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| Garden musings in October: 1) The few survivors from seeds I sprinkled in Spring have done well, but would have looked better if there were more of them. Note to self -- be sure the landlord turned on the hose out back before trying again next year. 2) Cynoglossum amabile 'firmament' makes a beautiful puff of true-blue tiny flowers, and it is still blooming. Note to self -- be sure to sprinkle more of this next year, especially around anything that blooms yellow. The ones surrounding the rose 'Happy Child' really set it off. 3) I ran out of money before planting an Autumn layer. Note to self -- I need Japanese anemones and Asters next year. 4) Annual Madascar periwinkle (Catharanthus) gives easy no-care color anywhere in full-sun, functioning like Impatiens but without the need to water them much (or at all). Note to self -- these will be my "fillers" for wherever I need them next year, as well as African marigolds in yellow (NEVER orange!). 5) Petunias with the pot-pet red HT roses look nice for a while -- until the Petunias eat up all the nutrients in the soil and leave the roses with not enough to keep blooming. Note to self -- don't do this again next year, and use Sweet Potato vines instead, which look fine without flowers. 6) Speaking of my red HTs -- the plants may like full all-day sun, but the blooms certainly don't. Note to self -- move them to where they are in shade during the afternoon, and consider something more sun-fast for pots, like Teas, Chinas, Polyanthas, etc. Any excuse for more roses, right? 7) Moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) is beautiful, but the blooms open and look best while I'm at work, and during the day are just a mass of large heart-shaped green leaves and spent flowers from the night before. Note to self -- consider climbing Nasturtium for that same difficult spot against the fence next year, which are more colorful during the day. 8) So many things I wanted to do this year didn't happen because I couldn't just make an impromptu trip to Home Depot, and as a result, I got frustrated with the yard. Note to self -- don't spend another dollar on the yard until I buy a car, which will also allow for other much-needed changes. :-) ~Christopher ETA -- of ALL the things to have a typo, I misspell "please" in the subject line, and I can't edit it. Argh! :-/ |
This post was edited by AquaEyes on Sun, Oct 19, 14 at 2:47
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I learned one big thing. Never buy a house that has an easement on the property. Of course, having a blank slate is sometimes fun. |
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| Great thread aqua eyes ! I learned to wait for fall to start digging or early spring. Summer is just too dry here and the soil was horrible. I also learned ( but I'll surely do it again ) not to buy roses you aren't sure where to put them. I have a couple mega climbers and no home for them yet. I learned that allysum seeds in my rose pots seemed to deplete nutrients and those roses suffered. |
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| I learned to be careful planting inside hardware cloth. I have 5 Caldwell Pinks in a bed, and too many of their roots an canes grow at ground level -- through the hardware cloth. Ultimately, weeding has been almost impossible. I love red dahlias, and intend to plant more next year. They brighten the non red beds. Phlox are beautiful, and next year I will replace the small phlox with larger ones. The newly purchased small ones don't grow as well as the larger ones. Using spirea in my "transition" area is a good thing. I intend to purchase more next year to go with the seven I have purchased. Sammy |
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| When a sprinkler valve breaks in April, get it repaired right away rather than relying on precipitation that isn't going to occur! |
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- Posted by Deb3428 5a/b (debhegerty@gmail.com) on Tue, Oct 21, 14 at 7:33
| I planted cannas for the first time this year. I knew I would have to dig up roots for winter but was astonished that I got an entire wheel barrow full of roots from one tiny root that I planted. The "dig up" pretty much ruined one area of my garden and so I guess what I learned is that this plant grows outta control in one growing season and I need to plant it in a less cultivated area.. anyone like some of the roots? (They are red cannas and grew to over 6 feet tall!! |
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- Posted by mendocino_rose z8 N CA. (My Page) on Tue, Oct 21, 14 at 8:44
| I now have the confidence of keeping my roses alive through a tough summer after the driest winter we've seen here. |
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| My roses are still alive after several years of drought and the hottest and meanest spring and summer seasons I've yet encountered. I've learned to cull roses that were not doing well in the heat because it certainly isn't going to get cooler in the years to come. I've also planted or replanted the majority of roses to areas that have afternoon shade. Ingrid |
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| Don't plant squash. They took over the garden and the yard. I got one squash for all of my efforts. |
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| Great topic! The responses have been interesting. What I learned this year- 2. You may not really know which roses survived a hard winter till later in the spring when they simply don't have the energy to support their new growth. I had several that died after putting out a little bit of growth. They just didn't have it in them. 3. On the other hand, don't quit too soon. Some roses just took longer to recover- maybe even June or so. 4. Plant more summer bulbs like amaryllis, crinum (if I find a spot big enough), glads like 'Boone' and 'Carolina Primrose', dwarf bearded reblooming iris and crocosmia. I don't need to dig these in the fall here. They are lovely, easy care (at least for me) have nice manners and look so nice in the back with my yellow and apricot roses. Maybe even try agapanthus with my new pink rose bed. But no more dahlias! Or cannas! Good grief! They spread like wildfire and take on the dimensions of the eggplant that ate Chicago! And limit lilies to only a few that are tried and true. I love them so much but I lost over two thirds of them last winter. I'm sadder but wiser. 5. You never really know for sure what plants, including roses, will do well for you till you try them for yourself and give them at least a couple years to settle in. Even people across the road can grow things that I can't and vice versa. 6. Try to do more with seed sown in the fall and self-sowers. The experiment with sowing larkspur in the fall to bloom this spring went very well. This is so pretty along the edges of the garden and lawn that border wild areas. 7. Think about adding hardy flowers with continuous bloom for hummingbirds next year. So many things didn't make it or grow and bloom as strongly as in previous years that the hummingbirds struggled to find things in bloom. |
