Becky's Spring Swap, follow-up thread

I received one from you too Wldflwr. Thank you so much. I have never had good luck with them. Any tips to pass along in terms of helping it survive?

Wonderful poem Gita. Hello to all. See ya later on.

Ruby

I'm delighted to hear my bleeding heart will get big, and I've never seen a color of it that I didn't love... so I'm good! :-)

Gita, thanks so much for the tip on planting the grow bags. Dad's petunias, in particular, didn't go into the holes well and were looking a little limp & doing their best to fall back out of the holes. I read what you wrote and promptly went out and laid that bag on its side!

Funny, I can't ever get my BH's to get big they all stay tiny! I wish they did get big!

I'm going to try Gita's tip with the grow bags too. The problem I've had is that water seeps out of the holes before it gets to the bottom plants. I fixed that by putting a length of pvc pipe with holes drilled in it down the middle. You have to do this before you put in the soil, obviously.

Next time I go to Huber's Produce Stand--I will ask for more details on just how they do all the hanging bags and WHEN they actually hang them up.

They are all used to me talking about DG.

Shirley,
Are you saying there is NO small version of the BH??????? I thought there was...:o(
And--thanks for your kind words re "The Garden Wakes". I would love to find a place that publishes amateur Poems.....

I have had NO problems with my BH's. I think the one I posted a picture of was moved there only 3 years ago from another bed. It just took off! This one gets full morning sun until about 3PM. Then the sun goes behind my house and it gets bright shade. I think having a really loose, humous-y, composting leaves added to the soil helps. I also feed it 2x a year with Espoma's "Bulb Tone". Early Spring and late Fall--just like all bulbs.

Just for you all.....These are pictures from the Outside garden at my HD. Taken last Sunday. I always walk around and gather a lot of pretty plants to set up on my table.
I brought my camera to work last Sunday, as i am in Garden by my table from 10AM -2PM. to answer questions and talk about the current Clinic Topic. The May topic was---"Annuals and Perennials in your Garden border". Most people are still not used to having someone there that is knowledgeable, but more and more people are stopping by and asking me questions.

Every time my new manager comes out there he says: "I wish I had a camera!" He wants to show my table off to the regional Manager. SO! I thought I would help him promote this idea--as I am out there ONLY as a favor to him! My Sunday garden hours are not even on the schedule! They are "floating hours"--and if some Sunday I cannot make it--no big deal--as I am NOT even scheduled....

This wonderful "foray" back in my "comfort zone" will all end as the garden-planting season ends. Of course, by then I will be off to Latvia (my Land of birth) for the month of July.

Gita

More HB's.....

Here's some assorted Coleus on one of the tables....

These Mini-Petunias seem to be all the rage this year. Everyone has them!
They are NOT what is called "Million Bells"--but similar. LOVE all the colors!

OK! Here i am at "MY" table. Snagged a lady and asked her to "pretend" to be my customer.....I wish I would have had the liberty to give her a small plant as a "Thank You"....I probably could have.....

I will e-mail this picture to my manager and he can then send it on to Sherri--out Regional "biggie".....

That's why I took a picture with ME in it.....Some "self-promotion" after all.....

Gita

This message was edited Jun 3, 2008 12:30 PM--to correct some spelling....

This message was edited Jun 3, 2008 12:35 PM

Gita, go to your library and borrow a copy of the latest Writer's Market. Although many of the listings are for markets for selling writing and this book focuses mainly on articles and books, they also list a lot of places that only pay in copies of the magazine and markets for other kinds of writing such as poetry.

Better yet, get a copy of the Poet's Market. I don't know if your library would have it but it's not too expensive. It comes out every year but much of the material doesn't change from year to year.

http://www.amazon.com/2008-Poets-Market-Nancy-Breen/dp/1582974993

In addition to listing places to get your material published, these books also have good information on how to make a submission, how to prepare your manuscript and so on.

Your displays look fantastic, Gita. I wish our HD had someone like you.

Thanks, hart! I will check it out!

If you want to get the one at Amazon and not pay shipping, I've found kitchen or garden gadgets that are sold by Amazon with free shipping are a good way to add just a few dollars to get your order total to $25.

If you search, say, for garden hand tools, just look on the left side of the page for "sellers" and select Amazon.

