Yardening June 2014

AMEN Gita, you are so right!!! Lying about in bed being all mopey is just NOT the way to go!! The body heals MUCH faster if you get up and about and use it! I'll never forget my first craneotomy; in the hospital for 2 days, then 1 day after being home I was up and about doing all my "normal" stuff.. other than going back to work and driving. (wasn't allowed to drive; they'd cut the muscles and tendons in that side of my head/neck to get 'em out of the way to get in there so I couldn't turn my head just yet). GET MOVING, it improves the circulation which is so important to healing! =) And, in Cat's situation, as long as it's done intelligently without the bending/lifting, it's WAY better than just lying around moaning. ;) (how BORING, huh?) heehee

Ssg, yes, those are the benches that DH built for me for Mother's Day a few years back. There's one on each side, and between them are the "corner trellis planters". I do LOVE those benches! :)

Oh G, YAAYY, so that's what that is!!! I'm SOOOO glad I've left it in there then!!!!!!! NOW I remember you sharing those with me, but I'd had so darned many seeds that I'd sown (gifts from you lovely people), that I'd forgotten what they were! I do still have the packets ... somewhere... I think. ;) Now... a trellis for the Morning Glory...

Oh goodie Paul... will pop you off a d-mail about those seeds. =)

Guys can you help me out please? Somewhere someone posted information about this great nursery that sells awesome shrubs and I can't find it. Does anyone know the post I'm talking about? Thanks

Yehudith

Speedie, what is this about craneotomies?? That sounds serious!

Gita, your resilience is an inspiration to us all! :-)

Yehudith, I've enjoyed Seasons up in Gaithersburg for shrubs. I've gotten some nice things from them.

may be RareFind nursery down my way. they have awesome rhododendrons especially

edited to add
and azaleas!

This message was edited Jun 9, 2014 7:28 AM

Thanks guys, it was Greer's. Now I can get my calicarpa.

I picked up three sambuca on friday from Good Earth nursery over in Potomac. I was on the way home from seeing a patient and just had to stop. I got the black lace. They're kinda small but they grow fast. They're going in a mixed border/hedge along the perimeter of the yard. I plan to plant a bunch of flowering shrubs and peonies with some lilies and clemetis and other goodies in it. I'd love to add a weeping mulberry but they are so invasive in this area because of the birds so that's out. If I can I'll squeeze in a buckeye. A neighbor in St. Louis had one and I adored it. So very very many choices! We're just going to have to move out to a couple acres so I can squeeze in everything.

Speedie----

Soooo--You had a Brain Transplant????

That explains a lot...............G............:o)

Yehudith, I've been thinking about getting a sambuca Black Lace. Happy gave me some cuttings last year and I (amazingly!) managed to keep one of them alive over winter.

But I don't think I did a very good job of transplanting it to the garden it because it stopped growing at 3 inches tall. I love the black foliage!

SS, I bought a tiny Sambuca Black Lace a few years ago. It didn't really start growing until the third year!!

RR, that's interesting! I thought they were fast growers.

I don't think I want to wait 3 years until my sambuca gets taller than 3 inches! LOL

Ric thought he would take a few cuttings for the Fall Swap. He tackled the monster plant the other day now all the ponds are up clean and running. Birds are pretty happy to have their working bird bath back.

LOOK at those roots!!!!!!!!

WOW look at those roots!

LOL Jan, we had the exact same thought!

Yes, it is huge!

Happy birds. :-)

It's the only filter in the pond, nature's own biofilter.LOL Look forward to Sept.13th for the fall swap.

I may need a Sawzall to divide my Pregnant Onion. It has been 3 or 4 years...
These make a mass of roots like you can't imagine... I'll get my sharpest knife...

Yesterday--I decided to tackle my raised bed --the only bed I have left to put anything in.
Decided to dig it up first--pull out some of the maple roots--the soil was SOOOO
dry throughout! Needed something organic in it...

I pulled out one of the big bags of last year's shredded leaves and sprinkled them
over the bed. Dug it in pretty good and watered the whole bed in.

Now to be "visionary" enough to plant some of my remaining plants, that have been
sitting around, There is a lot of room....

I am growing 3 different vives against the back wall--Blushing Suzy, Cardinal Climber,
and a morning Glory that sprouted on it's own. Don't know which.

This bed already has Cannas planted all along near the back and lots of parsley plants
on the left end. There is also a Baptisa which has yet to bloom. This is year #4.
Hope it does soon--I thought it said it would bloom after 3 years.

Anyway--after the bed was all dug up and amended---I kind of ran out of steam.
I had a fleeting thought that, maybe, I could plant the Amaryllis in there for the season--
but the idea of digging them all up in the fall was not so appealing. I have 7 pots!

Do any of you do this? I know Jill does...How big a deal is it digging them all up???

Have to plant this bed up soon...as the plants have all been more than patient--- waiting..

--Here's the whole raised bed--all dug up. It is 16' long.
--A closer look at the soil...these leaves should help a lot. You may remember
when I had this bed built--the soil that was put in it was pretty crappy. NOT humusy at all.

That soil looks so healthy now, Gita.

I didn't know baptisias took awhile to bloom. That explains why mine didn't bloom this year!

You can see the Baptista on the left side of the bed--the lighter green leaves
sticking up with the green fencing around it.