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- Posted by muscovyduckling Melbourne, Australia (My Page) on Thu, Oct 23, 14 at 8:25
| Lesson learned for next year: Buy more teas. Teas teas teas! They are doing great here! Sadly I only bought 5 teas out of about 35 new roses. I will fix that next year. |
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| Know what, Muscovy? I forgot to mention this one, but I learned the very same thing. Roses fail to thrive here more often due to our (frequent) hot humid summers than our (occasional) cold winters. Teas seem to be truly happy when the heat and humidity here are at their most unbearable. |
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| That's so true about the teas. Here in my super-dry climate they do reasonably well, with plenty of water, but never reach the monster sizes I was happily expecting. I still love them and have recently acquired five more but have learned to scale down my expectations. In this instance their smaller size here is a good thing since they're occupying precious (but smaller) real estate in an area that has afternoon shade. Ingrid |
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| I'm going to be trying some more Chinas and Teas in the near future. I want to expand my "pot pet collection" beyond the red HTs. I love the roses I chose to plant in the garden, but I realized this year that many pause during the hot part of Summer. Many, that is, except for the few Chinas and Teas I included. This area is tough because our Summers are almost as hot and humid as are those in the South, but we get a bit more Winter cold. Roses which sail through Winter with no problem seem to balk at the heat, while those which like the heat are hit hard by Winter. I lost only 'Jaune Desprez', which was planted in a very exposed spot to climb a tree. The others had to be cut back pretty hard, but rebounded nicely. I'm going to see how the HTs do in their barrels without extra protection this Winter, and then decide if I want try some more barrels with Chinas and Teas. Hopefully, the garage will be accessible by next year, so I can wheel any potted Teas and Chinas in there for Winter. And hopefully last Winter won't become the "new normal" for here. :-) ~Christopher |
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- Posted by muscovyduckling Melbourne, Australia (My Page) on Thu, Oct 23, 14 at 18:43
| I'm glad I'm not alone in my tea-loving! I'm hoping for some sizeable plants too Ingrid, and whilst we're fairly hot here, we get significantly more rain than you do over there (doesn't everyone?) so it might actually happen. I've spaced accordingly, I hope.. On that note, I was sad to hear the forecast for decent winter rain in your area sounded less than promising. The thought that El Niño was bringing garden relief to someone somewhere in the world, while we are being ravaged by bush fires, was sort of comforting in a weird way. We'll still have fires this year, of course, but the thought that you won't get any rain out of the deal makes the fires seem worse somehow, like there's no pay-off, or something. Ach, I hope you know what I'm saying because I'm finding it difficult to articulate the thought. Christopher, I really feel for you folks who have both harsh summers and winters. I can't really imagine what that's like, but it sure would make gardening a whole lot more challenging. I admire your dedication. |
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| Our Winters aren't normally what I'd call "harsh", but a "normal" Winter here is just about as cold as a China or Tea can easily handle without added protection. Last year was an extreme (for here) Winter. I'm in USDA Hardiness Zone 7a, which means that, on average, the lowest temperature reached would be between 0 and 5 degrees Farenheit. That "lowest temperature reached" would be the coldest hours of the coldest nights, and usually, that might occur just a handful of times in a Winter. Usually, most days our daytime temps are above freezing, which offers a reprieve from freezing nights. But last year we had weeks-long stretches before temperatures would climb above freezing even during the warmest hours of daytime. And, as Murphy's Law would have it, that was the first Winter after planting roses which came as bands that Spring. :-/ ~Christopher |
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| I learnt a little patience. After half a dozen flowers on MIP, and scrappy growth, I did think of pulling her out after a year. However, after reading comments on here about needing to give some roses up to 4 years, I decided to give her another chance, and she has flowered generously for a couple of months now. Growth still scrappy though, but maybe she will fill out? And two Scabrosas that also were nearly SPed (after 2 years which is pretty patient for me), also got another chance, and are doing rather nicely. I also learnt that it's better to have a plant that does well, even if it isn't the one you really want! And muscovyduckling, I love Teas too, and luckily some do very well here. They grow huge though, about twice what HMF says. I also learnt not to be disappointed by visitors, the vast majority of whom stick their heads out the window, and damn with faint praise. I expect it now! Trish. |
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