A number of new daffodils began opening yesterday. These are opening later than I thought; I hope that they have time to develop fully before real heat sets in. It was nearly 90 degrees earlier this week.
A jonquil I haven't grown until this year is open. 'Kedron' is the name. An American daffodil, it was hybridized in Virginia. I haven't grown a jonquil of its color before. The petals are yellow and the cup is orange. The flowers are pretty small compared to standard daffodils but are above-average for a jonquil. It has a nice fragrance. More flowers should open tomorrow or this weekend, so we'll see how they turn out.
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| Narcissus 'Kedron' 7 Y-O |
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| Narcissus 'Barrett Browning' 3 WWY-O |
Finally, there's 'Sir Winston Churchill', a double-flowered Tazetta. I read that it's a sport (chance mutation) of 'Geranium'. I first planted it about ten years ago, and it has flowered since. It is now a nice clump. However, oddly, the clump is several feet away from where I planted it, in the middle of the lawn. I don't know how that happened. It's very fragrant.
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| Narcissus 'Sir Winston Churchill' 4 W-O |
"Sir Winston Churchill" has been listed in a few of my cut flower books recently. I'm a little jealous that you have it.
ReplyDeleteMy "King Alfred" are the only ones blooming so far in the courtyard. The Forsythia and fruit trees have been in bloom, as well as the Stellar Magnolia and Saucer Magnolias, but they were hit back by the cold. Perrennials are starting to poke through for the year at least.
How many Narcissus stems would you say you might need for your flower business? I see 'Sir Winston Churchill' is for sale quite cheap at Brent and Becky's Bulbs, and there's 10% off if paid before July 1.
DeleteThat's a good question, but probably one that's far off. I'd have to extend my season from starting in July all the way back to March for that to be feasible. I'm looking to see what blooms when around here still and will go from here.
ReplyDeleteI am doing a bit of trial this year to see what I can get to bloom in May/June and expand that so I can move into it then. Lilies, Columbine, and Iceland poppies are on the list to focus on for now.
Ross! I need your help.
ReplyDeleteThis year one of the items on my to do list is to grow an herb garden. I read that March is a good time to start some herbs.
What should I do? Where do I start?
My balcony is big but we only get a couple hours per day of direct sunlight in the late morning/early afternoon.
Have you heard of people growing balcony herb gardens in shoe organizers? Do you think this would work if I used a fabric one like the one in this link: https://www.valpak.com/blog/creative-diy-vertical-planters-for-less ?
What kind of herbs are easiest to grow/hardest to kill? I'm looking for things that are useful either in food or in fragrance.
I'm also hoping for something that can withstand the heat in the winter, although I suppose I could bring them inside if they can't.
Tell me what to do!!!
Hey Brittany! I'm glad you're getting into herbs. They are among my favorite plants. To start with, I'd say you're taking on a difficult task, since most herbs are from Mediterranean climates where they are baked in the sun in summer and receive a lot of air flow. A shady, sheltered area, especially if it is constantly wet, will be the demise of most of them.
DeleteI think it would be possible to grow short-term crops in fabric shoe organizers, as long as they drain water well, but for long-term survival, I'd put herbs in terracotta pots with drainage holes and without saucers. Start with smaller pots, only a few inches wider that the plants you buy, and build up to larger pots as the plants outgrow them. Use commercial potting soil, not garden soil or top soil (these stay too wet for pots).
Give them as much sun as possible. Water them thoroughly, without getting the leaves wet, and preferably in the morning so the sun can dry them quickly. After watering, allow soil to dry out some before the next (thorough) watering (avoid watering frequently with small amounts of water).
I wouldn't ever move them inside. If it gets really cold, you might move them inside for the night only, but back out the next morning.
As far as herbs to grow, I'd stick with ones with dark green, shiny leaves, as these tend to tolerate shade better than the ones with blue/grey, fuzzy leaves. Try chives, mint, lemon balm, Cuban oregano, basil, rosemary, pineapple sage, parsley, cilantro, fennel, aloe vera, or garden thyme (maybe).
You might also like to try arugula or lettuces as short term crops. They, along with smaller herbs like parsley and cilantro, would do better in a shoe organizer than larger herbs like rosemary.
Herbs need less fertilizing than most plants. If you ever fertilize, I'd go with something like Miracle Gro and use a teaspoon per gallon of water. Or you could buy Osmocote granular fertilizer that will feed for several months.
You can plant several herbs in the same pot, too, but I'd always leave mint in its own pot, because it's very invasive.
Aloe vera can't stay outside in cold weather. It can be a house plant, as I'm sure you know. Basil is an annual. It only lives a year. Cilantro and parsley will live two years, but it's best to replace them yearly.
These are just some starting thoughts. I hope it helps. Let me know how it goes!