New pics of Hosta-poppin' from my Baltimore balcony
After I cleaned away old leaves yesterday, I discovered that my hostas had been busy under their covers, with many more pipping than I originally thought. Here are some pics heralding a new season of HOSTAS.
My ID got lost during the move - haft wait to see who I am!
1 or 2 days after watering - sure dries quickly on top!
These pips are HUGE - there is NO WAY this hostage is Cameo, which is teeny. I'll have to wait to see who this is, and see if I have to transplant it to a bigger pot.
"You're gonna need a bigger POT!"
I have no idea of who I am. Only time will tell!
Comments (18)
Esther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
Ken, now do you see what exactly I've been talking about? I stick my finger in there, it seems a teeny bit moist about an inch or two down. That's why I've been watering. Yeah, I have some long wooden skewers I could shove in there. So, do you think I should put the fabric grow bags into plastic shopping bags with holes in the bottom and mulch the top of the soil? I'm about 15' above the ground and yes, Maryland is windy. Also, do you think some of the hostas with a lot of pips, and that NOID with the huge pips should be transplanted into larger grow bags, and should I put the smaller pots on the top shelves on the bottom shelf and put the large pots on the top shelf, so that the larger hostas will not be cramped for headroom?
I have about eight 1-gallon grow bags left over from potting up the hostas. I want to sturdily sew the handles of 2 of them together--really sturdily--and then saddlebag them over the railing to put some annuals in. That will add some color. I might add some more strapping to make sure the handles don't rip out and dump on a passerby.
The screening I put up is mostly to keep my little tortie and white shadow Zizu from falling or leaping through the railing. My heart stopped early last week when that little scamp casually walked right through the railing onto the 9" or so of balcony outside the railing and was walking back and forth. Amazon got an immediate order for 1/2" vinyl coated hardware cloth. I used cable ties to adhere it top, bottom, and center to the bars, so it's sturdy. And it looks very neat, the way I did it.
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Newest Pics of my garden(s)
Comments (15)Moccasin, thank you so much for your profuse compliments. The "bones" of my gardens are perennials, filled out by various annuals each year. I mix in some Plant-tone and Osmacote when I prepare the soil before any plants have emerged. I stoop over and pull out any weeds that I see, as my plots are small enough to do that. It's very funny that you should mention smiles and hand waves from neighbors. I live down the street from one of the major city colleges. Not only do any and all neighbors nod and smile when they see me out watering my gardens (well, THAT'S not necessary tonight, major rainstorm going on right now and a floodwatch), but a great deal of the passing students compliment me as well. That makes me feel like I'm doing a community service. I was just thinking as I walked out this morning that since I started my elaborate gardens, more and more of the neighbors on my side of the street have taken the plunge. I am definitely seeing more garden plots being planted, both in front of the Obligatory Bushes, and in the soil squares located in the courtyards (some buildings are in courtyards here, some merely line the street like mine). I cannot say whether more people are gardening because they saw my gardens and got inspired, or if it was a case of convergent thinking. But my gardens do seem to be an epicenter, outward from which I see the newly planted gardens (even if it's just a row of petunias or such) up this year. If so, hurray! We all need more flowery beauty and the peace it brings in our lives. Gesila, the only heuchies I've had so far were Marmalade and Georgia Peach. As you can see, Marmalade is doing fabulously. The original Georgia Peach specimen wasn't the best one, it was the last one the local nursery had. This may well have contributed to its not making it through the winter. The nursery told me that since my new GP in its 12" pot is in a sheltered location, in the lee of the Obligatory Bushes, a bit of sheltering bubble wrap or such should be sufficient to get it through winters. I am thrilled that all my new baby heuchies are really growing apace, faster than my small hostas. I hope the baby heuchies continue in their robust health!! Maybe with Garden Cat watching over them, they will. Garden Cat's origin came from my spotting this adorable wire cat face on the 75% off table with other Halloween stuff. Finding just the right pot as a backdrop was quite a bit harder. I think I went to 4 stores/nurseries before luck drew my eye to the perfect white pot. All right, it wasn't on sale, but I bought it anyway because it was perfect for my Garden Cat....See MoreHow much water do my potted hostas need now out on my balcony?
