When do YOU say that it's done?

Good to see you in to the needle arts Jan. I'll be looking for that new tatoo with barb wire and dahlias in the spring.

little more frost here last night ,but no damage

my house only gets clean when we are going to have a party. so we have to have them a couple times a year...

I sure wish someone would come clean my house, it is still nice here, lol. Bring the back-hoe.

i miss st. louis.
bridgeton's somewhere north, right? by the airport?
(city girl from the south side)

Yes Amethystsm, we are near the airport (a little too near sometimes). I love it here, none of the seasons stays around too long, it's just right. We are having a wonderful fall, I go outside as much as possible, even for naps.

Amethystsm - we use the same game plan for cleaning. I call it "Panic cleaning". It works well for me.

Had our first frost this AM, I brought an anual Hibiscus in yesterday. It has grown rather large, and I don't really have room for it indoors. Do you think I could cut it back quite a bit? I really don't want to, but I don't know where I can keep it without it getting in the way.

Yes, you can, per Ralph Snodsmith on radio. It will soon drop its leaves anyhow, causing you great distress if you haven't grown them before. Nice bright location and keep it evenly moist. No food until springtime.

Thanks Pirl, last winter was my first year, and I did get nervous when it dropped its leaves, but it is beautiful right now. It was a lot smaller last year.

You can keep it smaller in winter and by summer you'll wonder if you ever cut it back. They're heavy feeders and demand the constant moisture and food all summer.

We had our first frost last night. I didn't have time to check to see the damage this morning will have to wait until I get out of work tonight. I guess I should put down the leaf mulch and start putting my garden to rest for the winter.

NO frost here! Yipee! Just went out taking photos of dahlias again. It's bound to happen within the next few weeks.

Yes, dpoitras, it's time for your pretty plants to rest up for next year.

Oh to sleep! Perchance to dream ... of bright and brilliant blooms in the Spring!

Precisely! As the old saying goes, "God gave us memories so we might have roses in December". Photos help, too.

We had frost too - saw it on the rooftop this AM. However, my min / max thermometer said 34.5.

Hmmmmm .....
perhaps min/max needs calibration

It was 30F this morning at 5:00AM but no frost. Go figure. Now the race is on to get everything winterized. Why do I always wait so long. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,it was cold hauling plants in this morning:(

Could be the location. Closer you get to the house, the warmer it stays.

Especially considering who lives in the house, Victor: Mr. Hot Stuff!!! :-)

I know there can be frost with temperatures as high as 38 - it all has to do with how dry the air is. Getting down to 30 I'd have to guess there was very little moisture.

I tossed and turned all night (honestly) thinking about frost and the dahlias. I peeked outside and by the light of the moon they appeared erect and by daylight I could see they were unharmed. Sooner or later it will get here so I'll just appreciate them right now, before they go black with frost.

I bet it's the location then, because it was very wet. We are down in a little hollow on this street and have enclosed the property with stockade fencing. I went out on the deck to feel how wet it was because I thought wet at 30F = thick frost. I'm trying to get a pic of an Iris that is ready to bloom,but probably it won't make it. I find it very nerve racking too for some reason this year. It's noon daylight saving time now and and the temp is 60F. and rising.

Wow! Posy!
We haven't even cracked 40* yet!

Tonights project is to put down the rest of the leaf mulch. I made cages out of chicken wire to put around my roses and fill the cage with leaves.

My roses are still blooming, or they were as of yesterday. At what point should I consider doing this? Should I just cut off the blooms and buds and "winterize" them?

I always was a big fan of New Hampshire, one of the original 13 States.We went touring all through the New England States years ago on a 650 Triumph Motorcycle. Lucky you,Candy, on both counts. How come it is staying so warm up in your neck of the woods?

Had to scrape ice off the windshield this morning. Good thing I picked most of the green tomatos yesterday! My neighbors are lanscapers and they offered me free mulch - pick my color! I told them there is 60 gallons of fuel oil in my tank that they can have now that I have switched to a gas furnace. That's a good trade, I think.

Depends on how much mulch! Home heating oil is going for $3 a gallon this year according to a report the other day. $180 should equal LOTS of mulch.

This message was edited Oct 29, 2007 1:12 PM

Well - I hadn't thought of being "done" - I have seeds sorted for planting for every month from now on!

I am asking Santa for lots of shelving and some florescent grow lights . . . . and I plan to winter sow a lot too.

Currently, I am trying to root roses - managed to get "New Dawn" to grow some roots - now we will see if it takes off (I put in a pot with soil on Saturday). I currently have about 15 rose cuttings I am trying to start (I will be THRILLED if even one works).

Next is taking cuttings from the brugs - (though I have no clue what I will do with the cuttings as I am trying to save this year's plants as well)

Someday, I want to try to propogate some other kinds of shrubs.

Propagating shrubs goes way faster with the Rooter Pot method.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=46938&cat=2,47236

Oh, I just remembered a branch of Callicarpa that broke off in the Spring, and it finally rooted this Fall, but I left it out, in water. I'll go see how it is.

Actually made something like that this weekend for propogating stuff. Here is the link

http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/District/9046/hydro/cloner.htm

Here is the DG discussion regarding it:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/779621/

Cool stuff!!

(Posy, I think it's so warm in New Hampshire lately because Victor keeps breathing in our direction)

ouch!

Candyce - that would also explain that smell . . .

------------------------------:-0-----------------------------

ew.

Well that sure cleared out the room, lol

LOL!! This tread surely got off track quick!! :-)

Can you all tell me when to mulch? I've heard that I should wait until after the ground is frozen. But it seems that it never really freezes hard until mid December and that is too late, it seems.
I'd like to just do it now and be done.

Thanks.
Lora

Lora, I start adding chopped leaves as the nights cool, not all at once. I figure that's how it would be if I didn't rake leaves, some would land now, some later, and more when the wind blows them up against the house or fence. I've never had a problem.

I'm lazy. I wok in sections. My ADD kicks in. I prune here, prune there. Rake a little here, move that, dig that up. Sleep. Wait a few days. Hack down some DL's...add some mulch or compost. Wait a few days. I procrastinate.

And wait some more. Then I desucker(word?)my contorted filberts, and lilacs, and anything else that needs to be desuckered. And sleep. And procrastinate. I will plant some daffs, somewhere. And chop more DL's down. Then I go neighborhood leaf stealing...especially if they are prebagged...love that. And I compost. And sleep.

Anyone that can go out there and do it all in a weekend, I bow and am humble before you...lol. The whole closing shop for winter takes me about 2 months from the beginning of October up until my fingers hurt from the cold. And if I see bulbs on sale someplace...you know...they can be rehomed.

Can you plant bulbs until the ground freezes??

Hem - I drag it out as long as possible because I hate the thought of being inside for too long.

Yes, plant those bulbs until freeze! They should be fine. Water them in, and mulch them when the ground freezes. That's the joy of spring.