Who's ready for spring?

11 years ago

It was 18F this morning in Oklahoma. The weather is starting to warm up tomorrow but forecast says it could dip again next week! I guess the last frost here is really around early April. Meanwhile my plumies are ready to go outside!

I have already started the new season with some new additions. I bought Taj Mahal and Cote D'or from Jungle Jacks when I visited earlier this month. I have 3 more JL rooted cuttings that Matt will send me next month and 2 more from JL Nursery Farms also coming next month :)

In between all my shopping sprees, I picked up a few more ebay plants from Fuzzy lol. Here is one that I'm really anxious to see:

JL Hawaiian Coral

I was wow'ed by the size of its inflo. Today I can smell its peachy fragrance!

Hang in there just a bit longer, everybody. Spring is just right around the corner!

Kenny

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

rox146
11 years ago
WOW! Hawaiian Coral is on my wish list...from Jim Little's new site? You have the same taste in plumies that I have...alohas, roxanne
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years ago
Hey Kenny. No kiddimg about the cold It was freezing this morning. I just checked our 10 day and highs are all above 70. Woo Hoo!!!!

That is an awesome inflo. You have been very busy this winter.

I'm headed to Houston next week and you can bet I'll hit some nurseries while I'm there. I'll be looking out for mango trees mostly but you never know. LoL.

