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carolm

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Everything posted by carolm

  1. carolm

    ROS "Blue Satin"

    Have a Hibiscus in a 5 gal. pot and I want to make sure it'll get enough light to bloom where ever I put it. So...will this year's blooms, (later this summer), reflect the light conditions that it received this summer or the previous summer? Thought I would test out a spot before I put it in the ground.
  2. I have a ~5' x 5' x 6' tall portable greenhouse that's situated on the east facing side of my elevated deck. While it warms up nicely during the day--about 20-30 deg. above ambient, it doesn't hold the heat at night. By the morning its about 3 deg. below outside air temp. So, two questions: Is there anything I can do to hold the heat in at night? (Ground cover, bubble insulation, I'm thinking passive heat retention). And, given the temperature fluctuations, is it of any use to keep plants in there, even if its to start the hardening off process?
  3. carolm

    Trashy Tuteur

    I made something very similar to that with the ribs of an old patio umbrella. Thinking of trying scarlet runner beans and/or lablab on it.
  4. Steve, I've tried Corydalis elata once and I think I got it to survive for a couple years. I suspect you're right about it being a matter of finding a good site for it. I'm going to try morning sun and total afternoon shade this time.
  5. I'm about to get a shipment that includes Blue Heron corydalis , (Corydalis curviflora var. rosthornii). Has anyone grown this successfully? Still trying to figure out the best place to put it to ensure survival past the first year. Was even thinking of potting it up this summer to grow it out and putting it in the ground in the fall.
  6. I've had thick bark mulch on my easement for 2 years now. Last year I augmented it with a weed barrier followed by several more inches of wood chips. Guess what's trying to poke through all that, after being absent for 2 seasons?
  7. I did end up sowing some dwarf siberian kale during the warm spell a few weeks ago. Came up just fine and seemed to weather the few days of frost. Slow growing for now, but I suspect it'll pick up where it left off when it warms a bit more.
  8. Actually, I prune it whenever I need to in order to keep it in bounds. Usually several time over the summer I'll cut out stray branches. Especially the ones that grow straight up. But its never a major pruning. I do the mowing but I'm not a duck. Just the result of a small electric model.
  9. I wouldn't give up on the wisteria flowers just yet. Took mine a few years to really get going, but now I look forward to May, (or maybe April this year!) when I get displays like this.
  10. The black plastic pound-in edging always worked for me. Just have to tap them back in every spring after a winter of frost heaves.
  11. Great! I'll give it a try and report back.
  12. Yep, the salamanders are running, found some spotted salamanders last night. Also starting to hear peepers.
  13. Planning on pulling off the (matted) leaf mulch out of my beds this week. Would like the smaller bulbs to have a better chance to grow. Also thinking of "winter sowing" some seeds directly. Is there any reason why I *shouldn't* be doing this? The ground won't be bare--there will be plenty of leaf litter that won't come up easily.
  14. Did you mean Christopher Reed?
  15. Sounds like they want you to mimic fall/winter conditions before planting. If you're really intent on starting some seeds this spring, I would give them the 24 hour soak, then aliquot them out into several packets and put them in the fridge. (As long as the temperature is above freezing, I think you'll be ok). Then you could take out a packet at 30 day intervals and see if you can get them to germinate. It could very well be that 90 days is the minimum cold requirement, but its possible the instructions are erring on the safe side.
  16. Been reading about this new gardenia, hardy to 0 deg. Really tempted to give it a try. Does anyone have any experience with it? Where can I buy one?
  17. I think its recommended that chocolate cherries get picked early. I've been able to ripen whole green clusters of them when I pull up the plants in the fall, with only a slight decrease in flavor.
  18. Saw and heard a house finch singing yesterday too. Its starting...
  19. Going to try kale this year and want start the first crop in spring. Can I winter sow some seeds or do I need to make space indoors for a flat?
  20. If you're into cherry tomatoes, try chocolate cherry. Very productive plant, good sweet tomato flavor.
  21. Well, that's it then. Someone needs to engineer a mecanopsis with a reduced nightly respiration rate. In the meantime, I'll experiment with different spots in the yard too. Might even grow some as annuals, (allow them to flower the first year).
  22. After resisting for many years, I've fallen under the spell of the blue poppy. Went ahead and ordered some Meconopsis lingholm seeds. (Its a cross between Himalayan and Tibetan blue poppies). I have not doubt that I can get them to germinate--I did it once years ago. But never tried actually putting them out in the garden. Has anyone in SE MI attempted this? Is this folly?
  23. It seems there are some robins who routinely overwinter in the Arb here in AA. But this is the first winter I've actually heard them singing in the evening! That usually doesn't happen for another month or so.
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