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bonniepunch

Winding down

bonniepunch
17 years ago

So why am I so busy!?!

I finished spraying about 70 plants that have to spend the winter indoors. Took about a week to do them all and now the whole place stinks of neem oil - yuk! I have found room for all of the medium and small ones thanks to a couple of shelves I built into two windows (I found some nice finished wood - futon frames that had been thrown out by a store), but I have to fit a half dozen monsters in somewhere. Everything should be in after the weekend, but it's going to be awfully crowded!

I have started hauling the tender bulbs up. Today I did the Hippeastrums, tomorrow I'll do the Callas, and then I have to do the Eucomis, Hymenocallis, Polianthes, Cannas, sweet potato vines, and who knows what else I'll find that I forgot about!

I cut most of my herbs off and hung them to dry. There's the daily seed collecting, and tomato picking. Next week I'll pick all the tomatillos and hot peppers, and I have to seperate my closely planted asparagus before they become an impossible mess.

That's all the easy stuff! Next month I have to build the winter beds to hold all my plants - that takes me a good two weeks to get them built and all the perennials in place for their winter nap.

And I have a really small garden. You guys with real yards (never mind you mad aspiring horticulturalists with acres) must give up on sleep or something!

People think we're crazy to do this year after year, but it's all part of the fun. I'm already making a list of what to do better next year.

BP

Comments (14)

  • tiffy_z5_6_can
    17 years ago

    BP,

    My mother gave me a Sweet Potato Vine, which is probably the only thing which did well in pots. I'm not a pot person but try every year. Pelargoniums do well with me, so I've started expanding on those quite a bit.

    So, what do I do with the Sweet Potato Vine for the winter?

  • bonniepunch
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    At some point in the next couple of weeks it is going to start looking really ratty - usually it's after a night where you got down to 5C or so. Then you just chop off all the vines, dump the pot upside down, and sift through the soil with your fingers and you should find a bunch of tubers.

    I just put the tubers in a paper bag with some peat moss and keep it in a cool spot (10-15C) until mid-late March. Then I pot them up (just barely cover it) in a clear cut off bottom of a water or soda bottle and water it. Keep it barely moist, and in about 2-4 weeks (or maybe longer, it is really variable - bottom heat can help) you should see some roots growing. After another 3-4 weeks you should see some shoots emerging. Once they are about 4-6" long you can cut them off and root them in some soil (you can root them in water, but don't let the roots get longer than a half inch before you put it into some soil. You can keep cutting slips off the tuber for as long as you want or, when it is warm enough, you can put the tuber into a bigger pot and grow it as it is.

    Some of the smaller tubers won't survive, and it'll be pretty obvious which ones are viable and which ones aren't when you take them out of the bag in the spring.

    I don't like to let the frost kill off the foliage before I dig the tubers - every time I have done this I have not had as much luck in the spring. I know some people wait for the frost without having problems, but it doesn't work well for me.

    Some people also grow them as a houseplant. If you want to do that, don't expose it to temps below 10C. They are prone to spider mites.

    BP

  • karewren
    17 years ago

    Hi BP, I was about to start a new post when I noticed this one. Wanted to ask about Calla lilies. I bought a potted purplish CL this summer - approx 12" in height, with about 6-8 blooming stalks on it all summer - and have just had it sitting out on the deck. I only paid $5 for it, but if possible I'd like to keep it going (it reminds me of my sister...).

    I've brought it in tonight (as well as a Jasmine plant also in a pot) as it is calling for frost overnight. The Calla has these funny looking pods inside where the flowers were. Any thoughts on what I should do with it? I'm far too novice to have done any garden wintering other than praying to god that my perennials will reappear next spring. There's still bulbs and dividing and "stuff" I have yet to embark on. By the way, I do have a "sun room", but it is north facing and as of yet unheated.
    Thanks, Karen

  • bonniepunch
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    In truth, I don't know if you can keep a Calla going all winter. It might need to go dormant, or it might do ok as a houseplant. I've never tried it! It might be too taxing for the bulbs to support leaves all winter. That's just a hunch though - I might be wrong :-)

    I keep them as dormant bulbs, stored over the winter in peat moss and kept in a cool spot. When I dig them up tomorrow I'll leave the leaves attached and lay them out to dry as they are - some of the energy reserves in the leaves will be drawn back into the bulb. When the leaves have dried up they come right off, and I put the bulb in a bag - I use a perforated ziplock "veggie bag". I don't nnormally recommend storing bulbs in plastic as they can rot, paper is generally better, but I find they dry out to much in paper. I am in Montreal, and that is a lot drier in the winter than Halifax, so you might not have the same problem. In early April I take them out and pot them up, when the weather is warm enough, they move outdoors. Most years mine start to sprout before it is time to pot them up, so I toss them in the fridge at that point.

