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What type of plants are you interested in growing?
This poll is closed.
Perennials! 142 20.91%
Annuals! 30 4.42%
Woody plants! 62 9.13%
Succulent plants! 171 25.18%
Tropical plants! 60 8.84%
Non-vascular plants are the best! 31 4.57%
Screw you, I'd rather eat them! 183 26.95%
Total: 679 votes
[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

 
Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


What can I do with leftover fertilizer? I always have some leftover after I fertilize my grass and it's so humid here it turns into a giant sticky mess in about an hour. Dump it in my compost pile or on an old tree stump to rot it down or something? This is like 30-0-0 or something.

Also here's some roses.

Two of the late David Austen's:
The pretty much perfect 'Graham Thomas.' Nice, subtle scent like fresh rain or something.

'Windermere' I've only had this in the ground a year or two and it hasn't quite thrived, but it's doing okay. Nice lemony sort of scent.


And one of my favorite old fashioned climbing roses, 'Clotilde Soupert,' first grown in 1896. Its always crazy to me that this plant I am growing is actually the same plant and it's almost 125 yrs old. Plants are amazing-it's like you could cut off a person's arm and stick them in a pile of rotten people and they would grow a whole new identical person that could be basically immortal. This rose is totally bulletproof, and super vigorous. It' was grown from a cutting by a friend and has been in the ground 5 years and its 20' wide at least? It needs a serious haircut.


If it has a flaw, it's that the flowers dont always open in humid weather, but this year it's doing fine. It basically blooms sporadically year round here, but puts on its big show in the spring and early fall. Very strong, wonderful rose scent.


Grow old roses! They're incredible and nothing ever happens to them, unlike tea roses. They get black spot and all their leaves fall off and they just don't care and grow new leaves where a tea rose would give up the ghost. They're just as tough and good of repeat bloomers as nasty old Knockouts, but they smell incredible and have some neat history to them!


I. M. Gei posted:

No, it was just sitting there in a hole with no dirt along its sides.
Don't ever let landscapers plant things. They never dig big enough holes or break up the root ball of potbound stuff and so three years later you basically have a plant that doesn't grow strangling itself with its own roots sitting in a hole full of water that doesn't drain and in 4 years you have a dead plant.

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Hubis
May 18, 2003

Boy, I wish we had one of those doomsday machines...

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

What can I do with leftover fertilizer? I always have some leftover after I fertilize my grass and it's so humid here it turns into a giant sticky mess in about an hour. Dump it in my compost pile or on an old tree stump to rot it down or something? This is like 30-0-0 or something.

Also here's some roses.

Two of the late David Austen's:
The pretty much perfect 'Graham Thomas.' Nice, subtle scent like fresh rain or something.

'Windermere' I've only had this in the ground a year or two and it hasn't quite thrived, but it's doing okay. Nice lemony sort of scent.


And one of my favorite old fashioned climbing roses, 'Clotilde Soupert,' first grown in 1896. Its always crazy to me that this plant I am growing is actually the same plant and it's almost 125 yrs old. Plants are amazing-it's like you could cut off a person's arm and stick them in a pile of rotten people and they would grow a whole new identical person that could be basically immortal. This rose is totally bulletproof, and super vigorous. It' was grown from a cutting by a friend and has been in the ground 5 years and its 20' wide at least? It needs a serious haircut.


If it has a flaw, it's that the flowers dont always open in humid weather, but this year it's doing fine. It basically blooms sporadically year round here, but puts on its big show in the spring and early fall. Very strong, wonderful rose scent.


Grow old roses! They're incredible and nothing ever happens to them, unlike tea roses. They get black spot and all their leaves fall off and they just don't care and grow new leaves where a tea rose would give up the ghost. They're just as tough and good of repeat bloomers as nasty old Knockouts, but they smell incredible and have some neat history to them!

Don't ever let landscapers plant things. They never dig big enough holes or break up the root ball of potbound stuff and so three years later you basically have a plant that doesn't grow strangling itself with its own roots sitting in a hole full of water that doesn't drain and in 4 years you have a dead plant.