Comments (15)I had a bar mitzvah to attend at a synagogue 1.3 miles from my home today. Not allowed to carry an umbrella or drive on the Sabbath, so I had to hoof it. Whew. I was wearing my North Face winter boots as part of my prep for the anticipated weather, a 700 down parka, and bringing a plastic rain poncho against the predicted sleet and freezing rain. Guess what? It proved NECESSARY! By the time I walked home, it was pouring freezing rain. Icicles actually formed on the edge of my parka hood! It was very slick to walk on iced sidewalks. But, walking home, I figured "At least my hostas on the balcony got of bit of water today!" See? I'm walking in terrible weather conditions, and what do I think about? My hostas! So, my hostas got a bit of watering today, right? WRONG. They are behind the railing, which is set back about 12" from the edge. I didn't see the wooden floor of the balcony the slightest bit wet. I will have to go out on the balcony tomorrow (fortunately, no precipitation predicted) and give a bit of water to all my potted hostas. Aw, the things we go through for our hostababies....See MoreSee how they grow - update on Baltimore Balcony
Comments (17)Yeah, the NOID is big enough now to I.D. as Cameo. Thanks, guys. Now I want to see if the other little NOIDs are Pure Heart and Country Mouse, or little offshoots which broke off other hostas during transplant to the fabric grow pots. There's about 2-3 pots of obviously small variety NOIDS. I also have one or two offshoots of Cracker Crumbs, but those I recognize....See MoreWent out to my balcony & took an inventory of who has pipped so far...
Comments (9)Zuzu is very cute! Zizu was mad with loneliness when I got back from the Patuxent Nursery in Bowie, MD with my friend yesterday. She solicited love from both of us. I totally forgot to get a new bleeding heart while at that FABULOUS nursery. They had varieties of annuals, perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, trees---anything---that I had only perhaps read about. And there they had it in the flesh. My friend found a dwarf fig she'd been looking and looking for. I found a new variety of petunia that was so lovely, I had to have one (Blackberry Cheesecake). They had amazingly beautiful Japanese maples with gold leaves and red twigs, red ones, plain green ones, species of shrubs I'd never heard of, varieties of veggies I'd never seen before (my friend found the chocolate cherry tomatoes she'd been seeking), every sort of paver, river stone, boulder, soil, sand, houseplants I'd never seen in the flesh (particularly good sansieviera variety), etc. A botanical wonderland, and the prices were good, too. They actually had rather few hostas, but they had a lot of different heucheras. There must have been 20 or more varieties of succulent groundcovers of every shape and color. I highly recommend going there....See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years agoEsther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agobkay2000
4 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years agobkay2000
4 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years agobkay2000
4 years agoEsther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agoEsther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoAs of today:
Taken through a rain-stained balcony window, pardon the spots.
undertheoaksgardener7b
4 years agoEsther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agobkay2000
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoEsther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agoBkay, I did indeed plan to plan my hostas in-ground after moving to Baltimore--but first I have to find a house I want to buy before I can do that. The virus may indeed delay that process. Meanwhile, the hostas and heucheras seem to be doing fine in their fabric grow bags, growing like crazy. Today I spotted at least 2 more pots with new pips that were not present yesterday, and numerous additional pips in pots that had already pipped. Several pots are unfurling.
This is the soil I used, mixed with coir, to pot them. It contains forest fines and organics such as bat guano, poultry manure and kelp meal.
If I find the house I want and buy it, then I will place my hostas in my new garden, in-ground.
As for the drying out, I will do some experimenting as discussed here, with wrapping the sides of the grow bags with saran wrap (leaving the bottoms open), putting some mulch on top of the soil in the bags, etc. I see that the company actually recommends mulching. This soil is good for use in pots, or mixed into ground soil for in-ground plantings.
I just submitted a question about watering, saran wrap, and mulch to the Kellogg company. Be interesting to see what they say.
undertheoaksgardener7b