In the garden

June 20, 2013 by KTgreen

Coleus are happy little foliage plants with amazing colors. Do you know how easy it is to grow them from cuttings? It’s amazing. I don’t like my coleus to get leggy. I just snip off the top, stick the cutting in the ground, and keep the ground moist. I used to actually dip them in rooting hormone but no more. The only time I buy coleus now is if I see a new gaudy color combo that I really need.

In the Garden — I stuck this cutting in the ground about two weeks ago. Now it’s a thriving plant!

These little lovelies also do not like cold weather, so right before the cold hits, I take several cuttings and stick them in bud vases. They brighten up my kitchen while they are growing roots. Then when it’s spring, out they go again. Equally happy in pots or the ground, I just keep them in the shade and maybe some morning sun.

Two more plants that will root just by sticking cuttings in soil are the sweet potato vine and vinca major. These guys are prolific! I just cut them off and stick them in pots that need something hanging over the side.

I’ve tried to root geraniums. The first one I tried, I used rooting compound but the cutting didn’t make it. Then I accidentally broke off a branch when I was moving a pot last winter. This one I just stuck in a pot that already had potting soil with caladium bulbs. So this spring both the geranium and caladiums took off. Pretty!

Another one that’s easy to grow with little effort is the bromeliad. I have three varieties (Michelle gave me one, the other two were already here) and I never have to water or fertilize them. The only care they need is regular division or they’ll take over. They like shade so whatever I divide, I plant around another tree. No more trimming around those trees for me!

When I rooted the hydrangeas last week, I also put rooting hormone on cuttings of sunpatiens, geraniums, dragon wing begonia, and pentas. Just to see if I could get them to root. So far the dragon wing begonia looks like it might survive.

My next rooting experiment will be succulents. Martha Stewart says its easy so it must be true! My neighbor Sue left a large pot of different varieties in my care for a few months. I’ve placed the pot on my screened deck just to keep the squirrels from nibbling on them. Meanwhile, I’ll be taking Martha’s advice and sticking some of those little leaves in my pots here and there!

In the Garden

June 13, 2013 by KTgreen

Back in 2010 I bought two blue hydrangeas and planted them in my “blue and white” garden. They immediately turned pink. Although it’s a very pretty pink, I really want BLUE! I’ve tried adding aluminum sulfate around the plants but the blooms continue to be a shade of pink and maybe a little lavender. There is just too much lime in our soil. But that’s off the subject, here. This post is about creating more plants with very little effort and NO money!

Shortly after I planted the two hydrangeas, Southern Living had an article about rooting French hydrangeas. I successfully followed their instructions and now have seven additional hydrangeas!

I also tried rooting a shooting star hydrangea that Michelle gave me. But that one didn’t grow. So I decided to try again.

First, cut about a 6 inch stem and remove the lowest pair of leaves. Immediately stick the stem in water because hydrangeas will close up their stems very quickly. I cut two shooting stars and two of the pink hydrangeas.

In the Garden

Dip the cutting into a rooting hormone. Sometimes it’s called rooting powder. I’ve used two different brands but they both have the same active ingredient, Indole-3-butyric acid. Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes–they all carry it.

Have a pot ready with moist potting soil–I use Miracle Gro. (I’ve experimented with other potting soils and you really can see a difference!) You can just stick the cutting into the container but it makes the rooting hormone dirty eventually so now I pour it into the cap and roll the cutting around in it. I make a hole in the soil with my finger then stick in the cutting and press the soil firmly around it.

In the Garden

Next I put the pots in the shade and will keep them watered. They will look dead at first, but in a few months, I should have thriving plants! I’ll give you an update!

Since I’m on the subject of hydrangeas, let me give you a few tips on how I take care of them. They like morning sun and a LOT of water! I tried planting them in the shade but they didn’t bloom nor thrive. They will live with afternoon sun but not happily. If they get droopy, water them–then ignore them. They will be all perky again the next morning.

