Late August blooms

Starting a new thread. See the last posts in the old one here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1022880/

Here's dahlia Mystic Moonlight with lots of big blooms

Dahlia AC P. I love the colors and the form.

Sir Alf Ramsey. This is the dahlia with the monster stem I posted the photo of the other day.

Veronica, because you can never have too much blue.

The dahlia bed this morning. You can see there are lots of blooms. The dark red one in the back is about 7 feet tall.

Oops. I don' think that tallest one's bloom made it into the photo. Oh, well, here it is. Wyn's Magic Touch.

Gus was supervising the path between the two flower beds this morning.

This is the prettiest shade of pink. Named Pretty in Pink.

Another smaller one with a beautiful color - Smooth Operator. I really like the dark foliage too.

Reines des violettes rose. This is an antique one that has the most wonderful scent.

Dahlia taiheiyo. This one is covered in blooms and they're huge.

Wyn's Salmon King

Gorgeous late in the season blooms! Congrats Hart!

Re the blue---have I mentioned how well my leadowrt/ Plumbago is doing? Got this in the mal from a (new) pal in AZ last fall and it's grown so well and blooms a lovely blue
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/876/

one prettier than the next Hart

Thanks, Onewish and Lily.

Sally, I think plumbago is so pretty - pretty flowers and pretty foliage. A true blue flower too, which isn't that common. You should post some photos of it.

I'll have to take some pics of our Plumbago - I agree it's so pretty this time of the year and probably the "toughest" plant I've ever grown! It grows along the edge of the top of the driveway and years ago when Rick wanted to plant bulbs there he dumped a load of soil on top of them so he'd have the depth for the bulbs - at least 6"-8"! I thought the Plumbago would never come back but once the spring bulbs had died down the Plumbago wriggled its way back to the surface! Love it when the foliage turns red after frosts as well :) Speaking of blue, I've got to get some pictures of the Blue Cardinal Flower along the gazebo! Earlier this spring when I was planting Lilies along the edge, I saw all the self sown seedlings and thought they were Red Cardinal Flowers. We did have a few red that bloomed but the blue have formed a perfect row along the front of the gazebo - you'd think I actually planted them :)

Gorgeous Dahlias hart - again!

Holly, I'm envious of your Arisaema speciosum! I bought one from Asiatica earlier this year and even though it bloomed it was pretty pathetic :( I don't believe the Z8 rating though, I know they're hardy to at least Z7 and possibly even Z6! If you do lift the one in the ground for the winter, just make sure it stays dry over the winter. It will rot in wet soils in a heartbeat. It usually takes 5-7 years for them to mature from seed for flowers if you're lucky enough to get seeds. Not sure about A. speciosum but a lot of the Arisaemas form little "bulblets' like this one and if you find them all you have to do is break them off and you've got a new baby :)

Holly,

I just went out and took a picture of my neighbor's poor, neglected Jack-in-the-Pulpit...

Sad!

I am re-posting this as hart requested....

Holly,

My neighbor has one in her bed...She is not a gardener...plants things and then forgets about them...
It is right across from my tomato bed--so I get to see it all the time.

It now has a cluster of seeds which are turning red. Do you know if it can grow from these seeds?
I would then spread them around in her bed...
It seems to be a perennial here, as it came back from last year.

Here is the seed cluster close-up (Re-posting this too).

G.

Gita, My Burg that you gave me at the swap is blooming, I just love it! You are so right about the above the Y. I have one I ordered from a DG co-op and it is big and full of leaves but no flower buds and has not formed a Y that I can see. If it wasn't for you I'd be Burg-flowerless this season.

Picked these glads so I could enjoy them, as I have to go out to the veggie garden to see them. Talk about not believing the zones, I planted these glads, NOIDs from Walmart about 6 years ago. Never dug them up, just left them, they have been rototilled several times over the years and still grow, and most of you know the harsh cold winters I have been through up here.

Lady---

Glad it is blooming......Your other one WILL "Y"--sooner or later. From then on--all new growth above the first "Y" will be "Y"-ing....

Down the road, when you do take cuttings, take them from above the "Y" to get early bloom (like the one I gave you). No matter what part of the Brug you root--they will all grow--but the blooms ONLY come once it has "Y"-ed....

