A stick in the mud.

Last year, I cut back my butterfly bushes near the end of February. Because I'd been told before to just "stick that there where you want it to grow", I pushed the cuttings deep into the soil in the perennial bed. Those sticks rooted and turned into nice sized plants that were dug and given to Carla a couple months ago. Successfully rooting a few plants outdoors, in the native soil, I decided to give it a shot again this year. Over the past week, I've been sticking all sorts of things around the backyard. The soil is very moist this year thanks to all the winter rain.

Saucer Magnolia



Sweet Shrub



Forsythia



Mock Orange



Double pink althea



Spirea



Figs



Weigela



Burning Bush



Plums



I don't expect all of these sticks to turn into plants. However, even after two sunny days in the mid 70s, all of the ones with leaves are still looking healthy and not wilting. Some are easier to root than others using more traditional methods. It's an experiment, like a lot of what I do. If it's successful, it means no transplanting later, nice colorful spring blooming shrubs all around the edge of the backyard, and nothing but a couple hours of time spent outside on warm days.

It's 59 degrees this morning. The high today should reach the mid 60s. We had a little rain last night. When the clouds roll out this afternoon, the temperature will drop. Tonight, we might have a chance of frost. The predicted low is 34. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that so much warm weather this past week has warmed the soil enough to keep the frost at bay.

12:47pm - It's 64 degrees. At the store, we've been busy as usual. I've put out nearly 20 carts of shrubs and flowers with others left that I won't get to today. It's kind of hectic.

Two customers came in this morning. The first had a clump of blooming twigs in her hand. She wanted to know what they were. She'd lived in her house for 5 years and had never seen these trees bloom. They are flowering crabapples. She lives on Montgomery Avenue. These are hers.



The next customer had a piece of a red camellia with yellow center. She wanted to know what it was. She had never seen it bloom before. I asked where she got them. She said from the woods off Brown Avenue. These are the blooms she brought in.



So I've met two "neighbors" in the past 4 hours. They all know my house and the yard. Both were full of compliments. It's good to put faces to houses.

On the front slope, the daffodils have filled in. In the years to come, there will be lots more.



The tulips have opened.



And the Morris Plum is blooming in the orchard.



I've got three more hours to work. It's starting to look like rain. Easter liles have arrived. The price dropped $2 this morning. Get them while you can. Boston ferns are $7 each. We've sold more than 400 in the past 2 days. I have 7 carts of 48 coming in the morning. We're out.

Propagation - softwood, hardwood, and seeds

Hardwood cuttings are taken in the winter from deciduous plants. This past February, I stuck cuttings of figs, mock orange, forsythia, and a few others. The mock orange was decimated by tent caterpillars after it rooted and has died. The forsythia and figs need to be potted soon. I might do that today before I go to work.

The method is simple. Take cuttings from dormant plants, dust the bottom end with rooting hormone, stick in a well draining soil (1/2 sand, 1/2 Lowe's cheap topsoil), and wait.





Softwood cuttings can be done in April and June here in NC. These were stuck 3 weeks ago. All of the hydrangea cuttings rooted. Only a few of the others have rooted, including a beefsteak sucker. They were potted this morning. I'll keep them in the basement under my lights for another couple of weeks. It's too hot and dry to put them outside just yet. I need more roots.

I used the cloner for these, although you can use the baggie method or container method I've used to root gardenias and roses.







The easiest way to propagate many plants is through seed collection. Wintersowing the seeds is simple. There's a link on the sidebar.

Melampodium seed. I didn't collect these, just tossed them back into the garden where I want more. This works best in areas with no mulch.





Forget Me Nots. Again, tossed back into the garden. In another week or so, I'll pull the plants out and shake them along the edges of the beds.





Salvia subrotunda. I will be collecting these seeds. This salvia is over 5' tall and has shown no problems with wilt, unlike the salvia splendens (Yvonne's salvia, which I will also collect later).





Coreopsis "Mahogany Midget". Seeds collected last week are laying in a coffee filter to dry. This time of year, I have seeds all over the house.





Other seeds I'm waiting for are being noted below.

Rudbeckia. Seeds were collected from Autumn Colors and wintersown this January.


Monarda didyma.



Blue agastache.



Monarda didyma.



Yvonne's salvia. Over 4' tall and still growing.



Zinnias



Esther's sunflower.



Monarda citriodora 'Lambada'



Coreopsis "Full Moon"



It goes without saying there are others I'm waiting for, like datura inoxia.

12:01pm - the figs and forsythia are potted. The figs had only a few roots, but hopefully enough to make it on their own. The soil was bone dry and yet they were still alive. The forsythia had lots of roots. I expect them to make it. I'll plant the forsythia in the new shrub border this fall. The figs may or may not be planted. If they aren't, they'll be traded for other rooted cuttings this winter.

I've got wood

On Saturday, I went to my parents' in SC to get some more firewood. This should last me through the two final cold months this winter. I'll spend a bit of time this afternoon splitting enough to last the next few days. It doesn't burn as well as seasoned wood, but it does burn.



The unusually cold weather and last week's snow has caused some damage to a few plants in the yard. My gardenias I started from cuttings last summer were the worst hit.



The variegated gardenia is probably dead.



The loropetalum should be okay, but I won't know until spring if it comes back to full life or not. I did get some cuttings from it but no roots so far.



The azaleas that were chopped down in 2007 were looking great until the snow. I'm sure I won't see any flowers on these this spring.





None of it seemed to stop the daffodils.



The rest of my day will be spent tidying up a few things here at the house. I'm waiting to hear back from a client about a potential project. I contacted other clients for references this weekend. One, maybe two, will have something next month. In the meantime, I'll still be looking for full time work. This Friday, I plan to apply at a nursery for a summer position. It won't pay the bills, but it would be a job I will enjoy.

Sunday's picture taken on Monday.


Hardwood cuttings: quince, blackberry, lavender crape myrtle, holly, mock orange. These were stuck in potting mix and placed in the hoophouse.