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Post by onlyMark on Mar 31, 2020 14:00:37 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 1, 2020 16:12:53 GMT
The weather has been the worst for the garden. Strong spring sunshine and a strong freezing wind has ripped the guts out of the plants. Most of my Camellia flowers have given up trying to open and I noticed the same with Magnolias where flowers were brown and lifeless.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 1, 2020 17:48:35 GMT
That is really sad news right now, when signs of Spring are psychologically more important than ever.
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Post by bjd on Apr 1, 2020 18:23:33 GMT
Camellias here are pretty much finished. They opened early because we had really warm weather in February, so there are just a few flowers left here and there. My neighbour has a beautiful dark pinky-purple magnolia in his garden just close to our fence. I was able to enjoy it for a few weeks but now the leaves are growing.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 3, 2020 21:29:23 GMT
I put my first dill seeds in one of my window pots about ten days ago. Nothing has happened yet, but I am hoping that with the warm week that is starting, something Will finally happen.
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Post by bjd on Apr 4, 2020 6:32:10 GMT
I found some dill seeds at Lidl and threw some into the ground the other day but since we haven't had any rain, none of the seeds I sowed have come up.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 4, 2020 18:21:11 GMT
Not a bible reader, huh, Bjd? A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. ~ Luke 8:5--18
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Post by bjd on Apr 4, 2020 18:24:51 GMT
Well I did put them on the flower beds and covered them with a bit of soil. But yes, "no moisture".
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2020 5:01:50 GMT
A garden saga by Bixa Orellana On March 3 I posted this caption and picture over in the Cacti & Succulents thread: Completely out of control Agave attenuata. This started as a baby years ago & was planted in its present spot when I moved here six years ago. It's so heavy I had trouble lifting it to prop it up and you can see all the eager babies beneath it ~ This morning when I opened the front door, this is the sight that greeted me. (excuse photos -- accidentally had camera set to Macro) I looked at it and thought about it and finally decided I wasn't going to prop it back up again. Part of the decision was based on having seen these things in bloom -- blooms that can be at least 6' long. I pulled out as much as I could of the zillions of baby (& child & adolescent) plants and sawed the parent plant down ~ Here's another view of the stump. You can see how small these little bricked garden patches in my patio are. The fuzzy columnar cactus is setting on the edge of the bricks on that side. Next to it is the plant I want to replace the Agave. I believe it is a New Zealand Flax -- Phormium tenax ~ Damn, this thing is heavy! Lots and lots of babies, here, there, and everywhere. This is not counting the ones I threw away or put into the compost bin ~ Getting the stump and its roots out was a laugh a minute, but I triumphed. Here is the replacement in its spot. It all looks so naked, doesn't it? Time to move lots of stuff around & get a new look. Not bad, if I do say so ~ The flamingo had her big pot emptied of all the tired plants and exhausted dirt yesterday. Today it got replanted with new stuff. She moved from her longtime station at the entry to the pretty part of the patio to right up by the porch, where the fig was before ~ ~ the end ~
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Post by bjd on Apr 6, 2020 6:36:24 GMT
I hope the weather cooled down some before you had to deal with that agave. Speaking of NZ flax, or phormiums -- I planted some while I was putting in the garden. They grow really big if they get a lot of sun, and they don't seem to need too much water since I see some around town in large pots. The leaves tend to turn brown as they age but don't fall off -- you have to cut them and also be careful because they are spiky at the ends.
This said, I'm amazed at what you can do with a small patio. Your climate is certainly better for succulents than mine. If I leave them outside, they tend to die, inside they get bugs (those white fluffy ones).
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 6, 2020 9:21:24 GMT
That attenuata is a big old beast. At least it isn’t prickly.
Garden looking good now!
Bjd, the bugs are mealy bugs.
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Post by bjd on Apr 6, 2020 15:14:00 GMT
Thanks, Mick. I knew I'd seen the name somewhere but most of my gardening terms are French.
