Hey Beetle..How are you?
Your Gardenis looks fantastic. What type of fertilizer did you use? Did you add Epsom Salts and Superthrive? Neither?

Keep your 'denia out till nights are in the 40's. Even though, by then, days are shorter, cool/chilly temps promote budding..Anything under 40 is too cold.

The plant next to the 'denia is blurry, so I can't ID it..it looks like a Variegated Ficus Benji..is it?

Do you have a cool, bright room your 'denia can live in during winter months? IMO, bringing certain plants in before turning on the heat is less stressful on the plant..I notice this, moreso, with Gardenias, Citrus, Ficus and Hibiscus.

Anyway, your denia looks great. Keep doing whatever you're doing and you'll be rewarded..Toni

I'm fine Toni,how are you?busy in the garden?
thanks Toni,I added a little bit of epsom salts, and a bit later, made a full strenth batch of miracid, and diluted this twice. [a third the strenth]
thanks for the bringing in advice,this I'm a bit nervous of lol. I'm going to put her in our cool basement, under the lights.
the shrub in the pic, is actually a silver variegated Dogwood, I bought for my husband five years ago. It seems to do real well with the shady back yard,but it does get lots of morning sun. Have a Great evening, happy gardeniaing he he!!

Hi beetle, GREAT job on your gardenia!! It looks really healthy and happy! Thanks for posting those great pics... I love the variegated dogwood also.

Beetle, did you take the picture while aboard an airplane? LOL..

That's Dogwood??? It's absolutly beautiful..I've never seen Dogwood with variegated foliage. That is novel.
I really don't know much about hardy trees/shrubs..Is Dogwood the plant that blooms heavily in spring? The Dogwood I'm thinking of (if it's dogwood) has pink or white flowers. There might be one with dark purple flowers too.
Where on earth did you find it? What's its age? You're calling it a shrub. How tall does it get? I want one..LOL

You have quite a few Amaryllis. Do they all bloom?

What's the tree in back of the Dogwood? It looks soft.
What are the two plants on the slab, to the left of the Dogwood. (One is in a white pot, w/pink/red flowers)
And what's growing in the box on the hanging pole?

Your yard looks nice and cozy..Isn't summer great?

Oh yes..We did quite a bit of gardening this year. But you know how fast weeds grow, so it seems it's an endless job. I even added one tomato plant, wanted a green pepper too..LOl
Last summer the 17 year Cicadas did a number on many perrenials, including an 8 yr old Butterfly Bush, 2 Flowering Almonds, Gold Wisteria, Variegated Mock Orange, Hydrangea, and a few others. This spring I substituted a few plants with Fox Glove, Hardy Musa Bansoo, 3 Dalilas, and more.
I intended to work outside today. Got ready, was looking for garden gloves when the sky darkened..then a downpour. I wish it'd had rained tonight instead of earlier. Everything's muddy..I tried doing a few things but there's several inches of mud, so all I did was deadhead flowers, plant a dying citrus and Mother-of-thousand succulents in the ground..
Beetle, don't be nervous about taking plants out or using ferts/ESs etc. As long as it's not overfertilized, or over-anything, plants will do fine.
Last summer a woman I met online, then found out she lives in IL, gave me a Mandarin orange tree. She didn't measure ES's, in fact added way more than I'd dare, yet the Mandarin was/is doing fantastic. Leaves are large and quite green, I'd bet was due to ES's and Superthrive. The day we picked it up, the scent was tantilizing.

Keep up the great work, and keep us posted. If you found the Dogwood online, please tell me where you bought it? Thanks, Toni

Thanks puglvr! I really like this dogwood too. At our local greenhouse, they even had Golden variegated ones. I wish I could tell you,Toni, that I ordered online,but it came from our local greenhouse near Edmonton AB.
This one is about five years in the ground, and we've had to do some pruneing and tying to keep it in control lol! Not sure how big it could get, but we only have so much yard.[it does have little white flowers,then berries]
All of the Amaryills bloom, except for the babys, and thats going to be pretty exciting, when they have thier first flowers! They get a summer vacation too.
The tree back of the dogwood, is a weeping caragana. Planted it in 2000, and it almost winter killed a few times,and had a aphid infestation one summer, but it keeps on plugging away LOL.
The plants in the two big white pots, are my begonias. I dig the tubers in late fall, store them in the basement,then start them under lights in early spring.In the two white hanging baskets, are petunias, and yellow snapdragons.The ones left/back of the dogwood, are blackeyed susans 'African Sunset' a new variety my daughter wanted to try. and a couple of sickly cherry toms lol [an experament that failed,]
Oh my gosh, did any of your plants survive the attack? You mention a 'dying citus', what kind Toni, do you think it will bounce back? Maybe it will love where you put it,and really take off.I'll bet your Mandarin orange is Lovely!! do you have any pics of it? thanks again,Toni, and have a Great day!!
Fiona

