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| Since I'm not made of money like the guy on that commercial, and just renting this house, there's no way I can or want to spend money landscaping here, but I want more beautiful plants. I've been able to add (or expand) the following plants by propagating what was already here, and from cuttings that people let me take from plants in other yards.
Gardenia
Non-hardy plants:
For next year, I already have my sights set on (though don't know if all of these will work):
In addition to the plants, I've been on the look-out for free organic matter (OM) to compost and mulch with and was pleasantly surprised with the success of this. It wasn't without effort, but well worthwhile. People are surprisingly willing to donate even though I thought that since they didn't want to have their own compost piles, they wouldn't be interested. Tell people (who are just going to discard their OM) that you want their leaves and the trimmings from their shrubs and they will call! Places that sell bags of stuff like soil, manure, and mulch often have a clearance spot where ripped bags are half price, often worthwhile deals there. I don't run the hose often for plants in the ground, if things go well with getting an occasional rain, but hadn't realized how much water about 100 potted plants were going through until I started catching rain water in whatever will hold it. Make sure to use or dump it before mosquito larvae mature in these, but a great way to save a little more, and the water's better for the plants. That's about 50 gallons per week not coming from the tap on weeks when it does rain. Mom'n'pop garden centers might bargain with you. If it's a small enough place that the owner is there, ask for a discount, and/or match the price at the giant store down the way. If they'd rather have a few of your dollars than none, it may be do-able for them. Especially as the season goes along, they start to get desperate to get rid of stuff that's still there. When you first go there, say hi and ask what's on sale today? And if you're buying a few things, they might say yes if you ask for a cutting or two, within reason regarding the size of the plant you want to snip. Ask if they have an "ICU section" with any currently dormant or otherwise "ugly" plants, maybe too many weeds in a pot to see the "real" plant so nobody wants to buy it, stuff that got sunburned or frostbite but will recover. They may also order something just for you, along with their regular order, if you ask. This can prevent you from needing to buy something via mail/internet. I also wonder about trading. Like, "I see you don't have any Hydrangeas. Could I trade you 4 of my nicely rooted cuttings for one of your ____?" Sometimes the number of plants of each type required for an order from a wholesaler can seriously impede the number of different plants that places are able to offer. Has anyone worked out some deals like this? What are you propagating? How are you free-scaping/cost-scraping? How have you managed to make your local owner-operated store more useful (less costly) instead of going to a big-box store? You can't see the bricks edging the bed below, but they're there, found at an abandoned house. The table with the top painted blue was made from scraps at my honey's work that would have been in the dumpster. I spent about $20 (mostly on the Caladiums) on this area, new last year: |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Fri, Oct 5, 12 at 11:05
| Below is the only non-lawn spot in the whole yard when I moved here. I've enlarged it and nothing but the rose bush and some seeds were purchased. |
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- Posted by posyplanter 7 (My Page) on Fri, Nov 2, 12 at 12:59
| Great ideas, thanks! I'm in a similar situation; we're planning to sell our home next year, so I want the yard to look nice, but don't want to spend a lot. I don't have much experience with cuttings, but would love to start some more plants from some of the rare shrubs that are growing here. I'll miss them a lot after we move, if I don't do something like that! How do you root your cuttings? |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sat, Nov 3, 12 at 7:39
| Hi & thanks. It depends on what type of plant, almost all go immediately into soil. If any are the same as plants I've tried, I'd be happy to tell you what I tried and how it went. Generally, spring/early summer is the best time for this work. You've also got all winter to read-up on it and ask questions. Good luck with the sale & the project! |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sat, Nov 3, 12 at 7:39
| And there's a propagation forum you might want to check out. |
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| I accidently propogated rosemary in water. I had some in a vase in the kitchen that I was using to make tea with. It took a couple of months, but it has a few tiny roots. I used to know a lady that could just stick it in soil and it would root. I've never tried it. On the seed exchange, some people list cuttings they would like to exchange on their lists after you scroll through the seeds they have, it would be after that. You might be able to do a seach of the members pages and see what is offered. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sun, Nov 4, 12 at 7:12
| Thanks, Z! Good suggestion. I have an unlimited supply from my Mom's shrub but think I did this way too late in the year, which was just meant to trim her shrub so she could get through her garden, but I figured why not try, right? The pieces may have been too big too, most 2-3 feet long. Thinking if I try it in the spring with smaller pieces it might work better. I'm going to leave the dead-looking branches in the bucket of soil until spring. You never know... This is the other side of the fence from the 1st pic above: |
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- Posted by shear_stupidity 9B (My Page) on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 15:38
| I've only just started trying to grow some things from cuttings. Schefflera was surprisingly cooperative! Purple, do you have any suggestions for growing cuttings from Gardenia and/or Camellia? My money-saving tip? Yard waste collection day. People prune everything on Sunday and pile it at the street for collection Monday. They rip things out by the roots, even! (It's how I got about 30-40 free Bromeliads... she was "culling the herd" :) |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 9:00
