Thank you for sharing your photos! I always enjoy seeing other people's gardens.

I've been taking photos, but DH has to reload our camera software, since we have had computer issues. So I will just tell you what's still blooming:

Gaillardia 'Goblin' ('Oranges & Lemons' would still be blooming, but I moved them. BTW, love the color on this one.)
Cosmos 'Ladybird Mix'
Solidago 'Fireworks'
Achillea is reblooming after deadheading
Mums, mums, and more mums - it's not fall without them! Though mine are too big for the spot I put them in and will probably have to be divided in the spring.

I planted three different types of iceplant this year - Delosperma congestum (yellow), 'White Nugget' which is still blooming a little, and Delosperma kalaidis 'Mesa Verde'. The yellow one is growing like a weed. I planted it on the west side of the house, where the bed is sloped and nothing else would grow well. It does get overspray from the lawn sprinklers and it has filled almost the entire area. It may have to be cut back next year, to keep it from strangling the other plants nearby. The other two types are in a drier area and are just small, but healthy clumps.

I am pleased with how much color I still have in the garden for the first of October.

Bonnie

Ooops! I forgot one. Dianthus knappii is also reblooming after deadheading it in August. It just glows a beautiful pale yellow. I love it!

My delphiniums rebloomed fairly well but it's too late for a photo.

Now, if you'll permit me, I'd just like to whine a little bit about what should have been my late bloomer Supremes! What happened to the dahlias this year . . ? . . .

There's an elderly couple whose home I drive past almost daily. They always have scads of flowers. Their dahlias, and there must be 30 plants or more, had one (count 'em, 1) that bloomed!! I only counted 2 dahlia flowers in their yard this year!

It's obvious that dahlias have problems with hot and dry weather - the red spider attacks them unmercifully. Well, there weren't many spider mites on them this year but after all the heat; I'd guess that they needed another week or 2 to ever get around to having many blooms. I'm sure that some plants out there only had a single flower. This must be my worse year out of nearly 20 for the number of flowers.

Have any of the RMG dahlia growers had years like this? And, how the heck to they grow these things commercially in Kalispell, MT with their short season?!? That's always been a mystery to me.

digitS'

The gardens are always gorgeous right before a freeze, which looks to be coming soon. Some things, like roses, get much darker and more intense.

What's still blooming? A lot. Way too much to list it all. Off the top of my head: mums, gaillardia, tropical, hardy, and shrub hybiscus, annual and perennial salvias such as salvia transylvanica, various dianthus, daylilies such as Happy Returns, Rosy Returns and Stella de Oro, many pansies are making quite a comeback, vaious hardy geraniums, loads of morning glories, polyheaded sunflowers, tithonia, lots of gladiolas, dwarf hollyhocks, a few delphiniums, lots of dahlias!!!, clematis a bit, rudebeckia, asters, tall sedums, sweet peas and most of my repeat blooming roses.

Cnetter,

Can you post a photo of Salvia transylvanica? I bought the seeds from T&M some years ago, but it didn't survive the winter that first year. Was supposed to be hardy, but I don't know what happened to it. Any special care you give it? Is it worth trying again? And if so, would you have seeds??? :-)

About Salvia transylvanica:
These aren't great pics:

I don't have seeds right now, because they've long since fallen out, and the current bloom is going going to freeze. But I should have lots next year.
It like some water, but not alot. About the same as lavender.

I'm having a godd dahlia year, but it's been humid alot of the time. These are horrible pics, due to bad lighting and floppy neglected plants, but there's lots of blooms. Taken a few minutes ago:

Hi Late Bloomer enthusiasts,
I planned Blue Mist Spriea and Rubber Rabbitbush in a low water section of my garden in Denver two seasons ago. They get about 15 minutes of water a week max, less in the cooler times. They are growing fine. I am suspicious that the Rabbitbush gets too much water because it is flopping over and some branches are broken.
And, both plants are only now starting to bloom. The sprieas started sooner in on section but about half of them are only now (mid-October) starting to bloom, and none of them with vigor. The rabbit bush has lots of buds, but they are only opening this week.
What's the problem? Not enough water, too much water? Do I need to fertilize and what kind/proportions? Is there anything I can do about the Rabbitbush flopping over?
I appreciate any ideas you might have or experiences to share that might help.
Thanks,
john

I suspect that the Spirea (Caryopteris) shrubs can survive on that little water but aren't thriving enough to bloom properly. They are a sensitive plant when it comes to watering, because I know they don't like too much water. Every year, I lose some because the soil on the other side of the fence is so moist from my neighbor (who waters his lawn almost every day!!!) and I think some of that moisture soaks over to my side. I've actually turned off the sprinklers that used to water mine, and now they only get a slight misting of overspray from the nearby lawn. But my neighbor is watering them plenty, and so I do have another one dying right now. The nice thing is that there are always four or five seedlings volunteering under each shrub, waiting to take the place of the old dying ones, and the young ones seem to tolerate the water and will grow for a few years.

