Oh it has survived, but dies back to the ground. We actually got figs this year. I'm hoping to get a jump on the season this way and get a bigger crop.
Yardening along merrily soon into November
I hauled my big potter Fig into the basement today.
It has not fruited yet--so I need to baby it a bit. It is now 3 years from a cutting
and around 4' tall. I will never plant it in the ground--just no place for it--considering
hoe big it can grow. S0--maybe in a pot it will stay smaller.
It will get light from 2 shop-lights which are on most days. Sometimes i forget.
The lights are on because i have my 2 big Clivia pots sitting on my work table
just under the lights. Last year one of the Clivias bloomed in the Shop.
That was a surprise.
Ric--your Fig should e well protected. I would put a pile of leaves around the base as well--
as it is the roots that freeze. They are shallow.
Good luck! We have 3 nights in a row of frost coming. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
I have not mulched anythig yet... Bummer! Have 3 big bags of shredded leaves
sitting by the shed. Hope we get some more warm days.
G.
Lisa, could it be a false hellebore? Veratrum viride?
Holly, I dragged the camelia out to Donner's. Don't know if she'll get it planted this fall, but we found it a sheltered spot near her foundation... I think it will be OK there for the winter, better than by my foundation anyway, since she's half a zone warmer.
Today was such a gorgeous day! I relocated several plants so I could plant a white coneflower and a creeping Phlox, mowed the front and took a nice walk.
I had no idea it was going to get so cold starting tomorrow; uggh! I guess I'd better figure out which outdoor plants need to be protected, turn off the fish pond fountain and put a heater on the pond.
One thing I'll be glad for when frost finally hits- bug control. I picked another 20 green caterpillers off my kale yesterday, and orange aphids were coating some of the tropical milkweed stems. Last week a bunch of milkweed bugs (or boxelder bugs?) were in a big cluster on an old sunflower stem, kind of creepy, so I drowned them all.
I hope I didn't bring any mosquitoes in with my cup forming Bromeliad type plants.
I wish the dogwood would finish dropping leaves before I mulch in front.
Muddy, good for you for getting the plant moving done! I'm thinking mine may not happen till early spring... :-/ I still need to plant all my new bulbs in my new lasagna bed, which hosted mostly annuals this season.
Ric, love your creativity! :-)
Sally, I hear you about the bug control. Katie, who hates bugs, always bemoans the arrival of summer and is happy when fall arrives! :-D We've also had some boxelder bugs around, much to Katie's dismay...
Lisa, wish I had some idea about your mystery plant! Maybe someone in the plant ID forum would know?
I have someone coming over to help me with the leaves the first weekend in December--blow them off the lawn and spread them onto the garden areas.
Finally decided it was time for my annual 'last flowers of fall' bouquet.
Soon these will be gone as well, then waiting for my amaryllis...
By the way, wanted to say how much I enjoyed seeing everyone at the fall swap and at the bulb sort at Critter's!
Catmint
Great job, Detective SSG! My Mystery plant must be a false hellebore. It has those signature pleated leaves. Ordered several plants from Barry Glick, aka Hellebore guru, two years ago but few survived the winter.
Planning to finish up boxing annuals and tender tubers this afternoon. In the garage, my plants compete with wine-making equipment and other odd bits for space. No room for the car.
A bit chilly today but still nice enough to work outside.The garage is all sorted, pots,trays etc, all put in place for next season. I decided to put a heavy bed of leaf mulch around the nandinas. The winter die back the last 2 seasons has been pretty hard on them. They are just borderline in our zone, so I gave them a little TLC this year to try and make them a little more robust going into winter.
Darn, I forgot the pic.
really pretty color on those Ric!!
Ric--
How do you grow a Nandina in a ball shape? Do you prune a lot?
Ha...ha...a"meatball" nandina!
I do nothing to mine--and it is about3'-4' tall and has stems.
Like a small, bushy bamboo.