Gita, one thing to watch out for is people who will charge you to publish your work or charge you a ridiculous price for a copy of the book with your poem. They're scam artists who supposedly publish poems but no one ever sees the books except the poor schlubs who buy the book to see their poem in print. I'm sure all the writer's market books screen those out.

This message was edited Jun 3, 2008 12:49 PM

Yes - thank you Diane for mentioning that. There is a BIGGIE contest both for photos as well as poems - not only charge you for the book it's in but constant emails about workshops...not good!!! STAY CLEAR

BTW - VERY nice arrangements!!! Sad that those tiny petunias have no scent - not even the deep purple ones...

Hart--

I went through all that about publishing a beautiful photo of mine called "Tahiti Sunset" on my (then ignorant) daughter's encouragement....

For YEARS after that, i was still getting notices of how it would be in this big book and there would be a plaque with my name in it...etc...etc...etc....They kept e-maailing me a "page" of this book, showing my picture in it.....as if this was THE picture of all THE pictures they had ever received....Yaddda---yadda--yaddaa.....

I think after about 3 years of me not responding--they stopped!

I am NOT a fool! I can smell a scam when i see it! I am a pretty cautious person.
I DO appreciate you looking out for my interests, though!

As for any garden and kitchen knick-knacks--I think I own EVERYTHING there is to own after all these years---AND--use very few of them!
This whole cooking-for-one sucks! You just do this and that as quick as you can--but--I still cook ALL my own food! NO fast food for me--NO frozen or prepared dinners for me! NO canned stuff and NO sauces, gravy mixes, dried soups, NO sodas, NO pre-seasoned meats, bagged chips or snacks (OK--Once in a while....:o) ) etc......

OK! Got off topic here......

Wanna see my first Poem I wrote? This one rhymes.....
It was one of those frustrating Springs! The snow was still here and the weather never seemed to warm up. So--I "vented" in this Poem.
Originally, I called it "Spring".....then I changed it to "Love Life".

"Love Life" (April 3, 2003)

Make a wish for the sun to shine-
Let the days be yours and mine.
Flowers swaying in the breeze,
Birds all singing in the trees.

Snow to melt and grass to grow.
Tulip heads in my beds to show.
Geese on wings in the sky above
All living things-- so full of love.

The earth is stirring--my green grass grows
Daffodils blooming in pretty rows.
Robins hop, and sparrows nest--
Which fork in the tree wil be the best?

I scan my garden and hope for the best,
That all will be well, before I rest.
Where soil is now--oh so bare!
My flowers will be fighting for a
place to share.


I worry and fret, I scan the scene,
Will it ever again soon be green?
Will roses bloom and lilacs sway
Their fragrance wafting over my way?

I have to remind me, day by day,
That nature always has her way.
Flowers grow--and seeds they sow,
And where they land....I do not know!

Here's a pansy--there's a mint!
Sunflowers!!!......I had no hint!
Here's a maple--there's a holly,
What's peeking out there?.....
It's Lily of the Valley!

I sit and I savor--on my porch swing I rest,
Again to my Garden, I have given my best.
My eyes and my senses caress all I see,
And, again, it has given it's all to me!

I look at the earth-- I look at the sky,
I see another summer flying bye.
I fear not!--worry not!...for you see,
There will always be another spring for me.

Love, Gita

I meant to post the photo of the Tahiti Sunset that all this 3 years of C--p was about.
I was there in 1988. This was the "tail-end" stop of a 2 week trip to Australia--New Zealand--and then tahiti--and lastly--Moorea. Moorea was the icing on the cake!!!!!

edited to correct the year date.....

This message was edited Jun 3, 2008 1:39 PM

Gita:

Your poems are wonderful! Not only are you artistic (this lady paints wonderful pictures too), but your creative style springs forth in your poetry too! You should post your poems in the "Garden Writers" & "Artisans" Forums for ALL to see & enjoy!

P.S. Your Tahitian sunset is breath taking!

This message was edited Jun 3, 2008 1:44 PM

They do the same thing with the proliferation of who's who books. They'll put you in Who's Who in Whatever Your Profession and sell you a copy for only $200 or $300 or who knows what they're selling them for now.

I got them all the time for some book on journalists I think and I don't know how many totally undistingiushed teachers I've known who got them for Who's Who in American Education or somesuch. People are so flattered, they shell out the bucks for the book.