I am not surprised that it does not do well--as the soil in this bed is not the greatest..
Also--there is not enough sun--
The two shoots you see coming up in pic. #2 are my Cannas starting to grow.


OK! I have another question---kind of "after the fact"---the deed is done..

Do you cut off the big seed-heads from your out-of-bloom Alliums?

I did yesterday--kind of thought any seed production would take away
energy for the bulbs to get larger for next year. True? Not so true?

Thanks, Gita

Yes Gita that would be better for the bulb. We use an old trick to keep onions from blooming, just bend them over at ground level.

I forgot, this is my 3rd picking of strawberries, about 6qts. so far.

WOW! I can't wait until my strawberries start producing like that!

Ric--

I was talking about the tall, ornamental Alliums---the ones we buy
JUST for their blooms.

This is what I dead-headed...not edible Onions. G.

Gita, I've read that you're *supposed* to deadhead, but I leave them because the seedheads are so pretty.

Mine seem to still multiply and come back every year, so maybe it's not absolutely necessary to deadhead.

I have clipped off my allium heads that looked like they were done flowering.

Looks like a wonderful bed, Gita! And what luscious strawberries, Ric!

Gita, the amaryllis would pop out of the dirt pretty easy. Plant them shallow. Or in sunk pots so they won't root in that much?

I ran out of steam just READING what you did

Please save a pregnant onion for me.

LOL Donner, We can't always keep up.

Nothing out of place that I've noticed Donner--glad you can join in! :-)

Thanks, Holly and Cat :o).

Has anybody done anything with controlling spider mites? I did it late last year when the temperature was very high. All the leaves on the Brugs were burned off. Although they recovered and bloomed again, they were pretty bare for a while.

I would plant herbs nearby that attract insects that feast on the mites...

It's interesting how different yards attract different pest issues. I don't think I've ever had a huge issue with mites. Donner, is neem not effective for you? Or alcohol sprays?

I just sprayed my Hibiscus for the second time. I saw a few White fly's on it again.
Will do it one more time--about q week from yesterday.

For you "non-chemical" people---I used the concoction of:

2 parts Rubbing Alcohol + 1 Tbs. dish soap ("Joy"-- mix up well) + 5 parts water.
Mix all gently--and spray on leaves--especially the undersides.
Knocked all the White Flies right off. But since there may be some eggs
left in some nooks and crannies--I will spray my Hibiscus 3 times 5-6 days apart.

With the bit I had left--I walked over and sprayed down my Butterfly Bush--
as EVERY year--the Spider mites destroy it. Then it never blooms right.
looks all yukky...

Did you all catch the pictures I posted of the damage to the leaf undersides
in just about a week's time from me buying it ?

If not--here it is again. G.

Gita, you can get better results with a 1 teaspoon liquid Castile soap to a quart of water. Dish "soap" is a detergent, harder on the plants and less effective on the pests.

Greenthumb, I just googled castile soap and realized that it's what I know as Dr. Bonner's. Is there a brand or formulation you'd recommend? There are so many choices on Amazon.

Donner, I don't know if this would work for you, but some container gardeners spray citrus leaves with fish emulsion as a preventative. I've been doing it as well and they seem to like it. I don't know how scientific this is, though.

Donner,
Spider mites like it when it's hot and dry. You can prevent SM from getting a foothold by keeping the plant watered correctly. SM don't like to be wet, nor do they like high humidity. Mist the plant several times daily, especially the undersides of the leaves (if you can), to keep the SM population down. Of course, misting several times a day is unrealistic, and even if you could do that, then you have to worry about fungal infections. At our laboratory greenhouse we have a persistent SM problem. We purchase IPM bugs to keep the population down but they never really go away. Neem doesn't do a lick of good on SM, I think.

As for what I would do, I would just buckle down and get a systemic or spray pesticide that specifically says it kills SM. You could probably put a net or sheer curtaion over it to keep the bees away. Once the SM infestation is gone, keep the plant watered correctly so that you don't have to do the pesticide applications anymore.

Lastly, I would consider whether having that plant is really worth all the trouble or if I could get just as much enjoyment out of something that doesn't get SM every year. That is why I no longer grow Asclepias sp.. My yard is just too dry and the only thing that benefits from them are SM. However, I can't stop growing Lonicera sempervirens which suffers terribly with aphids every year... it's just too beautiful to let go.

Gardener

Just go to either Trader Joe's, MOM's or Whole Foods they all have it. If you like I'll pick it up for you when I come for the Hellibores since I have to go right past TJ's.

Yehudith

david--

I thought "Liquid Joy' was not a detergent....It says on the bottle that it
contains NO phosphates and has biodegradable surfactants.
At the worst--mine is Lemon Scented...Plain would have been better...

I do not have liquid Castile soap. bet it costs a bit of $$$.

"JOY" is the ONLY product they use on all their plants at Rawlings Conservatory.

G.

Oh no Gita Castile soap isn't all that expensive at all.

So much info! I used Gita's recipe last year and it was effective. The only problem was that I used it when it was 90+ degrees and all the leaves got burned off :o(. Must do it this weekend. I will go find a vitamin store to see if Castile soap is available.

Donner, is there a Trader Joe's near you? They're often cheaper than Amazon.

Yuhudith, thanks for the offer! I actually need to go to TJ's in the next couple of days so I'll pick up a bottle. Let me know when you want to pick up the hellebores!