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xica_da_silva

Cruel Heat!

xica_da_silva
13 years ago


Anyone care to share their casualties from the recent heat? I know it's part of the cycle, but it does make me a bit sad...

My poor foxgloves- they were tricked into blooming when we dipped back into the 80s last week, but this afternoon their trumpets are all wilty. I wonder if a little extra water might help? At least I've got them in a somewhat shady area.

On the bright side, my pansies are hanging in there like the little champs that they are. Yes, they're sprawly and dying but continuing to show brilliant yellow color, in spite of everything.

In sympathy with my plants, I've decided to go without AC today! I know, I'm a little bit crazy! :)

Comments (13)

  • mangledmind
    13 years ago

    Yup, current casualties of this crazy weather cycle:

    3 Raspberry
    1 Boysenberry
    2 Strawberry
    2 Chives
    1 Cilantro
    1 Basil
    1 Lemon Chive
    1 Garlic Chive
    8 Spanish Red Onions
    8 Yellow Hybrid Onions
    10 Green Onion Bunches
    3 Tomato plants
    about a dozen California Poppies
    about a dozen seedling Rainbow Peppers
    about a dozen seedling Sweet Peppers
    and another dozen or so mixed hot pepper seedlings
    and about 8 Okra seedlings

    and today I lost another Sweet Basil, went out this afternoon after a CostCo run and found it shriveled up, it was fine this morning, nice and bushy. :(

    We ran our heat/AC maybe 10 days in the last 8 months or so. But it's 83* in here right now and a little uncomfortable, maybe time to kick it on!?!?!?

    Guess we have to pick up some shade cloth for the veggies.

    On the bright side, we had some of our spinach and mixed lettuce today, YUMMY.

  • mangledmind
    13 years ago

    forgot:

    1 Mexicola Grande Avacado
    1 Lemon Balm
    1 Blackberry

  • xica_da_silva
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Wow...and I thought I had it bad. At least you were able to enjoy your spinach and lettuce. Sorry for your losses!

    I brought my English Ivy inside about a week ago, gave her a good trim and put her near a window on my north side and she's now happy as a clam again. Tons of new little buds popping out.

    The only 3 things that are really thriving in my garden right now are:

    Dusty Millers: they're almost too big...but they're blooming nicely with yellow flowers.
    Celosia: I want to get some more of these once my Pansies peter out.
    Marguerite Daisies: Well, they are kind of like a weed...but who cares? They're deep reds and pinks and I like 'em.

    PS. I just saw a hummingbird for the first time on one of my foxgloves! Really cool!

  • mangledmind
    13 years ago

    We had a hummingbird (female), watch us last night while we moved our 2 Avocado's indoors. She just hovered around me watching what I was doing (washing the planter tray bottoms). They usually "remind me" when the feeder is empty, just humming away around me while out back. :) We have quite a few around here that like to perform aerial "dog fights".

  • grant_in_arizona
    13 years ago

    Fun thread! My losses (so far, LOL) have been about what we should expect this time of year: fading petunias, tired pansies, and fatigued sweet peas.

    I've ripped out most of the petunias which had been blooming non stop since November and replaced them with some cascading "vinca" that I started from seed indoors awhile back as the petunia replacement.

    Most of my "geraniums" are still holding up pretty well, although I did rip them out from around my variegated calamondin orange so that I'd have a spot for some 'Highlight' zinnias, also started as replacements for winter things.

    Sometimes it's hard to rip out the winter stuff in summer (and summer stuff in winter) but once it's done I always feel better.

    Take care and happy gardening,
    Grant

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cascading vincas from Park Seed (where I bought my seed)

  • grant_in_arizona
    13 years ago

    Okay, I got tired of looking at my tired geraniums, LOL, so I ripped them out this past weekend. I didn't let them get as pathetic as I do in my years, but I knew where they were headed so out they went!

    I replaced them with some small 'Highlight' zinnia seedlings that I started a few weeks ago as replacements. It's hard to rip the tired geraniums out, but then things look so nice and clean and optimistic when they're gone and replaced, LOL.

    Take care all,
    Grant

    Here is a link that might be useful: Highlight zinnias

  • nutcr0cker
    13 years ago

    I had a bad experiance last year with my bottle and sponge gourd vines. So I put in a shade cloth however the dry air does not help the gourd. This year I am putting in a mister sustem in my back garden patch tied to one of the valves. well see how it goes. Thus far I am seeing my gian belgium set 16 tomatoes.
    I am trying some tropicals this year
    Ivy gourd, sponge gourd, armenian cucumber, cluster, white kidney beans, jack fruit tree, drumstick tree, custard apple, tropical guava, java plum, empress tree, egg plant, clementine okra, watermelon, alphonso mango seedling Everything else seems to be doing fine however when ever I remove the jackfruit plant(16") from the enclosed evvironment it starts to die. any ideas? Had a good harvest of yellow peach and have lots of dwarf plum set in.

  • zone10aridgardener
    13 years ago

    Not sure that its cruel in my yard.

    thriving:

    Banana
    Feijoa
    Peppers Anaheim, Bell
    Dragon fruit, Vietnamese white, purple haze, dark star
    Lisbon lemon
    flame seedless grape
    Peruvian pear
    Nectarine
    portulacaria afra

    Got to get passion fruit. Any one know a place by the desert ridge mall?

  • xica_da_silva
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Zone10...How cool that you are growing Feijoa. When I saw the name I knew it must be brazilian, but in Portuguese the root 'feij' would usually be associated with some type of bean so it surprised me to realize it's a guava-like fruit...especially since I'm familiar with many Brazilian fruit types (have travelled to Brazil many times over the years). Have you had any fruit production yet? I'd like to someday try something in my yard that's specifically Brazilian.

    I've also had Dragon fruit while visiting Vietnam and it's fabulous. Which reminds me, I'm glad to hear you're not trying to grow Durian! Your neighbors might have a problem with that! :)

  • mangledmind
    13 years ago

    I'm with xica da silva, is any of those exotics bearing fruit? I've heard rumors and seen videos of gardens with exotics, but have yet to see actual fruits except in the grocery store.

  • tracydr
    13 years ago

    Hey, zone 10! Where are you near desert ridge? I used to live up ther. My parents live off of Rodger's Lane and I stayed with them for a couple of years during my divorce. I'm now in Mesa.
    If you find edible passifruit let me know. I've been looking too and could always get my dad to pick it up. Do you think we need to wait until it cools off to plant it?

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    13 years ago

    We have the same heat you do, only a little hotter, I think. It was 108 here for many days. 105 now. Everything has lived through it. I have a baby pineapple feijoa started from a seed. It gets the benefit of the sprinkler and shade, and is living through the heat just fine. The Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, Mint, Lavender, Jalapenos, figs, citrus, pomegranates and vineyard are all doing great too. Even my Iris bloomed last week in the heat! Nobody grows tomatoes here! Even not the produce stands! Too hot!!

    I've acquired a taste for grocery store tomatoes! LOL! I love those beefsteaks!

    We have at least 3 months of hard heat ahead! Best thing about it is the pool! It goes to 92 degrees all by itself, and is like heaven to slip through those waters!
    Suzi

  • tracydr
    13 years ago

    I think I lost my 6 mature pepper plants. I had put a bunch of alfalfa pellets on them and hubby accidentally left the water on. Guess what happens to wet alfalfa? It cooks!

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