Poor Poinsettia

These poor plants get no love.  Everyone loves them for a brief few week period during the holidays and then they get dumped thanklessly into the trash along with their red and green foiled plastic pots.

Well, poinsettias, I think you're beautiful...  here's your moment on O Garden, My Garden!

I love the rich color of red poinsettias

6 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Poinsettias

1.  They're from Mexico, introduced to the US in 1825 by Mr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US Minister to Mexico.
2.  They can grow upwards of 10 feet tall.
3.  The red/pink/white "flowers" are actually groups of specialized leaves, called "bracts."
4.  Poinsettias are not really poisonous.  The sap can be irritating and, if you eat the leaves, may cause some gastrointestinal upset, but it won't kill you.  (That belief came from an urban legend).
5.  If you plant a poinsettia outside in LA, it might not turn red...  Poinsettias need 12 hours of pure darkness per night starting in the fall to get that beautiful red color.  Even street lights may inhibit the color!
6.  Poinsettias come from a big diverse family, or more exactly, genus, called Euphorbia.  Here are some it's cousins:

Euphorbia tirucalli

Euphorbia amygdaloides

Euphorbia heterophylla

(These are the sources for the Euphorbia pictures, here, here, and here, and poinsettia info gleaned largely from wikipedia, thank you sir).  The last cousin was most surprising to me because those plants are all over the succulent type sidewalk gardens in Santa Monica.  Do you see the resemblance to our little Poinsettia, otherwise known as Euphorbia pulcherrima?  (Hint, it appears that they all have bracts...)

Those tiny things in the middle are the actual flowers, past their peak in this photo

So how does one go about keeping it alive and reblooming?  A few tips:

• Only water when the top two inches of soil are dry
• Despite it being a "Christmas flower", they like the sun and do not like the cold -- if you live somewhere frosty, you may be out of luck!
• Starting in September or October, they need 12 hours minimum of darkness per night.
• Once the colorful bracts appear, fertilize every 2 weeks with high nitrogen fertilizer

Good luck!

Like blood vessels.  Beautiful and it appeals to the doctor in me...

That said, I have a confession to make.  Why all the close-ups again this week?  Well first, as aforementioned when I got my camera, I have a soft spot for macro shots of flowers.  There is just so much to see.  But the other reason is that my own poinsettia, after two weeks of Christmas-time party, looks like this:

yikes

While I sympathize with their one-hit-wonder plight, my poinsettia will also be going in the trash.  (I'm sorry!  So many plants, so little space!  You don't match!).  Until next year, friend.

Today, I leave with you a beautiful and slightly sad song.  Here it is.  I love guitars.  Happy New Year, friends!

The Best Flower Ever

Okay so that photo above was taken approximately 1 year ago.  ONE YEAR.  And this plant is still alive, not just anywhere, but on the top row of my felt hanging planter, which if you've been following my blog, is the planter of death. 

Let me explain something:
ONE human year = SEVEN dog years = EIGHTY-SEVEN Michelle's garden years

This plant is basically 87 plant years old in the mini-cosmos reality of my patio garden.  All its contemporaries have died, and yet it still lives strong.

Furthermore, I neglected to mention, that during winter time when it was too LA-cold to go outside, I didn't water this plant at all.  For at least a month!

So what is this wonder plant?  Dipladenia.  I picked it unaware of its awesomeness because I thought it was pretty.  You might see other tropical plants that look very similar to it vining all over trellises and walls -- these are a very closely related plant called Mandevilla.  Some sources say they are the same, that Dipladenia is the old name and now these plants are called Mandevilla.  Other sources say they are the same family or perhaps Dipladenia are in the Mandevilla family (very confusing).  Nevertheless, from what I can tell, they are slightly different -- Mandevilla grow well as vines while Dipladenia are bushier and do not vine in the same way.

A few facts about Dipladenia:
-Sunlight -- varying sources recommend everything from full shade to full sun; mine are doing well in full sun.
-Originated in South America, they like warm climates
-if your climate is temperate enough, they are "evergreen" as opposed to annuals
-Moderate watering (unless you have a super-plant like mine which is totally okay with drying out a bit)
-A good container plant
-They are the Best Flower Ever

Thank you, dear Dipladenia, for making me feel good about my gardening self.

The last very cool thing about this plant is that the Italians love it too.  I do not know if they are partial to the color red or if they just choose what works, but there were lots of red Dipladenia and Geraniums in Italy.  Below is my Dipladenia's Italian cousin in Rome -- I am sure you recognize the structure in the background!

Anyway, today's really awesome track of the day suits my feelings very well today -- I love this plant and even more than that, I love you for reading my little garden blog.  Que Dios le bendiga!

Hey Dahlia!

