Feeling frustrated

9 years ago

I've got tons and tons of fragrant plants, most of them in pots, and yet hardly anything is blooming right now.

Sure I've got my reliable sambac jasmines to sniff and a few new plumerias I bought this year and the tuberose but I look around at my collection and wish my Brunfelsia gigantea and B. jamaicensis (which is dropping leaves and looking pitiful and has never once bloomed for me), various cymbidium and other orchids, tons of new brugmansias, Plumeria stenopetala, Millingtonia hortensis, Jasminum azoricum, various passifloras, etc. would bloom!

Feels like all I'm doing is just watering and fertilizing (in other words maintenance) and not getting much reward for all my hard work.

Guess I need to be patient and stop complaining but I think the dog days of summer are starting to get to me. Waking up early to water everything and then having to water some things again at lunch and then again when I get home is getting old.
I'm starting to question the responsibility and dedication required to keep up with my madness. Laugh.

-Robert

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

fragrant2008
9 years ago
I know exactly how you feel Robert if it was not for the orchids i would only have a Jasmine in flower for fragrance :(
Lots and lots of pots with green leaves but no flowers my tuberos and Plumeria are showing no signs of flowering the only thing that has buds forming is my Brunfelsia.
I have told myself you have to take the good with the Bad and look forward to late summer flowering plants and the orchids which have lots of buds but will be a few weeks off from flowering
Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
Original Author
9 years ago
So true, Brian!

Or we can just keep adding to our collections by buying fragrants already in bloom. ;)

My Brunfelsia americana and Aloysia virgata (sweet almond verbena) from Almost Eden came in today and both have blooms! Woo hoo!
Bought the sweet almond verbena mostly for the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds but I've always been curious about its scent.
Can't wait to sniff the brunfelsia tonight! :)

-Robert
Related Discussions
do gardening make you feel frustrated sometimes?
Q
Comments (26)
It is my belief that there is a solution to any gardening problem, you just have to find it. However, some problem's solutions may be not economically viable. So far this year we've successfully managed: Spider mites. Cabbage moths. Aphids. Squirrels. Deer. Of course, those were the least of our problems. Even though it snowed here for two days, and was near freezing for an entire week at the beginning of June, we still held out hope for a good year. "It'll warm up!" We told each other, as we replaced frozen seedlings. It didn't warm up. Half of June had lows in the 30's. Half of July had lows in the 40's. We've had only a few days in the 90's. These last two weeks are supposed to be the warmest weeks of the year, and the height of our growing season, but the temps have struggled to even get into the 70's. A few nights ago, the temps were in the upper 30's and low 40's once again. It has been like Zone 1B or 2A, instead of Zone 3B. I've already written off any fruiting plants that normally take longer than 70 days. Walthams? Forget it! Melons? No way. Sweet corn? Not a chance, since even the wheat in the fields is having difficulty ripening. We'll be lucky to get any cucumbers at all, and a few tomatoes that will have to be ripened off the vine. No living person can remember a colder Summer in the area. But... There are beets, leafy vegetables, potatoes, and such. The frustrating part is figuring out if more high tunnels are worth it, or would moving be a better idea.
...See More
Feeling frustrated - Looking for sources....
Q
Comments (20)
i have my moments.. lol ... perhaps you will recognize me .. when i pull into iseli .. in another life ... though i have left before dawn.. to be at a conifer location when it opened at 9am .. and i did feel like i was running out there like the vid.. lol ..... because that was when the guy would be available.. having other commitments after noon .... you know.. if your going that far.. it isnt going to be a 15 minute visit ... lol ... ITS DEFINITELY AN APPOINTMENT KIND OF THING .... then there was the leave at dawn and A 3.5 hour drive.. and 6 to 8 hours loading 40 6 to 8 foot bare root oaks in the back and getting it all secured.. and back home after dark ... i remember all the tree stuff.. but i dont recall why getting back took so long .. lol .. but all 4 of us went.. you know how traveling with kids warps reality ... the point for echo is.. ROAD TRIP!!!! .. APPOINTMENT ... etc ... then there was the guy.. who drove to adrian from canton OH [4 hours] .. with a uhaul attached.. so i could show him tom shmids and gee tree ... ken ps: the leaving before dawn.. and getting back in dark ... makes it all .... in your memory.. like a dream ... throw in conifers.. and its a great dream .... at least you have the plants.. and know it really happened ...
...See More
Frustrated...How to install multi-outlet strips
Q
Comments (31)
Our plugmold was installed without the end fitting. I can see how that extra space could have made it easier. It was a PITA to get it back up when we had to pull the plugmold down to install our backsplash, then put it back up a little bit further out. Extra hard because one of my runs of plugmold is 3 sections for a total of 13 feet long. Either there already is a punchout in the side of the plugmold for the wires to be pulled through, or our electrician cut a hole for them. The punchout is in both pieces - the base and the cover. Our plugmold faces down towards the counter, and the wires come in from the side. The wires come out of the wall just under the bottom of the cabinet, similar to yours. So basically, if you imagine the cover of the plugmold is shaped like a U, with the open top of the U wrapped around the base part of the plugmold and the bottom of the U is where the receptacles are, the wires come in from a punchout in the side of the U that is next to the wall. Our plugmold is mounted to the bottom of the cabinet, not to the wall. However, I have frameless cabinets, so the bottom of my cabinets are flat, they do not have the short piece of cabinet that comes down under the cabinet. Does that make any sense ? As far as the tamper resistance goes ... do you have the option to NOT have TR ? I find the TR outlets through the rest of my house *extremely* hard to plug into. I can't imagine trying to force a plug into an outlet when the receptacle is mounted facing down (or even angled) up under the bottom of the cabinet.
...See More
when the renovation was done, how did you feel?
Q
Comments (11)
I am super "detail oriented." Other people can call me derisive terms. Its that attention to detail that made my kitchen redo possible; it's what made the kitchen come out so well. But, as that critical eye is turned to the mostly finished work? I too see mistakes, gaffs, and compromises I wish I hadn't had to make. And I feel disappointed! Yet, everything is sound and done well (or it will be after the last touches of paint and finish trim). Is it perfect? No! I see: knobs are uneven, the nearly invisible seam, my outlets are 1/4" higher than I wanted, a few doors still need to be adjusted.... It will never be perfect; it will never be close! But, I love it! It works! Its so much more functional. It's prettier too;) And that feeling is so much stronger than my critical eye when I let myself feel it. And the mistakes, gaffs, and reluctant compromises become part of the reno story that make the journey memorable! I am not settling, adjusting my expectations downward, or accepting inferior finish/product. I am just focusing on the big picture and allowing myself to enjoy what we accomplished.
...See More
kemistry
9 years ago
I've decided to grow only plants that bloom well for me ;)

