Hi,
Sorry. Don't feel well. Still don't feel good. Get with you all in a day or two.
TTC
#21 Practical Matters for Phsically Challenged Gardeners
Hi gang,
Sorry for the absence. Just some stress related things that needed to be taken care of. Sorry you missed the meteor shower. :( It was really spectacular and very nice to take in. While living in the desert during the summer may not sound like much fun there are some experiences that do make it worthwhile.
Rain looks to be on the way as does much cooler temps. All in the 105- mid 90s range. I think summer is breathing its last. Maybe another hit in September but I believe the worse has passed and it will only get better from here.
Looked at the articles. Lucky you to have Butterflies. What a rare treat. Since I've been here I've seen very few. Some little white ones or pale yellow ones. There's been a Monarch or two. I did see one Swallowtail but that has been about it for several years. :(
Even the bees aren't out which saddens me as they are so necessary and needed. My plans for the back yard...which sorely needs my attention, is to plant things that attract bumbly bees and hopefully butterflies of any sort as well as stand up to the searing heat and 90% full sun I get back there. Bird of Paradise, Red Yuccas, barrel cacti, Rosemary (hate the taste but wonderful xeriscape plant). P. pears and pole cacti are good too.
Since my soil is just awful back there, compliments of the previous owner who put a weed mesh down under all that rock, it is impossible to plant anything in the ground. Major project to remove it as I have no desire to rake aside tons of rock, rip up weed mesh, turn the soil, add good cacti soil and then rake all that rock back and then proceed onto the next area of the yard to do the same. So I decided on box planters, pots of various sizes and maybe some raised beds.
The humming birds, however, are still here and did not leave all summer which surprised me due to the extreme heat. I would have thought they migrated but they did not. I am presuming this is due to the never ending supply of humming bird feeders people put out, the many flowering tube shaped flowers that provide nectar such as most of the Aloes and Agaves, and easy access to water. Have no idea what type of hummers they are but they are cute little guys and I relish their appearance. Dragon flies are quite common here also.
As for the plants in the front yard most have made it and thrived. A few got scorched and look questionable. Some got root rot from too much rain or died from the sun. All in all I would say 95% of my plants made it. They've grown and are doing quite well. Now let's just see if I can get them through winter *eye roll*
Fall winter projects will be buying pots, and making beds and 'planning' the arrangement and set up of the back yard. Last frost day and spring will be buying soil and planting.
So that's what is going on with me.
Zoe is fine. Dave is fine. He will be coming up on his vacation in September and hopefully we can get some things done around our home. Operative word being 'hopefully'.
Peace. Out.
TTC
Good Morning Gang, :D
Really cool thing happened yesterday! Walking Zoe and as I turned the bend to come home a neighbor a few houses up from me was cutting down a tree/shrub and tossing it into the back of his pickup truck. It looked like a Bird of Paradise.
When I asked he said 'No' but he had one in his back yard that was growing an offshoot from the base and it was fairly good sized. He's swinging by this morning and giving it to me!!! Now that is really nice and really good luck. :D
So it looks like I can start on that back yard immediately. Have one very sickly tree in the corner where I'd like to put this new B. of P. Scrawny, thin, has looked that way since we moved in and the previous owner told us it has been here for over 4 years. Feel bad for it as it appears to be trying or wanting to grow but every time it does, something is gnawing at the leaves of the new growth on the tips of the branches turns brown and dies. So it is going 'bye-bye'.
Much happier about the B. of P. in the yard anyway. Those orange and yellow flowers are magnificent and the way that plant sucks up the heat is amazing. Even on our 115, 118 and 122 days those plants didn't miss a beat. Green, lush and flowering like crazy. Wonderful eye candy as they get biiiig and buuuushy and not much taller than 6-8 feet max and the hummers and bumbly bees just love them. This pleases me as it also adds more pleasure to my yard.
Very happy today!!!
Don't you love when weird but good things happen out of the blue?