Howdy..Oh Fiona, I'd love to have a variegated Dogwood..If it's the same tree I'm thinking of, plenty grow around here..but NONE are variegated.
You say yours is a bush, right? I guess you can keep it trimmed after blooming..would you know the time of year to prune?
Next spring, when Dogwoods are in bloom, I'll go up to one and see if it has berrys..LOL..One thing nice about dogwood is they grow symetrical..have you noticed?
How did you get baby Amaryllis? Did they seed? or divisions? Even though I love Amaryllis, I don't have any. They take a lot of room, something we're lacking..LOL.
Does the Caragana have soft foliage? It resembles a tree/plant that grows at a nature area in IL. Is it in the fir family? Do you mulch in autumn? Maybe it needs mulch around the roots to keep a bit warmer???
Speaking of Begonias, I bought one at a local store this summer..Pink flowers, grown in a 4" plastic pot. How would I know if it's a tuber w/o digging? Does foliage die back in winter? I hope it's not a tuber, but probably is considering the department it was in when we found it. If it's a tuber, how do I overwinter? Will it die if left in the pot?
Your begonia flowers are gorgeous..so big..are they bi-colored? Pink and white? I swear, my eye sight is gettiing bad..it's not your picture.
Fiona, did you bring out all your house plants?
What happened to your tomato? Home grown taste sooo much better than store bought.

About the Cicadas, they did a LOT of damage..killed many perrenials 5 years and older, but they didn't get hold of house plants..Thank God.
The citrus, a grapefruit, was on its way out..it was given to me years ago, planted in way too much sand..about 90%. I should have repotted long ago, but kept putting it off.
Also, it was a dwarf..I have problems w/dwarves for some reason. Think I have one dwarf left, it's doing okay. Standards do much better. I don't get it???!!!
To be honest, I feared hauling house plants out last year because of cicadas..When they were here 18 yrs ago, they did some damage but we didn't get anywhere as many as last summer..In fact, there were 5 cities listed, (that had the most 'cadas,) ours came in 2..they was horrible. I feel sorry for them though..what a life!! I dislike most insects: when you have one or several 4+" bug/s landing on your hair, ohhhh, just thinking about it gives me goose bumps..LOL..they're harmless, but huge. Ever see one?

Fiona, your yards looks really nice..how in the world do you keep weeds out, or did you weed before the pic was taken? LOL..We have to pluck every 2-3 days..No chemical weed/insecticides killers. In or out. Think you know that though.
How are you going to overwinter your Gardenia? Toni

Hi Toni,
Not too sure on when to prune the dogwood,and this is sad, but hubby and I just lop off what looks out of place! [lack of room too, lol]
the baby amaryills, are both seed and offsets. I've been really experementing with crossing different kinds, and selfing [pollinating one with it's own pollen] I think pretty soon,they will take over, and we will have to move LOL!

Yes, the caragana has beautifully soft foliage,so nice, especially early spring, and then, sometimes it gets too warm for it, and the leaves crisp a bit. [not sure what family tree[groan!] its from?

thanks so much for the compliments to the yard and the begonias. we have to seed the grass every spring. [we have an akita dog we let have the yard over fall, and winter] I don't know why we have so few weeds [now watch,next year...look out lol!!] Maybe its because its fairly shady, and weeds like sun?

don't worry if your begonia is tuberous,all you do is let the foliage die back in the fall, then store it [in the pot if you wish] in a cool,dark spot]

Nope, I have never seen a Cicada,and I'm shuddering to think of them in your hair!! Hope they stay away for anouther 7 or better years!!
I think I'll just put the gardie under lights,in our fairly cool basement. hopefully she won't drop too many leaves lol
Have a great evening!!

