WHAT is stressing you out as the cold weather approaches?

What is stressing me now is that I bought a Knockout Rose almost 1-1/2 months ago--and there it sits in it's 3gal pot....
Every day--and they are so beautiful right now--I think I need to go out and plant it....Just haven't decided WHERE!

I have 2 spots in mind--and both of them will involve digging up the Rose that has been occupying that spot for years.
Remember a while ago I told you all that IF I ever plant something new--something old has to go....

I think I have already decided-----it will go on the far end of the flower bed by my shed....That gets good light and if the Knockout grows big and bushy--no matter....
What has to "GO" from there is my old "Carpet Rose"....It blooms on deep pink clusters, but the branches spread out a bit too much (...Carper Rose!!!!--ahem....). I cut it back last year. it does nor, really like to be cut back. takes 2-3 yrs. to regrow....But--this will be the "victim"......
I will pot it up and take it to work and give it away.....Maybe my "Boss Man" will want it.....By now most of his garden already consists of plants i have given him--and will continue to give him.

Had time today---but whiled it away doing other things....
Now I think tomorrow I'll do it.....Yes! Tomorrow....that is, IF nothing else comes up.........you know--like more "important"? ......ahem......

You get the idea WHY I am stressing out????

Here's the carpet Rose last June (2008) . I cut it down later in the season.....It is not really re-growing to any degree....

The weather is stressing me out again. Lost another two days of any possible garden time to the rain. My bulbs need to get planted. I was hoping to have at least the Alliums in my side bed done by now.

I wish I was stressing out about planting Alliums :( Every year I plan to order some and THIS was going to be the year. I finally got ready to order some last week and all the ones I wanted are sold out - maybe next year? The rain fouled up my plans too! I had rounded up a few plants to get in the ground but the break I took to paint the water tank didn't leave me enough time to plant before the rain came :( Not too stressed about it, there's still time but I do have two Abelias which arrived yesterday (bare root) which will have to get in the ground first!

I bought a threepack of those big purple Alliums two yrs ago. They were fine the first summer but then nothing. stormyla, Im sure yours will be better, rcn ,you may not be missing anything.
Stressing about getting my compost filled up while the leaves are fresh and moist, and not letting them rot anymore lawn grass.

Sally, My purple Allium were planted 4 years ago, before the vole population explosion. Last year I added white Allium, but I planted those in Permatil. Last year, I also separated some Purple Allium that were babies from the older purples. I alsom planted the babies in Permatil. This year, all that returned were the whites and the babies from the purples. Now, I am replacing the purples. Also have a lot more to go into the bed along the white fence.

I'm not letting the leaves stress me out yet. That will probably be Saturday's stress. LOL

I did about two hours of raking and or mower-mulching/ putting in the compost--and barely made a dent. My leaves are not half fallen yet anyway. But I wanted to get that compost a-goin, and some of the leaves up from the grass.

..........I never got to planting my "Knockout" Rose yet........Dug up the Carpet Rose--but the soil was so miserably water-logged, I did not want to plant in it just yet.

Went shopping to "Big Lots" and then to "Ollies" and spent too much money....:o(
Went looking all over for small canning jars....Took visits to 4 stores till I found them at good old Mars.....

Was going to make fresh Fig Jam today--as I had them picked from my neighbor's tree--Well--at least tonight I got the figs ready to cook . Blanched--chopped and measured by how many cups I had.

I do not work tomorrow until 3PM. Will try to cook them up and put the jam in the jars.....Hope so--anyways.....
My intentions are always sincere.

Gita, Fig Jam sounds wonderful. Sounds like another recipe to go over on the Fall Harvest thread. I love fresh figs and serve them whenever they are available.

The Allium are all planted. Am working on the Hyacinth's now.
Had to cut down a lot of the spent galliardias, asters,sage DL foliage, mums and soldiagos to clear way to put the bulbs in. Lots of weeds too. Sunk a lot of the really small plants into the whisky barrels for their winter snooze. Have all of the Caladiums hanging up to dry now. Gathered a few seeds.

Will plant some more Hyacinths in the morning, then have to get ready for the Trick or Treaters!

Well I am sorry to report that I am behind. The painting program is put to bed for this fall to resume next spring. The leaves are all down....are all down...are all....are. My helpers have become less and less interested in the dirty word work. Think it is about time to start the process of finding a helper....once again. I swear this is so much trouble these days my goals have changed into work reduction projects. My last two good workers have not showed up as promised for the past six days that were sunny and clear to work.
What's worse they don't even call. There goes another two college boys that were needing the hours for their college expenses. Kaput done. Now I guess I will be the unfair SOB that fired them. I will stop just short of telling them where they could go and where to put their tweeter phones. My wife and I will enjoy the bonus they just failed to earn by evaporating and leaving the house three quarters painted.

