I am new to Texas and was wondering if oriental poppies will grow here in Humble? I came from Denver Colorado and had beautiful flower gardens there but am not sure what will grow here and when....
Gardening in Humble Texas
i try anything anywhere. never know.. someone does be along..i would think they would do good untill gets reallly hot.? Not heard Humble, Texas..
Virg ~ Hello and welcome to Texas as well as to the DG gardening forums. If you were to plant poppies here, plant them in October. They will grow over winter and give early blooms before the incredible heat. As Hope says, try anything at least once. Don't be bound by convention. If you brought seeds along, give them a try. I am sure others will share opinions too. Hope to see you in the forums. pod
This link covers some of the Poppy questions in Texas... http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/688010/
Thanks for the welcome pod. I had forgotten all about this question....I miss my flower gardens in Colorado and want to mimic them here...I know that lilacs are out but I did plant a couple of wisteria's...little by little I will get it going...I used to plant something new every year to see how it worked out and I think I will follow the same here...
Virg ~ if you have time, tour some of the local botanical gardens. I wouldn't go by what you see in most garden centers. They are after the dollar. Also, drive or walk thru neighborhoods and if you see plants you like, ask someone to ID it.
I struggled to learn that what grew up north wasn't worth the trouble down here. We moved here 35 years ago and I learned the hard way. A fun book with suggestions for southern plants is Passalong Plants by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing. Your area should also have some good garden clubs. Good gardening... pod
Howdy and welcome. Books I wouldn't do without are Howard Garrett's "Herbs for Texas" and "Southern Herb Growing," the author of which I can't remember but she used to have the Hilltop Herb Farm. (The books are at home and I'm at work.)
I'm trying sweet peas right now, which is a total no-no, and hope they'll hurry up and bloom before they fry. Don't put any money on it.
Hi Virg - welcome!
'Southern Herb Growing' by Madalene Hill and Gwyn Barclay...excellent book.
Here's a splendid website - click on Plants for Landscape and it will take you all over the place. All plants listed are tried and true for most areas of Texas.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/contents.html
Virg, there is a NEW Poppy forum too!!
Check it out....... http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/papaver/all/
Thanks everyone for the information. I guess it all invariably comes down to mother nature in the end...so much rain lately...I did learn some things this past winter/summer so I am on a roll. Here is the latest flower garden....it is definitely a work in progress but should turn out really good in the end....
Your garden looks like it's coming along. The color combination should really catch everyone's eye when it fills in later this spring. Just don't give up hope if some things peter out when it gets really hot this summer..it's a matter of plant tags saying crazy things like full sun...Full sun and Texas full sun..two different things entirely.
LOL Teacup ~ that is too true!
Virg, the flower garden is pretty!
I was told there are two ways to learn, one is to make the mistakes ~
the other is less costly ~ to learn from others mistakes.
By all means ask questions, let us show our ignorance. A lot of us have been in the same boat and are still paddling! pod
I live in Houston, & spent the summer in Colorado Springs recently- not much that grew there will do well here.Try various tropicals. Cannas, plumeria, hibiscus, oleanders, datura, etc do well here. The Saturday Houston chronicle has excellent garden info for our area. Or, go east a few miles to Atascocita, turn left at the big A, just before you go over the lake, and walk some in that neighborhood-you'll get all kinds of ideas, as a lot of those homes have beautiful landscaping, but it offers ideas of plants you can use on a smaller scale. Are you interested in a vegetable garden?
I too moved to the Houston area from Colorado....welcome and know that it's a whole new ballgame. I tried oriental poppies three different years, in three different spots in my yards and all with the same heat sizzled results. What you can do tho' is use california poppy
from seed, spread in the fall and while not spectacular results, they did enough to sooth
my nostalgic soul. Good luck. The trade offs you make will be exciting ones.........magnolias, azaleas,
plumerias, plumbagos, daturas,,,,and tons of things (eg coleus) that were only house plants in Denver.
jan