A Question for You!

This white jewel was found growing amongst my cannas this past summer. I have no idea what it is nor how it got there (but I sure hope it multiplies). It bloomed around late June.

The fronds were sorta like the amaryllis plant - the petals had about five 'spoke' looking thingies extending from the petals - The fronds were about two feet high and the bloom stood about three feet - the round part of the bloom was about three inches in diameter and the 'spokes' were at six to eight inches long. Other than this oral description and the photo I can't tell you anything else about it!

Any help would be appreciated - as I'd like to have more of these babies.

I'm definitely gonna watch it closer in 2012 and mark its location!

Lavender

This plant and its fragrance stirs up all kinds of emotions in my pea brain. When I think 'lavender', I also think peace, contentment, and romance.

This is a Mona lavender (Plectranthus). It is a tender perennial - which means it needs protection in the winter. It was hybridized in Australia in 1999 and is just now receiving the praise it so richly deserves.

While all lavenders produce well under reasonable conditions, this one seems to do extremely well. This particular plant is about three years old and I've never seen any disease or pest on it.

Good soil and moisture are requirements for this lavender. About once a month (during the growing season) she's fed with Miracle Grow with a little Epsom Salts in the mixture. In case you don't know, the magnesium in Epsom Salts encourages new blooms.

This is a closeup of its dainty, trumpet-shaped blossoms. But its leaves are as interesting as the blooms. They are serrated and a beautiful shade of green. The underside of the leaves are a deep purple color with even deeper purple colored veins. When the wind is blowing . .the show is unmatched.

It roots very easily and in the spring time, I'll root a few cuttings to put in my shade garden. These will get three feet high by summer. Sometimes I'll dig them out in the fall and pot them . .but mostly, I let nature have its way.

Unlike most lavender, Mona cannot take full sun; but she does well in dappled shade. Pinching the stems while they are young ensures a bushy plant.

The lavender below is hardy and is very, very prolific. I bought this one about four years ago and had to divide it this fall. It had produced (wherever the limbs touch the soil, it roots) enough plants to make a hedge about 10 feet long, plus some to put in containers. The instructions for caring for this lavender are not the same as the Mona. This one likes full sun with very little water and fertilizer. Its only requirement is pruning. Unless its pruned to allow some sun to the center of the plant, it begins to die in the center (I learned this the hard way). Since I normally have my pruners in my hip pocket, I just reach down and remove some of the tallest stems; this allows light back into the middle and regrowth starts immediately. I've never seen any disease or pest on this lavender either.

This is one of the pots in which I placed some of the 'leftovers' from my hedge (another pot flanks the entry to my garden). They look a little close but I'd prefer to thin them out each year rather than wait several seasons for the plant to fill the pot! The pink fronds behind the pot is Muhley Grass, which I'll cover in a later post. It's just now beginning to bloom good and hasn't quite reached its peak.

Gaillardia Daisy - Aristata

The Gaillardia, sometimes referred to as 'blanket flower', is a mainstay for most any garden. It is an herbaceous perennial that reseeds prolifically but is not invasive. Its hardiness zones are 3 to 10.

Its bloom is a brilliant red daisy-like form and is tinged with yellow at the edge of each bloom. The plant grows from two to three feet tall and is as wide as it is tall; therefore it makes a good middle of the bed planting. It's growth is bushy but if denied full sun, it will get leggy and sprawl. It's a great eye-catching filler plant. It can also be used as an accent plant.

Plumbago, coreopsis and yarrow makes good companion plantings for the Gaillardia.

The Gaillardia makes a fantastic cut flower and can last up to two weeks in an arrangement. A positive here is that the more you cut, the more it blooms.

Minimal water and fertilizer keeps the plant in continuous bloom from early spring until frost. Its only requirement is full sun. It is totally disease and pest free.

One package of these seed was purchased several years ago and since then, I have shared plants with almost all of my gardening friends - while keeping plenty for myself.

Mexican Cigar Bush - Cuphea ignea

The Mexican cigar bush is a 'must have' for those gardeners in to xeriscaping and for those who love easy care, showy, colorful,  beautiful, drought tolerant, hummer and bee loving  plants . .in other words, this plant is for you! It's hardy from Zone 5 through 10 and puts on its show from late spring until frost.

