Welcome citrusnut!

Welcome Citrusnut.Where in Wisc you located?

Hope you get addicted.

Welcome! Glad you're joining us!

If you plan to be a Hippeastrum addict, as we are, you may want to pick up some items to help with sick bulbs... it's almost a certainty that you'll run into problems at some point... I think we all have!

Cinnamon is a natural fungi inhibitor, but it also can inhibit root growth. It's probably best to obtain an anti-fungal powder to keep on hand, along with a rooting hormone powder to promote root growth. Before I had my gardening items bought, I reached for cinnamon, too... it's a handy little item. Just keep in mind that it can inhibit root growth.

Glad to have you with us, and can't wait to see those two beauties in full bloom... do post photos!

Ah ha ha ha! YOu come here PLANNING to be addicted? Are you SURE you know what you are in for, LOL!? Welcome welcome!

By the way, I dropped in here a couple of years ago and now have over 150 bulbs plus lots of 2 yr old seedlings. Do you have a greenhouse yet? Better start planning for one!

That said, Let me introduce myself. I am a Retired Parent, who has turned her nurturing genes toward Gordon Setters and plants of all kinds. THere is nothing in the middle of the winter to cheer one like seeing a new bud coming on an big fat bulb, and watching it slowly grow and unfurl, then loving the glow of color through the dark days outside!

Awwww....look at you go with your Red Lions! That's what I started my addiction with. It's a great spring board into insanity!!! Let me introduce myself to you, as well. My name is Larissa and I have a ton of bulbs. lol I'm 26....married....two kids.....housewife....a little on the bulb-psycho side. Welcome! It's a friendly group. Enjoy :-)

Welcome to the fray, chrisnut!

I'm attaching to this message a link to GardenWeb's guide to using HTML code to add stuff to your messages.

I totally agree with them when they say that 450 pixels is usually wide enough (especially for vertical pics).

{{gwi:386855}}

I really would recommend keeping it under 800 pixels, since many people still like to use the 800x600 screen size.

{{gwi:386855}}

Of course, there is a downside to using the "width=###" code, and that is that if the image sets moved or deleted, you're left with a giant, empty box in your message.....

Here is a link that might be useful: How Do I Use HTML Code...?

Places like Photobucket have sizing tools for photos, also... I do mine before uploading, using Photoshop.

It's especially nice for those who are still using dial up service... I'm on a satellite link, so my load time is zip.

I try to keep my photos at around 500 x 500 pixels or less, though some do go over.

I was just browsing through the Test Forum Gallery and found a link to a page with a chart of 140 different colors you can use to spruce up your text. (This color is "Tomato.") Have fun!

Here is a link that might be useful: html color chart

One last thing--I just noticed that your member nams is "CITRUSnut", nit "chrisnut."

Sorry!

nit=not/>
Today just ain't my day.
I'm logging off now....

LOL! It's ok, Tim... we know what you meant! I still haven't learned to play around with text and colors on here... I probably should just for the heck of it! Thanks for posting that link.

Wow, what a nice and friendly group. Already I have found myself going out of my way to find stores that may carry bulbs looking for another color. Frankly, I truly don't need another addiction, but I'm weak and can't resist a pretty plant or flower. I live in a small 3 bedroom house and have plants crammed everywhere. It has a north facing sunroom though and that helps alot.

In my house, I've got 134 orchids, 8 citrus, 10 african violets, 8 ferns, 7 brugs, 2 large gardenias, 2 palm trees, a large norfolk island pine (our xmas tree), 2 jades, 2 plumeria,1 plumbago, agapanthus, 1 mango, coffe plant, 2 amaryllis, and a few more plants. Plus Frank will be sending seeds. And my wish list is large.

And now I feel an attraction for for hippeastrums. Sounds like trouble.

Pumas, I live in Watertown.

Jodi, I have rooting hormone and cinnamon already. However, I didn't know that cinnamon inhibited root growth.

Tim, thanks for the html. Photobucket has changed recently and I'm trying to adjust to the new way.

I've been using Adobe and Photobucket.

Theresa

Hello, Theresa! Get ready to be completely addicted! I began a couple of years ago... I came here to ask about the one bulb I had at the time, and now, I have over 60 different varieties and other Amaryllids, and I live in a tiny one room apartment!

