October 2010

Nice Day...

I was so busy to clean up the fall time....

Garlic Mustard

34 this weekend up north!

Well poo! That must be Sunday, I saw they say it's supposed to be low already.
Unfortunately, I think they settled on the thirties. I can't find my trusty Fiskars©
plant scissors. I may have to settle on regular scissors to cut the Elephant Ears and them,
for the Winter inside.
Are you going to be able to make it here happ? I've already told some plants you're coming to get them! : )
Will
Pretty Garlic Mustard, Rusty. Its too bad it's a nasty!

This message was edited Oct 1, 2010 1:18 PM

The weather around here where I live now and it felt so good to come for winter sooner... Summer is over now....

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. Light and variable wind.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Wind chill values as low as 49 early. Light wind becoming north between 11 and 14 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Northeast wind between 3 and 8 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 63. Wind chill values as low as 42 early. East wind between 3 and 8 mph.

Sunday Night: Patchy frost after 3am. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 38. East wind between 3 and 5 mph.

I heard frost for up north also!! I still have my alliums to plant, tulips to finish digging and moving, and a few others that can't wait til frost. lol. My ee's can be dug up after frost but I think my glads need to come up while I know where they are. lol. Plus I have 2 mums and 2 asters to plant.

If I keep reciting all that I WILL get them done in time!!! LOL!!

Will, I hope so, but things are crazy as usual. I was a wild woman yesterday bringing in everything. I have collected way too many tropicals. Had company stop by on top of trying to get everything done, ughhhhh! I can't even move in the garden room, everything just got thrown in there, even talked DH into letting me put some huge pots in his garage for a couple of days. I really don't know where I am going to put this stuff, I am going to have to start chopping and taken starts I guess. I didn't see any frost this morning but it is so darn cold! Wind blowing.....brrrrrrrh

Yay! I got some planting done today. Still have more planting and lots of cleaning up to do, but it's suppose to be nice this week - low to mid 70's. I have something going on every day this week, plus my back has been bad again, so we'll see how much I actually get done. :-)

It's supposed to get down to 35 here tonight. Frost advisory, too, so I brought some of my plants in. We'll see what happens...many times I don't get frost when others around here do. I think I'm in a microclimate.

Nice to hear from you, Rusty. Seems like it's been a while. Pretty garlic mustard.

Hope you find your Fiskars, Will.

Here's a close-up of my American Beautyberry. The picture of the whole shrub didn't turn out so great. :-P

Luckily I don't have too many plants to bring in that I need to keep in sun. Just 4 or 5 hibs, desert rose, dracenca spike and boston fern. Downstairs to hibernate will be rain lily, ee's, glads. So not too bad but still a bit crowded. Need to find stuff to put under them to hold water too. lol

Speaking of starts, I have 2 Red Shield Hibiscus bushes that need a severe trim before I bring them in. If any of you want cuttings let me know. Leaves are burgandy and blooms are supposed to be burgandy. Mine didn't bloom due to getting them into ground late.

No prob, happ, I understand. I too have been hauling plants in. As usual the dilemma is finding places to put them! When you get the time, there's no hurry.

Hi Pepper,
Do you have to have them in water over the Winter? I had planned on not doing anything for my Ee's and Caladiums. The Ee's I got from Allan at the Fall RU in 08' have came back every year bigger, with nothing in the Winter. I'm suspecting some plants like that are like a bulb in a bag, like in stores in the Spring, they wake up when they are planted and watered after their bought. Thats just my theory..lol! I want them all to come back, I don't really want to buy more next year. That is a pretty 'Red Shield' Hibiscus. It IS an eye-catcher. Sure, but how would I get it? I'd love to have a start. Maybe you could start one in a pot and I'll get it at a RoundUp sometime. I'll make you one of my evergreen Hen's and Chicks, or maybe a Grass! That hib. would go good by the rain-garden/water-garden I plan.

Yeow Rusty, thats cold, (about the same forecast as here), and you're 2 or 300 miles South of here!

Thanks Ima, I found my Fiskars scissors. It was a coincidence how I found them.
I was outside 2 days ago using regular scissors to cut the leaves of plants. Well, the cheap scissors broke, (I hadn't yet found the Fiskars). Well, these cheap regular scissor's
handle broke when I was trying to cut the Miscanthus Sinensis 'Giganteus'. I was staggering around aimlessly with my broken scissors wondering "what am I going to do now!?" Just by chance, I looked in a shed and I had placed the Fiskars there a couple months ago! Boy, was I ever glad to see them! They cut thru all the rest of the plants like butter. They were worth every bit of the $9 I paid for them! Here it is, in all it's glory!
Nice photo of the Beautyberry Ima, very purple, hope you're back gets to feeling better.