Edit. Haha I was looking at Houston's 10 day not ours :(
Mike

This post was edited by mksmth on Wed, Mar 27, 13 at 6:24
Related Discussions
Idyll #306 YooHooo Spring--We're ready!!
Q
Comments (94)
Okay, I just had to post. I am a regular luker here, unknown to all of you, stopping by occasionally to delight in the pictures and have over the years become familiar with the posters, regular or otherwise. My observations, as an outsider: I am astounded that all of you who rushed so valiantly to Mary's defense were not in the least bothered by the uncalled for mean-spiritedness in her loaded comment "But I'm curious, do you interact with your family the same way you interact with the Idylls?' Can you guys not see that this was what hurt Marian the most, was the "unkindest cut of all" especially coming from oh-so-sweet and kind and caring Mary? That it made her feel like an outcast? That SHE is the aggrieved one here? I agree that Marian overreacted with the knife picture, but it also indicates how much Mary's comment hurt her. To talk about reporting here because of that, and the torrent of abuse that has been heaped on her just shows everybody's true colors. T, I disagree with the summary you posted about Marian. She has been outspoken and blunt but never, ever intentionally mean. As an outsider to the little clique here, to me she seemed one of the few who was genuine, the rest seemed to be intent on just showing their "kind, caring, empathetic" side until this episode proved just how vicious you all can be. Lest you all think I'm Marian's crony, rest assured, I have never had any contact with her or anyone else on this group, am an atheist, and about as far from her world-view as one can be. However, I have always admired her resilience at her age, her remarkable intelligence and conviction in her beliefs, and of course share her love for plants and gardening. And I come from a culture where age deserves some respect. Please do not send me emails on this issue. I have no desire to debate this further. I always viewed this group as something of an anomaly on the Web, but unfortunately it was too good to be true. Do not blame Marian for this - the rest of you were the schoolyard bullies here, rushing to defend your clique member blindly. Returning to lurkdom...... M
...See More
Coastal Bend Spring Swap Ready
Q
Comments (1)
To WandaM1 you have to turn on your e-mail for me to be able to reply The swap is held in Aransas Pass, TX on the 21st of March at 1:30. E-mail me and include your e-mail address and I will be happy to send you the details or see details posting.
...See More
Two pots of Hydrangea ready for the spring ...
Q
Comments (8)
The 3-week start to finish time frame for hardening off plants grown indoors is fairly conservative & longer than the timetable many use. Seven to ten days is common. For woody perennials, like hydrangeas & roses, I like to hedge my bets and do the slower process over the course of 3 weeks. By the end of that 3 weeks, the plant is spending its nights as well as days in the garden full time. Sorry I didn't explain that very well. This is how I do it. The first 2 days, I'll leave the plant out of direct sun in shade - often under the overhang of an outdoor roofed porch - for an hour. The third day, I'll leave it an hour & 15 minutes or so, and the fourth, an hour and a half. Then I'll advance the time each day by half an hour more, so the 5th day it spends 2 hours outdoors & by the 7th day it's out 4 hours a day. Then I'll put it in dappled shade - often under a tree that's leafing out - and leave for 2 hours in this brighter exposure. The next day, 2 hours & 15 minutes and 2 & a half the 2nd day. If it's doing well & taking this in stride, the 3rd day it gets 3 hours, 4th day 4 hours, so the last day of that second week it's out 7 hours in dappled shade. If the nights are warm enough by then, it stays overnight in the garden. The transition to full morning sun takes a bit more attention for placement. If it's been shaded by a tree in leaf-out that 2nd week, the tree is often in full leaf by then. I'll usually place it close to the edge of the tree canopy, so it will get the early sun for an hour & then the dappled shade for the rest of the day. Each day it gets positioned for more time in the sun. When I haven't had a convenient tree, have used various juryrigs to create similar conditions, including a pale umbrella secured & tilted, a lightweight trellis with a sheet, lawn chairs - whatever came to hand. Sounds more involved than it actually is, and just gets worked into my day, rather like keeping an eye on a load of laundry or pets outside. All the timing depends on the weather, the plant's response, your own schedule & how frisky you feel on any given day. Pull the plant back inside or otherwise protect if frost or storms threaten - keep an eye on the sky. By the end of the 3 weeks, the pot can go where you mean to plant it. We all get to learn from others' experience or from trial & error - most typically a mix of both. Sorry your first lesson with sun & wind scorch was a tough one. As gardeners, we're trying to give our charges the best start before they must brave the elements mostly on their own. My grandma used to "tickle" her plants with her open palm to mimic a breeze when they were inside, to make them sturdier & stronger. Appreciate that big pots can be tough to move without help. Wagons, wheeled saucers (I've actually "walked" those like a dog with a bungee around the pot rim as a leash), pot lifters & creative imagination can offer assistance here. Once the potted plant is spending most of its day in the garden, nighttime protection can be managed with empty pots upended over the top, or sheets safety-pinned to supports, whatever. Remember critter protection, too. Putting the pots on tables or stacks of other pots can guard them from rabbits. Where there's a will there's often a way. The outline here is just one way - you'll suit your own to yourself & your plants. The link is to an article that explains the physical changes of plants in response to hardening off in the Spring. I keep watering the same as inside (accounting for showers outdoors), especially when the plant is already in bud & bloom, but that's me. We have another 10 days left in April, so if you could begin hardening off next week (weather cooperating), you could have the pots ready for their garden spots by the middle of May or soon thereafter. Here is a link that might be useful: Hardening Off
...See More
PJs before and after new house 2 yrs
Q
Comments (24)
Hey Lou! It's so funny you should just mention crossing the inferno strip! I just started playing in the inferno strip with some step stones like a couple hours ago deciding how I want it to look :). It's not really a huge deal to have a path. I'm on a tiny cul-de-sac with 4 other houses. Also, I always park both cars in the garage so everyone uses the driveway. I wouldn't put any plants with thorns or spikes that aren't set way back or potted. I have cactus in pots around baby trees to protect them from dogs. (No dogs will go the cactus btw.) Thorny roses would grab folk's clothes near a sidewalk. Those Maples sure aren't in any big ole hurry. I remember how pretty your maples were not too long ago. I'll bet they'll be spectacular one day. Maple leaves are great mulch for acid plants. The guy next door has a good sized Japanese garden with a water feature and it all in the front yard. I'll ask to take a picture of his gorgeous maple( a curvy Shantung that weeps a bit?). It also has a 8ft palm, a dwarf Pomegranate, and a lot of evergreen flowers and ground covers. It's really neat. He has privets 3/4 the way down for a hedge. You can see them in the last picture over to the left. Those privet are at least 10 ft from his house and lead to his back gate. If you squinsh your eyes really hard you can see his fig tree in front of them. It's small now but not for long! His inferno strip has a brick/step stone path and this very sad, half dead dwarf yaupon in it. Grass looks so crummy here it detracts from his garden. He's thinking about taking out the sod too. A few other houses in and around on other streets are getting in the act with a sidewalk garden. One house has Lirope(sp?) looks pretty nice. Another house has CMs that will look really good when they are bigger. The only other one I can remember has heavy mulch with amaryllis. You KNOW they recommend Trident Maples as sidewalk trees in Fort Worth right? LOL!
...See More
Kenny
Original Author
11 years ago
That bud has finally opened as of now! Smells peachy just like Mardi Gras! I will post some pictures tomorrow when I bring her outside.

Rox,

I got this one from Fuzzy last week. The plant was already sitting on my porch Friday afternoon when I returned from California!

Mike,

That's awesome you're going to Houston! I should give you my plumie wishlist so you can track down a few plants for me LOL.