Anyway, I think they can't stand too much water, but from your description, maybe they don't like as little as you're giving them, either. If I were you, I'd try a little more water next year, but don't overdo it.

My caryopteris quit flowering over a month ago. Ditto what stevation says about over-watering, but they do need some water. My best ones are on the drip line of the garage, and get what ever runoff there is, as well as, maybe, once or twice a summer with a garden hose.

I dunno about rabbit bush, but around here, it seems to do better in the ditches, so again it may need a bit more water than you're giving it.

Hi John,

I have a few questions! (As usual!)

When you first planted them, how did you water them the first year? Was it the same as youre doing now, or differently?

I know mostly about perennials, but what makes all xeric plants xeric (except succulents and cacti) is that they establish DEEP roots so they can draw on the water thatÂs deep in the soil even when the surface soil is dry. In order for them to establish the deep roots, for approximately the first year after theyÂre planted they need to be watered very deeply, gradually spacing out the time between waterings more and more. So when watering, the soil needs to be soaked deep enough to wet the soil BELOW the current level of the roots, and then, as the top of the soil gradually dries, the roots grow deeper and deeper in search of the water thatÂs below them. (Native plants that seed themselves do this naturally since they start as very small plants and establish their deep root system gradually as the plant gets bigger. When putting in big plants, however, they need help to grow their roots deep enough to be xeric.)

So if you were watering them for only short periods during the first year, I recommend you soak them REALLY deeply now before winter sets in. To do that, I recommend watering AT LEAST 2" of waterÂand with bushes, IÂd probably do 3". But, assuming you have some degree of clay, like almost all of us, to do that youÂll need to water for short (20-25 minute) periods with an hour or two between each watering for it to really soak in deeply. IÂd recommend starting with 2", and then leave the area sit for 24 hours, and then dig down near the shrubs to below where the roots are to see if youÂve REALLY gotten the water BELOW the level of the roots. If not, slowly add another inch.

If the soil below the roots is wet, the roots will be growing all winterÂanytime the soil isnÂt frozenÂwhich, here in Denver, is most of the winter (last winter excluded!!!)

Also, even with perennials, which have shallower root systems than bushes, watering just 15 minutes at a time does more good for the human being than it does for the plants. If you water your normal 15 minutes and then wait 12-24 hours and dig down in the soil, youÂll find the water is probably only getting a few inches into the soil. Start to measure your water. Get an inexpensive rain gauge or use a tuna can with the top cut off, put it halfway out from the sprinkler (or near the bushes) when youÂre watering, and water at least an inch at a time. If the water is pooling to do it all at one time, spread it out over a couple hours again, and water till you have an inch in the gauge or can. After a few times youÂll know about how long it takes with your particular sprinkler. And waiting for 12 hours after watering and digging in near your plants is a really, really good way to learn how long you need to water for it to be effective. For non-xeric plants, the water should be at least to the bottom of the roots, and for xeric, it should be below the bottom of the roots. And once the deep soil is wet, you shouldnÂt need to water very often at all since the deep soil will dry out very slowly, and mostly only as the plants use the water.

I suspect your bushes just arenÂt getting enough water down deep where they really need it. DonÂt fertilize now. Things are starting to go into dormancy, and feeding now would cause active growth which could delay normal dormancy and damage or kill them. They wonÂt need fertilizer when theyÂre dormant, so think about that next spring againÂbut I still suspect a really good deep watering will help them the most.

But with broken stems/branches in the rabbitbrush, are you sure thereÂs not some neighborhood critter thatÂs getting into them? Even if theyÂre thirsty, they should be wilting and/or just plain not looking good, but that shouldnÂt cause broken branches.

I hope I havenÂt said anything to discourage you. IÂm sure your bushes will be fine and bloom well next year.

