lavender

I'm checking out desert gardening. If we head anywhere it will be west. The humidity in the south might be good for the plants but I don't think I could take it. I know I'm not going to be growing orchids in the Arizona sun so maybe I'll just stay here.

The first time I saw one of those giant poinsettias in bloom it gave me a shock. It's like going to Florida and seeing things you are struggling to grow as house plants growing under the bridges and in ditches as weeds.

Vining plants on a trellis are a pain to repot. Make sure it has good drainage. I repotted mine into a pot that had an attached bottom catch plate and for some reason it wasn't draining properly. Killed it dead after a couple of rains. I've seen poinsettias grown outdoors and they are indeed impressive. I don't think anyone expects them to be a huge bush when we see them in pots. Jade trees are another one. They grow them as hedges in Calif. I don't know that I've ever seen a hibiscus "in the wild". It must be an impressive site when in bloom. I have one of the double tropical ones in the greenhouse and it is still blooming. Gorgeous and to think I almost let it get frosted because of the size and weight.

How about just putting the pot you have it in in a nicer pot? Are you going to put it back outside this summer?

Hey, Doc, haven't heard from you in a long time. I dragged the aloe off the shelf where it was living as the flower stem got too tall. It still hasn't opened. I have another plant that I have never seen bloom before throwing up a flower. I'll get a picture. The orchids are blooming up a storm. It is funny how they bloom in sequence. The Phalaenopsis are blooming now and the Miltonidiums are budding.

Good luck with it! Have you tried an avocado? They make nice plants too. I've tried mangoes but never got a seed to germinate. I had a friend who called this "garbage gardening". One man's trash...........

I tried one from the top of a pineapple once. It rooted and grew but never did much in the house and I wasn't able to get it outdoors at the time. You will probably have better luck in the south where you could keep it out a good part of the year.I remember reading that to get them to produce fruit you have to supply a source of ethylene gas like a ripe apple. Pineapples are bromeliads and I believe they die after they flower. I just had a beautiful zebra striped bromeliad die after it flowered and the flower wasn't anything special.

I was watering today and found this aloe that has put up a flower stem. It's never done it before and I'm all excited. Here is a picture of the bud. I'll post one of the flower when it opens.

Yes, just put it in the soil and it should develop a root eventually. Keep an eye on it and if it starts to shrivel give it a bit more water. You want to make it as easy as possible on it since it will have to develop roots on its stored water supply. Good luck!

Aloes do go semi-dormant in the winter so I'd wait maybe another month before messing with it unless it is in dire need. If you are going to divide it just tease off the offsets with your fingers or cut through the root mass with a sharp knife. You can get rid of any dead roots when you divide. Aloe plants are generally planted in shallow pots or bowls because they have a broad root system rather than a deep one. The roots of desert plants cover as much area as possible to obtain as much water as they can get. Planting in a deep pot can cause root rot as the excess soil in the bottom will stay wet. A shallower, wider pot allows the roots to spread nearer the surface in the way they do in nature. If you must use a deeper pot fill the bottom with rocks or gravel. Use a cactus soil or if you use a potting soil add some perlite or sand. For every three cups of potting soil I'd toss in an extra cup of sand or perlite. Good drainage is important. Water only when the soil is dry and then give it a cup or so of water letting it drain thoroughly. That said it is danged hard to kill an aloe plant especially if you have the very common one that is not Aloe vera.

I see manys_momma finally got in contact with Terah from DuBois FreeCycle. Looking forward to reading that one too.

Thank you too, Steelnut.

If it keeps your deer away from other things it will keep them away from the hostas as well but deer do love hostas. They cleaned mine up every year just as they were flowering until I moved them closer to the house. They still eat the ones in front that are under an apple tree but so far they haven't found the ones to the side or the ones at the back. The back ones will probably be toast next year as we have a deer right up under the back window this winter. Too bad, they are my exotic ones. I ordered a new black one and a blue one last year from a co-op when we redid the Reitz. They were allegedly less expensive. Huh! Sum and Substance grows there too. It is my favorite and huge. Snellma, do hostas grow in South Caroline? We have relatives that say they won't grow in Texas.

Thanks! The orchids almost show up. There are about 10 plants in bloom. The reporter did a great job of getting it right, not as easy as it sounds when translating someone else.

And once I have the evidence I can have him arrested for veggienapping.

Just so I don't see Phil in my garden he is OK. Miserable rodents eat everything!

I don't want to see daffodils until April! They had buds on them in the middle of winter last year. I'm pretty sure not much in that patch bloomed later. I should have picked them and brought them in. Lucky, Snellma! I don't think that spring is just around the corner in DuBois.

Good to know. Life Buoy was had to find. We also use ammonia too. It works better on groundhogs and coons. I don't know about the hair. They sure aren't scared of it when it is on my head. ;D

I've used soap and had it work. What kind does she use? It seems to me that there were only a couple of kinds that were supposed to work. Life Buoy (sp?) was one, I think.

Last year I got the Dolce Series: Peach Melba, Mocha Mint and Key Lime Pie. My husband doesn't say a thing. He just mows them down.

The tame ones don't compare to the wild ones do they? I don't even want the wild ones in the house they smell so bad. I'd rather dig holes and pull weeds than prepare for the holidays. I'm beat! The seed catalogs are coming in. I found some new coral bells (Huecheras). Villosa hybrids. Pistache is lime green/chartreuse yellow, Beaujolais goes from burgundy/silver in the spring rose pink in summer and Tiramisu goes from gold/yellow in spring to burnt orange to chartreuse/silver. In the fall it is purple with a line green edge. (Gotta have Tiramisu) Picked up a bunch of these last year they are great plants for semi-shade and are said to do well in the sun too. Even last years drought couldn't kill them and I didn't water much.

I agree. They can be treated like a houseplant in the north. Give it bright light and not too much water. Put it out again in the spring but you may lose the indoor foliage. You actually handled exactly as you should have.

Nope, they say decorators gone wild. Snellma, I'll start leeks in February and maybe some flowering annuals. You should have seen my leeks this year. They were as big around as a medium sized onion. Still haven't dug them all. Must do it before the ground freezes.

The red poinsettias just don't make it in the room that is sage green and lavender. Men are big on painting everything white. Don't know why. Catmint is a near relative of catnip but it gets a pretty blue flower. It is a medicinal herb. I did an article on it for our newsletter. It is here http://www.downtoearthgardenclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=29 Excuse the formatting. It was one of my early efforts and I haven't had a chance to fix it. Maybe I'll go do it right now while I'm thinking about it.

For some reason I always think of the trees that are beautifully done in the non-traditional colors as something a decorator would do or someone with no interest in sentimentality. My ornaments don't match but they all have a story. We do a Lenox tree as well (I collect Lenox) and my husband keeps telling me to quit putting up the traditional tree just do the Lenox one. Like that is going to happen! I might just get one of the odd colored poinsettias as I have a room that red looks really bad in. I was disappointed to find that they were dyed. I don't like plants that are messed with. I'm looking for seeds for different kinds of catmint this spring in the catalogs. I have a friend who says the newer varieties are not as rambunctious as the older ones and that it is a great bloomer. Going to give some of them a try. Walker's Low sounds good.