Here is my Peach tree, it's called 'Red Haven' Semi-Dwarf Peach! It has a 1 year warranty so I'm saving the receipt! I hope it doesn't die. It isn't as hardy as I hoped, only 0 to -10°F. But, I'll get it in the ground as soon as I can, maybe it'll get established a little before Winter and have a sporting chance. I think there's a micro-climate here too!
The backyard here faces the North, but on the North there's this huge hill, the North horizon can't even be seen from the backyard. I think, just maybe, it's zone 6 here. It still gets cold and snows and everything. Actually, when the zip-code here is put in DG's zone finder thing, it says zone 6 too. This area must be part of the metro's "heat island" effect. Although, this city, (Sugar Creek), borders KC on the East, it's a small city, (I think the population is just 4 thousand).

Rusty where are you gonna move to?

Pepper, I had that hibiscus and it had beautiful blooms. I just couldn't winter over any more that year and I let it go. But if you have space it was beautiful in bloom with those dark leaves. When I bought mine I didn't know it was out of my zone....so sad. Pepper someone gave me a really thorny thing and call it a desert rose. Is yours like that? Is it really pretty, I really don't like the body of it and was tempted to find someone to take it unless I figure out it is a beauty I can't give away.

5A my zone, which means cold and miserable, early frost and last frost...rolf.

Short, my caladiums I just leave them in their pot and let them dry out, and start watering the next spring. EE's I haven't had the heart to let them dry up. I will try to get the rose up and out this week, will see how I do. Dark earlier now so unless I can get home earlier it will be a test, but I can always give it to you in the spring, but I am really shooting for this fall.

ImaMes, that American Beauty is something I have wanted in a long time. Maybe next spring I will put it on my list of wants. Love the color of those seeds!

I don't know the total # of pots I have hauled, but I have 5 huge ones left in the garage....not good. I have ran out of space. Now to trim and eleminate, which is a killer for me.

There is a Houseplant / Tropical swap going on if anyone is interested.

My desert rose doesn't have thorns on it at all. The blooms are trumpet shaped and really pretty. I'm not a huge fan of them but they are easy maintence so that makes up for it.

Will, I can mail you cuttings. Stick it in water and a sunny window and it will sprout new roots. I have had a cutting from a different hib in water for over a year. lol.

I might leave pink china and allan's ee's in the ground over winter but the rest will have to come in. I don't have them in protected spots so they have only a slim chance of survival.

I have to decide what state I gonna move to....



This message was edited Oct 5, 2010 7:25 AM

Thank you for the new thread Rusty, I miss your postings and we miss you on Weather.

How can such a pretty plant be such a pest. It's one thing I don't have. Instead, I have the wild garlic that is going to have to be dug deep and all the dirt thrown away. I've done this once already!!! Grrrr!

I've read all, but too much to comment on.

Will, smiling over the Fiskars!

ImaMes, my neighbor has managed to have a Beauty Berry survive one winter so far. They are as gorgeous as your picture.!

It's been nonstop busy here and I need to get off and start the day. It's already 8:00 am and I'm not even dressed.

Here is Saturday and Sunday busy. That doesn't count the three day prep time DH had to do before we could put it down.

''Winter Oak'' laminate flooring. I love it!

Beautiful room Billy, what a pretty floor.

So glad it is warming back up, I refuse to turn on the heat already! The leaves are still on the trees so the solar room isn't heating up the house like it should, which if it hits 80 out doors will be a good thing.

Rusty wow what a life decision, but sounds fun and exciting. I use to move all over the country and I loved it. Loved how different the regions were, but since the invention of wally world and the such I think we are losing some of that.

Starting to sort thru the plants I crammed in the garden room. I am going to take some cuttings and try to find homes for the mama plant. I just have way too much stuff, I can't move in the room. Already claustrophobic and winter hasn't set in.

Pepper - That hibiscus has great color. I'll bet it's beautiful in bloom!

Rusty - Thinking of you... lots of decisions to make, but an exciting time, too.

Will - Thanks, I love the fuchsia color of the berries! Glad you found your scissors. Sounds like you need a tool caddy. If I didn't have one, I'd be losing (ok, misplacing) my tools all the time! haha I found a big one at a thrift shop that holds all my gardening tools. One of my friends uses a five-gallon bucket as her tool caddy. Do you cut your grasses in the Fall? I usually leave mine until Spring.
Good idea saving the receipt and tag for your peach tree. Sometimes the *big box* stores sell plants that are not quite rated for the zones they're in.