I still have your rooted Puu Kahea! Hopefully it'll start to thrive in the warm weather next month. I talked to John at Jungle Jack about Southwood's wholesale deal. As far as he knows, they just get the regular wholesaler selections. In other words, "nothing fancy or high end" according to him. However, if they specifically request certain cultivars from his catalog, they can. So hopefully you and Robert are still on board about getting Southwood to order what you want. Let me know if they say yes so I can join you guys! :)

Kenny
Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
11 years ago
Hi Kenny!

What a beautiful inflo on your JL Hawaiian Coral.

I bet she is a beauty.. Please post more pics as it opens and let us know about the fragrance...

Congratulations on all of your new babies! You have picked some winners!

Laura
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years ago
Kenny. First I have to say how stupid I feel. When I posted about the temps here I was looking at Houston's weather not ours LoL. I guess I am ready for spring. Send me your list and I'll see what I can find.

That's awesome about Puu. Thanks again for doing that!

I figured that was what southwood does. You know I have sent 3 emails 1 to the general manager 1 to the purchaser and 1 to their general info email and not one reply. I'll try and get by there this week.

Hi laura :)

Mike

This post was edited by mksmth on Wed, Mar 27, 13 at 6:45
Kenny
Original Author
11 years ago
Mike,

I think you're just excited for the warm weather! :)

My Hawaiian Coral opened its first bloom last night. Laura, here are some pictures:

The high is only 65F today, I think it needs a bit more heat to bring out the Hawaiian coral coloration. Hopefully this inflo will last until summer.

Kenny
elucas101
11 years ago
Awesome Kenny! Even with the light coloration I can see the silky texture the Hawaiian Coral seems to have in grower pics, very pretty. Sounds like you picked up a couple of other nice ones too, hopefully you'll have lots of pics for us this season!
jandey1
11 years ago
Dang, that's pretty, even with the paler color!
Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
11 years ago
Love the pictures, Kenny!

Jen is right, the color is beautiful! (. Hi Jen!)

Am I going to have to start looking for a Hawaiian Coral now? ;-)

Mmmmhmm, I think I just might!

Thanks for the pics, Kenny... You do a great job!

We are starting to see a slight warm up in my area, but of course.. I'm not home! darn... I'm in the northeast.. Chilly here!

Hi Mike! I know you are ready for the warm up too! Seems like all of my trees are ready to start with new growth, but I can't take them out yet, last year I was bringing them in and out. If I recall... I did that 4 times. I'm going to wait and hopefully not have to do that again this year. I'm not going to let them out until the low is around 50 degrees. Not going to play the run around with this many trees.. I know.. I said that before! Time will tell...

Hope all is well...

Good night!

Laura
beachplant
11 years ago
Mike, had to laugh, we are all complaining about the cold here and whining because it is only in the 70's next week.

Josephs nursery in Pearland has an excellent collection of fruit trees, they had several varieties of mangos when we were there a couple of weeks ago. I bought a lychee from them last year. They also have some awesome adeniums-picked up a double red thai hybrid for $12.

Let me dig through some old emails, I have an address for a guy in North Houston who has about 200 different plumeria for sale including some fairly rare ones & thai hybrids, not sure of his prices. Emerson I think is still in Florida, he usually comes home in April. Larry has his ad on Craigslist and he has a decent variety and wonderful prices (4 foot multi branched kimo I paid him $20 for). No telling what he has, he's as bad as us at swapping and trading. I haven't heard from Becky in LaMarque, I'll shoot her an e-mail, she has wonderful plants and one of her mothers cultivars that is to die for.
Maas is supposed to be getting plumeria but they had none this past weekend except a few left from last year back in the greenhouse. They can be very pricey.
None of the nurseries in the Heights has plumeria yet, Buchanans last newsletter said "coming soon".
Houston Garden Centers has mangoes but I didn't look to see what types, I am super allergic and avoid them, even the sap on my skin causes my throat to swell.

Have fun while you are down here. Everything is blooming so the pollen counts are through the roof.
Tally HO!
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years ago
Laura

it wont be to much longer. Cant wait to see pics of this years blooms.

Tally

thanks for all that info. Im driving down Tuesday and leaving Thursday so I wont have much time to check it all out, however Ill be back in about 3 months so what I miss Ill get to on the second trip. Ill be looking for a mango first, but im sure if I find a plumeria I cant live without it may find its way into the car, LOL

Mike

This post was edited by mksmth on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 9:29

Who's ready for spring?

Comments (11)

rox146

mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma

Related Discussions

Kenny
Original Author

Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia

mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma

Kenny
Original Author

elucas101

jandey1

Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia

beachplant

mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Who's ready for spring?

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

KennyOriginal Author

KennyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Kenny
Original Author

Kenny
Original Author