Get some weather tight storage bins from your local Big Box store. Otherwise I guess throwing it in your compost will work, though I expect most of the Nitrogen will have volatized away by the time you use it on anything (which is maybe a good thing since still least it won't overfertilize whatever you dress with the compost)

Hubis
May 18, 2003

Boy, I wish we had one of those doomsday machines...
Speaking of hack job tree surgery, here's a photo from my yard this spring:



Hello, tree birb! I am sure this does not foretell an expensive and potentially destructive end for this tree in the near future :sigh:

I'm just going to try and wait until the fall and talk to an arborist once the current tenants move out.

E: that is one of three major top branches. It was hacked off pretty severely like that when we moved in -- neighbor said it snapped badly during a storm, so I am guessing they cut it back as cleanly as they could and hoped for the best. It had some live shoots on it down near the main trunk so the arborist I called said just leave it, but there is no sign of life this spring so I am guessing it's dead.

The stub is probably 2-3' wide and like 6-8' long from the main trunk. I'm not really sure what can be done that wouldn't just leave another big gaping wound on the tree, but I am taking our little friend deciding to move in as a sign there's an insect infestation taking hold if it's not too late already...

Hubis fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Apr 13, 2019

I. M. Gei
Jun 26, 2005

CHIEFS

BITCH



Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Don't ever let landscapers plant things. They never dig big enough holes or break up the root ball of potbound stuff and so three years later you basically have a plant that doesn't grow strangling itself with its own roots sitting in a hole full of water that doesn't drain and in 4 years you have a dead plant.

I will keep this in mind, although my dad is already insisting on having a landscaper plant our next tree, or at least having them supervise.

I’d prefer to just plant it myself.

Fitzy Fitz
May 14, 2005




Those are some beautiful roses.

That fertilizer is pure nitrogen, so not what most plants need. It'll also leech out of your compost rather than adding to it. You could use it some corn though! Corn, as a grass like your lawn, loves tons of nitrogen.

SpartanIvy
May 18, 2007
Hair Elf
I attempted to scape the land

Disgusting weed plot


Tilled


Get the plants


Plant the plants


Watered the plants, and a final close up


I do have two bags of mulch to put down, but the sun was nearly down and I'm tired, so I'll do it tomorrow or Sunday.

Hirayuki
Mar 28, 2010


Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Grow old roses!
I never have, but your post has convinced me to try (at least) one this spring! Thanks for the inspiration. :3:

Southern Heel
Jul 2, 2004

Hi guys, the kooky-but-untamed 1930's garden we moved into has stayed untamed for the last 18mo and now it's just about to be summer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on some affordable, low maintenance options to keep it looking neat and nice?


the front garden is tiny and steep, and every square inch of "grass" is actually just dandelions:




the back lawn is slightly better but the 'rockery' and planters have just looked like poo poo forever:



For the back garden, it seems relatively simple to just black out the garden beds with weed barrier and put woodchips ontop - any opinions on that? For the front garden however, I am completely unsure - I don't see any feasible way to make that lawn look like anything other than a complete trainwreck, and I don't have the budget to landscape it.

Lead out in cuffs
Sep 18, 2012

"That's right. We've evolved."

"I can see that. Cool mutations."




Southern Heel posted:

Hi guys, the kooky-but-untamed 1930's garden we moved into has stayed untamed for the last 18mo and now it's just about to be summer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on some affordable, low maintenance options to keep it looking neat and nice?


the front garden is tiny and steep, and every square inch of "grass" is actually just dandelions:




the back lawn is slightly better but the 'rockery' and planters have just looked like poo poo forever:



For the back garden, it seems relatively simple to just black out the garden beds with weed barrier and put woodchips ontop - any opinions on that? For the front garden however, I am completely unsure - I don't see any feasible way to make that lawn look like anything other than a complete trainwreck, and I don't have the budget to landscape it.

Manually weeding that lawn and pruning back the juniper and boxwood? hedge would be a good start in the front.

