to be a pretty good gardner. Went to Home Depot and Lowes yesterday. HD was a huge disappointment - no annuals in flats - only pots and no variety. Lowes had about 4 kinds of annuals in flats - NO VARIETY. HD's plants were expensive and looked to be in poor condition.
While at Lowes I bought two climbing roses - Joseph's Coat (which I had in Califonia and it was beautiful) and Don Juan (deep red rose). They were very inexpensive - $3.97 and $6,97 respectively. The only other rose I bought was $16 at a garden center but it was on Fortuniana stock. According to the Gardenweb and Floridata sites I have been camping out at, Florida roses are subject to little nematodes in the soil and only roses grown on Fortuniana stock (or certain old garden roses which I really don't like that much) will survive. I asked the guy at Lowes if my roses were on Fortuniana stock and he said no, they are on Dr. Huey stock which is the one for Florida. He volunteered that Fortuniana stock was for the west coast. Back to the boards where the people are telling me he's WRONG. They say new roses will survive for a while and then succumb to the nematodes. I think I'll plant them anyway and plan to move before that happens!!!!
I bought two huge bagfulsof exotic bulbs - cannas, rain lilies, ginger, tuberoses, gloriosa lilies - I don't even know what all. Welll I do know about the cannas. Strangely I bought a lot of the bulbs about two weeks ago on the day that Walmart was putting them out. Today the guy at Lowes told me that was the last of the bulbs. They won't be getting any more. So I guess it's ok if I plant them now. I was planning on waiting a couple of weeks.
The datura seeds I started are damping off. One nice seedling so far and I have a few seeds left. I am tempted to throw them in a nice shallow pot I have, put it out on the patio and see if they don't come up.
Don't appear to have lost anything in the freeze except some croton and elephant ears (not my favorites) and the damn bananna tree (which I would love to get rid of). I think I am going out there and cutting it to the ground. If it comes back fine, until I can get someone to take it out. If not, hurray! It just looks so awful now.
WHy did the former owner have to plant big plants right in the middle of the yard? cuts off half the yard and all of the view. Dumb. I have a lot of crepe myrle trees which are barren now. I don't know if they are alive. They do go dormant.
Gardenia which I forgot to cover seems fine. It was a riot to see all the different colored sheets tucked over all the plants. My daughter decided to help me and it was all I could do to prevent her from using my best sheets. "They'll wash" she says. Yeah but why not use the old, old ones?
I forsee some problems. Lots of soil amendments come in 40 pound bags and I am having trouble living them. I am buying potting soil in 20 pound bags and struggling with those.
I don't understand the lack of annuals. Remember how it is up north with racks and racks of different annuals. I did not get my Park seed catalog and am writing for one. Strange I get mail every day that belong to the people who used to live here. I just mark it please forward and put it back in the mail box, but I have NEVER gotten anything marked that way from my old house and the jerks that bought it. I did not get my tax forms. I think they are just throwing my mail away.
Vent over - I'm going outside now.
Thanks for listening.
While at Lowes I bought two climbing roses - Joseph's Coat (which I had in Califonia and it was beautiful) and Don Juan (deep red rose). They were very inexpensive - $3.97 and $6,97 respectively. The only other rose I bought was $16 at a garden center but it was on Fortuniana stock. According to the Gardenweb and Floridata sites I have been camping out at, Florida roses are subject to little nematodes in the soil and only roses grown on Fortuniana stock (or certain old garden roses which I really don't like that much) will survive. I asked the guy at Lowes if my roses were on Fortuniana stock and he said no, they are on Dr. Huey stock which is the one for Florida. He volunteered that Fortuniana stock was for the west coast. Back to the boards where the people are telling me he's WRONG. They say new roses will survive for a while and then succumb to the nematodes. I think I'll plant them anyway and plan to move before that happens!!!!
I bought two huge bagfulsof exotic bulbs - cannas, rain lilies, ginger, tuberoses, gloriosa lilies - I don't even know what all. Welll I do know about the cannas. Strangely I bought a lot of the bulbs about two weeks ago on the day that Walmart was putting them out. Today the guy at Lowes told me that was the last of the bulbs. They won't be getting any more. So I guess it's ok if I plant them now. I was planning on waiting a couple of weeks.
The datura seeds I started are damping off. One nice seedling so far and I have a few seeds left. I am tempted to throw them in a nice shallow pot I have, put it out on the patio and see if they don't come up.
Don't appear to have lost anything in the freeze except some croton and elephant ears (not my favorites) and the damn bananna tree (which I would love to get rid of). I think I am going out there and cutting it to the ground. If it comes back fine, until I can get someone to take it out. If not, hurray! It just looks so awful now.
WHy did the former owner have to plant big plants right in the middle of the yard? cuts off half the yard and all of the view. Dumb. I have a lot of crepe myrle trees which are barren now. I don't know if they are alive. They do go dormant.
Gardenia which I forgot to cover seems fine. It was a riot to see all the different colored sheets tucked over all the plants. My daughter decided to help me and it was all I could do to prevent her from using my best sheets. "They'll wash" she says. Yeah but why not use the old, old ones?
I forsee some problems. Lots of soil amendments come in 40 pound bags and I am having trouble living them. I am buying potting soil in 20 pound bags and struggling with those.
I don't understand the lack of annuals. Remember how it is up north with racks and racks of different annuals. I did not get my Park seed catalog and am writing for one. Strange I get mail every day that belong to the people who used to live here. I just mark it please forward and put it back in the mail box, but I have NEVER gotten anything marked that way from my old house and the jerks that bought it. I did not get my tax forms. I think they are just throwing my mail away.
Vent over - I'm going outside now.
Thanks for listening.
)
