Plant Propagation the Basics Sept 2017

Lots of nice flowers and wildlife pics here , I think their gone from here however a monarch or two ma pass by as yet ,
Aster going to seed Gaillardia , Guara

Foot cut deep, still soaking in warm water and epsom salts, keeping it heart level to reduce chances of edema, have started to work the stiffness in muscle and bones when I apply the bactroban. I went out and weeded without gloves, acquired a blister the size of 2 English peas in the middle of my right palm. Using my prongs to break loose roots and dirt and simply didn't feel it since I was busy. Got enough done to abrade a few fingers cleaning weeds loose. Fiber myalgia in that arm/hand. Intensifies backlash overworking sensations. Excuse to sit back and recover, but dont bounce back as fast as i am accustomed to. Sowed a pot of variegated barley seeds today, trying to decide where I want some other winter stuff here, but, 91* outside today. We may have no winter at all this year. We shall see.

not much winter I am afraid. doing my chinese food tray in refridge trick to start a couple of varieties of milkweed. Not sure how to start petunia seeds. Ju?

get feeling better Kitt. I've had a rash on my back since I stole my heating pad back from the pups in July, it is not clearing and I am holding off on going to the doctor. thought it was a fungus (pups had ringworm) but it isn't clearing with normal fungus treatment so now hitting it with poison ivy stuff. It's a wet rash, heat and humidity make worse so straightening out bookkeeping.

This message was edited Oct 13, 2017 2:28 PM

gosh Kitt, you hafta take care of yourself! I use a big blue tub with handles filled with water, soap, and a tad of tea tree oil. Big pots that have to come in get soaked three times by pouring, and then sprayed with a sprayer. smaller ones sit in the tub immersed, all the leaves and twigs and stuff floats up and I scoop those out, I wash under and around the bottom and edges of the pots. everythng gets sprayed again in the garage with forbid and pyrethins ( 99%) ( used for bathing dogs) . Forbid is a very expensive miticide, and have to use it in the garage so the spray doesn't get into the turtles or fish.
Keith I hope that explains a little better. Big pots I can't lift get soaked with a pitcher of the soapy water mixture and then sprayed outside, and then the final spray in the garage. I am lucky to have a huge window in that garage, cuz everything still gets lots of light. they stay in there for three days. My Mom in Law ( 88) sprays all her stuff with raid home and garden which does not damage plants. its about 6 bucks a can. I'd go thru ten cans if I did that method! Glad you all have butterflys, I still do too, hummers left Monday tho, since I haven't seen one since.
Alice, I'd love to try turks cap, I'll trade ya with what ever you want of mine. I have a lot that can stand the weather there. We still have not brought in the big big stuff yet, it got up to 88 today.
Duranta ( golden dew drops) is in and blooming away, she was the first to go down, hubby thought she was stressing a couple weeks ago from the cold. She is huge.
Kings Mantle is really blooming heavy, too. especially since she came in. Brought in the Century plant, she takes up almost the whole space in the back of the basement.I have lots of spaces open for all the plants yet to come in, and shelves and shelves of seeds to go thru. Poodle hibiscus has been blooming since she came in. I have the idea basement. It's ugly, but usable. 11 steps down and has controlled climate and also enough lights on timers to mimic the sun going east to west.

a few different views of the basement garden. I have a "work" area where I sort seeds and stuffs.still have a lot of clutter to put away, tho.Not even gonna mention what the other side of this basement looks like LOL. I have cuttings going, seeds sprouting, and play all winter long down there.

That's a fabulous basement Debra. I'd love to have one, but Texas dirt moves around too much underground, basements don't last long

You've sent me plants already. Today I gathered seed from rock rose, I also have seed from black elderberry, (edible) and lots ot Texas Star Hibiscus seed, broccoli seed, etc.

Gypsi petunia need warmth ,lot of light , even moisture , then they sprout in a week or two , Last time I did them I started them under my desk lamp .