Maybe get some gardening books out the library for inspiration as to what you'd like to do?

How much money do you have to put into this? How much of your time?

His Divine Shadow
Aug 7, 2000

I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do.
Hey, it's april and spring is starting up here, most of the snow is gone. What we like to do here when spring comes is to tap birches for their sap. For a few weeks only in spring you can do this. Basically like when they tap maples in Canada. We usually just drink it as is though instead of render it down a syrup. Can make wine from it too.



Dunno if this is the right thread or not.

SpartanIvy
May 18, 2007
Hair Elf

His Divine Shadow posted:

Hey, it's april and spring is starting up here, most of the snow is gone. What we like to do here when spring comes is to tap birches for their sap. For a few weeks only in spring you can do this. Basically like when they tap maples in Canada. We usually just drink it as is though instead of render it down a syrup. Can make wine from it too.



Dunno if this is the right thread or not.

I had no idea you could tap birches. What does it taste like?

His Divine Shadow
Aug 7, 2000

I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do.
It varies, it tastes like... firewood, and sometimes it's sweeter and other times like water with that hint of wood. I also heard it was good to bake bread on.

Pablo Bluth
Sep 7, 2007

I've made a huge mistake.

Southern Heel posted:

Hi guys, the kooky-but-untamed 1930's garden we moved into has stayed untamed for the last 18mo and now it's just about to be summer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on some affordable, low maintenance options to keep it looking neat and nice?
Personally, I'd work towards removing all of the grass from the front garden and replacing it with perennials. Perennials that need a prune once a year is less work than a lawn that is constantly demanding a haircut. And that shape/slope is never going to be easy to mow.

The only real answer to keeping it looking neat and nice is to fall in love with gardening and become obsessed with plants.

Eeyo
Aug 29, 2004

I'm starting some flower seeds for my balcony (one pot of chinese forget-me-nots/Cynoglossum and one of snow-on-the-mountain/Euphorbia marginata). I'm just starting them directly in pots until the weather gets better and I'll put them outside. The soil was ~80% last year's and a I put in some more from my bag to fill it up. I've been keeping it moist for sprouting. However, the snow-on-the-mountain appears to have fuzz on top of the soil.

Could it have accidentally picked up some fungus? If so, I'm guessing that pot is toast since the seeds would be consumed by the hyphae as well.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost
I got some more Japanese maples!!!



You’re looking at the (top left red) Pacific Fire, (top right green, shorter) Iijima Sunago, (middle right, green) Tobiosho, (front left, green) Shishigashira and finally (front right, orange) Autumn Moon.

I’m going to pot these up and try them in different parts of my yard to make sure they’re happy and in a few years plant them in the ground. Everything but the Pacific Fire (and the Shishigashira) are going to form larger shade trees along with my Sango Kaku. Once those develop more, I’m going to add more moderate and dwarf height cultivars so I can layer the colors and whatnot.

I’m still looking for an Aoyagi and Osakazuki, but I’ll still be very happy if I don’t end up with anymore this year.

Also, if folks really like bulbs, I had some amazing luck with Colorblends.com. Not the cheapest bulbs out there, but they make a lot of nice blends of bulbs that look stunning. They’re also great if you have large areas you want to just smother in color.

I naturalized “Woodland Blend” into my front yard



and “Aladdin’s Carpet” into some beds in the back. There were also some really cool white wild tulips that had 5-8 blooms per plant that just finished, lots of great stuff that just cycles through.



I also have some Globemasters but those will come in later. Next year I’m going to plant those a lot more densely but for a first time run I think they look pretty good! The lawn looks like poo poo, but I hate lawns and I’m trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible, so please pardon any dandelions!

Hubis
May 18, 2003

Boy, I wish we had one of those doomsday machines...