Charlie & Mitch were supposed to be here at 10 am... but they had a plumbing flooding emergency to take care of for another client and didn't arrive until 5, by which time I was up to my elbows in cookie dough. While Charlie installed new smoke detectors, Mitch cut a bunch more sections of chicken wire for my tree/shrub protectors, and he also finished a stepping stone "platform" for a bench I moved out into the garden...
I should have taken my camera out, will get pictures soon, but it's such a great feature! The bench sits *perfectly* level, with its 4 feet on big stones with a couple inches of sand under them and stomped in as hard as Mitch could manage. Then there's a little "apron" of stones under and in front of the bench, so there's a place to rest your feet.
That stonework connects up with the stone edges of the new rock garden area, so it "fits" beautifully with that part of the garden. Just to the right of the bench is the new pondform Bluespiral gave me, that Meghan dug in for me last spring. And to set it all off, I have 3 iron trellis "panels" set up like a screen behind the bench, with 2 shepherds hooks for support where they meet up (we used zip ties to connect the pieces).
We definitely need pictures of your new bench, Jill. Sounds great. Maybe you can incorporate the deer head somehow. :-)
Too bad birds aren't eating those bugs for you, Sally!
CatMint, it was great to see you at those events. I like your "last flowers" bouquet. Geranium 'Rozanne' is still blooming a little, as is Obedient Plant and Helenium, but that's about it.
A bud is opening up on one of my Rhododendrons, though. Crazy!
I transplanted a few things from clay pots to plastic, grouped all of the container plants in a slightly sheltered place and put some mulch on them, cleaned leaves off the back lawn and did some pond maintenance. That'll have to do until next weekend.
Yes, photos of your bench and rock garden area are a must, Critter; I can't quite visualize it.
Pat, you are a stitch!!
I think i got all my clay pots in the shed, started a few weeks ago, knowing how time could get away from me so easily. ACK@ just remembered my big Red Epi basket outside, the last one in
Whew, you are industrious souls. Meant in the best way.
Lisa, did I understand that you had ordered false hellebore, Veratrum viride? Winter should not be a problem as they are VERY cold hardy. They do, however, require pretty wet conditions, and I suspect insufficient moisture was more likely the cause of their demise.
Lisa, false hellebores are also very poisonous! They're toxic to both people and livestock.
So are true hellebores, which we grow with abandon.
I cut both stems off of that iris which decided to bloom this time of year.
it had two atems--filled with bloom buds. Whassup???
Anyway--it was suggested that I do this if i wan tto see the blooms ope up.
So--here it is--in a vase of water now--loaded with blooms...Crazy!!!
Will keep you updated. G.
Gita There are different types of Nandinias, Something that I didn't know when I picked up these bargain plants for a $1 a piece. I don't think they will get the red berries that the taller ones get but they are pretty any way. We haven't done any trimming on them yet I think they will grow into a nice looking hedge if we don't loose them. I had thought I would plant them in the front yard and then after talking to a friend who told me they are marginally hardy in our area decided that maybe not so prominent of a place. They are in the backyard along Alfie's fenced yard.
This is the first year that they looked like much, they were small plants when I bought them about 3 years ago and have done the Sleep, Creep and Leap. They were really sad looking when first coming out of last winter I was surprised how well they have grown and filled out.
Critter, Yes please pictures. Sounds lovely.
It was so beautiful out today! I did a little cleaning up of leaves from flower beds and took a few minutes to see what was still blooming:
Lobelia siphilitica, Helenium autumnale, Geranium 'Rozanne', the last Montauk Daisy and Obedient Plant
And last but definitely not least, Salvia 'Black and Blue', which this bee was no doubt pleased to find.
Nice to see some flowers hanging on out there. I was able to make a small bouquet of flowers for my MIL today. They all came from the plants in my xeric garden. I had already trimmed the perennials a couple weeks ago but left a lone soldier phlox that wasn't blooming but in such good shape I didn't want to cut it down.
We had more frost here, but not yet total freeze. We can't ask for better weather for our guests. I will be delighted to go in the garden in the morning for some quiet time, then we'll have leftovers for lunch, and go to National Arboretum and College Park area. We considered Great Falls but worried it may be too crowded and take a little too long getting there and back. My bro and I are both Terps and will reminisce and bore everybody with, "Oh this used to be...this is where..." Luckily, my bro does not know any tales to tattle about my college exploits....
