Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ccchad

Jewelweed

CCChad
20 years ago

Can jewelweed be grown and cared for in the same way as impatiens?

I know they come from the same family,but I don't understand about jewelweed and balsam. What's the difference between these ?

Comments (109)

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hi Cindi, I hope all is well with you. Here is an update on my jewelweed plants. I'll take a photo of what I'm going to describe whenever I get a chance.


    I may have already told you about how the jewelweed plants in pots were slowly losing large leaves over many weeks, but today it finally was obvious to me that they are covered with small leaves.


    On the potted plants, these new small leaves have been drooping even though they've been watered 3 times a day. These leaves on the largest plant perked up after it rained, but a few hours later they were drooping again. Even though they are getting plenty of rainwater from the rain barrels, they still look thirsty. The second largest plant's leaves are droopy but not as droopy as the leaves on the largest plant.


    Every one of these small new leaves on the largest plant are half yellow and half green, the color pattern is perfectly identical on each leaf, looking as if they are supposed to be variegated.


    The droopy small leaves make me wonder if they should have been planted in 3 gallon pots or larger, but I will not transplant them.


    The plants in the ground have large leaves that are not droopy, but they are starting to slowly loose leaves like the potted ones did throughout June and July.


    It's a curiosity. I think the potted ones look healthy, other than this strange change in the foliage.

  • cindip63
    last year

    HU-659273525,


    I am so glad you are updating me on your plants. I hope to be at that point some day.


    So do you think it is better to put them in the ground or in a pot?

    I am glad that yours are alive. So you water them 3 times on some days? Maybe I did not water mine enough. I watered them daily and sometimes I would water again in the late afternoon.


    Do you think a bigger pot is what they need? I did not have mine in a large pot. And when I pulled up the dead plant, the roots were not too big. I am really wondering if the roots ever grew out of that little mud thing that they were sent to me in.

    I do not blame you for not transplanting them, you don't want to do anything to disturb them.


    My other jewelweed that was in the ground died this week. I went out one morning to water and the leaves were brown. I guess that area is not good for jewelweed.


    But I will say, I am not giving up. I did another crazy thing. I ordered 2 more plants from Naturescapes. Now I don't know if they will ship them now or next spring. I am hoping they ship them now, but if they don't, that is fine too. It seems with jewelweed, I am always doing some stupid crazy things.

    A couple of weeks ago I ordered 3 from a different place and was very disappointed in what I received so I learned my lesson there. I will only order from the Beaufort company.


    Looking forward to the photos.



    cindi


  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Cindi, when you asked for my opinion, I was inspired to slide the largest plant out of it's 2 gallon pot, and it appears to be full of roots wrapping around the pot. Since none of the soil fell out while I was sliding it out of the pot, I wonder if maybe I could transplant those two large plants into larger pots without disturbing the roots.


    If I have seedlings next year, I will put them in 3 gallon pots. Surely it would be crazy to put a seedling in the next larger size pot that I have, which is 5 gallons.


    My jewelweed seedlings that rooted in the ground never have droopy leaves, so I think the ground is a better place, but mine are in the shade and I don't have much shade. The plants in pots did not tolerate the sun.


    I measured these plants, and both of the ones in the pots are 28 inches tall ...the same as when I posted their photo a month ago, The largest one in the ground is 30 inches tall, but it's stem looks smooth and skinny. It is not thick and gnarly like those in the pots.


    The ones in pots have been watered 3 times a day for a few weeks. The soil on top looks dry about an hour after I water them. But I only fill the pot to the top with water. I should probably put the pots in saucers to collect the water because even though I water frequently, they don't get much water. But those in the ground only get water once a day.


    I didn't want to use saucers for 2 reasons: breeding mosquitos and my shady spot is home to a thriving population of jet black spring lizards that are like salamanders, which live in this shady moist area on the north side of the house, which includes the area you see in the photo I posted showing the jewelweed plants. They enter the drainage holes and live inside the plant pots in the shade. They are slow, gentle and look up at me with with their big eyes and blunt, rounded nose when I disturb their habitat, I do not want to cause them any stress. Surely they were living here on the moist, shady side of this house before I moved-in.


    In order to find out when Naturescapes will ship, you can probably find an email or phone number on their website. I am certain the mud the plant's roots are encased in will eventually soften when you water the plant. I would keep them in the shade and give them plenty of water to hasten that process along.


    When I plant in pots, I use potting soil or mix my own potting soil which is light and airy compared to the heavy clay in the ground. I think it stays moist and drains well, and may be easier for roots to expand more than they do in my native clay soil. My own potting soil mix includes bark and/or soil conditioner, which is shredded bark, usually with coir or peat moss.


    I don't consider jewelweed to be dead until the stem collapses. You never know, new leaves may emerge on the stem.

  • cindip63
    last year

    Now I am wondering if my plant's roots ever got out of the mud. I did water it well every day. Oh well, I will try a different pot and a different spot when I get the new ones, whether it is now or in the spring.


    I am not sure I would repot a jewelweed at this time of the year. If it is growing good, then why bother it?

    It sounds like your plants are doing great. I look forward to seeing the photos when they bloom. I know the hummingbirds are waiting.


    I mostly have full sun, but there is an area that only gets about 30 minutes of early morning sun. There is where I want to put my new jewelweed plants. I have some shade but it is not in an area of my yard that I go to very often. I guess I could put one in the ground there, I had one there several years ago when the area was better maintained. I need to think about this.


    Oh my jewelweed stems did collapse. They are gone.


    I like to mix some things when I put soil in a pot. I put some miracle gro performance organic soil, some black kow compost, some pittmoss soilless mix, and either soil3 or espoma land and sea compost. My plants have done well in this mixture. The jewelweed that I had that died, did not have pittmoss or land and sea compost. The pittmoss helps soil stay moist so I hope to put that in with the new ones when I plant them.


    I think a 3 gallon pot would be great, the 5 gallon might be too big.


    cindi

  • HU-953828419
    last year

    Cindi, this might be the beginning of a bloom. There are 4 of these on this plant and this is the most developed bud. This is my second largest plant, which gets slightly more morning sun than the other three plants, maybe I should say half this plant almost gets some direct sun up until noon. These 4 buds are located on the side of the plant that receives that sun. There are no buds on the other side of this plant nor on the other 3 plants.


    My largest plant is demanding water 6 times a day for the leaves to not be droopy. That’s why I think it should be in a larger pot, but you are right about not repotting so late in the season. Next year, if the oldest seedlings are potted, they will be in large pots.


    On the other hand, my plants in the ground have some aphids and ants. Being almost in the middle of the north side of the house, I think they are subected to more moisture, shade and do not get enough air circulation.


  • HU-953828419
    last year
    last modified: last year


    Sorry about the missing photo in the previous post. Got out the dusty tripod to get this photo, and much difficulty ensued, resulting in transmitting from a tablet using a different account.

