Author: variadm
Azaleas and wishlist shrubs
I assessed the courtyard flower bed today to inspect the azaleas and determine future plantings. Most of the azaleas in the bed have not demonstrated significant growth in 2010. They flowered once in late spring then settled in for the grueling heat of summer. All but the Macrantha Orange reminded me of molting birds, dropping some of their foliage, appearing spindly and half naked.
The Macrantha azalea’s winter display is the best of the bunch, remaining fully dressed to date. My memory of its blooms is dim; I have it recorded as having crimson-orange blooms, but I don’t recall it being as floriferous as Hot Shot. Bloom season coincided with the Gumpos, around mid to late spring. Not a cultivar I would pick up again, despite its foliage.
Two Gumpo pink azaleas appear to have perished, having lost all of their leaves with the onset of winter. One of the Gumpo die-offs I can attribute to more sun exposure than the rest, but I don’t have a clue as to why the other one dropped all its leaves. I enjoyed the dwarf mounding habit of these azaleas, perfect as a groundcover, though I would prefer a more full-bodied appearance. Perhaps with a little more maintenance this spring, I can encourage them to look better. The snail-slow growth rate of these shrubs reminds me I should be patient with them. At $2 a piece, I can’t complain with their evergreen performance so far.
The Hot Shot azalea showed off the most dramatic color change, turning a dark, reddish-purple with the cold temperatures. This specimen had the brightest red flowers; a keeper if I can get it to prosper. It is also listed to be a moderate grower, topping off at 4′ in height and 5′ wide. It’s a good bloomer as well. My specimen will have more growing to do to reach its maximum size, but I may have to consider moving it if it experiences a growth spurt this spring. I suspect its winter foliage might be a result of receiving more sun the other azaleas in this bed; having another specimen in deeper shade might test this theory.
Delaware Valley White azalea: floriferous but single-flowered. I prefer a double-flowered form, but DVW’s saving grace is that it puts out flowers early. Currently its winter display is similar to the Crimson azalea, leggy and spindly.
The Crimson azalea was the most disappointing of the $2 azaleas, more pink than red–not a bloom color that I found attractive. Sitting in the shade of a crape myrtle, I expected it to fill out, but instead it is the most anemic of the small shrubs in this bed. It has an upright habit, but because of its bare ankles, it currently looks unattractive. I am contemplating yanking it out and replacing it with a Hot Shot.
On my wishlist: I wanted them last year, and I still want them in 2011. Kaleidoscope abelias. I’ve found some info that suggests that abelias can endure in full shade and even remain evergreen. If this is the case, then I look forward to planting them in the front yard shade garden. I am unsure if their size will allow them to work into the courtyard flower bed though.
Another wishlist shrub is nandina. The winter show these nandinas are currently putting on is stunning. I especially love the texture of the smaller nandina and similar cultivars. I realize that putting them in shade however might negate the fiery display of these plants in winter, but having something evergreen in the shade garden will alleviate the emptiness. The lone nandina positioned in the gardenia bed, Moon Bay, has tolerated part to full shade conditions. It has demonstrated slow growth in this spot and has darkened in foliage color throughout summer into fall and winter. I will need to observe it for spring growth to see if will show off lime green coloration again.
More wishlist items to come!
A patient named Cuphea
I bought a couple of hard-luck cases at Home Depot in early December: two Mexican heathers, Cuphea hyssopifolia, for a buck apiece. I noticed them primarily for their yellow green foliage at the time, which was striking, though I was unsure if this was a seasonal change or typical coloring. The quart sized bushes were dressed in tiny purple flowers and showed no signs of stopping well into winter. However, as the temperatures plummeted, I saw that they struggled to stay green, and when we finally experienced some snow, I brought them in under the grow lights to defrost. My man is of the opinion that they might survive since he saw evidence of new growth. I’m more inclined to believe that they have reseeded since most of the top growth has all but died off. I am hoping that a good shearing and being indoors will resuscitate these specimens after their heroic efforts to stay bright and cheery in early winter weeks.
Seed starting 2011 part 1 and blues speculation
It snowed today, first snow of 2011. Good thing I broke out the grow lights from the shed earlier this week. I am reusing the Burpee grow system, minus their grow pellets. The man bought me two bags of seed starting soil, which I packed in half of the plastic cells. This morning I got to sow some seeds: 6x Red Rubin Basil, 6x Thai Basil, 6x Jupiter Bell Pepper, 6x Calico Ornamental Pepper, 6x Purple Flash Ornamental Pepper, 2x unnamed Thai Chili, and 4x Pansy seeds which I “borrowed” from the Arboretum trial gardens…I believe the cultivar was Iona Heavenly Blue.
I also planted a rosemary cutting which had a single root after about a week sitting in water. I have another sprig of rosemary and a red dianthus chinensis sitting it water, waiting to see them root. I need to remember to take some cuttings of the verbena and the felicia daisy.
While my attention is on the blue flowers, I must express my affection for the felicia daisy which has bloomed sporadically up to this month. This Cape Town Blue daisy has displayed amazing tolerance for the heat and cold, enduring the summer in a planter, and now mulched int the blue bed. I have tried to capture seeds from it to no avail; so perhaps taking some cuttings may work.
I also have hopes to see the Diana Blueberry dianthus blooms, though I know it won’t come even close to a true blue. Even so, a pale lavender will be a rare sight to see on a dianthus. Speaking of dianthus, these are the only seedlings that I’m aware of that have made it to the garden. The Red Peppermint dianthus seedlings unfortunately perished–to the best of my knowledge–due to heat well before they made it into the ground. I believe the dianthuses in the purple garden were all store-bought this year, and there are some purple, picotees and parfaits that have endured.
As I am browsing my camera pics, I am reminded of the beauty of the annual phlox, however fleeting it was. It seems that growing them from seeds may be too challenging for the home gardener, since I have yet to find any outlets offering them. I believe the 4 specimens that I picked up at Covington’s this last year were of the Phoenix Sky variety, a lovely pale purple star surrounded by white-cream. I’ll keep hunting, though reading suggest that these phloxes are cool-weather annuals.
The angelonia have succumbed finally to the winter cold; the purple variety which seemed a bit sturdier has browned like the whites. It’s amazing how these angelonia have grown so tall and wide from modest specimens. They definitely need more room if we plan on using them again next year.
Lawn and weed woes
The winter lawn looks abominable. Evidence of irregular watering throughout the year shows up in bald patches and weed farms all over the front and back yards. Weed and feed came late this past year, the man laid down the fertilizer in December. I am wishing for the perfect green lawn in 2011…but it looks like we will have to wait till spring to work on this. Meanwhile, everything from henbit, thistle to nettle weeds are growing. Thanks to this weed identifier, I now know the names of the enemy. The Bermuda bible will give us a leg up on the competition as well. Meanwhile I am thinking about investing in spot weed-killers.