ronna, SC is a different beast altogether, it's much warmer and the soil is more workable (bring it on, y'all, I know y'all have more green than I do now).
let's see what I can find....this is a jatropha which was given to me by a very generous DGer (Thanks Tom). It smells so good
What is the varigated plant in with the picture of the jatropha?
That is a variegated oleander: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/114027/
I got one last spring, very small. It's not hardy here but I had to have it..lol. Mine didn't bloom but ecrane's picture of the bloom is the kind of pink I love in the garden
OMG, that is the same Jatropha I have blooming on my front steps and I had no idea they smelled good. Going out to sniff right now, thanks.
ardesia, I hope it dooes, it seems like it doesn't all the time. I was caught way off guard a couple of days ago when I caught the scent...yum. Then today, nothing. But I'm gonna keep hovering around mine. Those lil flowers are so small, I wonder if they just have a quick burst of scent
wow cool i would love one when you can get a cutting..........lol
mine is so lanky, and I tried a cutting...didn't work of course. I got mine from glasshouseworks (the reviews are mixed, I'm overall happy with what I've gotten), last spring, I think it was $10. It had already lost a lot of lower leaves and the variegated portions get scalded,....but I still like it.
but if I can get one to root, I'll be happy to pass it on
oh cool that would be great i would love to trade ...
Please don't hold your bereath too long...lol. Mine consists of 3 lanky branches as of now, I don't know how hard they are to root, but if you like variegated plants (and you have aggies) ...I have a couple..lol
Aggies your talking about agapanthus right?
yes, agapanthus. we'd talked about trading in spring from the seed trading forum. I wish I had some of the brugs you're looking for
OH yeah thats right well when they start comming up in the spring I will look you up..
Whine, whine, whine, my jatropha does not smell but the little flowers are long gone; all that is left are the beautiful red bracts. You have yours in the GH and every scent is accentuated there.
thanks for the photo.. very nice. if i were in zone 7 i would have the tropical plants alos. isnt it wierd you all cant grow the plants i grow cause they need the winter and i cant grow the same plants you all do cause we do have winter... nature is kinda wierd huh???? well hope you have a great day Ronna
Ahh the smell of dursban in the morning, that aaaa chemical smell. Nothing smells like it. Put it on one night and the next morning not one bug. Not one stinking bug body. Smells like......like............victory.
LOL.
A landscaper spread or sprayed Orthene around my son's home. Now that is some really foul stuff.
Core, the original Dursban didn't smell so bad; when they took the good stuff off the market and replaced it with the weaker formula they must have mixed in something that has a yucky scent. Doesn't work as well and smells worse - go figure.
Gardenlady, here's some Carolina Jessamine that's just starting to bloom. :)
Deb
You can get orginal Dursban you just have to know the right people. What I liked about dursban was it's ant killing abilities. Put that stuff down and the ants are gone. Ant huggers don't get all whipped up.
DebinSC your ahead of me. My Jessamine bloom earily but I don't see and sign of life out of those yet.
the jessamine is my favorite part of spring
Agree those pesticides smell like poop warmed over! But you get to a point where ANYTHING that stops them is better than the alternativive(total plant sacrifice). Orthene for fire ants is a good example...think the smell alone would kill them! Much as I hate both it and the smell, I use it when necessary because I hate fire ants more. If you've ever accidentally stepped in a nest, or dug into one while innocently weeding, you'd understand! Trust me on this one!
This message was edited Jan 31, 2008 7:17 PM
here's a little color.
Been attacked by ants before and I'm more worried about the kids. They really don't understand what's going on until they have ants all over them. It has happened twice that I remember.
I have not even heard of any of those pesticides...lol. I know we use some kind of ant spray around the inside and outside of the house that is supposed to be more eco-friendly (Spectracide Bugstop) and it's safer around the kids too. It does work really well, we only have to use it twice a year.
Love the pictures, guys, I'm pretty much out. Found one little species crocus blooming today, it was too tiny and too nice outside to bother with the camera...lol
oh debsc do the jasmine grow wild or is that from your garden??? they are beautiful, yellow flowers are my all time faves. and jasmine is my husbands fave scent are they fragrant???? we have to keep ours in side cause of the ole zone thing dont you know??? core44 i absolutly love the pansys in your planter and the planter is georouse also, and the grasses also. thanks for the photos ladies really uplifting!!!!!!!! have a great day:) i will know that ive seen your photos... Ronna
Little kids and fire ants are not a good combination, I'd be worried too.
Yes, you can still get what is labeled Dursban but it is only half as strong as the original which has been off the shelves for about 7 years now.
Ronna, we do have lovely flowers this time of year in our zone but we also have those evil fire ants ( and snakes and mosquitoes and no see ums.)