  • cindip
    last year

    This is awesome! I know you cannot wait for the bud to open. So it seems like maybe they do like some sun. That's good to know.


    I am still waiting on my plants from naturescapes to be shipped.


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hi Cindi, hope you have good news to share. I increased the number of feeders to 5 when I saw 4 hummingbirds together at one time.


    I think there are at least 2 juveniles, because they seem to play at chasing each other more than actually defending territory. The neighbor's young, bejeweled collared cat climbed up into an evergreen tree to hide in wait for the hummers, and one of them was taunting that cat, flying up and down in front of his face. I was terrified and shook the tree to make the cat leave.


    There is a male ruby throat that looks a whole lot larger than the original male ruby throat that arrived early this year. Maybe he's not the same original male.


    My Big Gnarly oldest plant died. The leaves turned black and the stem collapsed. Maybe when the wilted leaves would only perk-up after rain, that might have been an indication that it's roots were not able to absorb my watering.


    There was no sign of downy mildew nor of rust. Maybe it was root rot. It was crowded, in that a few of it's leaves were touching a nandina plant's leaves and the house and concrete steps. And it's roots were crowded in a 2 gallon pot.


    My second oldest plant had one bloom as a result of the bud shown in the photo in my last post, it lasted one day after it fully opened and fell off the following day. I did not see hummers use that bloom.


    I wonder how the blooms develop seed? I don't think this bloom developed seed. I wonder if the bloom fell off too soon.


    There are a lot of buds on this plant, but none appear to be anywhere near as mature as the way that first bud looks in the photo. ...I think that's odd because there were 4 other buds on this plant when I took that photo. It seems like there should be a second bloom by now, but all I see are very immature buds. The leaves on this plant are drooping and are not perking-up when watered, yet they do not look utterly sad. We have not had rain.


    The younger plants, which are growing in the ground, look fine, no drooping leaves, but no buds nor budless seed pods.


    Based on the condition of all my seedlings, I'm wondering if the age of the seedling has any bearing on it's early demise. I discovered Big Gnarly, my oldest seedling, in March. I received my original plants from Naturescapes in late July last year, and they were very small plants their entire life compared to all their seedlings.

  • cindip
    last year

    I do not have any news to share about jewelweed. Naturescapes has not shipped so now I am wondering if they are going to wait until spring, which will be fine.


    It is great that you had a bloom, I hate that it fell off so quickly. Do they only last a day? And yay! you have some more buds. That is awesome. I hope you get to see a hummer at some of those blooms.


    I have several hummingbirds that fly around, chasing each other. I love to watch them.

    I understand about the cat problem. I have a couple of outside cats and have to really watch them. I take a spray bottle of water with me out in the yard and if I see one sitting waiting on a hummer, I will spritz them with water. My inside cat loves to watch the birds from a window which is okay with me. As long as there is a window between them. haha


    So your oldest plant died. What makes jewelweed just up and die like that? It happened to both of mine, they were doing good day and the next, they were almost dead and by the end of that day, they were dead. I gave them everything I thought they needed as I am sure you did too.

    If they can grow and bloom in the wild, we should be able to grow them. Do you think we babied them too much.


    Did you get any photos of the bloom?


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    No bloom photo, but the bloom looked like the bud except it was open on the big end, a yellow-orange color with reddish spots inside the bloom. You can barely see the reddish spots if you enlarge that photo. I couldn't see any seed. If the bloom is supposed to have seeds, then it seems like it would last longer than one day.


    In my first post in this thread, which Houzz dated 5 months ago, I recommended the store where I bought my plants in 2021 and where and when their seedlings were discovered in 2022. In my second post in this thread, which Houzz dated 3 months ago, I describe that my oldest seedlings, which were discovered in February, had died. Their leaves wilted, then their stems collapsed. Those deaths cannot be attributed to high heat.


    Jewelweed is supposed to love moisture, so I don't think high humidity could be causing these deaths. I used to think their deaths might be due to a combination of high humidity, heat and too much sun. One thing for sure, my plants have had plenty of water. On the other hand, maybe I've given them too much water and caused root rot.


    Downy Mildew is responsible for a large percentage of Impatiens deaths, Including Jewelweed - Impatiens capensis. New cultivars of the non-native Impatiens are being marketed nowadays as being resistant to Downy Mildew.


    Downy Mildew is caused by a fungal infection of wet leaves, spread by airborne spores and it usually occurs during wet weather. But we haven't had much wet weather this summer. One thing to watch for is a light color under the leaves and to provide plenty of air circulation by avoiding crowding the plant. My dead jewelweed plants did not have a light color under the leaves, but maybe the Big Gnarly plant was crowded.


    I don't know if the problem is Downy Mildew, mainly because most folks say it happens to the plants planted in the ground much more so than if they are planted in pots, and all my dead jewelweed plants were in pots. A plant with Downy Mildew must be dug up and destroyed, as soon as possible, leaving no trace of it in the garden in order to stop the spores from spreading to a variety of other plants.


    I'm going to try a preventative spraying with Neem Oil on one of my plants that is growing in the ground. After having lost 3 jewelweed plants this year from the wilted leaves-stem collapse death, and knowing that a plant with Downy Mildew cannot be saved, the only thing that can be done is to try to prevent the infection.


    I spend a lot of time researching the odd things I notice about my plants, and have learned that Downy Mildew can look different on different kinds of plants, so it may not be easy to diagnose. Even though we know that Downy Mildew causes wilted leaves and stem collapse on Impatiens, I think other problems cause the same type of death, such as lack of water, which makes me think something was preventing Big Gnarly's roots from absorbing water, like maybe a different type of fungus such as root rot or maybe a virus or maybe a lack of a specific nutrient.

  • cindip
    last year

    You have done a lot of research. If jewelweed likes water and I have read that it does and it grows in nature near ponds and lakes. So over watering to me would not be a problem.

    But I am like you, I wondered if mine might have had root rot. But maybe not if it likes to be wet.


    When I get my new plants, either in fall or next spring, I am not sure how much I am going to water. I know it will be at least once a day.

    The powdery mildew, I had that on some zinnias years ago and I could see the evidence of the fungus. If your jewelweed (and mine) had mildew, wouldn't we have been able to see it?


    Again I am thinking maybe we just babied the plants too much. It grows in the wild near water without any help from anyone. There has to be a way to grow it in pots, there just has to be.


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Powdery Mildew can be easily identified and it can be treated and controlled, but Downy Mildew is much different. It is not really a fungus but it's a pathogen. It is destructive to many kinds of plants in the garden, for years to come. That's why an infected plant must be destroyed.

    It can have angular spots on top of the leaves like a mosaic virus. This worried me about the variegation that appeared on Big Gnarly's new leaves, but supposedly it's the oldest leaves that are first affected with a mosaic pattern on top if it's Downy Mildew.

