Gardening 2020

Azazel

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A Azazel If you don't prune forsythia, it will turn into a real mess and it doesn't take long. Years ago, our neighbors had a forsythia hedge between our properties. It was absolutely gorgeous and it was an absolute pain to take care of. We were constantly pruning our side of the hedge because it would grow out of control. We'd have to dig up the suckers. We were so glad when they took that hedge out. I think we gained almost eight feet of our property back!
Do you suggest I take it out while it's still little? I am committed to pruning it every year, but I also heard that the roots will end up going 20 feet deep so down the road if it does become a mess I think it will be hard to get out. I think it's in a bad spot - it's right in the middle of my perennial garden.
 

WillowMarie

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Do you grow your catnip outside in a pot or directly in the ground? I used to grow catnip in a large pot outside at my parents house. One year the plant went to seed and a seed somehow wound up in a bag of garden soil. The bag was unopened but I guess there was a hole in the side. The following year a huge catnip plant grew right out the side of the bag. I think I removed the plant from the bag and put it in a large pot.

It is in a pot! I was reluctant to plant anything in the garden because my mom uses a lawn care service that sprays fertilizer and weed control on the grass, but the little pellets also get flung into the garden. Do not want any of the chemicals to get into my plants. :)

That's crazy it grew inside the bag! What hardy little plants! What was container growing like for you? What size pot did you use? I read they can get pretty tall. I think the pot I put it in is between 2-3 gallons and I sowed 2 seeds? Only see one sprout so far, but if another sprouts trying to decide if I should only have 1 plant growing in the container. How'd your cats like the fresh catnip?
 

Winchester

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A Azazel If you're comfortable leaving it there and if you're committed to taking care of it with the pruning, it will be fine. Just be prepared for suckers and clean them out.
 

LTS3

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It is in a pot! I was reluctant to plant anything in the garden because my mom uses a lawn care service that sprays fertilizer and weed control on the grass, but the little pellets also get flung into the garden. Do not want any of the chemicals to get into my plants. :)

That's crazy it grew inside the bag! What hardy little plants! What was container growing like for you? What size pot did you use? I read they can get pretty tall. I think the pot I put it in is between 2-3 gallons and I sowed 2 seeds? Only see one sprout so far, but if another sprouts trying to decide if I should only have 1 plant growing in the container. How'd your cats like the fresh catnip?

I used a 10 inch self watering type pot. Catnip plants do get pretty tall but they don't need to be staked. I would put a couple seeds in the pot and then thin out to leave the bigger healthier plants. To encourage growth, pick off the lower leaves often until the plant is a couple inches tall.Those early little leaves don't have much catnip scent to them. I wait for leaves to be about a inch long or so before I pick them to give fresh or to dry. My cat at the time loved fresh catnip leaves. He didn't seem to care for the same leaves dried :dunno:
 

WillowMarie

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More seeds have sprouted!

Cilantro, 2 more germinated overnight for a total of 3. I always forget I put 2-3 seeds incase some don't germinate, but I always want to keep all the seedlings. Will probably only keep one because I don't know if my pot can sustain 2-3 plants?
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Big tomato, another seed germinated overnight.
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Catnip. 2 sprouts
1
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Strawberry germinated overnight! 2 sprouts so far, and I think I did 4 or 5 seeds total. One in each "corner" or side and one in the middle.
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These youngsters are in the bathtube tonight because we were supposed to get crazy winds up to 40+ and didn't want any damage. Swiss chard top, lettuce middle, and repotted small tomatoes and carrots at the bottom.
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Indoor small tomatoes growing lots of leaves!
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Succulent updates! These three that were in the box for 3 months and have been growing a lot!
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Winchester

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C catapault I want one of those statues so badly! I swear if I had one (and if I had a dog), I'd train the dog to purposely pee on the thing every chance it got.

Garden is coming along. Rick will be planting the last of the corn rows today. Everything looks good.
 

WillowMarie

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View attachment 338268View attachment 338269


We have been working on turning the two separate small hills/large slopes in our yard into flower gardens. While doing some weeding on the one section that we started planting last year, we found a luna moth! I have never seen one in person before!
Beautiful! And are those onion plants or...? The ones with the pink flower head.
 

