Coleus Chatters thru Father's Day...

Good Morning and welcome to a new week of chatters! I do hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their lush gardens! We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/857304/#new

We had storms all night and a few tornados in the night but nothing really close to us. Man, it sure feels like a short night and I know my DH will be tired all day today as it seemed we were both awake on & off all night long watching the storm.

It seems that our lawn has been taken over my moles! Yuck & Yuck!!! While I was wondering around out in the yard yesterday, I was barefooted and thought for sure I could feel those stupid little moles underground. Therefore, this is our song today as it's stuck in my head and just won't go away... LOL

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you're around

Oh, baby, when I see your face
Mellow as the month of May
Oh, darling, I can't stand it
When you look at me that way

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you're around

Oh, darling, when you're near me
And you tenderly call my name
I know that my emotions
Are something that I just can't tame
I've just got to have you, baby

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down

I just lose control
Down to my very soul
I get hot and cold all over

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
Tumbling down
Tumbling down
Tumbling down
Tumbling down

Have a beautiful day everyone...

Good morning. Had to laugh when I read about the moles and then the first few lines of hte song.

What's the name of the coleus on the bottom right edge? And then the one right above it?

Patty, when you say the bottom right edge, do you mean the one that is burgundy colored?

The burgundy colored one is called Plum Parfait and it did wonderful here last year. There is also one on the very right edge that you can barely see and it's Victorian Carnival and I loved it too. The upper right is Songbird and it's just a 'to die for' coleus!!!

they are all beautiful brinda. glad the tornados didn't get you

I liked all three. I thought Plum Parfait was Blusher so I'm glad you named it too. I am so glad I added Songbird to my RD order after I saw a picture you posted. It is beautiful.

Start packing your bags; after you see the purple, you'll definately want to hightail it to South Texas. I have an extra bedroom done up in tropical decor you can camp out in, but you gotta supply the margaritas. hahahaha

Here's the purple. It's a beauty and what I love is that it blooms all summer long instead of just once like some of my other vines.

Ahhh! Plum Parfait is a must for me now!! That's beautiful Brenda!
I'm surprised you still have moles with all the rain you've had! You'd think their tunnels would be waterlogged and they'd be moving to higher and dryer ground...

Poke mothballs down in the tunnels along the way...it kind of gas bombs them in to moving on.

Hey Merry,

Thank for the idea on the mothballs and the moles. I have them too and voles and the dog can't seem to dig them up fast enough to make a dent in the population.

Right now our heat advisory is 110. I'm with Phaedra in that I'm melting. Power was out again this morning but they got it fixed pretty fast.

This picture is some Flume, Skyfire and Royal Glissade. They are finally coming around.
Juan ita

This one is my impatiens planter out front. It sits in a huge ceramic birdbath that came from my MIL estate a few weeks ago. I grew the impatiens from seed and I am so proud because I'm not good at seeds.

Last one. My carpet roses are going great right now. If you haven't tried these yet, you should. They are really easy to grow and seem to be disease resistant. Of course everything here is getting a regular dose of 'The Recipe", which seems to be doing some good all around.

Hey Patty... I always wanted a tropical bedroom setting! All I have to pack now is the margaritas....So get ready cuz

All my bags are packed
Im ready to go
Im standin here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin
Its early morn
The taxis waitin
Hes blowin his horn

Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again


Thanks Kathy, and hopefully the 'nados won't get us this week as we're supposed to have storms most of the week.

Mary, the stupid moles are after the grub worms. And DH has put that stuff down to kill the grubs but I think it keeps washing away instead of into the ground. LOL But I will certainly tell him about the moth balls. How much does a case of moth balls cost? I think we'll need that much as they've almost taken over the back and now they're in the front yard. They are just so annoying!!!

Mary, Plum Parfait was such a great performer last year. It ranked up there with Songbird in my book. I'm not sure but I might have ordered it from RD this year, I'll have to look.

Juanita, it's great to see you. I do hope you're not working too hard in the heat!!! I just loved your pics but the roses are so pretty. That is one thing that I've never grown is roses and I have no clue why other than I just don't have the room, I guess.