| Hey, Shear, good find! Gardenias propagate easily when it's hot. I've tried little green shoots, medium semi-woody pieces, and even a fairly large woody branch that I pruned off. The only failures I had were my fault - forgetting to water often enough, and toads or squirrels dug up a couple of them. I put them in mostly shade until I see signs of new growth, then ease them back into full sun. Some of them went to my Mom's house, some stayed here. I can't wait to do more, the world needs more Gardenias! I've read people complaining about nematodes on the FL forum. Not sure what those are but they seem to kill some plants that aren't grafted onto "safe" rootstock. Gardenia is one of these. You may want to investigate if that's an issue where you are. If so, propagating may go well but putting your new plants in the ground could result in failure because of the nematodes. (If I understand it correctly.) Is there any sign of a graft on your shrub(s)? |
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- Posted by shear_stupidity 9B (My Page) on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 9:14
| I don't see any sign of a graft on my shrub/tree. I'll try to keep this long story short: We bought our house 5 1/2 years ago from a Japanese family who had built this house as their vacation home. They live(d) in Japan and came here once a year. So, while the house wasn't "new," it wasn't hardly "used" either. They were very frugal about "landscaping", and therefore every plant or tree that came with the house was likely grown from seed or a cutting (Except the five oak trees). I honestly think they planted seeds from everything they ate or found. The result? We had to remove a Magnolia tree that was taller than our two story house because they likely grew it from a cutting and it never grew properly. (Trunk split into a "Y" a foot off the ground) Strange plants no one around here could identify suffered and had to be removed. They left the irrigation system running daily, so when we moved in and cut back on the water (by law), the lawn, plants, and even some well-established trees died. Back to the Gardenia. It gets tons of buds, but they don't open. They start to brown on the edges and fall off. BUT, since I laid that brick patio, they get a lot less water and seem to be doing better. Three buds actually opened last week... but the others are dying on the plant. I don't want to move the whole plant because it's otherwise quite healthy. I want to make new plants to try in other areas. For example, I suspect it might not be getting enough sunlight because it's shaded by my Live Oaks and the house. |
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- Posted by karen64 6b (foxbuild@aol.com) on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 11:07
| When I started gardening, I had nothing but grass in my backyard. I realized when I dug up the grass for my garden, the soil was in poor shape. I read up on lasagna gardening, love that book! My husband is in the construction industry but you could use this idea as well; if a home-owner is building an addition, they have to dig up the plants. I had the workers put them aside for me. With all the foreclosures out there, check houses for sale or bank owned and ask if you can help "clean-up" the lot, these houses often have overgrown everything. Check the classifieds under handman or yardwork, etc and let them know you are interested in plants. Starbucks used to set out their coffee grinds for gardeners, great for soil. I'm close to the shore and fortunate to have plenty of seaweed at my disposal. It makes a great mulch and cuts back on my watering needs. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 11:30
| Love your attitude and ideas, Karen, thanks! What's going on with that Gardenia, Shear? I think I've seen one flower on mine all winter, the buds are suspended in time. The blackberry vines are blooming though, so the main flush from the 'denias shouldn't be too far behind. With the exception of a few things dug up by roaming dogs, the tiny shrub cuttings I planted last summer and fall look alive. Especially excited about the Hydrangeas, just starting to leaf out. Also had a kind of unorthodox idea about a lot of my "house plants." A lot of these things that take root so easily and don't have woody trunks are just going to be planted in the ground. I'll spend a lot less time and $$ watering, have awesome-er looking plants, definitely the most unusual landscape in town until frost, and in the fall, I can dig up roots if I want or just take cuttings. Oh yea, and people will actually be able to fit/sit on the front porch. |
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- Posted by shear_stupidity 9B (My Page) on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 11:35
| After my last post here, where I said the Gardenia was doing better, it started doing worse again. Just this morning I saw, however, that it is now "doing better" again. I can't figure it out. It makes buds almost non-stop, and for a while they'll just fall to the ground unopened. Lately though, it has waves of flowers that actually open followed by "dropsy." I put a lot of "houseplants" in the ground. I'm not much of a one to bury pots, so I just do as you said and take cuttings or dig them back up. You will be shocked at what will die back to the ground and return the following year if you mulch heavily. (I mulch 4 inches deep) Take lots of "progress" pics and post them here if you decide to go ahead and plant them! |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 12:59
