Know When to Hold 'em - Know When to Fold 'em

Well folks, it is really time to "fold 'em" on some of the containers.  The weather hasn't been as brutual this year as it has in the past, but the containers still had to struggle to keep up their best appearances.  And that struggle shows in those containers that had all day sun and minimal watering.  I finally decided that even though I don't have the winter plants in hand to change them out, that it would be better to just leave empty containers of dirt than to have stringy, yellow plants sitting there, longing for the peace of the compost heap. 

At 35 miles an hour, this one might even have looked "okay" but up close you could see it deserved a rest.  This is one of the containers with three Sunpatiens.  Lost one late in the summer to some fungus -- leaving a good sized hole -- but the other two hung in there until this last week and then they started failing.   Not a pretty sight!

 

 

I'll have to spend some time investigating what makes Sunpatiens happy cause I sure didn't find the formula this year.  But there were some "hold 'ems" that will stay in the containers until the first frost.....let's get some happy pictures going here -----

 

 

How about this Kong Rose Coleus  -- three small plants were put in the container in May and now they look like they could actually take over the Empire State Building.   If you need a plant that loves the shade and gives you a big return on your investment, any of the Kong Coleus are a good buy.

 

On a smaller scale, Angelonia are definitely a must have in any container or garden bed.  After everyone else had given up the game, they were still blooming strong and looking good.

 

 

All of the Angelonia that I used this year were from the Serena series.  But there are others that will perform as well -- maybe with smaller flowers but still worthy players.

 

 

So be prepared....there are now four empty containers on lower Jefferson, across from the Park, that either look better or worse -- depending on your attitude about life.  But, hang in there, in just a few days there will be bright new plants that will love the cool weather coming our way.

 

 



 



 

 

 

 



 

Persian Shield - Sun or Shade - Still a Winner

Grooming the plants this weekend I had a chance to notice the difference in the two containers holding Persian Shield - otherwise known as Strobilanthes dyerianus - Persian Shield is so much easier to remember!  Both plants did equally but the one in the sun had more dense foliage and slightly smaller leaves.  The intense purple color was the same though.  Considering how well both plants did with minimal watering and the color impact they provided, they are definitely going to be repeats next summer season.

 

Persian Shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus)

Full sun to part sun - 3' x 3'

Zone

Companioned with Vinca Cora White and Angelonia Serena White

 

 

In the sun the plant was more compact with shorter stems and slightly smaller leaves, which provided room on the sides for other plants to grow to their full size.  Notice in the photo below of the container grown with only late afternoon sun that the leaves are bigger and the plant branches are more spread out.  This allowed the lantana to filter in among the Persian Shield leaves -- although with so much shade the lantana didn't bloom well.  You may be asking why I planted lantana "in the shade"....it didn't use to be so much shade...I didn't take into account how much the street trees had grown over the years.  Anyway..... 

 

 



....put this plant on your "tuff plant" list and use it somewhere in your designs next year.  Don't forget that this is a tender perennial and often used as a houseplant, so if you were interested, you could pot it up and bring it indoors.  But do spray it well so you don't bring in any "friends".  

More updates to come as the summer season comes to a close.....some of the containers are ready to give it up but quite a few are still struttin' their stuff as the cool nights allow them to recover.

Those Wave Petunias Can't Be Beat

Here it is nearly five months after I installed the summer color in the City containers and would you just look at this Misty Lilac Wave petunia. 

Big flowers that continuously bloomed -- never a down time -- and here is the best part -- no pests!!  It is truly one of my all time favorite Wave petunias.  The other colors do well but not nearly so well as Misty Lilac. 

And that is Verbena Homestead Purple hovering in the background.  It provided lots of greenery this year and not as much color as I had hoped for.  But it's a perennial so it will probably get moved to the ground somewhere so it can come back next year. 

Next summer season I'll have a couple other tried and true petunias -- Supertunia Vista Bubblegum and Silverberry . . . but you can count on seeing at least one or two containers with Misty in them.  I just finished paging through the 2013 Spring/Summer catalogs -- wow, there are so many great plants to lust after.  Can't wait to start the design process!

Sunpatiens Disappointment

The summer season for the containers is almost over and for some of them it is none too soon.  I won't be doing the change outs until the second week of October so there is still time for the cool weather to help the plants restore their energy and maybe put out another burst of blooms, but I wanted to start telling you how the plants fared.  

In the next few postings I'll share the successes and failures but I can safely say that no amount of cooler weather is going to help the Sunpatiens.  What a disappointment they have been....and a constant worry all summer.

A lot of you are probably saying I was crazy to even use them but the grower raved about them and I was excited to try something different.  But an impatiens is an impatiens no matter what other name you want to call it....they hate the heat and love water, lots of it.  I tried three different colors:  white, coral and fuschia.   The white one had the most shade during the day and did the worst -- constantly drooping.  The coral and fuschia were in all day sun and while the fuschia did droop when regular watering was missed, the coral never showed stress like the others.

