Update on Everything

Gardenia Cuttings: I put half the cuttings in water, like MIL recommended. The other half went into my little green houses with rooting hormone. Some of the each went brown and dry. One of the cuttings in the greenhouse is doing very well though.

Lantana Cuttings: Doing well and showing tender, tiny new growth and tiny roots, see below:

Mum Cuttings: nothing happening yet, but they're also not drying out or wilting, so that's good!


African Daisies: each have their first true leaves! It's going slow though. Since they are on the porch behind the screen, they might not be getting enough sun. Will move them outside to see if that changes anything. See below:

Carrots: growing, growing, growing, see below:

Beets: growing, first true leaves about two weeks ago. See below:

Beans: still have blight (I think) but they are now wrapping themselves around the bamboo canes. I guess that's a good thing.

Crotons: the cuttings are still rooting and producing new leaves. Aside from the Dracaenas, the Crotons have been the most successful cuttings! They do excellent in the green houses.

Cacti: they are very slow! The green sprouts have turned a dark pinkish shade and very little growth. I'm planning on moving them into the terrarium jar tomorrow. See below:

 
Peace Lily: She's doing a lot better stuck in the water jar than in the soil. After I divided her, I cut back the roots and I know she didn't like that! I'm going to keep her in that jar, she seems to like it!

Parsley: having true leaves now! I love parsley in many recipes and I can't wait to harvest bundles of them to use and freeze the rest. See below:

Chives: doing alright but not very fast growers.

Onions: Benny, the cat had been eating the tender tops. They grew back but like the chives, they are slow!

Mr. Plant: has adjusted well to his new location wrapped around the tomato cages. Will have to move him eventually when it gets colder at night.

Morning Glory: bought a packet of seeds last weekend. Can't wait to sow them along with the Moonflowers next spring!

Did I forget someone? No, I think that update covers everyone; veggies, cuttings and seedlings!

Now for the weather, that's a different post.

Lantana

We went to preview a foreclosure home today and I found an abandoned but blooming lantana forgotten in an old pot. I took a small cutting to take it home.

We used to have a huge lantana growing behind the shed and it attracted a bunch of butterflies! Some species are considered invasive in Florida, or at least that's what I've read.

I cut the blooms off, dipped it in rooting hormone and stuck it in a little greenhouse. Can't wait to see what will happen.

I would love to have a few lantanas on the east side of the house and get rid of the socialite garlic (not sure that's what it is though). But.....I do have a lot of bindweed / wild morning glory growing there and I'm thinking it might just choke the lantana to death. Not sure what to do about the bindweed......

Maybe keep the lantana in a pot and away from the bindweed

Lavender

Lavender

I've never tried to grow lavender and I'm not a huge fan of it either but since it's drought tolerant, attracts bees and smells good, I wanted to give it a try.

My Mother In Law gave me a seed packet for Levendula Vera today. The packet states August thru March as a seeding/planting period so I couldn't wait to get home and give it a try.

Germination betwen 10 - 28 days....we'll see!

African Daisy

African Daisy

Been looking the other day for flowering plants that will tolerate the Florida winter. I was way to late with marigolds and anything else that flowers by the time we moved in and I was too cheap to buy established plants at the nursery only to throw them out later.

Anyway, I came across African Daisy. The seed packet states they can be planted in late summer for winter bloom in Arizona and California. So I figured I'd try and see if this would also work in Central Florida. I only used a few seeds today to see what would happen. I'm saving the rest for spring = 4-5 weeks before last frost date. This means I will start them in cells in January. They are a low growing variety and I'm hoping they will get along well with my medium size marigolds for a nice color display in the front yard.

Mums - Mums - Mums!

Mums - Mums - Mums

Seems like Oscar, the scarecrow is happy about his new companion, a pale yellow gardenmum we picked up at Home Depot today. $2.77 - can't beat that in October. I'm hoping though that I'll get another variety for a bit less after November when the Mums have to make room for the poinsettias.

I love Mums because they mean "autumn" and they look so gorgeous with their splashes of color. My main motivation is propagation though.

I did some research on this years ago and actually managed to get some cuttings rooted (only to have them destroyed by Jilly, the hound dog). I decided to give this another try. My goal is to have lots of homegrown Mums for the next season and use them as stockplants to grow even more new plants.

I'm very tempted to take cuttings RIGHT NOW even though most articles about propagating mums suggest to take cuttings from the new top growth in the spring. At the same time, everything is backwards and different when it comes to gardening in Florida so I'm thinking I might just give it a try and take 2 or 3 cuttings to see how they're doing.

Mums

Mums

I had Mums before, loved them and was able to take cuttings and harvest the babies for new plants.

Since I live in Florida, I'm not worried about first and last frost dates and I'm not worried about leaving the Mums in their spot through the winter.

I decided to pick up a Mum next week on my trip to Home Depot. Because I'm frugal, I might check Walmart first to see if I can get them cheaper there. Not looking for a huge plant, a small one will be fine. I want to use it as a stock plant to grow many, many new plants from it.

Interesting artice by Doug Green of http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/ :

Okay, the first few paragraphs apply to gardeners in northern climates, however he goes on to say: they like full sunshine, regular deep waterings all summer long like soaking them twice a week. Feed with compost in early spring, then give a booster of fish emulsion every two weeks. Cut them back to 6-9 inches when they reach 12-18 inches tall. This will force them to bush out and produce more sheets, meaning more flowers.

Another great article by Danny Lipfort giving advice about planting, growing and propagating Mums as well as refering to the National Crysanthemum Society (Florida does not have a chapter)

Well this has given me some great ideas and inspiration as to what I should plant in my front garden next spring!