on my beautiful Hibiscus I bought.
As I have posted before--it had White Flies. I have sprayed twice now
with the water/alcohol/dish soap mix. Seemed to work.
However--many of the leaves had serious mite damage on the undersides.
Now--there is an ongoing yellowing of leaves--which I remove.
This is making the plant look "leggy"...They may re-grow--I do not know.
What, in your opinions, is causing this yellowing??? It is still blooming OK.
The leaf damage is visible on all the leaves' backs.
I want to hang on to this Hibiscus for next year--don't know HOW yet..
but will figure something out. Can these go totally dormant for the winter
and come back in the following summer???
1--Blooming OK before
2--Showing general leaf yellowing
3--Yellow leaves--closer...
4--The damaged leaves a while back--when I first realized the problem.
Since ALL the leaves show this mite damage--I wonder if ALL the leaves will yellow out?
Maybe I should post this on the Hibiscus (Tropicals??) Forum...??
Thanks--Gita
Jeff--we cross-posted...
I don't know....Maybe the bulbs have, simply, wasted away to close to nothing
and this may be the last bloom....
I could dig it up and see....No big deal....
Here it is in 2011. G.
Weird, do you think voles have been eating them? Or are they just not getting enough sun with other things crowding out?
Gita, do you think the maple roots are interfering with the lily bulbs?
jeff--I do not think I have a vole problem...I have never seen any.
It IS possible that--when the bulb location is not known--I may have been digging
around there too much.
I went out and looked--actually, the stem is higher--it was just layng flat in the bed.
SS--
This Lily is in my S. facing long bed. The maple roots are not a big issue in this bed...
You should see how well my other DL are doing here.
Took a picture for you. This is the long, S. bed. it gets good sun.
It has a lot of stuff in it. Much of the green lily foliage you see are Lilies yet to bloom.
You can see the Maple tree in the far back.
Gita, that actually happened last year to my ROS. Looking back, I think there was an issue initially with it not being planted in the right spot. Took me a while to figure this out. By then I had doused it with Neem and it had spider mites. Leaves kept yellowing and falling off. I finally moved it to a site with less sun where it was happier but it remained sickly looking for the rest of the season. However, this year it has come back very strong and healthy looking.
Cat--
Mine sits in the far corner of my driveway. It gets full sun.
The only issue MAY be that when I start my car--some exhaust may get to it.
If that is the cause-I may want to move it.
Cat--i also took a picture just now of the corner of the house where the Carpet Rose is.
Now to go out (again) and get a picture of my driveway....
The exhaust pipe is on the far corned of the car--not the closer one.
I almost never just let the car sit and idle. I get in--turn it on and go...
G.
Hmm...I don't know why you'd be losing them over time. I hope that doesn't happen to the couple I have.
Well, I know my ROS (hibiscus family) had a rough time the first year but came back healthy, and the hibiscus I got late in the season last year had a rough time also--all the leaves yellowed and fell off and I was almost certain the thing had died, and now here it is also back strong and healthy. Maybe they are prone to transplant shock?
The hibiscus that I got as a baby last year did fine after being planted, but then when we moved/transplanted it late in the season, it died back and I worried it was gone as well--it also has come back strong and healthy.
so, I'm wondering if hibiscus is prone to doing poorly after transplants, particularly when they are no longer babies? Just a thought--could be wrong...
This message was edited Jun 19, 2014 9:59 AM
Well--it, probably, does not help that I bought them at my HD.
They come in so miserably packed on carts--who knows for how long??
Then they get nicely put out in the front 'apron" of the store and watered as needed.
I am NOT giving up hope. The white fly damage is done--as are the bugs themselves,,,(?)
soon--I hope.. Will spray again any day now with NO rain predicted.
I imagine transplanting can have an effect...but all for the better in the long run.
Mostly it gives the plant a bit more room to spred out its "feet"
I posted this problem on the Plant diseases Forum as well.
Will see what anyone there has to say...assuming they know what they are
talking about....Sometimes people just jump in with silly ideas of
WHY something is wrong. I, mentally, disregard those replies.
G.
I agree that pre-ownership life in the nursery has an impact too, Gita! Sometimes it's a longer path than usual to a healthy-looking plant...
This message was edited Jun 19, 2014 3:12 PM
Root bound plants are no biggie, I just cut off all the bottom roots and tease the heck out of them. Throw in some Biotone and good to go. I haven't had a problem with something establishing. I got my vernonia last year too and it was root bound. The roots were big and thick. It too didn't do much, esp in the way of flowering. I thought that sucker would have spread like something fierce with the way those roots looked but it didn't; at least this year anyway.
