Herself’s Houston Garden

I thought I’d have more cool things to talk about in November. I had some cool talks to attend in October and November but the speakers blew us off. That seems to be going around now. Then the usual Thanksgiving chaos hit with a bit more chaos than usual this year. And it got cold and I’m a wimp so I wasn’t out in the garden near as much as I’d like. I haven’t even covered any more grass lately.  ( But it has warmed up again so perhaps some progress can be made this weekend. )

Things go well in the garden. Some plants are not thrilled about the cold, but most of them are quite happy to be out of the summer heat and sun. I think the castor plant bought it, much to my great dismay. But I’ll leave it in the ground till spring. Many a plant I thought dead turned out to only be playing possum so I’m not so quick to remove plants. We’ll see if it puts out some new leaves come spring.

The black bamboo put up a second shoot this week. I’m excited! The shoot is still small, about 6″ tall. I wonder if there will be a time when new bamboo shoots make me cringe rather than glow?

The roses are still blooming, some of the newer ones are a bit warped from the cold but the roses seem to bloom larger in the cooler weather so I don’t mind so much.

The more delicate orchids are in for the winter, most are still roughing it outdoors.

I’m seeing less birds in the yard, but I’m seeing a larger variety. I’ve seen the hawk here looking for dinner a few times. So the birds come, they eat, they leave, instead of hanging out.

This is supposed to be one of the easiest and fastest cycads to grow. They will grow in full sun to shade but prefer shade. Cones form more often on ones in sun. There are male and female plants, both have multiple cones. Cones are a bright fiery red. Most of the time Zululand cycad looks like a broad leafed fern. Leaves are pointy when mature like holly leaves.

These are not especially cold tolerant. They will need protection the first few years they are growing. Natively they grow in frost free areas with rainfall between 35″-40″/year.

They stay compact at about a 3′x3′ spread but that takes quite a while to reach. They remain single stemmed unless damaged and the stem is not usually visible.

We saw one several years older than this one and thought it was the coolest looking fern we had seen. Turned out to not be a fern, but it looks like a cross between a fern and cycad when it gets larger. Cycads are some of the oldest known plants having been around on the planet as far back as 300 million years ago.

There are pictures of some large ones with red cones in the Hawaii photos ( follow photo link above ). They are truly gorgeous. I have great hopes for this plant now.

See also:
Cycas Revolution

This is another sun loving water hating succulent. It may or many not survive over the winter here. It is not supposed to survive our cold, yet I was told by someone at the Extension office sale that hers have survived just fine outside for many winters. Flowers will come on long stems rising from the middle of the plant.

In the summer they prefer regular watering but will rot if too wet in the winter. They can do well in the shade as well just keep an eye on the water. Lower leaves can be lost in the winter and while it won’t harm the plant it may make it less pretty. Drought tolerant once established.

On a side note silvery plants do not as a rule do well in humid climates. The little hairs/fuzz that makes them silver are there to help them retain more moisture in dry climates.

See also:
Peter Lapshin’s succulent site has a ton of pictures if you are looking to figure out exactly which Echeveria you have

When I first put in the tea roses the neighbors all wandered by and said ‘you can’t grow roses here except for knock outs’. They told me the mealy bugs would attack them and I’d have to keep them in pots and bring them in in the winter.

The roses have thrived so far. Time will tell if the neighbors really are correct.

I prune them in February. I’ve had a little black spot, a few aphids and mealy bugs but nothing serious. Soapy water has taken care of the aphids and removing the mealy bug and spraying with orange oil has kept that in check.

Roses love full sun and water. Given full sun they will fight off most attacks of insects, fungus and mold. They will not do well in shade or even part shade down here. I’ve been told, but have not confirmed that milk mixed with water sprayed on roses cures blackspot. Get the lowest fat milk you can find and use 1 part milk to 8 parts water.

Roses love acid, the more rain and less watering from the hose the better. If it is a dry year add some vinegar ( 1 Tablespoon per gallon ) or acidic plant food to the soil around them.

Rose petals can be eaten and are used in jellies, honeys and vinegars. To make rose sugar: mince rose petals, cover with two parts sugar and leave in the fridge for a month, strain petal parts from sugar before serving. Rose hips can be made into a tea.

I’m growing ‘Tropicana’, ‘JFK’, ‘Peace’, one yellow, one pink, and one red Jackson and Perkins that I don’t have positive ids on. ‘Mrs Dudley Cross’ and ‘Mrs BR Kant’ are both highly recommended teas for the gulf coast area.

And just because you thought roses were a fairly boring plant, let me warn you about sporotrichosis. It is a fungus that can be found on roses, sphagnum moss, and other tropical plants. If you have a cut and get some of this fungus in the cut small painless bumps appear. If this happens, see your doctor as it can spread and become a serious lung disease. Sporotrichosis is also known as the rose gardeners disease.

See also:
Pruning roses
Mealy bug
Leaf scorch on roses

More Information:
Controlling Mildew with Milk/Water
The Field Report
Rose Propagation by Dr. William C. Welch