OOO Robert, update me on that brun scent.
fragrant2008
9 years ago
Lol Robert i have told myself i have no more room!! unless it is something really special but i have just noticed buds on my variegated Brugmansia as well :)
I also ordered those two Jasmine so maybe nexy year i will have more flowers ( yes i know i just said no more room :P )
i might need help ;)
Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
Original Author
9 years ago
Kem, will do!

Brian, Congrats!

I've got some buds on some brugs but nothing to sniff just yet. Also noticed my Brassavola nodosa has a bloom spike developing.

And I think we all need help. ;)

It should be interesting watching me panic come fall when I have to find room for all these pots! Laugh.

-Robert
meyermike_1micha
9 years ago
Robert, I feel your pain..

My thing is that all mine are flowering, but I have not a darn moment to sit by them and enjoy their scent..I water them, and notice, then run off to work..Stick my nose in one for a few seconds and then that's it..Or sit one in the house, just to look like crap within a few days.

It also seems that my plants are always doing awesome and smell great in the greenhouse, but why not inside my home where I spend most of my time..?

Hey Robert, at least the plants you mentioned are still growing and not dead like mine...

This is why you need orchids as Brian says...They never leave you disappointed when everything else just stays green...

You will love that almond verbena, although they only flower when hot and bright, once or maybe twice a year. They can look like crap in the long days of winter, almots like sticks, but bounce beautfully once they are exposed to long days and hot sun)

Nice plants by the way..I can't believe they sent you one in bloom...They must of heard your pain...Boy if we could just have room for dozens of the same plant incase the other 11 decide they just want to fart all year...

Don't give up friend, they will make uyou smile an many gloomy days...

MIke
wanna_run_faster
9 years ago
I know how you feel, Robert.

I grew 2 fragrant corkscrew vines from seed, sheltered and protected them in an ice storm, and now they have taken off like the plant from The Little Shop of Horrors...reaching out and trying to eat everything in it's path! BUT only one (admittedly very pretty) flower so far! I do have hope...tonight there appears to be a bunch more forming so maybe one day I'll have enough flowers that I can actually smell the fragrance!

Helen
User
9 years ago
Robert I feel for you. That's why I try to apply the less is more motto :-) Actually I have a rule. In order to buy a new plant I have to throw a plant out. So, this way, I get rid of a lot of plants.

Also, I've realized the more I obsess about some plant the more it refuses to cooperate. The moment I leave the plant alone and let it be, it surprises me, if by then I haven't thrown it out ;-)

Feeling frustrated

Comments (8)

fragrant2008

Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
Original Author

Related Discussions

kemistry

fragrant2008

Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
Original Author

meyermike_1micha

wanna_run_faster

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Feeling frustrated

Comments (8)

fragrant2008

Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)Original Author

Related Discussions

kemistry

fragrant2008

Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)Original Author

meyermike_1micha

wanna_run_faster

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
Original Author

Robert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
Original Author