Howdy,
I looked up Caragana. One site led me to Wikipedia.com. It says, Caragana is a genus in a species of about 80 of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and Eastern Europe.
Does your Carangana bloom? It looks like some type of yew/fir, the type that grows cones...but I really know nothing about trees. Whatever,it's really pretty, Fiona.

Wish I could help with the Dogwood too..someone has to know or info on the net. I have an ancient garden book which have have info; I'll check for you..But there's no guarantee it has Dogwood pruning times.

Does wee-wee can kill grass. Our dogs do it everywhere..lol. If you have the energy, I think if you hose right after they urinate the grass shouldnt burn from urine which is pretty strong.
I just caught Sam (Mastiff) peeing on a newly purchased baby Cajun Hibicus..I purchased 3 within in July. One died..I'd bet his 'territory marking' killed it. Darn.
Oh Fiona if shade prevented weeds it'd be great, but those things grow anywhere and everywhere..LOL.
We have several weeds that grow front and back..even in shady areas weeds take over. Do you get those viney weeds that wrap around plants and strangle? They're awful. I believe they're somehow related to Morning Gloria..vines and flowers look quite similar. They're the worse!!
I learned a trick about Dandilions..when they bud, cut buds off..Don't allow to flower..this way they can't reseed. I'll have to try it next time they grow in.

Thanks for explaining about Begonias..So, if it starts dying back come fall, I can assume it's a tuber. Do you repot yours in larger containers? The one I got came in a 4" pot..I'm sure it's potbound. Since it's already August, there's no sense in repotting now, but if they are tubers, should I place in a say 6" pot next spring?
Oh I picked up a Wax Begonia at Walmart for 1.00. Gonna grow it indoors come fall..LOL..they are one begonia that'll live even for those who are begonia killers..LOL

Fiona, please tell me how you cross Amaryllis? What's your secret? Do you pollinate or hand-pollinate so they seed, then germinate seeds? Cool..
I'm going to try the same with African Violets. Let's cross our fingers..LOL.

I know what you mean..plants are taking over our place too. LOL. I 'may' dontate not all but some Philos. Mainly those that vine. I have to think about it, but so far it's the best option. I even considered donating Agaves too, but that'd be harder than the Philos..LOl

Well, good luck..keep me posted..I'm curious what hapens with your Amaryllis. Take care, Toni

Should my amaryllis be outside? First one I've ever had though I've sold hundreds over the years.

Hi Buy..How ya doing?
It wouldn't hurt taking your Amaryllis outside, though summer is half over.
If you decide to take them out, don't forget to start off in a shady spot.
Amarylis are cold sensitive, so bring them indoors before first frost.
You've sold hundreds of Amaryllis? That's interesting. Do you still sell them? That's interesting.
Did you ever start one from seed? Toni

We're Back, LOL,
We just got back from a wonderful camping and fishing trip.Didnt catch anything, but we hiked and just plain relaxed.
Hi Toni,its not hard to pollinate amaryills,even if you take the pollen form the plant, and put it on its own pollen pads [selfing]. one of my favorite forums is the amaryills one. I've learned sooo much. sorry got to run..
Good Growing!1

Beetle, it sounds like you guys had a great time..I'm not into fishing/hunting, but hiking if great. Plus all the wildlife!! Did you see anything unusual?
I hope one day you 'invent' your own Am hybrid called, Beetle Mania..LOL..Toni

LOL Toni!!! Thats so Good!!! We didn't see anything unusual, but i'm Thrilled to take a pic of a Blackie, in the entry to our camp grounds!! first time i've ever seen one in the wilds.

Hi Beetle (and Toni!) Just saw your post and had to peek at your gardenia...WOW! That is awesome..she looks so healthy! :D That is awesome! I'm so happy for ya! That picture of a bear is so cool..I have never seen one in the wild yet. They say they are in our county, but haven't seen any tracks yet.

Congratulations! I hope that she stays healthy over the winter for ya! :)

Thanks Mersie!!!Real Glad you're back...hope your new gardie does well for you , [Very funny post,but a shame your precious finally stopped teaseing you and left the planet!!] anyways, Happy Gardeniaing!!

LOL! Yeah, it had a date with the Plant Reaper..nothing I could do, heh heh. ;)

Glad to be back! It was so hard to escape from that institution for the botanically insane.