here we are with at least 2 to 3 more months of HEAT and some of my stuff is dropping like flys....how many are losing
their stuff to heat....??
also, besides moss rose or lantana or grasses....anything else i can plant in my petunia hanging baskets that will
take the all day heat???
any other hints on how to prevent stuff from dying from the heat and hot wind??
Alrighty you texas folks;how many are losing plants to heat?
sticks, it's already as hot as July here, and the temperature of the gulf water is a month or so ahead of schedule, so I agree -- we're in for a long one. I'm thinking of putting up an area covered with shade cloth to cut it down some for my plants, as they get really weary shortly after noon. Have you thought about peppers for your hanging baskets? There are little ornamental varieties. Geraniums seem to stand up pretty well for me.
I've lost a few rudbeckias and one echinacea to the excessive rainfall we had a week ago...but not due to heat.
Last June we had several days of 100 degree weather--which is really hot for Houston. So far, the temperature has been about normal for around here. 92 degrees and, oh say, about 95% humidity.
This message was edited Jun 6, 2006 1:51 PM
geraniums don't make it here in this heat....but then again i am still a novice...will look at peppers....thats an interesting one...thank;you:)
Haven't lost any to heat yet, but the armadillo got a chile petin - dug it up, and despite TLC, I couldn't save it. I have managed to save a red ruellia a friend gave me, although the armadillo has dug it up three times now. I check it first thing in the morning. It's still blooming.
Hi sticks,
Vinca is another option for your containers. It is a cute flower available in all sorts of colors and does withstand the heat well. Also, some other ideas that can take heat and look nice in containers....plumbago, cuphea (aka cigar plant), salvia. I have hibiscus and bougainvillea in containers and they aren't suffering at all yet.
Bullnettle,
Do you need some chili pequin seeds? I still have about a cup of berrys from last year and the plant is even more productive this year - in fact the peppers are twice as big - nearly 1/2'' long.
Don't have armadillos - maybe a vole or two, but I have a dog that loves to dig them out. He thinks the wire around the garden is "hot" so I don't have any of his assistance with the plowing there.
You might also think about either splurging for the water crystals or get some disposable diapers & use in your containers. Either one will stretch your water use.
its not that the plants are drying out....it is that the sun is frying the leaves of my petunias...and parching my coleus leaves...
So far so good around here, but they do wilt in the afternoons, the sun is extremely hot and they can't take up water fast enough during the hottest part, but they do recover.
Still good here too but I don't know for how long. Today was a really hot one. My plants wilt down too in the hottest part of the day but rebound sometimes even before dark.
Before it's over I will probably only have zinnias and purslane moss. *g*
My salvias should hold too.
sticks n stones your problems with heat and wind are shared by most South Plains gardeners. The high temperatures are rampant across much of the Southwest, but probably not the constant hot wind that blows across the Llano Estacado. My experience has been that there's no such thing as "overwatering" petunias in a hanging basket in West Texas.
After trying exotic plants raised from seeds traded with gardeners from all over, I have finally realized that the way to go is with plants adapted to local conditions, such as Mexican Hat, Lantana, Blanket Flower, etc. Sometimes I get surprised in my experiments with plants, such as a Dappled Pink 4 O'clock that I traded with a gardener in Japan. Couldn't believe how well it adapted to our high temperatures and strong winds. It just keeps on a keepin' on.
Petunias don't usually survive the summer here, either Txwillie--and coleus much better in the shade.
hey txwillie...i live right by you....30 minutes away; and do you know that i did overwater my petunias....then, i was trying to correct that situation as they were turning yellow and killed a basket of them....nice to meet you
A lot of my plants wilt in the afternoons, and then perk back up in the evening. The only one I've lost so far was one of my Gerbera daisies. One of the other Gerbera plants managed to stay alive and bloom again, but with the flowers facing the wall instead of out towards the sun.
My Margarite sweet potato vine in a pot that faces mostly west does that everyday around 4 or 5, even if I just watered it. I swear if you saw it, you'd think it was about to keel over. Late the same night, it's usually bouncy and bushy again. And it seems to not be hurting it because it is growing like a weed!
