Seq, I toyed with the idea of moving my M bealei last year. I don't remember how long it has been in this spot, so that's at least ten years. maybe fifteen. Between the roots and the stiff spiny leaves, there was no way I could! It seemed like the roots are 'serious,' like you say.
Yardening June 2014 #3 into July
Sally, do you want to move it or remove it?
Muddy, I've recently decided to remove it ( funny word...but I digress) Moving it would take a Herculean effort which I cannot justify for this potentially invasive, non native plant.
Oh but it's so pretty. Can you post a pic of it? I bet it looks beautiful!
You're not making this easy are you? HAHA LOL I will get a picture JUST FOR YOU
Thanks Sally, your the best :)
I am a sucker is what i am hahaha
It is hidden in summer now by the spreading bottlebrush buckeye. Gets plenty of sun in winter though.
Better view stepping closer
look at those berries!!! Its loaded this year.
And for all my blather about the non native ity...truth comes out. I have a toddler im another area. Thats why im a sucker. A sucker for a free decorative plant with berries.
So Seq i admit it is still a very attractive plant. The winter flower and fragrance are great though the weather got to it this winter messed up the timing and i mostly missed it.
So Sally what are you doing with the toddler? I need to talk one of my neighbors into planting one, shouldn't be too hard. LOL
Wow, what a beautiful specimen! Why would you ever get rid of it?? I wish mine looked like that this year. Mine looks like a butt right now. A lot of the leaves are brown. This winter was not kind to it not to mention the transplant shock hurting it. I love the flowers on it too and the berries are very attractive.
Holly, the toddler was in a pot last year, and stuck in the ground this spring. It would be easy to pick up and bring to you in Sept. Just LMK what they say, tee hee.
Seq, I hope yours perks up. Mine has that privacy fence on its north/west side,plus a dogwood and the bottlebrush and a young oak for wind dampening right around it. It seems to add a 'layer' of foliage each year. I've been selectively pruning the tall stems on this guy, to arrange the layers nicely. It's a fun plant in that way, easy to keep in control. And those berries- I have no reason to think there are many, if any, others nearby for pollination. Self fertilization may be one reason it has proliferated in the South.
Darnit you guys have me liking it again...grr . I hate you all!
Love,
Sally
Sorry Sally it is lovely. Snicker,Snicker
Anything that survived last winter would have to be hardy. LOl
The red barberry I brought home is supposed to be very upright, I had to have one to contrast the dark holly, juniper, and gold thread cypress. In a few years Holly will love it, provided she doesn't back into it.ROTFL
Thanks Sally, What variety is it again?
Haha! I've never pruned mine and it usually put two layers on a season, one in the spring and another in mid summer. I might trim it back hoping to revitalize it. The big one has nothing going on but the smaller one I planted in front of it has the new shoot.
I have just yanked out a Miscanthus volunteer -- probably Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' (just a guess) that reseeded from my neighbor's yard. If anyone wants it, I can pot it up for you. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e250 If not, I'm going to pitch it....
I was all ready to call dibs before I realized it was a grass :(
Holly it is this
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1898/
The one up for (Figurative!) grabs is about knee high, in my last picture above.
Thanks Sally, I'll take it if my neighbor isn't interested I'll find a spot for it.
You got it!
So I did a major hack job on Wisteria today. The side towards the patio, reclaimed an 8 X 4 ft section of patio. Now I can watch the Hummers come to the feeders and there is some space for some planters, to sit.
It looks great, Holly! Wish I would see some Hummers around here...
Right now, the mosquitos and biting gnats are preventing me from sitting out and enjoying my garden. If I burned citronella, would that repel bees and butterflies, too? The websites I've looked at claim not, but I wanted to check out what my fellow MAFers have experienced as well!
This message was edited Jul 1, 2014 8:15 PM
Holly, isn't it great to have all that space back?
I don't think citronella persists after you quit burning it, so no problem. My guess. But Try using a small electric fan instead. my sister uses that in FL to keep skeeters off.
That was a lot of work, Holly, but it sounds well worth it. Reclaiming 32 sq.ft. is pretty major.
CatMint, you come up with very interesting questions! I'm curious as well, so I did a little googling. This site claims that citronella doesn't so much repel mosquitoes as make it hard for them to sniff you out. My guess is that butterflies would like citronella flowers, so they probably wouldn't mind the smell of citronella candles.
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2011/04/5-easy-to-grow-mosquito-repelling-plants/
A fan is a great idea! I'll try to remember that one.
thanks, Muddy! I'm thinking I'll try some citronella in the backyard then to help with the mosquitos...
Whoa, I didn't read that carefully at first.
Holly, the wisteria had taken a 4x8 section of the patio? WOW!
