a place to ask others about plant problems
I have germinated a potful of Lilium catesbaei, which seemed an achievement in itself
Has anyone any advice on what to do next? Do I need to sit the pot in water?? What about pH requirements, and how hardy is it?? Who has managed to flower it, where and how?
Reading various catalogs, one gets the distinct impression that a variety of coveted plants can only be grown on tufa, or troughs as a less desirable alternative.
I'm thinking about a mountain side with relatively decayed stone on surface with progressively more solid stone as one goes deeper. Cracks and fissures may be only a few mm wide, but may extend many meters deep and wide.
Wulfenia carthiniaca has been hanging around for years in my yard... and not doing much. It is native, apparently, to the Austrian and Italian Alps, and to the Baltic region. The common name for this plant is Cow's Footstep... (huh, no wonder it's unpopular. ;D ;D )
http://luirig.altervista.org/schedeit/pz/wulfenia_carinthiaca.htm
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20103145102.html
I've been checking out photos of erodiums in the NARGS gallery and on other websites. The flowers and foliage of some species are awfully pretty in a sweet sort of way. I'm loathe to try them, though, because of the invasive weediness of Erodium cicutarium.
What are others' thoughts and experience? Are some species well-behaved enough that they won't take over the western U.S.?
I just renewed my membership for the second year. Last year I was told I could get some seeds but by the time I got a password, it was too late. This year I will try again. I live east of Sault Ste. Marie Ontario near Iron Bridge. I have a large piece of land (160 acres) but it is prone to flooding. The soil is silt over clay and gravel or bed rock. Soil pH is 5.5.
In the garden I have few problems with aphids, they are controlled by many different predators.
However when I bring plants under glass in the the fall the aphid population increase dramatically but there is no sign of the predators. Especially soft bodied young plants and seedlings are affected. I am afraid of using insecticides too much as some can damage the plants. I mostly use my fingers to squeeze the culprits but this is a tedious and tiresome task.
What do you do to keep aphids under control?
Over the past few months I've made a point of asking various friends across the US and Canada about particular problems they may have growing rock garden plants in their particular locale. As a function of elevation, precipitation, humidity, etc. many have given up on growing various alpines but have found more than adequate choices to populate their gardens, which provide them with beauty, persistence and an acceptable level of challenge.
I see the battery operated "sonic" stakes which are supposed to repel "moles". I wonder if anyone has any experience with them to repel voles. Zinc phosphide gopher bait seems to work, mostly; but it would be nice if there were something (?) simpler.
Charles S Massachusetts USA
The corms of my Cyclamens are growing bigger and bigger - and subsequently surfacing. They don' seem to dislike it but I suppose the new shoots are more vulnerable. No I wonder what to do. Cover with soil or let them be. Any suggestions?
This year has been the "endless summer", day after day of hot sunny weather without rain, not even getting much in the way of thunderstorms. Once the soil reaches a certain level of dryness, where even trees and shrubs show the effects of drought, it becomes an uphill battle trying to resuscitate them by watering; a hose can barely begin to keep pace (and not to mention the water bans, restricted to watering every other day, which isn't too bad). The soil can become so hard, dry and dusty, that it reaches an "unwettable" state by actually repelling water.