Grafting Update. 4.7.19

Whip/Tongue Graft of Beauty Plum.  4.7.19

Whip/Tongue Graft of Black Ice Plum.  4.7.19

 So far, almost all of the grafts are looking good, have broken dormancy and started to grow.  While some scion wood will grow for a short while even without the graft taking, that is short-lived.  I think we are well on the way.

Interesting observations.  Interesting to me, anyway.

Beauty Plum (From Home Orchard Society), already had flower buds before I picked up the scion at the scion fair.  Even so, and even though they bloomed - weakly - and the petals fell off, the growth points remained viable and are growing.

I could not tell which way was up for the kiwi grafts,  So I did about half one way, and half the other way.  Sure enough, only about half of them are growing.

Whip/Tongue Graft of Male Fuzzy Kiwi.  4.7.19

Whip/Tongue Graft of Male Fuzzy Kiwi.  4.7.19

 For Pristine apple, I saved scion from living growth of a failed graft.  Since it was only holding on by a thin strip of bark and cambium, the 1 year growth was very spindly and thin.  I grafted some of those, and some second year growth that was thicker.  Both seem to be taking OK.

Pears and Quinces seem to take off and grow the fastest.

Non-Grafted Bud of Kiwi, Breaking Dormancy.  4.7.19

Whip/Tongue Graft of Raja Asian Pear.  4.7.19

Whip/Tongue Graft of Pristine Apple.  4.7.19

Whip/Tongue Graft of Pristine Apple.  4.7.19

Nepenthes, Tropical Carnivorous Plants. 4.7.19

Here are a coupleof the Nepenthes that I bought this winter.  The small pitchered one was in my LED plant set-up until last week.  The other has been in my sunroom since buying it.  Since they are vines, I have them hanging from the overhead window struts. On the larger plant, the initial pitchers died after the move - stress from a new home.  The small pitchered plant actually had new ones growing from the outset.

I'll try to remember to add their names later.  So far, I'm more than pleased with these fun plants.

I think the larger pitchered plants will grow much larger pitchers.  It's fun to watch as they develop.

These were from Sarracenia Northwest.

Grafting Update. 4.7.19

Here are the container geraniums that I stored in the garage overwinter.  Plus one that was small enough to store in a window.

They look quite sad.  However, after removing dead leaves, and watering, the first tubs look a little better.

Buying new plants that are blooming already gives a more instant result, but this method is a little cheaper and will result in larger plants with more flowers.

Is it Actually Better to Mulch Irises in this Climate? 4.7.19

Bearded Irises, No Mulch.  4.7.19

Bearded Irises, No Mulch.  4.7.19

 I have decided that the recommendations to never mulch irises are so much garden legend, unfounded and contrary to fact.  It could be, in most climates, and with most mulches, irises will get sick and die, like they suggest.  Rhizomes rotting due to too much moisture.

A few years ago, I basically gave up on my irises.  They repeatedly got fungal and/or bacterial leaf diseases.  Not only misshapen and ugly, but the leaves would die at their bases.

I finally gave up, planted them at the edge of the woodlot, and mostly forgot about them.  I mulched that area with arborist chips, to keep the weeds down. Interestingly, all of those irises flourished.  And no leaf diseases.  My enthusiasm returned, and I decided to move many of the clumps into a dedicated garden bed.  I kept the soil surface clean, and free of weeds.  I also added many new varieties.  However, the space was limited, so probably half of my bearded irises are still in the mulched border.

Meanwhile, I added a finely chopped fir bark mulch to those in the border.  This was the cheapest mulch I could find.  I used it to keep down weeds.

Bearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  4.7.19

Bearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  4.7.19

 Both groups of irises were doing great until this week.  We had a chill, a big rain storm, and several rainy days.

Result:  Now many of the irises that I am growing "correctly" have the leaf spot diseases again.  None of the mulched ones do.

I'm disappointed.  I really followed the instructions.  But the ones that I had "written off" and mulched regardless of the MANY reports stating not to,  look great.  MANY of the ones that I treated right, with no mulch - have leaf spot diseases.

Here is my theory.  Maybe the fir bark has antibacterial and antifungal properties.  And maybe the rain splashes spores of bacteria and fungi onto the leaves, where they grow.  Mulched soil does not allow the spread of the diseases.

As an aside, I had decomissioned some of the old raised iris beds and constructed a raised bud on top of them.  I dug out most of the irises and moved the clumps to the woodlot border, but some were too much trouble.  So I buried them, at least 6 inches deep.  DUring the next year, several bearded iris plants grew up through the soil, and did fine.

Mearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  3.7.19

Bearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  3.7.19

I dug those out and moved them.  They had constructed new, sort of vertical rhizomes, up to the soil surface.  They are growing fine.  So I'm really not convinved that the rule, never bury iris rhizomes, is universally true.  Maybe mostly true, in most places.  Garden wisdom happens for a reason.  But I have to face the facts and experience in my garden:  Not only does mulching, at least with shredded or small nougat fir bark, not damage iris rhizomes, it may well protect them from disease.