We have a hedgehog in the garden. I looked up to confirm but essentially they only come out in daytime if they are sick. This is a big one and seemed to be moving its head a bit, but then some flies came on its head, which is not a good sign. My husband put some leaves and cardboard around it (as recommended on a website) but it seems to have died an hour later. Will check on it tomorrow.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2020 16:46:26 GMT
I hope the weather cooled down some before you had to deal with that agave. Speaking of NZ flax, or phormiums -- I planted some while I was putting in the garden. They grow really big if they get a lot of sun, and they don't seem to need too much water since I see some around town in large pots. The leaves tend to turn brown as they age but don't fall off -- you have to cut them and also be careful because they are spiky at the ends. This said, I'm amazed at what you can do with a small patio. Your climate is certainly better for succulents than mine. If I leave them outside, they tend to die, inside they get bugs (those white fluffy ones). Thanks, Bjd. I sawed the Agave down while it was still cool out, but tackled the digging and yanking of the stump closer to noon, which was a mistake. I'm really interested in your experience with the NZ flax. For quite some time they have been offered in garden centers here, but I've seldom seen one planted in Oaxaca. There are pictures of them in bloom in my Lullingstone report (reply #2), but how they grow in England & how they'll grow here are certainly two different things. I have the one you see that I just planted in the ground. It was in a largish pot & seemed indifferent to being watered or not. It had quite a bit of root system when I unpotted it. I also have another one in a pot which is a handsome bronze/purple color and a finicky wimp. I don't know what it wants, as it seems to hate sun, but could hardly be a shade plant. It got moved to a bright shade area a few days ago, so we shall see. Mine are not spiky at the ends, perhaps because they're still young. I see Mick has identified the fuzzy bugs for you. You can get rid of them by spraying them with a soapy water solution. Hold the pot sideways so you don't get the soil soapy. Let it dry on the plant & then rinse it off or not. This points up the reason I don't have plants in the house except for the orchid, which is allowed in once a years when it blooms. They always have something, plus all the annoyance of trying to water them without making a mess. Mick could certainly give better advice than I about succulents in a less-than-ideal climate for them. I'd say to give them very sharp drainage, lots of sun, and try to keep them very dry in winter. That attenuata is a big old beast. At least it isn’t prickly. Garden looking good now! Thanks, Mick! The cut-off part weighs at least 20 pounds. I'm going to have to go over to the market to see if any plant sellers are there, which is doubtful in these times. There was zero foot traffic outside my gate yesterday, but in the afternoon a couple passed walking their dog. I leaned out the gate and called out to them, asking if they wanted any agave. They turned out to be Canadians & I managed to send them off with one of the three piles of babies.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 6, 2020 17:02:10 GMT
Bjd, I would have thought your climate better than mine but what Bixa says is absolutely spot on. When the summer weather is good don't be afraid to water and feed them.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 6, 2020 17:13:54 GMT
That was kind of you Bixa, love agave. Your garden is looking lovely, lots of beautiful healthy plants. Every garden needs structural plants.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2020 17:18:00 GMT
It was kind?! Ha! I practically did a flying tackle on them to grab them & get them to take away some of that wretched excess.
I started that Agave from a tiny baby, so having to saw it down and dig it up was emotionally traumatic. By the same token, I can't just throw out all those babies.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 6, 2020 21:32:47 GMT
Today I finished digging over the vegetable garden and planted out about 70 onion sets.
Potatoes will go in tomorrow.
Broad beans have germinated and will be planted out in about a week.
Carrots sown in a container and tomato seeds sown at the weekend.
Everything on course.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2020 22:08:42 GMT
Mick, is this the regular planting time in your region? How long is the growing season -- from around the beginning of April until ~?~
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 7, 2020 7:00:00 GMT
September. That's about all you can get in.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 8, 2020 22:40:29 GMT
In the spirit of never say never, I could not get myself to part with the big top of the toppled Agave. I cut it so that the remaining trunk below the leaf cluster was a little shorter than the pot I put it in. We shall see ~
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Post by bjd on Apr 20, 2020 15:53:31 GMT
We went for a walk this afternoon and stopped to talk to a woman with a really big nice garden. I asked about some of her flowers and she gave me a small plant of lavender stoechas. Sounds nicer in French: butterfly lavender.
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Post by patricklondon on Apr 21, 2020 4:51:59 GMT
Sounds nicer in French: butterfly lavender. I think in England it's called French lavender.
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Post by bjd on Apr 21, 2020 5:58:45 GMT
I got that English-language name from Wikipedia.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 21, 2020 13:45:25 GMT
I've been moving plants around a bit and weeding. There are no weeds in my garden at this time. In theory.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 21, 2020 14:07:14 GMT
I've been moving plants around a bit and weeding. There are no weeds in my garden at this time. In theory. Sounds a bit like Trump on gardening. Is it a beautiful place?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 21, 2020 15:58:51 GMT
The best ever
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Post by casimira on Apr 28, 2020 12:45:23 GMT
Yesterday I planted a row of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) in a spot that I cleared that gets really good light (something I'm short on despite the size of my gardening space).
The reason I planted so many is a.) I love this plant, b.) I plan to use the harvest to make tea bags with cheese cloth to use as gifts. and c.) they make gorgeous cut flower bouquets.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 28, 2020 15:42:49 GMT
I haven't had any roselle planted since I moved to this house, but need to figure out how to remedy that. For years I had a black one going that I got from a friend. It had dark leaves & almost black flowers -- very striking.
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Post by casimira on Apr 29, 2020 13:36:41 GMT
I have a gazillion seeds of it. I wish I could send you some. Let me know if there's a chance of them getting there by post Bixa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2020 19:01:50 GMT
Thank you! I have to come to the US in October, so we'll figure it out then if you still have seeds.
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