igloo mums more hardy??or hype??
sandy0225
12 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years agosandy0225
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Your thoughts on Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame'
Comments (79)Is it sterile both ways though? I guess so. I knew they didn't produce seed but I thought they might still produce pollen. In the world of rhodies at least, plants that are sterile both ways are rare but they do exist. (most of the weird 'quasi bigeneric' ones, of course, like 'Broughtonii Aureum', but also 'Viscy', which is sad because it would be nice to hybridize with) The Isoplexis*, I suspect, would be basically ungrowable here, which has been my experience with other Macaronesian flora I've tried in pots. (certainly Echiums, Aeoniums although I'm trying another one Annie's described as 'heat tolerant', and Canarina. The prior couple Aeoniums I tried will last for a year or two or three...longer than damn Echiums anyhow...but a long wet humid spell eventually makes them rot. Actually my memory banks just fired up: Geranium palmatum, from The Last Days of Heronswood (Whit Stillman's next film? LOL) lasted a whole summer, too, and didn't seem very bothered by humidity. That would have been in 1999 or so. But there was no way it was going to be winter hardy! I was such an optimistic young grasshopper back then lol. It was probably listed as zn 8 because I do think it winters sometimes in the PNW, but I wasn't in zone 8! * or should I say, the Digitalis formerly known as Isoplexis....See MoreAre some of the new hybrids going too far?
Comments (44)Really interesting thread. As a scientist, I'm always really interested in what my fellow colleagues in the horticultural factories can come up with...genetic manipulation is not an easy feat, so seeing someone successfully develop a marketable product is quite impressive. That said, I would personally never put double-flowering day lilies in my garden. Now if they could make a day lily that would flower for longer than a day....now THAT would be something! :) The entire corporatisation of plant hybridization is quite unfortunate, because more interesting hybrids that may not be perfect in everyone's gardens disappear from existence. To balance this, however, I think the home and amateur gardening community is much less susceptible to the sways of trends and fashions. We all have our favorites, most of us are adventurous, and we plant things in part to experience the awe of seeing something grow, flower and bear fruit rather than having perfect manicured marketable beauty. I think on principle, gardening can mean different things to different people. To some, it is an art that appeals the aesthetics of each individual. As an artist, do you stop painting because the paint production process has become automated and refined; to the point at which you no longer have to go find beetle shells or crocus stamens to make your own colors, but rather, any color in any shade is available at your finger tips? To others, gardening is a method of creating beauty with natural elements, and therefore it may feel strange or odd to put genetically manipulated plants/hybrids in the garden. I completely understand - I ran an all organic garden on campus with the mandate geared towards natural gardening. We stuck with native plants whenever possible, and it was fantastic. Sure there were times when I saw a perfect spot for some hybrid aquilegia, or hydrangeas. But at the same time, it felt nice to garden with a firm philosophy in place. In the end though, I think I'm more of an artist - I grab anything that looks cool to me. To follow through with the allegory, I don't reject the entire palette based upon the fact that it was man-made, but I am selective in my colors. To put it in perspective, the Green Wizard Rudbeckia that was previously shown may cause most of us to recoil in horror, but if it had been presented as a newly discovered species of Rudbekia, would it have been met with the same response? Are we being exclusive because aesthetically it is unappealing, or does it conflict with our desire to maintain 'natural' gardens? Personally I find it quite 'zen', although it's a little too alien-like for my tastes....See MorePlants for fall/winter color
