Houseplants

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Bringing in the houseplants in fall

All the houseplants that spent the summer outside are now safely tucked away in the house. When the temperature outside goes below 60 degrees at night, I know it’s time to bring in the houseplants.

The coleus cuttings will be houseplants until May. I start them in water. I know they can also be started directly in soil but water works for me. After they grow roots, I’ll pot them up. They will spend the winter under lights. I’ll do another batch of cuttings from them in late winter.

The Christmas cactus needed to be trimmed. After a light haircut, I rinsed the leaves with a sprayer on the hose. I sprayed with my homemade baking soda/dish soap/water solution (1 gallon water, 2 tablespoons baking soda and a little dish soap). I put them in a little used, cool room that gets no artificial light. I’ll wait for blooms to start in November.

The amaryllis is taking its yearly nap. They rest under the table in the same cool room as the Christmas cactus. I brought them in about the middle of August and stopped watering. I’ll take off the leaves as they die back. If there are any green leaves left by the end of September, I’ll cut them off. I’ll add soil and start to water lightly after thanksgiving for March blooms.

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The tuberose was disappointing again this year – no blooms. They are still growing in a sunny window. I’ll soon let the foliage die back and give them the same treatment as the amaryllis. Next year I’ll plant them in a larger pot and hope for fragrant blooms.

It’s sad to think about the end of summer but now I have one more chore checked off my long fall list. We had a good rain yesterday so I can get back to weeding, trimming and pulling. And then there’s the new garden – more about that later.

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Flower Show Plants

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Every year I come home with a few plants from the vendors at the Philadelphia Flower Show. It’s a tradition.

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This year I brought home 2 fuchsia plants and 6 tuberose bulbs. I was very frugal. Some years I had to leave the show because I couldn’t carry any more plants.

Fuchsia - ‘Swingtime’ and ‘Lena’

Philadelphia Flower Show is the only place I have found 3 inch pots of fuchsia. Local nurseries sell huge hanging baskets full of monster plants. I need small plants. (There’s that need word again.)

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I’ll transplant them into 4 inch pots when they get a little bigger. (At least 2 weeks before I put them outside). The 4 inch pots will fit in the wrought iron pot hangers on the shepherd’s hook at the entrance to our deck.

Right now I have these little plants under lights. I’ll feed them every two weeks. Pinch back every second set of leaves. I’ve already taken two cuttings to root. The rooted cuttings will be planted in other porch pot planters.

Flower World USA details fuchsia care.


‘Hawaiian Double Pearl’ Tuberose

We all know how much I need Tuberose. I’ll plant the six bulbs in pots at the end of March. The pots will move to our sunny deck when the nights are reliably at least 60 degrees.

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Hopefully, at the end of summer heavenly aroma will surround us.

I received a free bottle of “Hawaiian Flower Magic” (9-18-9) fertilizer and two free bulbs with the tuberoses. I don’t know what the free bulbs are. It will be fun to plant them and see what happens.

Old House Gardens has information on growing Tuberoses.

So, plants are growing, cuttings are rooting, seeds are planted and I'm a happy gardener again.

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Plants I really NEED for 2009

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Notice I didn’t say “want”.

I’ve been thinking about these plants for several years. I have more plants that I would like to have but these three have moved into the “really must have” category.

Tuberose

Casablanca lily

Daphne (Daphne burkwoodii)

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I’m ready to shop!

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Flowers Speak

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When words escape, flowers speak.- Bruce W. Currie

Fuschia

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Stock

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Maximilian Sunflower

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Cosmos

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Tuberose

House Plants

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It’s time to bring in the houseplants for the winter. They seem to adjust better to indoor temperature and humidity if I bring them in when the nights are warm and before the heat is turned on.

The other day I rinsed the Christmas Cacti and the Amaryllis with water then sprayed them with insecticidal soap.

I put the three Christmas cactus in a window in a room that is cool in winter and gets very little artificial light. I probably won’t do anything more, except water. I may give them a weak fish emulsion water once in a while.

The four amaryllis were put in the same cool room but out of the sun under a table. I will let them dry and rest for the winter. I’ll start giving them a little water about 3 months before I want them to bloom. When I see a little green shoot appear in the pot, I’ll move them to a sunny window and water regularly. Then I’ll wait for the spectacular bloom.

I have a few more plants to bring in this week.

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Here is the picture of the lily I thought was a tuberose. I'll plant the bulbs in the garden next spring.

I plan to buy tuberose from Old House Gardens http://www.oldhousegardens.com/bulb.asp?cat=SP&page=2#doubPearl
I am determined to have a blooming tuberose.

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Tuberose

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Does this look like a tuberose to you?

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In 2004, I purchased tuberose bulbs from Meilingers and Van Dyck's on line. This is what I got. This is what I've been nurturing for 4 years.

Doesn't look like a tuberose to me. What do you think?

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Tuberose

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Well here it is! The first buds on my 4 year old Double Flowering Tuberose (Polianthea tuberosa). (see posts December 29, 2006 and February 2, 2008.)

I’ve been trying to get a bloom for 4 years. Every year I’m tempted to add them to the compost pile. What did I do differently this year?

On advice from Doug Green at http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/ , “the deal with this plant is that is LOVES warmth. If you try to grow it cold (like early in the season) it is not going to be a happy camper. It is Mexican. Think warmth. Think long season of warmth because it is essentially an Agave plant. Think mature bulbs that may take several seasons of growing under great conditions until they reach blooming size (many inexpensive seed companies sell the tiny babies rather than established blooming size).”

