Plant Propagation: The Basics January 2016

gypsi it looks like nobody but you and I were on here last night. Here I thought they couldn't because they normally are on here that time of night and really carrying on a good chat. But, all of the posts said 1 hr ago. Craziest thing I have seen. but posting like they weren't even trying.

I think a lot of them like ju and probably Debra, and Robin, are in for a big snow storm. They are saying on the TV for everybody to stay in unless they are having a heart attack. Not sure what you are going to do if you are having one of those. Suppose to get several feet of snow. We would have too if it didn't melt in between snowfalls. But our temps are running in the high 30s to low 40s.

Must get busy. ttyl, jen

well I am going to have to go to bed earlier tonight, as soon as I go out and get firewood. I've gotten in the habit of sleeping in and staying up late, and I have to go back to work soon, once the bookkeeping done and the weather breaks loose. Have 2 jobs set for next week already. Hope to get to a couple of flowerbeds first but not sure I will manage that.



This message was edited Jan 21, 2016 10:32 PM

Jen, your time zone throws you in later than our suppers and coffee breaks. I know what you mean abt others postings blocking yours. Did you noticethat the Home Page has started updating again? Time for a shower and get rrolling across Chicago

Chicago traffic is NOT fun.... Have a good drive Kitt

I got lost in Chicago once when I was driving my tractor-trailer...I even had to back-up on an on-ramp. That experience was harrowing for a rookie driver.

Edited to add, I thought I'd give you a chuckle Kitt.

This message was edited Jan 22, 2016 12:58 PM

NO SNOW HERE, JUST COVERED WITH ICE YESTERDAY, I'M AT WORK NOW, I KNOW MY BROTHER IN VIRGINIA IS GETTING POUINDED. HOPE YOU ALL STAY SAFE NO MATTER WHERE THE SNOW IS, IT WILL MELT, BUT IF I LOST YOU ALL, I'D GO CRAZY.
ROBIN, I HAVE NEVER DRIVEN A SEMI..

Driving a Semi is a blast Debra, do it if you ever get the chance. I generally used to drive a triangular route from Toronto Canada to Bakersfield CA and down to Phoenix AZ and back again. I loved heading south and west in the winter. Since then a change in venue with my DH, driving a class 'A' motor home across country to job sites was a walk in the park (RV park pun). Thanks to the internet, we can do most of our work from home...yay!

Me I am Hiding ,, lol

I have driven a pickup truck pulling a double axle trailer. I am in awe of you Kitt and Robin! That's some serious stuff

WELL, I HAVE ONLY DRIVEN AN F150 LIKE 3 TIMES, SO ALL YA ROCK IN MY EYES :)

Yeah ,, in admiration of the best tractor trailer drivers , me too

Keep On Truckin ,, !!!
Love trucks , muscle cars ,, and walking in the garden yard green spaces sunshine ,,,

Storm messing with my sigs, but so does Wis when I get within an hour of LaCrosse. Pickups from !/2 ton to 3ton are fun- have more gadgets to play with than semis. Portage, Wis buffet and head west to drop trlr and mt to Green Bay to fix mushy feeling ride. I have driven a 5 ton when I was 1 yr old. Hayfield, little bare feet on the bench seat and steer thru and beside the hay bales so daddy could try out his new toy- a pop up bale loader. Mama thru a fit so I had to wait til we moved back to the farm when I was 10 and took over the tractor and blade to clean the lots after milking, or the Poppin Johnnys with a rake in the alfalfa fields. Semis were just another steering wheel. Traffic however, is what makes or breaks ya. Portage for lunch, me in prob '90 matchin logs on a freightliner cabover.my 2 grandson chauffeeurs in smaller trucks, chuckl. The talent for driving showed back up

I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. I loved Driving.

Well, I think I out-drove you all. I drove 2 horses pulling a rake to prepare the fields for baling the hay on my uncle's ranch in Montana, when I was about 10 years old. Must have been about 1949 or '50. LOL, are you all impressed? Seriously, I think you all have a lot of back ground experiences to remember. I hope you put things like that in your diaries etc. for your grand kids to tell their kids about you and pass it on. Fun reading about you. jen.

I can't remember who it was, but I think someone on here wanted to start Bamboo. Was that you Debra? I ran across this thread you might try. Horseshoe is really very knowledgeable. Whoever it was, here it is. Try it and let me know if you have any luck. jen

,http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/23409

Likely it was me , Jen ,,
I still try ,, silly me ,, not good at it these days

Such a cute driver you are Kitt, I'm sure you've been told that so many times you're almost sick of it, lol. Thanks for sharing your cool pics.

Jen you so out drove me...I'd love to drive two horses. I can't see driving them is as much fun as riding them though.

How are the kitties Ju? I wish you better bamboo luck 2016...and hope you surprise the heck out of yourself, lol!

