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Anveo posted:
I am so excited for you in a few weeks when this peony blooms. They're a lot of people's favorite flower and for very good reason. They pop up out of nowhere and put on a huge spring show every year. On roses, cut back any brown canes to the bottom. It feels like you're doing murder when you properly prune a rose, but it means they put way more energy into new canes and blooms when you do. It looks pretty sparse right now so you shouldn't need to do more than that. If you want, you can throw a handful of rose food fertilizer at the base of it a few times a year and it'll like that. Roses are heavy feeders. ScamWhaleHolyGrail fucked around with this message at 15:25 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 3, 2023 15:22
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Yes please do
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May 3, 2023 16:12
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I appreciate all the helpful advice! Just to be clear, are you saying the following bushes are salvageable? If so, do I essentially remove everything laying on the ground?
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May 3, 2023 17:12
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All the brown, dead stuff can go, letting the green bits flourish. You got this!
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May 3, 2023 17:17
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Anveo posted:I appreciate all the helpful advice! Just to be clear, are you saying the following bushes are salvageable? If so, do I essentially remove everything laying on the ground? You can see the new growth coming in under the dead parts. So trim out all the dead parts with a shears to just over top where the new stuff is growing. Don't pull on last years growth and accidentally pull out the plant's roots. All the new growth will just jump out in the next couple weeks. Then after it dies back in the autumn you can cut it a lot lower for wintering.
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May 3, 2023 17:18
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So we've got a bunch of different hostas that came with the house, normal green ones, ones with white trim on them, etc. I don't know if I'm keeping them, but a few self selected themselves out of existence so that's nice. Below are my two varieties that came back this year, there's a third I planted last year but I forgot where and I'm too lazy to peel through all of my end of season photos, so I'll post that one when I find it. But my goal is to get 2-5 new varieties in the yard and only weird/big ones. I'm planning two Blue Mammoth's on either side of the stairs up to my door, another curly Q one and at least one of the weird wavy ones. Don't ask me why but I really like hostas Fire Island, doesn't get too big and hasn't grown out much yet but looking better than last year  My prize, my baby, my Empress Wu. This is her fourth year and she's approaching full grown size. I think I'll get at least one 24" leaf this year. 2 weeks ago  Today  I will keep you all abreast of my hostaventures
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May 3, 2023 17:19
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bagmonkey posted:Don't ask me why but I really like hostas ...hosta matter with you?
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May 3, 2023 17:32
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 I have a very large hosta (last year's June pic). I have tried to remove it to no avail so I have decided instead to try to make peace with it.
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May 3, 2023 17:46
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I wish hostas really thrived here because I think they are super awesome and useful shade groundcovers but its too wet and too hot. There's one or two varieties that do alright but they don't get big and spreading that I've seen.
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May 3, 2023 17:52
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I used to really hate hostas but two years ago something about them just clicked and now I'm a fan. My aunt is nuts for them and I'm hoping I can get a division of one of her really big ones to put in my rather shady front yard.
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May 3, 2023 18:32
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Hostas are gorgeous. If your climate is right, plant lilies of the valley and mertensia among them.
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May 3, 2023 18:35
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I’m down with the funky colored hostas
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May 3, 2023 18:40
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bagmonkey posted:I will keep you all abreast of my hostaventures
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May 3, 2023 19:53
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Hirayuki posted:I'm not big on hostas, mostly because what I've seen planted is a lot of the same boring variety. We have some shady spots that might wind up with hosta, though, and your varieties are unique; where do you get them? (I think we both live in the same general area, and I don't mind a bit of a drive.) Yeah, 99% sure we do. Telly's in Troy is my #1 spot for hostas, it's where I've bought both Empress Wu's I've had and they have grown into very happy, healthy plants. Fire Island was from Meijer, who occasionally has a few unique hostas. Northern Lights in Madison Heights is worth a look, as well as Schwartz's and Blocks downriver. Bordine's had a good selection too but I haven't been since the pandemic so I am not sure if that's still the case, but I have to imagine it is. I'll share some of the varieties I come across as I start shopping for them, too. I think hostas are really cool due to the amount of different varieties, but the most basic (and frankly ugly) styles get overused A LOT
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May 3, 2023 20:18
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I enjoy the Hostas that have fragrant flowers, and since we have way too many snails and slugs here, I grow them as houseplants.