Southern Heel posted:

Hi guys, the kooky-but-untamed 1930's garden we moved into has stayed untamed for the last 18mo and now it's just about to be summer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on some affordable, low maintenance options to keep it looking neat and nice?


the front garden is tiny and steep, and every square inch of "grass" is actually just dandelions:




the back lawn is slightly better but the 'rockery' and planters have just looked like poo poo forever:



For the back garden, it seems relatively simple to just black out the garden beds with weed barrier and put woodchips ontop - any opinions on that? For the front garden however, I am completely unsure - I don't see any feasible way to make that lawn look like anything other than a complete trainwreck, and I don't have the budget to landscape it.

For the front yard, I'd say don't grow grass where you can't mow. Alternative idea -- go with a "no now" fine fescue mix, like this: https://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/goldengategardener/article/Junipero-Serra-no-mow-fescue-attracts-attention-3176301.php

I think it would look great on those hills and crowd out any weeds effectively.

fuzzy_logic
May 2, 2009

unfortunately hideous and irreverislbe

Solkanar512 posted:

I got some more Japanese maples!!!

I’m still looking for an Aoyagi and Osakazuki, but I’ll still be very happy if I don’t end up with anymore this year.


How close are you to NorCal?
https://www.mendocinomaples.com/acer-palmatum/aoyagi
https://www.mendocinomaples.com/acer-palmatum/osakazuki

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

I’m north of Seattle, but that’s a great reference!

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Southern Heel posted:

Hi guys, the kooky-but-untamed 1930's garden we moved into has stayed untamed for the last 18mo and now it's just about to be summer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on some affordable, low maintenance options to keep it looking neat and nice?


the front garden is tiny and steep, and every square inch of "grass" is actually just dandelions:




the back lawn is slightly better but the 'rockery' and planters have just looked like poo poo forever:



For the back garden, it seems relatively simple to just black out the garden beds with weed barrier and put woodchips ontop - any opinions on that? For the front garden however, I am completely unsure - I don't see any feasible way to make that lawn look like anything other than a complete trainwreck, and I don't have the budget to landscape it.
That's a really neat site-you could have alot of fun with it. In the front, definitely get rid of the grass and replace with perennials/groundcovers. Depending on what grows where you are, agapanthus or some ferns or daylillies would be nice, or just cover it all in that juniper. I can't tell exactly what they are, but you should be able to divide most of what is already there and quadruple your plants instantly. Buying stuff as bulbs/seeds instead of already grown plants in containers saves alot of money too, but you're going to have to wait a little while to get big plants.

Depending on sunlight etc. some old roses would look great in the back growing up the wall, but that might need to wait a little while. Just weeding and pruning a bit will instantly make it all look a whole lot better.

vonnegutt
Aug 7, 2006
Hobocamp.

Hubis posted:

Speaking of hack job tree surgery, here's a photo from my yard this spring:



Hello, tree birb! I am sure this does not foretell an expensive and potentially destructive end for this tree in the near future :sigh:

I'm just going to try and wait until the fall and talk to an arborist once the current tenants move out.

E: that is one of three major top branches. It was hacked off pretty severely like that when we moved in -- neighbor said it snapped badly during a storm, so I am guessing they cut it back as cleanly as they could and hoped for the best. It had some live shoots on it down near the main trunk so the arborist I called said just leave it, but there is no sign of life this spring so I am guessing it's dead.

The stub is probably 2-3' wide and like 6-8' long from the main trunk. I'm not really sure what can be done that wouldn't just leave another big gaping wound on the tree, but I am taking our little friend deciding to move in as a sign there's an insect infestation taking hold if it's not too late already...

Definitely get an arborist to take a look, but if the tree is stable, please consider leaving it standing even if it's dying. A lot of birds rely on cavities like that for nesting, and removal of dead stands is a reason some bird populations (like the Eastern Bluebird) are declining. Your bird friend might help keep insect infestations at bay, as well.

Hubis
May 18, 2003

Boy, I wish we had one of those doomsday machines...

vonnegutt posted:

Definitely get an arborist to take a look, but if the tree is stable, please consider leaving it standing even if it's dying. A lot of birds rely on cavities like that for nesting, and removal of dead stands is a reason some bird populations (like the Eastern Bluebird) are declining. Your bird friend might help keep insect infestations at bay, as well.

