Hey coleen the rain is terrible over here also my roses are about the only thing thats holding up really well over here if were not drowning were getting baked my poor plants I am sure hoping for better weather soon.

Hi Coleen,

The things that are growing best here are the weeds! They're growing by leaps and bounds! Seriously though, my Zephirine Drouhin rose is putting out another (smaller) flush of blooms. That's never happened before. I don't know if it is the rain, the cooler spring we've had or the fact that the plant is maturing. Whatever it is, I'm glad it's happening. Now, if I could just keep those weeds down.

Sherri

Black spot getting my roses too.Nothings doing well but the Cannas and water lilies.Hope for the best everyone . good luck Jim

Irises and cannas are doing well. Mandevilla is doing well. The roses, well, botrytis has been horrible this year along with canker and several other diseases. I don't even want to talk about the weeds.

MichaelAT

Bleeding heart vine, which nearly keeled over, is looking good. My bee balm has mildew... my shasta daisies are droopy.

I haven't had as much as you, but have had enough for a while

Ah yes the weeds. And the ark in the back yard is coming along well. Actually--I've been interested in different kinds of 'elephant ears' and other aroids for a long time but wasn't too successful at finding many until a little more than a year ago when I found GardenWeb and the aroid forum, and all my new and old aroids are really taking off. My but they love all this rain--and the heat and humidity! I know some of you have had very bad experiences with elephant ears that act like kudzu, but there are some really beautiful ones that aren't invasive at all, and they are really happy with the weather we have, especially now. So much better than trying to coax some poor miserable plant to stay alive when it would rather grow up north or out west!

Love your comment about the Ark!! Tuesday and Wednesday had no rain, but the heat and humidity must be someone's idea of hell.
You're right--this month the elephant ears really are "high as an elephant's eye." The torpedo grass isn't doing too badly either!!

The rain lilies keep on blooming. We get a dry couple of days than the rain starts and sure enought a couple days later here come the rain lilies. Crinum also blooming more than usual. I have a large gal that has sent up 5 flower spikes this year, a record for me.
Oh and the blueberries are os soooo large and sweet this year.
Anyone know how to slow down Johnson grass? A 'cut and come again' plant for sure :>
Mike

Hoo, do I hear you about Johnson grass! (I think it's another one of those things that was imported for feeding cattle. Don't think they could eat it fast enough. Probably lost some calves in it.) There are some good sprays for grass, even ones you can spray right over other plants in the bed. Work pretty well for a week or two. I don't much like to use sprays if I can get out of it, so I tried putting big black garbage bags full of leaves and grass clippings on top of it. Grew right through the bags and out the top. Right now it's under pretty good control. I planted Ruellia out there, the tall pink kind that's not supposed to be as invasive as the all lavendar. Anyone got a good cure for Ruellia?

Hey ya'll,
The prettiest flowers in my yard this year so far,
sunflowers, yellow and red, Rudbeckia, and gloriosa
daisy, the daylillies and the batface cuphea. This
was my first year with gloriosa daisy. They are doing
really well in our hot steamy weather. I will plant
more next year as they have been very showy and come
in a variety of colors. Ya'll take care and keep
those hands dirty.

Brenda

I just had new meighbors move in next door - from Scottsdale, AZ!!! Just think what they think of this weather! As for what is doing well for me in NO, I am seeing lots of growth on Agastache (great purple blooms), various hibiscus, scarlet butterfly weed, Toad lily, dwarf sunflower, pentas, etc. The Lemongrass is getting huge! OTOH, I have essentially lost the fennel, parsley, and scabiosa but I expected that - the heat is a kiler for them as well as me!

deepsouthgardener, glad to hear that about the gloriosa daisy. Did you start from seed or plants? We need to find things that can take the years of rain. Just as we need to find things that can take the years of drought!! The crape myrtles are beautiful this year. Have never seen the blossoms so long, almost like the lilacs in the north. Parked my car under a crape myrtle during a rainstorm and rode around town looking like a big blossom.

yeah that johnson grass is mean stuff. i case of nuclear attack, get underneath some, i`m sure i would survive. roundup works ok , but not the best.

ROFL--'in case of nuclear attack'--maybe we should start a thread for those!

The crinums are blooming like crazy--the pretty icecream pink ones. I have never seen the different varieties of palms bloom as they are doing this year. And, so many blooms on one tree. The rosebushes that haven't been made naked by black spot are really doing well, too. Lizards are everywhere--they must have had several families this year.We had several deluges today--we're way above the record for rain this year. Grass will have fungus soon. Anyone know a good thing to get rid of the grass fungus?

Of all the months for my lawn mower to break! I live right on the corner of a T intersection, so my house is a neighborhood focal point. I've got weeds growing out the wazzoo, and I've been getting notes on my door from strangers offering to cut it.
My tibouchina is huge! My passion vines, all my cuttings I've done this month rooted within 2 weeks because they stayed evenly moist. Everything looks beautiful.
Annie

Let the people who leave notes help. They probably appreciate the fact that you kept it so nice for so long. I need to try passion vine again. Do you have the red ones?

How are your neighbors from Scotsdale holding up, Kenneth (madabouteu--love that name!0? Our paper had about half the front page devoted to the rain and flooding, and most of another inside with the headling 'Enough already!' The abutilons are blooming well--favorite of the hummingbirds--and the brugs are trying for tree status. Have to wade out and see if they're budding. Had a couple rounds earlier on a couple, but I haven't done enough for several that are more exposed and should be blooming by now. They like it a little cooler and generally get buds when we have a bit of cooler weather like this rain has brought. Think I'll go do that now! It's actually not raining at the moment. Now where did I put my hip waders?

Did anyone have any advice on the grass fungus? I have St. Aug. and it is brown from the ground up. With some yellow. I don't know how much rain we've had, but it is tooooo much. Oh, and the cinch bugs are having a bumper crop too. I have applied all the bug stuff twice at double the rate and it seems to feed them.

... i posted on the tropicalesque:

This rain and t-storms are energy from the Gulf dissipating, and not making a hurricane.

Be grateful. All this stuff could be happening at once, and very much more violently.

sea ya
tami

The 10+ inches of rain has done in my Russian Sage plant. I knew this plant was marginal for our area but thought I'd try it. I've read that it likes dry, sandy/gravelly soil. I looked at my plant this evening and it looks bad. In a normal summer, I believe this plant might have grown.

That's a really good point, tami. Much better to have lots of rain--as long as it's not in our houses!--instead of getting to the point where we start wondering if we should wish for a tropical storm. I've never wished for a hurricane, but I have started looking for sources of more rain in years past. Love driving around looking at everything so green.