Yardening October 2015 - Waitin on Joaquin

That is what ours was like almost but not quite sleet.

I think the term for it is graupel, also called soft hail. Parts of MD and PA had graupel yesterday.

Yes, That is the word they were using, I have never heard of that before.

I learn something new every day here! Graupel. Who knew?

After picking all the green tomatoes and hauling everything inside, it doesn't look like it actually froze here after all. The next couple of weeks should be above-freezing again and really quite pleasant... I'm hoping it got cold enough to kill the skeeters at least!

Time to cook up a batch of apple & green tomato chutney. I start with the recipe from Joy of Cooking and adjust as I go. I especially like to add chopped candied ginger and am thinking of adding diced dried apricots as well as raisins this year.

Holly: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/468

btw, I haven't found 8 weeks of dormancy to be strictly necessary. The 3+ weeks it takes the foliage to dry up once you uproot the bulbs seems to be sufficient to reset the bulbs' "bloom clocks."

I used to plant pansies, but they tended to get eaten so I gave up. I blamed the deer, but perhaps they had help from rabbits!

I had never heard of graupel before, either, so I had to find out more: The word is German http://origin-dictionary.reference.com/browse/graupel, and refers to soft hail http://weather.about.com/od/g/g/graupel.htm

I was walking the yard tonight inspecting the freeze damage and I noticed that I have daffodils coming up. What is up with that!?!?

My freeze damage was limited to begonia, dahlias, zinnias, and my rabdosia longituba. All else is still going strong. One plant I'm super impressed with right now is the Persicaria amplexicaulis I got from David and Pat in the spring. It's LOADED with blooms and is totally crushing it right now.

Graupel, Huh. thanks SSG!

Jeff, lucky you, I got it too but it has suffered, Still, I bet it rebounds next year
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thebattery.org/images/plants/red-moun61.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thebattery.org/plants/plantview.php?id%3D205&h=371&w=400&tbnid=ELttk-N8QJnfzM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=200&usg=__VGIUha20ydp-2Pa_1TYW-zac9V8=&docid=GSHN6w8xPvPkCM&itg=1

LOL yep I put out some beautiful pansies and they were munched up overnight by the bunnies.

Jeff, relax about the daffs (and muscari and tulips et al). They have a mind of their own. I don't know why they put up foliage "out of season," but it never seems to hurt anything. You'll notice it's just leaves, not buds.

I've never seen daff foliage at this time of year, just grape hyacinths. One DGer said she puts a few grape hyacinth in with her daff plantings to remind here where they are in fall.

Too bad your mountain fleece has suffered. It's quite a striking plant, especially this time of year. I have Persicaria affinis 'Darjeeling Red' too but it got taken over by hardy ageratum and is almost gone now. I took some shoots and put them in a pot. Hopefully they root nicely then I can plant it somewhere else to make a nice carpet. I bought P. amplexicaulis 'Blackfield' this spring too but all 3 plants struggled big time this season. One died completely and was dug out by some varmint. Not sure about the other but one is holding on and sprouted new leaves. Maybe the will come back, maybe not. I'm excited to see about the other P. amps as to whether they run at all over the winter. I wouldn't mind if they did as they are worth it.

Funny, I had not heard the word "graupel" since we left Austria.

Isn't that funny, Lisa? Do the weather people want to introduce new terms to keep us chatting? Remember Derecho?

Yes, graupel is a German word that we borrowed. :)

Isn't there a common weed that's in the Persicaria genus? I've stayed away from the genus because of this weed, but pictures of Persicaria amplexicaulis online are really pretty.

7 oclock and it's all dark outside?!?!?
((pout))
I'm going to declare dinner time 8 pm so I can fool around in the yard after work.

I cannot believe that since Oct. 10th--82 new posts were added here!!!!

I started reading them all--but gave up. So much to comment on and add.....
I think your alphabet game created a zillion Posts....

Anyway......where do i start?

