The sticky pot sickness was upon me today. I did not escape the nursery without the following:
Rudbeckia Cherokee Sunset and R. Prairie Sun Sweet Potato (Ipomoea) Vine Sweet Caroline variegated Butterfly weed So it is out in the early am coolness to plant on Friday. (Gotta give them a couple of days to adjust, y'know)
note: My other sweet potato vine, Blackie, has now covered a 5' x5' space and is blooming.
Emilie NorCal: the other HOT place
Mine has yet to bloom. It's enormous, tough. This year I didn't go into a garden center after March. There is not one plant I need, have room for or care to plant. I have a half acre of stacked and packed garden beds. If I dug out half of what I have, I'd still have more diversity in my garden than every house on the block. I think my gardening "fever" days are gone. Now I'd just like to neaten up enough for me not to be anticipating an elephant coming through the bush; the way I saw it in the film "The Color Purple."
This year I have frogs in the ponds, not just toads. It's a cacophony out there.
The message from mleblanca contains these words:
Poor you. This is a high-risk time of year.
I'm about to have a bad attack of it tomorrow, at Ayr Flower Show..I can feel my temperature and heart rate rising already. Preparations against the worst dangers are well in hand. Drum playing has strengthened my wrists; and I've just given myself a pedicure to keep the feet comfy. The proceeds from my last plant sale (why propagate and sell plants, except to buy more, hm?) are lined up in the wallet and I've rounded up the strongest carrying bags (I'm travelling there by boat and coach).
Are there any other health and safety precautions I should take?
Janet.
I've still got a gift cert burning a hole in my purse for one of the local garden centers. The sign claims "new stuff" so maybe I'll go let a pot or two stick to my fingers.
Cheryl
I think that is an excellent plan. Be sure to use the hand without the stiches. grin I survived a foray into Lowe's today. But there was one temptation: a new Shasta Daisy, 'Gold Rush'. shaggy and a light golden color. Pricey. /what would Luther Burbank think, after all his years of hybridizing to achieve a pure white Shasta Daisy!!!
Emilie
Ah, Janet You sound like a seasoned veteran ..... No need for hints from me! I agree totally with your premise re: the reason for growing and selling plants! Be sure to let us know what treasures you acquire. Best of luck to you
Emilie
I used that hand to hand over the GC ;) Phlox "Nora Leigh" is sitting on the deck. (stitches are out, but until the healing is a little more complete, I have to be a little careful not to rip the "scab" off.
How true! Does sound pretty.
Cheryl
Janet, I just want pictures from the ride home.
Cheryl
Sounds like someone has been to the Plant Barn again! I have the same problem every time I wander in there.... Not my fault at all, of course -- the PB Tractor Beam just grabs my car when I head out of town on 99. At that point, I'm just a passenger. 8-]
I love Prairie Sun!! Started some from seed (Territorial Seed Co.) a few years ago, and still have quite a few plants going strong up here on the Ridge. Didn't have quite as good luck with the Cherokee Sunsets I started -- wound up with all doubles, and I prefer singles. And so it goes.... the wonders of genetics. Very pretty rich colors, though!
I also was unable to resist a Blackie earlier this year -- it's in a large pot near the entry to the house, and looks like it may take over completely one of these days. It has been blooming away for a couple of months now -- what a stunning pinky-purple color! I'm totally smitten. Have never grown one of these before -- am assuming I'll have to move it to a more portable pot and bring it in for the winter. Are you able to overwinter yours outdoors? Temps sometimes drop down into the 20s in the winter up here.
Enjoy your new beauties!!
Happy trails....
Sue Beautiful Butte County, CA (which *f> The sticky pot sickness was upon me today. I did not escape the nursery
The message from mleblanca contains these words:
Bet he'd be thrilled :-) I have it and it's gorgeous, more cream than golden, and shaggy. I don't think the stems sem quite as strong as Aglaia's but this is only its first season in my garden.
If you really want white, then there's a lovely shaggy white one called Aglaia which is superb in the garden and also for flower arranging. It never needs any support even in my windy garden and flowers for a very long period.
Janet
On Aug 3, 8:54 am, "Cliff & Sue Drake" wrote
Wow, a "neighbor" .....Hello neighbor in NorCal..I'll have to watch what I say Ha ha
No the last time I went to thePB to look around, it was closed for vacation and I didn't get a thing. These plants were from a visit to Mendon's!!
I like the singles, too. Prairie Sun is great. I'll have to wait to see what the Cherokees are like, they are just buds with no color yet
I don't grow much in containers down here, too dang hot. Have to water two or more times a day I think Blackie has grown about a foot, now it is near 6' in diameter. It is in the ground and is swallowing the sprinkler, the mini roses and the blue fescue and is headed for the weigela! Sw Pot don't make it thru the winter here either. We get down to 20 here usually, too.So rather than try to dig up this monster I'm going to root a few stems and pot them up. Yes the shade of purple on the flowers is reallly cool
Yes, how about THAT mle
Well, he just might at that. He was certainly an amazing man. Glad to hear that it is gorgeous in the garden as well as in the pot I'll check other nurseries; a couple others will probably have it But WHERE will I put it???? It'll be 'musical chairs' time again
You know, I did have Aglaia at one time. It disappeared--"thank you Gophers" (before I started putting wire around things) Right now I rather like 'Wirral Pride' I think I'm going to dig up the tall Shastas that flop all over and give them to the garden club sale More Room for newbies!!!!
