That would be wonderful - Thank you Mitch
Worst Nightmare Plant....or Sweet Dreams?
Janet ~ I would suspect you didn't get cleome... it is an annual and only spreads by seeds after blooming. I love the delicate smell of cleome, it reminds me of fresh garden peas when you brush the blooms and foliage.
The seeds came from someone here on Dave's along with a lot of others. I should have been taking notes. Instead, I labeled the 6-packs and starter pots. I was doing a whole bunch at a time early this spring. I remember planting seeds for the October Rose, but also for cleome. I bet the ones I planted in that bed were the Hibiscus instead of the Cleome like I thought. I should have made myself a map.
With the rain we are having and expecting, I'd imagine those plants will be monsters soon. Even more so than they already are. I'm going to quit cutting them since October is just around the corner. Hopefully they will bloom the FIRST part of October. :-)
Sorry to have hi-jacked the thread. And back to your plant dreams..... :-)
Janet
Thanks UniQueTreasures :)
I regret planting:
1. Japanese honeysuckle. Yes, it made a nice hedge in the alley. Yes, it bloomed and smelled wonderful. Yes, it was a nightmare to keep contained.
2. Red-tip photinias. 20 years ago I didn't know that they wanted to grow 20 feet tall.
3. Bradford pear.
Things I love that we planted when we moved in:
1. Trees: red oak, sweetgum, Texas ash
2. Indian hawthornes.
3. Cherry laurels (but they want to grow tall too)
pbtx----what a wonderful list, short and sweet---I appreciate the explanations!
LOL. Now ask me about the things I regret losing over the years.
First would be my willow tree. They're generally considered trash trees because of their soft wood, short life, and susceptibility to insects. But I grew up with willows and have always loved their grace--AND I needed fast shade. So I planted one anyway. After 13 years, it succumbed to these humongous--and really, really disgusting!--borers. They were so fast, ours died before we really even knew we had a problem. But, if you know all of that in advance, and don't mind losing it when its time comes, then IMO they're still a good choice. They are very pretty, and grow fast, so they provide a lot of nice shade years before the long-life trees are big enough. And, when they do die, the stump usually deteriorates pretty fast, so you don't have to have it removed. My other trees have all grown up, so these days I wish for more sun. But given the bare yard I had back then, I'd still plant one.
Another "trash tree" I planted, and wish I still had, was an amur maple. They aren't invasive here like they are in other parts of the country. They have a short life too. But for the years we did have it, Its fall colors were the most gorgeous thing in the neighborhood.
pbtx---being from the north I've seen lots of impressive willows. Perhaps there are different kinds because one was planted at our family homestead when my mother was little and it was huge when I was born and is still going strong (I'm 28) and it's one of the biggest trees around, part of what helped that was being near a wood that would retain all the melted snow and be swampy a few months a year.
Could be. I've seen photos of some of those big old willows in other parts of the country. They definitely like more water than we get here.
I always dream of planting one around a deep pond but I do recall they drop twigs all the time.
As much as I love my pretty fragrant pink Four o'clocks they reseed everywhere! I've got babies coming up in several garden beds where they are really unwanted. And they grow like a tree. LOL Never seen anything get so full and big. I will definitely pull out all the unwanted ones and will probably move the mother plants to another yard location. Even that may not do any good.
I remember the first time we dug up a four o'clock, root and all. We were digging a new bed and DH dug up this thing that reminded me of a sweet potato it was so huge. DH calls them enormous tubers now instead of four o'clocks.
yep. Another weed if you are not careful. Have had them for over 30 years....passalong.
The aroma is so soft and heavenly that never want to be totally without them.
Thanks for the heads up on four o' clocks, folks! I have never grown
them, but started some seeds-in pots- for myself and sis-in-law.
They are her favs, now I know NOT to put them in a bed! Oh, thank you
thank you thank you..So, they smell really good, eh? i don't even
know what color mine are yet-
Um, my nightmare, yes, morning glories. I just love em. and
my vine has taken off, climbing up a cedar, spreading down the
fence-birds dropping seeds here and there in my yard, had 2 LOVELY
smallish blue blooms on a sea of purple-saved those for next
year, but may plant it centered? in the yard on low trellises, kind of like
you grow kiwi or blackberry.
And though not exactly 'heaven' for me cuz I think they're kind of
small, but definately dependable and oh so easy are my dianthus.
The blooms were encased in ice last winter-looked really neat.
Not sure where the pots should go to "protect" you. The seed pop a good distance....not just drop around the mother plant. They are so easy in the ground....don't have to fertilize, water, compost.....nothing like work.
twohawk, if you have sort of a wild area that might be a good place for 4 o'clocks.
mine are about 5 feet wide right now and 2 1/2 feet tall.
I have Four O'clocks and yes they do seed themselves, but all you have to do is pull out what you don't want, they are not hard to pull when they are small. I have white, yellow, pink, deep pink, fuchia, red, and bicolor, and I love them all.
Josephine.
A wild area, Silverfluter? {teehee} I am surrounded by wild area- cougars,
coyotes, fox, army-dillars, opossum, I could have my choice. Would it
not be a good idea to plant at property's edge, for fear of 4 o' clocks
escaping away from me where I can't get to them-or an area I don't
frequent much but is viewable daily?
Silver you are right about the 'wild area'. LOL I plan to move some of my 4 o'clocks out by our barn porch which is out near the pasture fence. I don't care how much they reseed out there. ;)
Dance this is a good time to harvest seed and just throw them out there...no need to move anything.
Two hawk, well by wild area, I meant an area intended for wildflowers.:) It's nice to have them close enough that you can smell them when they bloom. But once they get established, it'll be a chore to move them. You'll be diggin' for awhile and you'll have to get all of the tubor.
Gotcha.Have the wild area started already with bluebonnets
and indian paintbrush. Can hardly wait!
Twohawk, did you spread seeds or start with plants? People ask me sometimes how to get bluebonnets started and I never know what to tell them. We have them, but they've always been there. I've been told it's best to let the plants spread the seeds, which means you'de have to start with the plants themselves. I haven't checked to see if ours are up, but they should already be there.
Lou you are right about pitching seeds. I've got tons of those. The reason I mentioned moving the 4 o'clocks is it's hard for me to just throw a plant away. LOL And I am going to take some out of the garden where they are. Rather than tossing it I will move it to another location.