Well I directly sowed mine outdoors about mid May and they are about 4 ft tall right now. Don't know if I will get any bloom. I think the drought affected them a lot.
Spring 2012 to Summer
Cindy, they like it moist (hope you got some rain last night-this morning). When they are happy they will let you know.
That could be the problem then Mike. I didn't water them much. It is pouring right now so they should be happy.
Mike, I think the weeds are more like the poor. There are so many more of them.
Love your castor beans. Cindy, I hope you get some bloom before the frost comes. I have a brug that I'm waiting on blooming. The buds are just starting. I hope it gets a chance to bloom before we get a frost.
Karen
Well I checked the castor beans Saturday and one is blooming. Yeah!!!!!! Probably won't get any seeds from it though.
Cindy it is still early don't give up yet.
Oh, wonderful! Woohoo!
Mike, that's a nice Persian Shield.
Karen
Thanks Karen. You sure know your plants. LOL!! I like mixing in some PS, Coleous and Caladium for long lasting colour.
Yes, the PSs are really nice with coleus, though I've never grown caladiums. This year was my first year for growing canna lilies, and now I love them! Never was interested in them before.
Karen
Never heard of that PS before, but it is a pretty color.
And Genna, what that pic of the PS doesn't show is how the leaves have a metallic or iridescent sheen to them. Really nice!
Karen
Is that a hardy plant? or do you plant it as an annual? very unusual.....
Not hardy. Has be used as an annual. Maybe perennial in very warm zones? Not sure if it is.
Karen
Whiteflower Farm said that it is hardy to zone:10.
http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/growguide-25.html
You can over winter indoors by a sunny warm window or under grow light.
Good to know, Mike. You can overwinter a lot of things.
Hey, did anyone here have problems with impatiens this year? Mine all died, and I think it was from some kind of mildew fungus. Very disappointing. I had one New Guinea impatien that did great. Wasn't affected by that fungus, even though it was right next to the other kind.
Karen
I bought them twice and lost all of them. There was an article in our newspaper that explained it. It hit greenhouse growers as well as people that started impatiens from seed. It does not bother New Guinea impatiens. The article also said that we should not plant impatiens for several years in spots where they died.
Thanks for the info. I will look that up. Would a fungicide work on it? I guess I won't be doing impatiens for a couple of years now. Will stick with the New Guinea kind for now.
Karen
Apparently fungicide will only work as a preventitive. If they plants are already infected, then they're doomed. And it could be five years before you can grow impatiens in areas where infected plants were growing. Guess we'll have to grow other things. Here's a link to an article that I liked: http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/homeowners-find-alternatives-as-fungus-wipes-out-impatiens
Karen
That was a good article explaining the midew on the impatiens.I am not sure what I will replace them with next year. Thanks
We had this to attack our reseeding impatiens, too. Too bad because we like the color in the shady areas. One positive is that they haven't come in areas where they are not wanted.
Cass, I'm not sure what you mean when you say "they haven't come in areas where they are not wanted".
I'm going to go with begonias or NG impatiens for next years. Not quite the same, but don't have a choice. The regular impatiens was a nice, cheap filler.
Karen