June 23 , 2021
Late Spring Surprises Post-Freeze!
This steam bathtub weather is not for me ! fortuitously , my spider lily ‘ Tropical Giant ’ Hymenocallis revels in its namesake conditions , unroll graceful flowers this first week of summertime . Native groundcover snake herb ’s lavender blooms entice pollinator , not snakes!The spider lily ’s ant fan club industriously trailed from ground to leaves to cryptical orange stamens and then across petals . These tiny ant dived late into the ambrosia tube , emerging later to make a unexpended round and repay home . I learn issue ants “ principal bump ” approaching ones , apparently to confirm by scent that newcomers have colony credentials ( laminated badges would fall off , you know).Maybe they wanted to celebrate National Pollinator Week ( June 21 - 27 this year ) , though the real military mission is to make every 24-hour interval a favorable one for pollinators . right on now , Pride of Barbados ( Caesalpinia pulcherrima ) surprisingly resile back from February ’s halt , its igneous flowers intent on flagging down bees , wasps , and other pollinator . CTG viewers sent in their own marvellous observations from late springtime , so Daphne get together us again from home to tell their stories . Augie ’s get a vacation from Zoom coming together to give ear out with Daphne ’s pop , so his jr. sidekick Lulu directed!Across the state , many gardener share elation that their dear industrial plant are n’t permanently on vacation after their big wintertime scare . Camille Felizdocumented her toughened - as - nail Peggy Martin wax speedy transformation . “It ’s so renewing and heart - warming to see the things that do return after what they went through this February . My heart cheers for them when I see the return ! ” she say .
Yet , yards still buzz with chainsaw . In Round Rock , Jan Kuehn’sbay laurel was almost 20 feet magniloquent when the freezing got it . After her married man cut it back , Jan ’s documented its speedy recuperation over the calendar month . By late May , it was over two feet improbable , tripling in height since April . Mine in belated June is getting mightily nigh to five metrical foot marvelous , so I bet Jan ’s will polish off the 20 - foot brand earlier than by and by ! To the left are native Barbados cherry shrubs that looked somewhat sad even a month ago . Sadly , even though I protected my Mangave ‘ Bloodspot ’ , I lose the female parent plant in its container and some of its issue . Fortunately , I ’d pass along one of the first bulbil - grown plants to Austin PBS colleagueSara Robertsonwho did a better chore of hold it warm ! By the style , mangaves are a cross between agave and manfredas . This spring , she pepped up a container with a stunning ‘ Mint Chocolate Chip ’ manfreda that popped a stellar flower stalk within weeks . A hummingbird zipper over pronto ! Kudos , Sara , for such a quick catch!But why did fall - bloom asters put on a spring show , too ? Daphne explained , “ Like most creature that chance themselves out of sync , it ’s all down to the weather . Unseasonable coldness was follow by ill-timed deficiency of sunshine , and rainfall , seriously mess with the normal rhythms of many innate occurrences . ”The downside to rain and impregnate humidness is that fungal populations exploded . “ From foliage smear to wood - rot , fungi are everywhere , ” she observe . My own native Virginia creep vine suffers from a leafage spot in bounce humidity , but it rallies quickly with no harm done to its vigorous crawling . Andy Campbell’snew skunk tree seem very turbulent . When he reach out to CTG , Daphne advised him to prune out diseased tissue and fling it . She knew that by the clip new development come forth , there ’d be a better opening of drier aviation and a less supportive environment for reinfection . I ’m glad to cover that by the time we immortalise , Andy sent a picture of new , healthy growth!Rust is another common fungous disease . Ramona Rogahn’sdaylilies suffer with scandalmongering splotchy foliage in March 2020 . Jeff Breitenstein and Skottie O’Mahoney ( watch their garden on CTG ) from theAustin Daylily Societytold us , “ Rust is a uncouth daylily disease , especially in the South . ” With daylily rust fungus , the recommendation is similar to other fungous disease — spray septic tissue with a register antifungal according to label commission , then prune and toss the cut helping into the drivel . insect did n’t take a break , either . Pratap Singhwalked out one morning to find his sulphurous melon vine seedling severed about six inches above the ground . Since he has n’t seen the culprit — either insect or animal — he construct a John Milton Cage Jr. that ’s swallow about an inch and half around the flora . He also recycles cut down plastic bottles as protective sleeves . When he distinguish a escargot eating the leaves , he removes it . Now , his bitter melons are thrive and so are his grand long bonce and cucumbers .
Pratap also cages his tomatoes , but in this pillow slip , he want to pull off indeterminate varieties that can get six feet marvellous , quickly over - turn the received hoop cages . His method : first , get t - post , and then bind wire mesh . As plants develop taller , tie outgrowth to the telegram . The undetermined engagement allows easy pick of ripen yield . Some of us found chompers that we really need — butterfly stroke caterpillars . Helen Johnsongot a bonus Monarch caterpillar on a plant she brought home from the nursery , subsequently watching it pupate and emerge as an adult . Ginger Magnusonhosted a whole baby’s room of Swallowtail caterpillars on her fennel , Anethum graveolens and parsley . I grabbed a still from her video . In Cedar Park , Jim and Angie O’Donnellspotted this gorgeous Pandorus sphinx moth . Agnes Fajkusin Fayette County regenerate the spring garden with a moulding of fragrant alyssum against yarrow , salvias , and other pollinator perennial add up back . Our Arkansas friendRoy Wilsonshared another of his swoon - worthy magnolia pictures!Mark Sepulvedacheerfully dub his backyard as the “ garden of chaos . ” The halt wiped out most of his succulent bed , but he ’s starting over with smaller cacti and fun statues . We love his philosophical system : “ One affair about garden : you may interchange them . . . whatever . ”Watch now for all the stories and tips on grow weather - proof native rock’n’roll rear !
Thanks for stop by ! See you next week , Linda
tag :
