Cactus, Zinnias, Marigolds, Echinacea, Crocosmia flowers. 7.12.18

 Crocosmia does great in this region.  I see bunches in a lot of yards.  Mine need dividing every few years, which gets me even more plants.  Hummingbirds love them.

 I don't know the species of cactus.  Maybe, Opuntia humifusa?  It's prostrate.  Two years ago, I planted it in this pot of lilies.  It's had no special treatment at all.  During the winter, when the lily is dormant, I place the pot under a spruce tree where there might be less rain.    These are the first flowers.  This is the first time it's bloomed.  Very pretty.  Flowers last one day, like daylilies, but there are many buds.

 I  grew the Echinacea from seed, planted Aug, 2016.  I transplanted the plants into the ground May, 2017.  There were flowers last year, but much nicer now.  These are basically no-care perennials.  I read they might not do well in our wet winters, but so far, looking great!

The zinnias are starting to bloom.  I grow them in rows, like vegetables.  Same for marigolds.  These zinnias have a little rust on the leaves, but not affecting much.

My recent lack of posts. Garden log

Dueing the past few months, there have been fewer posts on growing greener. Despite that, there have been many readers checking in on the garden.

I've been making multiple trips to the midwest, with 2 very ill parents. The work schedule has been extended as well. This is not complaining - in this economy, just having a job and career is something to be grateful for. But it has meant significant neglect of the backyard garden and the blog.

So here are a few updates. Pictures to follow.

The chickens -

The Americauna pullet turned out to be a rooster. Not allowed in my town. Can't be kept secretly, either - he was announcing his presence early and loudly. SO he was given to a coworker. His fate... "Don't ask / Don't tell".

The Leghorn has grown up and is laying one nice, large, egg daily.

The Australorp pullets are nearly to laying size. They have a definite "hen-like" appearance (although so did the Americauna).

The tomatoes -

2 days ago I picked 3 medium sized Lemon Boy and a big handful of Supersweet 100.
The plants have remained small. Last week I added some organic high-N food to give them a boost.

The figs -
One ripe "Vancouver" breba yesterday. One getting close. Two ripe Petite negri, probably tomorrow. Two Lattarula probably ripe next week - that will be the first from these trees. Not much, but they are loaded with figs for fall crop, so I'm happy to get a preview.

The Peppers -
All are loaded with fruit. Not large yet, but peppers don't need to be ripe to be eaten.

Other Crops -
Roma beans yielded a bowl of beans last night. The summer crop of raspberries is done. With the recent heat, some of the leaves are scorched, but it looks like there will be a big fall crop. I'll post some peach photos - getting closer! Pears weighing down the tree. Lots of cucumbers. Zucchinis once again giving more than we can eat.

Flowers -
These have sufferred neglect, the most. Lillies are blooming, and fragrant. Some are scorched. I'm definitely moving more toward Xeriscaping with more succulents next year - the sedums and sempervivums are surviving like shamps. The night blooming cactus has the most buds, ever. Probably bloom in late august.

I have some photos to upload tonight.

With my Dad on hospice, and my Mom having Alzheimer's, there is a good chance that there will be more deferred maintenance in the yard. Even so, doing the gardening and writing about it give me peace of mind and something to look forward to, so I'll work on posting at least once weekly again. I ordered a large # of bulbs for fall planting, just to have something to look forward to. I have plans to re-engineer a couple of garden beds for better access and improved spacing. This will involve further encroachment into former lawn. No problem. I let the lawn go brown, so at least no mowing now.

Cold weather, indoor flowers, weatherizing, bulbs

Schlumbergera are blooming profusely. Most are from previous years, but the red/white mix and the pink are new this year. By growing several varieties (all store bought or cuttings, unnamed), bloom span has been almost 2 months (see Oct 25th photo). When they are at peak, I take them to work. Then they fall over in the car, which isn't good for the flower quality. I'll need to come up with a better way. They bring brightness indoors when outdoors is gloomy. Given my huge volume of homework this winter, this is one of the few bright spots.