Skybird

Thanks for the ideas! I guess I'm not watering too much anyway. I'm thinking they didn't get enough water early in the summer but are doing well now with more water but not blooming. The soil is not really heavy, more like clay loam, abosrbs water well. I will give them a good watering this month and see how they do next year.
I think I am going to take out the Rabbitbush. It is just too big for between the sidwalk and the street. If I shear it in the early summer it will just delay blooming more.
Thanks again,
john

Well, the camera software is back on my computer now, so I thought I would share a couple of recent photos of fall bloomers. The forecast is calling for a low of 23 degrees on Sunday night, so this is probably the end of the line for all these beauties!

Solidago 'Fireworks' next to Gaillardia 'Goblin'
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Gaillardia 'Goblin' in front of yellow Mum

Cosmos 'Ladybird Mix' (I harvested seeds from this one, if anyone's interested)
{{gwi:361841}}

Dendranthema 'Rhumba'
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... and one of my favorite combinations this year, Agastache 'Apache Sunset' next to Echinacea 'Summer Sky'
{{gwi:201053}}
Happy fall everyone!
Bonnie

Funny, I was just thinking about starting a post "Still Blooming" when you brought this one back to the top Bonnie!

Walking aroung the yard yesterday I was struck by the beauty of some of these late bloomers. Is it the cooler weather that enhances their color?

I have some marigolds with the dark rust outer petals and orange inner and the colors are so vibrant. I don't normally get excited over marigolds, but I just love these little fellows now.

Also I have a purple Wave petunia in a container that has just been magnificent these last few weeks. The color is so deep and rich. It's next to the garage door, so everytime I drive up and park I just stop and admire it.

Something else I'm really fond of are my little gazinias. I've never grown these before, but they have been steady bloomers with lovely bright flowers all summer long. I love the tidy shape of the plant and the way the daisy-like flowers are held above it. I will grow these again and again!

And lastly, I bought a bunch of baby perennials from Bluestone this year. One of them a Salvia Greggi "Wild Thing" has a few beautiful pink blooms on it. I can't wait until next year to see it really go!

Sorry I don't have time to post pictures. I'm getting ready to go on vacation, soooo I really shouldn't even be here. But who can resist?

ps. Bonnie, I love that last combo too! And the Solidago is way cool. I've never seen anything like that before.

This isn't exactly a comment on the blossoms but I was noticing this morning how thick and heavy the stems are on the gaillardia, shasta daisies, and even the snapdragons. It is as tho' they have slowed growth and are now just going for "sturdy" stems.

The few rudbeckia also have strong stems. I'm wondering if I'd cut them back 6 weeks ago (instead of just "cutting on them" for the last 3 months) if they would have rebloomed nicely by now. Don't notice any around town.

Oh, and the flowers are all nice on these plants - where they haven't been damaged by frost. I think the angle of the sunlight changes how we see the landscape. As well, this little bit of rain here has finally cleared the skies and the air is really fresh. I'm almost dizzy with the freshness - that and the 40 mph gusts!

digitS'

Im going to bump this one back up one more time! I had been planning to post here, but never got my pictures downloaded, so theres not as much blooming as there was a couple weeks agobut there are still some things.

My hardy cyclamen is still going strong! Its summer dormant, so this is its time to shine! (click on any to enlarge)

The mums have gone downhill since this pic was taken, but 3 of them are still looking pretty good from a distance. Its nice to still have their bright color out there.

No color, but the hardy pampas grass is just coming into its own! This is the first year its looking pretty good.

And my gentian, Gentiana septemfida, is still going strong. Its small, but it was just put in a couple weeks before the swap!

And my blackberry lily is blackberrying like mad! Its kind of hard to figure out whats what in the first picture, because, without thinking, I planted the blackberry lily right next to the hardy pampas grass. Actually, when I planted it I didnt think it would matter where it was, because I didnt believe it was going to survive anyway since it was so small. Its something I got in my one and only off-RMG swap. Most of the other stuff I got DIDNT survive. This is the first year its looked good, and Ill probably move it next spring. (The yellowish foliage is the blackberry lily!)

OK, this isnt a flower either, but its still pretty! Its the unknown Euphorbia several of you asked about at the swap. Here it is developing its pretty winter red-purple color. And to think, when I moved in here and saw it, I almost decided to pull it out!