That said, none of them ever got to the full size quoted -- 2 feet by 2 feet.  And they were given regular doses of fertilizer.  Admittedly, the white was sharing a container with an aggressive coleus but it did have its chance to win the race early. 

 So where is the Sunpatiens?  Between the coleus and the sweet potato vine -- hiding -- as well it should, pitiful thing.

But thank goodness for the assertive coleus and the aggressive vine -- they made this container in front of Perk coffee shop look down right impressive.

The vinca is hanging in there, trying to make a showing but it was no match for the other two. 















The container with the fuschia Sunpatiens lost one of the three original plants to a fungus a couple weeks ago so it really looks sad -- so sad that I didn't have the heart to take a picture.  Guess I should just to remind me of what NOT to plant next year.

This coral Sunpatiens planted with purple Homestead verbena did pretty well all summer but they have both stopped blooming so it is nothing to write home about either.

 

 

Lesson learned -- don't even think about planting something in these containers that is a water hog. 

 

On a positive note, the containers with caladiums and dragon wing begonias are strutting their stuff and would keep on going right up to the first hard frost if I could let them stay.  I'll write about them in the next posting, but check the real thing on the streets.  The map in the tab at the top of the blog will help you find out where they are -- love that map. 





Banana Shrub - A Classic Southern Lady

One of my favorite shrubs is blooming again in the Welcome Center Garden -- Banana Shrub (Michelia figo) -- and the fragrance is absolutely yummy.  What other word would you use to describe something that truly smelled like a banana. 

When you see the blooms you won't be surprised that it is a member of the magnolia family.  The soft, creamy yellow petals resemble a magnolia blossom but everything else about it is much more diminutive -- from its three-inch flowers to its overall 10 foot size.  Like a magnolia it won't disappoint when it comes to fragrance.  When warmed by the sun, the banana scent will waft throughout the garden.  

This native of China was brought to America in the 1700's and soon became a staple of Southern gardens -- evergreen and fragrant -- components for true "southern nights".   Its hardiness zones are 8-11 so it won't be happy in the colder parts of Georgia but I have seen it go through some tough winters so with a little protection it might work for those mountain homes.  

 

The heaviest bloom period is in the spring but it will lightly put out flowers throughout the other seasons -- and we're getting some now.  I think it is happy!!  Maybe because it has been getting regular waterings and a dose of diluted fertilizer every time I feed the plants at its base.  A full sun to partial shade lover, situated at the front edge of the Garden it is also getting just the right amount of sun throughout the day.  

 

I did say that it can grow to 6-10 feet tall and wide and our little Welcome Garden can't afford that much plant so I keep it pruned to a reasonable size.  Limbing it up at the bottom so the ferns and seasonal color will have space to grow, and keeping the top portion from poking out the eyes of visitors.

 

 

This picture shows you better what the typical growth pattern is of the flowers and leaves.  It makes such a great evergreen hedge that it is worth planting just for that reason, but oh, when it blooms!  Banana shrubs aren't real easy to find in the nurseries but if you ask they can hunt one down for you.  My friends at Thomas Orchards are always willing to help locate cool plants.  Which reminds me -- they are having their fall sale and there is still great stuff to be had.  Plant this fall to get those roots established.  In the meantime, stop by the Garden and sniff away. 



  

Map of the Containers

I just added something great to the blog and was so excited about it -- but then I forgot to tell you guys about it -- so how were you supposed to use it and get excited too.  So what is it -- it is a map of Madison showing the location of all the containers and a list of plants for each of those containers.  There are ways to improve on the map but for right now it gives you an opportunity to connect with the plants I talk about and locate the container to see for yourself what's happening.

Since this is an interactive map I can't do a picture of it so you'll have to take the trip yourself -- which is really easy.  Go to the "tabs" at the top of the blog and click on the one that says simply "Map of Containers".  Then click on the URL link and it will take you to the map.  On the left of the screen is a listing of each container by number and within each box I tell you what plants I've used and how many.  Also added whether it is sun or shade but it might be more useful to tell you how many hours of morning sun or afternoon shade, etc.   Look for that in the near future. 

Very soon each container will have a numbered tag on the box but until that happens you can find out which container you want to investigate by looking at the streets and businesses to home in on the right one; then click on it and it will immediately open the right box.  How slick is that -- Don't you just love those Google folks!

So....we just can't close this posting with no pictures....way too boring.  Let's see what's pretty to look at.

 

 

Yes, that is a picture of pansies -- from another year.  It is time to start thinking about our winter gardens and containers.  The full contingent of cool weather plants won't really be at your nurseries for several more weeks but you might start to see a few things coming in like bacopa, calibrachoa and some vegetables.  There are several great varieties of pansies that are new to the market so keep your eye out for them.  You can bet they will be in our City containers and I'll be writing about them. 

 

Cool Wave Pansies -- if you see them buy them!!  There won't be many available and they will go fast.  More about them in upcoming posts.  Until then...check out the map!