Posted on by tonytomeo · 10 Comments

Six on Saturday: Good News

Horticulture occasionally involves some degree of disappointment. However, more than occasionally, it is surprisingly gratifying. After the mysterious disappearance of a colony of Louisiana iris, I remembered how much I enjoyed growing them. Unplanned bananas will be fun to grow in the future. Unseasonable bloom is at least as gratifying as seasonal bloom.

1. ‘Black Gamecock’ Louisiana iris was a gift from Tangly Cottage Gardening. Therefore, they were VERY important to me. I split and plugged them into a thirty foot long row on the edge of a pond at work. Sadly, after growing happily through summer, they suddenly and inexplicably disappeared. I am determined to not be unrealistically saddened about this, though. They were intended to be enjoyed, and I enjoyed growing them all summer. The good news is that Tangly Cottage Gardening offered replacement when I return this winter. Also, I found these four surviving plugs! I canned them here for their protection.

2. Iris unguicularis, Algerian iris was another of several prized gifts from Tangly Cottage Gardening. I split and plugged them into a row that is about twenty feet long last winter.

3. Musa acuminata, banana ‘trees’ are getting to be rather excessive. With these pairs of four new cultivars, there are now fourteen cultivars! There are no plans for any of them.

4. Brugmansia candida, double white angel’s trumpet failed to impress this year. Bloom was limited. Now that summer is over, it decided to bloom! I suppose this is good news.

5. Brugmansia X cubensis, ‘Charles Grimaldi’ continues to bloom late, and with this odd peachy color. Although I know that it should be simple yellow, I rather prefer this color.

6. Brugmansia, angel’s trumpet of an unidentified cultivar with single white flowers also decided to bloom late. This is impressive because it grew from a cutting from last spring!

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 · 18 Comments

Six on Saturday: Chuck’s Grandparents

‘Charles Grimaldi’ is likely the most popular angel’s trumpet. It is very vigorous and very fragrant, with cheery yellow bloom. I plugged several cuttings last autumn, but then very unfortunately neglected to protect them from our unexpectedly and unusually cold frost. Of only two survivors, one grew so splendidly that it is now prominently displayed in the landscapes, rather than ignored in the nursery. It has an amusing history. (The first two pictures are not mine.)

1. This pair of ‘Charles Grimaldi’ angel’s trumpet might be familiar to those who watched television in the early 2000s. They were prettier while GreenArt managed the landscape back then. They are gone now. This was the best picture that I could find of them online. The third specimen that was omitted after it was delivered now inhabits Brent’s garden.

2. This omitted third specimen of ‘Charles Grimaldi’ angel’s trumpet is more impressive within Brent’s Dreamscape at the Jungalow. A picture of its bloom represents its species in the Sunset Western Garden Book from several years ago. It is the source of my copies.

3. This copy grew more than six feet tall from a cutting that I plugged last winter. Its can sits on the bottom of its big urn. Its bloom was too pretty to leave unseen in the nursery.

4. Bloom, which began only recently, will not likely continue much longer. The specimen might return to the nursery for winter, and then be installed into a landscape afterward.

5. A comparably tall copy of an unknown cultivar with orange flowers is about to bloom. Unfortunately, the weather will likely become too cool for these buds to finish blooming.

6. Young banana trees are likewise too striking to leave unseen within the nursery. Their cans were placed within more appealing pots within the landscapes at least until winter.

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 · 9 Comments

Six on Saturday: Best or Worst for Last

Indian summer is now doing what it does every few years or so. It was more than ninety degrees for a second day here yesterday, and was even warmer in the Santa Clara Valley. As typical, it happened after cooling weather already started to feel like autumn. It is not a good time to relocate vegetation, which I started to do while the weather was still cool. Also, I must briefly increase irrigation. Not all of these Six are relevant to the weather or any particular theme. Actually, half are irrelevant. The last is open to interpretation. It is not a good picture, but is likely the best.

