Storm of notable rain and wind struck while at work

I came home to the large purple bougainvillea pot tipped, the branches that had been spraying over the wall had been pulled down. The leaves of the some of the begonias seem to have melted in the torrential rain. I have put the smaller pots of begonia on a tea cake stand placed underneath the plumeria which stands at about 7' now. I pulled the stand inside tonight, i want them to dry out.. i didn't want to move them, but almost all begonias were pulled under the portico.

The shrimp plant was washed over a bit, as was the b. ' Gryphon'. The water coming off of the eves is a problem. It comes down very heavily, especially where the roof eaves meet portico. There must have been a nice wind too as i saw pots at a neighbor's blown over as well and the table under the roof was wet with rain which couldn't have happened without nice gusts.

Rain predicted for the rest of the week.

Rain

8am the sky is dark and sheets of rain are approaching. Visibility dropping quickly. The first drops are hitting the glass.

My terrace is now getting a nice bath.

A little history on heracleifolia var. nigricans.

http://absastro.tripod.com/print/heracleifolianigricans.htm

Rainy season

Rain today. Torrential out west (by the glades). We need the rain and it is a little more in character with the time of year. My potted plants seem no worse for wear for the bath. Somehow it seems that plants take rain better than hand watering. Hopefully we'll have some sun for at least part of the coming days-- storms are predicted.

b.'Puff Adder' and b 'Emerald Maiden' shipped yesterday from Kartuz Greenhouses. That is THE LAST order for a while.

Packed up a box of Heracleifolia for cousin Catherine. It's nice to have an excuse to propogate one's plants.

Heracleifolia and plants that rot

It occurred to me reading about begonia heracleifolia, which grows on the ground, in the trees and on the mayan temples in Chiapas-- plants rot and die. If it rains a good deal, plants rot, die and fertilize the ground for more plants to come. that's the cycle. Plants exposed to the elements are subject  No wonder that they should do the same despite my best efforts on the terrace. I have to let go and let the plants live or die as they will. I can't move them out of the rain to avoid them getting too wet. I can try to keep them in some shade, but once placed--

Once placed, an eye should be kept to burning in the sun or drying out too much, but rain and wind. I'll have to turn it over. If they don't make it, that's that. Focus on those that will, I hope there will be some begonias that will be able to be cultivated, gardening on my terrace.

CALAMITY

No drainage in the fiberglass trough by the handrail. I was in the middle of replacing some soil, I reached down in the soil and hit water!! 2" of water. I had to pull out 25lb of mud, stone and confederate jasmine. The jasmine looked like it was fairly healthy but they're cheap and probably smarter to start over. It was really, really a pain in the ass-- sorry for language, but i have to imprint on you, imaginary reader, the absolute importance of ensuring that a container has good drainage. It is so much easier doing it right from the beginning. When I first planted it, there is one 1" hole in the bottom of the trough, I put down some screen, covered with at lease a 1" of stone and put down another screen, then soil. One hole is not enough, probably ever. Poor drainage can never be a good thing. I am not working with water plants.

Wind is really an adversary when trying to grow young plants that just don't have the strong petioles or root structure to hold them in place. Too much water, too much wind. I just don't know if it's possible.

It was a tough day in the garden. I wanted to rip it all out and start over. Just because persian shield looks fabulous at home depot  doesn't mean that it will fit in my garden. i need to rethink my plan because i haven't really have one. There are a few plants that were to be the main theme: bougainvillea, bamboo, plumeria has become a part of it, an orange tree -- and  begonias.

I need more tropical plants and I need them to work together. I pulled of a few pups off of the bromeliad. Just because I have them, doesn't mean I have to stick them around the garden.

Osmocote 19-6-12

Applied about a cup of Osmocote on 28"w x 38"d bamboo pot. It has the recommended percentage of nitrogen for the bamboo's summer feeding.

