I havent been on Daves much this summer... I've been busy and so disgusted with the extreme heat and drought here in SC.
But I did want to take a moment and say that I am so pleased with my Maya. The only bad thing I can say about her is that the bugs sure do like her but even with NO RAIN and not alot of water of fertilizer from me - she has a nice flush going. Not as big as last year but nice size and some of my others are not even going to get large enough to bloom this year. So I am impressed with her !!
charlotte
Maya...
Hi, Charlotte
I am impressed too. I haven't had a bloom. I only have a couple, but I do enjoy them. I keep hoping maybe they will bloom late. I guess it is the drought. Do you have pics? I don't have Maya.
Teresa in KY
I will try to take a pic of it later today but beware... you will see nasty bug damage but I am impressed that it has survived with no special help..
I know that bugs love them. I try to be organic and never spray unless it is dishsoap/water.
HI, Charlotte
Here is one of the Maya cuttings you sent me last winter, all growed up! lol! (thanks, again!)
And I can't get rid of those pesky grasshoppers- must be something special about those Maya leaves! The rest of my brugs, especially the seedlings, are plagued with caterpillars.
Anyway, despite all the summer has dealt out, here is Maya's first flush! White, then going to cream.
Thanks
I'm so glad it did well. I havent actually found bugs on mine but they obviously love it !
Mine is so very fragrant too,
If you use that Bayer's 2 in 1 Rose Fertilizer which I think they now call just flower fertiizer, it will keep the bugs off. I had very little luck for 2 years with brugs, but this year I fertilized them a lot more and they responded. i also found my soil was way too acid for them and remedied that.
Did you get your soil tested, woodspirit? I may do that in the Spring with a bed that isn't doing as well as others. Did you add compost when you planted or is yours in pots. Someone told me they are heavy feeders. Any comments will be appreciated.
Teresa
I didn't get my soil tested but knew it was very acid. It was so acid that moss was growing on top of the soil. After I added lime twice, the moss went away and then I just got the usual weeds, lol. I am going to get my soil tested this winter, though, and add the lime so it will have time to do its work.
Yes they are heavy feeders. I planted them with Black Kow and bone meal. Then I started a fertilizer regimen based on the fact that I have read the brug forum a lot and everyone seems to use a lot of fertilizers. I use the Bayers 2-in-1 fertilizer because it has a systemic insecticide so i don't have to worry about bugs. But I also used the water soluble Bloom Booster. Next year I am going to try the organics more. Alfalfa tea mixed with some fish emulsion, kelp and molasses. I have access to pelletized chicken manure (my son-in-law works for Gaia Herbs) so will try that too. I am also going to buy a 50 lb. bag of triple phosphates and use that more as I found our soil is low in phosphates here.
Whew! I know that sounds like a lot but I am finally getting big flushes.
Oh! I also tried Messenger but can't tell the results with all that playing with fertilizers.
This message was edited Sep 29, 2007 12:01 PM
Wow, no wonder you are getting triple flushes!
er, did i say I was getting triple flushes? Nope, just 2 this year and the first one was minimal. But it's onward and upward because i am so encouraged this year.
I have a small Maya that has ahrdly grown.. no thanks to the grasshoppers and now the caterpillers! It was recovering nicely and I did not have time to look at it for about 3 days. big mistake.. found it last night with every leaf looking like open cut lace... not an intact leaf left on the plant.. pulled of about 12 itty bitty baby caterpillars.... they did not even tough the other two brugs next to my poor little Maya! She wil come inside the house for the winter to help her grow big and strong for next year.
Tammie
Sorry, please forgive. I posted in the wrong thread.
This message was edited Sep 30, 2007 10:28 PM
This message was edited Sep 30, 2007 10:29 PM
This message was edited Oct 2, 2007 11:25 AM
I know what you mean. I starting crossing daylily blooms a few years ago. You just never know what you are going to get. That is part of the fun. I just wish it didn't take so long to see the new blooms. Don't get discouraged.
Teresa
Llasalover, If you use the Bayer's 2-in-1 fertilizer, it will keep the bugs off for about a month.
I will look for it.. I can only seem to find the Bayer for roses.
I have to jump in with praises for Maya. I could have 4 flushes this year, IF the weather holds out. She just got finished with a huge over 400 bloom flush and now I'm seeing little buds trying to form again. She's a performer. There was another thread about the different between Maya and Peaches & Cream - P&C seems to be hard to bloom while Maya just keeps em coming . .. but we never really got to the bottom of if or how to tell the difference... Maya may have fuzzier leaves... anyone have any ideas? I think it is for Roses, Lhasalover, it will say systemic somewhere on it.
The 2-in-1 Bayer's for roses disappeared here this season and instead Bayer's is selling the 2-in-1 for flowers but the formula is the same.
I have found almost anything good for roses is good for brugs. Roses, however, can take a little more acid soil.
Peaches & Cream blooms hang vertical and it is a versicolor. Maya has blooms that are a little shorter and they have a little nod/angle to them instead of hanging straight down/vertical. Maya is a Candida. Hope this helps some.
I hate to show my ignorance, but what is a versicolor and what is a candida?
I glad someone else wanted to know too.
Teresa
I'll try, it's like two separate "branches" in the same family of the family tree. Like the Smiths' (versicolor) and the Jones' (candida) are the same family of the original family of the Whites' (brugmansia)...
well, that doesn't quite tell me why some are called versicolor (what does that term mean) and why are some called candida.
Versicolor- varying or changing in color - Candida-a fungus that can cause yeast infection ... (NOTHING to do with brugs). It's just what they were called when they were discovered, I guess, .....Shirley!!!! Help! lol You can google Brugmansia and it will produce tons of info.
...just like Bonnie said. Brugmansia is the whole while versicolor, candida, suaveolens, insignis, aurea, sanguinea, arborea, and flava are the arms of the family tree. When you cross a versicolor with an aurea, you get a candida. When you cross a sanguinea with an arborea, you get a flava. Only some of the brugs make the purebreds while others make what used to be called multihybrids. You can also cross within the family such as suaveolens x suaveolens or aurea x aurea. However, Sanguinea, Arborea, and Flava don't cross with the rest. They have their own family tree.
If you go to any of the brug sites that are available, you can probably get this information in a much better manner than I can give it. Hope this helps.
I remember my original shock that there were Brugmansia called Candida. When I worked in the hospital some of the Chronic Respiratory patients would develop candida on their tongue after taking steroid type inhalers. Not a pleasant experience for them. (Unlike many of the Candida Brugmansia that are pretty and smell good too)
I think you did a marvelous job explaining, Shirley. Thank You. Makes me want to start hand-pollinating! (OH! NO!) lol