There's a Photographer's Market available too. These books are published by Writer's Digest, a well known writer's magazine although I think the magazine caters more to amateurs than professionals. They are legitimate books and a lot of writers use them.

Gita, you are correct in that there are "dwarf" BHs. I read about one ,'Bacchanal', that made me believe I HAVE to get one. That's how I have ended up with so many different plants. Someone writes a review saying how beautiful it is and there I go, thinking I have to have one for myself too. There are others as well. One is called 'King of Hearts'. Jung lists, currently, a collection for $12.95 that includes 'Aurora','Bacchanal' and 'Luxuriant'. I looked it up and almost purchased it. LOL. Anyway, the ones I brought to the swap did not have small parents. All of mine grow well and very large. I don't know why. I don't do anything special to them. As for those of you who received one, I wish I had marked the white ones but did not. I did bring several. I should have taken the time before we left to mare them. The only one I did mark was for miatablu because she had asked for white. The rest were mixed together. I could save seeds if anyone wants some.

Gita- Which HD is that? I've not seen a dispaly at ano of the HD/Lowes down here.

Gita, another wonderful poem. Thank you for sharing. I love it.

Ruby

Gita, your poems are lovely and I agree, you are a very talented lady :) And Holy Cow, does HD know how fortunate they are to have you? What a tremendous gift you are to their garden center - hopefully the regional manager will take notice, this is one area most any big box store is sorely lacking in, any knowledgeable personnel! Sadly it's also true of a lot nurseries - if they only realized the boost it would give to their sales.

Chantell, I have a t-shirt I bought at Selby Gardens in FL when we were there in February. On the back it says: All life depends on plants - I love it!

Had to post a couple of things. Sally, I could almost hear you "chortle"! I really wanted info from someone around here that grows them. And Critter, the Caladiums4Less is where they came from. The information on the site is ok but I wanted some sort of person to person experience info, kinda like you get at the plant profiles. I, once again, could not resist a coop and ended up with some bulbs. I grew them in NC many years ago and never had any problems but I could leave them in the ground there if I wanted to and here in Maryland, they haven't overwintered for me. I haven't grown them in pots and wanted to do that. I am going to give my daughter half of what I got so she can try them too and see how they grow for her. We don't live that far apart but she apparently has a different climate than I do here as some things grow for me that don't for her and vice versa.
Gita, Mike said you look so happy in the picture. You sure are in your element when you are with flowers.

My caladiums came from that same co-op, and they're a new thing for me as well this year. I'm putting them into the ground but planning to lift them in fall along with a few cannas & bananas. I'm toying with the notion of planting them in some kind of storage crate type containers from the dollar store (grid-type plastic, holes in the bottom and sides) to see if that would make them easier to find and lift. Maybe I'll try it with a few.

Last year was my first with caladiums (caladia?).

I planted them in pots, and later transplanted some directly in the ground. The tubers are soft when growing. I had a very hard time digging them up to overwinter. Mostly I destroyed the tubers when I dug them up. I felt like a murderer. I think Critter's idea to plant them in a storage crate might work. However, at some point it may be more work than the results warrant, since the tubers are not expensive.

The ones in pots overwintered ok, to my surprise (I have the sense that they can be a little fussier than some plants to overwinter). They do need to be kept warm over the winter -- for example, in the house rather than a garage kept at 40 degrees.

However, I have read they come back smaller in future years, and indeed those that have sprouted this year are quite small (so far), so it may not be worth the effort given that the tubers are inexpensive. The jury is out.

Caladium don't usually sprout until the weather is very very warm. Last year it seems to me it was July before they came up. You can speed it up by putting them on a heating mat. I didn't -- I just left them outside. Some say that if the weather is cool, they will rot before they sprout, but mine didn't.

I don't know how many to put in a pot -- I had mine one-each to a 4" pot, but I had intended to transplant them all into the yard and didn't get around to it! 4" definitely wasn't big enough! I'd dmail Bill -- I think his DG name is Caladiums4less. He is very helpful.

Thanks, Happy! I didn't realize they'd get soft, figured they'd be the same as cannas to dig up. Hmm, I might just plunge the gallon pots they're in now into the ground and see how that goes...

