General questions from a new garden owner
1. I apologize for not knowing the name, but the bush against the garage with the pink flowers and in front of the house, it seems to have gotten quite wide. Is that something I just trim as needed to control its spread? Best if done in the spring? Again, I'm shocked at home big these plants have grown
2. The pictures don't show it, but the owners before invested a lot of money into the landscaping. The black garden cloth is not rolling up under the mulch and falling apart, weeds are coming through all over the place suggestions? My gut says take it up but we have .75 acres of property with a good portion landscaped is there a way to weed control without putting that stuff back down? Will heavy mulching work? Weed killer turning the weeds brown and my beds dirty looking. I liked putting annuals in around the perennials but had to cut holds in the cloth which seems to defeat its purpose ?
3. Perhaps you see the hens and chicks? One to my surprise shot up about 6 inches , bloomed and then collapsed now what? Lol will that stem fall off? Do I break it off? I'm perplexed
I appreciate all feedback this spring I was panicked with each cut of the shears that I was hacking up things I wasn't supposed to. People told me clean up in spring to protect plants from harsh snow, other said clean up in fall so insects don't bed down in the dead leaves. Everyone agreed if I was able to kill a hosta I had a real issue. Lol
Comments (7)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
fall veggies and a couple of general garden questions
Comments (4)70 is the magic number. Most of the common veggie seeds sprout when the temps are around 70 degrees, not too hot or not too cold. Plenty of the plants on your list will handle our winters without a problem but they have to be kinda large to do well since once the daylight shrinks in mid November there just isn't enough light to encourage strong growth. So you have to either start seeds indoors under lights and wait for the summer heat to go away (please please please) or buy seedlings from the garden center. I imagine stuff will show up at the end of August. Carrots taste sweeter if grown in the winter. The biggest problem is that it takes all winter long to get large carrots and they don't sprout well in high heat, and they hate being transplanted so you're at their mercy - sow seeds in mid or late August and don't expect big carrots until next spring. Beets taste better if grown during the cool part of the year also. They're easy and grow fast and don't mind the cold. Chard looks better in the winter but you can grow it pretty much all year long here. (It is just a beet that doesn't form much of a bulb). I've planted my last crop of green beans now and should be picking beans up until frost. There's still plenty of time for them. Bok Choy and all the other Asian greens can be sown the minute the daytime temps get under 85 (hopefully 70). They don't sprout much in high heat. They usually hold up during the minor freezes. The leaves sometimes show damage from harsh winter weather - but usually they do fine and taste better with nightly frosts. Brussels Sprouts are only worth growing if you're gonna leave them on the plant through the winter - otherwise they taste just like storebought cabbage. The sprouts will kinda stand still once things cool off but they get candy sweet when the nights get frosty. I get better broccoli in the winter than in the spring but I usually have to plant store bought seedlings a couple of times to get them in the ground right when the temps cool off - it's always a guessing game. If your garlic bulbs haven't rotted they will resprout and grow all winter - they are unfazed by cold. As far as what else can you grow - I like Arugula or Rocket and any of the small Cress greens. Stuff like Fava beans will grow through the winter here but you don't get beans until mid Spring (keep in mind that some people are allergic to Fava's). I would also plant some Shallots - they do well, are as easy as garlic and you can pluck out a bulb or two whenever you want one rather than having a season like garlic. I protect my winter greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) with a plastic covering and have never had a problem with the cold. A 4 by 4 space devoted to greens will feed you til next spring when you can grow them without protection. Good luck....See Moregeneral maintenance garden question
Comments (4)nihal, Ideally soil consist of three parts: 50% solids, 25% water and 25% air. The solids provide a structure to hold roots and nutrients. The water/air component fluctuates depending on the amount of water applied to the soil. Water is used for metabolic processes and to dissolve and transport nutrients. Air (oxygen) is used for respiration in the roots. Because most roots never penetrate more than three feet below the soil level, the water/air ratio below that level has no effect on plant health/growth. So, with info lets look at the possible reasons for the problems/conditions you described. Because of the heavy rains and disrupted water drainage ( concrete slab) the water/air ration moved toward low air %. The excess water caused root rot and the lack of oxygen did not allow for new root growth which affect nutrient uptake thus the yellow of leaves and the "sickly" appearance of your plants. I suggest that when you fertilize to do so using half the recommended strength for the first two monthly applications and full strength monthly for the rest of the growing season. Don't start regular water until the plants begin showing signs of wilt. Check for wilt in the morning rather than at night because plants will natural wilt after a day in windy sunny conditions. The peat you added will improve the soil texture and water hold capacity rather than have any great nutrient value since peat is very low in available nutrients. Come back this forum if you have further questions....See Morenew to plumeria and gardening in general, simple question
Comments (5)It definitely looks like some sort of rhizome. I'd pot it up and see what it turns out to be. Once it gets bigger with some leaves you can post a photo on the "name this plant" forum if you still don't know what it is. Karyn...See MoreNew gardener with general questions
Comments (2)I don't know about your planting dates, but you can find that on the internet. Find out what zone you are in, do a search for planting zones. Then find out your last frost date, also easy to find in a search. For example, here in north Miss. around Tupelo our average last frost day is april 15. After that we are pretty sure we can put out our warm season veggies like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash. What I would highly recommend for you is to build some simple raised beds. You can use cinder blocks, wood, brick, railroad ties (don't use treated lumber due to the toxins). You can lay cardboard or newspaper over the area you want your raised bed, wet it, and then add compost and garden soil. Do a little research on "raised beds", "square foot gardening" and "lasagna gardening." it will be very enlightening and definitely something to put yourself into. Most experts recommend like 4x4 foot raised beds. you can do squares, rectangles, triangles, whatever at various spots with mulch or grass mowed between your beds. It is also a good idea to rotate your crops from year to year, whereby you plant tomatoes in area 1, for example, and the following year, plant something else there. That way if viruses or insects are there that love tomatoes, they will not increase and take hold by having tomatoes there every year. Yuou can read about this under "crop rotation." I plant my veggies in with my flower beds, but I am seriously considering the geometric shaped raised beds becoz I want to get more food production. Hope this helps you some. Laurie...See More- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
#1 hack that thing back now or anytime. If you cut back shortly after first bloom you can get this shrub to rebloom. Cutting it in Fall will do no harm. Holding the large sheers backwards to the plant you will find a nice ball is easy to achieve if you like that look.
#2 Black cloth is an amateur move. As you see it doesn't work, it chokes roots and harbors slugs. Heavy mulch is used by many, me I don't use either. My plants are all so large once leafed out no dirt shows.
#3 I am new to succulents this year. Trying figure them out too. I would say the sprout you saw was not from a hens/chicks but companion succulent.
7 years ago
7 years ago- 7 years ago
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)