Gardening

[Tennesseer]

A nice small ornamental tree if you have the right place to plant it would be a Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) grows in Zones 6-9 .  I had several chaste trees on my front yard but had to cut them down because they were too close to my neighbor's and mine driveways.  We had several ice storms here and the weight of the ice weighed down the limbs which landed on our driveways. The limbs sprang back after the ice was gone. I am thinking of buy a young Chaste tree but this time planting it in my backyard away from fences and the house.

The best thing I liked about them was when they were in bloom, bumblebees flocked to the flowers. You could stand by/under the tree and the tree would hum from the sound of the bumblebees' wings. I once had a UPS driver stop and ask me if the tree was a marijuana tree because the leaves looked like marijuana leaves. I said not and we both laughed.

About Chaste trees:
Native to southern Europe and central Asia, the chaste tree quickly grows into a multi-trunked tree about 10 to 20 feet tall and wide with a broad, spreading habit, making it invasive in some environments. Also known as "monk's pepper," its name comes from the erroneous medieval belief that a potion made from it could curb libido. The chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) does stand up to dry spells in the summer heat and grows just about anywhere.

The best thing about the chaste tree is the flowers, which bloom in upward-growing panicles up to a foot long. Chaste tree is one of the few winter-hardy trees with blue flowers (although they can also be pink, purple, or white). These plants also produce black fruit the size of a peppercorn. Shrubs are best planted in the spring to establish their roots before winter dormancy. When purchasing an unnamed chaste tree from a nursery, buy it in bloom so you can see the flowers' color and the plant's general shape.

How To Grow And Care For Chaste Tree

[greenthumb59]

Way behind on yard and garden stuff.  We've also had a lot of rain over the past couple of weeks.  So between the rain and running all over the state, my yard and garden are a mess.

Did I mention I let my DIL plant comfrey in my raised cedar bed last year?  I knew it didn't belong there, and thought I could just clear it out, pull up some roots, etc.  Oh hell no --- this plant is the devil!  Before all the craziness started a few weeks ago, I spent two days in the raised bed, with my needle-nosed spade, trying to dig and pull out all the roots from this stupid plant!  

I admitted defeat and went with the nuclear option.  I covered all the bed in black plastic, weighed it down good, and will let the sun bake it out.  I'll pull the plastic off at the end of May and see what happens.  The only other thing to do would be to completely empty the bed of dirt and fill.  I do not want to do that!!

Other stuff is doing okay.  DH planted the inground bed.  I was afraid all the rain had ruined it, but the corn and okra are coming up. My potatoes look pretty good.  The onions and shallots survived an assault by squirrels and are doing well.

I ended up moving all the peppers and tomatoes I had in the raised bed to the straw bale garden.  We didn't have time to properly condition the bales, but everything seems to be doing okay. 

We also have pole beans, little pumpkins, basil, and cucumbers in the bale garden. 

We are supposed to have more rain overnight.  

[azucena]

May 5, 2024 14:22:33 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

So much weeding...it's like laundry and dishes. 


Also, I've now attacked three bushes - a french lavender, a rosemary, and something else I need to figure out the name of. 
They had not had their dead wood removed in what appeared to be several years--possibly ever for the rosemary. 
It took me three one-hour sessions to work on the rosemary! 

Chloe - I much prefer weeding and gardening labor over house chores. Landscape seems to stay nice longer than house lol. Plus gardening noticeably improves my mental state. Hope it does yours as well.

[azucena]

Tenn- I just saw a chaste tree and liked it but didn't know what it was called. Your garden posts always teach me. I was considering it for a spot that I need a tree in the front yard until I read that I'd have to pick up its berries or it would spread.

I keep leaning towards a combo of dogwood and red bud as they are some of my favorite and stay manageable in size. Too lazy to call and get lines marked for digging. Someday!

We have 4 small evergreens in corners of front landscape that are dying from some kind of disease and a gardening friend told me there's no saving them. Need to find replacements that anchor like them and add winter color.

Also need to give up on the azaleas I planted at least two seasons ago. They dead. Need 5 smallish bushes in front of porch on north side in mostly shade. Not bee friendly or my girls will never step on porch lol.

Seems we may have lost bushes in the back last year. Growing season was weird so I'm giving them a chance to bounce back. Some were yellow early blooming - forsythia? Some are purple blooming now. Only about 3 of 16ish have any buds or growth now so bout time to give up, right?

[azucena]

Green - never heard of comfrey but now I know to avoid it.

I need to figure out how to post pics. I have a succulent type ground cover that I am spreading along pathways. It's thriving in rock and places where I used to have to weed a lot. Best part is it's free for me to transplant! And I pretty quickly see my labor thrive.