Nice to see the last blooms, Muddy.
Sounds like a lovely day you have planned, Sally.
Katie and I had a nice time last night having tday dinner with friends. Leftovers today--yum.
I was surprised to see the Lobelias blooming. The ones still flowering are young plants I started from seeds sowed last winter; the mature plants were finished at least a month earlier.
Sequoia, how nice of you to pick flowers for your MIL! I hope Darcy is feeling okay.
I hope you're having a nice day, Sally. It looks like the weather will cooperate.
We had a very nice day. Half my guests didn't show up, they had car trouble and decided not to try and come. So there were just 8 of us a nice quiet visit with my parents and my son's, Courtney and JR. We have a ton of food left over some of it will end up in the freezer. Ric woke up in the middle of the night and did a major kitchen clean up. It was so nice to not have to wake up to the mess this morning.
Hey Sally, That article Clean up the veggie patch -- your first year has come to an end. Is really a good article. I see that it is a reprint, I probably read it when it first came out.
Muddy--
My B&B Salvias are all still blooming too.
How do you plant to treat them so they make it through he winter?
So far--I have thrown a good layer of dried leaves over all the lower level..
Hope they make it. I have 3 growing since late summer (got all the deals
at MD Flower and Foliage).
Mt Purple Cone flowers are still going too.
Here is a picture of the Iris that had 3 stems and a bunch of bloom buds.
I did cut them all back last Monday when we had all the frost. They are now in water.
One opened up yesterday--it is a beautiful yellow.
I must have planted it there--but I don't remember for sure why???.
I may dig it up in spring and give it a more noteworthy spot.
G.
Darcy is doing well except being itchy as the baby is exasperating allergies.
It was so beautiful out today. I was going to put up Xmas decs but mowed the grass and did odds and ends instead. I did plant the white and red clover seeds as well as the lotus corniculatus seeds in the front lawn. The children next door helped :-)
Here are some pics of the day.
Rockin the tee and lookin at bees. Not bad for late November.
Thanks Holly.
Pics from National Arb.
Gita, I'll put about 1.5" of shredded leaves on top of them. That seems to work best for the plants in that bed.
I was outside in a tank top today, too. It was so nice!
Sequoia, I didn't realize you were planting your lawn in clover and lotus corniculatus. The bees will love that.
Sally, let me guess...photos show your sons, daughter, Mark's parents plus daughter's boyfriend at the top left of the first photo? Cute pics!
This message was edited Nov 27, 2015 8:09 PM
Yup right in the lawn. Just in the front yard though. That area encircles the front yard garden and always seems to have a couple places that die over the summer. We'll see how it does next year. If it works out perfect it will look awesome.
Just FYI--some "Flashes" at HD.
The green bags, by "Natures Care" of "Really Great Compost"
are now down to .98 cents per bag. That bags are 1cf. WOW!
We got in a HUGE amount of palates of these bags of this by mistake--
like 12--so we have it in many. many bays.
As I have mentioned before--this is truly just the results of composting
twigs and branches and woody scraps (?) from (maybe?) curb pick ups.
It IS, however, composted and rich looking--even if it does not, actually, contain
to much soil to speak. It will continue to break down and I think it will work
well as a soil aerator and amendment.
Go see how much of this product YOUR HD has. Can't beat 98 cents!
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Another "flash"--not really new by now--but the pea-green bottles of Natria" brand
Neem Oil, insecticides, etc, has been, ridiculously, clearanced. like--75% off!
We have none left--but you can check YOUR HD and see.
************************************
Also--Many of the usual mulches are ALL GONE! All we have left is red mulch and
brown mulch. Nothing else--and it will NOT be re-ordered until spring.
SO--don't get all bitchy because your store has no black mulch left.
That's just the way it is...It is all seasonal--and mulch season is all gone.
Some of this is worth checking out. Gita