I'll continue to watch them, of course.  Maybe the ones in the mulched borders are just waiting then will burst out with devastating leaf diseases.  We'll see.

Grafting Update. 4.2.19

Quince Graft.  4.2.19

Pristine Apple Graft.  4.2.19

 Most of the grafts still appear to be viable and many are breaking dormancy.  It still amazes me that grafting works, but it seems it's just taking advantage of the natural healing capacity of trees, so when a graft is cut and assembled reasonably well, nature really does the work.

All of the quince grafts have broken dormancy, as have many of the apples, the Raja Asian pear, and some of the Kiwis.  I haven't checked the plums for a while.

The Pristine apple grafts were really tiny.  They were from a branch with graft failure, that was barely hanging on.  I'm surprised and pleased to see some growth.

Raja Asian Pear Graft.  4.2.19

Flowers. 4.2.19

Daffodils.  4.2.19

 Some nice flowers blooming now.  I love this season.

Last fall I planted most of the daffodils in rows.  Rows are easier to manage, and I can't be Martha Stewart or some kind of HGTV gardener.  These are just for me to enjoy, anyway.  I like this double one a lot.

I was about to give up on the helleborus, but now it's a blooming machine.

I've been trying to naturalize violets from my old yard, in the Battleground yard.  Despite a reputation for being invasive, they've been slow to settle in.

This is one of the larger patches of violets here, now.  These are in full sun.  Nothing seems to bother them, not rabbits, or deer, or slugs.

Ornamental Quince.  4.2.19

Local Violets.  4.2.19

Figs. 4.2.19

My Main Row Of Fig Trees.  4.2.19

Carini Fig Breaking Dormancy.  4.2.19

 Today I finished removing the last of the terracing that I put in a few years ago for the fig trees.  I think the idea had potential, but in the end it did not work so well.

These fig trees are on a hill, so I thought the terracing would help the ground hold water.  However, with the grass and fig trees, that isn't needed.  Meanwhile, mowing was difficult because the grass hid the the stones and blocks I used to terrace the soil, and I could not just walk up the row of trees with the lawn mower.

So I have been removing the terrace stones and bricks over the past year  I had some fill soil removed from decommissioned raised beds, so I spread that on the uneven areas, and broadcast grass seed there.  Now, the last of the re-contouring is done.  It will be easier to mow in the future, easier maintenance, less likely to trip on the terrace stones and uneven grade.

Meanwhile, the fig trees are coming out of dormancy.  Celeste seems to be earliest.  That tree is still young, and I have not yet tasted a Celeste fig.  The others are not far behind.

I have yellow jacket traps out now, too, to catch the queens before they build nests and start colonies.  So far, none are in the traps.

 

 

 

Petite negri Fig Breaking Dormancy.  4.2.19

Celeste Fig Breaking Dormancy.  4.2.19

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Garlic. 4.2.19

Garlic Bed.  4.2.19

Today I cleaned up the garlic bed.  The main problem with perennial or overwinter vegetables is that weeds grow among them and it's not always easy to get out in the weather to clean them up

Still, this bed is the best looking garlic I've had in years.  Must be the varieties (Music looks the best, but Spanish Roja is looking good too), and the fact that I have them fenced in.  Made a big difference, so far.

Big Box Store Peonies. 4.1.19

I bought these Peony roots today at Home Depot. I actually love shopping there, but like the Dahlia tubers that I just posted on (from other chain stores), these peonies area pretty picture with a hopeful thought.

Of the two, the Itoh peony root was in better shape.  The roots looked reasonably firm, and there were several viable looking buds.  Of the herbaceous (Sara Bernhardt) peonies, one looked viable, with a somewhat thick root and a couple of buds.  The other was so dried out and hard, I dont think it has a chance.  I couldn't tell which way was up - really a poor specimen.  Still, I planted them all.  I also included some organic vegetable fertilizer in the soil.

These are OK for the gardener who loves a challenge, who is willing to wait possibly several, even many, years for the first blossom, and who is willing to give TLC along the way.  But they are not worth the price and garden space if one wants something healthy, vigorous, and likely to bloom in a year or two.

We'll see!

Big Box Store Dahlia Tubers. 4.1.19

Starting Some Dahlia Tubers Early.  4.1.19

These are packages of dahlia tubers that I bought earler this winter and stored until now.  I hesitate to describe them, lest I be shown to be gullible, but here we are.  Those little boxes with "1" on the label?  Basically you are buying a pretty picture.  The tubers were dead looking, most hanging on to the central stem by fibers, not a living connection.  As I understand it, most of the time, the living bud is on the stem, or near it.  The "Joy of Gardening" tuber was almost as bad.  The multipack "Joy of Gardening" dahlia multi-package did contain some that looked OK.  Maybe most of them.  But in most of these cases, the consumer is buying a pretty picture.

My goal here is to get them started  growing.  If they do break dormancy and plants grow, I'll either plant them in the garden or in containers.   I trimmed off the tubers that were hanging on by fibers but no apparent living connection.  Then I planted them  in potting soil, covering the tubers but not deeply.  I'll keep them in a warm place until the start growing.  I think most of them still have a chance.