Mini Rose (Kordana) Rescue Update. 12 March 2024.

 It's soon for an update, but they are thriving.  I set them outside in sunny / overcast weather for abput half the day now.

I think I wont prune back any more until after the bloom again.  I don't know when that will be.  Maybe June.

This is the Bi-Mart one that I rescued.  Now I can see the new blossom buds are scarlet.  I had a little buyers remorse, seeing the sort of mauve color of mature blossoms.  The red buds are better.  

That one needs a new container and new soil.  I need to free up a container for that.

Here is the dark red one I bought at Safeway.  It's ideal so far.  Also needs larger container and better soil soon.

Complete. Container Planted David Austin Roses. 12 March 2024.

 Here are the container David Austin Roses now.  Yesterday I bought more potting soil so I could pot up Boscobel too.  They are on wheeled dollies so I can move them as needed for shade, light, and turn them around etc.

I also pruned the Vanessa Bell Rose that overwintered, to one foot tall.  I think that will give stronger stems and more compact shape.  I didn't want to prune off stems that were already growing, but I don't think that will really hurt anything.

Current weather is mid-50s F, intermittent showers, rain, sun, cloudy.  I think that's a good start and tender shoots get a chance to acclimate before potential sunburn weather.

Planting Some David Austin Roses in Containers. 10 March 2024.

 The David Austin roses that I ordered in January came today.  They were shipped from Tyler Texas.  I don't know if they were grown there.

They were packaged wet, so I just had them in water while planting.  I pruned long or girdling roots and crossing stems, not much.  There are some pale, one inch long shoots on multiple stems on all of them.  The current chilly, rainy, overcast weather will give them a chance to acclimate.

Silas Marner went into a container that I had placed and prepared during the winter.  For all of the roses, I mixed into the soil about 1/4 cup crushed eggshells, 2 tablespoons crushed chicken bone meal, and about 1/4 cup coffee grounds.

Silas is near Vanessa Bell that I planted about one year ago.

I'm debating removing the sedum and muscari from that container.  I don't think they hurt anything, just messy.

Darcy Bussell and Bring Me Sunshine each went into planters that hold about 2 cubic feet of potting soil.  I drilled a lot of holes in the bottoms, first.

These will be on dollys so they can be moved around easily.

I ran out of potting soil, so Boscobel will wait until tomorrow.  It's in a temporary pot of potting soil for now.

Rose and Blackberry Cuttings Status Report. 10 March 2024.

 These are the rose and blackberry cuttings that I stuck into the ground in December.   Mostly it's been a chilly winter with lots of rain, as usual, some snow, and a few good freezes into the teens.  Other than a leaf mulch, I did not protect them.

Here's how they look now.

Climbing red rose.

Old heirloom  rose, unknown variety.  Fragrant old rose scent, highly double pink flowers, very thorny green stems.

And a thornless blackberry.

I can't promise that all of these will grow, but they usually do.  It's a good sign that the buds are plump and green or greenish-red.  And the stems look good.

I think this method might work especially will in Pacific Northwest mild wet winters.

Long before there was rooting hormone, greenhouse sprinkler misting systems, etc, gardeners propagated lots of plants this way, including roses.  My great aunts, Rose and Alice propagated stem cuttings in southwestern Illinois, with mason jars to keep them from drying out.  They were probably taught by their mother in the early 1900s.

Rudbeckia, Eucalyptus, and Schlumbergera Seedlings. 8 March 2024

 Here are the Rudbeckia seedlings.  I planted these after stratifying in the refrigerator, using the moist paper towel in sandwich bag method, six weeks in fridge.  It was a challenge getting the seeds off the damp paper towel, because they are tiny and they stick, but it was doable. I just patted the seeds onto the already dampened seed starting medium, watered them in, and placed onto a warming mat.  They germinated in a few days.

I can't see wanting more than a half dozen, so they will need thinning.  Maybe a few more.

The Lemon Bush Eucalyptus have weird things on their leaves.  I up-potted them, maybe two weeks ago.  I'll see if they grow out of whatever is happening.

The Silver Dollar Eucalyptus seedling all look good so far.

The Schlumbergeras grow slowly, and with a lot of variation.  I imagine they will need a couple of years before blooming.  It's fun, taking them through blooming stage, pollinating, growing a berry, letting that mature, harvesting the seeds, and now growing plants.  I will continue giving them the best growth conditions I can, and maybe transplant when they are a little bigger to give them more room.

Some More Geranium (Pelargonium) Cuttings. 8 March 2024.

 The parent plant in overwintering in the garage, not quite but almost dormant.  No water, cool, not much light.  There are some sturdy looking stems, and I will wan to cut it back this Spring.  I chose these for cuttings.

Then I selected some from these, and trimmed some more.

Then I stuck them all into some potting soil  in a four inch pot.  That was last week.  Today, no silting and starting to show just a little variegation. This is the variegated, heirloom variety "Mrs Pollack".

This is really pushing it, as to whether these marginal cuttings from a stressed, overwintering, nearly dormant plant will take root and grow.  But geraniums are rugged.  They just might.

Up-potting Pepper Seedlings. 8 March 2024.

 I up-potted the first 6 pack.  Half Anaheims and half Fresnos.

The rest need up - potting too.  They dry out too fast in those tiny six-packs and also become root-bound.

Alstroemeria Seedlings. 8 March 2024.

 In the end, they all sprouted without stratification.  Maybe the seed seller stratified them.  I up-potted them to give some root room.

The First Daffodils. 8 March 2024.

 A few blooming now.  Signs of spring.

Around a Linden tree.  These are Jetfire, descended from bulbs I planted 22 years ago.

A few by a gingko tree.  I don't know the variety.

Bathroom Remodel. 7 March 2024

 Not about gardening, but about the gardener.    With age and medical stuff, it was a worsening challenge soaking in the old bathtub.  It was hard to get into, and out of, and a fall risk.  The bathroom was crowded, dark, difficult to clean, too many corners to bump into.  The counter was too low.

I wanted a bathtub with a door, on a platform so the user would already be in a sitting position when getting out. A window, for full spectrum daylight.  Wall color that wouldn't make it dingy and eye strain, like the old beige was.  A better height, more functional sink.  Better and brighter light flooring.  A bidet toilet.  

It didn't have to be "update" per se, but it kind of works out that way.  The old bathroom was 50 years old, dark, not so safe or easy to use or clean.

Here's the result.

This is a world better.  I still have to touch up the painting.  I'm not good at edges.  It needs towel racks, and better grab bars.  Those suction cup type really don't work that well.  I want to add a nice medicine cabinet over the toilet.  The tub is not as easy to get out of as I could wish for - a wider door would help more.  But it is still a big improvement, and I think instantly makes life a bit more pleasant.  I like this new bathroom, a lot.

Most things are white, for a brighter room.   The flooring is non-slip, waterproof vinyl plank.  The vanity has storage space for towels, underneath, and foot room at the bottom.  It's similar to a buffet.  The counter is white for brightness.  

For  contrast, here's the 50 year old bathroom.

I had a contractor do most of it.  I bought the vanity and toilet at Lowes.  The bathtub was a special order, shipped across the country.  Most of the rest was via Amazon, returned items to reduce the cost.

Taking out that wall really opened up the space, got rid of corners to bump into, made cleaning easier, and brightened up the entire room.  The old vanity might have been for kids - way too low for adults.    Also, now the door opens completely, so no bumping into that.