I'm Not Dead Yet!

Komo News weatherman Scott Sistek made an interesting point about our recent weather.  In the past 75 days, it has rained on 68 of those days.  The 75 days prior to that (Oct. 12 to July 30) was the exact opposite: Mostly sunny on 68 of the 75 days.  In other words, if you're going to visit Seattle, visit in summer when it's not raining every day.  You can read his article here.

The good news about all this rain is there haven't been any "arctic express" events so far.  There haven't even been any light freezes to speak of - just a couple nights getting down to about 30F/-1C.  And as long as the jet stream keeps flowing our way, it will ward off any bad arctic air so I'm completely fine with it raining for the next two months.  Here is a sign of just how mild it has been around here:

Hydrangea macrophylla on December 27th, 2012

Some not-really-hardy subtropical plants get left outside all winter just to see if they will make it.  There also wasn't any room in the greenhouse so bringing them in wasn't really an option.  I did get a lot of cuttings just in case.  But so far, this Brugmansia is doing just fine:

Bare Brugmansia

This Castor Bean plant is probably a bit closer to death, but still hanging on!

Ricinus communis 'Carmencita red'

This potted Bearss Lime (Citrus × latifolia) blends in so well with its surroundings I neglected to take it in, yet it doesn't seem phased in the least by the cold.  I will probably try to get this acclimated to the greenhouse just to keep it happy.

Citrus × latifolia

The two species of hardy cyclamen in the garden are both in bloom right now.  Here is Cyclamen hederifolium:

Cyclamen hederifolium

And Cyclamen coum:

Cyclamen coum

Plants with great evergreen foliage also really shine this time of year seeing as there is less foliage to go around in the garden.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Barry's silver'

Rubus lineatus

Clockwise from left: Melianthus major, Arbutus unedo, Schefflera brevipedunculata

And finally, a plant geek's plant if there ever was one: Brassica oleracea var. longata or Walking Stick Kale.  It was planted almost two years ago from seed and looks primed to put on a ton of growth in the spring.  It's already six feet tall and will hopefully get to 10 feet before going to seed.

Brassica oleracea var. longata

Another Greenhouse Day

Left to right: Basil, Cilantro, Giant Pumpkins, a Carving Pumpkin seedling, and a Castor Bean seedling (Ricinus communis)

When I bought a package of peat pots to start off my giant pumpkin seeds, I realized they weren't all that expensive (10 cents/pot) so I went back and bought a few more packages.  Now I'm growing everything in them.  The idea with peat pots is, when it is time to transfer them out to the garden, the plants hardly know they are being transplanted because they are planted with the pot directly into the soil.  The plant's roots easily grow right through.  Eventually the pot disintegrates, but I've heard peat pots can wick enough moisture out of the soil to kill the seedling so it is important to completely bury the pot.

Some more peat pot shots:

Freshly planted Corn

Left: Castor bean seedlings (Ricinus communis); Center: Echium pininana, Echium fastuosum, and Ecium wildpretii;   Right: Carving pumpkins, Walking Stick Kale, Watermelon, English daisies, and Tomatoes.

About a month ago, I took 10 Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) cuttings.  All of them are rooting, and three of them are ready to be potted up today.

Here is the step by step process I took to get them to root:

1. I cut off 1' long branches, making sure there was a node at the bottom of the cutting.
2. I trimmed off all the larger leaves to help minimize water loss (they wilted for about the first day).
3. I stuck them in a glass with about 6"-8" of bottled (non-chlorinated) water and placed them in a high-light, 65 degree environment out of direct sunlight
4. I changed the water about once a week.
5. I waited for them to grow roots.  Once they got to the point where they had enough roots to be sustained in soil, I potted them up into 1 gallon pots.
 

Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet)

Finally, the potatoes are growing quickly after being planted just two weeks ago.  I think the 60 degree temperature of the greenhouse is just about perfect for them.

Solanum tuberosum 'Adirondack Blue'

I like big leaves

I also like taking pictures of them with my new ipad.



Although the ipad's camera isn't as good as the camera in my aging iphone 3GS, it is incredibly fun having a full view of the final photo as it is being taken. It's a necessity for compositional morons.

Now back to the plants....


I'm not all that big on flowers (I'm more of a leaf person), but Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) is one flower that continually lures me. First of all, just being able to bring an Angel's Trumpet into bloom in the Northwest carries bragging rights with it since it must be overwintered indoors here. Once it is in flower its intoxicating scent can be carried as far as 25 feet away, which is most intense in the evening. It's a staple in an exotic garden.

As I write this, I am listening to a segment on Coast-to-Coast AM about the disappearance of honey bees and the conspiracy to cover up the root of the problem caused by infection from commercial pesticides. If bee populations are half of what they were a decade ago, I think there is something we are doing wrong and I'd also put pesticide use at the top of the list. I'm not just talking about commercial farming pesticides. I think residential pesticides - the kind you buy at Lowe's or Home Depot - are just as detrimental.

Having said that, seeing the raspberries covered in honey bees was a welcome sight.


But back to big leaves....

I bought a piece of horseradish root several years ago after seeing it at a nursery, not having any idea what the plant looked like. To my surprise, it has huge leaves and happens to be hardier than just about anything. The leaves shoot up early in the spring and tolerate cold spring conditions really well. The leaves grow to about four feet tall and get about 8-10 inches wide.


Philodendron Selloum is remarkably "hardy" for a big-leaved evergreen tropical plant. It can take some cold - even down to freezing - without damage. I would peg its hardiness to be in the same ballpark as Strelitzia nicolai (Giant bird of paradise).


Finally, this Acanthus mollis (Bear's breeches) is leaf-hardy during a mild Northwest winter, and will quickly sprout back from the roots after a cold Northwest winter.