Yesterday and today I spent pulling up anything and everything, all annuals--
and cutting back a lot of plants--like Phlox. No mercy! I seem to reach this stage--
where nothing matters any more....filled 3 lg. trash bags. Lots more to go....
I have already taken cuttings of all my Coleus and they are under lights.
Good--bc as of a couple nights ago--they all were toast.

I still have to dig up the Cannas I planted--(4) 3 dark leaf--one green, with pink blooms.
Here is what I learned about digging up Cannas ages ago...from Allan Summers.

--Allow frost to kill the stems and the foliage.
--Cut down the big stems but leave the stumps about 12" tall above ground.
--wait 2 more weeks--and then you can dig them up.
I think this allows the roots to mature a it before you dig them up.

Ran the sprinkler today for quite a while in the back yard. Everything is SOOO dry!
I have many new DL planted in the mid-corner of my YUK bed. Also 3 new Goldenrods
and some other perennials. Hoping they will root in--but they ARE in the YUK bed.
Need moisture!!!

Demolished my 2 big planters. Pulled up all the Sweet Potato vines and collected several
nice, red potatoes. I WILL eat them all! They are very tasty! Wash therm--Nuke them
and get the butter out. YUMMMMM...
Actually--I will take a coupe to work and try to convince some people to try them.
I can see it now....EWWWW....Then I will eat them in front of everyone to prove they are OK.
Teee..heee...they all already know I eat all kinds of weird things...

Here's my harvest from 4 plants.

Holly---

Re the Amaryllis................

Disclaimer--I have NEVER grown them in beds outside, nor have I bought any new
bulbs for eons. You know--I have all the same uls going for years and years....
So--my advice may be different...

I do not think you should have cut off the leaves of the A.bulbs.
They DO provide the energy for the bulb to bloom. Just like all bulbs...
NO!!! Don't even think about cutting off the roots ! That's a double whammy!!

If you dug up the Amaryllis bulbs, I would think that just letting them be )somewhere)
and allowing the leaves to yellow and be pulled off would not take more than 3 weeks.
THEN they will need the 6 weeks of dormancy/rest before they "awaken" again.
I think a cool, dry place would be good for this period. You don't want to encourage
any new growth during this time. Just RR&R.

After this rest period--look for signs of new growth. You will see the tips of the bloom-buds
or leaves, starting to show.
At this time, you can pot them up--or re-pot them if you had them in pots and then
move them to better light and warmth like in your LR or Plant room.

From then o--it is just a matter of a couple weeks and you will have new looms.

Whether anyone agrees--or disagrees with this--it works for me.

I attach Jack Eden's advice on Amaryllis care. He was a renowned garden Guru
years ago. I have his "Jack Eden Garden Guide" Calendar from 1991.
EVERY page is loaded with advice on gardening and specific plants.
A real trasure.

His advice may be a load of detailed information to the nth degree--but read it--print it out--
and maybe you can't go wrong after that...

Gita

Thanks Gita.

I have removed nearly all the frozen annuals and will soon be starting on bulbs. Holly needs an intervention on bulb orders. When we picked up her bulb order at Teri's I just knew our next car has to be bigger. LOL This coming from the guy that hauled a car top carrier to Florida for luggage so the car would be empty for plants and can't turn around in the GH.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

10:17 and still in coffee mode, I think it's time to get my grass in gear!!!

Oh that Lance Coporal is adorable!

Fortunately that Lance Corporal is easy to spot. We're still pulling it out, but hopefully are winning the battle. It is one of the most invasive things we've ever encountered. It was very attractive when there were just a few small clumps, but it sure took off and filled the entire bed.

Yeah Pat, I was glad I asked GT about it before ordering it from Lazy SS this spring. He said the same thing you did so I ended up getting Persicaria microcephala 'Purple Fantasy' instead. The Purple Fantasy is blooming really nicely right now.

Good to know about Lance Corporal! I knew certain persicarias were too aggressive. I love that Purple Fantasy. I'm adding it to my wish list right now. :)

LoL SSG....I gave Tovara (Lance Corporal) as an example of one of the 'common weed' persicarias, not as a plant you should consider for your yard!