As the name implies, it is from Mexico.  Cuphea is derived from the Greek word kyphos, meaning bent, curved, or humped. Ignea means fire. It is sometimes referred to a firecracker plant. It is a hardy, woody perennial.

This plant reaches approximately four feet high and four to five feet wide. The orange flowers with their yellow tips bloom from the ground level and up the entire stem. It is NEVER without color and requires no deadheading; however, unless it's pinched when it emerges in the spring, it will look a little leggy before summer's over.

Two pinchings a spring should suffice . .one when it's about four inches high and another when those are about eight inches high. This allows the stems to develop enough fullness to prevent them from getting leggy during the summer.

It's such an easy care plant, that I forget it's there until I see the hummers congregating or the bright orange color catches my eye. Mine are at least 12 years old and the only insect I've seen on it is the praying mantis (which is one of the good bugs) and absolutely no diseases.

It's easy to divide as well . .. when I have a gardening friend wanting some, I just wait until it begins to emerge in the spring .. place a shovel where I want to divide it . .push it in then break a piece from the mother plant. It also transplants easily.

It's also great for the nature photographer. You'll almost always see hummers flitting around it, especially around dawn or sunset.


This is three plants



A closer view




Zinnia - Another Annual

The zinnia has been a mainstay in the cutting garden or as an accent plant for generations. And it's easy to understand why. The more you cut for arrangements, the more blooms you have. You all are probably very familiar with the zinnia so I'm not gonna say much about its growing habit, diseases, insects . . .but I did want to share a couple of special ones with you.

Last spring I purchased about eight red tall zinnias to put in the middle of a bed and got about 12 dwarf yellow ones with which to border the bed. Just a few weeks into the drought, the red ones looked soooooo bad, I just pulled them out! But the yellow dwarf ones looked superb - so I left them.

They all have withstood the drought with no problem at all! I purchased them at a local nursery and have absolutely NO idea as to the name of them! Usually, I hang on to tags until I decided if I like the plant or not, but for some reason, I did not in this case!

It is a daisy-like single flower and it's growth habit is mounded. The blooms keep their brilliant yellow color for weeks and it requires very little deadheading! It hasn't been bothered by any insects and it doesn't get the brown/black looking junk on them like the regular zinnia .. and it never gets leggy as some of the older zinnias.

In early spring of 2012, I'll be back at that particular nursery with hopes that they'll have more. If they do, I'll buy a couple of trays (and hang on to the labels) for fillers in different beds . .if they don't, I'll keep searching until I find some; and when I do, I'll post the name of them. However, if anyone knows the name of the zinnia, please leave a comment so that we'll ALL know!

This past spring, Patsy sent me a ton of zinnia seed that she had harvested from her 2010 gardens and I broadcast them over a particular area. I got really good germination but for some reason I forgot to pinch them to make them bush; therefore the plants are tall (about 4.5') and leggy. But I still managed to get some really good blooms off them.

They were mostly reds and purples and here are some of the blooms they produced.

Thank you, Patsy, you made me smile during the drought! And I'll be more diligent with my pinching on next year's plants.

Positive Signs that Fall is Near

In my stroll yesterday, I examined my favorite Dogwood tree and noticed that it is loaded with red berries . .which denotes that fall is just around the corner!

It's my favorite dogwood because many years ago, as hubby and I were preparing to built our home we scoped the property to determine exactly where we wanted the house.

I spotted this tree and was overwhelmed at its beauty and said, "I want the house right here and I want to see this tree from my dining room window."

When the land clearning staff came to survey the area to determine how much work was involved in clearing other trees and underbrush, they were told that this tree had to be saved at all cost. They did a stupendous job and when they left, the only tree standing was my dogwood - and it wasn't damaged.

Since dogwood is an understory (understory means that it does best under a canopy of bigger trees) it did go through a couple of years in shock; but eventually recovered.

I just sit in my dining room . .enjoy my favorite dogwood and know that birds have a good place to live and raise their young in the spring and in the fall, they have all these delicious and nutrious berries on which to feed and build energy for the long trek south.

Now if winter will just get here so that I can sit in my recliner, sip hot chocolate, browse flower catalogs and read good books . . ..

then before I know it, spring will be here and I can go back to the dining room and enjoy the fabulous white blooms .. .