This week, I am dedicating my blog post to the wonderful, beautiful dahlia, since my planter of figaro dahlias has officially <cue music> bit the dust.  Of 6 total dahlias planted in various parts of my patios in various formats, only one remains semi-healthily alive (on the vertical planter) though flowerless.  Of the ones that did bloom, there was a hot pink, yellow, and peachy pink variety, all of which I've posted photos of before, and in honor of my poor dead dahlias, I will post again:

This was really my first foray into dahlia planting.  I personally like dahlias because not only are they beautiful, they also remind me of my opa who at one point behind his house in his hobby garden (as he also had greenhouses full of plants to sell in his working days) had a whole yard 10x12' plot of tall healthy vibrant dahlias.  I don't have a photo of his dahlias, so here's an old photo of me and Opa and Oma who are awesome:

yes, it's a photo of a photo... what?

I'm not the only one who loves dahlias though.  They are really popular!  If you venture over to www.dahlia.org, you will notice that there is a whole American Dahlia Society "Promoting and Supporting the Growing, Showing, and Enjoyment of Dahlias in North America".  It's a little nerdy and a lot awesome at the same time.  These people aren't messing around!

A Dahlia Society photo contest winner

But back to the popularity of the dahlia, similar to roses, there is a huge amount of variety.  Dahlias originated in Latin American and since then have been hybridized into an enormously diverse group of flowers "in all colors but true blue" (says the Sunset Western Garden Book).  Big, small, lots of petals, just a few petals, round, spiky, tall, bushy... you name it, you got a dahlia of your choosing.  Unless you're really into blue flowers.

Technically, they are perennials that grow from tubers that you can dig up at the end of the year and keep for the following year.  (If you're me, you buy them as a baby plant and then they die and you never see the tuber...)  Plant them in full sun unless you live in the Valley where it is hot as death in which case part shade is better and water regularly.  Different sources say different things, but regular fertilizing while blooming is probably good practice.  And bloom they will, from mid-summer to first frost.  To show off your hard work indoors, pick nearly mature flowers in the morning and stand them in a few inches of warm to hot water for several hours after which point they should be good to go for display.

As for the demise of the dahlia, there are the usual issues (over or under-watering, root rot, too hot/cold, and general neglect) and there are one or two others.  I have noticed that tall dahlias tend to fall down a lot without support, much like my problem child heirloom tomato.  But my dahlias are not tall.  Nope, the death of my dahlias was, I suspect, the dahlia mosaic virus.  Yes!  Can you believe there is a specific virus that infects dahlias?  (There are actually around 12 such viruses).  The virus spreads slowly via their vector, the aphid (again with the aphids!).  The result is weird patterns, yellow spots, stunting, and distorted leaves.  Other viruses can cause leaf necrosis (ie, leaf death).  And another common problem that looks the same is the red spider mite, difficult to see without magnification.  I am not entirely sure what killed my dahlias, but here is what happened, and it slowly spread from one plant to another like a virus...  

Early effects

Later... still blooming, but yikes

So that's that.  Dahlias, it's been lovely.  I leave you with some floral eye candy of the darling dahlia.













Yes, they are all dahlias!  And lest I break some copyright law (seriously someone tell me if I'm breaking the law... I am but a newbie blogger!), the source links are here, here, here, here, and here, respectively.  Happy gardening!

Hydrangea heaven

So yesterday, Evan and I threw our second party in the existence of our knowing each other.  The first was for Evan's 30th birthday party a few years ago, and this one was for a very belated 30th birthday party as well as an early graduation party (Evan is being quite gracious in letting me stretch my birthday into a 6 week long affair).  It was quite a success with lots of wine, tacos, and chatting in the house and on our garden patio.  Two of our lovely couple friends brought beautiful hydrangeas, which I have never owned before.  

Madonna once famously said she "loathes hydrangeas".  What a silly woman she is... she  may know how to sing, but her taste in flowers is poor.

Of course, now that I have not one, but two gorgeous hydrangeas, I must plant them.  

Evan:  "Those are really pretty.......  you're not going to try to plant them, are you?"  
me:  <excited> "Of course I am going to plant them!"
Evan:  "Where?"
me:  "Wha--?  In pots!  Outside!"  :)
Evan:  <looking outside>  "Please don't plant those.  I don't think there is enough space.  Just enjoy them inside."
me: <aghast>  "They are living things, I have to plant them.  Otherwise they will die...  I can't let them die!!"
Evan:  <rolls eyes, walks away, pretending to be exasperated>

To me, this seems like the logical conclusion to receiving gift plants.  And Evan is not really upset, because if I did not come to that very obvious conclusion, he would have to ask what alien has taken over his flower loving wife.  Look how pretty they are!!