Cut way back on raised garden. One rectangle is completely strawberries where it used to be just half. Dd11 and her friends are eating them daily. Only two tomato instead of the tomato jungle I've allowed the last couple of years. One pepper, one basil. 4 green bean - another kid fav to eat straight from vine. Sprinkled lettuce seeds around one side of tomatoes. Might be too late to plant that but seeds are older anyway.

On my to do list is to set up irrigation system I bought a couple summers ago. Should tag my brother and dd11 in on the project.

[greenthumb59]

azucena There are different kinds of comfrey!  We also have it growing in another part of the yard.  It's a beautiful plant and blooms like crazy.  The composted leaves are good for your soil.  I asked DH why the comfrey we already had - and have for years - why it isn't acting like this devil comfrey?  Cause he got a variety that doesn't spread.  Good to know, cause I didn't know there were different varieties.  So if you do decide to consider it, look for the variety that doesn't spread.

I am also considering more trees for our backyard, mostly to give us some privacy from the subdivision behind built behind us.  I'm leaning toward some dogwoods, and I would love a Japanese maple!  We have a large green ash tree and an Autumn Blaze maple planted closer to the house.  We added an October Glory maple two years ago.  It's small but doing well.  So I'm thinking a couple of dogwoods to tuck under the larger trees, and then fill those other spaces with shrubs.  I want to create a "secret garden" closer to the house with a nice seating area.  DH likes the idea too.

I also have a couple of fringe trees and serviceberry trees planted closer to our back property line.  They are small but growing.  I hope they start blooming in the next couple of years.  Fringe trees smell awesome when they are in bloom!

[Tennesseer]

May 7, 2024 5:03:03 GMT -5 azucena said:

Tenn- I just saw a chaste tree and liked it but didn't know what it was called. Your garden posts always teach me. I was considering it for a spot that I need a tree in the front yard until I read that I'd have to pick up its berries or it would spread.

I keep leaning towards a combo of dogwood and red bud as they are some of my favorite and stay manageable in size. Too lazy to call and get lines marked for digging. Someday!

We have 4 small evergreens in corners of front landscape that are dying from some kind of disease and a gardening friend told me there's no saving them. Need to find replacements that anchor like them and add winter color.

Also need to give up on the azaleas I planted at least two seasons ago. They dead. Need 5 smallish bushes in front of porch on north side in mostly shade. Not bee friendly or my girls will never step on porch lol.

Seems we may have lost bushes in the back last year. Growing season was weird so I'm giving them a chance to bounce back. Some were yellow early blooming - forsythia? Some are purple blooming now. Only about 3 of 16ish have any buds or growth now so bout time to give up, right?

azucena - don't worry about the Chaste tree berries. Not once did those three Chaste trees' berries germinate. And most of the berries fell onto the lawn or garden beds. The rest of the berries fell on the driveway.

When I had two of the Chaste trees side-by-side with a spread of about eight feet between them, I did have a volunteer southern wax myrtle (evergreen) berry fall between the two trees. The southern wax myrtle berry was probably eaten by a bird and it pooped it out while sitting in one of the Chaste trees (I have three southern wax mytles in the backyard and none of them have ever dropped seeds there and germinated). The southern wax mytrle was a slow grower because it was shaded by the trees. Once I cut the Chaste trees, it started to grow. The picture below is what it looks like today. I recently had it trimmed but it is still about 12' tall by 10' wide. It's the tall evergreen in the middle of the picture.

The funny thing about the Micanthus grass growing in front of the southern wax myrtle in the picture is that I never planted Micanthus grass.  What was once there was a day lily.  The nursery where I bought the day lily probably used an old plastic pot which had some dried Micanthus roots in the bottom of it.  The day lily flourished for several years and then the Micanthus grass started growing.  Today the day lilly struggles to push out a few green leaves and an occassional flower.  I have another patch of Micanthus grass which also was once a day lily.  Bought the two day lilles from the same place and time.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I think we're past the last freeze, so it's seed planting time.

[thyme4change]

I’ve struggled with growing things - so I decided to jump in with 6 fruit trees. I paid the extra for them to plant it, which comes with a guarantee. They will also give me 3 visits to teach me how to care for them.

As part of my yard re-do I am trying to get rid of some overgrown bushes I have. I would like to replace them with cilantro and basil.

[Tennesseer]

A useful and dependable perennial for the garden is called Helianthus maximiliani  (common name Maximilian sunflower). I used to see these growing in ditches along the highways while driving around the south. I looked into it and discovered I could buy immature plants. So I bought a couple and they took off. They like full sun and not too fussy about soil and water once established. The can grow up to ten feet tall and and do require support once mature. Plants cluster together to make a wide group of plants.