    Prevention is the only way with Downy Mildew. Once infected, there's no point in trying to control it.

    If you get NC ETV, turn it on now to see a strange short BBC series ...Guilt.

  • cindip
    last year

    Thanks, I guess I did not know there were 2 kinds of mildew in plants.

    My jewelweed did not have any variations in the leaves, they all looked the same and normal.


    I am not sure if I get NC ETV, I need to check it out.


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    I cannot confidently say that I've ever seen Downy Mildew. It's only what I read about it that I'm repeating, and often I read conflicting information from different sources. I've seen symptoms that might suggest Downy Mildew, but I would have to pay a university labratory $50. to find out for certain. It's less expensive to destroy the plant. But I can identify and treat Powdery Mildew.


    I research what I see in the garden and even though it often becomes more confusing, I keep trying to learn and sort it out. I'd rather destroy plants than spray chemicals.


    After both of my gardening parents died and I was cleaning out the house they had lived in for over 50 years, I found an incredible assortment of chemicals for battling garden diseases and pests. My parents grew up during the Depression and had learned to not throw away anything in case they might need it in the future, and that's the way they lived throughout their entire lives. The experience of disposing all those garden chemicals after they died had a big impact on how I garden now. I hate to think about all the vegetables I ate as a child that were sprayed with those chemicals. My Dad developed Alzheimers at 85 years old.


    I've thrown a lot of plants into the garbage, and am always experiencing an internal struggle when trying to decide how to handle garden problems. I've had to accept the fact that some of the nurseries where I buy plants are selling diseased plants, thus I'm convinced they are not dependable sources of information.


    One wonderful old gardening television show was Erica Glasner's "A Gardner's Diary", which at one time was available on the internet, but I can't seem to find it now. Anyway, in one garden she visited, there was the largest hosta I had ever seen, named "Eola Sapphire", which I found, bought and planted in the shade. It's the only hosta I've ever grown. But it soon developed yellow spots and twisted foliage.


    A nearby neighbor has two rows of hostas, about 60 feet of them side by side, growing in the sun and they only look good for a few weeks in the spring, after which they look terrible. I thought the problem was that they had planted them in too much sun, but after researching what might be wrong with my hosta plant, I now know that for 7 years they have been growing 30 hosta plants with the Hosta Virus X, and I have no hope of growing a hosta because they don't know that they are spreading a virus by not destroying their sick hostas.


    Likewise, years ago I had a small but impressive collection of antique roses. I thought that if a rose was still growing and desirable after 100 years, then maybe that plant would grow trouble-free for me. These old roses are a specialty and are hard to find. I had been growing them for 15 years in my garden when my next door neighbor bought one Knock-Out rose from Home Depot and planted it about 20 feet away from 2 of my precious roses, and spread the Rose Rosette Virus to my entire collection of roses, and they all had to be destroyed ...except one that has not shown any symptoms of the virus. It is Rosa Rugosa Roseraie de l'Hay.


    Let me change the subject of disease for a moment and share a different sort of information: I planted a hedge of this rugosa rose, Roseraie de l'Hay, about 35 years ago, but I didn't know they were grafted plants, and after 10 years all 12 died ....my first but unfortunately not my last lesson about avoiding grafted plants. For various reasons, they are grafted to another variety's roots, which is called the "dog". The dog always sends up it's own shoots from the root, so once or twice a year those shoots must be pruned to the ground, or else the dog will overcome and overgrow the lovely plant that is grafted to the dog's roots.


    This is done with Rosa Rugosa because it has roots that will spread, and some folks don't want the plant to spread. A grafted rose will usually live for only 10 years. Other types of grafted plants will live much longer, but seriously, why would anyone want to frequently prune away the sprouts belonging to the roots of a different plant than the plant they bought. But I'm still doing it with a grafted Witch Hazel, which I've been growing for 20 years.


    That Witch Hazel hybrid is a beautiful tree, but if I had done more research back then about the requirements of maintaining a grafted plant, I might have kept searching for that plant growing on it's own roots. Pruning away the dog's sprouts is a burden. I think grafting is a skill that plant propagators use to impress buyers, and it is impressive when, for example, you can have 5 different kinds of figs growing on one tree. But the marketing for a grafted plant never mentions the required ongoing maintenance.


    Fortunately, I eventually found a nursery that sold the Rugosa Rose "Roseraie de l'Hay" growing on it's own roots. I only bought one because I thought it would spread. It's funny that rose has not spread during the 20 years I've been growing it, and now that nursery doesn't sell Roseraie de l'Hay anymore, and I cannot find that plant anywhere that is not a grafted plant. I should take cuttings and root it. It is not a popular rose because it only blooms in the spring. But it is the most fragrant rose on earth. And what's not to love about a rose that requires no maintenance?


    Neighbors who do not research their plant problems cannot be blamed for for what they do not know. I have a neighbor accross the street who has a hedge of Knock Out Roses infected with the Rose Rosette Virus, and they are trying to keep them looking good with spraying, severe pruning and removing the worst looking plants. They have removed half of the roses in that hedge. They work on that hedge constantly, and they do get some good looking blooms, but they don't know they are hosting a rose virus.


    It's not worth it to try to grow roses in my neighborhood, and I never see any in other yards as I walk my dog around the neighborhood. These days, the rose rosette virus is rampant across the country and a rose will usually only look good for 5 years before the symptoms reveal the infection. The Rugosa Rose might be the only rose that seems to be immune.


    My mother used to call me a "Know-It-All", so I've learned to not share my research and what I think I know with my neighbors. Lucky you! You might rightly wish I was more reserved here!

  • cindip
    last year

    I am glad you are not reserved here. I like to read information.


    My parents also lived during the depression and my Daddy would use sevin dust on his vegetables. I am sure he used other pesticides. I ty not to use them. I prefer insecticidal soap on bugs. I am not sure what to use on fungus problems. I usually just throw the plant away. I am getting on up there in years and hope those pesticides did not do much damage to my health.


    Roses, ahhh. I use to grow those too. I grew hybrid tea roses and at one time had around 80 roses. They were a lot of work and I bought and used all these natural things to keep them beautiful. I would put banana peelings in the soil, make alfalfa tea, and anything else that I though would work. When I pruned them, I would put glue on the cuts so rose borers would not get in the stems. My neighbor asked me one time if I was trying to glue a stem back on the plant. haha


    After most of my roses died, I decided to start growing perennials and annuals. I try to now only buy plants that hummingbirds like. My favorite annual to grow is probably zinnias. But they have their own problems and pests.


    It's sad that your neighbors have a virus on their roses and it has spread.

    I worry about my neighbors that spray for mosquitoes. They said it does not hurt the bees, but I do wonder.