Will you be taking it in for the winter and allowing it to go dormant? That is what I do....Have 4 now to find room for....Mamma Mia! I remove all the leaves (except for the top growth) and lug the pots in my basement--and that's that. Put a plastic bag loosely around the pot and water a bit once a month.

It was just amazing last winter----The Maya Brug actually produced about 5 blooms while in the basement on bare stalks....

Gita

Gita, I'll be lugging both down the basement. And I'll give a try starting cuttings also. Do you let the cuttings go dormant in the winter after rooting takes place in the fall?
The other Burg is Supper Nova, it grew into a very full plant with about 4 stems shooting up from the base of the cutting I received.

Diane, your dahlias are spectacular, they still scare me. I was under the gun a few years ago to produce enough for a late summer wedding but I still appreciate their variety and beauty. Maybe next year.
Gita, What you see on the neighbors Jack is exactly what happens to the natives we grow. Late summer and the plants just wilt away leaving the fruit stalk. I find them attractive, and yes they will grow from the fruit. I usually scatter them and scratch them into the mulch and leaf mold.
Chris, It sounds like your glads thrive on abuse, LOL We had a few survivors on the south side of the house, they were 3-4 years old but last winter got them.
RCN,Thanks for the info on the bulblets? They look like the babies on a glad corm. Holly said the Arisaema speciosum came from Pacific Calla it was a DG co-op buy @ $5.35 ea.
Ric

$5.35!!! OMG that makes me sick - you don't want to know what I paid for mine :( At this point I just hope it lives!

Chris, lovely Glads :) Rick has some in the garden that he planted over 15 years ago and I haven't seen them bloom since moving here. I can still see the foliage but they're being invaded by the encroaching suckers of the Kerria so probably haven't seen sun in years! If yours have survived all that abuse, maybe I should try to dig them up this fall and incorporate them into the new sunny border I want :)

lady--

someone who always guided me through my first years og growing Brugs ("brugie") said that the best time to take cuttings is when the days and nights are about the same length. This happens, of course NOW--and it swwms way too early to be cutting up my Brugs. They usually give a very nice bloom flush in mid-late october, as they HATE all this heat--and in October it cools off.

Last year I took sturdy stem cuttings from above the "Y". It is OK to trim the wispier tops back a bit on these. Pull off any large leaves, dust them with a bit of rooting hormone and stick them deeply into 5" pots--all the way to the bottom. Keep just moist until you see signs of growth. Tug gently to see if there is resistance.
They all rooted! I no longer will bother with the water and the bubblers, etc....So much fungal rot can occur and then the cutting is a gonner....They root fine directly in soil.

NO! I do not let the rooted cuttings go dormant. I keep them by a window in my LR. Of course, I only rooted abour 6. I don't really know how to advise you on this....maybe try the Brugmansia Forum?

Gita

one more Brug question for you.. do you re-pot it in spring... or keep it in the same container?

onewish--

If you are asking about the Mama plants--depends how big a pot it is already in and whether you are going to keep them on a patio, or above ground elsewhere, or plant them, partially, in a bed.
I say this, b/c Brugs have these HUGE leaves that act as "parachutes". In high winds, the whole pot (if above ground) will keep blowing over (yes it will!) and damage the plant and break your pot--if it is ceramic. I keep 4 bricks on top of the soil just for weight on my above-ground pots because of this. Of course--my pots are the foam pots that look like clay--therefore lightweight to begin with.
Also--once Brugs grow any size--they sop up water very quickly, become light and blow over. Daily soaking is needed.

If you are asking about the rooted cuttings--Keep them growing inside. I would have them in at least a 6" pot by the time you put them outside. They can grow in these for a little while--but then you need to transplant them in a larger pot--unless you are giving the rooted cuttings away.