My October Daphne (sedum) is also at its prime right now, but its still a very small plant this year, so I didnt bother taking a picture of it.

And then theres the annuals that I cant believe are still blooming. I dont seem to have a picture of it, by I have Crystal Palace lobelia here and there and it hasnt been phased by the low 20 degree temps. And the leaves have turned a nice purple. And my sweet alyssum is still growing as if it were the middle of summer.

And then theres the Hillside Pink Sheffields! Well, ok, its not exactly growing anymorebut it IS still bloomingin a 5-gallon bucket of water in my living room!
Heres the before picture

And I forgot to take a picture of it again before I downloaded these, but it looks pretty much like the before pictureexcept its now "growing" in a blue 5-gallon bucketthe only color 5-gallon bucket I have!

And thats about it for this "summer" I guess! The little fall crocus I got at the Fall Swap hasnt come up. I was hoping, but I guess it just wasnt in long enough to make it this year. Ill be looking for it next fall.

Happy leaf raking everyone,
Skybird

Thanks for posting your pics, Skybird! Your 'Hillside Pink Sheffields' look a lot like my Dendranthema 'Rhumba'. I love the color, but I planted them too close to my garden mums, and they are squished and hidden. In the spring, they are moving to a new spot, where they can spread out to their hearts content. In this picture the 'Rhumba' is completely hidden BEHIND the rust colored mum (one of the ones I posted about on my mum thread).

Is your Euphorbia green all summer? I've been thinking about getting Euphorbia 'Bonfire', it is supposed to keep it's reddish foliage throughout the summer.

Bonnie

Sorry about the huge picture! I resized it on Photobucket to a thumbnail, but when I copied it to my post it kept coming up full sized. BTW, how do you guys post the thumbnails side by side?

Thanks for the sidetrack! Bonnie

Sheffields is/was a Dendranthema too. But they keep changing the genus on them, so I dont know what they "properly" are now. The 06 Paulinos catalog still lists them as chrysanthemums, but I never got an 07 catalog, so it may have changed. In any event, youll find them listed both ways if you ever try to look anything up about them. That happens with everything when the "experts" keep switching genuses. Shasta daisies keep going back and forth from Leucanthemums to chrysanthemums too! We wouldnt want anything to be too simple!

I dont think your mum looks all that bad, by the waynot considering how you made it sound on your mum thread. Just enjoy them and start tying them together early next year. Havent your temps gotten into the 20's yet?

The euphorbia is just a volunteer that was tiny when I moved in here, so I dont really know anything about it. I assume its a straight species of some sortI find seedlings coming up here and there all over the yard. Heres a picture of it "blooming" in May.

The flowers (actually bracts) are almost non-existant, but theyre kind of wispily pretty, and Im starting to appreciate them more. In the May picture the winter red is turning green, and after they finish blooming I cut them all the way down so I can maintain a compact, good looking plant for the next winter, and it grows back all green until the weather starts to cool down again. Itll turn a deeper purple-red now and stay that way until spring again. I DO love evergreen things! I've tried to google it to find out what species it might be, but there are all kinds of things that are euphorbias, including poinsettias and a whole bunch of succulents, so it's impossible to try to research it.

To post pictures side by side, I just paste the links one right after the other. If the pictures are small enough for two to fit side by side, theyll post that wayif they dont fit, they automatically post above and below each other. At least thats the way it seems to work with Picasa. And when I have a short caption like the before and after pictures above, I just paste the link right at the end of the caption. Ive never used Photobucket, but Id think it would work the same way. If youve seen the butterfly thread I just started, I tried to post them side by side so they wouldnt take up so much vertical space, but the computer decided they didnt fit that way! If youre really posting the tiny little thumbnail size, Id think you could probably get 3 or 4 to post side by side. I dont usually use the smallest size, so Im not sure about that. At least since they come up the way theyll post in the preview, you can see if what youre trying to do works or not. (Did your preview show a huge picture, cause it sure didnt post that way.)

Skybird

Skybird, that picture was taken the day BEFORE the snow and lows in the 20's, LOL! When I heard the forecast, I ran out there with my camera to get pictures of anything still blooming. I don't have an AFTER picture, but believe me, it's flopping.

When I post thumbnails, they always show up one on top of the other, never side by side, so maybe Photobucket is different. I'm sorry I'm not more computer savvy. Shoot, if it wasn't for my techno geek DH, I wouldn't even have a computer that worked.

