propagation – Fine for Friday

The calendar turned over to December and Christmas is approaching. Things are very slow moving in the garden. I searched for photo worthy plants today and I had a lot of success.

Here in the American South we don’t expect snow or deep freeze temperatures. We may have a light frost every week or two but it is still a good time of year to plant trees, shrubs and even some perennials if we are forecast to have above freezing weather for a week or 10 days. We can do that because the ground temperature will remain above freezing and plant roots will be undamaged.

Here is my six for this week. Perhaps, you would like to join our group tomorrow. It is Six on Saturday which is hosted by Jim Stephens. It is a group of gardeners from around the world posting 6 photos for the week. If you enjoy gardening, come visit. The link is https://gardenruminations.co.uk/.

I keep the begonia ready to return to the cold frame if the temperatures dip. In the spring, I will take cuttings to propagate new plants and use them to fill my window boxes until the next fall. This has successfully worked with this begonia cultivar and pelargonium/geraniums for 3 years now.

The succulent is perhaps a “panda”. It tolerates some light frost. It is near the front door and I can move it in if there are very cool nights.

The larkspur is a perennial that I purchased recently and it will be planted in the garden come spring. At the moment, it resides on the front stoop where it is protected from wind and heavy rain.

The pansy is a frequent selection for fall planting in our region. They do not like temps above 80F but they will tolerate a moderate frost. I do like their cheery faces. I have grown some from seed in the past but it is so much easier to choose from the many varieties at the local nursery. These populate my window boxes until it’s time to replace them with the dragon wing begonias in the spring.

The dogwood has such lovely leaf color and seed pod. This photo captures it for you. The dogwoods are disappearing from our landscape. They have been devastated by a dogwood borer.

I was gifted the cleome seeds back in the spring. The seeds did not germinate for me in the pots that I had filled with potting soil. I didn’t give up on them and they began appearing 2 weeks ago. I potted them up today. I will keep them under grow lights until they are large enough to take them outdoors. They will remain in the pots until spring planting with protection in the cold frame if there is freezing temps.

So, there is still a lot happening in the garden.

Happy gardening!!

This is Titan parsley that I started from seed last summer. It is in a carport window box. It gets set back on cold nights but always snaps back in a few days. I have to remember that parsley is a biannual so it needs a new start every 2 years. It is so convenient to collect fresh parsley whenever you need it for cooking.

The winter still provides enough fresh items for cooking. Here are some other things that I keep growing around the yard in winter.

Here is some lemon thyme. As you can see, it does so well in the carport in winter. It is a great addition to home made soups. We save leftover chicken or roast to make soups in winter. We like the taste of the fresh thyme in those dishes.

This is Tuscan blue rosemary. It thrives in the garden. If I bump into it, it emits such a wonderful smell. I cut it back one third in the spring to keep it from getting too woody. We like to add it to soups, chicken dishes and pork dishes.

This is ginger. This is one called Big Kahuna Blue Ring. I grow it in a container so it can be brought indoors when the weather cools. Just cut a piece and you have fresh ginger for stir fry. It is a pretty plant in summer but I have not had it bloom. That is a pinecone you see. I cover the top of the soil in my containers with pinecones. That helps to keep the squirrels from digging in them.

This green is red sorrell. It does well in the carport windowbox all year. That microclimate is warm enough in winter and just enough shade for the summer. It adds nice color to a salad and has a pleasant taste.

This is some of my indoor nursery. The leopard lilies are not up yet but I have some dill started and a nice crop of snapdragon. I wanted to start the snapdragons last fall and put them out late fall but best laid plans did that idea in. These snaps are Madame Butterfly.

Remember I was inspired by #Six for Saturday thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

You will also enjoy this latest blog from Felder Rushing. Summer Mississippi flowers seen in England.

Tag: propagation

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