Happ - I got my Beautyberry at the MO Wildflower Nursery. It's a native and it's hardy. It's a bit late starting in the spring, but it's a nice green shrub all summer... and you just can't beat those berries in the fall!
Good luck on the *eliminating* part. LOL That's always the tough part for me, too. This year I'm trying to be sensible (keeping the plants I don't want to have to buy again), but somewhat ruthless (I don't have room for too many).

Billy - Beautiful floor! Nice job! Here's a picture of the mum I told you about. Just got it this year. It's 'Dazzling Stacy Orange'. It just glows in the sunlight - looks like flames!

That zone 9 California isn't calling is it, Rusty?! You are a good Missourian!

Whenever you get time happ, is fine. A houseplant and tropical swap?! Thanks happ, but I better pass, this isn't my house and I am out of places for tropicals in the Winter for the most part! lol Isn't that Beautyberry nice, I have to get me one too.

Sounds great Pepper, I'll dmail you my addy. I see its only hardy to zone 8, so I'll keep it in a big pot and bring it in, in the Winter.

I tell you, those Fiskars can be elusive! Yes, nice "Winter Oak" floor, billyp. I could eat off that floor! lol

I don't really know when is the best time to cut the grasses, Ima. I did notice, when one of the tall shoots flopped over and broke (in the wind), it encouraged more sprouts, which seems like a good trait for a young, sparse plant. I thot it might be good to cut them now while they can sprout a little before the cold hits.

Does anybody know what this is in the photo? My friend here's Sister bought it for her Sister this Summer. She likes to tear tags and labels off plants. So, now she's gone back to Virginia, and we don't know what it is. I think I might need to bring it in, it's just a little too colorful and pretty, to be hardy here..lol Thanks in advance if theres any takers.

Good idea Ima, I have a plastic tool-box I can use for those scissors and some other garden tools. Wow, that is a colorful Mum Ima. A Mum like that would prolly be selling for $20 at a store. And half or so of the buds haven't even opened up yet. A friend of mine, in Odessa, MO., bought a house last Sept. that had Mums planted out by the sidewalk. It was very colorful, but kinda obvious they wanted people to look at the house for sell, which my friend did..lol I asked him if he's got Mums out there again and he says heck no! Oh, I can attest to the box stores selling stuff way out of zone. One year, I bot from them Norfolk Island Pines, Italian Stone Pines and Lawsons Cypress all dolled up as "Living Christmas Trees". I thought I was rescuing them, but they all died and I took them back promptly the next year for a refund! I remember one year I got over $50 back from dead stuff!
Will




This message was edited Oct 5, 2010 7:45 PM

They called me the king of the "Living Christmas Tree"! lol Then, I actually thought I could have nice trees for fairly cheap..lol

Ironically, that did work out with one "Living Christmas Tree". It was a Dwarf Alberta Spruce. It was the only one that was really hardy here, and now 6 years later, it is becoming a biggun! Thats possibly it in the middle of the above photo nearly 6 years ago.

Will, that plant looks like a begonia. Not the hardy one either. lol

Thanks Pepper, I was afraid of that! lol At least it's small.
Recognize the 'Chocolate Chip' Ajuga in the other big planter there? It's hard to see, but it's down there with a label in it. Maybe it was you that suggested Ajuga for a good groundcover, it looks good and done well so far. It's in the big planter with one of those fancy dissected Japanese Maples. That's something else that I don't know what kind of Japanese Maple because somebody threw away the label..lol
Will

Would anyone know if generally Hostas will be ok outside in a pot? I have several 'Blue Angel's and 'Sum and Substance's and a few others in pots. They say hardy to zone 3 and 4 or so, in the ground though I'm sure. I was hoping not to find a place for them inside, but I will if I have to.
In the photo is some of the Hostas, don't mind the wood pot with the Mimosa and Redbud volunteers in them, I'll deal with those thugs later! lol Does anybody want them?!
Thanks, Will

This message was edited Oct 5, 2010 9:23 PM

Will - That is a Strawberry Begonia. It's a houseplant, but I put mine outside in the summer (in a shady spot). A lady I knew had one hanging in her kitchen window. It was huge. She would propagate it and give it away to friends at church. She always had several little pots of it on a shelf in her laundry room ready to give away.
Haha - looks like you have a Christmas tree for every room in the house!
That mum was only $4.99 at one of the local grocery stores here. I've seen mums that size for $8or $10!

Thanks Ima, I'll bring it in soon. That Sister had it sitting in a birdbath in the front yard.
I'll propagate it and make more, thanks for the idea! : )
Haha.. a Christmas tree for every room of the house eh?! I think they were brown by Christmas..lol Thats a nice Mum, I wish they had stores around here that sold those for that price! Hows this for some color to spruce up a house for sell?! This was a few days after they bought and moved into that house in Odessa, I think they're Mums.

