mike, hmmm...too short, wet, and not hot enough...seems like proper positioning and extra mulch,...raised beds, etc ...nothing you don't already know, hardiness zones are so weird. I'm a little doubtful about some of this stuff now, I'm pretty confident you're better with seeds than I a,. So far this year's been better than any, so fingers crossed. Did end up getting some spider mites in the GH..neem works well for me but it's not very big. fungus gnats are just kind of annoying
dylan, I've planted a few musas outside (and a few in containers), I've never tried that primer. I just use compost, bone&bloodmeal, and sometmes plant-tone, etc. musa basjoos are really easy
but isn't it still cold up there...brrr
"what-can-I-grow-in-my-zone" #2
Hey Peggy! :) I haven't put my nanners out yet cause I am afraid we will get hit by another freeze and I would hate to see them get set back. But mine have been growing in the green house since Fall and I want em to keep on growing. :)
I love Miss Robbi and Princess Kathy
Yeah it is too cold to plant them but I started them inside this year and just wondered if the Smoke seed primer helped. I ordered seed from the ones with red stripes on the leaves, Zebrina & Red Flash.
I started some Passifloras also and got 7 Lady Margarets, I was not able to get any last year so I have been doing a happy dance. DH thinks I'm nuts, he's pretty sure of it anyway. I also overwintered a couple of other Passifloras so I'm glad to see that.
Come on Spring so I can plant these babies.
WTG on the seeds, Peggy! :) My DH KNOWS I am nuts, but so is he, which makes us even! LOL YES, COME ON SPRING, PLEASE!!! And give us a break from the rain cause we are drowning right now!
I Love Miss Cathy
I Love Miss heavenscape
And may Princess Kathy have beautiful weather today to enjoy
Raining here too!! Does anyone know when it's safe to unwrap a basjoo that's in the ground???
I would guess after your last freeze date or frost date to be on the safe side.
One of my Black Beauty Passifloras sprouted this morning. WOOHOO!!
Tammy was that your part of the country where they closed I-44 cause the water was over the road. That's too much rain.
I was able to transplant a Wiegelia? without worrying about it.
WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO Peggy!
There is flooding in the area, but thankfully none that effects us! :) DH went to St. Roberts yesterday and he said that around Jerome it was very flooded, but that is still quite a ways from here. Are land is sloped, but we have had so much rain it is all MUSH. :(
I love Miss Cathy
I love weedsfree
And a wonderful day to our Princess Kathy
kimarj....possibly the blondest question ever.....but do you guys really have to wrap basjoos to keep them over winter there?
Ginger plants will grow in zone 7b. They'll die back in the winter.
I have store bought ginger that is popping up! :) It took one pot forever, but I just went out and watered in the GH and it is FINALLY coming up! YIPPPPPEEEEEEE
I hate it when I forget to label something, though, as I have a pot of something that isn't doing anything yet. Shame on me! :(
I love Miss Traci
I love kimarj cause she sent me the bestest book you ever did see! ♥
Any may Princess Kathy have no squirrels eating her bulbs as they did mine!
Well we haven't drowned yet. They closed I-44 by us, the water was over both lanes yesterday afternoon and still over this morning. Our yard is mush, too and the basement flooded again, but I went out and dug a trench and it is now drained out. I will fix it this weekend now that the dirt is easy to move from in front of the basement door. It is just build up from years of neglect that the former owner didn't do.
It better warm up quick, I have loads of stuff germinated and need to get outside in the ground. All my passies, shell vine, and plummies are getting big and they want the warm sunshine outside. Brugs are crying cause they want to get started. EE started coming up, along with loads of cannas. I'm ready for planting.
Robin, I hope you didn't overdo it with your back! Glad you got the water to run away, though. :) Sounds like you are feeling better now to be getting all that done.
Sounds like you gots lotsa purties coming up. :)
I love Robynznest cause she is my Big Sis! ♥
I love Miss Traci
And Princess Kathy, may there be blessings to you and yours
Thanks, am feeling wonderful for the first time in ages. Went to Columbia Tuesday, dress shopping for the wedding. Got two real nice outfits and shoes and earrings. Got dh his suit and got Kali fitted for her jr. bridesmaid dress. She is going to look so cute. She will carry a small bouquet of flowers with ribbons, the rings will be tied to the ribbons. Her job will be ring bearer/ flower girl/jr. bridesmaid. She will hand the rings to the bride and groom too.
Come on May.
WOW Miss Kali is gonna be a busy little bee for this wedding! :) And SOOOOOOOO glad you are feeling better!!!
I love Miss Joan
I love glendalekid
And Princess Kathy is a charmer
Thanks Peggy!
Trop it is a baby so I wrapped hoping it will return.
Whats a blond question ?;&) lol
Luv you too kiddo :)
Robyn be sure to take lots of pics.