So hydrangeas, these being Hydrangea macrophylla of the mophead variety, as I have done research to determine, prefer sunlight, but not too much sunlight (ideally morning sunlight and afternoon shade).  They like being quite moist, but not too moist.  They are the Goldilocks of plants.  They are also fairly popular gift plants, and some sources suggest that these "grocery store hydrangeas" are bred to bloom like crazy once to the detriment of their long term health.  Also, they tend to grow very large, with the result that they outgrow pots very quickly (and sadly, I do not have the earth to plant them in yet).  Nevertheless, there are some success stories, and I intend to keep these babies alive as long as I can!

Thank you Juliet + Holden and Mike + Janae for the gorgeous plants!  I love them!

Oh my orchids!

Let's talk about how much I love orchids:  I love them lots.  

Right now, I have two.  Here they are in instagram'd glory:

My double orchid in vintage-y toolbox planter

My kitchen sill orchid with pink and white flowers

Wanting them to live forever and ever because I love them so much, I will be taking very good care of them.  "How do you do that?" you ask.  WELL, let me tell you...  (The following information was gleaned primarily from here and here).

Water:  

-Once heavily per 5-12 days and never on the leaves.  

-More in summer if super dry, less in winter.  Spritzing your plant once in the morning during summer months is okay too.

-Note that different orchids prefer different moisture levels, but the Phalaenopsis genus, which is what I have, are on the drier end of the spectrum.

Fertilizer:  Once every 2-4wks, and use special orchid food

Blooming:  

-Once the flowers have pooped out... 

^if the leaves look healthy, cut one node below where the flowers are, and hopefully they'll bloom again soon

^if not, cut at the bottom of the stem so you can nurse your plant back to life.  

Light:

-A common reason for not getting enough blooms is that the plants are not getting enough light.

-Bright indirect light is best.

Repotting:  

-Use special orchid mix, not soil.

-Orchids need repotting every 6 months to 2 years.

-This is better to do when your orchids are no longer blooming, so more on this later...

For all you LA folk, I bought my orchids wholesale from Lee's Orchids in the flower district downtown.  The flowers are cheap and healthy, they sell pots, and for $10 they'll even pot them for you with moss and pebbles.

For those of you not in LA, here's another gratuitous photo of my extended family's greenhouses, this time... Orchids!

Faces of root rot

Oh, how sad it is to watch your plant-child grow as you've nurtured it with sunshine, water, food and caressing of its leaves, only to one day succumb to... ROOT ROT!

Here is Jasmine as a baby:

And here is Jasmine, post root rot attack:

 

Notice the large chunks of plant that are dying.  Horrible!  And so characteristic of root rot.  Naturally, once I figured out what was going on, I indignantly asked the gardening universe, "What causes root rot??" and discovered (with the help of the internet) that in fact, I am to blame for my damaged plant-baby.  

A few things contribute:

-Overwatering

-Poorly draining pots

-Overly heavy soil

And for the science geeks (ie, myself), it's specifically frequently caused by a mold genus called  Phytophthora.  But mostly it's caused by the overwaterers who are happily, unknowingly drowning their plants.  Sadly, there is no cure-- "lethal," says Wikipedia-- and my Jasmine will probably die.  

As a side note, Jasmine has a lifetime warranty on it from Armstrong's Garden Center who will replace it in case of death (all trees and shrubs!  whaaaatt?).  I am far too proud, however, to bring in a plant that I managed to murder after only one year in my care, and instead, will probably wait for it to die-- but hopefully bloom first-- and then replace it with something awesome.

Iron, baby

Through the winter, as my Meyer lemon tree has labored to produce plump little lemons, I've run my garden like a ruthless overlord, planning with anticipation how I'm going to devour all its little lemon babies (with chicken, in pies, over parsnips! in a martini!! ...all very tasty, more in another post).  Having eaten the last of my Meyer lemons this week and because it warmed up a bit -- remember, I don't go out in the LA cold -- I took a closer look at my little Meyer lemon tree which has worked so hard to produce such delicious, sunshine-y fruit:

Yikes, oh my, what have I done to you my poor little tree?  If I'm honest, I saw the earliest signs of this a few months ago already:

But I had assumed that my plant just needed some citrus food ("I'll feed you, if yooOU FEED ME!! GRAARRW!!")  Wrong.  So today, a couple google searches have taught me that those yellow leaves with green veins are typical for iron deficiency.  Unfortunately, citrus plants become anemic pretty easily.  Fortunately, it's an easy fix... Iron pellets are readily available in your neighborhood nursery, just dump them on the soil and water.  Woohoo!

This also happened to my blueberry shrub last year, and look how nicely it healed up:

It's a little hard to see, but those veiny yellow leaves on the left, after a few months of watering over iron pellets have turned that beautiful blue-green color again.  So as of today, iron applied, plant watered... Let's hope our little lemon tree forgives me.