43° with a high of 78° Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Time Until Sunrise: 1 hrs 49 min

Happ, thanks! We broke down and ran the heat. It's warming up again, but I don't know for how long. It's going to get hot today! ROTFL, altho I shouldn't, over the claustrophobic room. It's hard to get rid of a perfectly good plant!

I forgot to mention that the spiders flew the other day. There weren't a lot of long strands this year. I did get a picture of some of the cottony webbing. As the sun sets, the ground is literally covered with long long strands.

Another nice day here. It's full speed ahead on the flower beds. Do you know how many dandelions have sneaked in? Good news is, Preen really took care of the chickweed everywhere I put it down last year. I've found very little and have been pulling that!

ImaMes, thanks! Wow, I love that color! It's absolutely gorgeous!! It beats any redmum , and my neighbor has a nice new different red one :o) I might have to invest in one or two Stacys next year.

Will thanks. Well, you know the 10 second rule does allow you to eat something you dropped on the floor :o)

I have one grass plant that just grew into a mess. (Purple Top) and I'm going to cut it back. I'm leaving Big Bluestem and Miscanthus "Little Nicky" for spring.

The plant looks like a strawberry begonia. A house plant!

Yeah, you really have to research before you buy, but at least you got your money back. DD has the dwarf Alberta. It does real well and never needs pruning. It's even survived chickens scratching around it.

I would think you could bury the hosta in the pot till you found a place for them.

They could possibly be marigolds, but they made a nice accent for the color of the house. I would have planted them again. They look nice!

Spider fluff

Short, on the hosta forum everyone there zones colder than us leave the hostas in the pots. I was surprised to say the least, but they swear they have done it for years with no problems. I thought about trying it because before long the maple tree is going to suck the life out of everything below it and if I could leave hostas in pots that might be an way of still keeping the hostas. Course I have learned even with the pots under the tree you have to keep the tree roots out....talk about millions of little feeder roots!

I'm gonna let that Begonia get big, and be a nice houseplant. I need to find a sunny window in here to put it in tho. I'd like to hang it in the kitchen window here, but that window gets no sun.

I looked up 'Purple Top', it sounds like a neat grass. Does yours come back bigger every year after bringing it in billyp? A big, pretty grass would make it worthwhile to lug it in and out if it stays nice.

Yeah, on second look they might be some big Marigolds.
Heres a closer photo that I took that day, it might make them more recognizable.

Thanks happ, I think I'll leave my Hostas out for the Winter too. They're fairly cheap, I can get more if I need to next year.
I can relate about around a tree trunk. Theres about an inch of usable soil there. I don't know how anything can grow there. Maples would be the worst tho, here its Pin Oak trees and its bad, but not yet that bad.

I think I'll bury the pots..lol I know you said that billyp! Just having fun! Good idea tho, I have dug quite a hole for the raingarden that didn't get done. I think many potted plants are going down in it for the Winter and gonna be covered up with hay or straw, (whichever one doesn't have seeds).

Only a ten second rule? I thought it was a 1 minute rule!


This message was edited Oct 6, 2010 10:38 PM

I squinted and strained billyp but I couldn't see those spider webs!
Speaking of spiders!
The other aide here gave me a cutting of her spiderplant, at least thats what I think it is, a variegated spiderplant. I hope I'm right, it just looks like a spiderplant.
I had one before that I got from leaflady in 07' I think. And they are hardy at least the all green one was. I left it outside in a pot and it came back.

Just like this one cat here, I call her grubworm, because she looks like a grubworm.
With a white body and a dark face, she just looks like a grubworm, not a Marina!
And I call another one a slug because thats what she looks like!
My friend won't let me rename her cats tho, she says I'm a grubworm!

Will - Strawberry begonias need bright indoor light but not a sunny window. They can burn up.
Those do look like marigolds.
Wow! Ten Seconds? One minute? I thought it was a three-second rule! To think of all the food I've thrown out...LOL!!

Happ - I didn't know you could leave hostas out in pots over winter. That's interesting. Big pots, I suppose? Did they say they wrap them or cover them or anything?
Maple trees are such beautiful trees. Too bad their roots are such a pain. I didn't realize the feeder roots would grow into a pot. Good grief! Kinda reminds me of one of those old horror movies where something grows and grows and takes over everything around it. LOL Have you tried pachysandra under your maple?

Billy - Was that grass a purple millet? They seem to look messy by the end of the season.
I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for in the pic. Not sure what spider fluff is. I see some little white dots - is that it?