I see you already have a large addiction to green growing things! That's quite a plant collection!

Cinnamon can inhibit root growth, so for anti-fungal use, I keep Captan, by Bonide, hanging around. I think Farm & Fleet might carry it, but if not, most larger stores should have it. Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's... like those. It's in a white container with a purple/blue cap. It's been a lifesaver for dealing with rot, which can happen if conditions are too damp.

This is my very favorite forum, and these people are the nicest, most generous bunch you'll find anywhere! We're like a little family here, very casual... so pull up a keyboard and join us! :-)

Welcome Theresa! I haven't officially introduced myself.
I live in SW Florida, married, have bad green addition.I have about 150 hoyas, 30 orchids, 10 desert roses, Flower beds full of tropicals and bulbs. Most of my plants stay out all year except on cold spells & hurricane season.
I am slowly getting addicted to the bulbs...OH NOOOO!

Jan

I'm in Central IL, zone 5, married, 3 grown kids, 3 grandkids, 3 dogs... small upstairs apartment, crammed with bulbs and orchids and other plants. I'm also an avid outdoor perennial gardener, addicted to miniature roses, Daylilies, and most everything green and growing!

Welcome all newcomers! :-)

Being from cold Wisconsin I envy you guys in the warm climates that leave your plants out all year. The most mine can safely stay outside is maximum of 5 months (or less).

My husband and I never had any kids. We have 3 cats and 1 dog-all unwanted and homeless animals that got a forever home with us.

I'm not familiar with hoyas but I hear that they're fragrant. Jan, I'd like to see your 150 hoyas. So far I have 1 desert rose and plan to get another one soon. I like that they can stay small.

My outdoor gardening consists mostly of container growing. The soil in my yard is like stone. When I do want something planted my husband digs the hole. Last year we planted some more strawberries that will coming up this year and I'm ready for them. We planted some the year before and used bark mulch. That worked very well. All the strawberries stayed clean. We should have quite a nice harvest this year. Yum!

I love daylilies also and we have a few planted. I'd love to find one of those basic tall stemmed old fashioned orange ones that I see in peoples yards, but never find in garden centers or nurseries.

{{gwi:386856}}

{{gwi:386857}}

Thanks Tim for the heads on the sizing. Learned that I have to choose the size first before I download.

I'm a little late, but Welcome Theresa! The seeds to the little orange bloomer should find you shortly. :-)

I'm Frank and I'm addicted to all things that grow and flower...LOL! Those strawberries look good 'nuff to eat! YUM!

Oh my gosh, you want so tall orange daylillies? Well you are in luck! We have droves and droves of them on the fenceline at our family farm. When they start to come up, I will send you bunches of them if you want!

-Frank

Frank, you bet I want them. Yes, yes, yes!

Do they stay in a clump like the newer ones do or do they naturalize? Either would be great, would just have to plant them in different areas. Oh boy, I'm happy now.

Thank you, Theresa

Here are some of the plants during the cold spells.
{{gwi:382170}}
{{gwi:382171}}
{{gwi:386858}}

Your strawberries look so yummy.

We planted a gazillion strawberry plants last year so I'm really hoping for some berries this year. I hope ours look as good as yours, Theresa.

You are doubly in luck on the Daylilies, Theresa... I have the regular oranges and a few double oranges hanging around in pots... as soon as they begin showing themselves, I can send some your way... if you'd like! We got a bunch a couple of years ago to naturalize around here, and some are just leftovers, siting in pots. In fact, it might be interesting to get some from both Frank and myself, and see if there's any difference... the interbreeding might actually bring renewed vigor to the next generation!

Jan, I love that picture! Your home is so bright and airy! I just love that look! And that Hoya bloom is spectacular! I have one little Hoya, a variegated leaved variety... it'll be years before it blooms, I'm sure.

We have Strawberries planted in one portion of the perennial bed, behind the garage... an ever-bearing and a pink flowered variety... they never produce anything decent, but they do make a nice ground cover! I just thinned out the bed last spring... what an unbelievable tangle! They almost choked out my Yarrow and a few other perennials!

Theresa, email me when your weather breaks in spring, and I'd be happy to send you some Daylilies!