They weren't mushy-soft; but just soft enough that my spade would pierce them easily.

Happy,

Another tid-bit from my mental "trivia" collection.....
Somewhere I read/heard that the Caladium bulb can develop many "eyes" on it. If you allow all the eyes to grow into leaves--you will have many leaves, but they will be smaller. If you remove most of the "eyes"--you will have fewer but larger leaves. How one would go about this--I do not know. Obviously, the bulb would have to have started sprouting, or you would not see the "eyes". That must be how they get those HUGE Caladiums they sell......
Maybe that is why your Caladium you had the second year was so small???? It sprouted too many "eyes"....
You are correct in saying that these bulbs need bottom heat to sprout. Used to be that people put them on top of their water heaters to sprout, but nowadays, they are so well insulated that there is almost no heat on top of them. I grew out a package of bulbs this year and kept them in front of my floor heating vent on a tray.

Another tid-bit just flashed through my mind--on another bulb......
If any of you grow "Crown Imperials", lay the bulbs on the side as you plant them. This will keep water from collecting and sitting in the deep depressions on top of the bulb and rotting it out.

Quilter--
Our Store # is 2502. It is in Baltimore., MD at 9955 Pulaski Hwy. zip-21220
...snort...I also have to put ALL the plants on my display table back in their proper places when I "close shop" before 2PM......

For those of you who don't know--I was hired there 10 years ago and worked in the garden area--mostly "owning" the whole Greenhouse. It was the best one around--thanks to me. Back then, there were no pack-out crews and no "night crews". We did all that ourselves. Unloading a truck-full of plants was also part of it.
Only the older 4 HD's around here have Greenhouses. They were added to the existing stores. In the newer ones--all the Houseplants and tropicals sit inside the stores ----YUK!

Back in 2003, I went part time due to my age--and my knee pain had become so bad by then, I could not bear to be running around all day. So--they offered me the job in the Phone Center as an Operator. I still work there. Boring?--YES! Stress-free?--YES! Sit down--Yes! Even though I have a hard time with that part-.i am always pacing around....

So--I am elated to be back in Garden--even if it is just for 4 hours on Sunday mornings. I am bushed when those 4 hours are over.....but it is such a "high" for me!

Gita


Here's the Outside Garden Cashiers--a great group!

See, yall, that's what I wanted! Folks who already had grown them locally. Critter, I can hardly believe what you mentioned as I already purchased several of those "crates" from a dollar store thinking I would put my lily bulbs inside them so those little underground munchers would have more difficulty getting to them. The ones I got were clear with openings and are supposed to hold CDs I think.
Happy, when you say "4 inches" wasn't big enough, did you mean, one bulb in a four inch pot was too much? Did you need a larger pot? I thought I was supposed to put several bulbs in a pot. Please let me know. I want to get started since they apparently take a while to grow.

Gita, what great poems! I, too wish I had you at my local HD. Do you have any input on the plants that are ordered?

I don't think a 4 inch pot will be big enough for the root system of a single caladium tuber.

From the FAQ at Caladiumbulbs4less:

"For Grade #1 bulbs we recommend planting 3 bulbs in an 6" pot or 5-6 bulbs in a 10" pot. "

I put 3 of Bill's caladiums in a trade gallon pot, and it was a rather snug fit, but I think they might be OK. If they start looking unhappy, I'll pop them out and just plant them in the ground instead.

Flowerjen,

Most HD's no longer have any input at all as to what comes in, the watering, merchandising, taking the markdowns on dead plants, etc. At least not in Baltimore. It is all in the hands of a HUGE nursery (Bell Nursery) who does it all--exclusively for the Home Depot! They are in charge of everything! Even shrubs and trees and sod---just everything.
That is why all the prices have gone up! They now have to pay a workforce of people to work every day in garden and the Greenhouse and water---water--water---merchandise, consolidate, display all the plants, etc. So--these people have to be paid--right?

In my opinion--they do a marvelous job, just because they throw out anything that looks even the slightest bit "shopworn". HD no longer has to worry about the markdowns and if it will exceed this months allowed %'ages....
So--things are always pretty and fresh! The down part is that there are NO bargains to be had! Nothing gets marked down and sold for 50cents or something....It is all trash!

