Rain Responses

Above:  several days of overcast means intense flower color.

The roses have had a difficult year.  Just as they were freshly leafed out and full of flowers in March, we had an intense heat wave.  Supporting new foliage and lots of flowers in hot weather provoked dropped or sun burnt foliage, toasted flowers, and two straight months of sulking.  May brought late rain and mandatory water restrictions.  The rose foliage, already damaged, developed severe fungal diseases.  Many roses defoliated, which is unusual here.  June finally brought a stretch of cool overcastThe roses re-foliated and are now blooming again.  I've missed them. 
'Glowing Peace' was leafless and bloomless a few weeks ago:
'Snowbird' 
'Snowbird' (Hatton, 1936) has a somewhat gawky growth habit, but leaning against a tuteur, it looks just dandy. 
'William Shakespeare 2000': 
 'English Garden' was near death back in May.  All better, and much richer color than usual.
'Rouge Royale' of the fabulous fragrance:
 'Red Intuition' with a few more petals than usual.
The week of cool weather we got just after July began brought forth another round of Day Lily flowers.  They provided a happy distraction from ugly roses for many weeks.
 Now that summer heat has taken a firm grip, Crassula falcata comes into flower.  It hates the spot I gave it--too hot.  I need to move it come fall.  See how yellow the foliage is?
 Aloe broomii finally seems happy.  It struggled for months.  Perhaps it just needed to establish itself.  When I planted the Dorycium about 30" away, I found broomii roots. 
 The Dasylirion flowers have browned.  The whole thing will take years to dry out and fall.  It got little bee activity--it is Nolina that is mobbed by bees, not Dasylirion.  The plant's lowest leaf tips have browned also--it happened when the scape was forming--I think the plant was robbing water and nutrients from the leaves at that point. 
 What I have learned as a gardener response to rain is to get out there two or three days after substantial rain and dig out stuff that needs digging out--it will never be easier than while the soil is rain-softened.  I removed a Senecio barbertonicus from the front slope.  I removed it last year, too.  It had grown back.  This year with easier digging I hope I got it all.  It easily gets six feet tall--not good at the front of the slope. 
Temporary fill:  Aloe greatheadii.  I have plenty, and they transplant easily, even in summer heat.  If they die, or if a passerby steps all over them--no problem.  There are more. 
 July is the time of year when Senecio mandraliscae starts getting rotting stems that ooze brown goo.  The brown goo attracts flies.  This makes up for the winter and spring beauty of the plant. 
A low growing, vigorous plant is ideal at the bottom of a slope.  Aloe 'Roikoppe' may eventually replace the rampant, summer-brown-goo Senecio for this task.
 Aloe wickensii got the spot where I harvested out the greatheadiis.  It has been waiting in a pot far to long. Wickensii is from a summer rainfall area, making it a little iffy in this dry area, but there is a sprinkler nearby.  A non-offsetting Aloe, rather plain in foliage, but the flower is bi-color and striking. 
 Also moved two Ballota from the east-facing slope, where they were struggling with dry conditions, to a former lawn area near the pond.  They instantly looked happier.
 Pulled out a big patch of Arctotis 'Burgundy'.  I have fresh starts of it elsewhere.  The patch was getting old and ratty. 
One 'Joe Hoak' yielded five fresh new offsets--easy harvesting from soft, moist soil, easy potting on a table instead of kneeling on concrete.  What a gift!
Plants and gardeners respond to rain, and not just with dances.
This 'Young Lycidas' flower, though, is definitely a dance: 
 The magic of rain. 

Comments

  1. Ah, your roses are back I've missed them. I love them.

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    1. Me, too. Walking around, sniffing all the different perfumes they exude, is one of my favorite things.

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  2. Nothing like to revive a garden! And glad to see that your roses have made a come back after the set back earlier this year :)

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    1. I was wondering if they would come back, but they did. Whew! Big relief.

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  3. It still amazes me how many roses you have, especially since they don't multiply like the succulents. I've removed my first Agave and Aloe offsets this year -- it's exciting to pot up the little guys!

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    1. Roses multiply in all sorts of ways--via catalogs, shopping, word of mouth recommendations, visiting gardens...all succulents do is offset. ;^)

      Congrats on the new babies!

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  4. My roses haven't rebounded like yours but I've discovered all sorts of unexpected blooms this week - our rain is no doubt responsible for those as well. My Arctotis are looking ratty too. That happened last year, causing me to dig them up and start them afresh. I think I'm going to do the same this year - the one cutting I took prior to the rain is already rooting well.

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    1. They started reviving with that stretch of blessedly cool weather--the rain then made sure of it.

      I think yes, Arctotis seem best restarted every few years, like Gazanias. It's a bit of a chore, but makes for a better display. I have three new clumps of the 'Burgundy', so all's well.

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  5. Good to see the roses recovering. They are looking very healthy, more so than mine. Constant rain isn't good for them either.
    The Dasylirion is still looking spectacular!

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    1. People who walk or drive by stop to look at the Dasylirion, even people who are not plant people. It's quite imposing.

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  6. So pleased you had enough rain to at least refresh the garden for a short time, allowig you to get out and do some gardening.

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    1. Thanks, Spiky. I'm not an indoors kind of person!

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  7. and they call oil liquid gold.

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  8. Wow - that Dasylirion - what a stunner! I'm glad your roses rebounded, and that you got some relief in the form of rain. Silly me - I have things to plant, and I have to water first, in order to dig - the ground is so hard. What I should do is stop bringing things home, but I have zero will power - the odds of survival be damned! Leaving on vacation next week, and I'm really dreading leaving it all to the ravages on the oncoming heatwave.

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    1. I hope you have a fun vacation, without dread. It's good to get away.

      I'm finding that restraint in plant buying is getting easier with practice...not that it is easy...

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