Bonnie

And if it wasn't for Stevation, I wouldn't be able to post pictures at all!

And Bonnie, if you just be sure you paste those image codes on the same line in your post, they'll show up side-by-side if there's room to fit that way. If you put one code snippet on one line and the next one on another line, they're just going to show up one below the other. But instead of pasting on a new line, just add a space after the previous code you pasted and past the next code right after the space.

By the way, these Delosperma iceplants are still blooming today. They're turning out to be an awesome plant!

Thanks for the info. Steve! My 'White Nugget' and 'Mesa Verde' Delosperma still have a bloom or two on them, but the yellow one, Congestum, doesn't get sun until after noon, and it quit blooming a long time ago. That's okay, it still makes a nice ground cover, even when it's not blooming.

Well, I resized them to thumbnails, and they are showing up side by side, but they aren't clickable thumbnails. Photobucket used to give you that option, but I can't seem to locate it anymore. I'm getting frustrated. Think I should call it a night.

Bonnie

I've noticed that with Photobucket, Bonnie. Whenever I click on a Photobucket picture, all I get is their advertising. I've never used anything but Picassa, so I don't know how they compare, but I've been very happy with Picassa. You download your photos, can edit them on Picassa, and then transfer them to Picassa Web Albums to post them. If you're looking for a new hosting site, I highly recommend it.

Skybird

Not if you click on my photobucket thumbnails, Skybird.
(See October 2 post in this thread)

Yep! Yours works! But then Bonnie needs some help figuring out how to make it work for her with Photobucket. Can you tell her what to copy and paste to make her photos enlargeable? I've tried other Photobucket posts around here too that just take me to advertising when I click on them. If it's Photobucket, I don't usually even bother to click on them anymore.

Skybird

You can always click on mine because I'll make sure it'll bring up a larger image.

I don't copy and paste something out of the Photobucket page, I copy the URL of the picture itself and make a link out of it, much the same way you make links to sites in your posts.

The advantage to doing it this way, is that it works no matter who is hosting your pictures.

If there is enough interest, I can come up with a cook book method for Photobucket, but I have to go play music right now.

Bonnie, I don't know if this will help you or not, but here's a link Cnetter posted on my Photo Hosting thread that tells how to do stuff in Photobucket. Number 5 is talking about clickable links that go to your album.

If this doesn't help, I'm sure Cnetter will be along to help more.

Skybird

I had forgotten about that. It creates exactly the right code for a thumbnail with a link to a larger picture.

The top code generated underneith
"HTML clickable thumbnails for Ebay, Livejournal, MySpace, etc. - recommended"

is perfect if you skip

errr..
perfect if you skip (center).

Bonnie

They're cute, Bonnie! Boy, you sure got a lot of them!

You could paint faces on a couple of them with glow-in-the-dark paint!

Funny you should mention that, Skybird! The boys were drawing pictures on a couple of them today. That picture was taken a month ago, and all of the green ones have ripened up nicely since then. I really want to use the trellis for a Charentais melon next year, but I am tempted to grow small pie pumpkins. Sigh!!! If only I had more space.

Okay, since you guys are such good computer tutors, how do you put the links within the text? I know how to do it at the bottom of a post, but not within the message.

Thanks for letting me stray off topic ... again!!!

Bonnie

HTML Links:

http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_url.asp

For links within the text, Bonnie, look at this website that Cnetter showed us a few months ago.

In that first sentence under "HTML Links," copy the code after . . . with an href attribute value like this:

I keep a copy of that handy and just paste in whatever URL address is needed for the link. It is my crutch for the links. I'm lame at doing all of this, otherwise.

digitalS'

Ah ha! Where was I during the 15 minutes it took for her to do it again?!?!

Well, there's this information about some radishes . . . okay, other people have more interesting research . . .

d'S'

You made me laugh Digit. Thanks!
I am feeling very invisible lately.

If Skybird didn't use that link in her template in another thread, I would have forgotten it.

Let me see if I get this. So if I wanted to put a link to Diane's Flower Seeds in my post, I would do it like this Dianeseeds.

Well, what do you know! It took a few tries. I kept getting an error page, but I finally found the right combination of // and > and ht's, LOL!!!

Thanks, guys! See you can teach an old dog a new trick!
Bonnie