The type of hydrangeas that I have grow on both old and new growth so I can cut them for bouquets and still get new blooms. There are “lacecap” and “mophead” varieties.

You can also dry the blooms which I usually do right before our first freeze is predicted. My hydrangeas bloom from early spring until that freeze and the only problem I have with them is that they develop ugly brown spots in the Fall which is probably caused by all the watering. I recently read an article about using a fungicide containing thiophanate-methyl at first signs of spotting. So that’s on my shopping list for the next time I’m at a nursery.

So, while my “blue” hydrangeas continue to defy me with their color change, they are my favorite flower.

My next garden post will be other plants that I’ve rooted!

In the Garden

June 6, 2013 by KTgreen

I have many different gardens here at Perfect. Vegetable, butterfly, shade, sunshine, white and blue–to name a few. And lots of blooming pots. But my very favorite plants are those that I get for free! Yippee! Those that people give me or I root from existing ones.

My neighbor Mary Jane has probably given me more plants than anyone else. And I usually can’t remember their names although she does tell me what they are.

Mary Jane’s husband dug these plants up by the side of the road decades ago. They are invasive so I keep them in the garden where I keep those kind of plants. They are sweet and only last a short while.

She also gave me these lilies a few years ago and they bloomed for the first time this year. Probably took them a little longer than usual because I had to move them around! They just didn’t like all that direct sun in the first place I put them. They are very happy now. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

In the Garden

Several years ago Mary Jane gave me a “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” plant. And I preceded to kill it. I thought it didn’t like the sun so I moved it to the shade and then it didn’t like that so it had to go to another spot. Mary Jane gave me another and told me to quit moving it around–they don’t like that. So finally, I stuck it in my shade garden and this spring it bloomed for a moment.

Two friends in Katy, Texas give me plumerias. And Mary Jane also gave me two. All you need is a limb off of a plumeria. Put it in a pot of soil, keep it watered and you’ll eventually have a plumeria. Several of mine are so big now I had to take them out of the pots and plant them in the ground. They are tropical plants so it we get a freeze they are goners. That’s why I keep some smaller ones in pots to replace if necessary.

We had such a mild winter this year that the large plumerias started leafing out in February but then we had a really cold spring that knocked them back. Last year they bloomed in May but now they only have leaves on them. The largest and oldest one is just getting buds.

Considered an invasive plant, the spiderwort grows along the road and in fields. I love it. My first spiderwort just showed up in my shade garden bed one day and now I have a whole bunch of them. Yvonne also gave me several that I planted in another area and they are slowly multiplying. Have I mentioned a hundred times that blue is my favorite color?

Yvonne also gave me a night blooming jasmine. It doesn’t have big blooms but the smell is exquisite when I’m taking Maggie out for her bedtime walk. And Yvonne gave me Carolina Bluebells which were doing great and then just DIED! I didn’t do it. Really. So Yvonne–I need you to give me some more.

Vera gave me pagada plants. I had seen them in back yards at Southern Woods golf course and wanted them bad. They took a few years to bloom and also will take over if you let them. Which is okay with me. The butterflies love them. They are just starting to bloom but here’s what they looked like last September.

InThe Garden Michelle has given me several plants, too. One is a lily that refuses to bloom. She’s also given me a few succulents–that the squirrels absolutely adore. Nibble Nibble Nibble. And just as a gift that she thought I’d like she bought me a shooting star hydrangea which is gorgeous. Yes, I do like it. A lot.

My neighbor Sue just asked me to watch her potted plants while she’s gone for a few months. One is a huge pot of succulents. No squirrels–you may not munch on it. I’m keeping it in the screen room. And I think I’ll be stealing some of those to start my own. Never give up!

I received a big pot of beautiful plants when my dad died. While lovely, I couldn’t have indoor plants at the time because I was traveling too much. So in desperation, I stuck them in one of my flower beds. Many years later, the peace lilies have taken over. Another beautiful spot!

In the garden

Next week, I’ll show you how to start plants from ones you already have!