    Do you think Naturescapes will ship my jewelweed this fall? I was kinda hoping for it now. haha


    I look forward to reading any other info you care to share.


    cindi

  • HU-953828419
    last year

    Hi cindi, here are photos taken yesterday before the rain knocked off the 5 blooms. The bloom at the top of this plant is the oldest, this photo was taken the day after that bloom fully opened.


    This photo shows the inside of a newly opened bloom, and a bud to the left of it.



    I have not seen the hummers use these blooms, but their bloom feeding habits have not been predictable this year. I wonder if the dry weather has anything to do with it.


    I saw a hummer feeding from Abutilon megapotamicum yesterday, for the first time in the 3 years it’s had blooms.


    I saw a hummer feeding from Callistemon Woodlanders Hardy yesterday for the first time in the 4 years it’s produced blooms, but this is the first year it’s produced blooms in the summer …and it’s never been watered, other than when it rains. Maybe drought makes it bloom.


    I looked at the Impatiens capensis page on Naturscapes website and saw that the jewelweed is available in spring, so my guess is that it will be shipped in spring.


    Thinking about my order last year, I was impatiently waiting for spring, and contacted him about when it would be shipped, and he indicated that they were too small to be shipped, but he thought they would be ready in June. I think it was July when they were shipped.


    They were small when I received them, but produced many seedlings even though they did not bloom. Some of their seedlings rooted on the ground where the parent pots were located, and those large plants now have bloom buds on them even though they are in shade.


    Therefore, I think the size of the plant might determine if they will produce blooms.


    I don’t think they would be shipped now in September because they would need to acclimate to a new place, plus, they die over the winter, and you need for them to produce seed before they die.


    Naturescapes has a contact page, and do not hesitate to use it. It’s safe to include your phone number, and in my experience, he might prefer phone communication.



  • cindip
    last year

    I love the photos. Yay, you got blooms. That is so awesome. I hope they will reseed for you.


    Naturescapes did ship my plants. I had ordered 2 and they sent 1 that was a nice size and 2 that were smaller.

    First let me say, I am a seasoned gardener. I have been growing plants for many many years. (I am older) My daughter was here when my plants arrived and we were talking about some things she is going through (using this as my excuse)

    So right after she left, I hurried to get my plants out of the shippng box and I put them in pots. I know better than that. It was 1:30 in the afternoon. But I did put them in the shade. I know I should have waited until early evening to put them in pots

    So you can figure out what happened next.


    The plants when they arrived did not look 100% good but they looked okay. So it is my fault what happened. I went back outside an hour later and they were drooping, I don't mean just a little. The bigger one was hanging over the edge of the pot. So I watered them again, just wanting to be sure they had enough water. By the next morning, I think it is safe to say, they were dead. This was Friday. I was still watering them yesterday and I probably will again today. There is one of them that is still standing, but the leaves are almost crunchy. I am holding out hope for this one. If it doesn't make it, I will order again in the spring.

    I will say that the 3 plants that I ordered a month earlier than from Naturescapes has 1 plant that is starting to grow. I know it is so late in the season that it will never get to blooming size, but that is okay. At least I can see how it grows and hopefully not die before frost. I am learning anyway.

    The place is TN nursery and they have awful reviews. But I tried them anyway and I got 1 out of 3 to grow. I might order from them again because they are cheaper and their shipping is cheaper.


    I am so glad you have blooms, that gives me hope for next year. Are your plants in a place where they can drop their seed and it will germinate?


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Your determination is remarkable. Surely, if you don't get blooms, you will get some of those bloom-less seed pods to keep you flush with jewelweed for years to come.


    My blooms are falling off after a day or two, for one reason or another, so how do the blooms create seed? I have not seen any bloom seed pods nor bloom-less seed pods on my plants yet.


    Every time I see a photo of jewelweed, there appears to be a lot of jewelweed plants. Maybe quantity compensates for death and blooms falling off. Surely those jewelweed photos are of plants growing on a cool and lovely streamside bank or at the very least, north of the Carolinas.


    My plants in the ground can drop seed where they are, but I moved the potted plant to take photos and saw there was white mold on the ground under the pot, so maybe I should avoid that moldy spot.

  • cindip
    last year

    haha I don't know if I am determined or just plain ol stubborn and won't let it beat me. haha

    Just kidding. I just really want jewelweed for the hummers and to take photos of with hummers. I sit outside each day (I am retired) for hours waiting on hummers to go to a particular plant. After I get a few photos I move on to another plant. This year is challenging, because so many of my plants are not blooming because of lack of rain.


    I think it might be a good idea to not put the pot back where the moldy spot is. So after they bloom, they do not leave a little pod behind? I am like you, how do they reseed?


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Cindi, how are you and how is it going with your plants?


    My jewelweed lost it's blooms in the rain, but 3 more blooms opened. Now it's raining again.


    This is my first year to grow acidanthera, Abyssinian gladiolus, and their blooms are so graceful. It's lightly raining now and through the window I'm watching the hummers sitting on the fig tree bathing in the rain, and for the first time I saw one of them use the acidanthera nectar.


    Research convinces me the acidanthera bulbs tend to diminish over time if planted in the ground, even though they are hardy, so they are planted in pots and I'm concerned about where to store their pots over the winter to prevent rodents from eating the bulbs.


    I'm thinking of wrapping the pots with thick layers of tulle ... like making a tulle cage around the pot. Animals are supposedly afraid to stick their claws into tulle ....I wonder if that might also be true of rodent incisor teeth.




  • cindip
    last year

    Hi HU-659273525,


    I am doing well, I hope you are.

    The 3 plants I got from Naturescapes all died. But like I said, it was my fault for potting them in the heat of the day. The one I got from TN Nursery is surprisingly doing well.


    I have never grown Abyssinian gladiolus, but now I want to. I do have a few gladiolus that have not bloomed yet this year, not sure why.

    Why would those Abyssinian bulbs diminish in the ground and not in pots, that is odd to me.


    I think instead of tulle, I might would wrap the pots with aluminum foil. I bet they would not eat through that. But don't hold me to it, it just seems like it would work, I am not sure it would.


    We got some nice rain on Monday, it was the first good rain in months for us. I am so thankful for it and we might get some more this weekend. I can tell that the plants are happy for the rain.

    I hope the rain did not knock off your 3 blooms.



    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Did Naturescapes jewelweed plants come in the fist full of mud? Seems like that mud should have been somewhat protective in the pots. I am so glad you got a good one from TN Nursery. I saw two blooms from my plant laying in the bottom of it's pot after the rain but apparently two blooms opened, so there are still 3 blooms.


    Here is one article about the Abysinnian Glad: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=292307 which indicates it blooms better if not left in the ground, but it also says that they don't love heavy clay soil, which I have. My heavy clay is one reason why I like planting in pots, so that I have more control over the soil.