Looks like marigolds to me. Mum blooms don't get that big. Biggest mum bloom I've seen is 3" across.

The spider plant is also called airplane plant if I remember correctly. I have one here that my grandma gave me. It's the only plant that she has given us that has survived several years. LOL. The wandering jews die several times a year here. LOL

A few of my mums.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1079743/
This is the forum that they talk about keeping the hostas outside.
Someone in St. Louis says they have done it for years.

A word about hostas surviving in pots: I work seasonally in a local garden center, and when I started work at the beginning of this season (March), I was asked to throw away a bunch of 1 gallon nursery pots full of soil. I was told that somebody had wanted to overwinter the plants in them but nobody had watered them, etc. & they were dead.

Anyway, when I went to toss the soil (we recycle the pots) I realized a lot of the pots had really healthy-looking roots in them, and a few had tags identifying them too (Sum & Substance hosta among them). So I decided to save a few & see what happened. I brought home 10 or 12 of these "dead" hosta roots, planted five in my garden and stuffed the others in a 3 gallon pot.

So... do hostas survive in pots? Yes, They had been left outside all winter forgotten and un-cared for, but they ALL came back. The ones in my garden are huge and bloomed beautifully this year. Even the others grew in their overcrowded little pot until I gave them away or re-potted them. Hostas are pretty tough.

Will, I have Purple Top in the ground and it's just a year old. It definitly got larger. It's hardy for my zone. Yep, I think they are Marigolds. LOL, over the one minute rule.

The webs didn't show up. Just white fluff balls.

That looks like a spider plant to me. My cousin gave me one too and I don't know how I'm going to keep the cats out of it this winter. Grubworm :o)

ImaMes, I think as long as you blow on it, it can stay on the floor at least a minute. Bon apatite!

The Purple Top is a grass. I think they are seeding all these grasses that are magically appearing on every gravel road now. I got the PT from my daughters lane. It's beautiful in bloom and isn't supposed to be invasive.

There was a lot of cottony fluff from the spiders, so yep, that's what you see.

Pepper, yep, airplane plant. You have lovely Mums. I really like the Perovskia in the midst.

Lisabees, how lucky was that? I would have taken the pots home for the dirt alone :o)

We have nice weather till next Wednesday and I'm trying to cram a summers worth of work into a week. I'm making some progress!

Have a nice day all!

Hi lisa, great catch on your part...a bunch of new hostas....LOL I did that with dahlias one time. The root looked all shriveled up, threw it down in the compost area and then a week or so later I had a plant growing. I never throw bulbs away now....LOL

Well I am going to try to winter over one hostas above ground this winter. Simple because I have too much other things to get dug and ready for winter, even tho I believe it is 85 today! It could be snow tomorrow.

ImaMes, I heard about the bus crash that happened down there at Hwy 7 and Hwy 5 earlier. Everyone involved ok now?

Here's a closeup of the mum with the Russian Sage. I love how it looks too. :~)

Bright indoor light eh? Maybe I can get my single flourescent plant light installed above it somewhere, thanks Ima. You've thrown out a lot of food!

Yeah, they look like Marigolds to me too now. Isn't Sept.18th too early for blooming Mums, naturally anyway. I thot Mums was more like an October plant? I remember now, I've seen those extra big, pretty Marigolds for sale.

Thats all I need! lol The Hostas are staying out for the Winter!

Nice Mum arrangement Pepper.

I read that thread on Hostas you put up, thanks happ, very interesting.

We tried Pachysandra here for a groundcover and they never multiplied much at all.
For a groundcover, we've had the best luck with Creeping Jenny, plus it stays low and it's pretty.

Hi Lisa, how'd you get a seasonal job actually working with plants?!
I had a seasonal job at one a few years ago in March and all I did was water plants for hours and build displays out of cinder blocks! lol Thanks, thats very encouraging too,
I have many Hostas in pots that I'd like to live.

Yeah, keeping cats out of indoors plants is a problem here too. I found one laying in a pot with 'Hot Pink' Setcreasea trying to grow in it. I ousted the cat out of there quick and filled the pot up with all kinds of odds and ends like duct tape rolls and a microwave dish and some other stuff that was nearby. And all the cats here are getting new names
for their trouble. My friend's favorite cat is now called Stuart Little, she is Stuart for short!

Spiderplant it is, I do like a Spiderplant!

How about this warmth?! I put several potted plants back outside! 85° degrees today!
It was 90° in Topeka they said! That place I go to mow, South of Ottawa, KS. I bet is getting hot too.

Like my Sago Palm? It only had 3 fronds April 09', now it has 15!