I am glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has bad luck with Blackfoot Daisies. I think they just don't like rich clay soil. They did really well for me one summer and then kapoot.
Carla
July Blooms
I almost killed mine with too much watering, but once I figured out they pretty much like to be left alone, I stopped watering them so much.
Natives are what prepare the damaged/'bad' soils for the next kind of flower that needs a different soil makeup to survive - they add their nutrients and minerals, and when the soil is depleted of what the first settlers needed, their seeds remain to return again when the soil/weather conditions are right for them.
Like clovers that might do great for 5yrs then fail. They have changed the soil and conditions will no longer support them.
It must like my soil because they've been coming back year after year since I moved it!
Something I have apparently learned how to grow by ignoring it. Careyana gave me this hosta, Guacamole, and I tried to kill it several times before I put it in my front bed where it lurks under some rampant Mexican Petunias and red salvias. Obviously it is very happy there.
The deer ate ours, chuckl. Those are pretty Joy
My yard is a horrid mess but my carnivorous plants are doing pretty well.
Steph, I'd love a rock rose if you can swing it. Thank you :)
N3L, they are amazing! Do you have drainage holes in your pots? I tried keeping my son's flytrap happy last winter, indoors. It did well until about a month before spring, then croaked. Again, I think it was the horrible fungus gnat infestation I had!
yes to the holes but those plants must be outdoors all year. They need a winter dormancy to survive long term and full sun in the summer. I keep them in shallow storage tubs with about an inch or so of distilled or rain water.
Wow I had no idea they needed to stay outdoors all year. Makes sense now.. See what I get for following the package instructions? Dead plants! Better to just look it up here on DG and read the comments.
Home grown bouquet. Rosemary, basil and 1 dark pink zinnia sent me from my daughter today..
That is really lovely Kit.
Aw what a sweetie! I may make my MIL a bouquet tomorrow as I have all the same blooming now :))
The flowers have been enjoying the cooler weather and the little bit of rain we picked up.
Flame Acanthus
Coleus on our front patio (Yes, one of my cats is in the window, too.)
I'm loving the pink Turk's Cap
This thing that I can never remember the name of is blooming like crazy
An added bonus, the kitties that were in the window.
snake herb?
No, Marsh Loosestrife. (I looked back at an older post.)
Pics 1,2.. I saw this flower downhill in an uncultivated "washout" area of my yard, below a swale. It looks to me like maybe one of my red nicotiana blooms have escaped and reseeded/reverted? Is that possible?
3 is a new "wild one" for me. Desert bird of paradise.
4, first bloom from my seed grown echinacea :)
5 is ironweed, my neighbors have been clearing brush and this is all that's left of a once huge stand of them. My seeds never germinated but I'd like to transplant a few to my property. Anyone have experience moving ironweed? Any tips?
I don't know what you first flower is, but it sure is pretty.
Ironweed is hard to transplant, the roots are as hard as wood, but it can be done in the fall.
I have never had luck with the seed, but tip cuttings are easy to root in the spring.
I love Ironweed the color is so bright and beautiful!!
Never would have thought to take tip cuttings, I'll do that just saw another stand of hem down the road too so I'll have lots of stock to take from. Yes that color is gorgeous, and the butterflies think so too.. I always see them around it!
I didn't know Ironweed looked like that. I've been wondering what that was in one of my flower beds. Lol
1&2 are petunia
I have 4 different crepe myrtles in my front bed. Here are the 3 small ones. I only know one name. The second pic is a Peppermint Lace.
DG is messing up for me today!
Trying one more time for the 3rd pic...
Its DG and they r trying to fix the problem with pix again. Ironweed is ageratum? Or vernonium? They are a lot alike as far as I can tell anyway.
This message was edited Jul 30, 2014 10:54 PM
It's this one: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VEBA
Yes that's the one that's everywhere here. The color is so amazing, I get whiplash driving down I-20 at 75 mph :))
Joy, as to your question July 1 about the difference in your MPs, the center pic appears to be a dwarf form, Blue Dwarf Ruellia. The 3rd pic I think is Purple Showers ruellia, a non-dwarf form.
I planted Blue Dwarf this year--some in a pot, some in a bed, and a bunch in the alley. They bloom their little hearts out--love them! In my West Texas climate I keep them hand watered. Hope they can handle our winter. ~ pen
Thanks Penn, the middle one is smaller than my other but if it is a dwarf, it is a tall one, measuring in a little over three feet. The other gets to five feet tall and is much more aggressive. It is interesting to know that there are so many different ones.
Hmmmm....well the dwarf by definition does not exceed one foot. Maybe your non-dwarf produced this hybrid by re-seeding. In the pic it looks like the flowers are not produced on stems but just appear from an axil, which certainly mimics the dwarf form. In fact, the dwarf form itself was discovered as a chance seedling growing in a nursery. If it does, indeed, grow from the axil, you might have a new hybrid--a taller dwarf. Give it room to spread and take a rooted division to A&M and tell them you want your name on it. "Joy" would be a great name for this lovely plant. I LOVE the dwarfs. They have been pronounced a Texas Super Star by Texas A&M horticulture.
~ pen
Joy, Google "dwarf ruellia images" and see if your plant looks like those.
Now that I think abt it.....my wild MGs have just really started growing, usually they start in summer. They aren't even blooming yet.
Slip over to our August thread
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1370718/