Kell? Did we lose Kell? LOL I think she & Tom went to some fancy-smancy restaurant and I can't wait to see pics of her food. LOL

Pheadra, if you didn't melt... get in here and let us know what's going on in your beautiful garden. Isn't it time to update your Making Memories in the 2008 Coleus Farm & Greenhouse Garden thread? Inquiring minds need to seeeeeeeeeee....

Joyce? Are you finally finished with school? What are your plans for the summer?

ZZJoyce, I've been meaning to ask you about a caladium that you've mentioned a few times. I think you called it Summer Queen? That is new to me and I'm wondering if I read it wrong or if you meant White Queen? Either way... I wanna see it. LOL

Joy, I don't think Kell got the other Marketplace coleus, it was Cathy from Florida. I think she talks about it on the last chatters thread. Anyway, I'm happy that you got one... they all looked great and way too cheap!

Sidney, slow down....

TA, how's your weather? I do hope you didn't have the storms that we had last night. Still sending good & happy thoughts and prayers to your DM!

I did hear earlier that we got over 4"+ of rain in just about 5 hours. I know we've had our fair share. Oh & so did a toad that is belly up in the pool this morning! Ugh!



I'll send out waves to everyone else ~~~~~~ I'm going back to work now! Have a beautiful day everyone!

Hey Brin, if you really want to feel the earth move under your feet, move to California. It is a thrill.

I need Plum Parfait too! Shoot. I just got home from an overnight in Healdsburg, wine country. We had a good time, pics later. My new camera sucks so I am so bummed. I really should say I suck at using it to be more accurate. I need a point and shoot that needs no user participation.

You need to all be so proud of me. As we left Healdsburg I got my husband to stop at the Healdsburg Nursery, no small feat. I found 3 coleus I just had to have though I have 2 of the 3 already. I ran back to car to get $10 and he was not willing to part with the green. His exact words were, "You do not need anymore (deleted expletive) coleus." I had no clue he even knew what a coleus was. I was so proud. So I had to lay down on the pavement and have a fit to get them.


As I said, my new camera sucks.

pretty ones; are they tagged? If so, share the names please.

Yup, you're right Brinda, it was me, sorry Joy! I'd be happy to send cutting of which ever ones you want when they get a little bigger. I think we'll get more rain today, so the coleus in the ground should be happy campers.

I've been trying to master the cutting/rooting process, but I'm only getting about 40 to 50% to root. I think I might be killing them with kindness, so I will start another batch of them, and just stick them in fresh soil and not baby them so much.

Merry_Mary, have you gotten any rain?

Kell, you have put such a great image of a coleus induced temper tantrum into my brain- thank you! My DH hasn't yet gotten to the point of expletive deleted-then-coleus, so it looks like I might have a whole season to collect! Those three are beautiful and I love the pink pots!

Cathy

svplantingfool (you have mail) but YES, we recieved 30 minutes of rain...I couldnt believe it! We all stood at the sliding glass door and just stared! lol

Kell, that looks like Sedona, is it? I'm proud of the fact that after the expletive, your husband at least identified exactly what kind of plant you're collecting! WhoooHoo! Mine just says "expletive plants all over the deck". ;)

Brinda...I'm really looking in to Plum Parfait, I think I need it desperately!

Oh no! Now when I send Kell a box of coleus.. Tom is gonna be able to identify them.. I'm putting a fake return addy on the box... He might come and shoot me! LOL
My guess on the big coleus is "The Boss" do they have tags Kell?

Brinda, I got that one at Walmart last year and the tag said Summer Queen.. I think I got it as White Queen from Caladiums4Less this year

Cathy, I have been using a Neem based spray for a fungicide on the cuttings and a fan for air circulation.. those two things saved several trays from a rotten death a few months back..

I've got White Queen also. It's one of my favorite caladiums. It's definitely got the biggest leaves of them all.

Cathy, Here is the stuff I use for just about everything! I have too many brugs to use it for mites.. but in between using the "big guns" it's great.. I use it on veggie plants, delicate stuff.. brugs, impatiens.. you name it.

It will kill those tobacco worms that BT won't kill if you are having problems with caterpillars..

I was told recently that when they put out blooms, you should cut them off. Something Connie read on a "What to do this month" kind of a list somewhere. I haven't done it yet. Do you all know if this is true?