| I have been taking pics, if for no other reason than to assure myself they are growing. Checking too often, you know... ;) Trimmed a few little branches off Gardenia yesterday, leaning a bit too far toward where we walk. Hoping that "wakes it up." The thing with your dropping buds is something I'd investigate tho, weird and I'm sure frustrating! The prop experimentation for this year has begun... Butterfly bush (Buddleia) stayed green, at 6 feet tall, all winter, so needed a trim because I can't deadhead flowers I can't reach. So I filled a bucket with what I use for potted plants and stuck all of the trimmings in. Water well, put in dappled mostly shade. Any that are still green in a few weeks, (usually all,) give them a home in the ground. Never tried this before, but couldn't part with some really nice pieces trimmed from knockout rose. Put them deeply in a trench near the mama, little more shade. While cutting one Lantana back to the ground (in a bed where it's too big by end of summer,) realized almost every branch is still green to the tip. There are 4 more in the back along the fence that are welcome to be all they can be, and from which I can apparently get allll the cuttings of any size that I can use and give away. Waiting for foliage to get kickin' before cutting those for that. Dug up and separated a giant old Poinsettia I was offered, now being pampered out front, hardiness questionable... Pot of confederate rose cuttings that never got planted last fall are alive. Apparently the Cannas I put in last summer could be shared to other areas already... or do I want to do that? |
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- Posted by shear_stupidity 9B (My Page) on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 13:06
| I just jumped up out of my chair! I forgot ALL about the rose cuttings I was given last week! Dead. Grr! Doing too many things at once is costing me plants!!! (Master bathroom and entry remodels) I like to share my Canna about every other or third year. I like them to look full, so I wait until they're pretty packed before separating. Plus, they're one of my top one million favorite plants, so they're hard to part with. ;) |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sun, Mar 24, 13 at 16:45
| Well, all of that stuff looks OK still. Trimmed a bunch of branches off of Mom's confederate roses & put them in the front yard. Dug holes for stuff that was in pots, crape myrtle, redbud tree, maple tree, and moved a bunch of Oxalis around. Scattered seeds like a squirred hiding nuts and hope I remember where to check for what later... Yes, I did move some cannas to another spot, to improve the view out of another window... yeah, I didn't mean part with, yet, just share to other parts of the yard. When I catch my breath, need to go hose a few things in, to fill the cracks. Sorry your REMO is taking so long!! |
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- Posted by shear_stupidity 9B (My Page) on Sun, Mar 24, 13 at 17:59
| It's my own fault it's taking so long. I decided not to stop at the master shower... and we're doing the rest of the work ourselves. Plus, I have my granddaughters here for ten days (crazy-making, but fun!) and we've just had a helluva storm. The Canna I just got from a client, and just planted in the yard last week, stood tall and proud through 60 mph gusts today... ... while the fence behind them flew off!!! |
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- Posted by Marinewifenc none (My Page) on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 3:54
| I know exactly what you mean about renting and not wanting to put in the money, except my husband banned me from it. lol. I moved into a house with a massive amount of garden area but all i got were 3 boxwoods 2 dogwoods. 3 crape myrtles though which I adore. my front garden has a landscape fabric on it thicker than canvas and the side garden is filled with 3 inches of rock with mulch on top, and that canvas on the bottom, so no one planted anything here for a long time. NONE of my neighbors or anyone in this town grows anything!! So i cant get divisions or cuttings because no one has anything and i feel totally awkward going out of town and asking a random. any tips? my husband is military and works on base wwhich is huuuuuge and im sure theres some plants growing there but he wants nothing to do with the garden. I did see a tree today at my neighbors house with some flowers on it, thought about just trying to snip a few cuttings |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Apr 4, 13 at 11:38
| Hi Mwife, welcome to Gardenweb! I hope you can get some more tough plants going at your house for you and future residents to enjoy. Pulling that landscape fabric would be the best thing, but by the time you finished such an odious task, it might be time to move to the next base. Plants that like poor soil, dry conditions would probably grow in these lean, dry, rocky areas. Maybe somebody in your area could give you some ideas for plants that fit with that plan for your climate. I don't think anybody would mind if you harvested some cuttings from plants on the base, as long as you don't cut so much of anything that it's noticeable. Knowing what they are first, and when/where to cut, then having a plan for when you get them home are things I would address before heading out with the snippers. That's not effort you want to waste if a little more knowledge could have meant success. Don't forget a bucket or vase of water, insert cuttings immediately, then try to get home w/o spilling! LOL! If you put it in a cooler, it might still spill, but everything will stay wet and water stays out of car. Look for ripe seeds around the base, in corporate landscapes, parks, anywhere that's not a private garden. Packets of easy-to-grow annuals are very inexpensive. If you can find some free containers to hold some soil, that may be the easiest way to grow some things. I've found lots of containers and even perfectly good plants in people's trash piles, chairs, trellises. I'm not digging through last week's lasagna but if it's sitting next to the can or sticking out of the top, it's coming home with me. If you spend a little time looking through the member pages' exchange lists and exchange forums, you can get massive quantities of seeds and cuttings, even whole plants, for the price of postage, probably less than the gas to drive to a couple stores, then the actual stuff could be considered free. Don't forget to consider your produce for seeds, and any parts you can grow, like onion roots, celery stumps, carrot tops, potatoes that have sprouted foliage, so many things to grow from your discards. If you grow something to eat "for free," it's almost certain to get DH's attention. Then you're not spending money on a hobby, you're saving $$ on groceries. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sun, Apr 21, 13 at 9:32
| Here's a little Lantana cutting coming awake for the year. How are last years' experiments doing? What are you starting this year? |
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