Mine has already started to bloom and will bloom until are hard freeze. They do well in zones 3 through 9. After a hard freeze, leave the plants be over winter as the seed heads will provide food for birds. Some seeds will drop and start new plants. If you are okay with letting them spread, then leave the new seedlings be. If not, a little bit of clean up takes care of it in the spring.

Here is a picture on the Maximilian sunflower I have growing in my backyard and a closeup of the the flower. I have let a few seeds germinate and start new plants around the parent plant.  (One of the backyard cats decided to photobomb the plant picture.)

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Ugh. DH just told me a new peony plant was dead. I thought the sprinkler was watering it but DH thought I was watering it. So death by complete lack of watering. ☹️

[azucena]

Chloe - it happens. Let it go and move on.

I'm looking for something kinda viney for a trellis to cover bedroom window from the outside where we removed a bush. It's next to siding so would be ideal if it wasn't crazy creepy crawly but maybe that doesn't exist.

Meanwhile I picked up clearance Mandevilla on a whim. Looks like perennial but won't overwinter here in stl. Does that seem right? Any chance it might work for my spot?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Welp, $150 to rent a stump grinder for four hours , but the front lawn circle will now be stumpless. Aesthetically, it didn’t bother me, but it was driving DH nuts. He also removed some stumps near a fence. Now to get the grass to grow in that front circle lawn spot.

[Tennesseer]

[finnime]

Temperatures finally breeched the 60's so I planted caladiums last week. They should do well in the large pots I have on the front of the front porch and bring some nice summer-long color.

[daisylu]

May 9, 2024 21:38:07 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I’ve struggled with growing things - so I decided to jump in with 6 fruit trees. I paid the extra for them to plant it, which comes with a guarantee. They will also give me 3 visits to teach me how to care for them.

As part of my yard re-do I am trying to get rid of some overgrown bushes I have. I would like to replace them with cilantro and basil.

What type of trees did you get? 

We have 2 pear trees that we baby. They are about 5 years old. They produced great 1 year, other years deer got them, or wind. Still trying with those 2. We also have a peach tree that just grew from DH's grandfather tossing peach pits. It produces a TON of peaches. They do not get really big, usually the size of a large plum, but are delicious. We have some in the freezer because it produces so much. We had a huge second one, but a storm took it out. It could have likely been saved but DH was impatient. He tried planting it somewhere else but that was all he did. Part of the trunk was split but I think it could have been saved with some TLC. We also now have a few baby peach trees from the pits. I was proud of myself for identifying the wild peach trees. DH had no idea what they were and argued with me about the next county over (where I lived for 15 years) having peach orchards, until I proved it to him with the local paper advertising for the peach festival and noting where orchards could be found in the county. Boy, don't try to tell where I partied. 

There is a local nationally known vinegar manufacturer near us that gave away apple trees the Friday before Mother's day, one per person, but I was traveling for work and no one got me any. I have been wanting apple trees for years. I live in a land of apple orchards and apples are still ridiculously expensive.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

My cutting bed and vegetable area earlier this week.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

[greenthumb59]

Knee Deep in Water Chloe looks like fun!  What all do you have growing?

I spent a few minutes murdering squash bugs this afternoon.  It was oddly satisfying. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jun 1, 2024 20:20:54 GMT -5 greenthumb59 said:

Knee Deep in Water Chloe looks like fun!  What all do you have growing?

I spent a few minutes murdering squash bugs this afternoon.  It was oddly satisfying. 

In the cut beds, there are alliums, lillies, dhalias, cat tails, sunflowers, pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes. We planted zuchinni lst year, but DH does not want to be overwhelmed by eating that this summer. 

[greenthumb59]

I love your garden!  It should be fabulous when it's all blooming!

My SIL has a huge veggie garden.  Last summer she gave us tons of zucchini and yellow squash.  DH and I made about 20 squash casseroles and froze them.  We have two or three left at this point.  The casseroles are really good.  It was one way to use up the squash!  If you are interested, google "squash casserole with Stove Top stuffing"!  We added jalapenos to some of them.  

My red onions and shallots are doing pretty good.  The darn squirrels have finally moved on from digging around them!  The potatoes are so-so.  I have some little pumpkins, a cucumber, some sweet and hot peppers, and a couple of tomato plants.  Not so much this year - we've just had too much family stuff going on.

No new squash bugs today, but I found more of their eggs.  I took care of those and watered a bit.  I'm done for today.

