Pruning and Re-Booting Mandevilla Vines. 19 Apr 24.

 I overwintered these Mandevilla vines in the sunroom.  They rarely got water.  They did make some vines.  The one in the blue container pink, is two years old.  The other is red, has overwintered once.

I think the red one will need a new container soon, and the pink one will need re-potting and sone root pruning.  I basically pruned off the past year of growth from the red one, and most of the past two years of growth from the pink one.  There was a lot of dead looking material, bare stems, dead growth tips.  

This image is s few days later.  I think growth has started to take place already.

Sunmaid Cordana (?) Yellow Mini Rose Blooming. 19 Apr 24.

 It turned out pretty nice.

The others from the original container are also budding.  This one also has more growth buds emerging from the base.  I've been giving it the same treatment as the others, watering with Schulz house plant fertilizer per label instructions.  It's outside in full sun throughout the day.  If it looks like nights will be above 45F, I leave them sheltered on the deck outside.

There is a faint tea rose scent, if you smell up very close. It's nice.

This flower is larger than those on the original plant.  The plant is taller, with longer internodes.

Planting More Four O'Clock Seedlings. 19 Apr 24.

 The first few Four O'Clock seedlings did OK, so I planted about half of the rest.

I have them covered until they toughen up,  I scattered some slug bait.  I left a couple of the plants more exposed to see if rabbits or deer would eat them.

Today's soil temp is about 50 F.  Coldest temp, last night was 45 F.  

Planting New Strawberry Plants in Containers. 19 Apr 24

 These are some strawberry plantes I ordered on Amazon.  I tried ordering from a couple of tried and true online nurseries. but now they require all sorts of personal info, which once they have ads to spam, ads, spam calls, spam texts, spam emails.  This is part of the crappification of life.  Yes, I can go to the effort to block every spam, but companies also buy and sell that info.  Plus, if I order from them again, then I have go unblock  which means more effort on my part.  That's too much trouble for 20 strawberry plants.  I also tried ordering from a nursery I have used before, but somehow their order page didn't work.  

Amazon already has my info and doesn't appear to be selling it.  If they did, then it would go to their competitors.  I think they are too smart for that.  Plus their order page always works.

OK, that curmudgeon old man rant out of the way, these  are the Ozark Ever-bearing strawberry plants that I bought.   My phone was charging when I opened the package, so no photo of that.

The bare root plants looked pretty pathetic out of the bag.  I watered them and planted as shown.  I heeled in the  remaining plants in potting soil, and watered, for planting tomorrow.

These are in shade with no direct sunlight for now.  When (if ?)  they start growing, I'll transition them gradually to full sun.  I think they'll grow.  Even in this image they seem to have perked up a bit.

Up-Potting Snow Pea Plants For Container Culture. 19 Apr 24.

 I up-potted the four containers of snow pea plants.

I enjoy eating snow peas very much, either raw in salad or stir fried with noodles or rice.  Almost always, either birds - probably Jays - or animals -probably voles or mice - completely destroy every snow pea plant that I grow in the garden.  Regardless of how extensively I cover them with screening. 

In containers on the deck, that doesn't seem to be a problem.  They are also kind of attractive plants.  The greens are also edible (the Jays and voles can tell you that too).  So I'm trying them as deck plants this year.

In the long run, they'll need larger containers.  These have to do for now.