Yes, just pinch them off an inch above the soil level. The plant energy will go into more leaf production.
White Queen is one of the best. I have it in full Florida sun with no problems. Red Flash is another huge one, that handles the heat very well.

Without a doubt. Once caladiums bloom, they go dormant, and you want them to stay pretty as long as they are otherwise programmed to do. Also, the energy of the plant goes into flowering and attempting to make seed at the expense of producing beautiful leaves.

And they are unsightly, to boot.

Do your caladiums ever survive a winter (left in the ground) in Beaumont? Here in the Heart of Texas they freeze in the ground 9 out of 10 winters. A few people raise the tubers after the first frost and store them inside to replant the next year, but most simply buy new ones every year. Unless the tubers were very healthy and stored up a lot of sugars, the leaves are smaller the next year.

I don't think I ever told you, Gerry Doyle lived in Beaumont, not Deer Park. He was involved with the museum and taught Latin at the high school. I knew him as a calligrapher. I think maybe they lived on 7th Street? It's been 15 years.

What is the active ingredient in that fruit tree spray? I wonder why they don't label it for flowers and stuff?

God was unhappy I was boastful about my weather I take it, for today we started a heat wave. It went up to 88 here and I was more inland and it must have been 100 degrees. Misery. I do not know how people can deal with such heat.

Joyce, too late. Tom is on his way! Run Joyce Run! So is that Neem you have there in the pic? You do your coleus cuttings with it?

I wish I had a blueberry puff pastry.

The big coleus is Royal Glissade. It is so much prettier than the ones I have already, I had to get it. Very PINK speckled.

My new camera already had a hissy fit. It refused to take any picutres. It kept sayig to me to focus and press the shutter button. Well shoot, does it think I have a clue how to focus it. And then I would press the button and it would say NO PICUTRE TAKEN. Well DUH!! Over and over we did this dance. And also a smile face would show up with a line going up to it but it was only 3/4 full. So I guess my coleus was smiling only 3/4 so the camera refused to take the pic.

The big leafed coleus is Colorblaze, Kingswood Torch. Though the pic on the name tag does not look like my coleus. And the other is Religious Radish which is not too pretty right now

This afternoon I got Coco Loco. I love it.

I already had Wild Lime. I had 1 for Miss Brin too but she had little faith (with good reason) I see on the other thread. Today I found another Wild Lime that is entirely different. Which is right? Here are both.

In closing, I am having touble with my Shocking Pink and my Freckles. They are so bleached out by the sun so I guess they are for shade. In the sun my Big Red Judy is really Big Olive on burnt orange. Shoot.

Kell, I hated to read that Freckles is burning up in the sun. I have some out back in the "laboratory" waiting to get big enough to put out front in the blast furnace. I guess the neighbor, with shade, gets yet another freebie.

You are so funny- I look fwd. to your posts. I copied and sent your story about having a hissy fit at the nursery to at least 15 friends. One replied that you have a gift as a writer and ought to write some articles. Sort of Erma Bombeck stuff. (Here we don't "have" fits. We "throw" or "pitch" them.

Does your camera have an automatic setting? It shouldn't ask you all sorts of questions on automatic. What brand is it?

You think it's hot there. In 1980 we had 61 days where the temps were over 100. I think the high that summer was 112. And rain pretty much stops June 1 and starts up (if we're lucky) in late September. Brutal is the word we use for the temps when we want to be kind.

Have all of you discovered euphorbia Diamond Frost? It has just shown up at garden centers here this year.
It's great to add to mixed containers as a sort of "Baby's Breath," or by itself. The white flowers are tiny, but there are so many of them it makes a good display. It blooms non-stop until it freezes. Since euphorbias don't like to be overwatered, it's best to mix it with other plants that can stay on the dry side. It looks good with purple angelonia or Dallas Red lantana.

OK I will pluck them out. I think the blooms are kinda cool looking.



Most of mine were in containers last year. I only put a couple of them in the ground with some other stuff. That's my shadiest area. They all came back this year. I'd forgotten about the ones in front of the deck in the ground.