[Pink Cashmere]

I have been avoiding this thread because I’m so far behind with my gardening stuff. I had things that needed to be planted, the problem was where to plant them.

I finally planted the last of my tomatoes today. I know I’m late, but maybe they will still have time to produce anyway. I won’t know unless I try and find out, so I did.

I still have not planted my green beans, but at least now that’s the only thing still bothering me.

I also learned something new and started trying it today, rooting a cutting from a tomato plant. It hadn’t occurred to me before today that it’s possible and to try it.  I intend to do a better job with removing the lower branches and pruning this year, to try to avoid disease and the tomato jungle I had last year. So today when I cut a lower branch off of one of the plants I’d already planted, I stuck it in some water to see if it will grow roots. If it does, I will plant it. I know it’s late for that too, but whatever. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t work because it’s too late, I will have learned yet another gardening lesson.

I am also going to try staking my tomatoes this year because I don’t like using cages. Last year, my indeterminate plants outgrew the cages anyway, and one cage broke. Wish me luck, please!

I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing with any of this, but I enjoy trying. Well, I don’t enjoy the insects and critter part at all, but I keep telling myself that that’s just part of it. Myself isn’t really hearing that so far, but I keep trying anyway lol.

I am not trying to grow any flowering plants this year. Just vegetables and herbs. No landscaping plants and flowers, and none on the deck. Besides the rosemary I’m growing just because I like it whether I cook with it or not, I am growing basil and oregano again. Mostly just in the hopes of deterring pests, even though I do appreciate having them readily available to cook with. 

Well, I lied, I am growing marigolds as companion plants. I don’t care anything about marigolds, I’m just growing them because they are supposed to help deter pests. 

Happy gardening everyone!

[jerseygirl]

I bought basil at grocery store. Had roots and I planted, it’s growing nicely. Cost $3.49 and it’s pretty big , a small starter is about $ 4.50 at the nursery
Prices are much too high like everything else

[Tennesseer]

Not that I have ever done it (cough, cough), but check the dumpsters at big store garden centers.  When they receive new plants, they often toss out the sickly looking ones.  Freebies if you will.

[happyhoix]

I apparently have a volunteer elderberry tree, at least that’s what my master gardener friend says it is. It’s growing in the middle of a kitty willow thicket. Not sure if I should take it out or leave it. The kitty willows stay fairly puny because I don’t water them enough when it gets hot.

My friend says I could make elderberry jam with it. Cute that he thinks I can make jam. 😀

[Pink Cashmere]

Now that I am not avoiding this thread (as much lol) because of my own bs, I just want to share that I have 2 baby San Marzano babies growing and 1 tiny baby Roma. 

So now I am excited and once again the crazy looking lady that is outside looking closely at tomato plants and the underside of the flowers at least twice/day. 

I am back to using grow bags again this year, and they are on the deck. Which is really a problem, since we are having the deck rebuilt in a few weeks and we have to move everything off of it while the work is being done.

But what I have learned is that I do much better and am way more comfortable with trying to grow stuff on the deck, like I did the first year I tried growing vegetables, vs last year, when I tried using raised containers on the ground in the yard. 

So now I am thinking that we may just have to use half of the deck for seating and lounging, and the other half for me to grow vegetables, for now. At least until I can get my mind right for real about gardening in the yard. The deck is not huge, but it is big enough that normally we could use one half for a seating and lounging area, and have the other half set up with a table and chairs for outdoor dining. But just because we can use that part for an outdoor dining area doesn’t mean we have to. Especially since we never have, and have never wished we could. 

I also saw this afternoon that my big Meyer lemon tree is starting to grow flowers. The one lemon that started growing when it was indoors during winter, is still hanging on, but it doesn’t seem to be getting bigger. It was about the size of a golf ball when I moved the plant outside this spring, and is still pretty much the same size. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

DH and I are going on a county-wide garden tour today. It’s self guided. There are eight properties. The ticket sales go to the local museum of art. I’m excited to see different gardening ideas.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 1, 2024 12:01:45 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

The black and blue sage in your cart will spread nicely. I have it in one of my front yard garden beds.

[happyhoix]

Cukes and cantaloupe have sprouted. I have multiple tiny green tomatoes. Daylillies are riotous. So are the weeds. And the hot/humid season has begun.

[happyhoix]

Jun 8, 2024 11:27:25 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

DH and I are going on a county-wide garden tour today. It’s self guided. There are eight properties. The ticket sales go to the local museum of art. I’m excited to see different gardening ideas.

One of my favorite trips to Savannah included a garden tour of small gardens. It was lovely. I love seeing what other people do in their yards.