My hope is definitely that the tree not go anywhere -- it's a decent specemin (if a bit hacked in places) and one of the few trees in the area that hasn't been hacked down to make room for a McMansion and replaced with an underwatered/underpruned sapling by the builder.

If it's dying then it would probably have to go -- it has a pretty substantial canopy overhangs a good bit of the near by road/sidewalk (as well as adjacent trees I'd be worried about it damaging). Sadly not a place I think I could in good conscience leave a dead stand, though that's a very good piece of information I will keep in mind so thanks! The tree is otherwise actually pretty vigorous looking, so if there's some way I can leave that be without severely compromising it's health then I'd happily go that route. I'm guessing an arborist is probably going to give me a pretty funny look when I ask, though.

On the plus side, I noticed some of the lateral branches coming off that trunk that I thought were dead budding out, so it might not be as far gone as I feared. Amusingly, I was out mowing today and noticed that whole area of my yard was covered with what looked like saw dust. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, and then I saw the redhead pictured about poke his head out at me.

Hubis fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Apr 15, 2019

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
I need something that will hide my AC condenser. Zone 6b, partial to full shade, under a maple tree that sucks up every loving drop of water. I hate that tree. There was an oakleaf hydrangea in that spot that died off after getting all leggy. Any ideas for something tall enough to hide one side of it?

I. M. Gei
Jun 26, 2005

CHIEFS

BITCH



My cherry tree arrives tomorrow. :dance:

I had to pick a different spot for it than I originally planned, though, and I just ran a soil test there. The phosphorus and potash levels are good, but there’s like no nitrogen whatsoever, and I know nitrogen is important for fruit trees. Also the pH is somewhere around 5.0 or 5.5, which would be fine if I was planting azaleas, but is WAY too acidic for a cherry tree.

I’m pretty sure some of this will be remedied once I mix some Miracle Gro soil and planting mix in with the dirt, but is there anything I should do to improve just the dirt before I mix the rest of that poo poo in there? I know the planting mix I bought has peat moss in it, which isn’t gonna help with the acidity issue.

Also about what ratio of native dirt/Miracle Gro soil/planting mix should I use? I was originally planning to do one part of each, but now I’m thinking something like one part dirt, one part mix, and two parts Gro. Would that work?

Fitzy Fitz
May 14, 2005




My understanding is that you should plant in straight native soil if possible -- if you put it into a nice blend like that it's discouraged from sending its roots outside the planting hole. The top of the soil can then be treated, ideally out to the tree's drip line.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, because this is all book learning, not experience.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


I would plant in mostly native dirt. Dig a hole a good 3’ wide, break up the edges of the hole a little so they aren’t smooth if it’s heavy clay soil. You want roots to go out. Add a bag of black cow or some other compost if you want, but don’t overdo it. If your soil is heavy and has poor drainage, add some rotted pine bark (sold as soil conditioner at big box places) and mix it in with the native dirt at the bottom of the hole.

If you’re getting a tree in a pot, make sure you break up the root ball so that there aren’t any encircling roots. You want to cut a bunch of those roots so they make new growth going out into the hole. Most importantly, make sure the tree is not planted too deep. The root collar should be level with or slightly above the level of the surrounding soil.

You can add some lime now when you dig the hole, but you’re going to have to add lime over the next few years to try and get the soil more neutral. Some plants are super sensitive about pH (azaleas, camellias) but most can tolerate a pretty wide range-they just will grow best at pH X.Y so I wouldn’t obsess about that too much. There are lots of flowering cherries here growing in very acidic soil and they do fine.

The first year or two after you plant a tree, it probably won’t grow much and you’ll think it’s not happy. Don’t gently caress with it-it’s just growing roots. Usually in the third year they will really take off. It’s a bit late to be planting (I think you said your in the south on the Gulf Coast-ish?) so its probably going to need a good, deep soaking every week or two if the weather gets dry.