Debra , the Fun , Jungle Basement , Wonderful plants and flowers What a wonderful winter playground

Basements here are extremely difficult to keep dry and flood frequently ,

Kitt sound warm , Seems like you need a portable electric drill with a spade bit or auger to plant and cultivate with Blisters are icky ,and they burn ,

This message was edited Oct 13, 2017 10:13 PM

What an amazing basement, Debra. I'm sure if I lived up north I'd have basement full of plants, at least a nice green house.
Kitt, careful with that cut on the foot, that kind of thing can go from bad to worse overnight.
Nice flowers, Juhur, as always.
I found some scale and mealy bugs on my indoor porch plants yesterday, so I spent half the day cleaning plants, soaking them and replanting, they are all outside in quarantine now. Today a good cleaning of my porch, it is the winter place for my not so cold hardy plants...however the rate we're going here, may not have to worry about cold snaps again this winter.

Sunkissed I always admire Debra's flowers also , Mine cheer me up sometimes
Yes indeed it does not seem like fall is any hurry or ever will happen this season , I'm sure it will here , farther south , not so sure ,
Always lots of plant work , you , Gypsi and Debra ,

Kitt Hope your feeling better , getting proper attention , and hoping the new infant is cheering you still

I am cleaning seeds and hoping to get a Red Gaillardia to for Debra I have three individual trades ad a large fall trade to finish , Meanwhile I am placing my plants from seedlings Having a difficult time with the phlox seeds , none of them look right to me ,

Kind of quiet here after some very pretty and interesting chat ,

well I have got a line on some interesting seeds, either Gonobous suberosus or purple milkweed vine, not sure which yet, the finder is going to mail me some seeds. any information I can get is welcome. Codename space pods until ID'd, finder says they are on a vine. I will be doing a refrigerator start on green milkweed, A. Tuberosa and probably these, as well as any other wildflowers I want to get germinated. It is very dry here, our rain front gave me less than 1/16th of an inch. I have rain water in barrels with mosquito dunks in them to use for my trays going into the refrigerator. I didn't get to take pictures in the garden the last couple of days, much bookkeeping being done.

I have seeds, from the Magenta Brain Flower. This was a 50 cent dying plant from Ace Hardware with no tag, can anyone tell me what I've got (I got a lot of seed from my busy bees) the plant is beautiful that same bloom is still up, although the wind and dryness hurt it overnight

Celosia, Cocks comb. (As opposed to the Princess feathers) thousands of seeds in each velvet piece of that flower. Hold it over newspaper and the seeds fall out. Love them. I grew them in the 80's, huge plants, multiple sometimes blooms,

This message was edited Oct 15, 2017 5:14 PM

Debra I could stay down there all winter. Looks great. jen

Kitt, that sounds a lot better than magenta brain flower (which is what my current seed envelope reads) Thank you!

Been away for a few days with the boys at moose camp. Nothing died. Lots of action on the site while I was gone. Thanks for te details on the soap soak Debra

wow that brain flower is really cool. Yes it sure reminds me of a cockscomb I grew millions of years ago. I think your alien pod is a milkweed vine, I have one here I keep on the gate corner fence. The butterflys host on it as well. kinda hard to tell with out the flowers will post one of mine. ( if I can find it) Hurt my back over weekend lugging plants around so taking it easy today. Thanks for the compliments, Sunkissed and it's always good to see all of you! ( Jen) Kieth, what is a Moose Camp?
Ju, I have the yellow blanket flower to send you. here is some frost weed and butterflys on marigolds, of which I have every kind imaginable growing

Well Debra, you asked so I will tell you. Once a year I revert to my childhood and spend a weekend at Moose Camp with my very Redneck son-in-law, his brother and a few of their other Redneck friends. We drive about 1.5 hours into the wilderness to the spot where I posted a picture in the spring with my grandchildren with an ATV load of moose antler sheds. We take a couple campers and stay there for a long weekend. We do a bit of moose hunting, consume way too much alcohol and do a lot of really crazy Redneck things around really large campfires. I am by FAR the oldest member of this group and I like to think that I have at least a bit of a taming effect on some of the craziness that takes place there. However my son-in -law does have a few pictures of me that he could use as blackmail because if Wendy ever saw them it may be my last trip.

