Plant Propagation: The Basics Spring 2016

Carolina Jessamine likes our humidity further south- cuttings cant be stopped. Mipii, shhh! Black locust grows too well, nasty stuff. So many things in Tx do their flowering and settle down to wait the heat to pass.

Well, I was right in the middle of typing here and all of a sudden I was in the Fireside Back Porch forum. I think Kitt hit her enter button on her post and it kicked me out. That is very rude Kitt. LOL I don't know about this site. Now I don;t even know what I was writing.
Yes, the Black Locust is a pretty cool tree, but when the wind blows it self prunes it's branches. My mom used to get so mad every time they, in Spokane, had a little storm she had to go out after and clean up her yard. A very brittle tree.
I hear you Oxdrift. It is pretty early here too. I bought some begonias, tuberous, today and sure hope they don't get hit by a late frost. Altho it would not be late. Seems everyone is putting their annuals out now. Our last frost date is the end of May. So, if we get hit, it is not the fault of the weather.

Well, have one more forum to look at before I turn this off, ttyl

Hi Robin there are always a few casulaties in my house and yard with the mad crazy scientist type of experiments always going on. It seems I only start those projects when I am tired of TV and bored, and it is dark outside.
The other trumpet creeper around here is the wild native orange one and it is UGLY.
I do have a pretty yellow one going somewhere out back fence, but it is prolly being engulfed by pink primrose and yarrow right now, and then the wild raspberry and the yellow creeper will be prominent when those die down. Finally see leaves on my poor abused porcelain vine. That thing has been moved so many times it prolly feels like it is a revolving door.
I have planted over 500 types of seeds everywhere, and so when they all come up and get going, I'll see who grew and who didn't. That is how I roll. I have a journal that I mark yes or no for show. I have yet to see a birdseye gillia or double chater's holly hock come up in the past three seed plantings over the years. I'm also challenged with getting an oleander to take root from cuttings. I think this year I MIGHT see a chicory finally after 5 years of constant planting of seeds. *sigh* I am sure there are things up and need moving, but it is kind of hard to see them when I am 16 miles away from home everyday. Green beans are up ( in pots) blooms are very abundant on the tomatoes and peppers right now.. I have enough lettuce to make a nice salad now. That is about all I saw out back this am for a brief moment, supposed to rain Sunday and Monday, and I work Saturday. Bleah

This message was edited May 5, 2016 1:39 PM

Weather has been the way of wet and cold , three or four days , I am getting a few things going ,
Lots of Coneflowers from Debra ,, a Hackberry tree maybe a White Milkweed sprouted the other day ,
Several of my older plants did not return ,as did a few that seem a maybe as to being able to grow here
Lot of what seems to be Bamboo seedlings , several amaryllis .
Outside Tomatoes doing okay Lots of lettuce , peas still growing on a fence ,
A huge pile of stems waiting for the chipper
1 bamboo
2 Iris
3 Bamboo
4 Hybrid Violet
5 Zinnia

Hi juhur7, do you know that Bamboo is very invasive so be careful .One of my buddies at the gym told me that she planted it a few years ago and it was shooting up between her pavers and she had to have the landscaping company dig them out for her .Your Iris is a lovely color, I have yellow , peach and white but none of them have bloomed yet.

Hi ya cytf ,, Yes Bamboo can be vigorous to the extreme , Mine not so much so , A river cane , a panda (fargesia ) a black Fargesia , and a few that stay in pots ,
No Bambusa or Golden free to run , Because run like a train they do ,
Besides I have native milkweeds that run everywhere ,, that's enough

Here are a couple , it;s raining ,,, again ,
Wild Hyacinth
Camphor basil
Coneflower seedlings
Amorpha sprout
Milkweed , burdock , aster , basically weeds ,,

I really like your wild Hyacinth Ju, I know this probably isn't a 'guy thing' but have you smelled it? Does it have a scent? I'm going to be collecting Hyacinth seeds this year, the seed pods are swelling up nicely.