    Perhaps the main reason I have trouble with plants in the ground is because there are so many very old oaks growing around the perimeter of this postage stamp-sized property, and there are oak tree roots nearly everywhere ...I can see them, 9 feet underground, air pruned, in the earth walls of my earthen dungeon basement.


    Those oaks steal all the water and they are not the only ones ....A short bamboo plant in a pot had been sitting on the ground next to a fig tree for less than a year, and when I moved the pot there was a big root growing in or out of the pot hole holding the pot to the ground. Of course I thought it was the bamboo root growing out and trying to escape the confines of the pot, but No! It was a fig tree root growing into the pot, trying to steal the bamboo pot's water.


    Just yesterday I dug up an ornamental grass that had not grown, Pennisetum Princess Caroline had been planted in the ground nearly a year ago. It was almost always watered every day and for a week I watered it 2 or 3 times a day because I was planning to put it in a pot and it rained too. When I dug it up, the roots were more dry than anything I've ever seen before, the roots were dusty ...as if it never had any water, ever. I cannot believe it was still alive.



  • cindip
    last year

    The naturescapes plants did come with a fist of mud.


    Thank you for the link to the article. I will be sure to read it.


    I understand about clay soil, I am in the middle of NC and we have clay soil too. I also grow a lot in pots, mainly annuals. I have a few perennials in pots but not too many. I also have a few plants in pots that I over-winter under our house because they would not survive the winter.


    It is so odd that you mentioned some roots that were dusty. A friend of mine told me the same thing this week about pulling weeds after the rain and the roots of the weeds were dusty even though we had 3 inches of rain. What is causing these dusty roots? I know it's been dry, but that is crazy.


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    I'm convinced it's the tree roots stealing all the water, especially when it doesn't rain. So when I water a plant in the ground, that plant may not be receiving that water. Also, if the heavy clay soil is dry like a brick, then it will not absorb water.


    My property is slightly sloped, so when I dig a hole for planting, I take out the chunks of heavy clay and put them on the surface of the ground, around the planting hole on the lowest side, making a dam that will retain water so that the soil around the plant has time to absorb the water before it rolls on down the slope.


    If I had enough of that hard heavy clay, I would stack it up like bricks and use it to build the walls of raised garden beds. During construction, I would use any wet softer chunks like mortar between the hard chunks.


    I would actually dig a trench to collect this clay to build a raised bed if I had a place to dig that was not full of oak tree roots.

  • cindip
    last year

    Well if you dig up that clay soil and add some sand, you will have bricks.

    But if you want to amend your soil, do not add sand because you will end up with bricks and probably dead plants.


    Do you have a first name? I hate to see someone mentioned by a number. haha


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hi Cindi,


    I know the perils of clay + sand; however, sometimes I add expanded shale, which makes the soil heavy, but because it's expanded, it has open spaces for air, which is good for clay soil, so I'm beginning to think it's best used when I will never need to dig in that shale amended soil again to avoid dealing with the extra weight. On the other hand, gophers and voles hate expanded shale, and I've got voles. It's attractive as a mulch, but is as expensive as any other rock.


    When I rake the autumn leaves, the mulch under them is collected with the leaves. I've got some raised beds on top of the ground with logs in the bottom like Hugelkultur, and the surface of those beds sink a little every year as the logs decompose, so I put that leaf and mulch combination on top of the Hugelkultur raised beds so the plant roots in those beds are always covered. I don't mind replacing mulch that was raked-up with the leaves, because regardless of if it's wood or rock, it works pretty well in the Hugelkultur beds. The voles like living in these Hugelkultur beds more than in heavy clay, so I like to have expanded shale in the beds. As the logs rot, they supposedly keep the bed more moist. I built these beds on-contour, so that they will help to slow down the storm water long enough for the soil to absorb it. I hope in the long term, they will be berms instead of beds with walls.


    For the first time, I saw a hummer sip nectar from Physostegia correllii, an obedient plant. That show of appreciation makes all the gardening work worthwhile. Now, it might please me if they would just look at the jewelweed!


    It must have been confusing when I was using a tablet and posted with a different account number! I spoke like number 525, but was identified as 419!


    A while back, I heard that houzz was hacked, so I deleted my account, but I couldn't stay away, so I post without personal information, but I still worry about what hidden information might be attached to my photos.


    Betty




  • cindip
    last year

    Hi Betty,

    It sounds like you have done a lot of work in your beds. That is so smart.

    The only thing I have put in my beds are mulch, some compost when I put a plant in the ground and some wood chips from some trees we had cut down. When I grew roses, I put lots of amendments around the roses. I need to be smart like you are and really amend the soil in all my beds.

    I am glad that a hummer went to your obedient plant. I have not seen one at mine this year, but last year they went to it frequently.

    I bet those hummers are going to your jewelweed blooms while you are not looking. They can be sneaky like that. haha


    Were you ever on Garden Web? I had an account back then, and when they switched over to Houzz, I had to make a new account.

    I am not sure what information someone could get from your photos. I would hope it wouldn't be any personal info.


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Never was on Garden Web.

    For many years, until three years ago, I was obsessed with solving the problem of storm water accumulating in the dungeon, and not enough room around the side of the house to bury pipe to automatically pump it out. So I rolled out the flexible pipe whenever the basement needed pumping out. I finally figured out how to reduce the number of times I have to do this to once or twice a year, due to the following:

    Over many years, after spending a lot of time outside dressed in rain gear, looking at the roof during heavy rain storms, I finally came to the conclusion that the storm water collecting in the basement was because the gutters could not catch the massive amount of water draining down the roof valleys, even though the huge gutters were clean without any clogging.

    The roof is exceptionally steep, like a house in a fairy tale. Fairy tale houses were a popular house design during the 1920's and 1930's, when my house was built.

    The storm water drains down the roof valleys at high velocity, becomes airborne and jumps over the gutters. I have 6 roof valleys around this small house. The water in the roof valley was hitting the ground 4 feet beyond the gutter, and the topsoil had been flowing into the basement for years.

    I placed rain barrels in a diagonal line, extending away from the house like an extension of the roof valleys, so I'm catching that flying rain water in the barrels, and now the basement doesn't flood very often. So I've almost eliminated the burden of rolling out the flexible pipe to pump water out of the dungeon.

    A lot of storm water flows across the property from the sidewalk. My current obsession is to slow down the flow of storm water so that the soil will have a better chance to absorb it.

    The Hugelkultur bed walls are dry stacked large rocks, leaning on the logs inside, thus they simply slow down water instead of blocking storm water.

    I'm planning to make an on-contour hedge with Vetiver grass.

    Vetiver grass is used to collect the soil flowing with the rain water, and it allows the rainwater to flow through the grass, thus, it builds a topsoil terrace with the soil it collects on the side that the water originates from.

  • cindip
    last year

    You have done a lot of work and are very smart to figure a way out of your problems.