Comments (28)camp, I planted some leymus candescens rye grass (I think thats what it is) in the corner, the dirt keeps running downhill covering my gravel which makes me crazy. I found this grass growing in shade at a construction site and dug some up while the men were gabbing, me and my little handy shovel. The area was marked for destruction. It will take shade and forms thick tussocks that are actually attractive when separated from weeds etc. This is very dry shade but as it comes out further plants become more visible. Hakone Grass! Not in this dreadful spot. Its beautiful but I need function and something tough, preferably native since its such a challenging area. I was really falling for the Sesleria autumnalis for the yellow green I even tried the silver leymus 'Canyon Prince' one year, its looked like big dead spiders. I donated it to the neighbors yard and its forming a nice area of blue in their backyard in no mans land (needs weeding but I resist interfering). Probably come fall, I'll place an order with SRG. I promise not to come over there with my shovel and grocery sacks and I'll look up those other suggestions, light colored would definitely be welcome. Here in the central US there are numerous ghosts towns or nearly ghost towns and empty roads you rarely see another car on, miles of grasses, abandoned fields, abandoned farms, old bridges, roads leading nowhere etc. You can make an entire activity visiting the abandoned past and not see a soul for miles all day long. People would think you were crazy if they saw you digging grasses, but I am sometimes crazy that way. I don't know what its like in Great Britain but here a person really can find treasures in the wild without feeling like an environmental abuser, in fact its easy to get lost in the overwhelming miles and miles of nothingness out in the middle of nowhere. I think sometimes we have a tendency to picture something altogether distorted when discussing subjects like plants in the wild. I've dug bluestem plants from the wild along with several other starts of plants. I never thought of it as a bad thing in certain situations and still don't, if you saw what I am talking about you'd laugh at the idea of causing harm. If you hired every person in the midwest and handed them a shovel to dig with, you'd hardly make a dent in a year's worth of digging, the very idea is ludicrous. Its other factors that are problems, like invasive plants for instance just to name one of many. I hardly think any harm is done moving a few small blue stem seedlings from a place out in "The Sticks" like Pond Creek or Lamont, Oklahoma where they are thick to another part of Oklahoma where they aren't currently growing constitutes wildlife or plant endangerment. Once upon a time they would have covered what is now my urban property and now they are growing and multiplying again, instead of a bermuda grass lawn which is hardly good for the environment. I find I cannot hardly get a visual of England in my head, I imagine lots of green and places I see on PBS like "Upstairs Downstairs' or something like that, old cities, great buildings & abandoned monasteries from the reformation period. I am sure its a distortion of reality. This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Mon, Jul 14, 14 at 19:06...See MoreJealousy in the stepfamily relationship
Comments (32)I have problems with this issue. First let me give some background info. My parents were never married and I am not close to my father. For the first 8 years of my life it was just me and my mum. Then she decided to get married. Shortly after she got married she had my brother. So within a span of a year 1 went from being my mum's only focus to getting a 3rd of her attention. Actually less than a third, since alot of attention was given to a new husband and baby. To complicate things it was not a happy marriage and they faught constantly and split up countless times. They eventually divorced 5 years later. My mum was never one to have alot of botfriends but whenever she did they became like her main focus. I have just had a really difficult time with this. It's not that I'm starved for attention but when you bring a new person into a child's life it disrupts there sense of stability. For the past few years she has not had any serious boyfriends. But now she is talking about getting married to a boyfriend that I have only met once. I'm trying to be open to it but even at 20 it is hard. My mum and I have always been very close. It was not unusual for us to talk on the phone several times a day. But since she has been dating this new guy for the past few months she has been preoccupied and basically has no time for me. Sometimes I call and she doesn't get back to me for days. I would really like to have an easier time with this but I have already been through this and it was not a very good experience. I don't think she realizes that the decision that she makes will effect more than just her. I want her to be happy but not at the expense of the relationship that I have with her. A small bit of it is jealousy but I don't think I'm being unreasonable for resenting that my life is also going to change and i have no say in it. I'm tired of being there for her when she is alone. When she has a boyfriend it's like, I have someone to hang with, I don't need you anymore. I think it's unfair and selfish. She just told me that she had a boyfriend 2 weeks ago and now they're planning to get married and I'm just supposed to be fine with it. I don't know how to handle welcoming a stranger into my family....See Morewieslaw59
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