Plant Propagation: The Basics Spring 2016

WOW, YOU HAVE A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL PLANTS GOING TO TOWN, KITT. SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS LOCKS, I AM AT WORK.
ROBIN, I AGREE ABOUT PLANTS THAT SURVIVE WINTER.. YOU KNOW THAT MY GOAL IS TO HAVE NOTHING BUT HARDY MOSTLY NATIVE PERENNIALS HERE.. I CAN ALWAYS DECORATE WITH ANNUALS FROM SEED, AND TROPICALS DURING SUMMER.
LIKE KITT, I JUST LIKE TO "SCATTER"

JU I might have missed something, but I was going to say Robin doesn't have a mean bone in her body. You all your flowers are lovely. so much color. I love it. I noticed today my Rhododendron has big fat buds ready to open, glad it is still in the 70's so not so hot they wilt. I will have to get their fertilizer out and give them a shot after they are done blooming so they get a lot of new growth for next year. It already is up to my bathroom window. It is strange tho, it was scarlet color when I planted it and now it is purple. Another at the same time and in a different place maybe 20 feet or more from it has done the same thing. Turned purple. Darnedest thing. I loved the scarlet too. Not that the purple isn't pretty.
Also, I see my Honeysuckle is almost ready to bloom. First year since it has gotten any size to it. Should be pretty. I bought the red Major Wheeler from Burpee and got a yellow instead. They replaced it, or sent me the MW a small one and it didn't make it. Oh well, I didn't have very many yellow things in the yard.

LOL, Debra we can always tell where you are when the caps come on. Your yard is lovely now that you are redoing it too. Not that it wasn't before. BTW, I am just about done potting the plants you sent. Bought 4 new ones, 22 1/2 inch and 171/2 inch that I am not sure but think they may be fiberglass. Not resin like I really wanted.

I like the caps- I can read it easier and faster. Its not me thats bothered by them.!
Anybody know if you can prune back asparagus fern? I think it may get a haircut along with the petunias this evening.

I'D PRUNE IT BACK HARD, KITT. I PRUNED MY ASPARAGUS FERN BACK SO HARD, AND NOW IT IS BUSHIER THAN EVER.
I HAVE BEEN IN MY BACK YARD MAYBE 1 AND A HALF DAYS IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS AND I AM JUST DYING HERE..
JEN, YOUR YELLOW LONICERA, IF IT IS A TUBULAR BLOOM IS PROLLY JOHN CLAYTON, OF WHICH I HAVE TONS OF, AND I HAVE MAJOR WHEELER, BLANCH SANDMAN AND GOLDFLAME AS WELL AS THE HALLS JAPONICA, SO IF YA ALL WANT SOME HOLLER UP. THEY ARE ALL BLOOMING RIGHT NOW.MY MADAME GALEN TRUMPET VINE AND THE YELLOW ONES ARE ALL GOING GOOD ( CUTTINGS) THE PASSION VINES FROM THE CUTTINGS A COUPLE WEEKS AGO ARE IN A POT AND AT THE BASE OF AN ARBOR NOW, SO HOLDING MY BREATH ON THOSE.

Yes Kitt, your stuff and Ju's really look good. Your new Coleus is really pretty. Are your Amaryllis finished blooming?

I like those Mustard blooms. Ju, when I say thanks for keeping me humble, I mean it. I haven't been able to come up with one time I've been aggravated on here and highly doubt I ever will. I TRULY appreciate you people, you guys are good to the core!

Jen, thanks so much for the vote of confidence, that was really sweet. I'm thinking you're not in charge of the color scheme in your garden, Your plants are working extra hard to keep you from being bored. Lol, mistakes often turn out better than originally planned. Some of my best performers were things I didn't even ask for.

I have Lonicera Serotina if anybody is interested in a light pink/creamy yellow. Below is last years bloom.

Debra, thank goodness you don't really have to hold your breath, I'm sure your vines will take off as soon as you turn your back. You're among friends here, lol to what Jen said about the caps lock. Sending wishes your way; wishing you some changes so you can spend more time in the yard.

Robin , I will second Jen's vote of appreciation , and this is great group and info , I am in the looking up pots for plants mode trying to get a few things going , mostly myself , as I wear rather quickly ,,

I would of gotten more of the Viola if I could of some of my odds and ends

I like the plant above also Robin

Tomato , beets , daisy , little Sorghum

I have 2 amaryllis blooming still, two havent yet bloomed( the red one is still blooming. )daylilies showing off too!