LOL Kieth , that is funny, about your wife. I hope you continue your Moose gathering, tho. Sounds like a great get away for you!

Moose camp, a Turty Point Buck deer camp, chuckl. My sandy loam turned to dust. The humidity dropped and the yard started doing an Arizona desert choke. On the other hand, once I break up the concrete that sets up into - the weeds shake the dust off nicely. My blister is still tender enough to bite if I get carried away by my weeding efforts.
Had the moonflower bloom, a pale lilac, the first bloom was struck by whatever it is that is attacking the bloom stalks and causing them to die. It hits the everlasting sage most of the time. Finally the last mg gave me a bloom. After the moonflower bloomed the cool front hit and the leaves turned.

Debra so far all I have is about a baggie with a dozen seed types for you , I am working on it ,There are more to do as of now , Nice Marigolds and Butterflies

Keith sounds like some fun going ,it always has it's craziness ,,lol

Hi Kitt yeah blisters are indefinite , My my morning glories did not do as well this year , Lots of of small wild and serenade , others not so well
Pretty Lavender Bloom you have on yours
Some cauliflower seeds last of a pinch of seeds germinated in water

Debra that last butterfly is a hairstreak of some kind. If you still have monarchs and I have monarchs maybe there are a few more this year. I don't have a lot but some parts of DFW have a significant showing.

Moose camp. ok. not a place for women to go.

we used to hold a celebration of womanhood down here, but attendance got too large for me, and I haven't been in years. One thing for sure, there weren't any men at it.

You had a Nice Brainflower also Gypsi , Celosia are many and varied ,
Sort of like Men reacting to the number of differences about Womanhood , (Smile)

Celosia is a much prettier name than brainflower. Kind of reminded me of a brain coral, which is where I got the name

Nice butterfly pics, Monarch cats ate every bit of my milkweed, hopefully they had their fill.
Moose camp sounds fun for the guys of course, I'm so glad no one had these photo capturing cell phones back in my younger camping days...grin.
That is a nice Brainflower, I've only grown Celosia spicata aka: Wheatstraw, self sows very well.
Starting to get some winter migrating birds coming into the garden, I do enjoy their visits.

I don't think it's really a brainflower, that is just what it looked like to me. It is a Celosia something.

Monarch on my phlox, yesterday. Dahlias Thought this yellow daisy was a Texas wildflower, Texas plant ID group says its a zinnia. I got some seed anyway. (50 cent half dead table ya never know what you are getting, I took seed yesterday) Tropical red salvia, it is springing up all over my yard from my one starting plant.

Gypsi, that yellow flower isn't a zinnia, it's a tickseed. Not coreopsis, but my google isnt working in anything but myopic circles. I will try to find the right name

Nice. Tickseed is a good flower. Although to be honest the monarchs like my big white zinnias for some reason.

I had bidens pilosa in my head, but was wrong, Coreopsis grandiflora is better. Zinnias are a more native flower where they are heading. The Gulf frits and yellow sulphurs have moved to any flowers they can at my yard. I so will see about growing some passi's this spring. Aroma draws them also. I am revamping and slowly leveling the ground around my raised flower beds, as well as trimming and pulling out a yaupon, smilax and wild grape wall that is encroaching past its boundaries, the up part is daunting. I sowed a packet of variegated barley seeds a few days ago, they were sprouted the next morning. They are for a new kitten that it wont be too safe to allow under the house or outside til it gets bigger. Still waiting on the kitten to be picked up. Time to go soak my foot, tho much better now, I must have damaged a tendon/muscle below the cut. It is responding to massaging at least.

