This plant has been blooming since I brought it in in October. There are lantanas that have been blooming too, but they are taking a break right now. It's so nice to have a reminder that winter won't last forever out there. It's this time of year when I sometimes don't think I'll make it to spring. (so I start some seeds or throw eggs in the incubator!)
This is what's on the OTHER side of that window. Ick.
Hey Jyl,
You don't live too far from me!! You know you meet the best plant people here.
I want to ask you a question. I have never over wintered MANY things. in the past I listened too much to my well intentioned gardening friends. I should have tried myself! I am happy to see your geranium blooming and it looks like you have some Rosemary in front?? Is that true??
I also have been wanting to bring in my Lantanas. Do you do anything special? Please describe how, what temp., and what kind of light they get. Thank You,
Your Neighbor in Fenton
Julie
Yup, rosemary, The plant is about 15 years old. I put it in the very cool room in front of the window. I just dig up my lantanas and stuff them in a pot, they were blooming up till about two weeks ago, now I have cut them back. I will stick them in the ground next year. You can do it for a couple of years before they get too big, then I get a new one. The sliding door is to the south and there isn't much heat in that room (the water heater and a bit fron the house). I winter over my rosemary a couple lantanas a gerainium or two, lemongrass, bay and my christmas cactus and night blooming cerrious (SP?) all out there.
Fenton, is that west side or east side of Michigan?
very nice jylgaskin... i love the geranium.... and the photo of the other side of the flowers is very pretty do you have outdoor animals??? looks like you have a nice fence for them.... looks like a nice crisp day there.... and do you have children??? cute little play house... have a great evening... Ronna
Having outdoor animals would be an understatement. Right now we have chickens, ducks and turkeys outside, (inside are 2 cats, 2 dogs and various other pets). In the summer, I rehabilitate wildlife, so you never know what's going to be here. The play house covers our generator, (my only child is 26 and 6' 4"). Most of the yard is fenced in with the area imediately outside the back door gated for the fawns in the spring. It keeps them close to the house till they are big enough to roam the whole yard. In the center of the back yard is my vegatable garden with a fence to keep the fenced in animals OUT. My son built me the red outhouse for a garden shed.
Calling this a crisp day is an understatement, it was 17 when I took the photo! I really need thoes Gerainiums today.
well then i guess you have a very busy house hold huh??? wow that would be a cool thing and great thing to do for the animals.... you mean your son doesnt play in the house any more???? sounds like he might fit if he is a contorctioust (sp)... but you know what i mean!!!! i know what you mean its only 6 degrees here tonight... suppose to be the coldest night yet?!? enjoyed looking at the photos... Ronna
Jylgaskin,
Wow I have never brought my rosemary in. i believe i will this year. I live just north of Milford just south of FLINT right of US 23. Or off I-75 through Holly .I am west of Holly about 5 miles.
Oh for some reason i was thinking WILLIAMSTON NOT WILLIAMSBURG!!
Ok where are YOU? give me some good guides or directions.
So your a gentle woman farmer. Yum..Chickens!! Nice to meet you. How do you keep all the wild life from feasting on your garden??
Julie
Just outside of Traverse City. The garden has a big fence. But it's still a battle especially with determined deer and bunnies.
Hey is Freeport close to you?? I am suppose to help or rather I AM GOING to help Susie with a plant
swap this spring!!June something in Freeport. Is that close to you?
Julie
Freeport is a couple hundred miles. (Everything is a couple hundred miles from Traverse)
Execpt me, I am about 100 miles. LOL
Your geraniums are beautiful! This is the first year I have brought mine in. (never knew you could do it) I had flowers for about a month, then nothing but nice foliage. It stayed nice and full, so I didn't cut it back.
Now I have buds again. Happy spring?
I happen to love winter, but I am done with it for this year, time to move on.
I like winter too. I just don't like it 8 months out of the year. It seems like we get one month of spring, two months of summer, one month of fall and then 8 months of winter. I loved it on the east coast. Your roses freeze about December, it snows over CHristmas and by February it's getting nice again. I NEVER remember snowstorms in April on the east coast. Here I hid Easter eggs all over my son's yard last year and it snowed over night and we didn't find them for a week.
Remember how we used to wear our new Easter dresses over snow pants to church? And how many of us had halloween costumes that had to fit OVER a snowsuit?
Welcome to Michigan. Hope ya brought warm clothes.
Yup, had an Easter egg hunt when I was a kid like that too.
I remember making easter bunnies instead of snowmen in the spring. Also igloos, when we would get ice on the snow and could cut blocks out of the snow.
My favorite season is fall. I wish that could last as long as winter. You are exactly correct about the lengths of the seasons, I would only suggest one change, that there is 3 weeks of mud, and one week of spring.
You're right, mud season has a place of it's own.
I forgot, in TC we also have the worst season of all. Tourist season.
Yes you do! I will be up there boating this summer.
Our friends have a nice boat and we spend a couple days every year in Elk Rapids and on the lake.
It is a fun time.
From 2005
We REALLY do need to get together this summer! I'm right on your way.
We may be up there this spring sometime. I think I told you before that our neice lives in Williamsburg. Her husband is quite the gardener. He has a knack for arranging and getting stuff to grow.
Hey Jyl,
Thanks for the Geranium picture. I used to bring mine in for several years. I would take cuttings in Feb. and then have as many I wanted to plant in the garden. But a couple years ago I started growing Clivas from seed and I have a ton of those around the plant window. Too bad I've never gotten them to bloom for me. ' sniffle'. I did bring in my potato vines this year, shoved them all into the same pot (like your lantanas) and they are doing fine.