Hexigrammus
May 22, 2006

Cheech Wizard stories are clean, wholesome, reflective truths that go great with the marijuana munchies and a blow job.

Fitzy Fitz posted:

My understanding is that you should plant in straight native soil if possible -- if you put it into a nice blend like that it's discouraged from sending its roots outside the planting hole. The top of the soil can then be treated, ideally out to the tree's drip line.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, because this is all book learning, not experience.

That's the current thinking, and there's research showing encircling/girding roots damaging the tree when it's been planted in what essentially is a big pot of topsoil sunk in the dirt.

OTOH I seem to gotten away with planting into a mix of compost and native soil over the years. The uprooting issues I'm having in my orchard now are being caused by monsoon rains saturating the top few centimeters followed by heavy winds working their magic, same as is happening in the forest. Pain in the arse to have to winch up a tree, but OTOH I've been given the opportunity to examine root structures and confirm that in our sandy soil the trees weren't girdling themselves and had a healthy, albeit shallow, root structure.

I. M. Gei
Jun 26, 2005

CHIEFS

BITCH



Fitzy Fitz posted:

My understanding is that you should plant in straight native soil if possible -- if you put it into a nice blend like that it's discouraged from sending its roots outside the planting hole. The top of the soil can then be treated, ideally out to the tree's drip line.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, because this is all book learning, not experience.

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

I would plant in mostly native dirt. Dig a hole a good 3’ wide, break up the edges of the hole a little so they aren’t smooth if it’s heavy clay soil. You want roots to go out. Add a bag of black cow or some other compost if you want, but don’t overdo it. If your soil is heavy and has poor drainage, add some rotted pine bark (sold as soil conditioner at big box places) and mix it in with the native dirt at the bottom of the hole.

In that case, I’ll probably up the proportions to at least two parts native dirt plus one part Miracle Gro soil and one part planting mix.

I’m a little worried about planting in >50% native dirt because this particular dirt is a good bit thicker than the dirt in the other spot I wanted to plant in. That other dirt was sandy and drained quickly, whereas with this dirt I’m not sure how fast it drains. I don’t think it’s clay necessarily, or that it’s bad for a cherry tree, but I don’t think it’ll drain as easily as the sandy stuff would have.

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

The first year or two after you plant a tree, it probably won’t grow much and you’ll think it’s not happy. Don’t gently caress with it-it’s just growing roots. Usually in the third year they will really take off. It’s a bit late to be planting (I think you said your in the south on the Gulf Coast-ish?) so its probably going to need a good, deep soaking every week or two if the weather gets dry.

I’m in northeast Texas.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

I. M. Gei posted:

Also the pH is somewhere around 5.0 or 5.5, which would be fine if I was planting azaleas, but is WAY too acidic for a cherry tree.

Dang. If the pH is that low, plant some blueberries.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

I. M. Gei posted:

In that case, I’ll probably up the proportions to at least two parts native dirt plus one part Miracle Gro soil and one part planting mix.

I’m a little worried about planting in >50% native dirt because this particular dirt is a good bit thicker than the dirt in the other spot I wanted to plant in. That other dirt was sandy and drained quickly, whereas with this dirt I’m not sure how fast it drains. I don’t think it’s clay necessarily, or that it’s bad for a cherry tree, but I don’t think it’ll drain as easily as the sandy stuff would have.


I’m in northeast Texas.

I took a small workshop on Japanese maples this weekend, and when the issue of drainage came up the instructor suggested that once you amended the soil but before you planted, just fill the hole with water and watch what happens. In the context of rainy PNW weather and serious risks of fungal infections, he said that if you're draining an inch per hour you're fine.

Rodenthar Drothman
May 14, 2013

I think I will continue
watching this twilight world
as long as time flows.
Crossposting just because, and I'll throw some pics up soon. I have a lot of quail now, and a bunch of trees I hope we can try to identify~
I've got a bunch of neat plants now, I like them very much.

