hosta – Page 3 – variegatagal

Dahlberg daisies, calla lilies, and 99 cent hostas

I learned via email specials that Calloway’s had a sale on Francee hosta bulbs on Tuesday. I dispatched the honey to pick one up for me; he ended up bringing 2 home–but the bulbs/rhizomes were so puny I was worried that they’d turn out to be disappointments. He tried to pick out the best of the pile they had and one of them already had a leaf trunk growing. He also couldn’t resist bringing home 4 dahlberg daisies home with him.

I promptly put the Francee hostas in a planter box. I just don’t think they’d survive being in-ground given their size.

A note about dahlberg daisies: it seems that seedlings dislike overhead watering and should be watered from below. This coincides with my observations, since the frail seedlings end up rotting away after getting a light shower.

Several of the calla lily bulbs I potted up a few weeks ago are already bursting out of the soil. And it seems I still missed a few calla bulbs in the lily bed, after discovering several leaves next to the Hyperion daylily and one stalk coming up from under a purple oxalis.

After the hail storm

We’ve had a spate of mild weather lately, until last night when a hail storm struck, damaging tender young plants. Some vinca seedlings I had sitting out suffered the most damage, but most other plants will recover. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of debris strewn about the yard caused by the hail storm, so a cleanup will be on the gardening agenda this weekend.

I have express my dismay upon discovering that the Diana Blueberry dianthus blooms weren’t even blue, lavender, or some shade reminiscent of blue. All the dianthus sitting in the blue bed are opening pink, or picoteed pink. I’m beginning to suspect that these Blueberry dianthus are the Super Parfait Red Peppermints that I thought perished last year, but those were supposed to be RED!

I am concerned with one of the variegated felicia specimens planted next to the fence. It appears to be dying; the honey says its probably due to lack of sun, but I can’t imagine that might be what’s ailing it. Another fence hugger, our Frostproof Gardenia, has been curling up and dropping nearly most of its leaves, and there’s been no sign yet of any new foliage. I’m sad to say that it is probably due for replacement or relocation.

There are few garden shows to see this weekend. Calloway’s is hosting their Rose Festival and sponsoring several garden tours this month and next–Southlake being the first of the series. NHG has their daylily sale, and Argyle Acres opens their Iris gardens to the public.

Speaking of roses, we’ve determined the yellowing on the nether parts of our Midnight Blue is attributable to too much watering. We’ve cut down on the moisture and it is retaining its blooms longer. The neighboring purple salvia greggii echo the colors of our Midnight Blue. And now the gauras planted next to the house are getting in the act, starting to put forth blooms. I need to plant the ornamental peppers in this purple bed to get them going.

I adopted out some herbs and pepper plants yesterday; and now I’m in the mood to plant more–even though I have zero room for them. I suppose I should try to coax more Lime Basil plants from seed–my first two attempts at early hardening seems to have killed the youngsters. I’d also like one regular basil plant, which I will perhaps keep potted. I’m also seriously considering onions and garlic, plus fostering some more hostas.

I will also need to start more vinca, since I find that I’m not producing enough.

Some interesting gardening reading that I’ve found recently:

And who knew that Coppell had its own nature park?

Seed starting 2011 part 5

This weekend I filled up the 2nd tray of Jiffy 7 coir pellets (Professional Greenhouse 72), 72 seeds in all. For the harder-to-grow seeds, I attempted to triple and quadruple some of the seeds in hopes that stronger seedlings result.

The list? Easy Wave (The Flag) Petunias, Seabreeze salvia farinacea, Lady in Red salvia coccinea, Impatiens Xtreme Hot! Mix, Origami Blue and Red Columbines, Stardust Delosperma, Durango Outback Mix marigolds.

On our trip to NHG this past Saturday, we bought a Midnight Blue rose (with several closed buds already on it) and a Lime-scented thyme. For some reason I did not find good specimens of Coconut thyme at NHG…so I will most likely pick them up elsewhere, maybe Calloway’s. I also bought two packets of seeds: garlic chives and lime basil. Too late I discovered that a couple of chives are just now sprouting in the same pot as the Iona Blue pansy. Based on a pot of chives I saw at NHG, I sowed 6-7 seeds of the used packet of chives that I had left over in 2 3″ pots. Perhaps growing them thick is the key.

I brought out the tray of vinca seedlings into the light. With counter space at a premium, I’ve had to do some fancy rearranging in our bathroom greenhouse. I decided to put out all the pepper plants, including the ornamentals, out in the yard to make room. I’ve also set out the tallest of the hosta plants. I imagine I also be putting out the 2 cupheas sitting in the bathtub…they haven’t done anything since I put them in there, so I believe they would prefer a stronger light source.

I noticed that through neglect one of the Oriental Limelight artemisias nearly died back into the pot. Luckily, a little water restored it, though some stalks were lost in the process. I’m still trying to decide if I should turn them loose in the landscape or just keep them potted.

By the way, I found this free online planner that meets most of my criteria for designing a garden bed: http://www.smallblueprinter.com/garden/planner.html

The following sights currently on view in the garden: plumes of foxtail ferns shooting up, a healthy crown of leaf buds on Prairie Sky Hosta, blue flowering Chocolate Chip ajuga, sword like fan of leaves on the hardy amaryllis, daffodil buds peeking through the ground, white loropetalum in full bloom, violas and scabiosa also blooming heartily, purple oxalis looking spectacular.