When I was in charge of the Greenhouse I eventually ended up doing most of the keeping track of paperwork to see what was coming in, cutting orders, plant ordering, phoning vendors to tell them what i wanted--what I did not want--canceling orders, changing what was ON an order, etc. Many of them knew me by name. Well--how many Gitas are there???
I had the most interesting things in my Greenhouse! Only because I cared and ordered them. Had a big, functioning pond with gold fish in it also in the Greenhouse. It was the main attraction to all the kids! Of course--the kids had parents who wanted to have a pond too=lots of sales....etc....I was knowledgeable in all that too.
After I had already gone to work in the Phone Center--they tore the whole pond apart one day and put fake Ficus Trees in that area. I was devastated!!!!

Mind you--it was NEVER my job, as a measly associate, to do all this, but the garden Mgr. was a real "don't-give-a-hoot Guy". A 12 year old in a man's body! S0--slowly, I took over. Kind of as a measure of self-preservation....

What is still most rewarding to me is that some of the old-timer associates and also some customers that knew me, way back then, still say: "The Greenhouse was the best when Gita ran it! It has never been the same since!" Sometimes when I am on the floor, some person will stop me and say: "You're the "Flower lady! I didn't know you still worked here!!!"...You always knew what you were talking about!!!
Not gonna gloat here--times change--rules change--sales and merchandise policies change, I no longer work in garden, etc.

What's that saying? "The only thing constant--is CHANGE!"....

YES! It is rare nowadays to find a caring, knowledgeable associate in a garden dept. at HD or Lowes. They hire all kinds of PT'ers who have NO clue! Just to save money....

OK! 'Nuff said! Gita

Dawn,

The "Anatolian" is an ancient (600 years) Turkish Shephard dog. And, yes! It is huge! It's back was level with the dining room table! If it wanter your attention--it would simply put his front leg on your arm and hold you....or step on your foot!

This breed is VERY protective of their owners and of their "charges"--like little kids. They absolutely NEED someone to "shephard".....
They are loving and loyal--but assertive if they want something. They need acres to roam--and that is why my sister gave him away to the man that had bought her brother.
Her house and small yard was just not space enough for Zoe. Besides, that man had 2 small children--so Zoe had someone to "shephard".

You should have seen her on Bishop's Beach!!! galloping after the Sea Gulls! I measured between her footprints in the sand in her gallop--it was 6'-7'!

Here's another picture! This is the man that owned her brother and got her.

Here's Zoe by a barnacle-covered rock (it was low tide) on Bishop's Beach in Homer, AK.

Wylde: Critter is right: A 4" pot wasn't big enough. But having said that, they still looked ok -- but the ones I planted in the garden were breathtaking.

Gita: I did cut off the middle "eye" both this year and last. But I do know there are different grades of tubers, based on the size. The larger the tuber, the bigger the leaves as I understand it. So if the tuber has shrunk over the course of the summer, it won't yield leaves that are as large. I don't know what the trick is to getting them to increase. I imagine you'd need a longer hot summer than we have (another reason to get things started early with bottom heat). Maybe they are heavy feeders.

Well--I bought my Caladiums in a bag at Lowes! Had to go through about 6 bags to feel and make sure all 7/8 bulbs were firm. Many of them were rotten!
You know--neither HD or Lowes get the Premium sized bulbs of anything......Besides--you never know how long they have been in those bags of bulbs they sell?????

Just think about the size of their puny sized Amaryllis and Paperwhite bulbs they palm off as "Gift Sets"........NOT! They are, probably, somewhere in the small-medium quality range.

Gita

What a handsome dog!

happy- I was thinking that too, maybe our growing season is so short that they don't have enough time to fully rejuvenate under typical conditions--but since we are alll experts here, ahem.......LOL...
I have some 'saved ' ones, I'll see how they do.

If the sun only shone down on my shady den, I'm sure I could do wonders! But without enough chlorophyll. . . ..

Happy,
How are the Camellia cuttings doing? What exactly did you do with them?
You can D-mail me so as not to "bore" anyone else. You know I am interested....

Gita

Zoe is beautiful, I want a big dog to watch the kids for me out in the yard.
Our HD here has a real lousy garden dept, lowes is so much better, even Walmart has a better garden dept than hd here. but of course there is a HUGE garden center up the hwy from all of them that I absolutley LOVE!!!