Plant Failures - Or Maybe They Need Time?

Before I show the many successes in early to mid September how about some time for the wanna bees around here? Probably mentioned in the past, the Columbines are real friggin slow to do anything. The one below was sowed in May of 2010...maybe it was June. Oh well. Most of the others are barely making it. Maybe next spring I will be surprised with this perennial? It did have some nice growth earlier this summer but no sign of flowing.

Hollyhocks. I have two in this area that were started  in March of 2010. Give or take a month. Barely hanging in about two inches high...

Blanket Flowers! Started in late March this year. Most were on the porch until a few weeks ago, but a few since June. Hardly any growth. Barely three inches if they can stand on their own. Maybe next year?

Lupine and Painted Daisy...started about the same time.

Not much of a failure but I may as well take note of the climbing hydrangea next to the creek. No flowers this year but has been growing steadily all spring and summer. Probably now at 12-15 feet height.

Pikes Family Nursery - A Good Alternative

The company had been mentioned several times at Dave's Garden so I investigated more by making two visits. One in Cumming and the other in Woodstock, Georgia about two weeks ago. After all I'm finding it's getting boring seeing the same old thing at Lowes and Home Depot.

Great landscaping out front! Only if I had a pic of the right side front entrance that was loaded with Angelonia.

Anyway some things the other places don't carry that I found interesting.

• Lysimachia golden globes - similar to creeping Jenny but with yellow flowers in mid summer.
• White star creeper
• Snow in summer 
• Duranta Aurea

Getting late into the season. Not as many small annuals are around, but I managed to get sucked into some actual house plants. No, they won't be going into the house! The looked unique so I thought why not, but I didn't really know what I was buying.

Some names...

• Alternanthera Dentata
• Acalypha - Tiki Peach Whirl
• Rex Begonia
• Swedish Ivy

Pikes is a great alternative but only one drawback; good descriptions of plants are lacking. Sure I could have pulled out that Iphone and handled  some internet searches but it's so damned slow. I don't understand the popularity really. Prices a bit higher or on par with the big box stores in the items I was looking at. Plenty of selection and a vast indoor area (not shown) for other accessories, soil etc.

Here are some previews of what's been going on around here. Naturally the Impatiens are thriving like crazy..

...and so is the creeping Jenny. So much that it can be found in about six locations now. Hey the lawn is actually hanging in there too. Overall, great differences from this time last year.

Coleus Update

Yessir, those ugly ducklings. Or at least that was my view two years ago. Growing from seed takes forever by the most recent results. I did transfer a few into larger containers (below) but I don't see how that's going to make any difference. The roots aren't any longer than one inch if that.

So, rather than wait until the first frost to see what they really look like, I've picked a few here and there from local garden centers and rooted them. These were done about six weeks ago. Probably only three inches high and 3-4 leaves then...doing well in about four hours afternoon sun...hot too, but they grow better than being in the shade. Ten inches high or thereabouts but bushing out.

Looking at other offspring from the same mother plant these were just planted out after spending the same amount of time in deep shade. One (rear) was actually rooting in another location that had high shade. Quite a difference in color and size.

More from the garden shops. Cost? About 50 cents each when considering the cost of the momma plant. Multiplied several times over year after year, the cost will be pennies. I plan to take samples of all to Florida this winter and root for speedier growing next spring.

Multiplying Plants Through Rooting

Considering the local Lowes doesn't get what I want these days; namely different colored annuals I thought I'd try my hand at propagating through rooting. Easy peasy the message boards say. Yea, some are some are not. Easy ones Impatiens and Coleus. Tough ones or ones I haven't figured yet include Vinca and Angelonia (that happen to go grow extremely well here)

So here's the progress..

One reason for doing so many Impatiens is I'd like to have this place flush with color come this fall. I mean everywhere. So far approximately 150 plants rooted. All seem to be working well. And I always wanted to try New Guinea Impatiens but didn't want to pay the steep price. So I found two plants discounted at WalMart and managed to get 26 rooted.. They're doing well too.

Not so successful is an attempt at a climbing hydrangea first rooted May 26. Three tried and three failed. Oh well, the first attempt. I know what I did wrong and plenty of time to get some good plants by winter. Give it 4-5 years and I'll have several climbing on the trees around here. Never did get around to pics but this is the second try. They have their own private greenhouse in the woods.

 
Reference to procedure

Fairly easy to get things rolling around here where there's moisture. I have several very dry areas that are troublesome. Remember the Oxalis from last spring? Only a few came back. What an expensive failure. I've been meaning to see if the "corns" or seeds are still in the ground and try another location.

Stepping Stones Made From Soil

I think I have the right idea but it didn't come out too well. First sculpt a mold in the hardened soil where the mix will be dumped. I figured a two inch depth would give it some good stability.

Why not ad some reinforcement? Chances are this idea may fail without the right strength mud mix so why not use up all that chicken wire I have downstairs?

My attempt at looking to alter the final mix color didn't fare too well here. I thought I'd try some ash from the fireplace. It toned down the clay color a tad, but you can see... Lowes actually sells a powdered product made by Quikcrete that would cost about a dollar I (guess) for each block or stone. On to more thinking, I recall Adobe brick is sometimes made with dung (animal poop) so why not pay a visit to the farm for a load? I'm thinking it would be economical and may work to get a darker slate like charcoal color. Cost would probably come down to 12 cents per block or stone.

Not much luck in trying to achieve a slate like textured surface so I settled for using crumpled aluminum foil. Going to have to work on this idea. Realistically I did not spend much time on this aspect.

Looks kind of tacky eh? No contrast with the surrounding soil. 4 parts clay soil, one sand, one ash, 1 1/2 cement.