Ya know you'd think with this economy they would want the work. What's with people???

Mom & Dad pay for their cell phones and lots of other things they shouldn't.

Don't worry, Doc, someone will come along. I think you'd be better off with someone who is out of work and needs the money to support his family. Have any of the local companies laid folks off? Maybe you could ask around at any of the clubs you belong to. A lot of the companies around here are planning to furlough people for 2 weeks over Christmas. Maybe painting can still be done at that time.

Oh, doc!
I understand what you are talking about-----Sorry you got left holding the bag.....

While I have NEVER yet had to hire anyone to do any work for me (Thank God!) I know how these young people are.
Not all- mind you--but I see it at my HD. They have NO idea how to "look and see" what needs to be done. They are "blind"! They would rather while away in the break room or yakking with other associates than walk around and see all those small chores screaming to be attended to. .

For some odd reason--both of us Phone Operators have been assigned all Summer to go to outside garden and water all the trees and shrubs at least 3x a week.

I go out there---and see these two young garden associates hanging around with the cashier. I asked them once--"Hey! WHY do i have to leave MY job to come out here and water and you two are standing around lolly-gagging. How about if you watered those trees and shrubs so I can get back to work?"
And they both looked me like I was crazy and shook their heads "NO!"....Of course--the garden Supervisor is not too proactive in this case either....
I get my shoes and socks all soaked (because most of the hoses leak) and have to sit another 4 hrs. with wet feet. I had started bringing a change of footwear and extra socks. I have stopped watering to change washers in the watering wands and to fix leaks in the hose carts just so I can do what I need to do w/o getting soaked.
Now--I LOVE being in garden--talking garden to people--but I do not dress for it....I just feel it is not fair!

I once asked my Store manager WHY we have to do this and not the people in Garden--and he said they are needed for customer service.....Like--They don't know the meaning of the word!
Need I tell you how many times I turn off my hose and help customers? Because I ask them--"Can I help you with anything?" I walk them to the product--educate them in gardening--tell them how to plant trees and Mums....share my long-aquired of knowledge that is not written in any books, etc....

Point here being--that one CAN water and still give Customer Service......
Other point being that--some people just choose not to "own" their jobs and responsibilities. All they want to do is collect their paycheck.

Thanks for listening......Gita

Don't even get me started...... I was a senior manager for one of the largest retailers for 17 years. I swore I will never work retail again after working in my last store.

doc, sorry to hear about your workers "evaporating"! Definitely tough to find reliable, hard workers these days. I'd love to be able to find an extra pair of hands to help out but it became so frustrating I gave up long ago :(

Gita, I hope your HD knows how lucky they are to have you :)

Well, I am having a tough time trying to get some leaves up so I can plant bulbs. I ended up blowing a lot of them onto the grass so I could find the ground in my roadside bed. They are still too wet to vacumn/shread. Most of the leaves are from the Oaks across the street. The majority of my Maple leaves are still green and haven't fallen yet.

I got a good amount of Daff's and tulips planted out front where there are few leaves. Yesterday I planted daffs along the outside of my roadside bed and a small amount of tulips inside of the bed. Tons more bulbs to go. I am taking Sally's suggestion, at least with the tulips and planting 2 Muscari bulbs in with every bunch of tulips. If I had enough muscari, I would do it with the daff's too. Maybe I'll have to order some more muscari.

Today was like Summer re-visited! What a GLORIOUS day!!!!!..Mid 70's here!

So glorious--that i spent 5hrs. out in my Garden pulling up all the annuals I still needed to pull up and cut back.
Pulled up all my Tomatoes----Cut back all my Mums---Cut back all the Northern Sea oats...(they're gone anyways!)....
Even brought out my snow shovels and put them by the front door. The "Old Farmers Almanac" says we will have snow for Thanksgiving.....They are seldom wrong! Just wanted to be ready!!!! ARE YOU?????

I still need to mow my lawn--maybe tomorrow afternoon?????

Slowly, but surely, I am getting there......It is always a step-by-step process.....Mother Nature gifting us a day like today to plug away and get things done is wonderful. I did--for 5 hrs! Now I am exhausted!
Even filled up and hung up my 2 bird-feeders. They need food by now----as most worms and bugs have gone to their "Winter Quarters".....I have also noticed that there is now a Squirrel nest in my Silver Maple.
They finally succeeded in building one!!!!! Been trying for a few years---

And then--that freezing cold day WILL arrive and i will know that everything it DONE--and I can relax and turn my "must-do's" to something inside the house. Like--need to chop piles of Celery and Onion for stuffing i am bringing to 2 different Thanks-Giving dinners....
I LOVE chopping/slicing/dicing stuff--as I watch TV. One justifies the other! Teee...heee....My fave thing to do!

