I'd do a few 'Lonely' too, please Sally.
FIRST FLOWERS OF LATE SUMMER 2015
I'd do a few 'Lonely' too, please Sally.
SS--
Coleus cuttings do so well just stuck in some Pro Mix (or similar) and kept in good light.
They root so easily! At least--I have never had any issues....
What do you do that does not work for you?
Mine are getting too tall already--and I may have to pinch them back. Not sure
I want to pot up the pinched off ends--that will be too many pots to take care of...
G.
All of my bright/sunny/artificially lit spots are taken up by other tropicals, and I literally don't have any more room, so I decided to focus on non-cuttings. Much less stress!
SSG, I tuck coleus cuttings in anywhere they'll fit, usually around the edge of a hanging basket or as an "underplanting" in a larger pot. Sometimes I root them in water first, sometimes I don't. If you pinch them back a few times they stay smaller and get bushy, and you'll have lots of tips to root in spring.
I got a gallon of Wilt Pruf from Amazon for 77 bucks shipped for free. That was a pretty good deal. I spray it on my Cryptomeria japonica 'Sekkan Sugi' after I take the Christmas lights off them.
Does anyone have experience in rooting hardy geranium? I have a root that busted off a Biokovo and it was laying all wilted on the ground when I noticed it this weekend. I set it in a pot of water and brought it inside because the water would freeze. I'm wondering if it will root this way.
G. 'Biokovo' has rooted indoors very easily for us.
I agree the geranium should root easily. Its cousin the pnik one is super easy to divide and root along those stems.
ssg, you have my permission and blessing to NOT do coleus cuttings LOL
Lol...Sally
How did you guys root your Biokovo? Just in water? How long did it take?
Just pot it up and water it when it gets dry. Set it on a window sill and it will sprout, giving you a decent plant to put outside in the spring. I wouldn't be surprised if you could just plant the root in your garden now and find it sprouting come spring. We have found this plant to be very "propagation friendly".
Alright, it's at work now in water. I'll bring it home this weekend and put it in a pot. Thanks for the tip!
My "mystery" Iris, that I cut back and brought it inside, and put it in a vase
of water-and one of the the buds DID open up and loomed--is now dead ad gone.
I don't think any of the other buds on the stems will do anything any more.
They feel mushy-and gone...I am assuming that they do not like being indoors.
OH, well--I will see next spring how well it does,
I will, definitely, move this Iris to a better location. WHERE? I will find one somehow.
G.
Glad you got to see it, anyway!
I've stuck geranium cuttings in water but never had them root until I stuck them in potting mix. Keep the mix moist, and you shouldn't have any trouble... Scented geraniums give me a little more trouble, but I get some percent success with them by covering them or putting them in one of those mini-greenhouses by a basement window (keep humidity high around them until they strike roots).
By "mini-greenhouses by a basement window", do you mean window wells? How often do you have to water them to keep humidity high? I'm thinking that could be a good place to overwinter plants as long as I didn't have to remove the window well covers very often.
Thanks Critter. I'll pot up the little guy this weekend and then bring it back to work.
My little geranium is doing great at the office.
Pretty soon we will have to name this thread first flowers of winter. Below is my Mahonia bealei in bloom. A honey bee was visiting right before I took the pic.
My M. bealei.
Bee butt.
Wintersweet
AWWW--Sally---
Your WS has graduated and is now a full-fledged shrub-in-bloom.
"Granny Gita" is so proud of you!
How many years has it now been from a seedling? Seven? Eight?
Would like to see Paul's--but he no longer posts here...He got the WHOLE bush!
Yes GIta, it has filled with blooms this year for the first time. I think it is seven years from seed. Best guess anyway. Paul's must be spectacular right now. Maybe a bit waterlogged in the petals, but hasn't had to deal with freeze drying weather, neither has the Mahonia.
I feel like I should dislike the Mahonia as a non native with invasive problems in some parts of the South. But is it slow growing for me, and so I can prune it to achieve the layered look you see above, and keep it shaped and sized as I want; I'm very pleased with it.
I need to e-mail Paul as I have gotten a good-sized start of the "Koromo Shukibi"
Azalea for him. It is planted in a 14" pot and is doing OK.
The same man who gave me mine many years ago--dug up this one for me--
as I kept bugging him for it--and he FINALLY did it.
Of course--Paul lives a few floors up in a Condo. I don't think he will have
anywhere to plant it? BUT---it MAY grow in a BIG pot.....???
SS-you see him now and then, don't you? Do you know what is new with him?
Invite him and his SO to our Seed Swap! We all miss him.