    I love that you call it the dungeon. Years ago, when I worked in one area of the building, we called it the dungeon, which was a fitting word for it. We were almost underground.


    In my area of NC, we are going to get some more rain tomorrow, which I am so thankful. My area has been so dry that this rain is a blessing.


    I hope you soon see a hummer go to your jewelweed.



    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hi Cindi,


    The jewelweed growing in the ground in the shade started blooming a couple of days ago, which is approximately 2 weeks later than the jewelweed growing in the pot that had a little bit more sun.


    Perhaps the plant in the pot bloomed earlier because it germinated much earlier than the plants that germinated in the ground, thus it was a more mature plant. So maybe it was age or maybe it was more sun or maybe it was because it was in a pot or maybe a combination of all those differences.


    More importantly, yesterday I saw a hummer feeding from the potted jewelweed blooms, feeding from all 5 blooms on that plant, but it did not go to the blooms on the jewelweed plants growing in the ground, which were less than 10 feet away from the potted jewelweed.


    I expect these hummers to be leaving within 5 weeks, more or less. If jewelweed attracts a lot of migrating hummers, then this 6 to 7 weeks of hummer nectar would be worth the amount of water the plants required all summer. I think that way because, for example, I'm growing Pinapple sage that starts blooming a week or maybe 2 weeks before the hummers leave, but I never water it, so it's only cost is space.


    I also saw a hummer feeding from the English Ivy ...the tiny blooms recently opened. I have 6 hummers, and they hang around the ivy, probably because they hide in the huge, unruly and unkept mass of greenery.


    The blooming ivy attracts bees, even more than the nectar perennials, and the skinny bees just started to stalk the nearest hummingbird feeder which is the hummer's favorite feeder and it keeps the hummers away, probably because they crawl inside the base of the feeder.







  • cindip
    last year

    I am so glad your jewelweed in the ground bloomed too, that is awesome. I think maybe the more sun they get would make them bloom sooner, but who knows.


    The hummer going to the jewelweed is the best! I am so happy for you. Your plants have been successful.


    I am surprised about the ivy, I did not know they bloomed at all.


    My last plant that I got from TN Nursery has turned out to not even be a jewelweed. It only has leaves, but they do not look like a jewelweed, that is just my luck. But in the spring, I will try again.


    My hummers will be leaving around Oct. 11 or 12, or that is when they usually do. I have a few plants still going strong. They love turk's cap plant, I have the red and pink one and they love it. They also love Tithonia- Mexican sunflower. My sinningias still have a few blooms with more to come. And various other annuals. I am certainly going to miss them when they leave, but it gives us gardeners time to plan for next year. Now just to figure out what seeds I am going to sow in the fall.


    Again, I am so happy you had hummers go to your jewelweed. That is the best news I heard this week.



    cindi

  • HU-953828419
    last year

    Hi Cindi,


    30 years ago I planted 5 different varieties of English Ivy from Sandy Mush Herb Farm on the West side of my fence. Each plant had different shaped leaves. The two with the most beautiful leaves eventually lost their beautifully shaped foliage and bloomed. Here is a photo of two of the ivy plants, and the one I like is the one on the end of the fence that has great character. When I prune it, it looks like the spikes on the back of a dinosaur. This ivy does not bloom.




  • HU-659273525
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi Cindi,

    Those ivy blooms are small and not easy to see, so that may be why you have never noticed them. After they bloom, they have dark berries, which the birds love. Last year a flock of hundreds of Robins descended on the top of my fence to eat those berries. I had no idea that Robins traveled in such a huge group. Even though that was a remarkable sight, I intend to destroy those blooming ivy plants this year. A task I would avoid except that the fence is falling down and must be replaced, so the ivy must be removed. On the other hand, those hummer's use that mass of ivy in which to hide, so I need to give much thought to how to replace that protective space for them.

    I'm trying to root some cuttings of the ivy plant I like before the fence and ivy is destroyed. That's my next door neighbor's house behind the fence. There is about 16 feet between our houses. It looks like the roof is being raised to increase the attic space. Lots of my neighbors are doing that, turning the attic into second floor living space, but I would never do it because the attic exists to help keep the house cool, and it's a hot place, so by using it as living space would surely dramatically increase the cost of air-conditioning.

    ~

    Assuming I will have jewelweed seedlings, I will send some to you. Sometime before Spring, send me your address by private message. Meanwhile, may I please pick your brain about the following:



    (1) Is your Turk's cap in sun? Do you get those tiny apples ...or maybe yours is one of those Greg Grant hybrids that doesn't produce apples? I would have guessed the pink one might have been a Greg Grant hybrid. I had Greg Grant's Big Momma for 3 years, but I accidentally disturbed a few of it's roots when planting nearby, and it died. It was huge and took up a lot of space, so I don't mind losing it, except that it always had flowers and the hummers loved it.


    I'm growing the species Malvaviscus drummondii in a pot and Malvaviscus arboreus has been growing in the ground for a year. The drummondii has had 2 or 3 blooms and the arboreus has not had any blooms. Both plants are still very small, in comparision to how fast and large growing Big Momma was. It's hard to remember that patience pays off with a 3 year focus instead of expecting immediate success!



    (2) Do you move Sinningia to a warmer place during the winter? I've been growing it for 3 years in the ground year-around, and it disappears during the winter. It has never been as big as it was when I got it, although, it had more blooms this year than it did during it's first year. The bulb is partially exposed on the surface of the ground.


    The oldest bulb is black and shrunken but a newer bulb appeared. I'm wondering if it would be better to dig it up to protect it over the winter, as well as maybe removing that black shrunken bulb ....surely it's dead. It never blooms after July. It is growing next to a masonry wall getting early East sun, but no sun in the late afternoon. Maybe it doesn't love that early East sun.



    (3) I tried to grow Tithonia last year, but the seedlings didn't make it. Do you have any advice, such as when to start the seed?



    (4) I would love to know what seeds you plan to sow. I got some late figwort and salsify seed recently, and already had a growing collection of seeds, but I just feel awkward with seeds ...maybe due to failures and disappointments ...or maybe it's procrastination and laziness.


    I need to get organized about when to start them, inside or outside. All my gardening research has not been focused on that type of useful information!

  • cindip
    last year

    I don't know why I have never noticed the blooms on english ivy. It is pretty and I am sure the hummers love to hide in it


    I am pretty sure my Turk's cap is drummondii. I have had it for over 10 years. It is in full sun. When I say full sun, I have sun from sun up to sun down. Since it is old, it has blooms all summer long, except this summer because of no rain, it did not have as many blooms. But now that it has rained, the blooms are there. I am glad because the hummers love it. They love the pink one too.