Jodi, thanks for your compliment!!!
I really like the bright rooms so curtains are there for decoration only.
Jan

Jan, what is the plant blooming in your third picture? Is that the hoya Jodi was referring to? Its gorgeous!

Ryan

pssst Jan (warning-warning-warning) don't show jodi your kitchen looking over the back pool cage and the canal behind it...she'll move in FOR SURE!!!!

Who is that last Red beauty? She looks like she has icicles among her blooms...I love it. BTW I hung your corkscrew vine under the pergola and twined it about the slats. She seems really happy there! You will have to let me know about root growth when you come for lunch and how soon to pot her up.

Theresa- They tend to have a naturalizing habit to them. They are more spread out than clumpy...and they spring up all over the place. I guess the seeds get blown by the wind? I don't know! I'll try to dig for photos. I'm really starting to like Daylillies, especially since they are so darn tough! I may have to start a collection along the fenceline of all different colors!

Jan- Wow! Look at all those goodies! It must be lots of fun to cart all those beauties in when it gets cold. They are all so lovely!

-Frank

Thank you all.
Ryan, yes that is Hoya mindorensis. One of my favorute.
Cindee, I planted my corkscrew vine in the ground. I had the one in pot but the roots started to grow into the dirt so I think the vine will be happier in the ground. Maybe you can plant the vine where you had the pea vine.
Frank, yes it's actually too much work carting them all in the house. But I enjoy them most of the time. lol

Hi, and welcome. I'm Kitty. I live in cold NJ, but am so glad to be back home from a trip to Florida. I also have a Hoya, only one, but it's huge (and I forgot its name). Also have about a hundred orchids, having just hauled about a dozen more from Florida, about 200 hippis, at least 10 Norfolks, bougainvillea, clivias, fern, begonias, and many citrus and palms. I just found a very nice lime, blooming and with fruit (my other lime turned out to be an orange of some sort), and brought home a wonderful fragrant pink and white oleander. I used to have a huge African violet collection, but for some reason they're all dying (may be wood-burning stove in basement where they have always lived). Oh, and I forgot to mention about a dozen hibiscus. Has anybody told you about CHAD?

Jan, you've got a lovely, inviting, and pleasant home. Love your plants. That's one gorgeous hoya.

Wow Kitty, 200 hippis? You must have every color. Do you have a greenhouse? I'll bet orchid shopping in Florida must be fun. Citrus are one of my favorites, too. You've got lots of interesting stuff. And the newer versions are not invasive stay where you put them.

Jodi, I would love an orange daylilly. I must admit I would prefer the kind that grows in a clump cause I do live in the city. Here's another color that I love.

{{gwi:386859}}

Frank, I love daylilies cause they have such a long bloom season, need no special care and seem to be bullet proof.

Citrusnut- A welcome from nearby cold netherlands! Those strawberries look nummy did you grow them from seed or starts? I think it's much fun and easy to grow them from seed.

You will find it extremely rewarding to grow hippies in nasty cold climates- FLOWERS in winter! You can't grow wrong, so rewarding! Best of luck to you, you may wish to put off major aquisitions until next fall for best results and read all the info on this forum meanwhile. The folks on this forum have incredible amounts of info to share, and they are always helpful.
Sally

Citrusnut,

Susan

Well now, Jan, you're going to HAVE to show photos of your kitchen overlooking the pool cage and the canal beyond! Up here in the north, I'm always interested in warming my bones through photography!

Cindee, if I thought for a second I could drag Larry away from IL, I'd be headed south, for sure!

Theresa, I've got a beautiful red/orange Daylily, name unknown, that clumps nicely and sets seed easily. The flowers are gorgeous, and it just keeps on blooming! My brother gave me a clump years ago, and it's become a nice pass-along variety. It's due for dividing this year. Actually, I have a rainbow of Daylily varieties... let's see what shakes out when the weather breaks and growth begins! I'd be happy to share!

Kitty! Good to have you back safe and sound! How'd everything go? Sounds like you brought back a nice plant haul! Most awesome!

Frank, be careful when it comes to Daylily collecting! There must be a million registered varieties! Take a quick peek at Ebay, and you'll go nuts! Singles, doubles, tall, short, mini, every color and color combination of the rainbow! I've got a nice selection of colors and sizes, but I could easily get lost in acquiring more! Iris are the same way... gorgeous colors and sizes... CHAD can really grab you and pull you in! I'm lost in miniature roses, myself!