Yooo-hooo, Jill....
Do we have a date yet for the Seed-Swap? People may need to plan ahead.
Thanks, Gita
Looking good Sally! That Wintersweet is very beautiful. Too bad you can't send the smell through the computer ;-)
Jeff---
I have a "million" seeds of the Wintersweet--"Chimonanthus praecox".
How patient are you?
What's 7 years of watching a plant germinate, grow, grow some more,
and, eventually bloom????? Sally's grew from a seedling I gave her.
There is NOTHING "beautiful" about the WS shrub--as a shrub.
Coarse leaves-woody stems, vase-shaped shrub. Bahh-Humbug....
and It is deciduous
And then, in late January--early February--it blooms!
You come home from work--and the fragrance envelops you as soon as
you get out of your car. It is intoxicating! Much like the Dr. Seuss Brug.
You should try to grow it....you have time....Gita
I was outside yesterday picking up tools and such and noticed the annual alyssum that I got from Holly's HGA is STILL blooming!
Sally, I thought that my Mahonia was looking good till I saw yours WOW what a beauty
I like that Wintersweet holds its leaves very late, then turns a nice yellow. Leaves are long pointed ovals. It is a fast grower!
Holly, thanks. I've had it a long time. Over time you can cut the stems and make it branch like that. It's just six feet tall. I can't even remember how i got it.
Here is mine, not quite 5ft.
Sally how do you prune yours?
The 2nd pic is from the back and it isn't as layered as the front 1st pic.
The back doesn't get as much sun so it might have something to do with it but I would like a well rounded bush.
Wow Holly, loads of stems and blooms there! Yes some stems seem sort of bare from the back. I think you have layers, but maybe the thinness of the leaves means the blooms aren't being shown off as well. I see a couple long stems in the front, left, that I might cut. Stagger them, and also guesstimate how the remaining stems will get taller while the cuts bud or branch. Boy I wish I was off work and could just run up there for a visit.
Mine has that fence behind. It might be bare in back too, can't tell. It has a dogwood and bottlebrush buckeye shading/crowding it in summer but the fence is south facing. I just study it about once a year and take down a stem or two to get the new buds to fill where I want. And I must have some luck going too, I am surely NO pruning pro.
Aspenhill, I do like sweet alyssum, I bought seed last year but failed.
Nice Sally. You might not be a pruner but you do have an eye for it! You are welcome to practice on my shrubs if you want!
I took down 2 or 3 branches last year that just shot way out.
I finally went out there this morning and did some clean up on the front bed. No actual weeding though the winter weeds are "growing like weeds". Just cutting back things like the toad lilies, solomon seal, chrysanthemum and cleaning up the hellebore. WOW when you get in there close up you see all kinds of buds usually not seen until spring. There is new growth on the Toad lilies, chrysanthemums and the euphorbia bonfire
Holly, I'm finding the same thing here. I think even the Japanese Maples have reversed their sap flow! Forsythia, abelia, quince blooming as well as plum and cherry trees. DD in Vermont says that there are reports of birds building nests and laying eggs up there, Also seeing many thumbnail sized moths ? flitting about..
Looking at the calendar, I would like to suggest we start a new thread and jump from "First Flowers Of Late Summer" to "First Flowers Of Early Winter" . ;-)
Good golly, we sure do need to set a date for the seed swap! I think we tossed dates around in another thread without finalizing... how about the last weekend of January, with the first weekend of February as the "rain date" (or, rather, snow date)? I've had a couple of requests for Sunday rather than Saturday -- let me know if either of those Sundays would work. I do need to check the schedule at Chef Lin, of course. Feb. 8 is the Chinese New Year, so if we get snowed out on Jan. 30/31, that next weekend might not work for them... we could end up at the Golden Corral.
I don't have any plans and any of the dates, Saturday or Sunday, will work for me.
Jill, glad you brought up the seed swap as I was planning to broach the matter when I sat at my computer this morning. I personally vote for a January date since some seeds require exposure to winter conditions. Any day will be fine for us and Golden Corral would be ok if they have a separate room for us to use.
Definitely Saturday for me...
I always work on Sundays--but if the date is firmly set a minimum of 3 weeks
before the Swap-I may be ale to switch and work on Saturday.
Our schedules are finalized 3 weeks in advance and the scheduler is a real B--ch.
Lets not drag this out...PLEASE!. Gita
Ric and I are good with either Sat or Sun last weekend in Jan or 1st in Feb.
Sundays OK with me, Saturdays all should work too.
Sally. can I hitch a ride? If so. I am ok with whatever.
Either weekend works for me.