1. Water from the spigot occasionally gets slightly colorful here. Water from the streams and creek is clearer. It is a consequence of hydrant flushing. It is harmless for irrigation.

2. Unidentified ferns needed to be removed from where an old fence was replaced. I can not simply discard them. I buried them elsewhere so that they can regenerate next year.

3. Unidentified spirea was also in the way. Of course, although I do not expect much of it to survive, I relocated it also. I typically cut this spirea back to the ground during winter.

4. Marah macrocarpa, wild cucumber develops huge tubers that can weigh more than I do. This one is merely about a foot and a half long, so is relatively small, but now what?!

5. Portulaca grandiflora, moss rose is not mine, is not here, and did not give me a good picture. Nevertheless, I feel obligated to share at least some summery floral color today.

6. Rhody did not cooperate for this picture either. I can not explain how he so efficiently hid behind only one yawn. As bad as this picture is, it just might be the best of these Six.

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 · 17 Comments

Six on Saturday: Autumn in the Redwoods

Autumn is not much to brag about here. Not only is the change of the weather mild, but foliar color is limited beyond synthetic landscapes. Redwoods are only a bit messier now because they did not shed as much as typical while summer weather remained atypically mild. Fireplaces at work get a bit more use, but only for ambience. A few autumn flowers bloom between summer flowers and winter flowers.

1. Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood is evergreen. Its foliage does not turn colorful for autumn. It certainly sheds though. It sheds mostly while the weather is warmest and driest through summer. However, without such weather, it sheds more as summer ends.

2. Firewood is too mixed for identification of all species that might be involved with this picture. It comes from the various trees that must be removed and pruned here. Because fires at work are more for ambience than heat, the quality of such wood is unimportant.

3. Anemone hupehensis var. japonica, Japanese anemone exhibits why I find ‘Honorine Jobert’ to be so appealing. This is the only anemone here, and it is ghastly pallid, neither pure white nor pinkish. It actually seems to be slightly grayish. Ick! I learned this species as simply Anemone japonica, but now learn that it is supposedly Eriocapitella japonica.

4. Chrysanthemum X morifolium, is more discolored than anemone, but is instead quite pretty. It was likely white when left here after a wedding. It now lives in a garden nearby.

5. Tagetes patula, marigold is as customary for autumn as chrysanthemum is. Its bright yellow and orange are splendid. This one though looks too much like Ronald McDonald.

6. Tagetes patula, marigold should look more like these. Brownish red is traditional too. Marigold is the official flower of Dia de los Muertos of the first and second of November.

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 · 10 Comments

Six on Saturday: the Wrath of Grapes

This was no easy project. I started pruning and maintaining this formerly neglected and very overgrown grapevine several years ago. It had been installed a few years earlier, but had never been pruned. Its first pruning may have generated two pickup loads of debris, as well as a dozen or so layers, which were shared with neighbors. I then trained its new growth to span horizontally over a lower deck, from a rail fence that it originally grew on to a parallel banister about twelve feet away. It was like a pergola without a pergola. The problem is that the banister needs to be painted. After training the grapevines for years, I needed to remove them.

1. It looks simpler than it was. Vines needed to grow long enough to reach from the fence to the banister. They then needed to be pulled across with a cord and tied onto balusters.

2. Between the fence and the banister, the vines required no support. They were pruned annually while dormant for winter, and groomed for summer, so did not get very heavy.

3. The vines sagged somewhat, but had plenty of space downstairs to do so. The banister to the left is horizontal. The fence to the right slopes downward away from this vantage.

4. From the same vantage without the spanning vines, the scenery is now very different. Old vines will get pruned for neater confinement to the fence while dormant this winter.

5. The vines formerly shaded the pavement downstairs nicely. This area gets quite warm without shade during summer. That was partly why we wanted these vines to span here.

6. As severe as this pruning was, it will be a bit more severe while the vines are dormant this winter. Vines will not extend so far outward, and may not cascade downward either.

