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.

 

 



 



 

 

 

 



 

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. 





Hot, Hot, Hot

Record breaking temperatures do not make for happy plants.  It was even too hot to water the poor things.  The regular Monday/Wednesday/Friday waterings -- along with the moisture beads in the soil -- were not enough for a few of them.  I'm happy to say though that most of the containers did okay with the 107+ days.  Those in the shade naturally did even better.  But, the Sunpatiens and coleus looked liked wet rags on Saturday, June 30.  An emergency water run was called for just to get the near death plants back to life.  It was with welcome relief on Sunday morning to see that they had all revived with minimal damage. 

This is the recovered white Sunpatiens Sunday morning.  It had a few burned leaves and shriveled flowers but did come back after a big drink of water. 


One amazing plant that truly looked like it was a goner but bounced back in mere minutes is the Lysimachia 'Persian Chocolate'.  The ones around the Welcome Center garden were flat, gray and curled up -- but a few minutes with a hose and they bounced right back.  These will be used in more places next season. 

The true color is definitely more "chocolate" than this photo reveals, but you get the idea.  It is a great ground cover and an even better spiller for a container.

But let me tell you which plant didn't miss a beat in this heat -- the Lilac Wave Petunia.  It almost seemed to thrive on the duress.  Just take a look at this pretty little gal.

This is paired with a deep pink Cora vinca and Victoria Blue salvia.  The vinca and salvia drooped in protest to the heat but the trio recovered quickly.

Hopefully, that was the worst they have to go through -- and me too -- that wasn't much fun checking on 42 "children".  But it was rewarding to see them still standing proud.  I'll feature the caladiums next time around.  There are some great looking ones in the containers and the Welcome Center garden....check 'em out.