The last few years I put the pot out on the deck in the middle of May. This year I didn’t put the pot outside until June. I kept it in the house in my sunniest spot until the nights were warm.

I purchased a 4 fl. oz bottle of Hawaiian Flower Magic (9-18-9) from Roberta's, Inc. at the Philadelphia Flower Show. The woman selling the fertilizer practically guaranteed it would get the tuberose to bloom (8 drops to a quart of water). I watered every time with the fertilizer mix. I filled a spray bottle with the fertilizer mix and sprayed the leaves often. I never let the pot dry completely.

I’m not sure if the bulbs were simply mature enough to bloom this year or if my adjustments in care allowed the buds to form. Whatever the reason, I’m delighted to see buds.

I’ll bring the tuberose into the house towards the end of August when the nights begin to cool. When it finishes blooming, I’ll put it in a cool place and discontinue watering for the winter. I’ll add a little soil in February and begin to water sparingly until I see some growth. They will need to be divided some day. Hopefully, next year there will be more blooms.

I’ll be sure to post a picture when the buds open. If you’ve had success with tuberose, please let me know.

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More information on tuberose bulbs at Easy to Grow Bulbs http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=79 and GardenWeb Forum http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bulbs/msg0606505130183.html
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2007 Garden

As I looked through the garden photos from 2007, I found some winners and some losers and a few that were a little of both.

Losers

The pot of Double Flowering Tuberose (Polianthea tuberosa) did not bloom (again). I promised myself if there were no blooms in 2007, they would be compost. But, I've the pot away for the winter (again). (see December 29, 2006 post). We’ll see. I get plenty of green leaves and lots of new bulbs each year, but no blooms. I don't know if I'm ready to give up the challenge.

Lobelia 'Crystal Palace' started with a few pretty, bright blue flowers in a pot with zinnias. They never developed into much. I’m not sure if it was the competition from the zinnias or the shade from the zinnias or the hot, dry summer. I've tried nasturtiums and petunias in the bottom of this patio pot. Neither one worked very well. I’ll be looking for a different cascading plant this spring. I may try some of the bright sweet potato vines.

In the middle

Container Vegetables. The cucumber (Bush Champion) plants produced a normal amount of cukes before they were overcome with mildew. I may try a mildew resistant variety this year. The beans (Kentucky Wonder) were a success producing beans into fall. But, keeping the containers watered was a problem in the hot, dry summer. I will be researching watering methods and gadgets this winter.

Making aerobic compost tea was easy enough to do. (see July 7, 2007 and August 8, 2007 posts) I think I got some good results on the roses. I’m not sure how valuable it is as a soil amendment. I’ll be trying it on a portion of the lawn next spring. At the very least, I got to stretch my valuable compost a little further.

Sweet Pea (Sweet Dreams & Streamers Mix) took a long time to germinate. Half of them turned brown and withered. The other half produced a fair amount of flowers. The flowers were almost exclusively lilac colored with few exceptions. There was no noticeable fragrance.

I’ll get to the winners next time.

Garden Success and Failure. I'm sure every gardener has her/his share of success and failure in the garden. We learn from our mistakes, right? mmmmm

I'm posting a few of my successes and a few of my failures. Any comments would be welcomed. Misery and joy love company!


Failure:

Tuberose -Double Flowering Tuberose Polianthea Tuberosa. I bought a few bulbs early in 2004. I potted them and put them outside in May. They never flowered. I brought them in in fall and put them out again in May. No flowers. Last fall, I brought them in and let them dry back - treating them like the amaryllis. I re-potted them and put them out in spring. 2006 again no flowers. This year I put them in the garage to dry and overwinter. In spring, I'll plant a few in the ground and some in a pot. 2007 may be my last year for the Tuberose!

Sweet Pea - Ferry & Morse seeds. This may be partially a success story. I don't have a lot of full sun garden areas. I planted seeds in May in a spot next to our fence where they would get the most sun. But, I let them climb on the cleome for support which gave them more shade . I had only a few flowers. Next year I'll try some sort of trellis or plant them in the middle of the yard.

Seedbalz - Cosmos & Bachelor Button. There were no Bachelor Buttons. I think the few Cosmos that came up were seeded from last year's plants.

Impatiens cuttings. Each year I lose a few cuttings. This year I lost all of them. They start out fine, bloom & look great. Then they get tiny white spots and eventually the leaves curl up and the plant dies.

There were a few more failures - but let's not dwell on that. On to better things -


Success:

Coleus Cuttings. I had 8 flats to plant out in May (including some impatiens & begonias). Coleus have become my favorite annual. I used them in pots, in dry/part shade and to accent perennial color or form.

Canna (pictures posted October 16) - The original tubers were a gift. They grow easily and have a tropical impact on a long blank garage wall - and they multiply like rabbits!

Euonymus - Variegated Emerald Surprise (I think) - upright shrub. I conquered the dreaded scale. A few years ago the bushes were sparce and one of them bit the dust. I've been spraying regularly with water/baking soda soap solution and this summer they were full and healthy.

General Garden Design - I really like the way the garden looked this summer. But - the best garden is always next year's.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AND HAPPY GARDENING!