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May 3, 2023 20:35
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bagmonkey posted:Yeah, 99% sure we do. Telly's in Troy is my #1 spot for hostas, it's where I've bought both Empress Wu's I've had and they have grown into very happy, healthy plants. Fire Island was from Meijer, who occasionally has a few unique hostas. Northern Lights in Madison Heights is worth a look, as well as Schwartz's and Blocks downriver. Bordine's had a good selection too but I haven't been since the pandemic so I am not sure if that's still the case, but I have to imagine it is.
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May 3, 2023 20:41
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I like hostas with white in the leaves. Also very dark green ones.
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May 3, 2023 22:08
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Foraging groups have taught me that hostas are edible and apparently taste kind of like asperagus so im far less critical of them now. I used to just think they looked boring. Now i want to try hosta shoots but there aren't any i can nab easily.
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May 3, 2023 22:56
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silicone thrills posted:Foraging groups have taught me that hostas are edible and apparently taste kind of like asperagus so im far less critical of them now. I used to just think they looked boring. Now i want to try hosta shoots but there aren't any i can nab easily. I'm trying to figure out where I can keep a nice big clump of boring rear end green hostas to harvest for sprouts from every so often
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May 3, 2023 23:23
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bagmonkey posted:Do y'all like hostas? I want somewhere to post about my hosta collection. I'm hoping to add a few new types this year. Once you have a hosta aren't your only options to either decide that you like them or move to a home that doesn't have them?
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May 5, 2023 00:27
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No resisting a hosta takeover?
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May 5, 2023 02:08
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I believe there are these things called pots.
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May 5, 2023 02:12
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Neeksy posted:I believe there are these things called pots. That's a different plant, not worth growing yourself IMO. Easier to go to the dispensary.
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May 5, 2023 03:07
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Good one, Dad.
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May 5, 2023 03:15
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In German they call them "Funkien" which I think is nice
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May 5, 2023 05:23
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We've got hostas in  
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May 5, 2023 11:58
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Hostas are just omnipresent in Southern Minnesota suburban landscaping to a point where it's pretty hard to get excited about them. Every house and business comes standard with a supply of hostas, daylilies, barberries, and a few hydrangeas. They may also have some arborvitae that are always bare below 5 ft because they are sacrificial deer food. Hostas are amazing in that they can survive our winters with basically no care, but they are very overused here.
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May 5, 2023 12:49
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captkirk posted:Once you have a hosta aren't your only options to either decide that you like them or move to a home that doesn't have them? I mean, like most other perennials, they will slowly take over wherever they are if left unchecked. We need to split 3-4 different batches of hostas this year because they've outgrown where they are supposed to be. Lakitu7 posted:Hostas are just omnipresent in Southern Minnesota suburban landscaping to a point where it's pretty hard to get excited about them. Every house and business comes standard with a supply of hostas, daylilies, barberries, and a few hydrangeas. They may also have some arborvitae that are always bare below 5 ft because they are sacrificial deer food. Hostas are amazing in that they can survive our winters with basically no care, but they are very overused here. I didn't like hostas until I discovered there's an entire world of weird varietals out there and they can be used A LOT differently than the "Upper Midwest Landscaping" tradition that you mentioned. But holy gently caress are you right, 2/3rds of the landscaping around here is just "hosta + daylillies + hydrangeas + ornamental grass"
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May 5, 2023 14:43
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Oh yeah you gotta have ones that actually do something sort of interesting and aren't just boring big green leaves. You need some texture or variegation or something. I will say that hosta flowers are lovely, though. I started a new job recently and my office has a big east-facing window that I hung a string of pearls plant in. I've had it here for about two weeks now and it's been putting out lots of new growth, so hopefully it'll be nice and happy here. Other houseplant enthusiast friends tell me that string of pearls will do nicely for a bit before they just up and die, but I'm hoping I can keep this one going. I could probably find a place for one or two other plants here in my office but I'm going to give it a little bit of time and pass my probation period before I go really crazy. There's a good-sized waiting room here that can use some greenery and I'm trying to figure out what I want to bring in. It has two big windows but it's a northern exposure so it'll have to be something that's shade-tolerant. There's a pretty big schefflera actinophylla that's been here for ages and is quite happy but I want to hang something in one of the windows (A tradescantia? A pothos?) and maybe put another largeish plant in the other corner. I'm sort of thinking that this is a good chance to have something I don't already have that I can't get away with at home.
