Roots

In the basement, the light rack is nearly full, even the top shelf. Something tells me I'm going to need another before winter officially arrives. I have the rack, it's the lights I don't have.



First, a test. Stuck on October 28, the pineapple sage and passionvine cuttings are putting out new roots. The salvia is obviously further along than the passionvine.

Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans)



Passionvine (amethyst?)



I'm also curious about the brugs. These Ecuador White cuttings were stuck in soil on October 24. They were in water for about a week prior to that.



Big honking roots!



The newest cuttings have been in water for almost a week, I think. Most are small, about 1/2" in diameter.



Some were larger and one is really a test just to see if I can root larger cuttings.



And some I just got tired of potting so they all went into the same container.



The pineapple sage and passionvine cuttings next to the smaller new orange/yellow brug cuttings.



It's still pouring rain at 55 degrees.

I did find a single cutting of Miss Huff lantana with tiny root starts. The confederate rose cutting in the cloner was getting mushy. I chopped off the bad part and potted it. I also took several cuttings of white butterfly bush and the single Mr. Lincoln bloom. It fell apart overnight from all the wind and rain.

Dear Noah...

I opened the door this morning expecting a rush of cold air to greet me. Instead, it's muggy and warm even though the temperature stands at 57 degrees. A high of 77 is expected.

Yesterday, the rain started falling about 3pm. I was napping at the time, but when I woke up about 7:30, it was coming down nicely. Around 10pm, the bottom fell out. It was a hard, steady rain that lasted for several hours. When I went to bed at 11:30, it was still falling. This morning, there are a few patchy white spots in the Eastern sky. By mid afternoon, it should be clear. I could use some sunlight.

All told, we got just under 2" of rain overnight. We could use a little more, but not today.



With the yard being so soggy, I have no plans to work outside today. I've got a load of laundry to do, still need to clean the house a bit, and I have to work this evening. My first cup of coffee is about half done.

12:11pm - The sun is out. The humidity is intense. At 61 degrees, it feels like the upper 70s already. I'm thinking of wearing shorts to work.

I packaged up all the seeds that were drying in the basement. Castor beans, agastache mix, salvia subrotunda, salvia elegans, etc and so forth. I scattered the remains in the meadow garden.

Behind the upper potager, I have decreed that the area I intend to plant my figs will also be a red garden. I've got 15 new pineapple sage cuttings stuck today. I've also got enough salvia subrotunda seeds to choke a few hummers and goldfinches. I'll try to find some white agastache next year to plant in between the reds. I may even take cuttings of the white butterfly bush this fall to scatter in between. In a few years, the reseeding qualities of those plants should fill the area nicely as the figs grow.

I also took 5 cuttings from the passion vine in the planter by the basement door. I can't find my seed packet and I have no way of knowing if that plant will return next spring, so I want to be sure I have it.

In the dining room window, a piece of an evergreen wisteria, Millettia reticulata, has finally put out a single, lonesome root. It's been sitting in water for a couple months. I brought it home from work when it broke off while uncarting the mother plant. It has purple flowers all summer that smell of camphor. I'm hoping the smell is something mosquitoes aren't fond of. It'll cover the arbor in the perennial bed starting in the spring. It's not supposed to be cold hardy here in zone 7b, but there are reports of it growing as far north as Raleigh. I'll keep it inside for the winter.



Sitting next to it, roots have formed on the wild ageratum I pulled from the ditch on Brown Avenue. I'm still watching for seeds too.



Pay no attention to the dusty window sills. The construction zone in the kitchen means that nothing gets a thorough cleaning until I'm done. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The bedroom windows are open to air the house out a bit.

Carolina Blue

It's not just the color of a university.



Speaking of blue, Mystic Spires salvia has not performed well at all this year. I bought this plant from the clearance rack in 2008. I cut it back and it grew like crazy over the summer. I took cuttings and overwintered all three in the basement. The original plant did not return, but I have a feeling that moving it in December contributed to that. I won't bother with cuttings this year. If it returns, so be it. It's very floppy in its current home.



Paired with the salvia, the knockouts are blooming again. Poor Jim is probably clutching his chest as I mention these roses. I can't say anything bad about them. They've performed better than my hybrid teas.



A few months ago, I took a couple cuttings to show Cat how to root passionvine. I gave the rooted cutting to Carla as a thank you for all her help during the leg injury period. I need to take new cuttings to overwinter in case this one doesn't come back. I only have 4 shelves under lights. I have to be selective.



Another pineapple salvia seed has germinated.



The back yard is on its way to becoming an orchard. I'll add this Apache Blackberry on Friday. I've got two blueberries, a Belle of Georgia peach, a cherry tree, a fig (more to come with winter propagation), and the Thundercloud Plum that needs to be moved soon. Maybe I'll tackle that Friday too. I've already done some root pruning in anticipation. I'm going to need to dig a large hole though. Very large.



It's 55 degrees and sunny. Rain expected Friday evening and all day Saturday. No complaints. The cat is still curled up on the bed. Cool mornings make her old bones stiff.

11:46am - Three kitchen cabinets installed including the behemoth. When I ordered the cabinets, I requested white interiors. Shenendoah has recently quit that option, so they are maple. Tomorrow, I'd like to install the cabinet above the stove and the two 18" cabinets adjacent. That will be the last of the upper cabinets. The lower cabinets will get installed once the backsplash is done. I've got an idea for behind the stove since there is no microwave yet, but bead board will be used on either side for sure.





Evil and bad luck lurks around the corner. She just has to inspect my progress. I know she's wondering where her food bowl will end up.



4:30pm - Lowe's is having a deal this weekend on Olympic paint. Combining the store wide discount with my employee discount, I managed to pick up 3 gallons of white and two sheets of laminate for just a tish over $100. Thanks to the NC Dept of Revenue finally getting my tax refund mailed, I was able to do it. It only took them 5.5 months. Efficiency at its finest.

Seed Collecting

I spent some time today collecting seeds. At work, the gaillaria needed to be deadheaded. No problem. The petunias could use a pinch too. I'm on it. The gazania had lots of white puffy stuff, but nothing I could identify as seed, so I trashed it.

In my own yard, I separated Golden Jubilee from the chaff. Using my stainless steel bowl, I collected seeds from white and pink four o'clocks. I'm keeping them separate for no real reason.

I collected from several melampodium.



I tossed the heads from a couple zinnias into the same pile. Maybe the goldfinches left me something.





A few more purple cleome pods split when I touched them.



Of course there were cosmos, including a very few yellow.



The outline of the next bed is taking shape thanks to RoundUp. I sprayed it a couple days ago. I'm sure the heat and sun are helping.



And when you stop paying attention, something else blooms.