Scattelogical ramblings and desultory humor - SB - cont'd

DonnieBrook: Camellias don't mind the heat of summer. They do prefer semishade and moist soil. They like high humidity. The basic limitation is low temperature. There are some at the National Arboretum in Washington D.C. but that is about the northern limit. Breeders are working on cold tolerant camellias now.

I have lost a few where they got too much sun because tall trees were lost. And they need water during the hottest part of summer.

I have an article on camellias coming up this month. Actually its on camellias and gorillas.

Thanks for that info, Gloria. I'll be looking forward to your article. I'm in zone 10b here, and people here don't have camellias. I can't figure out why, unless it's the hot sun of summer. I hope mine stays shaded as the sun moves during the summer months. What is in shade now may not be during the summer. I'll be anxious to see how it does.

They also like an acid soil. Otherwise I don't understand why they don't grow there. Wasn't sure from your location what part of the world you were in.

Do you have azaleas? Camellias and azaleas generally have the same requirements.

This message was edited Feb 4, 2008 7:56 PM

Victor!

anemones / friends

{{GROAN}}

Nancy

Gloria - I'm in Fort Myers, Florida now. I guess azaleas don't do well here either. I have sandy, acidic soil where my camellia is planted. Now she is shaded by a large oak tree and a huge tree of some sort in the neighbor's yard behind us. Is there any reason why I shouldn't keep mulch around her when we leave? I know that citrus don't like mulch because it keeps their feet wet......maybe the sandy soil is a problem because it doesn't retain much moisture. But generally, the summer rains are pretty frequent.

I think mulch should be good, just make sure that it is several inches away from the trunk. I don't get that there are not a lot of camellias there.

anemones are my friends too, Victor. Anemone --- try and say that ten times in a row.

There is an excersize for J.D.

My dog barks at me when I do things like that.

The enemy of my anemone...

Is my friend!

i dunno what the enemy of my anemones was last year, but none that i planted came up!

Grubs?

those were just the enemy of an amy.

agrubonenes

anamynones

Makes sense.

This message was edited Feb 4, 2008 8:54 PM

I don't think they have too many friends.

I use my scissors on grubs and slugs with the thought they'll go somewhere to meet their eternal reward.

pirl, the visuals on that are a bit extreme. I am sitting here with a pair of pinking shears next to me wondering how it would be to use all those different scissor types that people use for scrap booking on the nasty little blighters. I use to hand pick them and drop them into a container with a solution of vinegar and water that I kept until it was full and then I pitched their remains into the compost heap and started a fresh batch. I figured it fitting that they give back to what they wrecked havoc on. I have had far less in the last few years. Perhaps word got out.

Oh, I so hope my anemones blanda come back this year. Plus you know I planted a few new ones too. I had one called wood anemone called 'vestal' which showed up in 2006, but didn't re-bloom in 2007. Sad it was so pretty. I didn't plant it and it came up mysteriously in an old bed of Lily of the Valley. The mysteries of mother nature. So I moved it. The stupidity of a human. Patti

"Silence of the Slugs" is my mission in life. They huddle together and it's difficult to tell them from little white stones so I take my trusty scissors and do what needs to be done.
So far I've been averaging two grubs a day but many more slugs and sadder still several little white stones.

Well, there are even fewer of them now. I went on a slugfest and some got "done in" with the heel of my shoe, a few with the trowel after I put the ugly things on slate and whacked them, and the saddest news of all is two stones are in critical condition.

Whoa! Pirl's got graphics now!

No! Jazzpunkin made that for me.

These look great for planting out cucumbers and melons started indoors! I did tell Jan about them in view of her article on the mini melons today.

http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Link-CategoryProduct?SC=LNA7006A&cgid=NewSeedstarting%20_Cat&pid=37-034RS

I haven't read Jan's article yet. Etera used biodegradable pots for their perennials over ten years ago. I bought many - you planted the pot. They went out of business.

We will pray for the stones.

Those cowpots sound great, but at $1 a pot, they're too pricey for me.

Even if I just use one for melons and one for cucumbers I'd have a six year supply so it would be worth it to get earlier produce.

Love the graphics, Pirl....and the cowpots.

While we're being sadistic, did you know that grubs pop when you squeeze them?

eww! eww! eww! no. unh-uh.
No quiero pensar sobre esto.
scissors on slugs and grubs?!?
when i was digging up hundreds of them i put them in a IKEA tupperware they couldn't climb out of, and put it under the bird feeder. By the next day, the tupperware was always empty...

if i'd have had lunch, i think i'd be sick.

Especially if you forgot what was in the tupperware.

I had an orange grub on the living room floor a month ago. DH dragged it in as he was cutting beech wood. It grossed me out.

I could eat a grub, befor a slug, unless the slug was cooked up in garlic butter like a snail. Patti

nah - we have old IKEA (super cheap) tupperwares that go for gardening uses when they are worn/discolored...

i am about to stop watching this thread - y'all are SICK.

and here's amy trying to make dinner reservations for Friday in NYC, the closest to DHs b-day (next Tuesday) that he is free to go out...

Looking for some good grub?

victor!!!!!!!
Enuffffff!!

yuck.

You and Pirl put your scissors and trowels away and play fair.

I do play fair! If they can't escape the scissors it's their problem, not mine.

Yes, Victor - the grubs really erupt but nothing close to the hornworms. They are so gross.

All's fair in love, war and gardening!

skuishy mush mucky puss!

Amy, fun. What are you going to eat? Have such a good time.

We sent our son on a taxi tour of the city's best grub as his graduation gift from CIA. I thought it appropriate to bring him back to earth, plus he loves "street" food. It was filmed by a writer for the NY T's as a part of a larger video about visiting the city. He loved it Patti



This message was edited Feb 5, 2008 2:59 PM

This is a wonderfully sunny day in my world, there are no squishy mushy popping yucky things any where near me, and so would you please keep your slushy murderous thoughts to yourselves.

silly kids.

Ah memories, murdering slugs, good times.