Gardening in November. . . after all, it's Tennessee!
So, last weekend, with Chris' help, we got out and finished planting pansies and aster in the front bed, pulled up all the sensitive bulbs and dead annuals that were hit with frost in the past couple of weeks. Then we mulched everything up there really well. I still have yet to clean out, cut back and mulch the back bed under the dining room windows, but perhaps I can get to that this weekend at some point, if it's not going to rain (haven't checked the weather).
I had to move the huge Cymbidium orchid out of the dining room because it was just looking cramped in that space. The plant with pot included is easily three feet tall and almost as wide and growing more and more horizontally as the pseudobulbs swell. I've put it in with the palms and bird of paradise in the den and it looks quite at home mingling with all the other tropical foliage. As I watered, fertilized and moved it the other day, I noticed it's got a brand new inflorecence on it which growing rapidly (couple of inches a day) and will hopefully put forth blooms in the coming months. This is one that only blooms once a year and it was a Valentine's Day gift from Chris this year, so I guess it's on schedule, if not maybe a little early. It has several pseudobulbs and there's only one with an inflorecence, so it might bloom for a couple of months if the rest follow suit. I've missed the color from the rest of my orchids. My Kaleidoscope Phalanopis only has two little blooms on it right now, but there are several buds in the works. In another month or so, it should be fairly prolific, especially if I keep up with the feedings. The poor white Phalanopis that I had to cut back last month or so still shows no signs of new inflorecences, but it's also showing no signs of new scale, which is great! It's perked up a great deal with new attention and I'm sure will be putting out new buds in the next couple of months. I'm not sure when the Aspasia will bloom again. It's another once a year bloomer and I've had it for a little over a year now. I guess my environment and the cycles therein might be different than the one it came from though. The runt of the group, my brand new little Pahiopedilum (which totally looks like this one called Darth Vader! but it's not, it's a different hybrid altogether, just looks similar), is doing very well. The bloom is now perky and no longer sagging and limp and the leaves are no longer wavy. I suspect it desperately needed a good drink when I bought it and has benefited greatly from a couple of good soakings and a thorough feeding since then. I really love my orchids. It's always nice to have something blooming in the winter.
I've got a bunch of potted plants in the garage that really need a permanent winter home. I'm hoping to move the rack that's on the back porch to the garage and set up some florescent lights to keep them sustained through winter. There are only one or two of the larger container gardens that I might like to bring inside after a thorough inspection for pests/other bugs and cleaning up their pots some. Everything else that came in from outside will just have to live in the garage for the winter. I need to make sure I remember to go out there and water when I take care of the houseplants every week.
I joked last night about getting a metal halide light for the den, but I'm seriously contemplating it and have been since we moved here. In the summer, there's ample light all day through the huge windows in the den. But this time of year, my palms and such really suffer and need extra attention because of the bare minimum of light they get, especially with so many grey days in winter. I think they'd do much better with a little supplemental light from an artificial source for a couple of extra hours a day. But I'm not sure I could do a standard hanging fixture in here. For one, the ceilings are really high and it would not only be very conspicuous, it would be difficult to install. Also, having a light fixture that's about 250 watts of bluish white light in the den might be a distraction while we're trying to relax in here in the evenings, especially since I'd have to hang it quite high to benefit the huge bird of paradise and majesty palm that need it the most. I wonder if I could get like a standing lamp type fixture HID light. *ponders*
Anyway, it appears the gardening is never done, even when the long cold winter sets in. Now that I don't have any book discussion readings to focus on (until solid plans for when we'll do the next one), then I'm going to pick up the composting book I borrowed from baka_san far too long ago. It's kind of pathetic, I got through all the boring "history of composting" stuff, and then set it aside for some reason. I'd like for our compost heap to be more than an organic garbage pile. Once I get all the outdoor gardens cleaned up from the winter, I'm going to have to start thinking about starting seeds for stuff for next year, at least planning things anyway. I don't want to get caught behind next year and I actually want to start all my veggies and annuals from seed so I'm not limited to what Home Depot or All Seasons happens to have. I've also thought about getting some clear plastic and turning the tomato cages on their sides to use as mini greenhouses to grow lettuce in the garden over winter. We'll see if I can get around to it. Every year I get a little bit more done. But every year there are things on the list that have to be moved to the "maybe next year" list. The biggest ones this year were the annuals and veggies from seeds that didn't happen (well, I did plant some annuals from seed, but I lost most of them to mold) and getting an herb garden established.
