Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Succulents, Roses, Groundcover

Although I don't like physical work, it is hard to pass up such a beautiful Spring day as today. Back in August 2014, as our project began, I dug up about 60 iris rhizomes that were growing along our back parking area. Our September 1, 2014 posting showed them drying out along the footing of our removed back porch. I did a little research and found there might be a way to preserve these and replant them. After drying them for a day or so, I dusted each with sulfur and wrapped them individually. We stored them underneath the stairway in the main house.

I've remember these occassionally but never have done anything with them until today. I got out four of them, rinsed them off and planted them in a pot. We'll see if anything happens.

This morning I took my weekly walk through the Mobot. Lots of color and new growth. Afterwards I went over to the Bowood Nursery. This was one of T's favorite nurseries. It also has a small restaurant which uses their own herbs. I noticed they are also putting in a vegetable garden to supply the restaurant and to sell produce.

I found the rose I've been looking for to fill out T's rose garden. It is a Knock Out 'White Out'. This is the fifth rose bush in her garden. From right to left, the colors are pink (the one T planted last year), lavender, yellow, red and white. Four of the five are Knock Outs. While the KO's I got last week from Lowe's were $19 each, this one was $44. I have no doubt it will be twice as good as the others. If not, at least it is the "right" color.

I also got some more ground covers. Last year, we bought four Irish moss and five Scottish moss. These were all small (2") plants. All but one of these were planted along the south side of the chess board, between it and the pond. None of those survived. The last one was planted between the stepping stones along the west side of the pond. That is the only one of that initial batch that is still alive.

The yellow mass is the Scottish moss, the two green masses are two varieties of creeping thyme

I assumed the problem with the mosses we planted was associated with the soil. While these mosses are supposed to be none too particular, the soil between the chess board and the pond is really nasty with lots of gravel. I decided to try it again this year, but was determined to improve the soil to see if I could get them to take hold. I excavated and used a mixture of soil left over from my plantings of the Hellebores and equal amounts of potting soil. Cannot be any worse than what was there originally. I planted four 4" plants, two Irish and two Scottish. I put them in the corner beside the skimmer. If they take hold, I'll retry along the south side of the chess board.

I also got another Brass Buttons (Leptinella squalida 'Platt's Black'). This is a ground cover we planted between the stepping stones, one down from the Scottish moss and one up from the creeping thyme. The original plant is still alive, and may regain its previous glory, but I decided to add another just beside it. This is really an interesting plant.

Lastly, I bought a couple more succulent for the succulent bed.  A sedum (Gold moss Stonecrop) and a Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks). These should both be hardy in our climate so I rearrange a couple of the other plants so that they will have room to grow.  I also decided to take a cutting off our prickly pear and put it into the succulent garden.

The history of our prickly pear is some what sorted. It is a native to Missouri and came from our neighbors yard at the end of the alley. A single pedal followed me home one night several years ago, nestled in my coat pocket. It took me a LONG time to get all the barnacles out of that pocket and the cotton gloves I was wearing at the time. Once home, I stuck the pedal into a pot of potting soil and it survived and propagated. Today, that one pedal is now seven pedals and there is a lot of new growth.

Our prickly pear

I returned the remainder of the plant to the perimeter of the pond. If it looks like it will survive my pruning, I will try to remove it from its pot and make it a permanent home among the pond boulders.

My experience with handling prickly pears is that you should use a pair of leather gloves you are willing to throw away. You will not want to ever wear them again. You should also have a magnifying glass and pair of tweezers available for removing the microscopic barnacles (even though you use the gloves).

Update on poinsettia...there is new growth!! Looks encouraging!!