Train Up a Shrub the Way it Should Grow

Since this is a pretty long and detailed post I'll warn you that If you're not interested in planting or transplanting shrubs, you may get bored.  So read no further. If you are interested, read on.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh . .. fall is here!!! And fall is the best time to plant or transplant shrubs. Fall planting and transplanting is preferable for a couple of reasons.  The days are short and cool and the plants won't have to struggle to survive. Also, fall planting gives the shrubs a few weeks to get their roots established in their new home before they go dormant. Then they get blessed with all those fantastic spring rains. All this plus good planting practices almost guarantees success.

The first step in ensuring success is to select a healthy shrub. The top (green part) of the shrub denotes pretty much what kind of root system it has. If the shrub is bushy, thick, and green, most likely the roots are healthy as well. You can always double check by tapping the shrub from its container and inspecting the roots. If they are plentiful and white, chances are you have a good shrub. (If I see a plant with an unusual amount of roots growing out of the bottom of the container, I'll pass it by.)

When you get the plant home, submerge it (container and all) into a bucket of water for a couple hours. This ensures that the roots and stems are well hydrated before planting. Then take the plant (in the container) and set it in the area where you intend to plant. Let it remain there undisturbed for 2 or 3 days. This is to ensure that the shrub begins to get acclimated to its new home.

Last Wednesday I bought two Yule Tide Sasanqua. (After I describe the plant, and I'm gonna walk you through how to plant.) The sasanqua is a cousin to the camellia but there are differences that need to be considered as to where to locate them. The sasanqua doesn't like as much shade as the camellia.. .they like their home where they can get early morning sun and dappled shade during the day. They do not get as big; therefore do not require as much space as the camellia. The Yule Tide is a gorgeous bright red color and sometimes they'll bloom early enough to use in your Christmas decorations.

The sasanqua starts blooming in late December and blooms sometimes through April . .depending on soil, age of shrub, and weather conditions. The blooms are about 3" in diameter with bright yellow stamens. Bloom colors range from pure white, pinks, through bright reds. It is an evergreen shrub so you're never without some kind of color in the garden. Also, they make a better cut flower than the camellia. You know how easily the flower drops from the camellia stem? This doesn't happen with the sasanqua.  The leaves look much like the camellia.

Staging the planting area with the required materials and tools is important, as you don't want to get started then have to look for items you'll need. I normally get the wheelbarrow, shovel,  pruners, hose, mattock, (in case I hit some stubborn roots), fertilizer, compost, and a large piece plastic on which to place the soil you dig out.

After you've done all the soaking, acclimating, and staging it's time to dig the hole. It's best to dig the hole at least two times wider and deeper than the root ball. This is a case where bigger is better! When this hole is dug, fill it with water. . .throw in about 1/2 cup of balanced fertilizer (for the roots to 'reach' for) and let it drain (this soaks the ambient soil). Wait six months or so before giving them any more fertilizer; the nurseryman has already provided the plant with plenty of nutrients.

In equal amounts, mix compost and cow manure, with some of the soil from the hole. Build sort of a mound at the bottom of the hole. Build this mound high enough that the plant will be at the recommended planting depth.

Then taking the plant from its container, use your fingers, to remove most of the soil from the root ball. Then straighten any roots that are growing around the inside of the container. This is a critical step in that roots are like water; they'll take the path of least resistance. If they've already started growing around inside the pot, they will continue growing in that manner in the ground; i.e., never reaching out for water/nutrients and eventually the plant with either choke or starve to death. But if you'll take the time to straighten the roots and lay them straight outward on the mound you built, they start (and continue) reaching downwards and outwards as nature designed.

After you're satisfied that it is at the correct planting depth (plant transplanted shrubs at the level in their previous home), throw in some of the soil mixture then add enough water to settle the soil. This ensures that air pockets are removed . .. add more of the mixture ..water a little more (tamping a little after each addition) until you are at the top of hole. Gently walk along the perimeter of the plant to ensure the roots are in good contact with the soil. After doing this, you may have to topdress with a little more of the mixture. Check to see if you broke any limbs . .if so, cut them off as this jagged wound is an open invitation for insect/disease entry.

From this point, all you have to do is say a little prayer and get ready to clean up and mulch! Then wait to see new growth early next spring at which time you'll want to fertilize again with a good azalea fertilizer.

Patsy, you may want Ron to read this prior to new plantings at your new home . . .