Herself’s Houston Garden

blood lily

I found these at Mercer March Mart’s and planted the bulbs that spring. Nothing happened for a year. I wrote them off as a loss. Then much to my surprise they all showed up early June. So be patient, they may take 18 months before showing themselves.

Plant in sun to part shade. You will get showier flowers in sunnier areas and the flowers will last longer in part shade.

Like most bulbs it will want moist soil in the warm months, and drier soil in the colder months.

Blooms appear in the summer, it may take a couple of years after you plant the bulb for it to bloom. Blooms only last a couple of weeks. Berries appear after the flowers.

Plant dies back in the winter and appears in the warm weather, usually after a rainstorm.

Plant will naturalize.

Plant is toxic, don’t eat it. Arrows are coated in the toxin from this plant in African tribal areas. It is also used a medicinal plant but I would not try it.

Problems:
This is part of the amaryllis family and can be attacked by amaryllis lily borers. Snails and slugs may also bother it.

. . .

The secret, he said, is to measure the rate of photosynthesis in the algae, meaning the plant’s ability to transform light into energy. During photosynthesis, plants also release oxygen into the air.

. . .

A prototype tester, that occupies about one square meter of a laboratory desktop, shoots a laser beam at water samples to stimulate photosynthesis in the algae. But not all of the laser’s heat is used.

Depending on the condition of the algae and the rate of photosynthesis, some of the heat is shot back into the water, creating sound waves, Dubinsky said.

With a special underwater microphone, researchers are able to analyze the strength of the sound waves and determine the health of the algae and the condition of the surrounding water.

“Algae suffering from lead poisoning, like waste discharged from battery and paint manufacturing plants, will produce a different sound than those suffering from lack of iron or exposure to other toxins,” said researcher Yulia Pinchasov.

. . . [ read more Scientists 'listen' to plants to find water pollution]

goldenrod

While I don’t have any golden rod in my garden it is all along the trails of The Woodlands, blooming for most of October.

Around here goldenrod grows to about 6′ in height, further north it tops out at about 4′ in height. IN a garden it will grow taller and wider than in the wild, so leave it some room.

Plant in full sun to part shade. My books say to plant it in well drained areas. Here it grows in damp areas, so I expect it isn’t picky about that.

Don’t fertilize, it is used to growing in poor soils and quite happy doing so.

Cut the plants back after blooming if you wish.

Propagate by division after blooming or in early spring. Transplants do best if planted early spring. Goldenrod will reseed and spread by root.

These are excellent flowers for cutting and drying.

Loves water, not very drought tolerant.

Problems:
Needle rust – small white blisters appear on plant. This is caused by a fungus, use your favorite fungicide.

Goldenrod has taken the blame for many a hayfever, but it’s not the goldenrod that causes hayfever. The pollen is very heavy and does not travel far in the wind. Ragweed blooms at the same time and its pollen does easily travel.