Robin it has a light scent , not hardly any outdoors like it is
The seeds take a long time (wild) to make a plant ,

Interesting, thanks Ju.

Ju, would you post a picture of the bamboo you started about 6 months or so ago. I know time flies when you're having fun, so maybe it's been about a year ago. Thanks, jen

Jen This the Giant ,, Moso largest of the seed started
One of the others is Half as old if that and almost larger ,

This message was edited May 6, 2016 9:03 AM

Ju, most of your "weeds" are very beneficial to the human body. I adore them. Our bamboo is growing across the yard and up and down the fence, Joe will be cutting that back and out of the yard way.
1. Milkweed and company
2. Iris
3. Jack in the pulpit
4. Carribia
5. le Garden bed.. LOL

WOW Debra! Iris and rose are stunning specimens.
Keith

Debra indeed Those are pretty !!! Here are a few seedlings from seeds you sent .
1 is a coneflower
2 ?
3 Is a Milkweed
4 another I do not know
5 A penstemon trying to get size growing from under artemisia

Hi Ju, number 2 looks like a balsum impatien and number 4 looks like a monarda ...so far..

Debra, you've got Roses already? I don't even have Iris blooming yet. Your new garden and patio look great.

Ju, It's exciting to watch your seedlings grow. Is that a Penstemon 'Huskers Red'? I really like red leaved plants. Here is a new one I planted last year...no blooms yet;
Gaura 'Passionate Rainbow'


This message was edited May 9, 2016 3:43 PM

Debra , it could be , I was thinking the same about #4 the Monarda . We will know in a while ,

Robin the color contrast someone mentioned earlier . Your (edit Goof) Guara looks nice

it started raining again ,
I took these as it did The iris in an unfinished reset
3 ,4 , A no ID flower ? in the Artichokes and a fruit tree from self sow , plum or peach it appears to be

This message was edited May 9, 2016 4:29 PM

I see peach leaves, Ju. Love both of those irises, hadnt considered monarda, but figured it for a basil/salvia type leaf. Sittin in Houston, rain smattering occasionally. 4am, have to be up at 4am, then 5 glorious days to be a slob, or mosquito bait... have to see if my basil is ready to donate a mosquito repelling scent yet- or if I stick to the Deep Woods Off...

Kitt I have been seeing mosquitoes , Their not bad here considering the rain and Temperatures
I was cleaning and Mulching around milkweeds when the rain started ,,

These are Vegetables and greens My non gardening photo's of edibles

Robin ,, I read upside down or something , the Edit goof earlier about the Gaura ,

Here is a similar , it is pink something also ,
1 &2 Gaura . the first shows Monarda From Debra trying to start and doing so
3 These poppies are larger than any I have tried since about 2000
4 Iris under a shrub out front
5 One of two of my larger Penstemon less light , less red ..

Yes that sure was an editing goof Ju, lol. Thanks for keeping me humble. All yours are very pretty and I can't wait to see blooms on that giant Papaver.

Kitt how do you use your basil as a repellent? I hope nobody gets eaten by mosquitoes, they've been around here too. Not as big or as numerous as TX though. Maybe Oxdrift can rival those TX numbers, although they can probably make up for lower mosquito numbers with black flies taking chunks out of your flesh.

We have so many strains of skeeters- enough to welp your hide from the venom- not just those carrying the Niles and Zika now. Basils, citron smells - they dont like the aroma, they also prefer the shade and clouds of the morning. In honesty tho, about the only mosquito spray tough enough that mosquitos don't treat it like candy is the Deep Woods Off. We have biting flies- several sizes, tho horseflies are what we call them. After all, we are nextdoor to The Bug Thicket, chuckl. We have No See Ums, too, dratted things. Sand fleas, fire ants, cow killers and bearded dragons running around. I love my a/c.