    I leave my Sinningias in the ground all year. I have a pink one that I cannot remember the name of , Bananas Foster and Towering Inferno. I also have 1 very small one that was a hitchhiker in another pot I bought at a plant farm. I babied it all summer and now it is finally starting to grow, so I am hopeful it will make it. Speaking of plant farm. if you ever go to Sanford, NC, there is a wonderful plant farm called Big Bloomers. I go there 2 or 3 times a year and get some plants. They have a wonderful selection.


    The Tithonia that I have in my flower bed this year is from seed that dropped from last year's plant. If I start them, I would start them around April 15th, they are a warm season annual so they like heat.

    I love to try things from seeds, it is cheap and so exciting to see tiny seeds grown into blooming plants.


    I have a late figwort that I grew from seed last year, it came back for me this year, Yay! I think I started it in March of last year. It has been a few years since I grew Salsify, but I think it might have been March when I started those too.


    In the fall, I know I want to sow Nigella and Snapdragons. I wait and sow poppies in late Jan. or early Feb. They seem to do better for me if I wait until then.


    Thank you so much for the offer of jewelweed seedlings. I will be glad to send you my address. Just keep me informed if you get seedlings.


    I hope I answered your questions about those plants, if I did not, just ask me again.


    cindi

  • HU-953828419
    last year

    Thank You Cindi,


    Your information is a very helpful guide.


    Here is a photo pointing out what I think are the bloom’s seed pods. The lower pod I circled has 2 fat aphids on it. It is the largest pod I can find, yet it is barely visable. It is slightly larger at the end of the tiny stem that held the bloom.



    The upper circle includes 3 flower stems, but only the one my arrow is pointing at has what looks like a pod.


    I hope you are looking at this photo on a desktop computer, cause I can’t see these pods on my tablet.


  • cindip
    last year

    Those do look like they might be seed pods. And I do most things on my laptop because I cannot see that well on my phone. haha I guess that is what getting older does.


    I know you will be watching those seed pods very carefully.


    If you have any questions about sinningia or growing plants from seeds, let me know. I will try to answer them if I can.


    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hi Cindi,


    I saw 6 hummers all at once for 4 days in a row, and then it seemed like 3 were gone. That was about a week ago. During the past 7 days, I first saw 3 hummers all at once, then 2 at once, and now I have not seen a single hummer for 2 or 3 days. For one week I have not seen any hummer use the nectar plants, but there was a lot of nectar missing from the feeders up until 3 days ago.


    I think all of mine were juveniles, because they chased but did not act mean to each other. Two weeks ago I saw a body slam, but it just seemed like they were practice fighting and it appeared they enjoyed flying around each other which doesn't seem like a characteristic of an adult Ruby Throat.

    A little nectar seems to be missing from a different feeder everytime I replace the nectar. Based on what's missing, there cannot be more than one hummer feeding. I've patiently waited and watched, but only bees are using the nectar plants.


    So this year has made it clear to me that the hummers might leave as soon as we have some cool weather, and that there is a month at the beginning of the season, during which a hummer might arrive earlier than expected and the feeder needs to be put out before February 14th. Last year taught me to leave the feeder up until November. So, it's just December and January that I don't use nectar feeders. Good Grief! I may as well put Christmas lights on the the feeder to keep it warm and leave it up all year around!


    So, being a late bloomer, jewelweed might not be used during the years when the hummers leave early, along with Leonotis leonurus and Pineapple sage.


    My Mother kept the imported jewelweed in the house during winter, thus, they were in bloom all summer. But they were tropical plants and I think they were perennials. Is the native jewelweed an annual? This winter and spring I'm waiting for it to reseed outside, but in late 2023 I might try to bring some potted jewelweed inside for the winter to see if it might have a longer blooming season outside if it is kept warm overwintering inside.


    Other than aches and pain, what I truly dislike about getting older is when I reconsider an idea that I would not have considered to be a realistic idea in my youth.



  • HU-659273525
    last year

    I see two hummingbirds acting just like they did before they disappeared ...not showing an interest in nectar.

  • cindip
    last year

    Well I am glad you are still seeing 2 hummers. They might hang around a while longer or you might get some new ones passing through.


    On Tuesday I thought my numbers were down some and I still think that. I did not see hummers but a couple of times on Tuesday. But yesterday, they were out. I did see 3 at one time and they were going to the nectar plants. I have different areas in my yard with plants, so those 3 are not the same ones that are in the other area. I can stand at one place and see both areas. So I know for a fact I still have 3 and I am thinking I might have 2 or 3 more. I need to go out and watch for a while.


    I think trying to over-winter jewelweed is a wonderful idea. If you have the light, I think it would work. I am not sure if they are annuals or perennials. I am thinking annual.

    There are some other pretty impatiens that look a lot like jewelweed. I thought about trying those too, but with my luck, they would not work in my yard.

    I was just outside sprinkling Lobelia seeds from my plants. I thought since we are going to have winds tomorrow that they would scatter themselves, but I wanted them in certain areas. Two of my favorite Lobelias did not have any seeds.


    Stay safe during the storm.



    cindi

  • HU-659273525
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi Cindi,

    How are you getting along during this busy time of year? Everything is happening so fast.

    My oldest jewelweed plant in a pot slowly died around a month ago. The seed pods on it apparently were not ripe because they were small and touching them did not make them pop open. The seed pods on that plant shriveled up and disappeared as the plant turned crispy. That plant never wilted, but the seed pods shriveled and the leaves turned brown. It is still standing, completely brown, leaves and seed pods gone, looking exactly like the two jewelweed plants in the ground appear today. So it looked like a natural death, but it happened before the seed pods matured.

    The youngest jewelweed plants which germinated in the ground died this week, but the seed pods ripened and popped open about 2 weeks ago. I touched the largest 2 seed pods and saw them pop open, and saw just one seed in each pod. The seed pods were completely gone whenever we had the coldest weather ...about 4 or 5 days ago. I managed to catch one seed in a container, before I thought about the following:

    If the age of the plant is important, then they need to germinate in the ground. My oldest seedling germinated in a container in March and died In September before seed pods developed on any of my jewelweed plants. So maybe it's the slower ground germination that produces plants that will live long enough to distribute the seed. And that might explain why jewelweed is so successful in more Northern areas, because the growing season is shorter than ours. Likewise, jewelweed's favorite habitat, shady stream banks, might delay germination due to the shade and more moderate climate.

    Here is what I think I've learned from our jewelweed experiment:

    • The plants that germinated in containers were older and matured earlier, and likewise, they died earlier than those seedlings that germinated in the ground.
    • The seed pods appear and mature on an environmental schedule instead of based on the plant's age, therefore, the seed pods will be lost if the plant dies before the seed pods ripen.


    On another subject, I found a very reasonable nursery in SC, https://trustyfarms.square.site/

    Earlier this summer, I mentioned here that I bought Thalia dealbata to grow in a bucket of water for the hummingbirds. This nursery sells that plant. I just bought 3 other plants for the hummers in 4 inch pots, and the shipping was only $12. One of the plants was Rostrinucula dependens, which will probably grow here without help. The other two plants, Odontonema strictum and Ruttya fruticosa are probably tender, so I'll try covering them with the autumn oak leaves until Spring. I love to push the climate zone, until plant death becomes too depressing.