Predicted temperatures have been is all over the place. This week may there may be a low down to 13 - each time that I looked it is different. Today is 32 and snowed, minimal. Due to concern about predicted lows, I sprayed the fig trees with "Wilt-Stop" which is derived from pine resin - probably the same as Wilt-Pruf. Not sure if it will help - but it helped me feel better. Since it was cloudy and there were occasional drizzles, I don't know if the process will work even if it would have during ideal spray conditions. This stuff is expensive. The concentrates give more for the buck, so it's what I bought. Made me think, maybe I should spray some in the summer too - this is supposed to reduce transpiration and reduce need for watering. May help with certain insects or black spot, not clear to me, and I understand that there are no cure-alls, just good gardening practices. The stuff has a nice 'piney' scent

While at the nursery getting wilt-stop, I saw some half-price narcissus, small varieties. Too late by most gardning standards, but I bought the 3 straggly packages and planted them in flower boxes. If they don't grow, it's OK. If they do, it will be nice to think that I 'saved' them.

Schlumbergera

The color is a little off - it's more of a salmon shade.

Given the date, this would be more like "Election Day Cactus" instead of the later holidays.

'Oversummering"

Here's a thought. Some plants are grown for their summer appearance, and ave overwintered in order to maintain them for the next year. Or at least, to have new and larger specimens the next year, and save money.

Others are grown for their winter appearance, indoors. They can be oversummered. In this case, oversummering is a chance to grow them larger and more lush. This is in contraast to overwintering, which is basically keeping them dormant or at least not growing rapidly.

Most are left in a shady place or northern exposure, since they aren't really designed for full sun. Some may have started their species as under-story plants in the forest. The epiphytic cacti were suited for growing high in the trees, wlthough there may have been higher branches shading them (speculation on my part). Even plants designed for full sun, were not designed by nature to grow in containers, where they are more likely to dry out and become sunburned. Leaving them in protected locations, they don't need quite as much attention.

These are sort of accidental houseplants. Looking around the yard, I found a tulbagia ("Society garlic") that survived last winter in the ground. The oxalis is somewhat tender but somehow escaped into the bean garden. Today I potted up both, to see how they will do in containers again. This photo is basically a 'before' picture.

Some cactus cuttings. These fell off of the Brasilopuntia when I repotted it. This is all it takes to start them.

One year old epiphullum hybrid. It's increased in size, no flower buds yet.

Another epiphyllum hybrid. Same story as the other one.

Here's an aloe that I bought last week at an estate sale. It wasn't labeled for sale. Some poor old soul had left it in a corner of the house and it hadn't been thrown away yet. For 50 cents, something different for the window.

This is like the Carly Simon song, "Anticipation". Epiphyllum oxypetallum, see prior entries. I think it will bloom in a few days. I hope that I dont miss it!

Sanseveria, about to bloom.

Brasiliopuntia first bloom

I've been growing this type of cactus for 20 years. The current plants were grown from cuttings from previous ones, probably back through 3 or 4 generations of starts from pads. It is not winter hardy, which is why the current plant is not larger. Its parent was left outside too long and died in a freeze. The current plant is about 4 years old. This is the first time that I have seen them bloom.

The last photo is a much older brasiliopuntia, photo is from Wikipedia commons.

opuntia

Opuntia flowers. I was thinking about removing this cactus. It's difficult to weed around it. Especially when the weeds are thistles - double ouch! Frankly, the fruits are not great and take a lot of effort in slicing and peeling for minimal taste. The flowers only last one day, and most bloom over a period of a few days.

Still, when it does bloom, it's interesting. As the flowers age, the color changes dramatically. Interesting. Maybe I'll keep it.

Overwintering

This room has a south-facing window. It is not used so the heat is turned off. The temperature is usually in the 50s on cold days. Some of the heat is solar, some due to adjacent hallway. The Clivia miniata (lower right corner) are in their "2 months without water" phase. Here is the Royal Horticultural Society info on clivia culture (most of the other websites use the common name which I read is quite offensive). The banana and gingers are watered a little each week, about 2 cups of water each. Lower left, a citrus from seed and Meyer lemon, also minimal watering. Other plants with the same treatment include the Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Brazilopuntia, Aloe vera, scented geranium, and small Brugmansia.


Overwintering using the "warm sunny" method. In the home office windowsill, also south facing but warmer (usually 60s to 70s depending on the sun) are some additional cacti, a Hippaestrum that finished blooming, some Schlumbergera, and additional succulants.