You got it Robin. It's a toss up which is worse up here but I think we would be strong competitors in any mosquito or black fly competition. Any time I've been in the tropics and warned to wear insect repellent there is nothing . You could literally get eaten alive here. And we have wood ticks carrying Lyme disease to add to the mix just to keep it interesting.
Keith

You know , I am at that ..lol

This earlier ,, I think it is a Peach leaf Willow seedling ,

Not easy to tell at that stage JU. Yes Debra, I was going to say your yard is looking great. Very nice flowers love the rose too.

Keith, I take it you are not near the fires at all? Sure hope not. They look horrific. Sure does ruin a person's summers doesn't it. And all those poor people who got burned out. What do they do in Canada for people when that happens? Do they get help from the gov't or anything?

jen

Jen: no we are not close to the fire you would be hearing about, however there are lots of smaller ones close to us. It is very dry here. There was a pretty big one over the weekend along the Ontario, Manitoba border. Our area had lots of smoke and forest fire odours from that one. It is currently at 2700 hectares. We are in a restricted fire zone and on Sunday we were at our youngest daughters for Mothers Day dinner and on the route to there some crazy person lit 3 different grass fires along the highway (10 minutes from our house). Bombers were out instantly.
There has been lots of government and Red Cross help for those affected
Keith

Someone has to be pretty evil to start wildfires, I can't even imagine the empathy void those people have.

Hi all The news I read was the Largest at the Fort was started by lightning , I know one last year in the US started at a camping area , oh , boo ,,

people make mistakes , besides the arsonist syndrome ,

I should have qualified my statement Ju, it should have read "pretty evil to start wildfires on purpose".

Yeah, that's better. ;)

Robin I should of asked if you read something I had not in the news and all .
Either way , Evil and mistakes are both BAD ! as far as such things

oh that is gorgeous, Robin. I grow the wild pink gaura and love it. All my iris are about done, it is looking like sumer is here, everything started way early it seems.

Debra My iris are are only getting started
Warmer without rain for few minutes ,,
Back in a while

This is the second try at Gaura (in a different spot), this one at least survived the winter...looking for more winters too. Wait a minute, I'm not looking for more winters, in fact they should be cancelled due to lack of interest. I'm looking for more plants surviving more winters, lol!

Robiin are you concerned about clarifying m because of the misunderstanding ?
or have we aggravated you ,?
plants to survive winters , I like that Idea .. lol
About an hour or so until din , din ,
Mulching plants , identifying where they are ,, so I can ct more grass ,,,
I like knowing where they are ,, cutting grass not so much
Lots of little things to do ,,

At the house, swatting the skeeters bumping off me like fish being fed. My coleus looks different that I splurged on- since basils do so well...was peach, but full sun brings out the color. Think I need to trim the lantana...3)african blue basil, not sure if that is Thai or Spicy Globe basil4) the packets of marigolds I simply scattered and hoped would grow. The dill is burnt up and gone, so, seed collecting very soon.

No aggravation here Ju. Actually when I read your statement about people making mistakes it melted my heart, so I immediately said, "bless your kind heart Ju". I know people make mistakes and those are easier to forgive. I just didn't want anybody to think I'm cold, hard, ruthless and intolerant.

I do loathe injustice though.

They intentionally start a few fires down here- stupid remarks like I was cold since it was only 85* tonite, or cigarette smokers pitching out butts, Texas has an 800 number- you see sparks from tires, smokers using the window, bbq pits set up to cook, and they LOVE calling in on you. West Texas dryness and the winds and everything goes up like it was dosed with an accelerant. As careful as we are with fire in the drought, only people setting fires are doing it deliberately.

Dill has not even seen warmth enough to grow here Kitt
The coleus are nice ,

Robin glad your not upset ,,
A little Hackberry maybe ,
some Romaine lettuce
little Zinnia
Wild red Raspberry
oops mustard blooms