Also this weekend, finally accomplished setting down weed mat on the salvia wall. Next mission: gravel or mulch, not sure yet. In the herb garden, transplanted one of the golden oreganos and the lime thyme. I’ll need more soil/compost to finish transplanting the rest of the herbs in the cinderblock wall.

Late winter garden update

The biggest challenge in the outdoor space is the henbit and broadleaf weed invasion that has dominated all of our yards. Because of unseasonably warm weather in February, the weeds grew in and spread like wildfire. We’ve sprayed the lawns twice, after taking stock of the situation, because the infestation is extreme. Hopefully the weedkiller we’ve applied will make the difference so we can finally get to applying the preventive.

Some observations I’ve made of the outdoor space: Prairie Sky hosta is displaying a crown of leaf buds, Emerald Snow loropetalums are blooming, daylilies have all leafed, yarrows are spreading. I’ve done some additional pruning and mulching on salvias. I’ve transplanted the Japanese maple into its new home, an 18″x18″ redwood cedar box. Yesterday, I planted 2 scabiosas that I obtained from Home Depot and added a Sinaloa sage to the blue bed. I brought indoors the other Sinaloa sage due to some serious dieback after going without water for several days. I am uncertain at this time but I believe that one of the foxtail ferns is attempting to make a comeback. However I don’t know how it will fare given the cooler temperatures we’ve been seeing lately. This morning I had the honey plant a bag of Tiger lilies purchased from Home Depot in the front yard shade bed. Given their vigorous nature, I feel comfortable in knowing that these Tiger lilies will endure in this space.

In addition to my Home Depot purchases, I have a lavender and a bag of Crimson Pirate daylilies that have yet to be planted.

Indoor space: all the hostas have now begun to sprout. They must like sitting in the bathtub, getting warm and cozy. I transplanted all the seedlings in the first cell pack into their own pots, with only a few basil and one pepper plant lost in the transition. I’m debating on whether to put them outside; but currently cool temperatures prohibit that.

Did I mention the vinca have sprouted within a few days? I should bring them into the light soon, I imagine. Also it appears that the golden fleece are making a showing…though the sprouts are extremely tiny. At this point, I highly doubt that they are daisies, but I’m hoping.

I bought a Jiffy tray full of coir pellets this weekend. Ever since the 2nd tray of seedlings has been exposed to air, some of the seedlings have perished (ice plants) while other seeds have failed to sprout (phlox/blue knoll chrysanthemum). Because I’ve had some luck with the coir pellets, I think I will use them from now on. They seem easier to transplant than the Burpee XL Growing system. In addition to the seedling tray, I also bought a packet of convulvulus.

Need to plant those cool season annuals now!

Summer rains bring summer blooms

Last week’s storms brought a flush of color to this week’s garden. Particularly the salvia greggii and the Desperado sage are looking colorful; nearly every specimen along the neighbor wall is in bloom (the whites have started to bud). I am concerned however with a Purple Pastel that has suffered from what looks like overwatering, perhaps due to poor drainage. The Hot Lips (salvia microphylla), while not in bloom, grows like a weed. All three specimens, front yard and courtyard, have tripled their original size.

The crape myrtles are still in bloom, though not crowned as heavily as they were before the rains. The daylilies in front are still blooming; along with the coreopsis, white coneflowers, the white gauras, vincas, kangaroo paw, Victoria salvias, and the Dahlberg daisies. Those daisies, incidentally, have also doubled in size since we first planted them…I can’t remember a day that I have NOT seen them covered with tiny yellow flowers.

The last of the Picasso calla blooms is receding, and I am unhappy that the Flames nor the Devil’s Wine have produced any blooms. The spotted foliage however towers over most of the plantings in the courtyard flower bed…perhaps due to less light. I plan to dig up the bulbs come winter and replant them in a better spot.

Other bloomers: catmint, oxalis, Imperial dark blue plumbago, angelonia, dianthus, verbena, ageratum, Prairie Sky Hosta, bicolor sage. Even the coleus are flowering (which need to be sheared off).

Casualty list: several of the purple/violet dianthus specimens have died off, most likely due to the extreme heat. Not such a great loss, since they were mostly considered annuals. However, I’m not pleased to see them so perishable after past successes with dianthus. Most of the viola are also gone, fried by the heat. The empty border they abandoned by the front door bed needs to be repopulated…I’m thinking of installing some variegated liriope (silver dragons or aztec grass).

On death’s door: my Tuscan Blue rosemary is down to half of its trunks…it doesn’t appear that it will hang on any longer. I need to transplant it immediately and amend the bed further to permit a larger specimen. Also included on this list is the aforementioned Purple pastel salvia.

On the rebound: the chocolate chip ajuga which long suffered in its planter box is now thriving in its part/full shade location in the courtyard bed. I also believe the japanese painted ferns are coming back, after causing a worry when they dropped all their old fronds. They have new fragile leaves on display. The purple loropetalum is also still putting out new branches and leaves, but I am concerned that it is not gaining as much bulk as I expect.