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Six on Saturday: Mostly Summer

Seasons here are rather mild. People from more interesting climates may not realize that there are any seasons here. Some may believe that it is almost always summer, with only a few days of some other season that is not summer. In reality, climates here experience the same four seasons that occur throughout the rest of North America. The seasons are merely less distinct here. That confuses some plants. Many plants that do not mind mild climates set their own schedules. Some simply have extensive bloom seasons. Of course, many flowers, such as petunias, are totally aware of winter, but know how to thoroughly exploit summer.

1. Chrysanthemum does not seem to be aware that it should bloom for autumn. Actually, it blooms whenever it wants to, and after this bloom phase, may also bloom for autumn.

2. Roses should bloom from spring until autumn, but because of partial shade, generally finish with the best bloom by now. This year, their bloom continues as if it is still spring.

3. Lilies that grow from bulbs bloom only for spring, although many were still blooming recently. This one is a daylily. Like the chrysanthemum, it blooms whenever it wants to.

4. Petunia is a classic warm season annual for summer. This one is dressed up as Santa Claus for Christmas time though. Maybe it is actually dressed up like the flag of Austria.

5. This color is rad, even if I can not describe it. Is it purple? Is it burgundy? Perhaps it is irrelevant. I would not have selected it anyway. Such tasks require specialized expertise.

6. Ah, this is more my style. Even I can see that this is plain white. It is my favorite color, and is one of the two simplest. Only black is as simple; but it is very rare among flowers.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Mexican Heather

Mexican heather has finely textured foliage.

The minute bright pink flowers of Mexican heather, Cuphea hyssopifolia, are less than a quarter inch long, but are enough to get the attention of the hummingbirds who really dig them. Flowers can rarely be more purplish or even more rarely white. The limber stems are well foliated with finely textured and narrow leaves that are not much more than half an inch long. Mature plants are typically lower but a bit wider than two feet. Overgrown plants can be pruned severely at the end of winter to regenerate over summer.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 5 Comments

Some Plants Can Go To Pot.

What ever happened to those poinsettias and cyclamen from last Christmas?

Chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, azaleas, callas, kalanchoes and miniature roses can not really be as happy as they seem to be while in full bloom at the florist counter. Then there are all the seasonal blooming plants like Easter lilies and poinsettias. Wrapped in undraining mylar, often with ribbons and bows, they are actually quite humiliated.

All are forced to bloom in artificial greenhouse environments that are nothing like the home environments that they ultimately go to. As they finish bloom, most get retired directly to the garden where many are unable to adapt quickly and efficiently enough to survive for long. Many do not make it that far, but get sent to the compost or the trash by those who prefer to not prolong their agony.

These potted plants (which are actually known as ‘pot plants’ in the horticultural industries) are not like houseplants, since they are not actually expected to survive for long in the home. They are only expected to perform for a limited time while in bloom.

Adapting to the home environment is not the difficult part. Most potted plants can manage that for a while, but eventually want more sunlight. Hydrangeas, roses, Easter lilies and other deciduous plants also eventually want a cool winter for their dormancy. The problem is adapting to exposure to the sunlight and weather that these plants crave. Foliage can get scorched, frozen or desiccated.

As unsightly as plants can be during transition, most can eventually replace their greenhouse foliage with foliage that is adapted to their new environment in the garden if transitioned slowly and carefully. Large ‘forced’ flowers will eventually be shed or can be pruned off as they deteriorate. The more sensitive types of plants should be moved to a sheltered spot on a porch or in partial shade for a few months before being moved to more exposed spots. Once in the garden, they will want regular watering until their roots disperse.

Deciduous plants and bulbs can stay in the sheltered spot until they defoliate for winter. If put into their permanent location while dormant and bare, their new foliage that emerges in spring will be adapted to the new exposure.

Aloes, Christmas cactus and various other succulents are considerably more resilient and adaptable than the more common potted plants. Both rosemary and small olive trees that have become trendy during the past many years can likewise be adaptable if not kept in the home too long. Olive trees can stay potted indefinitely if pruned regularly, or can go into the garden where there is room to grow. Christmas trees are just as adaptable, but do not want to stay potted for long. Sadly though, most get much too big for home gardens.