    Those funny looking pods you have are seeds. If they are orangeish or reddish in colour, they are ripening. You can allow them to continue ripening if you want. At some point they will get kind of mushy. Then you want to take each little mush-looking bulb and gently squish it - inside it are usually two to five seeds. They should be planted fresh for the best chance of success. Part perlite, part peat moss ia a goos mix. Keep moist, but not too wet or they will rot. Germination can take as little as a couple of weeks or it can take many months. Since you have a cultivated varity 'cultivar', the seeds will not necessarily resemble the parent plant when they have grown. Like how children can closely resemble either or neither parent, but usually have some traits of each.

    Try the seeds, and if you have no luck, try again next year - sometimes it takes a bit to get it right :-)

    By the way, your Jasmine should not be exposed to temps below 10C, and definitely not below 5C.

    BP

  • Cybersunday
    17 years ago

    Calla lilies overwinter very easy, I keep them in my basement under flurescent light and they thrive. I also cut the leaves when I don't want to spend any money on fresh flowers. They look very lovely in a vase and last at least two weeks.

  • sharont
    17 years ago

    Bonnie, you sound organized and that is what those of us with too much garden space wish we were at this stage of the season!
    Thanks for reminding me that I need to spray all my indoor houseplants before bringing into house!
    And on callas again..I grew them from seed this year & had small leaves for two months approximately 6 plants to a 8" pot. Then the leaves diappeared. There are smallish bulbs in the soil & I'm conflicted as to what to do. Bring in the pots to basement or dig out the tiny bulbs & store in peat in paper bags?
    sam

  • bonniepunch
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    cybersunday - good to know it's possible to keep them green during the winter. I like your idea with the leaves!

    sharont - I try to keep seedling bulbs growing all winter if possible, because some babies don't survive dormancy well - they are too sensitive to drying out. Most of my seedling bulbs eventually go dormant anyhow, but the dormancy is shorter than if I put them away now. Since yours appear to have already gone dormant, if you have the room to store the pot as it is, then I'd recommend you do that. If you're short on space, then you can dig them up and put in dry peat moss in a bag. Contrary to the usual rule of thumb about storing bulbs in paper, I always keep callas in plastic with holes, but I make sure there is no rot and I make sure both they and the peat are fairly dry. I've lost more callas in paper than I have in plastic - they frequently sprout early and those I kept in paper would dry out. Keep an eye on them for new growth.

    I'm only organized because I'm a major pack rat and our place is small. It's either that or cut back on the number of plants I have, and we all know how impossible that is :-) If I did things in any old order I'd run out of room in no time flat! I have no 'working areas' where I can do my potting or unpotting, everything has to be done in the middle of everything else. Very chaotic!

    BP

  • janetr
    17 years ago

    Just for the record, bulbs do not "support" leaves. The leaves feed the bulb. So any bulbs that don't require dormancy will actually get stronger from growing all winter. I often let my amaryllis just continue growing inside and it will flower all on its own around Easter.

    The only time that leaves can be said to be draining the bulb at all is when they first start growing. After that, their chlorophyll makes them sugar factories, and the bulb is the warehouse.

    Janet's Garden

  • peatpod
    17 years ago

    Winding down .. I only wish .. it has been like a tornado whipped though my garden since last Thursday!!! Damn Jack Frost and his snow buddies!!!

    Well I finally got all of my brugs inside .. some without names but hey if I brought them in I guess I still wanted them :o) A few days prior I was able to get all of my potted plants in safe and sound .. thank goodness I sprayed early this year. Now its time to bring in the cannas .. and EE's. Then it's time to build my banana a winter house :o) Do you ever wonder why we do this every year?? I keep telling myself it's only a few days of mess and chaos in the spring and fall .. lol .. ya I'll keep telling myself that :o) I think it would be cheaper and easier to move to a warmer climate :o)

    This year the red cannas are outta here!!! In the spring I plan to move all sorts of plants around .. humm didnt I say that last fall?? I did well not going to any swaps or nurseries this year .. thank god. But I'm sure that too will change next spring ... I think someone was trying to tell me something when I broke my wrist a few weeks ago .. ever try to get all this stuff done with a cast on?? Im sure my doctor wont be too pleased with me :o) Now to dream of the spring.