AHA! NOW I KNOW WHO TO SEND MY SILLY AMARYLLIS TOO, AS THEY ARE NOT FOR ME! AFTER I SAW QUEEN EMMA CRINUM TO FUL BLOOM, I GAVE HER AWAY. READY TO SEND THIS POT OF 4 NOID'S AND ONE IN A SMALL POT THAT HAS DONE NOTHING.
SURE DO LOVE THE WHITE VOILA, JU.
THAT LONICERA IS SURE PRETTY , ROBIN.

Love the Amaryllis Kitt , the daylily I have
The blooms most are having here , are way ahead of me ,

Beautiful Kitt, I'd say they're all showing off. Look at that developing seedhead on your red. That Red one has been blooming a long time! Wow!

Ju, I absolutely adore your Violas. I've got a good supply of the purple ones and the tri-colored Johnny jump-ups. do you collect seeds from them?

Robin I have not seen any seeds yet ,I will get a few if it happens I have some Swiss giants to add
# 3 is my pot setting , White bucket is empty of plants , Stinging nettle and Reed grass in the others ,, Fennel and a couple of others failed sooo I will try again a butterfly set ,
1 is a meadow rue about to bloom and 2 is another wild Hyacinth

Just dropped in. Hope that's okay.
Kitt: your flowers are pretty. I think the first two pictures are Crinum Lilies.
I really like them. They're so easy to have in the garden and so reliable.

Welcome Birder, geesh of course its okay you drop in!

That's a good photo of your wild Hyacinth Ju.

Hey birder, yes, crinums. We use them to hold the sand and ditches. That one is so heavy they flop immediately. I need no more crinums! I am abt to get the shovel out soon and remove at least 2/3 of them to the burn pile. They start with 3 bulbs and get out of control down here.

I was cutting grass ,, mosquitoes came out , I came in ,
Takes me a month to get my sets set ,,

Hi ya birder , the more the merrier . good company ,,

goodness it got hot today !!!

Robin seeds for the future ? and yours are pretty also , johnny jump ups are a little rarer here . ( I do not see them often

Kitt nice Amaryllis , house plants here

Robin, the rainbow gaura is gorgeous. Skin so soft oil topped with sulfur repels mosquitoes, biting flies and the Texas state animal, chiggers. Wipe down with alchol before showering or swimming if in chiggers unprotected. They bite when wet.

Send me your crinums kitt

kitt orange daylily do what your crinums do,, here the daylily runs everywhere , I grind em up though ,

Mosquitoes , not a lot works for me ,

Ju are you talking about Ditch Lilies (Hemerocallis fulva)?

sure am Robin ,
couple of iris this morning

I am weeding , and it is warm

They would here too, Ju, cept the water gets too deep. Amaryllis bloom, new bulb starts in parents roots, lays over and shoots up. The ground becomes solid bulb. I take a shovel and start in small bites removing pieces til I can get them under control. The straps are 12' long easy- and if chopped back, damages the blooms. I am happy with that red lion amaryllis simply because the straps are short. Gypsi, you don't kniw what you are asking for

Hey Kitt yep , they run like their exercising ,, lol
Tithonia seed , red Sorghum seeds ,, red morning glory , planted ,
Zinnia seed , Marigold , aster , all annual up next ,,

planted some Swiss Giant Pansy last night , A few clematis are blooming ,

Kit: As far as I know for zone 6b, the crinum you have pictured is the only one that makes it through the winter here. I've had mine for hmm probably ten years. It's about the size of a bushel basket now.
I've been thinking about "reducing" it but haven't known how to do it. Although this is a propagation forum, could you tell me in a little more detail how to "reduce" the crinum w/o killing it?
Or hey, I'll start another thread. I guess in bulbs--if there's still a bulb forum. :(
They have changed a lot of things. Hate to steal your thunder.
Kitt: the Crinums are rare up north so someone would probably like to have some of yours. You don't find them locally. One has to order them from a catalog.
The only problem is the hassle and the shipping cost. I believe the bulbs would be pretty heavy.
Hemerocallis fulva are a real pain. I somehow got some of them along with another plant I rec'd from my SIL years ago. I fought them for years.
Thanks for the warm welcome. Not many posts last this long anymore.