Overwintering. Dark, cool & dry vs. light, not as cool, and not as dry

This dracaena and trailing pelargonium are overwintering, dry, dark, in the garage. It is attached so doesn't freeze.
The brugmansia overwintered in this spot last year, same garage. The cannas were dug up this tijme because several died or did very poorly with overwintering outside last year. Some pelargonia and zantedeschia are overwintering in this situation as well. The more tender zantedeschia dont survive winter here, but take to the dry/dark/cool method very well.
This is the spare bedroom that, until a month ago, had a carpeted floor. You cant see the spot here, but there is a 1X3 foot plywood patch on one side. The rest is a nice hardwood oak floor, full thickness tongue and groove oak. I need to get saucers under a couple of pots (as soon as I finish this posting). The cacti (Epiphyllum and a coujple of opuntia) should be OK here since they have wintered for several years in the room. The citrus are a bit anemic but as long as they survive, that's OK. There is also a small brugmansia - we'll see how it does, a cavendish banana - last year it died down to the container, and I would like to keep more of it alive if possible. An aloe, and two gingers are also present. the gingers may be OK outside or in the garage, but i wanted to see if I could maintain them green for a head start next year.

Notocactus

Progress notes, mid July

Too much going on to concentrate on my favorite activity - gardening. Fortunately is is semi-self-maintaining. Weeds are growing in the dormant lawn, so it's messy. I have been watering the 'at risk' life almost daily (tomatoes, contanerized plants) due to hot weather. Not watering most shrubs or roses. Without generous mulch, much of it applied over several years; increased humus from bark, compost, and leaves, and some selective pressure (plants not adapted to this situation don't make it), it would have be a disaster this year. As it is, it's messy but not beyond hope.

The plan for tomorrow is to bike to work. In retrospect, I could have today, but sometimes we have to give ourselves a break. Not that I dont love doing it - I do. But the body needs to regenerate a little from time to time. Just as I cant be a "fundamentalist organic gardener" or a "fundamentalist vegetarian" (although people accuse me of both), I can't be a "fundamentalist bike commuter" either. But as in many things, every little bit adds up.

So far we have had 4 zucchinis (yummy, buttery falvor), uncountable raspberries, uncountable strawberries, a few dozen apriums, and tonight I had the first of the Inchelium Red garlic (pasta, crushed raw garlic, olice oil, and parmesan. That's all. Makes me feel all warm inside). Also a few crops of Chinese Chives, made into dumplings; some bunches of cilantro.

Time for bed if I'm going to bike. Early=beats traffic (not that ther is much on my route anyway), cool morning breeze, not hectic.

This agapanthus was grown from seed, plated 5 years ago. It took about 3 years to the first blossom, and others planted at the same time were lost. There is something very cool about growing somethinglike this from seeds.
Cucumbers starting to climb the obelisk (with substantial help).
Is it Xmas yet? This Xmas cactus is blooming.
Despite all of the hybrids, the oriential species lilies are still my favorite - possible my favorite of all flowers (at least in July). This bunch started as one bag (3 bulbs?) about 4 years ago. It's fairly dry tolerant and is spreading a little every year.

Epiphyllum flower buds

This cactus was nearly completely denuded by some type of illness that made most of the sections become brown and crispy. I removed the dead parts, which was most of the cactus. One of the few remaining sections looks like it might bloom. Does it have the energy?

opuntia flower

Here is a better photo. Apparently the flowers last only one day., then change color to orange and fold up. Will there be edible fruit?

cacti

The new growth on the opuntias is a bit strange. Maybe they'll look better by the end of summer.

Progress notes, Sunday puttering.

Today was a day of rest - in other words, some puttering.

This is the opuntia rufida that I alluded to in an earlier ramblimg.

Pruned about 15 rose bushes, to about 18 inches. Removed old canes, tried to direct new growth outwards. Aim was also toward renewal - remove older, decrepit canes and small, weak-appearing canes, and leave the stout, younger canes. Despite some of the garden books now directing us to leave them taller, I think that too much blackspot can overwinter on older canes.