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Horridculture – Parking Lot Islands

Coincidentally, I just happened to be in this same parking lot yesterday morning. It has not improved.

tonytomeo's avatarTony Tomeo

P80120kWhat a waste of space! What a waste of water! What a waste of time for the mow-blow-and-go ‘gardener’ who charges money to mow and edge it, but are too inept to suggest planting something that might actually be pretty, or shade the parking lot. There are a few of these between parking spaces marked for ‘compact’ cars, because it is cool to discriminate against full size cars that can not pull far enough forward to get out of the way.

Even between a Buick and a Chrysler, it is nothing to look at. It looks like something went seriously wrong with a grave site that was supposed to get a slab ‘over’ it (not ‘around’ it). It could be a Chia Pet litter box. There are much better spots to picnic at the park down the road. Whatever it is, it is not much better than the swales that…

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Night Blooming Jasmine

These dinky flowers disperse grand fragrance.

The warm nights between the dog days of summer are ideal for night blooming jasmine, Cestrum nocturnum. That is when it disperses its famously sweet fragrance to attract bat and moth pollinators. A bit of humidity, although unnecessary and locally rare, enhances the permeating nature of the fragrance. Some might find such fragrance to be excessive.

Otherwise, night blooming jasmine is quite modest. Those who experience the powerful fragrance at night may be unable to identify its source while visible during the day. Small floral trusses hold several small and narrowly tubular flowers that are about an inch long. Bloom is greenish white or pallid yellow. Simple evergreen leaves are a few inches long.

Therefore, night blooming jasmine works best in the background of more colorful bloom. It will not mind if other flowers get the credit for its fragrance. With regular watering, night blooming jasmine is happy in unseen areas between buildings, and under high windows that lack views. Aggressive pruning only in early spring promotes blooming new growth. Most plants stay shorter than ten feet. Rare white berries are toxic.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Dog Days Of Summer Warmth

Every lawn has its dog days.

Summer began more than a week ago. Subsequently, the dog days of summer continue from the third of July to the eleventh of August. These forty dog days are the twenty days prior to and after the twenty-third of July. That is when the Sun aligns with Sirius, the Dog Star of the constellation of Canis Major, or ‘the Great Dog’. Dogs are actually uninvolved.

Nonetheless, dog days actually are a time for dogs to languish through much of the most unpleasantly warm weather of summer. Although local climates are generally mild, warm weather is not rare. It merely seems to be less oppressive than in other climates because of less humidity, and perhaps more of a breeze. Coastal influence is a major advantage.

Dogs drink more water during the dog days of summer because they lose moisture, with warmth, while panting. Vegetation also needs more than typical quantities of moisture to compensate for increasing evaporation from foliar surfaces. Aridity and any wind, both of which render warmth more comfortable for dogs and people, increase such evaporation.

Also, for most exotic (nonnative) vegetation, regular watering helps to sustain growth that warmth stimulates. Lily of the Nile can likely get enough moisture through the local rainy season to survive through the dry season. However, it is healthier and more appealing if occasionally watered to sustain its most vigorous growth during the dog days of summer.

Many plants are native to climates that supply rain in conjunction with warmth. They rely on moisture for normal growth. Various bananas, canna, angel’s trumpet and giant bird of Paradise grow very vigorously with sufficient moisture. Unfortunately though, insufficient moisture is very distressing to them. Drought tolerant species have a distinct advantage.

Turf, bedding plants and vegetable gardens need abundant water during the dog days of summer. Although some can survive with less than others, none are exempt. Most potted plants, especially those in hanging pots, are likewise dependent on systematic watering. Even if the weather is too warm to enjoy other gardening, watering can not be neglected.

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Epiphyllum Surprise

These pictures remind me of how well these bloomed three years ago. The plants did not seem to be big enough to generate such big flowers.

tonytomeo's avatarTony Tomeo

80808Epiphyllum oxypetalum was my very first epiphyllum. A friend’s mother gave me three long cuttings, which were cut in half to make six cuttings. They grew like weeds, and I was quite pleased with them. At the time, they were the only epiphyllum that I wanted. The wide nocturnal flowers are strikingly pure white and nicely fragrant, and stay open late into the morning if the weather is right. Since white is my favorite color, I craved no more.