Reducing the size of a crinum is DEFINITELY considered a propagation project. Jackson is warm enough you won't have to baby it as much as others do farther north. Like an onion, the bulb with part of the root base will form a new plant- esp the larger bulbs. I am NOT sure if an old bulb once locked into all the newer bulbs will have room to flower, so division helps

I guess I am not really aware of your problem with them. Wish I did. Being "up North" we don't have problems with them that I am aware of. Funny thing is, the things that are like weeds to us, you guys are showing as neat little plants. I yank them out every time I see one. Violets for one. Oxalys another. For starters. Ju, what is the deep red flower and also the white one?

Yes Birder 17, we have been going on this one and another on the Back Porch for several years. Enough that we saw Sharon's grandson right after birth and he is in gradeschool now. Not sure what grade. Really nice to have good friends. We just keep our politics and religions to ourselves so we get along great. Smack! That was a kiss to you all. LOL

Hemerocallis fulva don't like Texas heat. I bought 10 from Michigan Bulb back in the 90's, they bloom once, right now, and don't bloom again til next year. They do survive better than the fancy day-lilies. I have had mine 20 years or more, but the spreading is a not so much. Too little rain and too hot I think.

Well Kitt, I have areas that bermuda grass is aggressive in, I would rather have Crinums there but maybe you do have too many.

Just came in from adding wood to the greenhouse fire and it's SNOWING out there. Sometimes I hate it when they get the forecast right. I just took the styrofoam boxes off the Japanese Tree Peonies this week and now I have them covered with blankets for the next 2 days. High tomorrow is plus 2 Celsius.

So, division is the best way to reduce the amount of plant one has. Thanks.

Daylilies are a grass. My grandfather banked a row and planted them that way. Okla and his thrived, the fancier ones don't multiply as well there was a daylily farm in Kennesaw, Gypsi, good place tho its been decades for me since I was there. I do know the crinums I have behave farther north, but by Amaryllis are strictly indoor. I will give you a pictorial later when I set foot to shovel. I can send some Gypsi- or drop them off on my way north Mon PM. Our so called ditch day lily is apt to be Kwanso- abt as hated as the fulva,, chuckl. They are in a perfect spot for them to grow, so are behaving.

Kitt, are the worse than can as? I won't put a canna in the ground here

In looking in Planfiles, there are some really pretty Crinum and some really ugly ones. So, Kitt, you are saying what? The ones you have are?? And they grow well in the North? Well Gypsi isn't in the North. What do you mean by North?

In looking in Planfiles, there are some really pretty Crinum and some really ugly ones. So, Kitt, you are saying what? The ones you have are?? And they grow well in the North? Well Gypsi isn't in the North. What do you mean by North?

Oxdrift- Snow!!! Agh. The frozen North. WE are forecast for 86 degrees here today, record breaking heat.

Jen, amarillo, tx is too cold to grow crinums anywhere but indoors. I amhaving fits with the pages loading, should brave a few skeeters and chop some stuff back. We always have a burn pile building- trimmed back smilax, sweetgums, yaupons (ilex vomitoria) and other stuff a little bit yesterday. Bbl guys

Here ya go, these crinums are Ellen Bosanquets, the bloom color isn't stable everytime. I actually got two bulbs up intact, tho I will wait and see if I left a piece behind that would grow. Picture 3 is how bulb division is done- usually best in mid winter when freezes have them dormant. Our ground is still saturated, or I wouldnt have gotten them dug out. So many times I think I have the full bulb and the shovel shaves it and I am redigging it up.

I have been told crinums are hard to dig up. I didn't know a piece of the bulb would start a new plant. Between difficulty digging them up and a pc. left starts a new one: that doesn't sound too good.
I'm surprised my crinum makes it here in zone 6b, however, I have it on the south side by the brick.

Cannas are hard to dig up. I don't have as much trouble with the Amaryllis. I do have a clump of crinums but in 3 years it hasn't multiplied like cannas would. Maybe I will just divide it.

Cannas are worse than crinums, some cannas, the dwarf ones are behaving, but the cannas I planted you just couldnt ever get rid of, you dig them and more grow anyway. Every plant has a place it behaves, and a place it turns into a cant be killed thug. The crinums are work down here, but not nearly as much in DFW, but then, everything in the gulf coast states grows way too well.