I've had good luck with the oak leaf croton. The main reason I think is holding back on any watering. It's been humid though we haven't had much rain at all for this time of year. The soil holds the moisture even in direct sun.


Pulled U402 out of her pot and cleaned off  matted dead roots and clayish soil, stuff that was not letting the roots breathe. Osmocote for this doll too.

Bougies got a feeding with the bougain. Pulmeria with Osmocote, gardenia with an acidic time release.

Took the day off. Maybe splurge (on the gas) and will visit nursery. Though probably only garden center at home depot. you never know what they'll have. The b. 'Gryphon', for example, (a blue ribbon winner at the ABS convention this year)  was only $3.86 as I think I've mentioned before. Deals like that will keep 'em coming back.

Off to a diner for breakfast. Living large.

Neoregelia 'Johannis' has another litter

A number of 'johannis' pups have been slowly coming up, I've let them grow to the point where they're pulling momma up out of the pot. I need to put on some gloves and pull them out. What to do with the new litter?

I've started propagating for gifts, maybe I'll continue with these. Better yet, it would be fun when they're all of a sale-able size to get a booth at the Flea.

I've calm down after my recent losses. Steady as she goes, the anchor plantings are all doing well. If I haven't said it lately, the bamboo is busy sending up 4 new culms. For this slow growing bamboo that is something. Keeping it dry to force more bulbous culms (it is a Buddha belly). Speaking of which i need to get a high nitrogen fertilizer for it's summer feeding.

Vernal solstice

The solstice was sunny and dry. I don't feel like I am qualified to write anything about gardening at this point, I've lost 3 plants in the past few weeks- papaya, euryops, and it looks now like the plumbago is on it's way out, it's wilting and the soil moist, no reason it should be wilting

There a 10 pots of newly started begonias posted around terrace. It'll take some time for everyone to grow in.

The handrails on the west end are looking pretty bare. I need to treat the jasmine with systemic pesticide.

Watering the container garden

Watering the container garden that is made up of a number of plants with very different water requirements.., I’ll look for a book on Amazon for some reference I can get.  I’m only going to water the bamboo when it’s leaves are curling with thirst and the bougie when wilting.  The plumeria seems to like the dry side—leaves yellow and fall off with watering more than twice a week. The handrail boxes need watering almost every day, the croton almost never, somehow it’s soil stays moist.. roots that don’t get thirsty? The begonias  are trickier and require the daily sticking a finger in the soil to check for moisture. The smaller pots require the most care. The soil mixture I planted them last few plants in had a 1/3 jiffy mix which mostly powered peat, it dries fairly quickly especially in a small terracotta pot.

I’ve eased the e. helix, red fred and art hodes onto the picnic table so they’ll start getting a little sun.

I caved and repotted  large rhizome of selph’s mahogany into it’s own pot. I’ve left the base of the original plant in the current bowl and moved it into the sun.  I watered it in well, so it should fair ok with the stronger light. The rhizome which is pretty much going straight up, I’ve put into a deeper pot that should hold it up well.

I put in an order at Kartuz for a shrub ‘emerald maiden’—it looks beautiful.. 2’ very textured leaves, like a crinkled paper.  Also purchased a ‘puff adder’ double spiral, fuzzy deep green leaves.

Papaya killed by fungus

The new leaves coming out of the papaya are severely stunted and are brown around the edges. There is a white moldy looking patina to the leaves. The fruit that it used to bear, though they didn't ripen beyond golf ball size are now rotting at a quarter of that size.

Don't know what caused such a rapid decline. I moved it a few feet to shade a begonia, it might have gotten a little less sun in the new location but it certainly got 4 hours of hot morning sun, they like the sun.

And-- the euryops i bought for the rail trough has gone limp.

I'll have to replace the two of them. i think a bird of paradise would be a good replacement for papaya. Again, it's more vertical than not and the leaves are very tropical and a nice contrast to other leaf textures.

I need to check with Leonard tomorrow and see if the clarendendron has grown at all.

