more plants from Teddy

They'll look like mushrooms coming up. A thickish shoot with a bulb-like top.

When you actually have a bud, it will be tightly wrapped with the color of the bloom at the point. Don't be disappointed: they close up at night because they are MORNING glories. I'm trying to remember if they last more than one day. I think not.

Morning Glories, at least at my house, are just that. Glorious in the AM but, by afternoon, they look a little ragged. Not all of them but most. I've had some, like Milky Way, last 2-3 days.

This is all very exciting. Teddy, you must be out first thing ever morning just to look! LOL

I usually get up close to 8 or 8:30 a.m. sometimes 9, and the first thing I do is go look, if that is the case Kwanjin, then they are not coming up yet. I have not had any blooms yet, and like you said I get up and out there every morning just to check. We have a lot of squirrels running around and I am always afraid they are going to eat the flowers before I get a chance to take a picture. No Rose of Sharon blooms for me this year, the plants are still too young to bloom for me, so hopefully next year. At least the Irises did not disappoint me, usually they take some time off after being transplanted to bloom, but thankfully mine did not. I just hope that I do get some Morning Glory pictures and Cosmos, they are really getting tall, I took a picture of just how tall they are, here it is.

I looked and could not see anything, does that mean they are not going to bloom this year? Or should I have a little more patience? And will they reseed themselves?

The morning glories or the naked ladies?

Have more patience. I wish they would bloom for you on demand, but that is only realistic with plastic flowers. Don't forget that most morning glories are growing long before you seeded yours. I have never known a morning glory that did not bloom, only plants where I missed the bloom.

I have always considered MGs a pain in the neck because they vine everywhere, and vines tend to choke off other stuff. I just cut some off my tomato plants. The only vines I like are clematis, and they are slow starting perennials. This is the third summer for some of them, and the first year they bloomed.

As a new gardener, next spring it might behoove you to pick up some inexpensive flats of colorufl annuals. They are small plants in small, connected pots, usually in packs of 6 or 12. The easiest are snapdragons, celosias, both the straight and twisted, and marigolds, to name a few. You put them in as small plants with lots of space in between and throughout the summer they fill in beautifully. And you don't need to have much patience!

For pretty vines, why not try sweet peas? They are available in all colors. You can start them indoors. As I recall, you just nick and soak the seeds and they grow easily. I don't know when you started planting, but you'll probably find that most of the DGers have been gardening in their heads since last November and starting stuff inside since the winter.

These tree peonies were here when we moved in. We have this beautiful display of 6-8 flower that are anywhere from 4 to 10 inches in diameter, and they last for approximately a week. Unless it rains :(

Check out some of the other forums with annuals as well as cottage gardening.

When did you move into your house?

The Naked Ladies kwanjin. We moved in about 5 years ago, we don't own we rent, so I can't just put whatever I want wherever I want. The backyard is basically sand and weeds, so we don't spend much time back there,and most of the yard is shaded by all the trees around the house, so if the plant needs a whole lot of sun, they don't get it.

Have they bloomed in past years? Did you get leaves this year? Lycoris needs full sun, 6+ hours a day.

This is what you should look for...

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/63798/

Teddy, you can do some great container gardening in large pots the size of half whiskey barrels and smaller containers as well. You can put in bulbs and let them winter outside they'll bloom for you in the spring. I especially like container gardening because you can easily move the plants around. If you're using those huge half barrels, you can make them lighter by adding a false bottom.

These Heucheras were photographed at night. They share a common container, and the Marmalade is in full bloom, while the snow angel is just starting to bloom with more significant deep blooms. They spent the horrible, horrible winter outside, but can always be kept inside. They have been moved to the shade due to the forbidding heat and sun. The best part of plants in containers is that you can take them with you if and when you move.

I will post some additional shade plants.

All of these containers are under a big shade oak tree. The foliage plants are caladiums, and that pink flower behind it is a begonia with beautiful, big blooms. I always start caladium bulbs indoors in containers and move them outside when it warms up. At the end of the season, you can cut off the dead foliage, dry off the bulbs and store them dry in a coolish (45-50 degree) area. In their dormancy they are storing up energy. They have amazing restorative powers. You need to start them in a warm place, but they don't need to go to a light area until the leaves have emerged.

And you can take them with you if you move. They also make great gifts. The bulbs are available at big box stores and wallyworld inexpensively. I always put at lest 3-4 bulbs in each container.

You might also consider some herbs. You can grow basil outdoors and bring it in when the weather gets cool. It is happy in a window and tastes great in tomato sauces. Three years ago I planted three 3.50 pots of oregano, sage and dill. Dill keeps reseeding itself and is delicious. Sage and oregano are perennials and just keep coming up every spring.

No kwanjin, I planted them last year, there was some foilage but not a lot, and I planted them in between the Irises. They get quite a lot of sun, but maybe I just am not going to have any luck with them.

I'm not sure but some plants take longer to establish than others. Don't give up yet. There could still be a chance for them.

Thanks kwanjin, sometimes I need some encouragement, I give up way to easily.

You've certainly come to the right place for that! I know of no other online community that IS a community. Everyone helps everyone else.

