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The plan was to move 'Windermere' rose from here...
...to roughly here...
...in order to add the three new Callistemon 'Slim's to the roses' spot, to provide shade for the pergola seating area on hot summer mornings. That was the plan, anyway. 'Slim' has proved to be fairly fast growing--almost 5' of height in less than a year. Density of growth will take longer.
March 2017:
Considerably taller by January 2018. Yes, the neighbors really hacked that Oak. It appears they took out over 80% of its foliage in a brutally dry year. But I digress, as usual.
Alas, 'Windermere' had extensive root gall disease. No use replanting it.
Those ain't potatoes
The Callistemons went in. A light rain shower or two is predicted overnight tonight--rain is always a strong motivation to get plants into the ground.
'Windermere' went into the green waste bin.
The new Aloe rubroviolacea went into space on the front slope formerly occupied by Maireana sedifolia. I still have 2 Marianas; love the plant--just felt the one on the slope was oddly placed. To the upper right of rubro is the white-bracted Aloe ferox that bloomed for the first time recently.
Some plans work out; some don't. What's worked, or not, for you lately?
Sorry that 'Windermere' got root gall disease and hope you get some good rain!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Outlaw.
DeleteNOAA: "Friday Rain. High near 63. Chance of precipitation is 90%."
Yeeeehaaaaawww!!!!!!!! I like those odds. We got about 0.2" over night--its a start. Looking forward to Friday.
So sad about your rose. But you still have loads of other beautiful ones. That seems like a great Callistemon, I wonder if it's hardy here, I'll have to google it. The two I have sprawl in an ugly, man-spreading manner.
ReplyDeleteI do have lots of roses--and there's another 'Windermere' out front, so I can't complain.
DeleteThis looks to be a fine Callistemon...since I now have seven of them, I hope so! No clue as to hardiness.
Still deliberating about the Prunus nigra. No leaves. But the twigs don't snap if I bend them. Not actually dead yet. But. Standard Iceberg looks as if it was blasted by a salty breeze. Once happy Polygala seedling appears to have fire blight. The rest is good and I have gaps to fill.
ReplyDeleteDark leafed Prunus don't live long here. My Mom & Dad had a couple when when I was a kid. Many memories of those!
DeleteI attempted to move a Tropic Gold apricot that I foolishly planted in an elevated planter too close to a 2nd story deck. It's now too big to fail. I bought a bare root this weekend, planted it several feet away and will chainsaw the other once the new one fruits. It doesn't look like any of my blueberries or my Mini King protea made it through last year. My front yard is a dirt pile for now but I have poppies happily sprouting everywhere. Baby steps. At least good rain last night, right?
ReplyDeleteYes, a decent rain. I have some rainwater to distribute before the next storm. NOAA says 90% chance of rain Friday. Wheee!!!
DeleteDo you actually get apricots? We are getting some significant chill this February--it seems like it's been a long time since that happened. I have a whole bunch of poppy seedlings that came up with that one good rain in January and have struggled since--last night was their lifesaver--and more rain will help.
'Mini King' has had no vigor for me. 'Pink Ice' is becoming a monster and the others ('Brenda', 'Sylvia', neriifolia)--are doing quite well, but 'Mini King' is a different story.
Yes! I wish I could post a photo. I got at least 60 in last year's crop on a 2 YO tree that's about 9' tall. An off year due to the heavy rain. This year I'm estimating a lot less, but it's still early. I pruned late and don't even have leaf buds (OTOH, my peach has blooms.) Too bad, the squirrels got to many of them and left me pits all over walls and deck.
DeleteI too am sorry you lost the rose. Drought conditions seem to make plants more vulnerable. I saw your warning about mealy bugs on Phormiums and Cordylines but have yet to give mine a thorough going over.
ReplyDeleteMy renovated succulent bed, the new bromeliad bed and the plantings around the lath house all seem to be doing reasonably well. No plant losses thus far and, although the raccoons have returned to their nightly party schedule, they haven't yet attacked those areas. I've started chipping away at the scraggly ivy and honeysuckle on the back slope but that's going to be a long, slow process and I've no idea yet what I'll do with is even if I manage to clear a major segment.
We got 0.15/inch of rain last night but nothing yet today, even through showers marked my travels through nearby Torrance and the surrounding area. NOAA, AccuWeather and Weather Underground all have different odds for the rain later this week but at least all are above 50%.
Gall on a lot of my roses; I think they arrived that way. The ones I got from non-California growers are all going strong 20 years on.
DeleteIvy is nasty--good luck with that! NOAA says 90% so I'll go with that as it cheers me up! What a depressing winter it has been. Sunny, gorgeous, and depressing.
I really appreciate your endorsement of 'Slim'. I bought one in the fall but am still looking for the best spot. Do you think it can really be kept to a width of 2 ft, like I read somewhere?
ReplyDeleteI think 3'-4' is more realistic, but yes it branches readily where cut back. The guy from Village said to start training it upwards rather than outwards from the start (via trimming). I think it needs also a reasonable amount of irrigation for maximum beauty, but that goes for any plant here, right? Even Agaves.
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