Bets....are them precious 'maters surviving that rain? Oh...btw how are you and Granny? LOL
Jim....
Haven't heard from you guys lately. O.K. down there? I have been watching the news and it is rather scary. I FINALLY do have the time, a box and a nice piece of plant ready to pluck for you. Hesitant to send it due to the weather and I don't know if you have access or what your conditions are down there right now with the mail, the roads, travel, etc. Let me know and I'll send it on its way.
Have a good day all.
Peace. Out.
TTC
This is what the neighbor gave me! Hoooooly Cow! This is not a cutting or an offshoot. This is a whole plant! *YIPPEE* What good luck, right. Finally cut down that pathetic tree that was malingering in the corner there. It took all of 20 minutes as it wasn't in the best of shape to begin with. Now you can see why I wanted that corner. Prime real estate in my yard, especially when I plan on letting that B. of P. run rampant. Perfect spot for it!
Around 5:00p.m. tonight will go out to rake away some rock and maybe rip up some weed mesh. Probably will finish that tomorrow and turn the soil. Hopefully mix in some good soil and get that puppy in the ground and watch it go...go...go!
Have a good day all.
TTC
Corner I plan on putting the plant in; choice real estate.
Gives you an idea of the future and what will be (fingers crossed)
Close up of plant last 2 pics; trying to get a pic of the size of the stalk/stem that this plant came from. Almost a tree in and of its self. (Oh...and my handiwork at sawing down that other nasty mess of a tree--rather proud of that stump. :D )
Agave, that is FABULOUS about the Bird of Paradise. Amazing. So it wasn't Bird of Paradise he was putting in his truck? If it LOOKS like Bird of Paradise, wouldn't your pollinators like it just as well? I really don't know anything about what would grow well down there.
After those first times we saw the hummingbirds, we haven't seen them. Up here, I think they were moving from Canada to Mexico, approximately. But by you, I think they might spend the whole winter. (I think I'm so funny: "come for the crocosmia, stay for the agastache." I guess it's only funny to me.) Agastache might grow at your house, though. Look at High Country Gardens website. You don't have to buy from there, but their site has all kinds of information. That's where I got the stuff about how much water agastache can tolerate.
Yeah, where is everybody else?
Good Morning,
Nope. Not sure what he was putting in his truck. Leaves looked kind of similar but march larger and less green. I just thought it was from a really large B. of P. that had surpassed the 'bush' phase and was bordering on 'tree'. That being 6-10 feet tall which is what they absolutely max out at.
I'm pretty confident this is what they max at as I've seen some really massive ones but that is usually in diameter/circumference. I have never seen a taller one. At that point most people give them a major pruning and cut them down to the ground because they grow back like weeds and in 2 years are just as massive but may not be quite as tall.
They also branch off at the bottom and form new off shoots that can become independent trees. Kind of the way a lot of Agaves make pups next to themselves that can become independent plants when large enough. I did not know this fact about the B. of P.
So, this off shoot is what my neighbor gave me. *YIPPEE* . Super nice of him as I have a mature plant that will continue growing and weather our winter with minimum babying and really jump into action again next spring.
Very excited about this as I plan on letting the thing run rampant and not pruning it unless absolutely necessary. I love this plant for its green foliage that stays super green all year, and of course those outrageously gorgeous flowers with their yellow and orange. The bumbly bees and hummers are an added bonus. I am hoping it will attract butterflies but I have seen so very few here---anywhere, it makes me wonder. In one way I am more excited about the bees.
We soooooo need these guys. I had 2 B.of P. in my former home's front yard and the bumbly bees loved them. Not angry guys like wasps or hornets, just your basic bees. Happy to let me be and water the plants. We weren't bothered by each other as long as I wasn't hosing them down or antagonizing them.
Zoe is smart enough to let them be (unintended) also. She has never been stung but she has watched them out of general curiosity and I guess she has some innate sense or a lightbulb goes on in her little doggy brain that a swarm of buzzing, humming things aren't good to bother or snap at like she does flies.
