Gardening 2020

[catapault]

This afternoon I finished repotting the Rhodophiala bifida, aka oxblood lilly or schoolhouse lily. They're like a miniature red amaryllis, see


The bulbs are native to Chile and were introduced to Texas. Obviously I keep them indoors in winter. Long lived. I have some a friend shared with me back in 1989.

Next to repot are freesia, lachenalia, and oxalis. I should finish just in time to start moving tender plants - begonias and such - into the greenhouse. Then a hard frost will blacken the cannas and I'll need to unpot (rather large pots, rather too many of them) and pack away for winter. Then cut back and winterize the bananas. Have I ever mentioned my outdoor bananas? here in New Jersey?
This is what they looked like when I uncovered them back in May


and this is what they looked like in late August

 

[WillowMarie]

Holy moly, do the bananas grow fast! Have you had any harvests yet?? How much larger can the banana plant grow?

 

[Graceful-Lily]

How do I stop the canna lilies from growing while they are drying out? I checked on the bulbs today and they are putting out new roots already and all the new shoots are pointing up. This thing is tougher than I thought. And I was so scared to cut it.

 

[catapault]

I usually wait until my cannas get knocked down hard by frost.

I don't know where you are orbiting the earth, Graceful-Lily Here in New Jersey that's usually late October or even November. Your canna never got the signals that the growing season is over. It was just abruptly cut back so of course it's going to try to keep on growing.

And for W WillowMarie My bananas only flowered and fruited once in the more than 10 years I've had them. While it is a (relatively speaking) hardy species I grow it for looks, not fruit. The bananas are small, fibrous, and not very edible. I have used the leaves as wraps for cooking. Bananas are herbaceous, like an ornamental grass or garden perennial. What you see in the August picture is all this year's growth. They get cut down after frost, mulched with leaf filled buckets, and more leaves piled under a wooden "roof" that I put up.

Update: The earliest digital pictures of the bananas I have are from 2006

 

[Graceful-Lily]

You're right... I wanted to wait but I was scared we'd have a frost here and they'd get ruined. I was told to not let them get below 0 and we've had several nights lately that have gotten close to that point. I was also told they need 3 weeks to dry out so I figured by the time they got dried out, it would be negative temperatures outside. Yikes.

 

[catapault]

Graceful-Lily O.K. You are somewhere using Centigrade scale, not Fahrenheit. Remember that soil, even in a flower pot, does not cool down as rapidly as air temperature. Cannas will not be killed even if the top growth is damaged unless the soil freezes.

Unexpected end of October snow. These were just fine, tubers plump and firm when I emptied the pot.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Oh boy... what should I do now?

Maybe I can pot the rhizomes into seperate pots and just keep them by the livingroom window for the winter instead of storing them. They seem pretty keen on continuing their growth so perhaps I should just allow them to continue.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

A couple of shots of Mr. Raccoon in the tomato patch.View attachment 350211View attachment 350213

Oh stinker! They are my son’s favorite animal so we love them; I just don’t want them raiding the garden. My grandparents lived in a long-established suburb; but they had to lock up their trash cans if they had chicken wing bones in there. Grandpa caught them red-handed raiding the trash!

This afternoon I finished repotting the Rhodophiala bifida, aka oxblood lilly or schoolhouse lily. They're like a miniature red amaryllis, see
View attachment 350217

The bulbs are native to Chile and were introduced to Texas. Obviously I keep them indoors in winter. Long lived. I have some a friend shared with me back in 1989.

Next to repot are freesia, lachenalia, and oxalis. I should finish just in time to start moving tender plants - begonias and such - into the greenhouse. Then a hard frost will blacken the cannas and I'll need to unpot (rather large pots, rather too many of them) and pack away for winter. Then cut back and winterize the bananas. Have I ever mentioned my outdoor bananas? here in New Jersey?
This is what they looked like when I uncovered them back in May
View attachment 350221

and this is what they looked like in late August
View attachment 350224

Some people up the road have them growing here. They are huge!! It looks like they take over the front walk to their house; but I suppose it also gives them some privacy too. Their yard is wooded on 3 sides so its kind if funny to see a tropical looking plant in the woods!

 

[rubysmama]

I bought this pot, and know about cutting back the canna. Wondering about the orange guy. Is it a perennial, and if so, how can I protect it over winter.

 

[catapault]

rubysmama The orange celosia is an annual. If you like, cut off the orange flower with as long a stem as you can manage, hang it upside down to dry, then keep for a winter arrangement. That your cat will probably also enjoy . . .

 

[catapault]

MoochNNoodles I think we must be talking about two different plants. Rhodophiala only grow 12 to 15 inches tall.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

MoochNNoodles I think we must be talking about two different plants. Rhodophiala only grow 12 to 15 inches tall.

I’m referring to the bananas.

 

[catapault]

Since I don't know where your cats are, MoochNNoodles and your quote starts with my Rhodophiala I assumed that's what you were referring to. My bad.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Since I don't know where your cats are, MoochNNoodles and your quote starts with my Rhodophiala I assumed that's what you were referring to. My bad.

I just quoted the whole post. Highlighting sections on my phone is a pain to get accurate. I assumed we would know what one I was talking about too.

 

[rubysmama]

rubysmama The orange celosia is an annual. If you like, cut off the orange flower with as long a stem as you can manage, hang it upside down to dry, then keep for a winter arrangement. That your cat will probably also enjoy . . .

Thanks!

 

[Graceful-Lily]

My canna lily seeds have started emerging from the soil. There are 7 out in total. I harvested 28 seeds if I remember correctly. Not sure where to put all of them.

 

[posiepurrs]

Is anyone besides me worried about being able to get seeds next season? With Covid still affecting the nation and the wildfires all over the west, not to mention the screwy weather I have a feeling that there will be some shortages. I have been seed saving as much as I can, but am planning to order as early as I can.

 

[Norachan]

Is anyone besides me worried about being able to get seeds next season? With Covid still affecting the nation and the wildfires all over the west, not to mention the screwy weather I have a feeling that there will be some shortages. I have been seed saving as much as I can, but am planning to order as early as I can.

I haven't thought about seed shortages, but I've been harvesting hosta and lupine seeds so I can try growing some of those next spring.

 

[posiepurrs]

I just ordered the rest of my seeds with the exception of mustard greens (haven't found the variety I want), onions and potatoes (because they don't keep well). I will have to enlarge the garden again. I have 22 varieties coming not including the edible flowers and herbs. Hope springs eternal that next years garden will be better!!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I am not really concerned about a shortage. It seemed more like shipping issues than availability. Some things came back in stock as things calmed down. I saw plenty of leftover seeds in the stores the times I was out too. I will order earlier than normal though. I've ordered in January before and I should have done that this year. I usually get seed catalogs in the mail around Christmas or the first of the year. One thing holding me back is that germination can go down with time. I don't know if I want to risk things not sprouting. Some of what I got this year didn't sprout well and i had to replant. That was frustrating too.