Re: [gardeners] transplanting question
Billie Hinton (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 29 Oct 2000 11:33:57 -0500
>Billie, celosia are amongst my favorite of annuals -- hard
>to believe, but I have 9 beds of annuals only..!
>
They are my favorite as well, though I have not had one bit of luck with
them here in NC.
>Did you know that celosia come in all sizes, from 4 inches to
>24 inches in ultimate height? The 24s are, I believe, only
>available in a red & gold bicolor. I've never seen them .....
>Altogether, I think that celosia complement all mixed beds,
>bringing both color and form into the variety. And I just as
>well admire the crested form (like brain coral) which have
>quite a long season and strong coloration.
>
I didn't know - though I was wondering about it, since the ones I grew in
California were giant, and the ones here are maybe 6-8 inches at best. I
have never seen big ones here.
I think the ones I grew in CA were probably around 15-18 inches. They were
pale yellow, deep golden yellow, pale pink, deep fuchsia, and a deep
reddish-orange. They were truly stunning in a group. I was rather enchanted
by them... and actually wrote a story in which they masqueraded as
"passion" flowers and sprinkled magic dust onto people...
>I never came close to matching my daughter's achievement.
>What did develop, nevertheless, was a dense forest of 12"
>coleus, very eye pleasing in its own right.
>
Oh, it sounds lovely - I wish I had the time/ability to create some
stunning beds like this!
>I swore that I would no longer spend my winters trying to keep
>over a hundred cuttings watered -- but as the cold weather
>has approached, I caved in, darnit . . . I've got about 75 slips
>planted in pots right now, and today, against all logic, I slipped
>out and cut 24 more -- all coleus. No will power.
>
:) I imagine it will all be worth it come spring...
>All my annuals get planted with Osmocote 120-day fertilizer
>in the hole underneath. That's all they'll ever need for the
>summer. And they all get automatically watered every day
>it doesn't rain, even the shade beds.
>
>Penny, zone 6
I am hoping to get to setting up an automatic watering system this year. I
wore myself out this summer trying to keep everything watered, and even
with my two little helpers, some plants suffered b/c we just didn't get to
them often enough.
I was thinking of getting those rain barrel things for our gutters, but
have never again gotten the catalog that had the ones I liked - they were
wooden, and more attractive than the heavy plastic ones.
My favorite little patch right now is in my biggest bed - I've got about 4
kinds of allium in one small area and when they start blooming I just want
to sit out there and look at them until they go...
billie
Billie Hinton
mzdc@mindspring.com