Jodi, not the best photo.
{{gwi:386860}}

Now THAT is a beautiful view.

What a view! It's positively gorgeous! (major sigh!) Just the sight warms my bones, I swear! Thank you for sharing that, Jan!

Gosh, what I wouldn't give for a vacation in St. Pete right about now! We used to go there as kids... my parents would take us to the Gulf every January for two weeks! Great memories!

Right now, it's sunny and frigidly cold here... I'm having a bowl of oatmeal to help warm up before I go out to clean the kennel... then, I'll come back in and hibernate!

Thanks, Jan! Beautiful place you have... I'm jealous! :-)

Jan, is that a canal? That is a nice view.

Jodi, that red-orange daylilly sounds great if it's not too much trouble.

Sally, how cold does it get in zone 4? Minus 20 is usually the limit here, but this year it hit -24. My 2 hippi bulbs are growing so I've got pretty blooms to look forward to. Right now my orchids are keeping me happy. They're pretty reliable winter bloomers, too.

I'm looking forward to the strawberries this spring, we planted everbearing last summer and june bearing the summer before. It's nice to go outside and find something to eat.

Jodi- Even better, I have learned there are Evergreen and Semi-evergreen varieties of Daylilies. LOL! I have checked out ebay and the "Lily Auction" or LA as it is referred to over on the Daylily forum...oh my god! I am overwhelmed! So much so that I may just stick to whatever they have at Lowe's instead of feeding a new addiction.

I also LOVE Iris, but there are SO many of those too. I am very drawn to really tough plants that can be planted and only tended to by nature. DL's and Iris are certainly that without extreme droughts. I also LOVE Daffodil bulbs...gosh, I could go on for days about those...LOL!

Jan- What a great view! When is the pool party? LOL!

-Frank

Frank, hopefully I'll have some photos of our bulb garden to share this spring... wait until you see the Daffodils and Tulips I've got! I've also got quite an assortment of Iris and Daylilies! Tough and hardy, resistant to most problems, and beautiful... quite the bang for the buck! You could easily get lost if you begin collecting Iris and Daylilies! Have you seen the price tags on some? Wow!

Theresa, remind me after the weather breaks... I have a horrible memory... and I'll be happy to put together a care package for you! I don't have a name for the red/orange Daylily, but since my brother gave me the original, I call it "Tim's Daylily". It's really beautiful, and it flowers all summer for me. It grows to be a manageable clump, and I've had good luck pollinating it. I have others, too.

Tim's Daylily...
{{gwi:386861}}

{{gwi:386862}}

Double Orange...
{{gwi:40272}}

Daffodils...
{{gwi:386864}}

Mom's Iris...

Just a little taste for Frank, and to show Theresa what those Daylilies look like! Somewhere around page 30 is where the summer flowers are located... I don't have individual files in the album, though I should have separated my pictures into groups. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Photo Album

Thanks everyone. It's salt water canal, saw 5 manatees few years ago.
Jodi, beautiful flowers.

Jodi, the bearded iris are gorgeous! Do you have to lift them every year to protect them in winter?

A few of mine from years past...
{{gwi:386865}}
{{gwi:386866}}

Also love your 'Tim's Daylily' great color!

Ryan

Great Iris, Ryan! No, I don't lift anything! If it's not hardy to at least zone 4 or 5, I don't bother to plant it! I actually try to find plants that can tolerate the cold to zone 3 or 4, which assures me that they'll make it. The roses I plant are all own-root, no grafts, and they must be winter hardy. I have way too much to do to dig up plants every fall! I do have a few Canna and Glad roots, but those are for containers, patio pots.

Ooh, Jan! Sea cows! How awesome! I've seen dolphins and manta rays in the Gulf, but I've never seen a manatee up close.

I've been getting interested in the dwarf and intermediate sizes of Iris... they are so beautiful! I could easily get addicted to them, too!

Hello and welcome, Theresa!
I'm Xuan (say it like you would "s-w-a-n") and I'm from... you guess it... Vietnam.
I'm quite new to gardening in general and still learning my ways around all the plants I have now in my possession.
I'm sure you will find this forum one of the best sources of information on amaryllis bulb cultivation.

Xuan