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 · 10 Comments

Six on Saturday: Naked or White or Dead

Three of these six are naked ladies, Amaryllis belladonna. Two of these six bloom white. Three of these six need deadheading. Three qualify as two categories. Two qualify as one category. One qualifies as none. None qualify as three. Alternatively, three are lily of the Nile, Agapanthus orientalis, two bloom blue, two bloom pink, and three do not yet need deadheading.

1. 1 – dead but neither naked nor white. Lily of the Nile, with few exceptions, is in need of deadheading at this time of year. All but one cloned colony here are mixed blue varieties.

2. 2 – white and dead but not naked. This deteriorating floral truss is one of merely three that bloomed within the one cloned colony of white lily of the Nile. This colony is young.

3. 0 – not naked, white or dead. This is the lowest score because bloom deteriorates a bit slower in the shade. Blue lily of the Nile could score no more than a single point anyway.

4. 2 – naked and dead but not white. This is the common naturalized naked lady here. It bloomed annoyingly bright pink, but is not the brightest pink. It should be deadheaded.

5. 1 – naked but neither white nor dead. This is a brighter pink naked lady that is not yet in need of deadheading because it blooms a bit later. It has slightly stouter brown stems.

6. 2 – naked and white but not dead. This is merely one of three highest scores, but is my favorite! I had wanted a white version for a long time. It seems to bloom late like #5, but blooms on a green stalk like #4. Its primary bulb already generated four pups, so will be relocated to a more prominent location to develop as a colony. It will not bloom much if split annually, but will multiply most efficiently by such technique. I want more of them!

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 · 21 Comments

Six on Saturday: Frosty Forecast

Frost is not a problem here. The several species here that are not resilient to frost are the problem. The first of my Six actually has no problem with frost, but does have a problem with starting too late to finish prior to frost next winter. The second also has no problem with frost, but does not want to bloom as weather cools into autumn. The other four are from a frostless region of Los Angeles. I neglected to protect them from the earliest frost last winter because I did not expect it. Their recovery was slow through mild spring and summer weather. They are now growing vigorously rather than decelerating for autumn. This increases their vulnerability to frost next winter.

1. Dahlia X pinnata, mixed dinnerplate dahlias are starting to grow, with only a third of their season left. I described the delay last week. Only three of two dozen survived so far.

2. Gardenia jasminoides, gardenia seems to be healthy, and generated a typical number of floral buds, but is now shedding such floral buds, likely in response to cooling nights.

3. Solandra maxima, cup of gold vine was new here when it got frosted last winter, then grew slowly through atypically cool weather last spring, and is now growing like a weed!

4. Platycerium bifurcatum, staghorn fern also waited a bit too long to start growing like this. It could eventually enjoy rain and humidity through winter, but not even mild frost.

5. Heliconia psittacorum, parakeet flower has done well since last winter. I brought nine rhizomes from Los Angeles. They are still a bit too small to survive average frost though.

6. Dichorisandra thyrsiflora, blue ginger is likely even more vulnerable to frost. Most of its cuttings did not survive last winter. I am impressed and pleased with the six that did.

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 · 20 Comments

Six on Saturday: You Get What You Pay For

It all started when I succumbed to the temptation of cheap but out of season bulbs. They were actually canna rhizomes that did not work out so well. The supplier gave me credit, which I used to purchase cheap but out of season dahlia tubers. I suppose that I can not blame the supplier twice. I should have known better from the beginning than to violate my most basic rule against purchasing plant material, even if I try to justify doing so for work. Contrary to the title of these Six, ginger, elderberry and a dinky lime tree that cost nothing are working out quite nicely.

1. Dahlia X pinnata, mixed dinnerplate dahlias were purchased with the credit that I got for the ‘Red King Humbert’ Canna that were both virused and not ‘Red King Humbert’. I again fail to be impressed. I canned any that were not completely desiccated, but do not expect any survivors. I should have requested a total refund after the primary purchase.