Happy Spring Y'all
kimarj, I give up. What is a blonde question?
has anyone grown this weirdo before?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/648/
edited to add link correctly
This message was edited Mar 21, 2008 4:34 AM
haven't grown the plant because it's tooooooo warm here and it would become invasive. I still have plenty of unwanted vines to clean up, don't need another.....
anyone want a Chinese wisteria? trunk's as big as my leg......of course you would have to dig it up yourself as it is wrapped around a dead tree in my yard ;-)
Smilax anyone? how about some nice skunk vine?
no?????
oh, well.......
on the happy side my cannas, elephant ears and Hymenocallis are already up and growing! Easter comes this weekend so hopefully we are HOME FREE and past any hard freezes.
plantnut, I'd never heard of a couple of these so I had to look them up out of curiosity
you're gonna laugh, but until I read the skunk-vine comments I thought it was pretty....I wonder if it would be that invasive here..but I guess it stinks. it's hardy though..lol :
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31883/
I looked thru the smilax, I don't know which one you have but they seem kinda cool, or this one did:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/85686/
it's tough for a lot of plants to become invasive here I think because our clay soil makes it hard for plants, so I'm hoping all these vines I'm planning on putting out this year don't become a problem...maybe a few can, actually, I'd like to cover up the neighbors as much as possible. I know I'm dreaming but it would be the coolest if bomarea would become invasive here
I only have hymenos up (you're lucky in roasty GA, lol) and the daily battle to keep the amarcrinums under mulch for just a couple more weeks
skunk vine was brought to FL from Japan in the 1960s and stayed there until recently. It is a HORRIBLE vine, smells like skunk (or as one friend told me, "eeeuuuwww, that smells like a**!!!" ) when crushed, mowed, cut, pulled, etc. It kills trees & bushes by a combination of smothering and girdling. It root runs like crazy AND has seeds. just picture Kudzu with a nasty odor and you have the idea.
BTW we have lots of GA red clay here, too.....
Our smilax vine has nasty, nasty thorns, the stems can get as big as a garden hose and it has underground tubers like the head of Elvis. Any little piece of root left in the ground produces new vines. It is native but that's probably the only nice thing I can think of.....
and I LOVE most vines! Only a couple I'm not fond of :)
Tropicanna, how far along is your apios americana? If you ever divide it, keep me in mind. :) I'm also interested in feedback about the bloom fragrance. I am always big on fragrance. :)
-Joe
P.S. Again, thank you very much! :)))
plantnut, skunky kudzu....nevermind...lol, but girdling? huh
joe, the apios is in the...seed in dirt stage, lol. I haven't had much success with seeds until this year, so I'm hopeful, they seem easy enough to grow. I will keep you in mind though.
by girdling I mean that it moves its way up the tree or shrub in fairly tight spirals, then the vine thickens dramatically over not that long a time......cutting deeply into the bark. Then the top part of the vine covers up the tree or shrub as much as possible. As the vine gets older, it both reduces photosynthesis by smothering the leafy area and cuts off the plants ability to move nutrients by cutting off the layers just under the bark. The tree or shrub stresses and can eventually die of starvation. In the meantime if I try to pull the vine out and or off, the roots AND the vines are stretchy like bungee cords (and stink) so it's pretty tough going.
Skunk vine is a Category 1 Invasive Pest on Florida's list. Also from what I have been reading it has become a problem in Hawaii. The only reason it is not on the other state's lists is that it only just recently started spreading north from FL. (I am about 15 miles north of the border) Being originally from Japan it can thrive quite well in the Southeast.
OKay, done ranting....it is a BEAUTIFUL day outside, time to play gardener!
Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter!!!
Tropicana
I grew Love in a Puff for the 1st time last year. It was ok, I hope it will be better this year. It's kind of dainty looking.
Hope everyone had a great Easter, I did!
plantnut, you've squashed any interest I had in skunk vine as an oddity..lol...gee, tell me more
Love in a Puff, how sweet, I only looked at the Latin name (which I have to wonder what that translates to)
dainty is fine, I've got a lot of fence to cover so I'm going overboard with vines this year
Bump. I'll post pix in here in a bit of some successes this season. :)
-Joe
My clump of musa basjoo, mid Summer. Now it's about ten feet tall.
My Stephan's jasmine, first blooms.
I added passiflora caerulea, which is thriving in its hot, sheltered location.
This is datura metel, back from the roots. It's a survivor too.
Albizia julibrissin, mimosa.
paulownia tomentosa, Empress tree.
Poncirus trifoliata, Japanese bitter orange.
Raphidophyllum hystrix, needle palm
This message was edited Aug 24, 2008 9:01 PM
I have had those spikes that you can buy at Wal Mart come back for 4 years now and it even multiplied last year. I don't mulch it or anything, it faithfully comes back. It only gets to about 2 1/2' tall but I was amazed it even came back.