We had a pretty good rainstorm here this morning, maybe that will help the Naked Ladies and the Morning Glories bloom. What do you think?

Is this what I think it is? It is the only one so far that I have found. The funny part is that it is on one of the shorter plants, why is that?

Some plants put more energy into making blooms rather than more stems. Enjoy.

It is indeed, Teddy! You have a flower bud!

It is about time! I did not think I would ever see them bloom, going to be interesting around here when they really get going!

I just read that it could take up to two years for the NL to bloom for the first time, oh well, at least my Cosmos is budding and my MG will bloom. That is some consolation I guess. And of course one must not forget, my pink Geranium is blooming again, should I give it another shot of Miracle Grow? It has been more than two weeks since I first gave them a feeding. I would give my Morning Glories another shot but they say not too, could that be why my NL are not coming up? Could some of the fertilizer that I used the first time gotten on there and killed it? Help, need some info!

Fertilize very, very sparingly. Use half the strength (or less) and apply it half as frequently or less. I would not fertilize more than once a month.

Ok Cathy166, I fertilized last month, I think I will wait until further in the month to do that. I just raked up the leaves and burnt them, it is a job that I dread every year. But it makes the yard look better.

First Cosmos bloom, kinda disappointed, thought it was supposed to be bigger. Oh well, at least it is a bloom.

Yep, that is a couple of buds on MY Hibiscus plant! I am thrilled! I thought it might wait for a year before blooming, but I guess it was like the Irises and thought to surprise me. It sure did, I don't know but there might be another one starting to form but not sure.

I am very disappointed, I thought the Cosmos bloom would be bigger! Can anyone tell me why it is so small? Or am I just jumping to conclusions? The Hibiscus plant is going to have white flowers with red throats, the Hummers should love that, maybe I can get some pictures of them on the flowers. The Geraniums are blooming again too.

Don't be disappointed at the cosmos. For one thing, the bloom is in good proportion. You will probably have more blooms, they they may be larger. Cosmos are kind of independent, mind their own business, do their own thing plants. They ask little and give what they feel like. Depending on how many plants you have, you may get a variety of colors and sizes.

How nice that your HIbiscus is performing. Don't forget to take pictures. I'm assuming that these are new leaves as well.

Thanks Cathey166, yep those are new leaves so that is going to really show up good with the white flowers. I hope that that is not the only one I get on the Cosmos, especially since those ones are so tall.

MIne do that, too. The first ones are small and the ones that come later are much bigger.

The Hibiscus plant by the corner of the lattice is going to bloom, it has several buds which this picture will show you, the hummers should love these, they are white with red throats.

Can anyone tell me if this means that they are going to finally bloom soon? I was taking a walk and one of the neighbors has Morning Glories and this is what the buds looked like before they started blooming, so can anyone please,please tell me when they are going to pop, I am anxious to find out what color they are?

This is the only way I know a bud looks before it is ready to open:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucidrose/4816735619/

Exercise patience, and it will pay you back.

This is a picture of some of the Naked Lady plants around our neighborhood, of course mine aint showing at all, but I thought you would like to see some of the pretty ones we have here in Ohio. These are the neighbors across the road and there are some other ones but they are the same color. So maybe mine need some more time to get established. Hope you enjoy the pics.

As far as I can tell, the ant moat is a complete success! Now all we have to do is find another cap for the other one, our landlord stopped by and my hubby asked him if he had any spray paint lids that are double capped, he said he would check it out. I would put one on the big feeder but I am afraid it would scare them too much, we shall see.

Those are pretty. I think I need to get them again. I had them at another house and never got any new ones.

I have a question, my Morning Glories were doing just vining up the lattice, now some of them are poking out from the lattice instead of going up, does that mean what I think it does, they are sure poking out several places, I walked around the park the other day and saw someone else's and the places where the blooms were coming out are on my vines now. It looks like a crown and there are several on my lattice, so I think I am going to have a show pretty soon. The blooms come out of the crowns, but no more buds on my Cosmos plants, they are leaning away from the lattice and the first one is really getting tall, I had to anchor it to the lattice so it would not fall over.

Mine do that when they're going to flower. Can we see a pic?

My Morning Glories are getting ready to bloom. Of course you will probably be the second to see it, everybody here thinks I am crazy for being so concerned about my flowers, my hubby says plant it if it lives it lives if it dies it dies. One of my neighbors says I have lost it, so I guess I will just let you'all know what is going on in the flower world. I went over and took pictures of my neighbors Morning Glories, and his is a deep blue, they are really pretty. They are still staying open longer because it is so cloudy and overcast. It will be interesting to see what color mine will be, should know in a couple of days hopefully.

Definitely appear to be flowers. Do you know what you have or are we all going to be surprised?

Gardeners are a breed apart. The bug can bite you at any time of life. Other will just have to deal with us. LOL

The only thing I know is I planted a mixture of Heavenly Blue and red ones, I think they were called Cardinal Climber red, I don't remember and I can't find the package, but I am going to have several thats for sure. Who knows we might have blue and red ones, there will be plenty of pictures thats for sure. I just mixed the seeds up and planted them, I was going to plant them by color, blue and then red, but then I thought it might look more interesting the way I did. Do you know how much longer?