Rodenthar Drothman posted:

This is going to be the first of many posts here, I'm sure - I just bought a house on half an acre with a lot of fruit trees. I'll post a full list later when I have my working list in front of me, but it is at least 6 (small, thank God) avocado trees, 5 or 6 cherimoya trees (may be annonas? No clue), 3 limon trees (unsure if some are limes, so I'll just lump them in) , 3 or 4 grapefruit trees ... It's a lot to list on mobile.

So for now I have 2 questions:
1: any tips on trying to make some kumquat seedlings? I have a couple fruits (what's the singular fruit? One quat? Lol) from my tree soaking right now to separate the seeds.
2: any books you'd recommend I get? My preferred title is "Here's How To Not Kill Anything"

I. M. Gei
Jun 26, 2005

CHIEFS

BITCH



I got an update from USPS saying my tree is running late, but will still be here on time, somehow. :wtc:

I already dug the hole. ~3 ft diameter by ~1 ft deep, and I saved as much native dirt as I could. Not sure if I should dig any deeper than that; I’m waiting for the tree to get here so I can see how big the root ball is.

kid sinister posted:

Dang. If the pH is that low, plant some blueberries.

I plan to do this about 10 or 15 feet from my tree, just as soon as I get some good bushes. I fuckin love blueberries. :mrgw:

I’m also gonna plant an X-in-1 dwarf peach tree nearby as soon as I find one that’ll grow Red Havens and (preferably Improved) Elbertas, which’ll probably be around December at the earliest.

Solkanar512 posted:

I took a small workshop on Japanese maples this weekend, and when the issue of drainage came up the instructor suggested that once you amended the soil but before you planted, just fill the hole with water and watch what happens. In the context of rainy PNW weather and serious risks of fungal infections, he said that if you're draining an inch per hour you're fine.

Thanks, I need to try this later this afternoon.

I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Apr 15, 2019

cheese
Jan 7, 2004

Shop around for doctors! Always fucking shop for doctors. Doctors are stupid assholes. And they get by because people are cowed by their mystical bullshit quality of being able to maintain a 3.0 GPA at some Guatemalan medical college for 3 semesters. Find one that makes sense.

Fitzy Fitz posted:

Be careful learning proper pruning. Once you've learned it, you can't unsee all the lovely rear end trees that are basically everywhere. Every parking lot is full of lion-tailed, mulch volcanoed, topped, codominant garbage trees.

:nws:

Oh god, what have I done. I spent half an hour going down the rabbit hole of proper tree pruning and all I can see now when driving around are lion-tailed trees with weak structure :ohdear:

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Solkanar512 posted:

I took a small workshop on Japanese maples this weekend,
Please do tell. I halfway went down that rabbit hole a few years ago but they're just so heinously expensive. An old gardener lady I know had a pretty decent collection and she sometimes had success air layering them and would sell them pretty cheap. It seems like ordering scions and learning to graft your own from seed grown rootstock is the cheapest way to go.

I. M. Gei
Jun 26, 2005

CHIEFS

BITCH



I. M. Gei posted:

I got an update from USPS saying my tree is running late, but will still be here on time, somehow. :wtc:

My tree did not show up today :argh:

Maybe tomorrow :(

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Please do tell. I halfway went down that rabbit hole a few years ago but they're just so heinously expensive. An old gardener lady I know had a pretty decent collection and she sometimes had success air layering them and would sell them pretty cheap. It seems like ordering scions and learning to graft your own from seed grown rootstock is the cheapest way to go.

Get a flowering cherry tree instead. From what I’ve read, they’re more disease resistant, drought tolerant, and easy-going than Japanese maples, plus they look kickass in every season, smell kickass in Spring, and attract tons of birds and butterflies. They also grow in more places than you’d think.

I’m looking at getting one to replace that deadass dogwood tree in my yard.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Please do tell. I halfway went down that rabbit hole a few years ago but they're just so heinously expensive. An old gardener lady I know had a pretty decent collection and she sometimes had success air layering them and would sell them pretty cheap. It seems like ordering scions and learning to graft your own from seed grown rootstock is the cheapest way to go.

