Any gardeners in the house?

[Les Toil]

For the last 5 months I've been trying to re-invent my backyard into a stunning garden of Toilsome splendor. I figured since I love to draw flowers and plant life, it wouldn't hurt to be surrounded by such beauty.

OK, so I want these plants I've planted to start growing. It's been a few months now and I demand GROWTH! They were all looking soooo--unimpressive. Many were staying the same size when I bought these dozen or more plants a few months back. Two are just rotten dead. A woman in a nursery told me a month ago I had the "new gardener's anxiety" and ended up over-watering my plants. I was watering the entire garden about three times a week--and that's considered too much? OK, so now I'm down to twice a week or whenever the soil feels dry. The plants seem in slightly better shape, but now I was wondering if you could share some wisdom about when and how to water them.

I have lantana, I have bouganvillea, I have Mexican lillies, 'mums, some butterfly plants and a few other flowery plants. Oh, and I bought a Japanese Dwarf Manderin Orange tree four months ago that, again, remains the same size.

I was told it's not good at all to water in the day as the sun won't allow the water to get to the roots. Some say water at night so it will stay wet long enough for the water to seep down. Some say night watering will welcome fungus and disease. So when do you all water your outdoor plants?

It's still fairly warm here in Northern California so that's a good thing for someone like me trying to start a garden. I also use compost and great soil (Magic-Grow soil).

Also, what's another good way to successfully get water to their roots? Is there a watering method to that? Should I lightly trinkle the plants for a minute or so, or just give a quick brisk solid soaking?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. And I'd looove for you all to post pics of your gardens. I guess I should do the same. Maybe someone here could diagnose and assess my whole back yard!

Again, THANKS!

[Smushygirl]

Biodieselman and Risible seem to be great gardeners. They are also in California so they might be able to help you better than I. I am trying to learn organic gardening, but it is hard. Plants with a good start seem to go better. Good soil, good fertilizer, etc.

I have had bad luck with some of my rose bushes, but the ones that took off were magnificent. I live in Philadelphia so I have a shorter growing season. I grew a scented garden with roses, and scented vines (moonflower, passionflower, cardinal and sweet pea vines), and a few annuals. I also grew 4 o'clocks, they are indestructible.

I water either early in the morning, before the sun gets high, no later than 11am, or early evening, after 4pm no later than 6pm. It gives time to soak in before night falls. I water the ground mostly, not the leaves or flowers, also a source of disease or mildew.

My dream is to have a soaker hose that snakes through my garden that waters into the ground. Perhaps that would work better for you. During the warmest days of the summer, I water almost everyday, as I have late morning sun until about 3pm.

They key is getting them off to a good start, trying not to worry, but keeping your eyes open for bugs and diseases.

I'm looking for pics, but my iphoto is being touchy!

Good luck to you!!!

[mimosa]

Just wanted to come by and wish you luck and blessings on your garden. I can not offer advice. I've killed cactus before.

[katorade]

Look into getting soaker hoses for the watering.

A big part of your problem could be the season. Even if it's warm out, plants have their own cycles and tend to go dormant at times. Even my houseplants will go dormant in the winter and grow far more slowly. They also want less water because they're not utilizing it.

[LalaCity]

No, they're out in the garden, silly!

[steely]

I tried vegetable gardening for the first time this year.I'm proud to say,and a little amazed that it worked so well.I've always planted flowers.I have climbing roses,masses of daylilies,peonies,phlox,hosta,butterfly bushes,clematis and the eternal four o'clocks and morning glories.I forgot the three hydrangeas.

I'm not an organic gardener.I know I should be but I love fertilizer.I usually water in the morning.It's so hot down here in the summers you can't stand it any other time.I plan on branching out the vegetable garden next year.God willing and the creek don't rise.Actually it would be better if my creek would rise.The drought has it almost dry.I could water the garden with it if it would rise.

Stick with it.I find nothing more satisfying than watching my flowers come back every year.Granted it's hard work but it's worth it.

[Les Toil]

Originally Posted by Smushygirl

Good luck to you!!!

Woowwww! Thanks for the great advice Smusheroni! Lotta great stuff for me to latch on to here (especially about watering in the early evening and about watering the soil instead of the leaves).

Much thanks!

[Dr. Feelgood]

I water my plants heavily when I put them in to minimize transplant shock. Thereafter I only water (a) if the leaves start to droop, or (b) the ground around the base of the plant is really dry, or (c) the weather is hot and dry and no rain is expected. You don't want to water during the day in summer because the drops of water on the leaves act like little lenses: they will cause burned spots on the leaves. Spraying water on the plants is better than nothing, but on a hot day it will evaporate so quickly that you're mainly watering the air. It's more efficient to turn the water so low it barely trickles out of the hose, and then put the hose at the base of the plant. An irrigation system is a beautiful thing while it works, but they get clogged easily, and then nothing works until you find where the clog is and take the system apart to remove it. It's kind of like those old-fashioned Christmas tree lights that wouldn't work if one of the bulbs burned out: your job was to find out which one. Let me leave you with a Chinese saying: "If you want to be happy for a day, kill a pig and eat it; if you want to be happy for a week, get married; if you want to be happy all your life, plant a garden."

[Fascinita]

When I had a garden (in the NE, so different climate), I watered early morning--by 8 or 9 am. That worked out really well for my plants. They grew and grew. I did, though, have a lot of trouble growing mini roses. That's my gardening lesson for you Les: you can't grow 'em all, but you can have a lot of fun learning what works. Enjoy getting to know your garden.

[Risible]

I love growing flowering annuals and perennials. I have to say, I've killed a lot of plants while experimenting to find a plant that a) I like, b) likes me (or, rather, our garden). You and I live in different zones, so I can make a few universal flowering plant recommendations that are pretty easy to grow.

