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Arizona Gardening

Oh No! Forgot to Water While on Vacation!

11 years ago

Hi all!

I went on vacation for a week and somehow forgot to turn the drip line back on (had been playing around with it before I left)...now all the mums and celosias in my front yard have croaked! Fortunately, the vincas are still hanging tough!

My question is, is it too late to plant (from big-box store) even some heat-lovers like vincas to replace the dead stuff? I usually wouldn't bother but it's my front yard so it looks kind of weird/bad to have rows of flowers with unsymmetrical space between(from the dead mums that I pulled). I always change those flowers seasonally anyhow, but don't want to wait for the fall to fix the problem, if possible. What do you think? (ps. this is the north side of my house...but full sun right now, and not really feasible to give them shade at this location)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! (ps.since these follow a walkway path, I need something like vincas that will stay tidy/contained...nothing too sprawly).

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Comments (10)

grant_in_arizona
11 years ago
Sorry for the irrigation issue, and the dead plants. I always worry about things like that when I'm away from the garden. Ugh. Usually I stop any adjustments/changes three days before I leave so I can keep an eye on things before heading out, but sometimes you just can't do things the way you'd like. :(

I would replace the things along the walkway now with vincas, just make sure to keep them well watered and keep an eye on them, AND make sure they were already growing in sun for awhile. For me, it would be worth the chance in a front garden. I replace some plants with vincas even at this time of year, as long as I know I'll be able to keep an eye on watering. Obviously it's not the ideal time, but for me it would be worth the gamble, and it beats a big hole in a walkway planting. Let us know what you do and how it works out.

Happy gardening!
Grant
Pagancat
11 years ago
Or invest in a lot of garden art, lol! Actually might not be a bad idea, anyway.
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I don't know where you are or what the weather is going to be like while you're gone, but here's an idea for if it's going to be hot. One year when we were going to be gone for two weeks, we took a cheap hose and draped it across all our deck plants (about 12 pots). It was attached to a timer at the tap end, set to go off once a day for ... can't remember how many minutes. We drilled small holes in the hose above each plant, then turned the hose on to make sure each pot was getting water. Worked great! Could have used less water pressure on the hose though. When we got home, we saw one of the pots had the dirt disturbed too much where the water pushed into it. All the plants survived great though! That was years ago. The hose is now being used in the shade garden, still attached to a timer at the tap. All those little holes in the hose work to give a lot of the plants under the trees some extra water.
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xica_da_silva
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Grant and pagancat! Yeah...at least the vincas are so cheap that it seems worth a try! I'll have to wait till this weekend to do it since I'm out of town but I'll definitely report my success/failure once a little time has passed! :)

As for garden art, pagancat, I like some of it, but am very indecisive when it comes to choosing that type of thing. Whereas, with plants/flowers, I instantly know what I like and don't waste time deciding! :)
Pagancat
11 years ago
Probably helps that the plants are a little less expensive, typically. But I know what you mean - I'm not into the cutesy stuff that so many people enjoy, wish I was.

Heck, I'm not even that decisive about plants, lol. Good for you!
xica_da_silva
Original Author
11 years ago
Just a quick update! Mother Nature has looked upon me with mercy, as even here in downtown PHX, we've had lots of rain and of course cooler temps this weekend! Yesterday(Saturday), I was able to get the vincas in first thing in the morning and then we had decent rain amounts in the afternoon. Yay! It's kind of hard to see the baby vincas from the photo, but you can see the older ones in the front. Unfortunately, I'm still having issues with shrubs...but I'll wait till Fall to address that! :)
Pagancat
11 years ago
Oh, nice - it will fill in be really great very quickly.
grant_in_arizona
11 years ago
Great news, Xica, thanks for sharing it. I'm glad you were able to get the new ones in, and that you got a good rain. I'm sure they'll do fine if well watered.

Your home and garden are really great! So tidy, charming, and attractive. Thanks for sharing the pic with us.

Keep us posted and happy gardening. Love the pic!
Take care,
Grant
xica_da_silva
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Grant and Pagancat!

It's a work in progress but I really enjoy it! It does seem like, compared to last year, we're getting a cooler version of summer so far(funny how 105 F is now considered a cooler day in my mind!). I hope the wet monsoon weather continues throughout the summer!
MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
11 years ago
What a cute little house - I agree with Grant on the tidy, charming and attractive attributes. I love the architecture in the downtown area.
Pagancat
11 years ago
I second that admiration!

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