Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Musical chairs in the garden

While most of my end-of-summer/early fall cleanup has involved clearing debris, pruning overgrown plants, and removing plants that are dead, dying or unappealing, filling waste bins in the process, I've also divided plants, harvested succulent pups, and taken cuttings.  This post focuses on some of the latter activities.

I pulled 5 healthy pups of the large Aloe striata x maculata planted at the top of the slope on the southwest side of the garden.  I'm planning to plant 2-4 of the pups near the mother plant in the area now occupied by Aeonium arboreum (shown in the bottom 2 photos).  I've used that Aeonium as a filler all over my garden and it's time to switch things up with other plants.

In the street-side succulent bed, I discovered that a large Crassula ovata (jade plant) had tipped over the short wall that divides the bed from the upper level occupied by the lath house (left photo).  I took weight off it by cutting it back.  Cuttings of the Crassula and tall Senecio amaniensis that had also toppled over are shown on the right.

I potted up 2 small cuttings of the Crassula, one of the Sencio, and 5 of the tiny Agave mitis 'Multicolor' bulbils I harvested in July, now rooted.  I'll hold onto these for now for possible placement elsewhere in the garden once the plants are ready to be transplanted.

I texted the head of the local Cactus & Succulent Society to see if they might have an interest on taking 2 flats of rooted Agave mitis 'Multicolor' bulbils, a 6-pack of Agave 'Blue Glow' bulbils, and maybe the remaining Crassula and Senecio cuttings.  If not, I'll put the lot out for neighbors.  I fear the bulbils may not find a home in the neighborhood...

 

I've identified some plants that probably need to go, as well as a couple that might benefit from being moved.

Clockwise from the upper left, the plants that I'm currently looking to remove include: Psoralea pinnata, Salvia lanceolata (growing up through the middle of an Acacia 'Cousin Itt'),  and Trichostema 'Midnight Magic' (shown in the 2 bottom photos).  I like 'Midnight Magic', a cultivar of California's native woolly blue curls, but the right half of the woody plant has died.  Rather than chop it in half, I ordered a replacement as part of Annie's Annuals California native plant sale.

The 2 plants that may qualify for a move to boost their bloom potential are Dais cotinifolia (aka pom-pom tree, left) and Protea nerifolia 'Pink Ice' (right).  Neither has ever flowered and I think both want more sun.

 

Of course, while I'm cutting back and removing plants, I haven't been able to stop myself from adding new ones at the same time.

On Annie's last mail order sale, I picked up 2 more Eryngium planum 'Blue Glitter', only to discover that the one I planted in 2022 appears to have self-seeded (see photo on the right).  On the same sale I got Achillea millefolium, an Anchusa capensis, and another Echium webbii (not shown).

Gerhard of Succulents and More introduced readers to Steve Super Gardens in a recent post and I ended up ordered 2 Aeoniums, 'Dark Star' (bottom left) and 'Octo Ink' (bottom right), as well as a Pelargonium gibbosum (not shown).  In addition, they sent me an intriguing Aeonium hierrense (bottom middle).

Aeonium hierrense (aka tree houseleek) reportedly gets up to 3 feet tall.  I'm considering the 2 areas shown above for its placement.  I couldn't find a photo of a mature specimen on Steve Super Garden's site but you can see it here.

 

Instead of culling out, cutting back, giving away, or moving plants, some deserve notice just for being where they are.

Hippeastrum 'Luna' surprised me with an out-of-season bloom

Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' has maintained a steady mass of flowers all summer with just occasional deadheading


All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

18 comments:

  1. Well you are motivating me, I was going to leave any and all pups for springtime, lol. Everything is looking beautiful - thanks for the Annie's reminder.

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    1. Annie's always hooks me in with their sales, even though the discounts effectively only cover the shipping charge, or most of it anyway ;)

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  2. Catching up on your blog posts (post Fling) I am now feeling even more behind in my garden! I refused to do any autumn prep before leaving for Philly on the 18th, it still felt like summer. However upon my return yesterday autumn is here and has slapped me in the face. I must get busy...

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    1. I hope you haven't had a freeze this early, Loree! As I can't keep up with all my late summer/early fall garden chores, I can imagine the difficulty of catching up after a week away.

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  3. The endless plant shuffle, almost like musical chairs. As much as I like Aeonium arboreum, after reading your blog for a while, it seems to be labor intensive. Replacing it with Aloe pups is a good idea, if it requires less work. I have to admit it has become a major factor in considering plants and placement in my garden.
    I hope the Cactus & Succulent Society will be in favor of your generous donation.
    Your new Aeoniums are fun. I hope they maintain their 'blush'. Especially the gifted variety, Aeonium hierrense: wow! That one will need a place you can show it off.
    Chavli

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    1. Aeonium arboreum requires little support until it gets big, Chavli; however, it's also relatively easy to pull out. The main problem with it is that it's prolific and I feel guilty throwing masses of the rosettes away but I need to harden my heart and do just that. I haven't heard a word from the C&SS so I way just put the plants out for neighbors tomorrow to see what happens. I can't imagine trying to pot up all those Agave bulbils and store them for the time it'll take to increase their appeal to non-gardeners.

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  4. Love the title of this post. It perfectly describes what's happening in my garden.

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    1. I don't usually move around plants that much, except succulents, and even those in the form of cuttings and divisions.

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  5. Taking cuttings is so addicting. So many produce generously it's hard to not make more. The trick is finding homes for them. You might have to expand your territory as so many of your neighbours have benefited from you generousity.

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    1. You're probably right, Elaine. I can only tap my immediate neighbors so often. Maybe I should set up a booth on the small lawn at the entrance to our neighborhood adjacent to the main road running through our peninsula. I'd need much bigger signs, though!

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  6. Like you I enjoy making new plants from old although I have frequent failures. Success with one seems to satisfy me with a promise to do better next time. Your garden always looks so wonderful and your flowers for cutting are never ending and bring much enjoyment. Thanks.

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    1. It's an endless process, that's for certain, but the wins do keep up going ;)

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  7. Wow, you've been busy! Very impressive! All your succulents look so healthy, and the Gaillardia and companions in that border bed are gorgeous.

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    1. In our climate, this is usually the busiest part of the gardening year for us, Beth! I expect I'll be hammering away into the early part of next year.

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  8. Much more plant material to cut back in a rainy year. Not used to it.

    I was able to contribute succulent cuttings to a group doing a succulent topped pumpkin craft project--nice not to have to trash them.

    I hope your neighbors appreciate all your give-aways!

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    1. Well, it looks like the local Cactus & Succulent society is going to take me up on my offer after all. Now I'm looking around to see if there's anything else I can hand off !

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    2. I had one taker when I offered climbing aloe cuttings to my neighbours. I am loath to compost good plants!

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    3. It took awhile but the Cactus & Succulent Society representative finally made it to my house and took away everything I offered her, Diana. I hate to throw away even the agave bulbils but they have to go to people who are ready to baby them for the extended period necessary to reach a size suitable for planting in a garden.

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