The way I’m trying to make this affordable is to take a multi year approach. For the first phase I’m starting with the taller, sun tolerate species, then I’ll transition to medium species underneath and finally dwarf/shade loving trees under that.

To keep costs down without getting into grafting (though I might dabble in that later) I’m really only buying small trees (quart or two in size), potting them up for a few years then putting them into the ground. Nothing is stopping me from putting the pots out in the yard or the flower bed or wherever to find the best place for them. Or to even bring them in if there’s another freak winter like the PNW had a few months ago.

The course itself was a nice intro to a bunch of different cultivars, some light pruning advice, the traditional arborist’s plea to “actually consider the full size of your tree”, ensuring proper drainage and so on. But maybe it’s because I grew up here and everyone has one in their yard, but I don’t understand why these trees have a reputation for being so finicky and fragile.

Two really interesting hints he gave -

1. Don’t be afraid to plant your tree on a mound of amended soil. This seems like a complete no brainer, but instead of having to dig a 4’ hole, dig a 2’ hole then add 2’ of soil on top. It not only immediately gives your new tree additional height, you only have to dig a hole half as deep! This is also great when you have to amend your soil for drainage, high water tables and so on.

2. You can train weeping trees like vines. Plant one next to an arbor or trellis, take the top one or two branches and tie them to the arbor and train them up. It would also help to feed them something lighter (7-2-2ish) after the foliage is out for branch/trunk growth. If you feed them earlier then it helps the foliage.

Rodenthar Drothman
May 14, 2013

I think I will continue
watching this twilight world
as long as time flows.
Okay, pics of plants as promised.
Well, the first is of the view, but some of the trees are in it.

Fig, lemon, loquat, cherimoya, tangerine down at the bottom. Some avocado and citrus to the right/the corner of the image, and the bottlebrush tree by the deck, juuuuust in case everything wants to light on fire (they're pretty flammable, right?)

Nice bunch of loquats


Cherimoyas look weird.


Some teeny-tiny grapes!


And I'm not sure what these are.
1: Maybe some kind of cherry, is my guess?


2: And these things that look like baby kiwis, but I'm like 90% sure kiwi trees don't look like that. Kiwi leaves are round, yes?


I'll get some actual better images of the trees and what I'm dealing with (with posting in mind) this weekend.


E: Oh holy hell, why are they all facing the wrong way. I'm sorry, I guess you all can look at weirdo upside-down world.

Hubis
May 18, 2003

Boy, I wish we had one of those doomsday machines...

Rodenthar Drothman posted:

Okay, pics of plants as promised.
Well, the first is of the view, but some of the trees are in it.

Fig, lemon, loquat, cherimoya, tangerine down at the bottom. Some avocado and citrus to the right/the corner of the image, and the bottlebrush tree by the deck, juuuuust in case everything wants to light on fire (they're pretty flammable, right?)

I didn't realize you were in Australia

Hexigrammus
May 22, 2006

Cheech Wizard stories are clean, wholesome, reflective truths that go great with the marijuana munchies and a blow job.

Rodenthar Drothman posted:


And I'm not sure what these are.
1: Maybe some kind of cherry, is my guess?



Goji or something related?

I. M. Gei
Jun 26, 2005

CHIEFS

BITCH



I. M. Gei posted:

My tree did not show up today :argh:

Maybe tomorrow :(

I just called the post office and they said my tree is not even in my town yet. It’s like 2 hours away. :negative:

Tomorrow is the last day Amazon estimated delivery by. If it’s not here by then I’m filing a complaint. I want to get this fucker in the ground NOW!

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Rodenthar Drothman
May 14, 2013

I think I will continue
watching this twilight world
as long as time flows.

That certainly looks like it! It makes sense, the guy I bought the house from definitely has a thing for rarer fruit (and assassin fruit).
Thanks! I'm gonna see if they're a bit more shriveled this evening and I'll pick them if so.

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