I am not shy about hacking roots either. Even cutting off 1/3 of the whole root ball.
I do it every couple years on my Brugs--and they grow beautiful!
Early this spring--I hacked half the root-ball off my VERY OLD (25yrs) Schefflera
Arboricola. Usually, I just cut it back and let it re-grow. But that lead to a bad shape.
It was huge and sprawly. This year--it was major surgery.
It had been languishing all winter in a spot in my LR with dim light,
Dropping leaves all over. It was, simply, time for a renewal.
"Surgery" done in early April. (1--2-3--4--)
1--Un-potted-- and roots loosened. some were 5' long!
2--Top view with all the roots
3-- Roots cut back and cleaned up
4--Scheff. re-potted back in the same pot in fresh soil.
5--Today--June 19, it is re-growing with a full head. geez! What will I have to
look forward to???
Wow, major surgery indeed! How do you get all the soil out of the roots and, even better, how do you get all the soil back into the roots?
Gita, I've got a couple questions and/or ideas for you about the Hibiscus. What is the Ph of the soil? Could it possibly be too alkaline? I'm thinking maybe Chlorosis, or maybe it might need a simple application of some nitrogen? Just a couple ideas. (those leaves don't really look chlorotic to me, the yellowing looks too evenly distributed, but.. just in case I'm missing something...)
The Red Hot Pokers are looking good.
Jeff---
The pot was pretty dry, as I seldom watered it, so I just pulled it out of the pot and
banged it around a bit and most of the soil fell off.
Then I tweaked the rest off by pulling all the roots apart. This plant is indestructible!
Getting all the soil back in around the roots is a bit more "hands on"...
I filled the pot with as much soil needed so that the plant would sit at a good level.
Then, I built a "cone" of soil in the middle and set the plant on it, spreading the
roots around the cone. . More banging to get it to fall in all the nooks and crannies.
I poured more soil all around the root ball, pushing it down with my fingers to fill all the spaces.
A bit more banging and knocking helped too. Hitting the pot on the outside with my fist
worked good as well.
When it seemed that he soil was all solidly in place--I pressed down on it and then watered it.
Main idea here is that you do not leave any air-spaces in the soil.
It is a big pot--maybe 16" diam. I plop it outside every year--and it does not even blink.
This plant has a history with it--that is why I have kept it so long...
One thing that is very obvious is that encircling root near the top. See Pic, #2 & #4.
That root is from the days when it was root-bound in a 6" pot.
I was then working for a grower--and this plant, in a small pot, was pressed against
the plastic of the GH and had grown all lopsided. It was not salable.
I asked the owner if I could have it--and he said OK. That was about 23 years ago......
SO--thass the rest of the story---and I'm stickin to it!
Eager to see just how it will grow out this summer....
Gita
Speedie--
I have NO idea of the PH of anything anywhere in my garden!
Never have tested the soil in all the years I have been gardening...
I am pretty sure that the yellowing must be as a result of the damage from the white flies.
Mostly--the bottom leaves are affected--but it is slowly creeping upward.
DAH! There are no lower leaves left! The top leaves seem very healthy--
as long as the W.F.'s don't chew them up.
I do see signs of some new baby leaves on the stems. That's a good sign.
Meanwhile--I will keep on spraying about once week and see if it stops the flies.
I do have a little bit of "Forbid"--which a customer gave me. he grows 100's
of African Violets. We got to talking one day and he said he had a lot of it--
"More than i will ever need in my life"...and he brought me a tiny 2oz little bottle of it
with a pipette on the lid. I believe you use 3 drops to a quart.
BTW--This product is NOT available to the general public. It is for commercial use only.
I do not know what a Hibiscus really needs. I have transplanted it in a bigger
pot with all kinds of good stuff in the soil. That's all I can do.
I have watered it a few times with a Starter fertilizer (higher in "P") for good bloom.
It will be a waiting game.......Thanks for your suggestions, Speedie----
G.
My hibiscus seem to do best with full sun and moist soil. Here's what MoBot says:
"Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun. Best in moist, organically rich soils, but does surprisingly well in average garden soils as long as those soils are not allowed to dry out. Regular deep watering is advisable. Tolerates some light shade, but full sun with good air circulation produces best flowers, strongest stems and the best environment for resisting potential diseases. Site in locations protected from wind to minimize risk of wind burn. New growth shoots are slow to emerge in spring. However, once new growth begins, it proceeds quite rapidly and plants will benefit from regular fertilization during the growing season. Japanese beetles can severely damage foliage if left unchecked."
Sounds like a lot G. It sure does look good though :)
Time for a new thread:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1365606/
OK...OK.....I think your description, Cat, is everything I already have....
Off tot he new THread! good night! G.