  • cindip
    last year

    Hi

    You have learned a lot about jewelweed this year. I have always heard it takes 2 years to sprout after jewelweed drops their seeds. I do not know if that is true or not.

    I am still going to buy a couple of plants from the nursery you gave me the name to earlier in the year. Their plants at least grew for me (and then died) I will just have to change their growing conditons from what I had last year.


    I hope you are doing well. It is a busy time of year, it is also time for me to hibernate. I seem to stay inside on these cold days. I do not like cold weather.


    I will check out the nursery you just sent the link to. I am always looking for new places to buy plants.

    Haha, I like to push the climate zone too. I have a Lobelia that is said to only survive in zones 9-11. I have had it for about 4 or 5 years. It does not bloom as much as I would hope, but it is alive.


    I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Like you, I don't like the cold, but there's a lot I need to do outside even if it's cold.


    I wear a maximum of 3 layers of clothing in the cold:

    • In addition to gloves and heavy wool socks, I wear long underwear under sweat pants with large sized blue jeans on top which blocks the wind.
    • On top, I wear three layers, the top layer is a large size coat or warm sweater with the sleeves too long in order to block the wind from my hands, and also a scarf for my neck.
    • A scarf or bandana under a wool hat that covers the ears is very important, it's hard to believe a little cotton bandana would make much difference under a warm hat, but it really increases the warmth a lot. Along with chap stick, all these clothes make it cozy warm to be outside in the cold.

    It took me many years to come up with this solution and dress this way. It does not matter that I look like a pirate with the bandana under the wooly hat, or like a gangster with the big blue jeans. I usually wear a long t-shirt under all this, so that if I go somewhere where folks keep it hot inside, and if I have to strip down to the long underwear to tolerate the indoor heat, at least the long t-shirt covers my bottom and it looks like I'm wearing leggings under a long t-shirt.


    I will not go any place where I cannot wear this prison garb. Stay warm regardless of the social cost.

  • cindip
    last year

    It sounds like you are warm outside. I guess I need to start layering more clothes. I don't wear a hat, but I will pull up a hoodie over my head.

    I really need to follow your advice.


  • HU-659273525
    last year

    You could start by wearing a bandana or small scarf like a pirate, under your hoodie. Tie the bandana horizontally, so that it covers your forehead and the tops of your ears. Don't wear it like we used to wear them when we were young ....tied vertically around the head to keep the hair our of our faces. Wear it grunge style like a pirate, manly style instead of girlie style. To me, it feels warmer tied that way.

  • cindip
    last year

    Thanks for this tip

  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hi Cindip, Hope you survived the cold!


    If you have been thinking about the hardy canna plant, Thalia dealbata, you might be interested in how it responded to the unusual arctic cold weather we recently endured.


    My research indicated that it would live in water as much as 2 feet deep, so it is planted in a muck bucket without drainage. Until the seriously cold weather, it stayed planted in the soil with a foot of water on top, regardless of high wind and rain. But when it became outrageously cold, The Thalia dealbata roots became buoyant, and it would not stay planted.


    After re-planting it in the soil 2 times, I finally weighted it down in the soil with some bricks. It seems happy. The youngest leaves that have never emerged above the water stayed green through the killer cold and are still green. I wonder if this is common behavior for aquatic plants? I've got a lot to learn. Good-riddance to cold arctic weather.


    Do you think it's too late to plant Late Figwort seeds outside?


  • cindip
    last year

    Hi,

    I did survive the cold, but I did not like it. I am loving the weather today, but I know it will not last long. I have almost been in hibernation mode until today. I finally went out and pulled some grass out of some flower pots.

    I had thought about that Canna, but I am not sure I could keep it alive. I might try it sometime.


    It is not too late to plant Figwort seeds. I sowed mine in April. It takes about a month for them to germinate or it did mine.


    Happy New Year


  • HU-659273525
    last year

    Hey Cindi !!


    I just now saw what I believe to be nearly 20 tiny jewelweed seedlings, each with 2 leaves or maybe they are cotyledon leaves, and each seedling no more than an inch tall. Whenever it stops raining I'll try to get a closer look at those leaves. I don't remember what the first leaves looked like last year. I'm confident they are jewelweed seedlings based on where they are located and the leaves don't look like anything else emerging right now.


    You might recall that I popped a few seeds into a tray specifically to make it easy to remove to send to you. Also, there are way too many that germinated too close together in the ground. I wonder if it's too early to try to move some of those for more appropriate spacing.


    I need your thoughts about what to do next. Seedlings are always a challenge for me.


    I tried to figure out how to send you a private message without success in figuring out how to do it. Maybe you could send me a private message. Perhaps we could devise a plan together about when and how I should proceed. Maybe more than one batch of seedlings should be mailed on several different dates to allow for unexpected but inevitable disasters. Do you think the root should be encased in a fist full of mud?


    The husband brought covid home 3 weeks ago, because he cannot resist going to a party during a pandemic. However, I don't mind sleeping for a couple of weeks and losing weight. I've been trying to catch-up with chores over the last 3 days, so seeing those seedlings is very exciting and I feel on top of the world despite the gloom of being faced with some dead-looking plants after that spell of arctic cold weather we experienced this winter.


    Hope you are well,


    Betty

  • cindip63
    last year

    Oh this is great news. I am so happy for you. Twenty seedlings is amazing.


    I think I would wait until they have their true leaves before I tried to move them. If I remember correctly, when I did have some re-seed (years ago) the seed leaves were a large size. But I could be wrong.


    I placed an order with that place in South Carolina and plant to try them in a different area than last year. Last fall, I did sow some jewelweed seeds that someone sent me, but they are not coming up. I figured Naturescapes was my best bet.


    Surely there is a way to send private messages on here.


    I am so sorry your husband brought covid home. I hope you are not having bad symptoms. It seems to hit people differently.


    I am loving this warm weather, but I know it will get cold again. It always does before Easter. My plants are thinking it's spring. I hope it does not do any damage to any of them.


    Enjoy your day,

    Cindi

  • EL BADR REAL ESTATE
    5 months ago

    كمبوند مارفيل نيو زايد أحد أحدث واهم مشاريع شركة المراسم للتطوير العقاري. إنه مشروع يضمن لك مجتمعًا من السكن الفاخر، حيث يمكنك العثور على وحدات سكنية من الطراز الأول تلائم ذوقك واحتياجات عائلتك بكفاءة وأناقة.

Sponsored
Ed Ball Landscape Architecture
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars30 Reviews
Exquisite Landscape Architecture & Design - “Best of Houzz" Winner