I saw citronella plants at HD. I was wondering if they helped repel mosquitoes and gnats.
I have a question. I have lots of cut down trees in the back yard that are sending out shoots faster than I can pull them out/cut them. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to kill the tree once and for all? I don't have the equipment or the budget to pull the stumps out. Amazing how quickly our yards revert to their natural state - a hardwood forest in my case.
The wind is picking up. Looks like it is finally going to rain.
So much for yardening today. I'll have to clean house instead, blech. Hope it rains enough so that I don't have to water.
I used the citronella plants on the patio border for a few years and would say they helped. I even swished my hand through the foliage and rubbed it on me, which I'm not sure worked but? Rubbing ferns on yourself seems to help, so why not? I once asked an older gardener about the ferns and he asked me , What kind of bugs have you ever seen eat ferns? Point taken.
Once on a fishing trip to Jersey (renowned for mosquitoes of epic proportions), Jamie and I used a bath wash and body spray containing some kind of botanical oil, when we returned from the showers, no problem. When our friend came running back saying he had forgotten the deet, we had a good laugh, we still hadn't used it.
GQ, I don't know if your township would allow it but a good way to get rid of a stump is to put charcoal briquettes on it and light them. Let them burn until they put themselves out. That is one of the best ways but unfortunately many townships don't allow 'open burning'. Another way is to drill into the stump a bunch of holes and then pour in the stump eater powder from HD or Lowes. I don't think that stuff works as well. If you can keep up with the sprouts this season, there's a good chance it won't come back after the winter.
Also try rubbing branches of catnip on while you are working. Seems to help me.
Now if I could just keep the darn cats away...
Hahahahaahaaa Sally!! I have been swearing by (ok, well, not actually "swearing", heh heh) Lemon Grass for YEARS, and darn it, I will not change my mind! I grow a few of them outside each entrance to the house, including on the deck where it's nice to sit sometimes, and next to my bird bath, and I have had NOOOOO mosquito issues at all. NONE. Zero, Zip, Nada!! Now, this time of year you will be really hard-pressed to find any... at least down around my area you will, (even our growers have run out of 'em!), but next Spring, I highly recommend getting some. Grow them, cook with them, use them in iced tea, rub them on yourself; there's just nothing that's not beneficial about them!
Time for an article!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3351/
Totally EXCELLENT article Sally, dunno how I missed it before! Thank you for that, I've saved it so I can share the info with BossMan (to prepare for next year's shopping). :)
thanks for that article, Sally! :-) I definitely need to get some citronella plants, plus get some kind of citronella repellent to put on myself--I'm assuming it would be more pleasant to breathe in than the 'deep woods off' is! :-D
In terms of habitat for breeding mosquitoes, the general wetness of my soil does not help, nor does the fact that I've been keeping my grass on the long side lately. But I'll see what I can do to make my yard more undesirable for them....
Hey--Y'ALL---
Muddy posted a link just a few Posts above that has excellent info
on repelling Mosquitoes. Some of their siggestions were eye-openers
for me. AND--NONE of them included the "Mosquito Plant"....
The simplest one was to have a fan blowing on your table...Keeps Mosquitoes
at bay.
Here it is--- http://eartheasy.com/blog/2011/04/5-easy-to-grow-mosquito-repelling-plants/
Print this out and share the info. i did.
Gita
Sally, thanks for the very interesting article (very well-written as well, might add). Now that we all know the Latin names for the effective mosquito-repelling plants, we won't end up buying imposters that nurseries label "mosquito plants".
The link says Catnip is more effective than DEET. I have a huge Catnip plant, so I should try rubbing it on myself too. It can't hurt! My cat couldn't possibly follow me around more than he does already.
In Sally's wake, LOL
OOPS, meant to say nice article.
This message was edited Jul 3, 2014 11:58 AM
LOL...!
If (when) you do get bitten by mosquitoes, here is a very effective remedy:
1. Heat about 1/2 cup of water for 30 seconds or so in a microwave.
2. Hold a metal spoon in the hot water for a few seconds to heat it up.
3. Hold back of hot spoon against bite for several seconds.
4. Repeat process several times.
The heat from the spoon denatures (destroys its biological activity) the mosquito's protein that causes the itch and swelling. You can have the itch gone within a minute - really works!
I'll try that David, it sounds reasonable. If you get a stink bug in your mouth (don't ask), rinse well with vinegar, it neutralizes the alkali, and a dab of salt or sugar will help with the vinegar taste.
Thanks Ric, that will come in handy if that ever happens again....
It was on my lip for the record, stowing away in a bag of peanut M&Ms I was eating out of my rain jacket pocket. Lots of useful tips with that one.