With the horrible winds we've been having the past couple of days, I wasn't too surprised to find that one of my plants took a beating. My rudbeckia hirta lost one whole stalk and it's leaning terribly. I think the DH is going to find something to stake it with this evening.
Anyone else suffer wind damage to any of their plants?
Here's a close up view of the break.
The winds are horrendous this week, it also leeches all the moisture from the plant and the topsoil at a staggering pace. We will all be busy for awhile trying to undo it's damage.
"eyes"
Lots of high winds here too. My EE are all leaning way over.
Today the winds haven't been as high as the past few days. Sure is drying everything out quickly.
I have been watering twice a day because of the wind. Last year we had too much rain, this year we've got wind. It's always something, isn't it?!?
Winds have been terrible - My banana trees leaves are shredded -- some are pratically torn off. My oleander was almost lying down - I got a plant support hoop from Home Depot - it looks better - but the wind blew off all the blooms - wah!
Besides a bent sunflower plant I had to make a splint for, one unidentified vine that had climbed up past the fence and grabbed a Texas Mountain Laurel branch had that part of its stem broken off when the wind got too bad. I was waiting for flowers on that thing so it could be ID'ed...it looks like a clematis, but I need a flower for an ID.
We have even been having wind here in Conroe and that's pretty unusual. It feels like I am back in West Texas where I grew up. It is usually just hot and muggy here. Today we got about 2 1/2 inches of rain.
Bonnie
Bonnie~Send us that rain!!
We need it here also! San Antonio (near us) has only had 3.93" so far this year.
Linda, that's what my dad was telling me. He's desperate for rain! (He lives in SA)
Well it seems like it is either feast or famine.
We've had high winds all week also; I'm in South Texas (near Corpus Christi). Rain is predicted for the weekend to earlier part of the coming week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Spent over three hours watering yesterday morning.
More high wind here today, and projected thru the weekend. Clouds, humid, the rain just blows on past us here in the Red River Valley.
"eyes"
If it makes you feel any better, it just blows right on by us here in Fort Worth, too! I was out this morning and there were some promising clouds....fizzled out. :(
The water rates in our community are atrocious in order to discourage using it. We already stay home because of the cost of gas and now we will be punished for enjoying our backyard. As you say feast or famine. Lost a lot of plants last year because we had prepared for the ongoing drought and instead got a flood. This year I have gone tropical so you know what that means.
When I look out my window it is still beautiful. Think I will go out and do a little watering. Water bill hasn't come yet. We shall survive.
LouC
My poor brugs were loaded with blooms. As soon as they opened the wind beat them to death. The leaves are equally as damaged.
Anne
Ouch, that really hurts Anne, Did my Fuchsia in too.
"eyes"
I have a small bed that is in shade most of the day that I have claimed as a hosta bed. I did some weeding and noticed there were huge cracks in the ground already! We usually run the sprinklers every other day for about 15 min. That night we did a 30 min. run. With the wind blowing and the sun it is sure drying out everything.
The DH decided that the grass doesn't need as much water because it is growing fast and is very deep even with weekly mowing. So he announced he was going to "hand water" the flower beds that were hit by the sun the most one evening instead of wasting water on the lawn. After about 20 minutes later, he came to the front where I was and said forget that, that is going to take too long. I reminded him "that is why we got the sprinkler system put in a few years ago!"
It is the best investment we ever made in my book. He asked me that year if I wanted new furniture for our "home present" for Christmas. I told him what I wanted most was a sprinkler system; and just to know I wouldn't have to pull out hoses that next spring!
Smart girl Sheila!
"eyes"
Sheila -
You have to be careful to not the the ground next to the house foundation get too dry - can wreck a foundation - from experience - the lawn was going fine then a huge deep crack appeared with no warning - had to have it fixed by a foundation co. - it even messed up plumbing
Yep you are right, that is one reason we had the sprinklers put in. We couldn't keep everything watered. We had soaker hoses at the foundation, but they seemed not to do much. My flower beds surround the house and we don't usually ever let things get too dry. I think it has been the wind lately.