NOT having to plant anything new-----You all know i don't have any room for anything "NEW"!

Wish I did--but reality is Reality!

Hope you all get all the gardening chores accomplished......Just DO IT!

Gita

I'm just stressed from reading all these posts about all the work all ya'll have to do or have done! Ha!
I'm stressed about the calla lillies and the glads. I was told, living in VA, I could leave them in the ground and they would be fine. True or not? I can mulch the bejeebers out of them. But, if I need to dig them up, I want to do that. But, I'd prefer to leave them alone if possible. My zone is 7B. So, is it safe to leave them in the ground?
Also, I just planted the calla lillies this summer. I got lush, tall green leaves and hardly any flowers, what a big disappointment. Any idea for the reason I didn't get blooms?

Gita, I never get to that day when It's all done! I'm out there in January clearing debris and splitting logs!!!!

jfleming, It depends on which varieities of Callas you have. Did you keep the names somewhere? Do you still have the receipt? There are blooms in your photo?? Those rock walls of yours really make your plantings look great. Callas will often skip a season of bloom right after first planting.

My dad has great callas here. They stay out all winter, all over the place, so even some of that may be a 'cold' zone 7 (z 6) I have a few but have been moving them around and not getting great bloom yet either . I'd say see what you get next year but also some good fertilizer in spring may help.
I am just not getting all the garden time I would like lately. Helping Mom...

Very nice and well balanced stonework with the window boxes and house. I never had that variety of Callas. In general they do not ask for rich soil or much if any fertilizer. These do not appear to be over fertilized. The plants look good. To much rich soil and fertilizer will grow more leaves than flowers.

Stormyla,
Oh, I have receipts, I have files but I don't have time! I did get a few blooms but most of the summer it was a lush wall of green, and that's about it.

Sallyg, I'm going to keep them in the ground, see what happens this winter. I'll just top them with lots of mulch. Same for the glads.

Docpipe, I do think the soil was too rich so it produced mostly leaves. They looked great but I want flowers. I had a combination of good screened topsoil and compost mixture dumped into the beds and I think it was just too rich, at the time. I know the worms love this soil. They are everywhere. So, next summer the soil might be better balanced.

jfleming--

Your callas look like the ones i saw in my Sister IL's garden in Seattle. BOY! Do they grow well there! And come back every year.
I have never tried them. just don't think they would live through the Winter....

Stormy--I STRIVE to put my garden to sleep for the Winter in as clean a condition as I can. less work in the Spring--when there is so much to do anyways....

My lot is but a fraction of the size of yours--so, maybe, it is more doable here. Besides--everything I have is in beds along the walls of something or other.....

Here's an example. This is my long side bed where there are NO tree roots--well, maybe just a few.....This faces West and gets good light--until the sun dips....behind my neighbor's house.

Hetre's a good view of my dreaded "YUK" bed....These are NOT from this year.....

See how close that Silver maple is?

OK! Back to stressing.....

I am stressing out as I only gave less than a week of days off to clean my whole house.
I cannot describe to you the dust and the webs everywhere! I am NOT kidding! I don't remember when I really vacuumed it----I think end of May????

edited==cause part of my post was not there when I sent it...Hmmmmm????

This was our 16lb. Turkey from last year. My Son-In-Law loves doing turkey on the grill using indirect heat.
Believe it or not--it was totally done and juicy and SO good in about 4 hours!

Then you let it "rest"--and when you cut into it 20 minutes later--the steam just comes out. Still so hot!

Delish!

This message was edited Nov 10, 2009 8:41 PM

Gitagal, you need to get over into the Dirty Little Secrets thread, with pics! They love dust and webs!

Gita, I'm sure it is because my lot is bigger and I have a lot more bed space than you. There are also a lot more trees here too. But I'm still building my beds as yours are fully mature, so there is a lot more work involved. Not to mention the constant amending of the soil, which I won't even start until all of the bulbs are planted. Then the caging of all of the young shrubs, hydrangeas and the wrapping of the evergreens. I still have a lot of pruning to do too.

Well, I'm still juggling leaf pick up, so that I can plant bulbs. Only problem is the trees are still half full. Did manage to get a few more plants inside today. Those are the last. Now I'm putting my mini Hosta collection in my big cement dish planters. Still have some more plants to sink into large planters to overwinter. Also still have some stray plants that need to go into the beds. I'll proably still be planting bulbs for another 2 weeks. Then I'll start on the soil amendments. Hopefully all of the leaves will be down by then.