Dang , Kitt, that sounds like it hurts! ( the foot) nice bloom on the Ipomoea Setosa, tho. I have LOTS of seeds of all kinds of fancy mgs, if you want more. I also have white marigolds. They are from the same seed - I save them every year, it seems like they get bigger every year. Alice, I am hoping you will take the dahlias off my hands. I have about 5 pots of them. I am so ready to toss the passi's out, they still have not bloomed, some tropical crosses that I got from Tropicman several years ago.
Would love to see that kitten, I have Oona in the house. She purrs real nice when she is in Grandma's lap. (mine)
Ju, I can't believe how fast those things sprouted! Is it time to plant vegetables again?
Sunkissed, may I ask your name? LOL Hope you get all of the 13 or 15 Monarchs I produced this year. I am missing my birds, tho, since the mice and squirrel's have been so bad, I quit putting feeders out, and m finches, orioles, chicakadees and more are almost invisible now. Still have the house wrens, tho. YAY! #4 This Gaura grew to over 12 ft tall I had to break it down and bend it to my side of the fence. #5 Updated pic of the three Coleus I started from saved seeds from last year. Looks like I am going to have a lot of seeds from them ..

Debra Love the flower and seed stories , Such pretty plants ,always so very cheerful , I wouldn't say time to plant most vegetables some cold weather mustard and the plant sprouts I am piddling with
Kitt , Kittens are cheerful also Take care and hopes the pains get better

Here are the cauliflower sprouts , A week of roots and I will put them in the ground ,
They grow , they go dormant , the following summer they seed , they go brown and yucky afterward , then late summer they grow new fresh leaves on the stem ,sometimes new runners from the ground , then it all repeats ,
They taste like cabbage , no one here likes the taste of cabbage except me ,
I have slowed down so it gives me an easy care perennial green to grow ,
Cauliflower sprouts .

Debra, my name is Sherri, thanks for asking, most just call me Sun ;-). Oona looks like my Simba, an old indoor cat. I had also to stop the bird feeder, had more squirrels and rats, the rats reproduce and decided to stay. So now I just rely on the bird attracting trees. I don't get as many as I used to, but still enough to enjoy.

Ju, Fun to see the seed sprouts. I have to admit I'm the worst at vegetable seed growing, believe me I've tried over the years. I have to grow them outside and have so much trouble between squirrels, birds, too much rain, too hot, too cold. I did try a couple years ago in a spare room inside, that didn't go well either. I do great with flower seeds, direct sowing outdoors, but mostly propagation by cuttings, thanks to all the rain.

Gypsi, pretty flowers, that TX sage/salvia all over my garden like a weed everywhere. Tickseed a few different kinds, self sows but not as much as I'd like.

Here's Simba, lazy old cat.

sunkissed Simba is cute !!!
a late Zinnia
fall color
serenade morning glory
Aster seed
bee and Spotted Beetle on Tithonia

fall color looks like my Texas star hibiscus seedlings Ju. Kitt, keep that foot up some (I know how hard it is.) Debra when your dahlias go dormant, send them on. I have to grow them in pots here but this year 5 out of 6 survived. Couple of years ago I bought 12 and all died, being in clay soil that isn't evenly moist.

Beautiful kitties everyone.

I still feed the birds, but just black oil sunflower seeds out back, in an area where dogs and cats can't get, and about 10 feet from my greenhouse, in an approximately squirrel proof feeder.. there are 5 perpetually baited rat traps in my greenhouse, found some that don't remove my thumb, I've taken out about 30 rats and voles since I bought them. 4 a night for the first few days.

Nice to meet you Sun! I grow my tomatoes in tidy cat buckets with gravel, landscape fabric, topsoil/landscape mix that is fairly heavy, and drain holes just above the gravel. That way if the sun gets too hot I can pick them up and move them to a shadier spot in August, they are putting on fruit again now.

My feral kitty's tail. She is a beautiful little long haired tortie but this is as close as she lets me, photo through door

Ha! Now I can finish the pix I didn't get to.