Current state of affairs

It's been hot and awfully humid. I played tennis last night and it felt like I was in a steam room. It's tricky watering the plants, on the one hand it's hot and hazy (the everglades are on fire again) and on the other we have 90% humidity. Do the plants need water because of the heat or are they hydrated by the humidity in the air?

2 new buddha belly culms coming up, it's a slow growing bamboo, which makes it perfect for containers.

Giving it away

They say you can't keep it unless you give it away- and the cuttings, that are starting to multiply in little pots can now be my gifting fodder. I took a nice little pot of Sophie Cecile to a neighbor who complained that she had 'no light' on her terrace. She was very grateful and it made me feel that my propagation  efforts are not in vain.

The neighbor's terrace by the way does get some sun, she admitted after some questioning. I asked her to note the hours of sun and shade that hits the terrace- i don't think she works so that ought to be doable.
Bleeding heart is a good candidate for her I think, color, coverage of handrails, etc.

A new neighbor moved in 2 doors east of us. His terrace had the same dimensions as mine, but looks dead on into a straggle of power lines. I don't know if he rents or owns but he drives a very expensive car. If I ever get a chance to talk to him I'd like to make the case for planted screens for the view--- and me doing the designing and planting.

The maintenance steps

Haven't had anytime this week to write, but I have been giving some care to the garden. It's been dry lately, and I've been watering by can using weak(ish) miracle gro. The growing season is the time to feed and so i am. The bougies are both beautiful. The purple, as always is foliated and floriferous. the red is putting out some new growth and has had a substantial flush of bracts, which next to the plumeria is very pretty. The white blossoms of the plumeria are simple and lovely.

The bleeding heart which i bought from Leonard was cut back pretty hard (as it should have been for transplanting), it's taking a while to put out some leaves, but the branches are greening up and there are a few leaflets coming out. I'm excited about sprays of bleeding heart pouring over the handrail above the street.

Swept and washed down the tiles after a pm shower.

Dry though rain on way?

It's been a dry few weeks as some of my local readers know. There is a low near Jamaica with a fair chance of becoming a tropical something. Not predicted to come near us as winds coming down over gulf should steer it away, but rain will be brought up - which we need. The everglades have started to catch fire in places. I'm able to keep everyone hydrated on the terrace, thank goodness. My plant stand i've put against the interior wall under portico, gets high indirect light- no direct sun. The (begonia) chillens love it. The summer sun pretty much goes directly overhead creating new areas of shade, relief for some.

The question of furniture...

If you have any say in the matter, buy teak. I bought mine from www.classicteak.com it was the best at the cheapest price. I have the "Stinson" folding chairs and the oval extension table. Extended, the table can seat 8 using the Stinson chairs . It's held up for 6 years so far in the hot, humid 10b sun and rain and will last for a good many more-- looking better and better as it ages, taking on a soft, silvery grain.

It costs more but it will last longer and will get better looking as it ages.

If it's possible ($$) -- teak is the way to go for the terrace gardner.

More on shade

Bamboo. I have a 24"D x 30"H glazed pot with a buddha belly planted in it. It provides a feathery leaf texture as well as, again, dappled shade for the those positioned in it's penumbra.

Buddha belly is a good container bambo as it maintains a managable heighth as well as forms a great head of foliage leaves.

I feed mine weak miracle grow and some espoma plant tone for some organic feed every few months.

My pot of buddha belly is wind tolerant as well- important for the terrace gardener.

Need dappled shade?

Plant a papaya. Take a mid-size 36"+  pot. Anchor with rocks for drainage. The horizontal lay of the leaves are wind friendly and the sharp incisions in the leaf allow some sun through.

Perfect.

(Unfortunately the small fruit that grow, fall off and haven't stayed to mature into my favorite food).

Keeping trim

Watered in am.

Pulled a large chunk of rhizome off of Dopey and started a new bowl.

U402 getting leggy. I'm trimming and planting branches.