Then I got bits of another epiphyllum from one of my clients. I do not know if it really is a species of epiphyllum, but it grows just like one, with the exception of the bloom. Rather than only a few huge nocturnal flowers, it blooms with many smaller pink flowers that remain open all day. It lacks fragrance. It is not as impressive as Epiphyllum oxypetalum, but it is…

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Trona

If I had purchased a cabin near here as I had considered prior to this recycled article, it either could have become worth considerably more than I would have paid for it (because such cabins are now a rare commodity), or it could have been destroyed.

tonytomeo's avatarTony Tomeo

P90706KTrona is not as obscure as it seems. I would have needed to zoom in a bit more for it to appear on ‘Google Maps’, but it is there, just to the northwest of what seems to be a big crater of some sort in the middle, right where the map is labeled ‘Searles Valley’. You might have seen Trona before, from more flattering, or at least more realistic perspectives, in movies such as ‘Star Trek V’, ‘Planet of the Apes’ (2001), ‘Land of the Lost’ and ‘Holes’.

Earlier this morning, I posted an old brief article from March 21, 2018, Na2CO3•NaHCO3•2H2O. It was about some of what I find to be appealing, or at least compelling about Trona. Please excuse the euphemisms, such as ‘flattering’ for ‘realistic’, and ‘appealing’ for ‘compelling’. I happen to be rather fond of Trona, even though I have never been there before. I…

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Six on Saturday: Glad

Gladiolus hybrids are not reliably perennial locally. They might not be reliably perennial anywhere. I had believed that they could be so where they get more winter chill, but chill does not seem to help. I have been told that they are no more perennial in Pennsylvania, Oregon or Oklahoma. When I grew them many years ago, only about a third survived to bloom for a second season. Of that third, only about a third survived to bloom for a third season. This is one of many reasons why I am so ‘glad’ about perennial Gladiolus papilio , as well as Watsonia species, from Tangley Cottage Gardening. Although, strangely, a few hybrid Gladiolus survive.

1. Watsonia X pillansii ‘Coral and Hardy’, just like the Gladiolus papilio, was a gift from Tangly Cottage Gardening of Ilwaco in Washington. I learned that it blooms in summer.

2. Lilium of an unidentified cultivar is finally finishing bloom. Obviously, it is irrelevant to Gladiolus. It just happened to be so pretty precisely as I was in need of a sixth picture.

3. Gladiolus is mostly finishing bloom now. These few are blooming a bit late. These are merely the common hybrid sort that someone purchased from a retail nursery years ago.

4. Not only have a few of the Gladiolus hybrids been surprisingly reliably perennial for a few years, but this pastel yellow cultivar has actually multiplied, from one bulb to a few.

5. This Gladiolus hybrid blooms annually also, but unlike the pastel yellow cultivar, does not multiply. This and one other just like it are the only two, with neither more nor less.

6. This purple Gladiolus hybrid does the same. It would be nice if it could generate a few copies. Since it is the only specimen here, and might be fragile, I will not tamper with it.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo

Beech

Due to an inability to locate some of my old articles from nine years ago, I will recycle articles such as this, which already posted to this blog four years ago, through June and at least part of July.

tonytomeo's avatarTony Tomeo

70628Compared to crape myrtle, sycamore (London plane) and many other more popular trees, the beech, Fagus sylvatica, is much less problematic, and really deserves more respect. Although it can eventually get almost as big as sycamore, it has remarkably complaisant roots. It is neatly deciduous, defoliating only in autumn, without noticeable floral mess. Disease and pests are rare.

Beech is probably unpopular with landscapers because new trees are a bit more demanding than other tree specie are. (Landscapers prefer easier trees.) Until they disperse their roots, they are more likely to desiccate if they do not get watered regularly enough, and more likely to rot if watered too much. They grow somewhat slowly, so need to be pruned more carefully for a high canopy.

Those of us who tend our own gardens do not mind the extra effort for such a distinctive tree. The handsome foliage can be rich…

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