I've never done many bulbs in the past. I just forget they are there. I kept telling myself I need to make a "map" of what's what. But then I forgot about it. Early this spring I parked a pot in one area. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a caladium leaf poking it's little head up around the edge of that pot. You've never seen anybody yank a pot off the ground so quickly! HAHAHA

I haven't seen the euphorbia Diamond Frost, but Connie and I were talking the other day about how pretty red and white flowers are together. I will have to look up the Dallas Red Lantana. I have the Camaro Confetti Red and just love it. I've got some white shrimp coming up in that part of the island where the Confetti Red is. I was looking up the white shrimp the other day and the only one I found was called squirrel something. Had the coolest looking lavender flowers coming from the white part. I am going to really watch mine and I hope mine is like that. I got mine from a round up in Houston last year and didn't pay close attention to the proper name of it.

Connie and I were in Lowe's the other day. We wandered around the garden area. They had some really pretty Kong coleus that had HUGE flower stalks on them. HAD is the operative word there. The flowers somehow got knocked off as I passed them up.

DP, you must never sleep.

Time for my 2nd cup of coffee.

Janet

Good morning early birds!!! NO coffee here. Diet coke instead.

G'Mornin' Patty Sue! I have to have my coffee. I've never been a diet soda drinker. Something in them gives me ferocious headaches.

I just went out and cut off the caladium blooms. I'm wondering if the seedy part can be planted to make more caladiums?

Oh, and the Many Holed Coleus Patty Pot is looking better this morning. I'll get more photos when the light is better.

morning, i took a pic. of lilly yesterday. she followed me around all day yesterday

Janet, what is "sleep'?

DP

funny DP. i don't know what sleep is either.

kell: about bleaching in sun: i've found that freckles does best when either some afternoon or morning shade, or it bleaches out. in too much shade, it turns a muddy ugly green. religious radish is similar. too much sun and the darker pigments drown out the reddish pink, and in too much shade the color is a dull greenish/brown. this is my first year growing big red judy and i think it has a similar habit.

good luck!

joy

I'M BACK!!

Had a wonderful time with my DD and her birthday party. So much work she does. Oy vey! Her new puppy is adorable and is running her ragged. Slept until 9 this am and now trying to do the catch-up.

My friend Armando is now helping God with His gardens. He passed away a couple of days ago.

It's only been 5 days, but my plants and weeds have gone crazy. Where' my whip?

Glad all are OK. TAR...keep safe.



Hap

Oh gosh Happy...I'm so sorry to hear about Armando! He shared such beautiful pictures of his yard...what a loss to us, but a beautiful gain for Heaven!

Kell...the "lime" on the right I believe is Curly LemonLime, at least that's how mine came tagged.

Had a wicked lightening storm last night...thankful for the rain with it, but with things so dry, the lightening is horrible dangerous...we've had enough fires! They say we may (?) get more today! Dance Ted dance!!!!

Lala and SVplantingFool....you both have mail....

:) Brinda, are you "retired" again yet?

I am so sad about Armando passing. I really am. I hope his partner is a plant person and is taking care of his plants. I always worry about how my plants will do when I die since my Tom is not. I am sure Armando wanted his to live on too. You could tell how much he loved them. I think I will go look at all the pictures he donated to PlantFiles. They are really beautiful. God Bless you, Armando.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/imagesbyuser.php?user=giancarlo

Kell.. your Royal Glissade is awesome!
That fruit tree spray is Neem based with pyrethrins I love the stuff.. I use it for so much.. I can even spray newly planted seeds or seedlings to keep the fungus gnats from getting them... amazIng stuff...

So Royal Glissade can be so different! I have it.. but it's mostly maroon colored.. So does that mean I should give it more shade?

I was also wondering about Tigerlily.. Mine is getting too dark burnt orange.. I'm thinking that's from too much sun also?

Mississippi Summer is totally dark purple.. it was getting filtered sun..

See what happens when I get a chance to go outside? LOL I discover suffering plants or blah colors..

I think Mississippi Summer will color up only if it gets a lot of direct sun. Mine certainly has. They were solid purple at the nursery.
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Some of you get tired of ID questions, and I understand, but I'm still not sure about this one, and it's my best full sun coleus ever. Does anyone know for sure its name? I want to be able to get it again next spring.

TKS

DP

another shot