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch... .. ... the only way a lot of the stuff here is ok is due to loads of paper mulch but if you have the cash and dont like the look of white regular mulch works too.... they all go back into your soil in time and help keep the roots cool. Make sure all pots are in the shade - they get hot faster then the plants in the soil too.... Just some ideas - Mitch
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch.....Mitch; you got it. Collect those bags of leaves over winter and early spring--heap those beds as high as you can in March--put just enough hardwood on top to keep the leaves from flying. I think I could have gone 2' high in March--its down to 3-4" already. Grass clippings work good too if you know your source.
by-product: saves weeding in the heat. builds up soil where it retains moisture.
Debbie
Bubba - Mo City: Thanks for the offer of chile petin seeds. I have one other plant that the armadillo hasn't gotten yet. I used to have chile petin growing wild in back, but I think the drought got it. Anyway, I tried several times to start them from seeds I got from the back, and had no luck. They just didn't germinate. I decided they must have to pass through birds to germinate for me. Right now, I'm not going to try to put in any more seeds or plants. The heat makes it counterproductive, I think. I may get back to you in the fall or early winter, if that's okay.
Bullnettle
I am out of leaves - that is why I am on shredded paper right now... works good and will go back into the soil just does not look neat the first year in the garden.
My petunias are not blooming much, but they're trying to hang in there. I lost some bean plants to pillbugs and other bugs. I'm putting something around the stem of what's left with sticky tape on it to catch those bugs now. I lost a few morning glory seedlings because of the heat. The hot sun is merciless. I like to use a hanging basket of Tahitian Bridal Veil that can hang under a tree with the blooming stems hanging down.
I wish I could lose some morning glory seedlings. Those things grow all up in my spirea shrub and make a mess. What doesn't wilt in the sun? Hot lips sage! One tough plant! Loves the sun and heat. I water mine only in July and Aug. Amazing plant. I have geraniums in pots, but I have to keep them in light shade all day when it's hot. My bulbine is in a pot though, gets full sun and loves it. It's hard to find something to put in a hanging basket in the sun. I guess there are some, but not many. I just keep my hanging baskets in the shade.
yup....my hanging baskets are taking a toll and my individual pots are too.....when you say put them in the shade....these are HUGE pots...cant move them without help....;
any suggestions for afternoon and evening sun...in pots??i am looking for that 'lush...overfilled look' and right now my pots are parched and shriveled....:(
even if i could put something in front of these so that they would avoid the end of day sun....but asthetically....everything i tried looks stupid.....i even put an umbrella over portions....but this windy west texas makes that umbrella want to fly away...
Purple heart (setcreasea) it takes water but will hold its color and will trail. LindaTx8 mentioned Tahitian Bridal veil for an impossible to kill plant. Both of these also come back from the roots for me. Not astounding flowers but pretty foilage...
pod, linda will go have a look at the foliage you pointed out!!! thank you
linda....they call that purple heart ....wandering jew also...there are several colors....do you think any colors of that will work??
I was looking for a picture of the purple heart and found this instead. This is Creeping Daisy ~ Wedelia trilobata ~ This plant is native to the northern part of South America and the West Indies. It is a creeping evergreen perennial in Zone 8 that roots at the leaf nodes and spreads widely. The flower is a yellow daisy-like flower that is approximately 1 inch across. The plant makes an excellent groundcover as well as a great hanging basket. It grows well under trees or in full sun to part shade. I find it wilts in the afternoon sun but recovers quickly. It dies down in the winter but returns quickly in the spring. Mine is just beginning to bloom for the summer. Worth a try...
If it's a spot that really gets alot of sun, you might try black foot daisy. It's a Tx native and a really beautiful plant. Very full, blooms yellow and white daisies most of the time. Gets about 4 - 6" tall and will spill over the side of the pot.
pod and silver.....thank you for your suggestions!!!!
North Texas clay soil--I've read that your mulch should correspond to your local flora--but Wichita Falls isn't heavy with native cedar nor pine--so what is best? Cedar or pine?
If you have a choice take the pine, but any kind of mulch is better than no mulch.
I read in a Howard Garrett newsletter that whatever is grown locally is the best source of mulch. Could be he said that just because that way you support your local mulch making business, whatever that is.