WillowMarie

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Soooo... looks like my strawberry seedlings may not be strawberry. Other pots have similar looking sprouts while the actual seeds I planted have sprouted and look different. While I had been plucking the wispy cotton fluffs out of my pots, I believe they are sprouting. Never thought I'd have to weed my pots! 🤣 That'll give me something to do today.
 

Elphaba09

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Beautiful! And are those onion plants or...? The ones with the pink flower head.
Yep! They are giant allium! We have them randomly all over our yard with a bit of a concentration of them on the main hill/slope we are trying to turn into a flower garden--or anything else that is pretty and does not need to be mowed! Haha!
 

MoochNNoodles

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I have peas! They aren't ready to pick yet but they are coming along now. I was thinking it was time! They didn't grow as tall as I thought they would. But peas are peas! DH and I have been enjoying sugar snaps with hummus at dinner so I'm looking forward to eating some of our own too. :yummy:
 

catapault

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Hot and humid. The morning got taken up with a visit to the ophthalmologist. My appointment was for 10:20 a.m. Technician did her part promptly but I then sat around in the exam room for - idk - maybe 40 minutes waiting for the doctor. Made my dissatisfaction known and bingo, he was there in a few minutes. Procedure promptly taken care of, and we could go. It's already noon.

Decided to skip going shopping afterwards - it is a sunny day and my left eye is dilated. Glad Himself is driving.

Home, lunch, and I was determined to plant the two pots I wanted to deal with today - one large one up on the deck which now holds two good size tubers of Canna musaefolia and one decorative concrete pot with a white flowered four o'clock, Mirabilis jalapa 'Alba'. Got them both taken care of, and came in so wet I looked like I must have been swimming.

Rain in today's forecast but I did water both pots. You never know if the weather gods will cooperate. Or not.
 

Norachan

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The catnip sprouted!
I bought a catnip plant this year. It was beautiful when I brought it home, with loads of little purple and white flowers. Well, that cats started rolling and drooling all over it before I even got it in the ground. After 24 hours the poor thing was so shredded I decided to dig him up and put him in a pot in the bathroom to recover. He started to grow some new shoots, but than one of the cats got in there and ripped them all off again. It was tragic to see. I've buried his remains out back now.

:frown:
Catnip is in the mint family; and I believe any mint can spread like crazy.
Unless rolled in, bitten and drooled all over.

;)
we found a luna moth!
Oh, is that what they are called? We get lots of those here in the summer.

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W WillowMarie here are my cacti and succulents.

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This is the one I'm thinking of cutting the top off. What should I do with the stem? If I leave it in the pot will it keep growing? As you can see there are a couple of little babies growing from the leaves that dropped off.
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I don't know what kind of succulent it is, but he looks quite healthy.
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catapault

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I think it is an aeonium, Norachan Norachan

There is a cactus and succulent society with chapters across the United States. Some members are erudite and world renown, many are just enthusiastic hobbyists. Maybe look for a chapter close to home and when things open up again perhaps go to a meeting. I know they have plant swaps, plant sales, and shows. No, I'm not a member. But my dear friend, Dr Jerry Barad, was doyen of the Philadelphia group. He had not one but two greenhouses for his plants.

Here are links to two books on growing succulents that I reviewed:
BelleWood-Gardens - Diary
and
BelleWood-Gardens - Diary
plus a garden event at Wave Hill about succulent care and cultivation
BelleWood-Gardens - Diary

I know it looks like there is one link repeated three times but when you click on each one it will take you somewhere different on my website. It is just something that TCS does with my links.
 
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posiepurrs

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Took out my mustard in the vegetable garden day before yesterday since it was bolting and planted my serrano peppers in it's place. Yesterday before the rain hit, I got all of my large houseplants repotted. Since they are in 12 to 18 inch pots, it is no easy thing to do. I also repotted some of my seedling herbs into bigger pots and planted a tall butterfly weed for the butterflies in the yard. I want to work some more on removing the junipers, but it is going to be to hot and humid today. I will find something inside to do.
 
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