Looked at a couple of rose books. There is some temptation, now, to add a coujple of English (David Austin) roses, such as Shakespeaare or Fair Bianca. Must restrain myself - not much place to put them. Maybe if I bought them as small, cutting-grown plants from Heirloom Roses, they will take a few years to reach a good size, then be move to replace a poor performer? On the other hand, some of the David Austin Roses have not performed well in my garden (and some have been very gratifying) - maybe I should restrain myself. In this garden: Tamora (excellent), Symphony (OK), Galmis Castle (poor, few, small, not so fragrant blossoms), Jayne Austin (OK, very fragrant, sparse small flowers on large bush), Evelyn (OK, slow to get started, still quite small after 2 years, beautiful large fragrant flowers), Bibi Maizoon (poor, after 2 years, only a few flowers, those balled up and became moldy), Happy Child (good, slow to get started - cutting grown- but the blossoms are beautiful, not much problem with disease, and very fragrant).

Anigozanthos, looking frail but has survived the shortest Winter days, and now might make it to Spring in the South Window. It tells me when it needs water, by wilting, then I give it some and it revivies. The goal is survival, not gfrowth, so it is watered minimally. So far this experiment with overwintering Anigozanthos is proceeding OK.

Notable garden news: honeybee disaster. Without them to pollinate, the fruit crops may decline. Hopefully the Orchard Mason bees will not be affected and will fill in, in commercial orchards and in the home garden.

Global warming and the gardener

Some random thoughts about Global Warming, and Gardening.

First, everyone has a role in this issue. As the top of the blog states, "Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads 'not guilty'." Gardener or not, each person has a role in trying to reduce carbon emissions, increase carbon sequestering, and compensate or prepare for change.

To reduce carbon emissions, we can grow shade (reduce air conditioning requirement), grow food crops (reduce shipping costs), grow organically (avoid unnecessary use of petrochemicals). We can share starts from favorite, well-adapted plants (reduce shipping costs, use locally adapted plants with improved chances of success).

My favorite shade project is the grape arbor on the south side of the house, which cools a bedroom in the summer, provides a shady place to sit, allows warm sunlight in the winter (because the grapes are deciduious), and provides many pounds of really tasty grapes in the Summer.

To increase carbon sequestering we should plant more trees where-ever practical. Trees remove CO2 from the air, and sequester it in their wood. My yard is small, but I have planted a ginkgo seedling in the back yard (now about 8 feet tall) which will also shade the house (it is on the south side) and two ginkgo seedlings in the front yard. Ginkgos are versatile, adapted to a wide variety of climates and conditions, and long-lived. Many other varieties of shade tree will do, this is just a favorite for me. A nut-producing shade tree might also be a good option, and will also provide food. I've seen figs large enough to provide shade, but not many people want such large fig trees.

My yard is not large, however, so I don't know how many more trees I can add. Now if I could just some neighbors to add trees... some of their yards look so barren. By having trees in my yard, I also provide an example. Woody shrubs and trees may also help (less lawn, and some carbon sequestered in the wood, although not nearly as much as a shade tree). I do have lots of those, in the form of dwarf fruits, and shrubs. (After writing this, I think that I have just decided to let the Eucalyptus - which I was going to pollard near the ground and grow as a shrub - grow as a tree instead. It's north of the house, near the street, so won't shade the garden.)

To prepare for change, we need to think about what will grow in our changed local climates. Some traditional or native species and varieties will be stressed with the changes, and won't flourish. Meanwhile, others that would not have grown before, will do well. Some gardeners (myself included) like to push their "zonal envelope" (derided by others as "zone denial"). A few degrees might make a difference in whether tender varieties of figs survive and fruit, or peaches. Or Eucalyptus as noted above (I know, these are a problem in California. But if the native trees can't adapt, then "invasive" might mean "successful" and a "detriment" turns into a "benefit").

Even though climate change is generally considered global warming, there will be some areas that are cooler, and some areas with more chaotic weather patterns. Most likely, some areas will be much more dry. Dry tolerant plants become more desirable. Maybe some hardy cacti - time to learn to cook nopales (Oh no, not more about opuntias! By the way, I did buy another small one at Fred Meyer. Probably an Opuntia rufida which looks like this or this. But it's not very hardy so is overwintering indoors.) Some stream of consciousness here. Not quite 'word salad' but getting close.

Other thoughts:

-maybe offer to rake the neighbor's leaves, so they are less likely to cut down their trees? Then take the leaves home and compost them.

-maybe I should go out today and plant some lettuce. That way it doesn't have to be shipped from california. I wonder if those old lettuce seeds will germinate?