Do you take cuttings from your Geranium?
The geraniums I brought in for winter are blooming again and putting on more buds. I wish I had brought in my potato vines. I will this year. It is just too expensive to keep buying these plants over and over again. I think I'll try doing some cuttings from the geraniums and see if I can multiply mine too. My problem is space. I have little space to do much growing indoors. I have all my geranium pots in the foyer as you come in the door. I have a big 5' x 5' glass block window there that lets in enough west facing sun to allow them to grow on.
Brenda
Hey Brenda,
I hear you! Hey go over to the thread called " Ornamental sweet Potato Time" it is very enlightening. I had tried for years without much success to store sweet potatoes. I will do it this year! Also if you are coming to the plant exchange in Freeport I will have pot. vines for a buck or a trade!! There is a perennial co-op here for "begonias" that is buying plugs of impomeas. Hope this info helps!!
Julie
I'm trying to decide if I want to take cuttings or just enjoy the blooms!
I had around 50 geraniums in my yard ;ast year. I dug them all up in the fall just before frost and just crammmed them together in open crates. I began taking cuttings immediately and most rooted under lights in a heated room. I now have about 120 geraniums and many of the cuttings are flowering already. Taking the cuttings early worked well. Most are out in the greenhouse now, literally chillin' waiting for spring. I'd say geraniums over winter quite well from this year's experience! This is in Howell MI.
I am happy with mine, for a first try. I will have to take a picture and post it.
dg,
Are you in Howell? I am from Fenton. Where is Oak Grove in relationship to Howell? I go on Mason Rd. Right out to
Mason a lot ! My brother is a dentist there..in Mason. I might be going right by you !!
Julie
Thinking about favorite seasons (mentioned above). Mine would have to be 2 springs, a summer, 2/3 of fall and 1/3 of winter! LOL! Hm. I'm....ummm....living in the wrong state, aren't I?
Every year I buy crappy little spindlely gerainiums and it takes till fall to get them nice looking. Then of course they freeze and I start over.
Thanks to my friends at DG, I brought the pot in the basement this year. It seems quite lush.
My geranium that was brought in last fall just now is showing one bud! Oh, it is so soft looking and rosey, I can hardly wait - it's as good as Christmas!
That is the way I feel too!
Your geranium looks great. Isn't it fun to manage to save a life and put it out again this year? You did really well with your geranium!! I love the smell of geraniums don't you?
Brenda
When I posted my plant, I didn't really get a shot of the flowers. Here is one.
I really don't like the smell of them though. But sure is nice to see flowers this time of year!
hey Jyl,
I bought this christmas cactus at a garage sale for 50cents. It was larger but my puggle feel into my bay window off the back of my recliner chair and broke off half of it. She did a nice job coming back this fall.
Also, can you winter over geraniums bare rooted?
Thanks
Amos
My old auntie used to pull up her gerainiums, shake the dirt off and hang them upside down in her basement. She always got them to grow again the next year, but I've never made it work. Maybe it's the basement.
I cut my plant back and am trying to grow the cuttings. They have no roots yeat, but one is blooming.
DM was in Florida all winter, she stopped over earlier this week and I was so proud to show her my grerainium. She said, "you didn't know you could bring them inside? I used to shake them off and hang them..." I stopped listening at this point. LOL
Amos, love the catus. Looks like it recovered nicely. Love the color.
Amos, I love the cactus too. And you got a better deal than I did. I bought mine at a garage sale for $1.00. LOL
I also got a fantastic deal on a Jade plant ... $5.00. It was about 4 ft all and so full. An older woman was getting rid of her indoor plants. I kept the Jade plant for 2 years, I was gradually killing it, so put it out by the road one day with a 'Free - if you take good care of me' sign. Someone took it.
Since we are talking of Geraniums .... Last year I grew a Geranium 'Splish Splash' from seed. It was doing fantastic by the end of the year. I hope it comes back this year. I still had some seeds left (That came from a DG trade) and it looks as if I will get 2 to 4 more plants this year. :o)
I never heard of keeping Geraniums over the winter upside down, bareroot. I might try it this year. Thanks for the thought.
Happy Easter to Everyone,
toofew
Happy Easter to eveyone also,
I have never tried hanging them upside down either, but will give it a try this fall. That is great that you started your geraniums from seed. Never gave that a whirl when I get my greenhouse up and going maybe next spring.
Toofew, that is so nice that you let your jade go like that. I bet someone took it home and gave it some loving care.
I bought one for my late hubby for our 2nd wedding anniversary, he loved jade plants.
Let's see mine would be thirty years old now. I have started so many off the old gal and gave them away for house warming gifts.
Amos
I neglected to mention that Geranium 'Splish Splash' is a perinneal geranium. I have it out in my shade garden with the hostas and such.
That is so nice that your Jade plant is over 30 years old ... especially since I couldn't keep mine going for more than 2 years. Not enough sun in my house. I have a rubber tree (hitting out 9 ft ceiling) that takes up the one good sunny window.
toofew
My gerainium is just exploding with color and green. So happy I brought it inside. Hard to believe that big pot is filled with just 4 little plants from last spring. I have bud shoots all over (10) to go with the vibrant blooms.
Sure makes me happy to see the flowers.
I found an old mop bucket with wheels that the guys at the lodge were tossing out. I grabbed it for my gerainiums. I think the red will be perfect with the old metal and I can wheel it into the house for the winter. I can't wait till they get roots to plant it.