Emilie NorCal
"mleblanca" wrote:
--Nah... you're safe! 8-]
--Ah, Mendon's! It is dangerously close (within a mile) to my house, and I have to pass it *and* Paradise Nursery in order to get to ACE hardware and other fun places in town. =8-o Both nurseries have acquired many of my plant $$ over the years.... I just discovered the PB this past spring, and have been going a bit nuts over their stock of Euphorbias -- love those plants!
--The pot my Blackie is in is about 24" high, and it has cascaded over the side and is making a break for the courtyard -- so far, it hasn't over-run any other plants on the way, though it is *seriously* crowding the other plants in the pot. Good point about the size of the beast -- I may try leaving it in the pot over winter, and hope we have a mild one. Taking cuttings is an excellent idea -- I plan to do that with the scented Geranium and Coleus that are in the pot with it. I've never worked with a sweet potato plant before -- do you just break off one of the growing stems and pop it into water? Do I need a few leaf-nodes, or will just one do? Don't mean to be a pest, but the Spousal Unit informs me I must have had a deprived grade-school experience -- we never grew sweet potatoes! ;-]
Speaking of our ACE hardware -- you mentioned in another post having a problem with gophers. We had a serious infestation of them a few years ago, which necessitated emptying three 4x4', one foot deep raised beds and re-lining the bottoms with triple-layers of hardware cloth. >8-[ Not a fun job! In desperation to protect the plants in nearby ground-level beds, I checked ACE and found a gadget called Gopher-It. It is a metal tube that holds 4 large (D, I think) batteries -- you just insert it into the ground and turn it on. It beeps about every 30 seconds -- which is apparently pretty annoying to gophers -- and much to my surprise, it really works! They run about $25 each, and cover a radius of about 30' -- we have one up near the raised beds and one in the courtyard bed, and haven't suffered any gopher damage to those areas since. (The little hoovers tunneled *under* the driveway and pavers to get to the courtyard bed!) We often have evidence of gophers on the perimeter of the areas, and in other parts of the yard, but the gardens are safe! I figure my $50 investment is amortizing out nicely -- both beepers are still going strong, and over the 3 years have saved me far more than that in the cost of replacement plants. The instructions say to replace the batteries every 6 months, but they've always lasted more like 10-12 for us. We just change them when the beep gets really weak. I thought I'd find the beeps annoying, but I don't -- when I first go out, I listen for it to make sure it's working, and then I don't hear it anymore -- it truly isn't an intrusive sound (to my ear, anyway). Just a thought, in case you're still having problems with gophers!
Still waiting for those temps in the 80s they keep promising us....
Sue Beautiful Butte County, CA (which *finally* has a Master Gardener Program!!) USDA Zone 8 - Sunset Zone 7
Oh my that IS dangerous. Have you gotten any Euphorbs from John at Canyon Creek Nursery?
Yes, I just went out and cut about 12 inch stems, since that was what was spilling over into the path. Put them in water. that was on Sat early, and I looked at them this am; there are already 1/2 inch roots on them! We always had a sweet potato plant in a glass of water on the window sill.
Thanks for the info.
well how about today, rather strange for August, but _very_ pleasant.
85 here and a nice strong breeze. Are you a member of the garden club up there?Emilie NorCal
--No, I haven't been to Canyon Creek in a couple of years. Got some wonderful Salvias from him then, but have forgotten to check his web-site for new stuff. Shame on me! I'll rectify that soon, especially if he's got Euphorbias....
--Wow! And I thought rooting cuttings of Angelwing Begonias was instant gratification! I'll take a couple of Blackie stems tomorrow morning. Thanks for your help!
--Yup, same wonderful weather up here the past couple of days -- my back tells me I've been having *way* too much fun outside as a result! ;-] Got some long-needed pruning done, and general garden cleanup while the coolth lasts....
Yes, I've belonged to Paradise GC since 2001 -- and belonged to the Men's for a couple of years. They've (Men's) decided to dis-affiliate with the State and National GCs, and have reverted to more of a social men's club, from what I understand. Too bad -- I loved their spring Plant Sale! I also loved the lack of emphasis on Club Rules, by-laws and such -- but PGC is a good club and I've learned a lot about gardening in this climate from the programs and people I've met. I do the Club web page (which I need to update for this month) ==>
John brings plants to the Farmer's Market on Saturdays also. He will bring specific plants if you let him know what you want.
Yes I am a member of several clubs. The Garden Club here is the Horticultural Society, also belong to CA Native Plant Society and to the Butte Rose Society (You might want to attend a meeting some evening with your Pres. Carolyn, who also is a member) Nice web page. I have attended several PGC meetings, and never miss your FAB garden tour!! Will check your programs and come up that way this fall
Emilie
--What a guy! That's great info to have, thanks!
--That's it! I couldn't think of the name of the garden club to save my life. (Brain-fade strikes again.) Come to think of it, I've also heard Carolyn mention the Rose Society -- I'll have to talk to her about it sometime. Not that I grow any other than the Simplicity hedge roses that came with the house.... They may well be departing for the green waste bin one of these days -- they've been doing a great job for about 20 years and are looking *mighty* tired! When we lived in WI, I grew a few Rugosas and other 'old' roses -- but haven't had any luck with them here. Since I hate killing perfectly good plants, I think I'll stick with things like Salvias, Euphorbias and Agastaches that do much better in my yard! Does the Horticultural Society also meet at night? I belonged to the local CNPS chapter for several years, but never made it to a meeting -- I don't drive at night, except for dire emergencies.
--Thanks! Hope to meet you in person at one of the up-coming meetings -- I'll watch for you when the guests are announced.
Happy trails....
Sue
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