Ok, eyeglasses are on. Found my tickseed- gone down here already. Ggrandson visit this weekend. Last mg bloom, variegated barley grass, and a bamboo project I am planning.
Soak foot still in warm water and epsom, rub as much dead skin off as possible, pour a bit of betadine wash on, dry and add bactroban. Slow healing deep. I had the 'privilege ' of caring for an ex, was one thing after another, broken thigh shattered shin dissolved ankle broke a few right side metatarsals. Collarbone broken from dirt bike dive, and laid a Silverwing on pavement from an oil slick with his son riding with him. Boy was unhurt tho helmet shattered and he said he'd never ran so hard in his life. My ex pulled the bike away from him and took the pavement slide. I 'was allowed' to assist in the soaks and proud flesh peels his hamburgered back and side suffered while he healed. All my life I have been part of medical tending. They probably have better things than silverdine to treat that kind of things ( my favorite was a tub of furacin and penicillen salve my vet gave me to treat my mare when she was kicked into a barbwire fence). Had to use purple spray (gentian violet) and a water hose to clean the maggots and wound the weekend I got home from school. Everyone always recovers. Reminds me, I pulled a squirrel out of my horse trough, so time to go make the squirrels something they won't fall into when they get thirsty.

Well sadly Kitt, mine is a zinnia. Looking at the leaves and the seeds I pulled yesterday, but I appreciate your worthy efforts. I do have a fair number of coreopsis around, seem to be multiplying. That's a good thing.

I used honey on a pretty bad gouge from sticking my arm where I shouldn't a couple of weeks ago, and sprinkled turmeric spice on, slapped a pressure bandage on and it healed up beautifully. Better than neosporin, but it had bled most of the bacteria out before I rinsed it off with water and did the honey and turmeric and sealed it up. I didn't open it for 2 days. Quit hurting overnight, no heat

wow , You are a tough bunch. we should be on a game show... Oh I know, Survivor!
( I love you guys LOL) ..While Joe was out trimming and mowing this am, I managed to get the 4 giants in the garage to the basement without falling down the stairs , breaking a branch or knocking a light out. YAY ME! then, I broke my little toe a few minutes later, so I was reduced to being cat Grandma for a couple hours. Then we went to the movies, out to eat, and when we got home, I fell asleep in my chair within an hour. Only ten more Giants outside that are IN ground. ugh. Need tropical zone people to want my stuff! These tomatoes are as big as a softball, and the peppers are more than 8 inches long The biggest tomato was munched on as it was starting to turn by a squirrels, and I caught it and it's gone.

Gypsi Fall color in the pic is a small sweet gum tree ,

Debra , that all looks really nice , My last yellow tomatoes are finishing ,
Kitty looks confused by the Tiger has a startled look ,
My largest red tomatoes always get blossom end rot , yours sound yummy ,
Love that false Sunflower also
zinnia are so bright in those Pink colors , (I forgot( Debra ouch on the Toe !!!
Aster in a parking lot ,


This message was edited Oct 20, 2017 2:04 AM

Debra, that sunflower is gorgeous. Curious, is that your picture and were you able to dub those captions in there? If so, very creative!

Ju, You know I love the fall color pics, keep em coming. Nice catch of butterfly and beetle, what kind of beetle is that anyway?

Thank you for welcome Gypsi, funny I grow my tomatoes in Tidy cat buckets too, DH even painted them camo green so I didn't have big yellow buckets standing out in garden.

DOCTOR Kitt, cute grgrandson. ;-)

Debra, nice peppers and tomato, adorable little tiger, sorry bout the toe, hauling those big plants down stairs...gotta be workout, just don't break a leg too.

Lady Margaret passion and King's Mantle (Thunbergia) vines going bonkers with all the rain. Kit Kat,the outdoor kitty showed up last year one night right before Christmas, never left, I just love her raccoon tail, should call her Rocky.
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