Kitty Monsters Robin ,, and THANK YOU for the WELL WISHES !!!
# 5 14 or 15 yr old , "I am Too Old For This "

That little Calico is always lying down. JU, where did that long haired one come from? Very nice looking. Is that one that was a stray or something you cleaned up? Can't remember when we first saw it. Seems like it was a mess and you saved it.

About the bamboo, that link I gave you on that post was about starting bamboos. The dger on there, Horseshoe is really quite smart. Knows a lot. jen

I guess bamboo doesn't get aggressive in the north?

I don't know Gypsi. I got a start from m y sister's and lost it. Hers is in a container in her greenhouse. I have never seen any bamboo anywhere around here.

I would take that long haired one in a minute JU. Sorry I can't reach you. jen

Jen That long haired cat is camo , he has been here since the winter of 01 -02 ,,He changes color with season , chameleon Lynx ,

Gypsi , there are some that will Bamboo ,, the gold , the fishing pole type either is pretty strong grower here ,

Robin ,, lol Nice and expressive , He doesn't bite or scratch so far , only growls and hisses ,, and puffs up once in a while ,,real expressive ,, use to talk more than now ,,I like the sea pearl green eyes , very bright ,,

Camo's my kind of cat, 'expressive'. I can see why Jen would take him, he's a real beauty.

Ct has banned bamboos as invasive, gets pretty cold there too. It probably likes specific seasons to get a jump on growth. Wish Tx would make it invasive, it takes over areas needed for floods and creeks really badly. Our idiot neighbor had a 1' strip of grass beside her road and decided she didnt want to see our house. Planted bamboo and it is taking over the oaks and pines and walking up the road to her house. Didn't block her view, moved to the wet weather creek and bog area and I wish I could shove it into her yard faster- or ignorant throat, sigh. She didnt care if it was invasive or anything. Grrrr.

bamboo is very invasive here. so my fancy customer in Dallas with the million dollar property spent big money on the non-spreading bamboos and put one every 6 ft along a fence line. So far it hasn't spread but it has only been 2 years. My daughter's yard in Fort Worth had been taken over by a bamboo forest before she moved in. She tried to dig a garden in the little grassy area it hadn't hit yet, and horizontal bamboo roots everywhere. She gave up the garden after a couple of months and moved afterward. Someone else's problem. house flipper bought the place, he had his work cut out for him. It was a solid forest about 1/4 acre

You could say yeah , but the earth is still there ,, ???How to make humans move by ,,
Bamboo Spreading )
Golden Bamboo around indy There has been a few spent digging it out ,,
There is the Canepole , the River , and another smaller type that are or have Naturalized here ,, There are the River types that are Native to NJ and about through Wisconsin ,
As an Under story plant until full and older ,Good for holding slide areas or such , not usually used properly , as it's invasive status interferes with that sometimes ,,

We don't have any bamboo in our area that I know of, nor Spokane, and I am sure someone in Seattle has some, but not invasive or I am sure I would know about it. Don't know why.

JU, Camo has a light brown coat on. It is a definite light brown layer of hair on top of the gray. Very nice. Jen

Beautiufl cats, love them all. I also enjoyed your pics, Kitt. How cool is that to have sons that drive too. I can't say I driven anything but a lil ole car.
Oona, my grandcat is back at home now. It sure was fun kitty sitting for awhile. She loves me a lot.
I guess we are going to have to re-think our gardening this year, the guy came over and told us we need to move all the garden "planters" he calls them that are around the house, ( I thought it was garden rock lining) anyway, no more garden soil and plants against the house, and now we are going to re-do the patio and make it clear across the back of the house . My bamboo tries to run, but Joe keeps it under control somehow. I managed to get some seeds into some water bottles and on the window ledges, and then some cups made up , just to make me feel better about this house foundation moving in 4 inches here. *sigh*

Debra Whats with the " Garden soil or plants against the house " ??? What against regulations ,?

Sounds like Joe is in for a ton of work , after hours that is ,,,

I seem to of lost the calico kitten today , their appointment is in the morning , it figures ,

i have a clear bag to go over this , bottle frame with a coffee can pot ,, going to wintersow a Tomato seed in this

wow Ju, what a genius you are! I have often thought of using plastic water bottles to actually "frame a whole "room" outside, but then, the neighbors would prolly complain.
The structural engineer pretty much said our gardening with the patio where it is and the borders from the rocks and stuff, are preventing the water to flow away from the house and it is called the "planter effect" with the water making the ground swell and make the walls bow in. I know, it's mind blowing.. *sigh*
Hope you find that calico.. before the app0intment, and in the daylight!

Well, there went another post. I have posted so many times about the house you are all talking about and last night gave up completely. Might have to here. So, Who was the "guy:" that told you that had to be done? Some kind of inspector or? He just showed up? Wow, that is amazing. When you want them you can't get them. I had thought maybe they were afraid of termites. Wasn't that at all. Darn!