    Laura

  • bonniepunch
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    You got some of that nasty snow? Yuk! You broke your wrist?! Poor you! I've never had to deal with a cast, but I think it'd drive me half mad :-) And how on earth did you keep it clean?

    We still haven't had a frost yet - it got pretty close a couple of times and some of my more tender annuals have bitten the dust. And no snow - yet...

    There's a guy up the street a bit with a big beautiful brug still out on his balcony - it's covered in blooms! I can see why he doesn't really want to take it in yet.

    I have finally finished putting all my perennials in their winter beds (I could have sworn I didn't buy more than three or four new plants this year, but somehow I had to find room for another couple of dozen). That took a week to do, by then the back looked like a bomb had gone off and I had to clean that up. Pots and dirt, plant stakes and broken bits of plants, and a big pile of broken terra cotta pots that the stupid cat upstairs knocked them over.

    My tomatoes all got picked two weeks ago. I'm almost through the last of them - fried green tomatoes anyone? Mmmm...

    I have TWO garbage bags full of canna roots!!! Yikes! I'll keep about a quarter of them I guess and I'll have to find homes for the rest of them. I can really see why they're a pest in warmer areas!

    It's hard to believe it's over again so quickly.

    BP

  • peatpod
    17 years ago

    Bonnie we didnt get the nasty snow but we sure got nailed with the frost. When I was watching the news and saw all of that snow I was VERY happy that all I got was frost :o)

    Clean??? How did I keep my cast clean you ask ... humm .. I didnt :o) Im sure the doctor is going to have a fit when he sees it. I did manage to take a damp cloth to it and get some of the dirt out but then I grabbed the vaccum and tried to suck the rest out of the little holes :o0 The toothbrush did a pretty good job too.

    Today will be the really messy adventure .. canna rhizomes and EE's are coming up!!! The big red ones I have are protected by the house and have yet to get any frost damage but I still need to get them out .. and as I said before the Robert Kempt cannas are outta here!! I must say one of my favs this year was the Alocasia odora. I must have more of them next year .. just stunning and they held up well to the wind.

    My house looks like a jungle .. all of the harmful plants are in the basement ..the remainder are scattered under and around grow lights. I still need to put some "barriers" in the large plants to keep the cats out of them :o) Oh well thats something I can do when its raining all next week :o)

    I feel sorry for my neighbours who have become accustomed to seeing a jungle as they pass by .. now its just alot of dirt and hostas :o)

    Laura

  • bonniepunch
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Frost isn't so bad - at least you don't have to shovel it! You have one of those fiberglass casts then? I thought you might have had one of those plaster ones. That's better, but still...! I have to laugh at the idea of scrubbing it out with a toothbrush!

    I'm not too sure if I should be digging up my EE. According to some of what I have read, black Colocasia esculentas don't form a big bulb like other EEs. I think I'm going to let it die back and store it in the pot of dirt.

    How big did your A. odora get?

    I swear I would have been done in half the time if I hadn't spent so much time gabbing with my neighbours that were sorry to see me put the garden away :-)

    BP

  • peatpod
    17 years ago

    The odora was lovely .. so erect and HUGE leaves. I ended up with at least 9 leaves each one larger than the next one. I love the regular EE's however the upright ones are alot tougher and did really well in my large pots. This is it in the early summer .. I missed the boat and didnt take more photos of it ..

    {{gwi:541217}}

  • jroot
    17 years ago

    Your adora looks gorgeous, Laura.

    I was out most of today cutting off and digging up my cannas. I didn't realize I had so many. My garage is piles of cannas ( with labels), and geraniums.

    I actually found more glad bulbs today, that I had missed. Silly things were trying to flower.

    I got my rose tree dug up and buried for the winter. I had at least 4 flowering sessions.

    A friend at work gave me some blue grass which she said was not agressive. I should have researched first. :-( It is now growing between my interlocking brick walkway. I guess I will have to get some round up on it.

    I got my hibiscus trees inside for the winter, as well as my papyrus from the pond. Tomorrow, I will have to cut back the rest of the pond plants, if it doesn't rain too much. Oh, Laura, the little hibiscus I received from you has actually bloomed. Very nice indeed.

    How does one get rid of yarrow? It is taking over one area of my garden. It seems the more I pull it, the more it grows.

    Do you think it is too late to move my japanese kerria? I want to move it closer to a fence so that I can corner it off for the winter, and maybe keep Mr Bunny from nibbling the flower buds off.

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