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May 5, 2023 16:50
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Mad Hamish posted:Other houseplant enthusiast friends tell me that string of pearls will do nicely for a bit before they just up and die, but I'm hoping I can keep this one going. I have no way of verifying this as it’s a houseplant rumor I have been told, but I often hear that the older cultivars of string of pearls are much hardier and clippings of them stand a much better chance at surviving and getting huge.
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May 5, 2023 18:53
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May 8, 2023 00:29
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That's some saturation
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May 8, 2023 01:54
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I normally grow a wildflower mix on my balcony pots for the bees and so forth, but in summer I find myself needing to water it every day because the pots aren't that big so they dry out fast, which makes going on holiday a bit complicated because normally my mates can only come once every 3-4 days to water them. I have some Coco coir blocks lying around so I was thinking I could mix it in at like 50% coir, 50% potting soil, but is that going to get the roots too wet? I could find some perlite and add that in but basically the point is to reduce the amount I need to water during peak summer
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May 8, 2023 11:20
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boofhead posted:I normally grow a wildflower mix on my balcony pots for the bees and so forth, but in summer I find myself needing to water it every day because the pots aren't that big so they dry out fast, which makes going on holiday a bit complicated because normally my mates can only come once every 3-4 days to water them. I would look into irrigation, myself. You could go with something simple and cheap and unpowered like Blumat, or invest in an inexpensive water timer.
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May 8, 2023 13:30
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It's just a dinky little apartment block balcony, I don't have a water outlet or power outlet nor space to put a gravity-feeding water tank. My only option for irrigation would be to plonk a tank of water on the ground with a water pump and some off-grid means of powering that (no idea how much battery that'd require, the pots are about 1,2m off the ground and there's not really space for a mini solar panel). I guess I could put some small ollas in, those unglazed terracotta pot things, but sounds like broadly speaking I'm poo poo outta luck. Sorry bees
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May 8, 2023 15:58
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Blumat has ones that fit on a 2L bottle and supposedly work well
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May 8, 2023 16:30
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I got some bottle drip emitter thingys for the same reason. They don't hold a lot of water but you can slowly drip them to keep your plants on life support for a bit. They're super cheap on AliExpress 
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May 8, 2023 18:06
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I put in some sad looking bare root trees last fall -- pecans and pawpaws. It's now May and they still look very much like I planted small twigs. Scratching the bark with a fingernail shows they're green and thus technically alive, but how much longer should I be waiting for a sign of life before giving up on them? They were uh... not terribly inspiring even from the start. Should just have bought from a local nursery. 
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May 8, 2023 18:07
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PokeJoe posted:I got some bottle drip emitter thingys for the same reason. They don't hold a lot of water but you can slowly drip them to keep your plants on life support for a bit. They're super cheap on AliExpress I considered those but my balcony also gets windy as gently caress so I'm pretty sure they'd just get blown off and maim a downstairs neighbour within a week I think I'm largely just hosed for the moment, thank you for the suggestions though
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May 9, 2023 10:00
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| # ? May 30, 2024 00:28 |
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boofhead posted:It's just a dinky little apartment block balcony, I don't have a water outlet or power outlet nor space to put a gravity-feeding water tank. My only option for irrigation would be to plonk a tank of water on the ground with a water pump and some off-grid means of powering that (no idea how much battery that'd require, the pots are about 1,2m off the ground and there's not really space for a mini solar panel). I guess I could put some small ollas in, those unglazed terracotta pot things, but sounds like broadly speaking I'm poo poo outta luck. Sorry bees look up Blumat
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May 9, 2023 10:19
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