hi all. i have to laugh at myself... something is wrong here... can grow orchids indoors, orchids in trees, great plumerias.. yet can not grow zinnias nor periwinkle..
something is wrong with this picture! :-)
funny what you can grow and what you can not grow...
You are right, not everything works for everyone, I have given up trying to grow Standing cypress, Ipmopsis rubra, which I just love;
http://www.npot.org/index.php?typeIN=&colorIN=&find=standing+cypress&search_by=name
and something always happens, I almost had one ready to flower, and a hail stone broke it, and that was my fourth try, so I think I should quit.
Josephine.
Zinnias and periwinkle both tend to have fungal problems, especially in our high humidity/lots of rain area. The zinnas leaves get crispy brown and the periwinkle leaves get slimy brown. I've given up on both and will stick with tougher stuff. From what I understand, once you have an area where periwinkles had the fungus, it will live in the soil for quite some time, so it's not a good idea to replant more in the same spot or they'll die the same death. You could probably treat with something to get rid of it, but I try to use as few chemicals as possible, so I just found other plants. I've put bat face cuphea where the periwinkles were and it's working great. Such cute little flowers!
My motto is "If that plant dies, I'll just put a Salvia in its place." Needless to say, I have A LOT of salvias in my yard. :-)
Carla
Great idea Carla, you can't go wrong with Salvia.
Josephine.
I found an Apricot-colored Greggii salvia at Shades of Green (Frisco) on Saturday. Naturally, I had to have it! Luckily I had room in the flowerbeds and no plant had to die in order to make room for it. :-)
Carla
Quoting:
...and no plant had to die in order to make room for it. :-)
LOL!! That was great, Carla! :-)
Carla, that is a great motto, and is so far holding true for me also.
I have a brick mailbox planter that has killed off hibiscus, verbena, lantana, blue bells, and even plumbago. The planter is in full sun, lots of reflected heat, and questionable drainage.
So far, salvia "mystic spires" looks great. It is even sending up new growth. This is the first plant to thrive in this spot.
Richard
Mystic Spires is a beauty. I'm glad he's taken over proud ownership of your planter.
:-)
Carla
yes i love salvia... it is like the eveready bunny..just keeps on going..seeds dry up and i just throw em around. i have new porter weeds now, lost a few in the freeze,,i love to watch the blossoms... quite unique. plus the hummers go nuts over em.. i have one called tudie fruitie( forgive if spelling not correct). but anyway some blooms are pink, the others will be purple. but have not found another one like it to buy.... seem to only find the pink or the purple.
anyway i thnk they are really cool looking...
happy day to all
NYSTX, where did you find the pink one? Mine died in the freeze last year. I've found two new purples, but would love one of the pinks. I haven't located it locally, but I'm looking!
hi crowellli, i found them all out in booth tx at enchanted forest. it is so nice out there, beautiful plants and the surrounding grounds are very beautiful as well. i was out there mothers day w/e, they always have special things going on for special days like that, had free food and someone singing...
go south on 59, it is like down behind greatwood suddivision... like in richmond. the number to them is 281-937-9449.
hope this helps and you find one. have never seen any at hd of lowes.. pretty much enchanted forest is my sole nursery i go to. think i am going sunday, will look around fro you andlet you know.
i think mercer is having a plant sale 6-2-07, you may try there as well.
happy day
Even down here in zone 9a, the only way we can grow periwinkle is NEVER to plant before June 15......it is soooooooo hard to wait because the nurseries are full of them 2 months ahead of time.
My sister in law always got that fungus that doesn't go away for more periwinkles, so I planted dwarf 'Katie' ruellia in all threee colors...............it is beautiful already and spreading to the entire area of one bed...........so pretty...
This year - winter and spring - were really long for us, it seems. I have written that everything really looked so bad for so long but I only lost 1 plumeria (out of 2) and one hibiscus out of 10. Then I thought I had lost my Pride of Barbados which I had grown from seed and which performed beautifully for me last year. Well, the other day I was in the garden and lo and behold the POB was sending up new growth. It is my contention that the bulbs did so well this year because they had such a long cooler season and the tropicals came back so slowly for the same reason. Normally these would have performed well starting in March or April but the ground wasn't warm enough and we didn't have the hot sun to warm it as early as we usually do. Now that the sun is shining and the ground is warming up things are beginning to grow from their roots. Unfortunately my DSIL dug up and threw away 3 hibiscus in March because he thought they should be greening up. What a waste and bad mistake for him! No gardener should give up and dig up and trash things too early. Patience is indeed a virtue when it comes to gardening!
Ann