Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Holding Pattern

I've been buying new plants at the worst time of the year to place them in the ground here.  Last week I received my most recent order from Annie's Annuals & Perennials.

On a sale offer, I ordered 2 Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' and 2 Agave 'Blue Glow' in 4-inch pots, knowing that they'd be tiny but, given local prices for even moderately-sized specimens, I considered it a prudent move

I usually make exceptions for succulents when planting during the hot, dry summer months but these are just too small to be planted out now.  I expect they'll need a good year or two in a pot before they can be safely added to any border.

This is the larger of the 2 'Blue Glow' Agave pups set next to some of the more mature specimens in my south-side succulent bed

And this is one of the Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' pups shown in relation to a more mature 'Vanzie' specimen in my south-side bed.  (The Agave ovatifolia on the north end of my garden is nearly double the size of the larger 'Vanzie'.)


With the exception of the 4-inch succulents shown in last Friday's post, I've potted up the recently acquired plants pending the return of cooler temperatures when fall arrives.

In addition to the 4 new Agaves, I potted up 3 new Mangave 'Blue Dart' received as bare-root plants

In addition to the Fibiana imbricata (false heather) and Agastache 'Black Adder' obtained in an earlier Annie's order, I've added Agastache 'Morello' and Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty', obtained locally, and 2 seedlings of Polygala fruticosa pulled from my own back border.  The Lomandra is destined for a spot in front of our backyard fountain.  The placement of the Polygala is yet to be determined but, as the plant is so vigorous, I've decided to work with it so long as I can place it where I want it as opposed to where it's self-sown.

I made a few exceptions for plants I thought might be better able to make it through the remainder of the summer in the ground.

As the succulent cuttings are taking their own sweet time filling in here, I added 8 Lantana plants from 6-inch pots to give this bed along the back patio some color

I've been gradually adding more succulents to this bed to replace groundcovers (like Cerastium tomentosum, aka snow-in-summer) that struggle to survive in this bed on the northeast side of the house.  The latest additions are Aeonium 'Lily Pad' and Echeveria 'Mira'.

 

I was drenched in sweat just planting the Lantana yesterday morning, even though the temperature had only reached 83F/28C by the time I'd finished around 10am.  I'd completed a brisk walk of two rounds of my neighborhood before I started so that may have been a contributing factor.  On my walk, I snapped a few quick shots of a neighbor's blooming Agave 'Blue Glow'.  Its progress from the first sign of the developing bloom stalk to its flowering stage has been very fast, at least by comparison to the blooms I got from Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' several years ago.

This one isn't tall enough to tumble over onto someone's car

Fellow blogger Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden has reminded me that those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have just fifty days to go until the Autumnal Equinox.  If only summer would pay attention to the calendar!


All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

18 comments:

  1. I've been experimenting with some tried and trues also; the lantana I put in back in May have tripled in size with no water other than at planting! Do your naked ladies see a lot of wind? Would like try them, but I'm worried about the blossoms getting shredded...

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    1. We get wind on a nearly daily basis but the area in which the amaryllis belladonna are planted isn't one of the wind alleys that's most severely impacted. I've never seen any evidence of damage to the flowers caused by wind. Maybe you can start small with just a few bulbs? They take a few years to settle in and bloom but once they start, they're reliable and the bulbs proliferate.

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    2. They come from our Cape fynbos, where we have howling Southeasters in summer. This week a gust of wind took out our telcom / radio tower on Elsie's Peak.

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  2. Annie's will have good prices on choice Agaves and Aloes like that. They are good buys.

    The shrubby little Lantanas are champions, aren't they? Months and months and months of color for difficult areas, and the skipper-type butterflies like them.

    This week hotter than last. Stay cool.

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    1. The Lantanas in the 'Lucky' series seem to be particularly tough. I'm somewhat haphazard when it comes to cutting them back but they respond well when I do.

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  3. You are so organized. And your succulent bed is so impressive!

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    1. Thanks Beth. I've finally accepted that I need to plant my groundcover-type succulents more closely together than I've done in the past ;)

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  4. A good move to pot up and baby your smaller specimens, Kris. Your mature 'Blue Glow' specimens are stunning...and what I wouldn't give for even a tiny Agave ovatifolia! I can't find a source for that plant here :(

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    1. I've been struck by how hard it is to find Agave ovatifolia here too, Horticat. I was specifically looking for it during last week's trip to the succulent wholesaler and didn't find it even among the larger potted specimens. Even when I see it online available for mail order, the plants are very small and usually the 'Vanzie' cultivar.

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  5. Ugh, I've heard you've been under a loooong heat spell... I have been so fortunate to miss it. I love those Fabianas - they have such intriguing little flowers. I have a feeling your new protegés will do wonderfully once it cools off a little, but you were probably smart keeping them in pots for now. Interesting tidbit about Polygalas seeding around. Wish that would happen up in OR. They are such cool plants!

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    1. ^ this was Anna, by the way. :)

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    2. I hope you're thoroughly enjoying your visit, Anna. As summer goes, this one hasn't been bad for us along SoCal's coast. The PNW has experienced higher temperatures, along the lines of those in our inland valleys, which are always must higher than along the coast. Still, in the middle of our very long dry season, following 2 years of seriously low rainfall, even our cooler-than-usual summer can quickly kill plants off, especially with the stronger water restrictions now in effect. Meanwhile, Polygala fruticosa and P. myrtifolia self-seed like crazy here regardless of the dry conditions.

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  6. I've been planting buying to Kris though as you suggest it's not the best time of year for getting new plants in the ground. I imagine that it's even more of a challenge for you. Your succulent beds are a work of art. It's most sobering to think that autumn is on the near horizon !

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    1. Autumn's arrival is regarded as a positive thing by gardeners here, Anna. In fact, it's often called our "second spring." Unfortunately, it doesn't actually feel like fall here until late October...

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  7. Seems the dog days of summer are everywhere right now. So hot and dry. Your new succulent area looks great. A bit of a chuckle: snow in summer is a thug here. Nice to see it can be cowed somewhere.

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    1. My local garden center used snow-in-summer extensively in the former volunteer garden, giving me the illusion that I could grow it here too. (The botanic garden is only about 5 miles away.) However, it struggled from the start in my garden and never bloomed. I think they water a lot more than I do...

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  8. I love your photos of the agaves showing the babies next to the mature plants. I'm planting a couple of things today, taking advantage of a cool stretch (only 80-85) before we once again head to 100 next week. It's hard to hold off... especially when (unlike you) I am not counting the days until summer ends, instead hoping it goes on and on...

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    1. I thought the comparison of the baby agaves next to the mature specimens was cute too but it also emphasized just how long it's going to take for the small ones to grow up...

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