Her first Agave encounter was rather funny though. I believe I mentioned she destroyed all my house plants as she treated them like a salad bar. Well, she saw some lovely, dark green, succulent Agaves (A. Ferox) I had potted on the patio. She went to sample and got a good introduction to what exactly those 2 inch needle like lateral spines at the ends of the leaves and fish hook looking marginal spines on the sides of each leaf are for! (*tee-hee*) ROFL.
Never saw a head snap and neck jerk back so fast in my life. I wish I had a camera. The look on her face was priceless. I don't think a human could have managed a more surprised, offended and downright p.o.'d look than she gave that plant. She literally put her nose up at the plant and trotted away in a huff and a pout. It was hysterical. You would have thought the plant slapped her. ROFL.
Needless to say Zoe gives the plants a wide berth and makes a consecrated effort to avoid anything that resembles an Agave and/or Aloe. (*cheese grin*) I have no worries about her feeling inclined to snack on them outside. Plants 1-Zoe 0.
As for Dave, he hates the B. of P. Thinks they're an invasive weed. Oh well. I kind of feel the same way about all the stereo wires, computer stuff, and electronics I can't work. Deal was that stuff is 'his' and I don't get a say. The yard and plants are 'mine'. (*grin*). In so many words, I threatened his life if he even thinks of bringing out pruning shears or a saw within 10 feet of my plant!!! He'll be eating t.v. dinners for a month.
Speaking of within 10 feet...I can't use that corner. :[ I need to plant that B. of P. as it is looking a little wilted. Meant to do it yesterday around 6:00 p.m. but at that time we got wind and some blowing dust and it was overcast.
Sure enough two hours later we got rain. Rained for an hour solid. Very unexpected but from the conditions outside it was indicated and definitely coming. Typical happening this time of year. Chance of rain every day during Monsoon season regardless of weather forecast. More often than not it doesn't happen but then again, like yesterday it does. Rained again this morning for 20 minutes also. This too was unpredicted. Nice thing, however, is that this makes the ground super soft and easy to dig and plant.
But I digress....10 feet away is where the plant will have to go due to the stump killer my neighbor poured on that tree. Can't water for a week in that area. (Not sure what the rain will do/did) Also I don't want the chemicals leeching into the ground soil immediately next to the B. of P.'s roots. Judging from that other tree I removed the soil is not good their either for some reason. So I'll just use the corner for a grouping of pots. B. of P. will go 10 feet farther down the same wall where the humming bird feeder is and will not be an obstruction regardless of size. Humming bird feeder super easy to relocate. They don't care where it is at as long as it is there.
Have to get out this a.m. and plant it as the weather is nice and cool and it is not raining.
Did look into the Agastache. Some confusion on the zones. Many say 5-9. A lot say 7-10. I'm zone 9B and also very arid with sandy/clay soil. Not sure of the shade requirements but the back yard is a literal lake of fire 100% of the time and 90% of the time around the perimeters. With the freak temps we have been having and the exurbanite amount of record setting days over 110 (remember the 122 degree day?) I no longer believe we are zone 9B. I think we are 9B-11 now. No joke. So I have some questions about that plant surviving especially if it needs partial shade.
I've been focusing on things that can take a beating: B. of P., Eve's Needles, barrels, Rosemary and a few other things to try and put in that back yard of mine. Presently it looks nasty and I just grimace every time I walk out there.
So what are you growing and working on for your yard? I know it is going into Fall (*sigh... envy your glorious display of leaves from the trees*) but do you have some things in the works for the spring? Starting some bulbs or seedlings indoors? Mapping out some of the yard for next season's planting?
BTW how is the house remodeling and bathroom (?) projects going? I know you and Ray had been working on that for awhile.
Not sure where Jim is. Due to the weather in that part of the country I am hoping things are o.k. there and they are avoiding the devastation I've been seeing on t.v.