Here is what I do:

I plant Brugs pot-in-a-pot. Take a regular, black nursery pot--say a 3gallon size. Cut 1" (or so) round holes in the sides of the pot--maybe 4 or 5 of them--and plant your Brug in these pots.
Then prepare a bigger, squatty (18"-20" or so) pot with soil mix and sink the black pot 2/3 of the way into the soil in the bigger pot--leaving 1/3 of it sticking out.
Planting this way makes it easier to remove the black pot only and bring it inside for dormancy--NOT having to bring in the whole bigger pot.
Yes! You will have to trim off any roots that have grown out of the holes--and that is OK. Just put a plastic bag around the black pot while it is inside to keep the roots from drying out and water it once in a while during the winter with about a cup of water.
About every 2 years--you will need to root-prune and re-pot the bigger Brugs. They grow really big. I just take them out of the pot they were in (when I bring them out in the early Summer) and cut all around it with a sharp knife--bottom too. Then re-pot in a clean pot with fresh soil all around. Here you can add something like Osmacote or "Dynamite" to the fresh soil to feed the plant all season.
Brugs can be fed 2x a week for optimal growth and blooming. They are real "pigs" when it comes to feeding....And--water--water--water.....

You can also plant the black pots directly in a bed--leaving the rim sticking out and do the same thing when taking them inside...Dig them up, trim the roots off, etc.....
Remember---Brugs grow into small TREES where they can be left outside year-round. Keeping it in a pot requires a bit of "maintenance".

And--don't forget to treat the pots with some kind of a Systemic product before you bring them in. All kinds of "things" could have crawled into the pot from the bottom.

Always look out for Spider Mites or (the worst!) Cyclamen mites on your Brugs. Preventive spraying helps...
Yellowing of older leaves is nothing to worry too much about. it is normal. ...It can look scary to see all these yellow leaves all over! Just pick them off.
I think in this heat--they just don't like it all that much. Also--those HUGE leaves sop a lot of water out of the plants....

Again--more "advice" than you asked for--but I remember how needy I was in this respect when I first started growing Brugs. Just passing what I have learned on to someone else.......:o)

Gita

Here is what my BIG "Maya" looked like last October when I dug it up and had to trim off all the leaves before taking her in. I call this picture "The Carnage".....
See the roots sticking out of the pot's holes? It sure hurt me to cut all this off--as there must have been 100 buds on every tip of every branch--but colder weather was forecast, and I had no choice.

Here are the above "Y" tip cuttings I took--all stuck into pots to root. They all did!
And--because they all were from above the "Y"--they bloomed earlier and on small plants. ...like the ones I gave away at Holly's.

Have fun! Send pictures! Any time I can help you--just ask.

Hey Allison......We can do this! Thanks Gita.

thank you very much Gita... can't believe how much you hack it before you bring momma in... I am copying and pasting your instructions... right now that 3' high one I have is in a small whiskey barrel.. it's been holding up even with the nasty storms we have been getting... so far so good with that... but thanks again for the advice!

Randy planted these seeds... he is very proud of them

cutie

another

just loving the begonias

onewish--you do have a way with the camera. I have a pink Rose of Sharon like that--I don't let the white or purple grow, too ordinary, but wen I found pink I kept it. I like the Sunflower picture and the hummer pics are great! What's that pink flower, some kind of salvia maybe?

Meant to say--hubby went to the garden today to get some twine and he reported a hummer sighting. Plus he's been noticing the goldfinches on my sunflowers. Might make a gardener out of him yet.

and I have my first ever Plumeria blossom. Will try for a nice picture in the morning.

This message was edited Aug 24, 2009 1:46 AM

Hart, I just LOVE your dahlias.

Gita, I'm trying to decide if I want to continue with the brugs. Not too many blooms for me this year. I'm going to blame it on our crazy weather. You make it a difficult decision with all your great pictures of how to keep 'em going.

This HAKUYOU dahlia is one of my favorites. I can never resist getting a few dahlias from Swan Island.

OneWish agree with Sally - WONDERFUL shots!!! Great job!

thank you all... Sally that plant is an agastache... desert sunrise

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53427/

and good for you getting the hubby involved!!... good luck!!... the pink ROS came from a friend.. there are two in the back corner of my yard that are getting pretty tall... the one white with red throat I keep pretty small by cutting it back every year...it's right behind my retaining wall behind my bird bath... just starting to open up now.. either way I like them

Hart, your Dahlias are looking fabulous. What great rewards from your new bed. Will you dig them all up in the fall?

Sally, I have a Cerostomigna(sp?) with gold foliage. Haven't seen it bloom yet, just planted it a few weeks ago.

Allison, your Hummer photos are superb.