Bee Flowers. 27 Jul 24.

 

Patio Container Garden Update. 27 Jul 24.

 The patio container garden got quite a workout (or I did), as the house got new fire resistant siding (and the roof got metal roofing).  Here's some of it now.

The Alumia "Vanilla Cream" marigolds are blooming now.

The first of the Mandivillas is starting to bloom.  These are definitely worth overwintering, and survived major pruning and repotting when I brought them back outside this Spring.

The pink one is a bit behind, but there are lots of buds.

The dahlias are looking nice too.

The "Bird bath" Portulaca is extra-colorful.  (the bowl is deeper than a bird bath, and has drain holes).

Alpine Strawberry Plants, Up-Potted. 27 Jul 24.

 Here are some of the alpine strawberry plants now.  I repotted two 8-packs today.  I started them from seeds on 30 April.  That info here.

I don't think they grow as large as hybrid strawberry plants.  I have never grown them before, so it's a guess.

There was almost no root disruption, and they were not at all potbound.   I don't think they will miss a beat.  Some of the plants are blooming.

Still more plants to repot.  

Fig Tree Propagation By Air Layering. 27 Jul 24.

 Almost exactly three months ago, I set up three air layers on White Marseilles / Lattarula, and two on Petite Aubique.  Images here.

A few weeks ago I checked some.  Didn't see any growth.

I checked again yesterday.  The first was packed with roots.

So I cut off all three.  Here are the other two.

Unwrapped.

I found that the roots were quite fragile where they connected to the main stem.  I soaked them in water for a few hours, then potted them.  This image is the  next morning (today).

The tallest actually had the smallest roots, by far.  The shortest WAS the tallest but was severely bent due to the branch being heavy, so I cut off the top.  So now it's the shortest.  It had the most roots.

They need support until the roots spread through the potting soil.  Also, they will dry out very fast until the roots spread a bit. So they are staying out of the sun, and on hot days will be in the garage.

As for the Petite Aubique, the first air layer had tiny roots, which broke off when I unwrapped it.   It's in a bucket of water for now,  I left the second one alone.

If they look OK in a week, I might give a dose of balanced fertilizer to promote new roots.  Just one dose, because I don't like to fertilize after July.

Bearded Iris Bed Finished. 27 Jul 24.

 I'm more limited than I was, so things move more slowly.

Here's the completed bearded iris bed.  The features - full sun all day.  excellent drainage.  I cleaned all of the rhizomes before planting.

They have a good layer of woodchip mulch.  I know it's a truism, that bearded iris rhizomes should be bare to the sun, no mulch.  Also no weeds.  I have never been able to precent weeds, and the weeds are monsters. Then again, with bare soil around them, they always, 100% of the time, develop fungal spot and bacterial rod, don't bloom and don't thrive.  Some die.

On the other hand, the discarded rhizomes in the duck yard thrive among weeds, and they have wood chip mulch.  Also the rhizomes that I moved to the garden border.  Weeds, yes (not too many).  Mulch, yes. Fungal spot and bacterial rot, no.  Bloom, yes, quite well.

My theory is that bacterial and fungal diseases in the soil splash onto the leaves, during rainy season.  Last year I tried growing a lot of them in containers, but the same thing happened.  So this is (another) final attempt.

So there they are.   With moves and transplanting, the labels have been lost.  If they bloom, I can identify them and re-label.    Time will tell.

The ones with some new growth have been in place for a few weeks.   The new growth is free of leaf spot.  I continue to remove remaining spotted leaves, as healthy new growth replaces them.