Have a great day.
Peace. Out.
TTC
There are a lot of bulbs and stuff in the yard, plus we aren't responsible for so much in the spring. By this I mean we are pretty much the only place I know of that has this many flowers/flowering plants in the summer viewable from the street. In the spring, everybody has forsythia, a few crocus/daffodils/tulips, but in the summer it's just us! (This is pretty much a silliness, but I do enjoy looking at other people's yards.)
Plus, I am cold pretty much until May. Also, the yard is pretty inaccessible due to snow/mud/ice/weather until late spring. We have iris, daffodils, species tulips, peony, the yard pretty much comes alive bit by bit in the late spring. I need to start keeping better records because EVERY season there is something I don't recognize. Sometimes I wait and it turns out it is something we really wanted! I almost killed a weed that I thought was Canadian thistle. It turned out to be New England asters.
Speaking of asters, I haven't seen them yet this year. I do forget about them every year, but we've seen them for sale, so they should be showing up in the yard soon if they are still there. I always give myself a range of a few weeks on either side of the date we see something at Home Depot, because the market greenhouses get things to bloom substantially earlier than Mother Nature.
Jacqueline, somebody asked me about a large, tall cactus. I think it was my daughter. Yes, it definitely was. She is looking for a tall thin cactus, not Saguaro (she used to live in Prescott, AZ) or barrel-shaped or round, but a tall, thin, Washington Monument shaped. (I am not good at explaining this.) She has a tiny budget, as she has two large dogs that use up most of her disposable income. So I think mail ordering one (which is my solution if I absolutely HAVE to have something) is not a good option. She says the ones at Home Depot are all too small. I said I would ask you. I also think her inside may not be warm enough for a cactus.
Hmmm........let research some cacti ideas for her and I'll get back. I know she can grow something. Any idea or the amount of sunlight in her house? Sun room/enclosed patio? Does she want to put it out in the yard (where does she live?).
I know there are lots of fun ideas as I didn't pay a whole lot for mine at the BB stores. She has to remember though size does equate $. So if she has the patience to watch it grow for 1-1.5 years she can get something very reasonable for under $20.00. Also expanding her 'ideas' is a good way to go too. I got some fabulous cacti that bloom repeatedly for me for $2.50-$8.00 and they grew exponentially in 1-1.5 years.
Tell you more later. Just, if you could please, give me some specifics on her climate and temp and sun-shade ratio both inside and out.
Thanks,
J.
Plenty of sun in her apartment, she says (I can't go there because it's a 3rd floor) and it will have to be an INDOOR plant for its whole life. She has 2 large and rowdy dogs but no kids or anything. Temperature....I think she keeps her apartment on the cool side (for Boston) but not below freezing or anything. She has AC (unusual for this area) so it's never terribly hot at her house, though.
This message was edited Aug 22, 2016 12:38 PM
Hi gang,
Sorry. Been outrageously busy. Still am. *eye roll-grimace*. Everything is o.k. though. Will get with you real soon so we can talk in length. Just figuring out some complicated Dr. stuff and creating more bills I don't need. *sigh*.
I'm 48. I'm female. I'll let you guess why I'm running to the doctors trying to figure out what the Hell is going on with me and why it cost so much to fix.
Peace out.
TTC
Oh Carrie.....African Milk Tree. Beautiful plant. Perfect in an apartment. Loves a sunny window. Grows relatively fast and gets tall. If her dogs are not plant nibblers they will be fine. Zoe is a plant nibbler but she has never ventured near this one.
That's a Euphorbium, Agave, right? (Not at all sure about the letters that come after the B, but you know what I mean.) I'll let her know. She is in Prescott, AZ, today for a wedding and wants to being something home on the plane!
And we are going to Mexico for a few days. My sister was here from Italy, so now that she's back on her side of the Atlantic, we can resume our crazy travelling schedule.
This thread is long I think it's time to refresh.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1430983/