HOTober


Fog.  Ahhhhh!

Was that the last heat wave for a while?  Say until late next July?  I'm dreaming on that, but a spell of cool weather is most welcome.  I've been indoors since we came back from Cambria, waiting out the heat.
Stayed occupied by painting the dining room: 
 Finally, with fog announcing the loosening of HOTober's grip, I ventured outside to see the damage done.  Foliage scorch on Aloe thraskii:
 Aloe castanea which I brought home as a 4" pot from Annie's Annuals when attending the 2014 Garden Blogger's Fling was pristine two weeks ago:
 Stephanotis likes heat, but is planted in too much sun.  Without some sun, it doesn't grow and bloom as well.  A balance must be struck.
 The new Phylica is dead.  I thought it might be iffy when I bought it.  I was right, d-mn it! 
 Very recently planted Eremophila 'Blue Bells' nearly died too, but a deep soaking of water saved it. 
 The roses, Acer palmatums, and the Lagerstroemias dropped foliage;  it's nearly time for them to start dropping foliage anyway, so they preserved themselves at essentially no cost to their health.  No fall color on the Acers and Lagerstroemias again this year.  It takes a cool October and a sudden chill in November to get autumn color here.  A HOTober means the leaves take a straight line from green to  brown.
Not that we don't have weather-created foliage color here...
The just-planted Grevillea 'Kings Fire' is fine.  No damage.  Whew!
Aloe suprafoliata, in a much hotter place than thraskii or castanea, suffered no damage at all, and has sprouted six flower stalks.  Six!  

A few weeks ago before October became HOTober, I cut Salvia 'Waverly' to the ground.  New growth rapidly sprouted.  More hummingbird food soon. 
The hummers are making do with Grevilleas.  I cut off the water to 'Moonlight' late this spring, meaning to run a new drip line for it, but never got to it.  'Moonlight' hasn't noticed.  It slowed down just a bit (not a bad thing) but grown and bloomed continuously anyway.
Bee happy! 
Leathery leafed Leucadendrons are more beautiful without constant heat-waves, but they can easily endure a few days of 100F. 
 Plenty of toasted and bleached rose blooms, but some are still worth looking at.

We're all so tired of the heat here, plants and humans alike.  

I became neglectful of the pond conditions over this long hot summer, and did not check the pond water chemistry as should have been done when the koi's appetite became sluggish.  A entirely preventable, entirely my error pH crash occurred.  I walked out on a 100F day last week to find all the koi near death.  Frantic swift action saved all of them, but Ranger, who died. 
The survivors are all fine again:
I learned a Lesson that won't be forgotten, but Ranger paid for it.
I'm sorry:
  Although the heat was somewhat destructive, when it comes to destruction there's nothing as terrible as human sloth. 

Comments

  1. So sorry that you lost Ranger! Here's hoping for some nice cool and wet weather for you and your garden. Your dining room is looking great!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. A whole week of cool weather ahead. Wheee!

      Dining room is done, now on to the living room.

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  2. Love your description of our extremely hot month, Hotober! Absolutely HATE (yeah I said it) the heat and what it does to our fin friend's ponds. Very sorry for your loss. RIP Ranger.

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  3. I'm sorry to hear that you lost Ranger. It's hard not to be slothful in heat like that last patch. I also hope that it's the last we see until next year. There's a chance of real honest to goodness rain later this week, which will be greatly appreciated if it materializes. Time to get busy in the garden!

    P.S. Despite your valuable warning to keep my new Phylica watered and my persistence there, I lost my plant in this last heatwave too.

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    1. Thank you. My energy level plummets in hot weather--maybe that's why I don't like hot weather. Yeah, maybe rain, I'll be thrilled if we actually get some. It's anyway going to be nice and cool.

      I should have shaded my Phylica. Grr...

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  4. I'm so sorry for the loss of Ranger. I know you will be kicking yourself for some time to come, but at least the others were saved. Those painful lessons are no fun. I hope your hot weather is gone - gone - gone!

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    1. Thank you, Barbara. I 'd best never be neglectful again! Yes hot weather gone for at least a week! Yay!

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  5. HB, I totally understand you! Heat depletes me and during heatwaves I stay inside the house. I'm sorry about your fish, in my pond the water lilies cover almost all the surface and they don't mind the harsh sun, this keep the water cool. I hope autumn brings more cool days to your garden!

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    1. Thank you, MDN. Water lilies are so lovely, I'd love to have some, but the fish would eat them. The pond gets afternoon shade so the water does not get too warm.

      Cool days have arrived!

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  6. Damn. I am so sorry about the plant damage and poor Ranger...that heat was just crazy. Hoping the cooler days are there to stay.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Loree! Trivial plant damage compared to what your garden went through last winter. The rest of the koi are back to their endlessly ravenous selves. Why did I not notice something was amiss?

      May your winter be a mild one, and while I am hoping, may Southern California's be a rainy one!

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  7. This has been a crazy summer after a crazy winter. Even plants that like the heat can only take so much. I lost my Philica pubescens earlier this summer (and a Leucadendron 'Jester') so I know how you feel.

    Coincidentally I just planted an Eremophila 'Blue Bells'. Our weather has been kinder to it than yours.

    Love your Aloe suprafoliata!

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  8. I am watching my Prunus nigra and granadilla? Not sure if they will make it.
    Also guilty of Phylica murder.

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