-mulch mulch mulch. makes the garden easier to maintain, improves the soil, allowing for deeper roots, making garden plants more resilient, reduces plant disease by preventing splash back from the soil, reduces weeds and water requirements, makes use of the leaves mentioned above.

-it really is time to give up on the idea of a golf-course-like lawn as the neighborhood ideal. Let's see more productive kitchen-garden yards, or low-maintenance forested tree-filled yards, or ornamental flower and shrub filled yards, but not energy-intense, chemical filled lawns.

That's about it for random thoughts today. Time to go out and plant those lettuce seeds. It's light outside now.

These remain green, Midwinter

It's encouraging that there are still green plants in the yard. The opuntia and Rosemary have survived about 5 Winters so far, so must be OK in this climate.
The Eucalyptus cinerea may not be ideal for this climate, given its milder provenance in Australia and New Zealand. This is a 'global warming' tree - I'm trying it given that we've had some 'zone creep' and former rules may not apply any more. The hardiness zones have moved. Of course, when the hard freeze arrives in February, it might not look so good. It might be Eucalptus gunnii instead - I'm not sure about the labeling.

The Euphorbia remains green (or more correctly, red/green) as well. It's in a dry microclimate which receives almost no rain.

Opuntia (final). Meyer Lemon.

Part of the rationale for growing opuntias is to see if I can eat them. Initially, I hoped for some 'prickly pears'. Since there have been no blossoms, there have also been no fruits.

In addition to being a fruit, prickly pear cacti (opuntias) are also a vegetable. The pads, stripped of thorns, are rich in vitamins and fiber. Called nopales (or nopalitos when prepared), they are a traditional Mexican food. There are quite a few recipes for nopales.

I'm surprised that, with so much Mexican food available, and with the incorporation of Mexican food into the American lifestyle, that this vegetable is such a mystery to us. I did have some when in Mexico this fall, they seemed like a fairly routine vegetable. Maybe Americans are just not interested in having more vegetables.

OK, on to new topic - it looks like the Meyer Lemon has some lemons that are ready to pick. The plant itself is quite small. Gardenweb has many entries expressing frustration with this tree. It may not be amenable to 'out-of-zone' thriving, although some information is available on Winter care. This tree has survived the Winter so far in a sunny, cool room, and the three lemons look ripe. Considering the small size of the plant, 3 lemons is more than I expected this year. I'll post again when I know what the lemons taste like.

Meyer lemons were originally found by Frank Meyer (not Fred Meyer) growing as potted trees in Peking (now Beijing) in 1908. They are thought to be hybrids between a lemon and another citris such as an orange or mandarin.

More opuntias. Tomato order (so soon!). Flu bug.

This is one of the opuntias in the yard. It was a gift, a small plant in a small pot. I up-potted it into this container in 2004. Not enthusiastic about it, it was left outside winter 2004/5. It grew fast last year, so leaving it outside this winter again. Trying to keep it out of the rain, under the belief that cacti survive cold better if dry (that's what the books state).


A handsome specimen from a web site. Hopefully not copyrighted, given the age of the card.






Ordered the following tomato seeds from totallytomatoes.com. This site was reliable last year so using it again. Varieties:
Lemon Boy - my favorite yellow. Here it's been very productive, juicy big tomatoes with a 'light' tomatoey flavor.
Celebrity - did not grow last year but want to try again. Disease resistant, productive, real 'midwestern' type tomato flavor.
Better Boy - grew OK last year, better in 2005. Good production, big 'midwestern' flavor tomatoes.
Black from Tula - new to me. Last year Cherokee was so good (but not productive), I want to try another black variety.
Cherokee Purple - "purple" but also called "black". not very productive, but so good that I had to hide tomatoes to save them for myself (don't tell Ning).
Supersweet 100 - Ning's favorite. After trying all of the varieties of cherry tomatoes, this one was still the most flavorful and productive. Most of the others either didnt make many, or they didn't have much flavor. Or both.
Tiny Tim - a very dwarf variety, never tried before. 15 inches tall. Will use in border areas or containers to produce some early cherry tomatoes or have them in spots that are too small for larger varieties.

I've been achy and tired. Probably combination of a virus, year-end iniatives / increased load at work, and some short day affective disorder. Looking ahead to the tomatoes helped a little.