I had to move the huge Cymbidium orchid out of the dining room because it was just looking cramped in that space. The plant with pot included is easily three feet tall and almost as wide and growing more and more horizontally as the pseudobulbs swell. I've put it in with the palms and bird of paradise in the den and it looks quite at home mingling with all the other tropical foliage. As I watered, fertilized and moved it the other day, I noticed it's got a brand new inflorecence on it which growing rapidly (couple of inches a day) and will hopefully put forth blooms in the coming months. This is one that only blooms once a year and it was a Valentine's Day gift from Chris this year, so I guess it's on schedule, if not maybe a little early. It has several pseudobulbs and there's only one with an inflorecence, so it might bloom for a couple of months if the rest follow suit. I've missed the color from the rest of my orchids. My Kaleidoscope Phalanopis only has two little blooms on it right now, but there are several buds in the works. In another month or so, it should be fairly prolific, especially if I keep up with the feedings. The poor white Phalanopis that I had to cut back last month or so still shows no signs of new inflorecences, but it's also showing no signs of new scale, which is great! It's perked up a great deal with new attention and I'm sure will be putting out new buds in the next couple of months. I'm not sure when the Aspasia will bloom again. It's another once a year bloomer and I've had it for a little over a year now. I guess my environment and the cycles therein might be different than the one it came from though. The runt of the group, my brand new little Pahiopedilum (which totally looks like this one called Darth Vader! but it's not, it's a different hybrid altogether, just looks similar), is doing very well. The bloom is now perky and no longer sagging and limp and the leaves are no longer wavy. I suspect it desperately needed a good drink when I bought it and has benefited greatly from a couple of good soakings and a thorough feeding since then. I really love my orchids. It's always nice to have something blooming in the winter.
I've got a bunch of potted plants in the garage that really need a permanent winter home. I'm hoping to move the rack that's on the back porch to the garage and set up some florescent lights to keep them sustained through winter. There are only one or two of the larger container gardens that I might like to bring inside after a thorough inspection for pests/other bugs and cleaning up their pots some. Everything else that came in from outside will just have to live in the garage for the winter. I need to make sure I remember to go out there and water when I take care of the houseplants every week.
I joked last night about getting a metal halide light for the den, but I'm seriously contemplating it and have been since we moved here. In the summer, there's ample light all day through the huge windows in the den. But this time of year, my palms and such really suffer and need extra attention because of the bare minimum of light they get, especially with so many grey days in winter. I think they'd do much better with a little supplemental light from an artificial source for a couple of extra hours a day. But I'm not sure I could do a standard hanging fixture in here. For one, the ceilings are really high and it would not only be very conspicuous, it would be difficult to install. Also, having a light fixture that's about 250 watts of bluish white light in the den might be a distraction while we're trying to relax in here in the evenings, especially since I'd have to hang it quite high to benefit the huge bird of paradise and majesty palm that need it the most. I wonder if I could get like a standing lamp type fixture HID light. *ponders*
Anyway, it appears the gardening is never done, even when the long cold winter sets in. Now that I don't have any book discussion readings to focus on (until solid plans for when we'll do the next one), then I'm going to pick up the composting book I borrowed from baka_san far too long ago. It's kind of pathetic, I got through all the boring "history of composting" stuff, and then set it aside for some reason. I'd like for our compost heap to be more than an organic garbage pile. Once I get all the outdoor gardens cleaned up from the winter, I'm going to have to start thinking about starting seeds for stuff for next year, at least planning things anyway. I don't want to get caught behind next year and I actually want to start all my veggies and annuals from seed so I'm not limited to what Home Depot or All Seasons happens to have. I've also thought about getting some clear plastic and turning the tomato cages on their sides to use as mini greenhouses to grow lettuce in the garden over winter. We'll see if I can get around to it. Every year I get a little bit more done. But every year there are things on the list that have to be moved to the "maybe next year" list. The biggest ones this year were the annuals and veggies from seeds that didn't happen (well, I did plant some annuals from seed, but I lost most of them to mold) and getting an herb garden established.