Sheila, have you thought about a drip system just for the beds? I water the grass deeply about every 5 days (St Aug), but I put in a timed drip system for all the beds and foundation plantings, and it runs more often. It's been a total lifesaver.
We have a soaker hose that runs the perimeter of our foundation and a sprinkler system in the yard. Right now, I'm really tempted to just turn on the soaker hose and let the rest of the yard die! LOL It would make it easier to start my raised beds!
Stephanie
Those drip systems aren't cheap. I helped Smockette put in one for City-Sylvia last year. With all the beds I have, it would run me way more than the water I use. LOL! This is the backyard Sept. last year. You can see why I hated dragging hoses out!
Sheila, your yard is to die for. Wouldn't know where to start in picking out a place to relax. Might just have to play musical chairs.
Beautiful.
Christi
The wind here is not helping with the drought. My area in San Antonio has had no where near 3.93" of rain this year this year. The street was dampened some on Sunday; however, it wasn't enough rain to wet the street under the trees. We have had no appreciable rain since October. I am now deep soaking the trees. Even my drought tolerant desert plants have had to be deep soaked. It is pretty dry when a lot of the weeds are dying! :o)
My brugs are being beat to death and I have had to stake them, the esperanzas and other several tall plants with 4 to 6 feet long rebar spikes to keep them from being uprooted (not much soil here so their roots are shallow). Several bougainvillea in containers have had branches broken off. The sunflowers broke off and uprooted so I had to pull them all up. I will have to take out a loan to pay my water bill. I think our plants know how much we love them during times like this when we are having to take special care of them to keep them alive.
Shiela, that's one of the most relaxing and peaceful backyards I've seen in this area of the country. It looks cool and inviting, and the layout is quite artistic without going overboard and losing the natural feel.
My backyard is a blasted heath, with a few bedraggled plants sticking up like hairs on a wart, or pimples on a teenager.
I'm envious of your design work, and your landscape contours. Keep up the good work!
Hey, Sheila, you know what I would do? I'd take the sprinkler heads in your beds and retrofit them with drip adaptors. Yes, you'd probably spend a couple of hundred on it, buying the drippers. But it's a lot easier and less expensive if you already have an existing system.
The wind has wreaked havoc on all of my plants, too. I bought a Rose of Sharon for my Mom for Mother's Day. It was gorgeous and full of blooms. Mom is out of town and I went by to water her plants on Saturday. The poor Rose of Sharon looks like dried up sticks!
Thanks Lou and DDad, we have put a lot of work into it over the years. We have lived here since '91, and it hasn't always been pretty. Plus doing all the work ourselves has causes three back surgeries between us! Now that we are retired we are looking at the finer changes we want. We painted the shed / shop to match our house siding this last year, that by it's self was an easy improvement. Attached a recent pic.
I am with you htop, we spend so much time getting them to where they are, you can't stand to see them stressed.
Pattie, that might be a solution to consider. I think they make them with the multiple connections, where they would go out several directions. DH and I will need to check into that.
Yes! They do have an adaptor that will fit right on the PVC where the sprinkler head is, and you can connect 6 small tubes to it. Or, you can just connect a fat tube directly to it, run the fat tube through the bed, and place your drip heads wherever you need them.
The reason I keep mentioning this is that, during our drought and watering restrictions, drip systems were excluded. They could be run any time (within reason), unlike a regular sprinkler system. My beds were new at that time and were getting nowhere near enough water. I was spending a huge amount of time watering manually, and worried in case the restrictions ever come back. So, I took the plunge and put drip systems everywhere except the grass. I got a regular sprinkler system timer for them, on which each zone can be independently programmed, so that (for example) my hosta bed gets watered more often than my hot native beds. I can't belieeeeeve how much time it saves.
Oh, believe me it saves your back too!
Rain, rain, glorious rain..........finally. We got almost 1/2 inch.......an NO wind, hallalujah!
"eyes"
Yeah!!! We got a little bit, not much but welcome any!