JU, do you mean the Calico got snatched, just wandered off, or??? I know you don't want to think the third thing so won't say it. Did you look for it? Do you have time in the morning before their appt. to look some more? Gosh, I hope it is ok. I don't like not knowing. Please look.

Well, going to close before I lose this. ttyl, go look in the morning JU. jen

Debra that different to me , We get that argument about no gutters , causing the water to fall at the foundation , causes problems ,,

Just air this time gypsy , Water the way the bottles are put together , requires frame material to do a bottle Attaching frame ,

Jen I am taking them in a few minutes to get Fixed , I found calico just before it got dark ,
A windy , foggy , cold 30 degree morning after a really nice day yesterday

glad you found calico, wish u had the sun we have today. ( still windy with cold temps, tho) I go crazy after a week without the sun.
Jen, I had to call in a structural engineer when Joe and I noticed the west walls upstairs had new cracks coming off all the corners and walls and door jams. we also found huge horizontal cracks in the basement on the unfinished west side under the home as well. it is 1900 ft long of horrible cracks everywhere. the foundation has moved in 4 inches on that side. it has no support such as rebar, or ibeams. we did not know this 30 some years ago. *sigh*

Debra it not real expensive but takes time with rebar , The reason is tremors and quakes Rebar will bend if welded ,, or maintain framing
My replacements were not extreme at all only two high , locked together , and filled , the long slow way , but they stay ..
A basement in a cage , because of cost of a welder to do rebar is often done with hanger pins ,
But while the block might and does shatter in an earthquake or tremor , The rebar usually only bends ,,
That sounds like earth wave or tremor damage started that Springs shifting under ground ,,
Good luck with getting through the trouble ...

I guess I am going back at 5 o clock to pick up the kittens , Turns out the only female was the Calico , The others are a male Mingles we thought was a female ,, only a smaller male ,,

I asked if my feral cat "spot" was pregnant, and the vet answered that He wasn't. Only 2 fixed ferals still around, Spot has been here 6 years now. His mama plopped him on my porch and showed him the food bowl in winter 2009/2010. All siblings that were fixed vanished, I missed them for awhile. Brought 2 in the house one night when they were maybe 6 months old, and they took my fish room apart. Alas they are outdoor cats.

Glad you are getting them taken care of Ju, they need you

JU, hope you got them ALL taken care of. Even neutering the males. Otherwise, they will bring home a whole new batch in a couple months. Just because THEY don't get pregnant doesn't mean YOUR problem is solved.

OH Deb, I am so sorry for your problems. Did he say who to get to fix it and what it should cost? OMG, how awful. People that do that should be sent to prison. Going on the cheap for profit. That is so bad. Actually, I am amazed it took 30 years for you guys to find it. I guess you are lucky it hasn't fallen on your heads. All that from earthquakes, tremors, etc. Just awful.

I remember JU working on his all last summer. Big job. Very scary. I guess we are lucky, knock on wood, that this house is so well built 'cause it is sitting inside rock. The whole mountain above us is rock. So far we have not had any earthquakes. Now that is scary too. Just the thought of it.

Guess that was a good time to pick up the cats JU. They probably slept until this morning?

Well, guess I had better make a list for Costco for tomorrow. I have a dr. appt. in Spokane, but don't want to be down there all day. Have to get some oysters there. That's the only time we get any is when we go down there and my appts have been few and far between lately.

You guys, I have discovered a way to get around all the problems with this system. When I finally find the thread, right date etc, that I want, I bookmark it.
Then the next time I come on, I just go to that bookmark. When I am done reading and posting on it, I bookmark that one and delete the last one I had used to get on the right place. Works great. ttyl, jen

Ahh-HAAA! So this is where y'all are hanging out now!
Ju, glad the kitties are being taken care of. Do they have individual names? Or are they all named 'kitty'.

Jen, so glad you've found a way that works for you to maneuver around this site now. I haven't seen any new posts on the updating thread, wonder if that means they've done all they're going to do.

Actually, I came on here to ask a question about propagating. I have some seed that I saved from a cone flower that I bought last year. Are they hard to start from seed? Do I need to do anything to it, like refrigerate or freeze or something, before I sow it ? Cone flowers are perennials, aren't they? I just love them, but have never been able to get one to live for very long, when I buy them in 6" pots. I'm hoping if I can get them going with seed, they will be better acclimated, and live. I'd appreciate any advice you can give!

Okay, I guess I have 2 questions about propagation. Have any of you ever pruned a Croton and rooted the cuttings? I have a corkscrew croton that I've had for a little over 3 years now. It was nice and full when I got it, it was a gift, came from a florist rather than a nursery. But it has been living in less than ideal conditions, mostly, not enough light. So it has lost most of the lower leaves, and vaguely resembles a weird and short, palm tree. If I cut it back quite severely, will the cuttings root? And will the base send up new growth? Again, I'd appreciate any info you can give me.

Vern (Rusty)