Zinnias - an annual, but if you can get them started in a sunny spot, they'll bloom and rebloom for several months, big, colorful multiple blooms depending on the variety you get. I like to grow them from seed, which allows for a much greater variety than what nurseries typically offer. My avatar shows a new variety that I tried this year, "Big Red." Since the days are shortening and the nights are getting colder, it's now on the wane, nevertheless it's covered with 4" bright red daisy-like flowers that the bees and butterflies work endlessly.

Roses - Your local nursery can help you pick out a variety that will do well in your area. I have a soft spot for David Austen roses, which, oddly enough (as they were developed in England) are drought tolerant and seem to love the heat here. I had three originally, all three of which settled in and bloomed pretty much year-round. We had to remove one to accommodate our as-yet incomplete California native garden, and one was transplanted to another spot on our property (where it has grown to about 12' x 12' - it's truly remarkable); the other remains in our front yard and is doing well even though we haven't watered it at all this year, as we've been trying to kill the front lawn.

Anyhoo - roses. Popular, beautiful, and easy to grow.

California natives - I like laspilitas.com and Theodore Payne Foundation's website for info on plant species that work in our area. Las Pilitas also sells and ships plants. These plants can be surprisingly beautiful, and many of them have the additional benefit of attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. I love the salvias especially for their wonderful scent, we have several in our backyard. There are many native plants that would do well in your part of the state that I envy you. The advantage of natives is, once you get them going, they require little, if any maintenance. With many of them, watering them on a regular basis (as opposed to an occasional deep soak) can kill them; they require no fertilizer; some require pruning, some don't.

We have soaker hoses for our veg garden and the backyard native garden; we're going with soaker hoses for the front garden as well. We've just invested in an expensive controller that will water up to 48 stations which is programmed with a remote control. We've been using hose-end timers, lots of them, which have been no end of trouble and expensive to boot, so I'm looking forward to the new irrigation system.

Once the new irrigation system is on-line, I'll be able to keep close track of who gets watered when, and minimize water usage, and costs.

A comment on nighttime watering - watering the foliage on many plants at night can result in fungus type diseases. I'm going to program our new system to water at night, which is best for the plants, but of course, we use soaker hoses, so the foliage doesn't get wet. Many California natives enjoy a rinse during the hot summer months, but not enough to soak their crowns - that could be detrimental.

Patio flowers - lobelia, geraniums


The giant David Austen rose


Sunflowers are fun and easy to grow - this one volunteered. Birds love the seeds.


I love this mother agave plant. We're attempting to spread the pups around, though a killing frost wiped out all the transplants a couple years ago. Above it is a tangle of climbing roses and bougainvillea.

[Les Toil]

Thanks for all the well wishes and advise, folks! And wooowwww Risible, could your thumb be any greener?? Such a dense and stunning display of beauty! That's the kind of stuff I want my house engulfed in! I'm writing down the names of those plants with the advice that goes with them--not that I'll be able to hold a flame to your skills but the journey will be fun and educational.

Some key points are...watering at night can create fungus and disease...it's good to water in the morning...water on the leaves during midday may burn the leaves...soaking deep at least once a week is good for the roots...

Again, thanks goes to everyone.

[Risible]

Les, I forgot to mention mulch and fertilizer. Mulch is the shredded bark (comes in a 2 cubic foot bag, usually, costs a few bucks) that you spread on the ground and around the base of the plants a few inches thick. It serves to insulate roots and hold in water. It also looks nice, smells nice too, though it has to be refreshed a couple times a year.

Fertilizer feeds the plants. You mentioned you use compost, which is great and it's organic, and Magic Grow soil (which is probably like Miracle Gro soil?), which probably has time-release Osmocoat-type fertilizer in it lasting 4-6 months, usually. On an ongoing basis, you may want to use an all-purpose, or better yet a bloom-set fertilizer according to the manufacturer's directions. I've always like Miracle Gro for my potted and patio plants.

One last thing, you mentioned you've been trying this for the past five months - did you plant in a hot time of year? It's best to set plants in cooler weather (springtime is perfect) before the soil heats up to allow their roots to develop. Summer vegetables, on the other hand, require warm soil and germinate, grow, yield and die within a few months, and their best growth is during the heat of summer, but many flowering plants do best with planting in the springtime. Not too early in the year, though, as soil temps are too cool, and the ground often soggy.

Also - Jane? Quite the gardener. Hopefully she'll log in and post some pix. And I don't know if you're a CH member, but Chuck has a Gardens For All blog in there with lots o' beautiful pix.

I'd love to see your garden, Les!

[Les Toil]

Originally Posted by Risible

Les, I forgot to mention mulch and fertilizer. Mulch is the shredded bark (comes in a 2 cubic foot bag, usually, costs a few bucks) that you spread on the ground and around the base of the plants a few inches thick. It serves to insulate roots and hold in water. It also looks nice, smells nice too, though it has to be refreshed a couple times a year.

My entire garden is covered my those wood chips/shredded bark that my mother came and had me apply a couple years ago. I had no idea it has to be refreshed. Makes sense though. It's a pain in the butt dealing with the stuff when I want to re-plant, or when it comes to dealing with weeds, and especially when I prune/deadhead/trim my plants. But yeah, it looks and smells much better than a yard full o' dirt.

"Fertilizer feeds the plants."

Can fertilizer be applied to already-existing plants in my garden? How would I apply it without replanting everything?

And yes, I planted all these young flowers during the second half of Summer when it was HOT! Too harsh for these tender li'l plants?

Also, my backyard only gets 9am-to-2pm sun. I hope that's enough for certain plants I have like the bouganvilleas and this Mexican lilly I recently planted (which I paid 35 bucks for!).

I think my objective at this point is getting water to the roots without OVER-watering things.