Tovara and I have occupied the same yard for over 20 years, so I am grown used to it and its ways here. Egads, unlike Pat's experience (ongoing battle), Tovara has not taken over anything and the oldest 'clumps' only have about 8 stems each. It does reseed and I let some of the babies grow up in some new areas and then pull them up if I do not like the effect with abandon as I know I can get more or replace as needed. If it grew any taller, I would hate it and sometimes I just get tired of the looseness of its growth and cut it back. Here it plays well with Hosta and ferns, works as an edger along some of the sidewalks and driveway and underskirts some shrubs. It is a good plant to disquise the many containerizd plants I grow making them seem to blong where I plop them in the midst of Tovara.. They grow with little care from me in mostly shade, poor soil and little water. Oh, and did I mention that Tovara is native? If any of mine escapes it won't upset the ecosystem apple cart.

Quick reminder that everybody is invited to Saturday's shindig. It's a bulb pick-up party, but you can come (1 pm) to have lunch, visit, and join us for dinner at Chef Lin whether or not you were part of the fall group buys. Drop me a Dmail if you can, so I know to throw an extra can of beans into the chili. Dmail if you need directions, too. :-)

Thanks Jill. Please dmail directions, but no promises I can make it! Still digging up water main leaks here...and Sally is working so no ride....

Persicaria 'Purple Fantasy'
See the update here
http://thebikinggardener.com/2014/05/04/rampant-fantasy/#comments
"Update: April 2015

Well, how my opinion of this little thug has changed! I have just dug the two clumps out of the border. Not only have the clumps themselves expanded hugely but there are small plants, from suckers or creeping stems, coming up at least 60cm away from the main plant. This is too much of a good thing! So it is all coming out (I hope) and going in some wilder areas of the garden where it can fight it out with nettles and ground elder! You can’t say you have not been warned!"

Oops I need to read more carefully!

I got temped by the bulb display st Costco and bought a bag of 100 crocus bulbs.

And the bulbs are huge! They're bigger than most of my daffodil bulbs! I didn't know it was possible for crocus bulbs to get so big.

I had planned on planting them all in the patch of grass in my front yard, but the soil is so hard and compacted that it's taking forever. Also, I can't just lift up a patch of grass and drop in a few bulbs because the bulbs are so big. They need large individual holes like daffodils. I had to stop after planting 60 bulbs yesterday. Whew!

whew indeed! But it'll be so pretty and last for years. I had crocus last down by my mailbox for many years, probably planted them 20 years ago and they've finally dwindled down, probably due to that being poorly drained in winter and not the best conditions for bulbs I'd guess.

I finally got some pansies, not many colors left but I always obsess over deciding what colors/patterns to get anyway. I ended up with mostly bright yellow but a couple with faces, and have filled four large pots and some more for edging gardens.

My Purple Fantasy looks nothing like the size of that blogger's. It was it's first year so we'll see how it does next year. Perhaps the blogger's specimen had more sun than mine gets.

Didn't the blogger day he didn't know the exact cultivar name?

SSG, bring one of those "crocus" bulbs tomorrow if you haven't planted them all. Even giant crocus don't get daffodil sized... I'm wondering what you got in that box.

maybe I need to stop by Costco

ahem

cue *roll eyes*

Definitely, critter! I hope I'm not planting giant daffodil bulbs in my front lawn! Lol

oh ssg...wouldn't that be a sight I sure hope they are just really big crocus!

Actually, there is an old property near here with a huge area of daffodils in 'lawn' - in a country ish setting with the old house, a long driveway with this near the road. I only saw it in in bloom- but can you imagine the ;grass; by the time they could mow in June?

There's another near here with a problematic front lawn (typical suburban lot for this area) with trees keeping the lawn from being very lush- they have the crocus 'lawn' and it delights me every spring.

I've loved the idea of a crocus lawn ever since we did the one at Critter's to celebrate the arrival of Joyanna.

I planted a few crocus in the lawn last fall and I wasn't super impressed this spring. Perhaps it's because our lawn gets treated, I don't know.