Gita, Now would you say that this Clivia is Pot Bound????? It's a large one, but only 2 plants in the pot. Look at the price!!!

Good grief, Stormy!!!! That looks VERY old! Did you ask how old?
I bet it is still blooming and growing, though.

Where was this photo taken? That price is steep! And it is the Orange one.....the Yellow ones cost a lot more.
I have read that you could sell ONE seed for over $5. Mine have never made seeds....

Here's a close-up of the surface of the pot last year on mine. You can see some of the roots arching up.

Reminds me of a tree Philodendron. Their roots will come up and go all over.....

Gita, At a local nursery. The owner told me he grew it from seed in 1964!!! And here is my Christmas present, a golden one.

Oh Boy! I can make out the price on that one! WOW!

Did you see my divisions of my Clivia? I posted all the pics this Summer as I was dividing it.

My plan is to let them "settle in", root in and grow as new, individual plants. IF any of them, actually, bloom next year--I was going to sell them.
IF they do not bloom--I will give them another year and then sell them.

I was thinking in the range of $20-$35 depending on the size pot.
How much were younger plants going for in the Nursery you were in?

here's the divided plants once again. They are showing a lot of stem b/c I had to pull off all the yellowing leaves. Most of them are already growing new leaves out of the centers. They each had plenty of roots after dividing to not suffer too much.

I read, and coppied out, some advice that Clivias should not be watered between November and end of February.
This advice was in the multi-comments section below the info. on the Clivia in PF.

What do you plan to do with yours?

Gita

Gita, I treat them the same as any other plants and they bloom just fine. Repotting can set them back though. When I split this one off of the one in my office, it skipped a year of blooming. The one in the office has 5 in the pot still and it never missed a year. I water them once a week all year. This one goes outside under a tree in the summer.

This Greenhouse did not have any young ones. All of them were over 15 years old. They have a hugh bed of them at the base of a big indoor mountain jungle. When the bed gets too crowded, they dig some up and put them up for sale. I've had the one in the ofice for 20 years. It was another gift from DSO, yes, the same DSO. LOL

Gita, Here ya go!

http://www.shieldsgardens.com/Clivia/PriceList.html

stormy---Yours looks so compact and healthy!

The leaves on mine were really long. I inherited this plant from a friend 2 years ago. It was in full bloom when I got it--and it bloomed for me both Summers since. BUT--This Summer--the blooms were much smaller. I think that is what prompted me to go ahead and divide it. I think it needed it!

The plant I got was almost 35 years old and had never been divided or Fertilized.

What DO you fertilize these with?

Re the watering--please go to PF and look up Clivia and read all the comments that follow. There are many--but so informative. It was in one of those comments that said not to water it in the Winter months.

As it is--my potted divisions are spending the winter down in my shop under a 4' shop light. I turn it off at night and on in the daytime. It is cool there too. Following the advice I read about........

...excuse the junk--it IS a Shop and a catch-all!

They do need a period of cool nights about 25 to 35 days worth. They are one of the last plants that I bring inside. I got the best bloom ever, the year that I left it outside and it froze. Mine have never rotted or failed to bloom. So, I don't see any reason to change what I'm doing. I don't feed them. I just change the top 2 inches of soil every year. My soil has a lot of foodstuffs mixed into it. I use the same soil that I mix up for outside.

Well---OK! I will water them now and then, but they all have to stay down there where they are.
I have absolutely NO space anywhere upstairs! Nada! Nor light!

Seems they are a tough plant. I have faith that they will survive.

Re feeding---so you don't think they need anything?
I believe I mixed in some "Dynamite" granules in the soil; I potted them in. That should be good enough for a while.
Just wanted them to start rooting in asap......

You are such a help, my Friend, and you ALWAYS find all these great links!
I thank you for that.......

Gita

Why Gita, You are very helpful too. I just don't believe much in commercial fertilizers. There is all kinds of good stuff in my soil mix and they get kelp and fish fert when I refresh the dirt which contains lot's of composted goodies.

Gita, Look at this Variegated Clivia.

WOW! Was the variegation a "sport" or is that normal?

What i like most is the shortness of the leaves on your plants. The plant I inherited--the leaves were SOOOO long!
I can only imagine it was due to the neglect and the root-bound conditions it has lived in for the 30+ years.

I am hoping that mine, once they recover from the splitting-up and transplanting trauma, will look a lot healthier. I would LOVE to see those short, compact leaves like you have!

G.

Gita, No that is a true variegated Clivia. My orange clivia has short leaves, but my gold one has very long thin leaves. Different varieties have different length & width leaves.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=clivia&Search=Search+PlantFiles