2. Dahlia X pinnata, mixed dinnerplate dahlias grow through spring for summer bloom. I figured that, even without enough time to bloom, they could grow enough to replenish their resources before winter dormancy, and then grow and bloom next year. I assumed that tubers that are available this late had been refrigerated to maintain their dormancy. Instead, a few diligently tried to grow earlier, but could not escape from their packaging.

3. Zingiber officinale, ginger is not so limited by seasons. It grows whenever it wants to.

4. Citrus X latifolia ‘Bearss’, Persian lime grew from the stump of a tree that I pulled out of a neighbor’s yard. It cost nothing, but will eventually be worth more than I paid for it.

5. Sambucus nigra ‘Madonna’, European black elderberry likewise cost nothing, and for a while, it looked as such. It provided sixteen copies though, and the first found a home.

6. Rhody is irrelevant to the previous five of these six, but everyone wants to see Rhody.

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 · 12 Comments

Six on Saturday: ?

So much of the vegetation that we work with is unidentified. I know most of the species, but not all. Cultivars and varieties are more difficult to distinguish. There are too many! I am completely unfamiliar with some of the most modern of them. Of my Six this week, only the second might be a cultivar. The others are likely straight species. I am uncertain of their identities though, because I am unfamiliar with them. Actually, the third is not as labeled! That is because I thought it was something else until it foliated last spring. This Six on Saturday is about six questions of identity. I hope that someone might identify #1 for me.

1. Opuntia littoralis, prickly pear came from the Bat Cave in Los Angeles County, where a few other species of this genus are also native. I do not know if I identified it correctly.

2. Eucalyptus gunnii, cider gum looks just like this while young, but so does the juvenile foliage of a few other species. Adult foliage and associated bloom is easier to distinguish.

3. Vitus californica, California grape looks nothing like this. I brought this here from the roadside while it was defoliated for winter. I hoped that it would be the California grape.

4. Ulmus parvifolia, Chinese elm was common when I was a kid. Only modern cultivars and hybrids are available nowadays. If this is common Chinese elm, it is now quite rare.

5. Populus alba, silver poplar is what I believe this might be. I grew it from cutting from a tree that I met in San Jose a few years ago. I am unfamiliar with this particular species.

6. Acer circinatum, vine maple should be a gratifying alternative for another ubiquitous Japanese maple. I could be disappointed if this is merely another passe Japanese maple.

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 · 22 Comments

Six on Saturday: A Series Of Unfortunate Events

Horticulture can be so challenging. Some challenges are very frustrating. Some are quite infuriating. Some of the worst would be likewise if they were not so weirdly silly. Really, plants naturally present certain innate challenges. So do their pathogens. People though, are special. Their behavior is not completely innate. They should know better than to do so much of what they do. So many of their mistakes are so creatively inane. Yet, some of the most egregiously silly are not even mistakes according to their personal perceptions. Goodness, merely attempting to explain these unfortunate events becomes challenging! Realistically, it is not as bad as it seems. I swatted lily of the Nile buds when I was a kid. The neighbor with the ‘machine’ is unaware of the naked ladies, and will remain as such.

1. Lagerstroemia indica, crepe myrtle is susceptible to powdery mildew. These new specimens of a modern cultivar are more resistant than most but apparently not enough.

2. Hydrangea macrophylla, bigleaf hydrangea changes floral color according to soil pH. However, white is always white. We relocated this white specimen to the White Garden.

3. Canna ‘Cleopatra’ is the strangest Canna here, with mixed red and yellow bloom, and mixed green and bronze foliage. Unfortunately, it shared its virus with the other Canna.

4. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile is a reliably resilient and neat perennial for the edges of walkways, where kids unfortunately enjoy swatting their floral buds with sticks.

5. Agave americana, century plant is so prolific with pups that they are sneaking out the drainage holes! We can them to give them away, but no one wants them. They are nasty!

6. Amaryllis belladonna, naked lady was about to bloom as profusely as it does annually when this was maneuvered into position, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

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/