I don't think my Carolina Jessamine is blooming yet but I am going to sniff asap.
Hi Alice
Do you have fire ants and mosquitoes now? Thankfully this is the only time we don't.
Fire ants are more than evil.My grand daughter was allergic to them and her first bite landed her in the ER.My daughter has been taking her to a Homeopathic Dr.since that 1st encounter and now she barely gets a reaction.
Morning Nancy, yes, I am afraid we always have the fire ants and the weather was so perfect yesterday the mosquitoes were enjoying it too. I would have thought they had gotten too cold with those nasty nights we had recently.
wow fire ants thats terrible... i do not like the bugs that go along with the warm weather. but who does? what are no see ums? one thing good about the winter no bugs out side . they are all frozen or so we wish.... just wanted everyone to see my backyard as you can see we have s"no"w flowers right now... not one is the same... hahaha well you know just a little michigan humor... thanks for the responses i am having so much fun!!!! Ronna
We aim to please! :-)))
If you don't know what no see ums are you are very lucky indeed. They are evil little sand gnats that you can't really see but you sure can feel. They bite hard! They like the same weather we do, if it is too cold they hibernate and the same if it is too hot. If it is perfect they are biting. Earlier today it was in the low 60's and sunny and they were swarming around me; then it got cool and cloudy and they disappeared.
know what you mean, ardesia! those bites they give you don't even feel much like bites.... more like stings... has anyone else started noticing a warming trend in the weather lately?? by valentine's day, we should start to feel the difference!
ronna, to answer your jessamine question, they are native and grow everywhere.... the air smells wonderful when they're blooming... they are also our state flower
Ronna: Yes - sorry - just got back. They do grow everywhere, as Diehrd says, but the one in the pic is on my arbor.
Ardesia: Gnats! They're carnivorous you know. Flying teeth.
I'm allergic to fire ants and it only takes one sting to keep me off my feet for a day and itching for a week!
I haven't noticed any mosquitos round here yet, thank goodness, but the fire ants do tend to pop up after a good rain.
Core - Love your pot o'pansy.
I have only a few pansies this year. Here's one I took last night.
Deb
well debsc i sure hope you dont have any bouts with the firs ants!!! what a terrible thing. did it take awhile to find out what it was you were allergic too? probably not cause it wouldve been swollen right? hey thanks for the pansy picture:::))) dieh.... i bet the scent of the jasmine are just wonderful. my husband would be in heaven... that is his fave scent. thanks for the responses its been wonderful chatting with everyone. are the snad gnat everywhere or only by the beach or what??? just woundering. hope you all have a wonderful sunny day. Ronna
If you get bit by a fire ant you know within seconds. LOL. Hard to miss.
The sand nats are inland I don't know how far inland. That's a good question. Are there no seeums in Columbia or up in the mountains?
My Jasmine just started blooming, saw the first flower today. Should have a nice combo tea olive, jasmine smell.
Ronna: Yes - you can't miss that intense stinging sensation when a fire ant gets ya.
Core, my Tea Olive's blooming but I can't smell it unless si stick my nose right up to the little flowers.. :( Maybe it's just cause I have hay fever.
Deb
I'm blown away by the talk of Carolina jessamine having a fragrance! I've had 4 of them over the years, and none of them had any smell at all. My Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) on the other hand, can be smelled from 500 feet away.
Wondering if what I bought as "Carolina Jessamine" (Gelsemium sempervirens) was really Gelsemium rankinii ("Swamp Jessamine")??? Wouldn't be the first time I've been victimized by mismarked plants! Or is it one of those plants where the fragrance varies from plant -to-plant within the species (e.g., Michelia figo)? Anybody know?
Stono: I have often wondered the same thing. I've never been able to smell any scent at all from my jessamine and was just tryng to figure out a few days ago if there was a way to tell the diff between the two - aside from fragrance/no fragrance.
I do love the smell of the Confederate tho. Mine's on the wall by my front walk. :)
There probably is some esoteric way to tell the difference, Deb, but I don't know it. I'll poke around on it in CHS...someone will know. It's a really pretty flower, and if it was fragrant I'd be growing it in a flash. The other thing I wondered about is it one of those "night-fragrant-only" plants like Cestrum nocturnum, or Aglia odorata, and I just get up too late to smell it? From the previous posts, I don't think that's the case, but I wondered about it.
My yellow jasmine was growing when I built my house so it's a native. In fact it can strangle small trees so I had to rip out the wild stuff and planted it in more controllable places. I have confederate jasmine growing and I prefer the smell of the confederate.
This message was edited Feb 2, 2008 10:11 PM
I assume this is what I have. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1262/
Mine will get 20-30ft easily and are evergreen. Flower this time of year and can be invasive if left to do their own thing.
