Author: variadm

True Blue

The first genetically engineered blue rose will hit Japanese markets in November. Sadly, the rest of the world won’t get to see this bioengineered lilac-blue marvel until 2011. Still I’m always eager to try out my hand at rose gardening…and if I had a choice, this would be the first of them. Now if only they can engineer some blue lilies or daylilies someday. Florigene has already done it with roses and carnations!

Pondering the winter garden

As the evidence of fall starts coloring the landscape, I am in a frame of mind to garden once again. My pending move to a house with a yard has lent some excitement to the notion of planting flower bulbs in the ground. Off and on, I’ve been browsing the internet looking for good deals on daffodils, lilies and other flowering options.

I had an opportunity to give my Japanese maple some TLC 2 weekends ago. I suspect that watering neglect gave cause for it to brown over 50% of its foliage. The fiance did get a drill to start punching holes in the bottom of its pot so that I could give it a good drenching. I also added more soil material to cover some exposed roots.

However with the weather turning colder, I wonder if it’s too late to add any fertilizer to the pot. I realize that when I originally potted the maple, it received half a pot of garden soil and another half of compost. Since most sage advice regarding Japanese maples forbid the use of fertilizer late into the fall, I will withhold and hope that the maple will survive the winter and rebloom next spring.

Oddly enough, the tree has shown some new growth in the last month or so, most shooting near the top of the tree and in other various spots.

Casualty list

All of my lavender plants are gone…the rosemary bush is on its final legs. Let this be a lesson: xeric plants that don’t like their feet wet MUST have a sandy soil mixture that doesn’t retain water. Perhaps I will need to consider older specimens in the future, as well bigger planters with sufficient drainage.

I noticed that my Devil’s Wine calla is dropping all of its leaves…I suppose that it’s done for it’s summer show. The other callas are following suit. Perhaps it is the planter environment, or perhaps they just don’t get enough sunlight to keep the greenery up. I generally have had longer foliage life when the callas are in a garden setting, but perhaps these callas are a little less hardy here in the south and less suited to a patio environment.

I’ve noticed that one of the ornamental pepper plants have ripening fruit. What started as a rich purple fruit has now ripened to burgundy-red color. With sporadic flowering of the neighboring dianthus, the colors stand out marvelously.

I am not sure why the potted salvia are looking thin and reedy, despite sufficient watering. I am wondering if their potted state just isn’t giving them enough room to grow and spread.

Lily withdrawals

To think I’ve gone a season without growing my own lilies! The arboretum visit was not enough! It makes me sad that I cannot enjoy the brilliant, oversized blooms any time soon. Ah…if only my cosmos seedlings will start giving me some blooms, I imagine I wouldn’t be so despondent from the lack of lilies.

I’m still scratching my head over the rosemary plant; it still has not stopped browning. I’m also fearful of losing my Coconut Ice lavender…I’ve been studiously ignoring the watering on both of these herb plants to make sure they aren’t suffering from root rot. But with the temperatures broiling outside, I’m not sure how often I should be attending to their water needs…I imagine it’s time to re-pot them and see if amending the soil will improve their chances.

I think the unkillable potato vine is killable. A purple potato vine that shared its new home with a caladium has dropped all its leaves. Not sure if it’s due to overwatering or lack of soil depth. This bears further investigation…