BYC gardening thread!!

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Just planted 4 blackberry bushes!! I am also sprouting beans, water melon, and an apple tree ( My little guy kept asking for me to "make an apple tree" ) I also planted some more roses and violets.

NICE!

 

[salt and pepper]

Thank you! And Yes

He loves apples, but this seed is going to take a loooooonnnngggg time, so we might just buy one. It's really cute though, he is so excited about our garden, every day he checks our plants, and asks " are they ready yet??". lol We have cherry trees, apples trees, pear trees, and lots of nut trees around here. I wish I could have mango trees, but that really won't grow here. lol

 

[MinxFox]

I keep peafowl and so I like to plant tropical or tropical looking plants in and around their aviary so yesterday I bought some maiden grass, a butterfly bush of the Miss Molly variety, and a dwarf tibouchina. I am in zone 9b.

The Maiden grass I am planning on planting inside the aviary. I am leaving it in the aviary in the pot for now to make sure that the peafowl don't like eating it. Most plants I end up having to plant outside the aviary but there are some very special plants that work well in the aviary. I never have good luck with ornamental grass but I hope this maiden grass forms a big clump.

I finally decided I wanted a butterfly bush and the Miss Molly variety is sort of a dark pink color. It smells pretty good and I can't wait for it to get big. Right now it is just a little bush.

Finally the dwarf tibouchina is something I saw at Islands of Adventure and loved, although I saw the tree version which is much bigger than the dwarf. I will have to be careful with this plant because it is said to only grow in zones 10-11 but in colder zones it will grow back in warmer weather. I might have to fix up the greenhouse to keep it alive all year round. The flowers are worth it!

I don't have any photos of the new plants yet but in this photo you can see the bamboo clump I have in the aviary. There is another clump but it is smaller and it is a yellow variegated variety of bamboo. Also under the perch to the right is one of my fatsia plants. The fatsias do really well with the peafowl. They do peck at the leaves sometimes but they never do much damage. I have 3 fern baskets on the fence too but those are hard to see and to the left it is also hard to see but I have several plants outside of the pen like bananas, shell ginger, elephant ears (mine are still tiny and I can't get them to get large even after watering them a lot and fertilizing them with peafowl poo), and some other plants.

 

[digginindirt]

Lol @ make an apple tree...too cute! I don't think apple's will do well here but we're trying cherries! if they fruit I hope to try an apple tree.

Quote: Originally Posted by salt and pepper

Just planted 4 blackberry bushes!! I am also sprouting beans, water melon, and an apple tree ( My little guy kept asking for me to "make an apple tree" ) I also planted some more roses and violets.

My youngest (now 21) helped to plant a kwanzan cherry tree 10 years ago. Last spring I was out looking at it and said to him that it might be too close to the elec. wires and thought the tree trimmers (in the city limits they come out and just cut anything they feel is too close without you even knowing until you see it already done) might hack at it, but didn't really know where I would move it to. He suggested we just pull it up and get rid of it because every year he see it flower but he's never gotten a cherry off it yet.....Poor guy has been waiting all this time on an ornamental flowering only tree for fruit. We did give it to the next door neighbor so I can still see the flowers but not fear for it's life.

 

[salt and pepper]

Aw, I think that would break my boy's heart! I was wondering that if I only got one apple tree, if it would even fruit? Or do I need two?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I keep peafowl and so I like to plant tropical or tropical looking plants in and around their aviary so yesterday I bought some maiden grass, a butterfly bush of the Miss Molly variety, and a dwarf tibouchina. I am in zone 9b.

The Maiden grass I am planning on planting inside the aviary. I am leaving it in the aviary in the pot for now to make sure that the peafowl don't like eating it. Most plants I end up having to plant outside the aviary but there are some very special plants that work well in the aviary. I never have good luck with ornamental grass but I hope this maiden grass forms a big clump.

I finally decided I wanted a butterfly bush and the Miss Molly variety is sort of a dark pink color. It smells pretty good and I can't wait for it to get big. Right now it is just a little bush.

Finally the dwarf tibouchina is something I saw at Islands of Adventure and loved, although I saw the tree version which is much bigger than the dwarf. I will have to be careful with this plant because it is said to only grow in zones 10-11 but in colder zones it will grow back in warmer weather. I might have to fix up the greenhouse to keep it alive all year round. The flowers are worth it!

I don't have any photos of the new plants yet but in this photo you can see the bamboo clump I have in the aviary. There is another clump but it is smaller and it is a yellow variegated variety of bamboo. Also under the perch to the right is one of my fatsia plants. The fatsias do really well with the peafowl. They do peck at the leaves sometimes but they never do much damage. I have 3 fern baskets on the fence too but those are hard to see and to the left it is also hard to see but I have several plants outside of the pen like bananas, shell ginger, elephant ears (mine are still tiny and I can't get them to get large even after watering them a lot and fertilizing them with peafowl poo), and some other plants.

I once had a maiden grass and it formed a HUGE clump. I got worried that it would continue to enlarge and we had to pull it out with a chain and the riding mower! It was way too close to the house.

 

[digginindirt]

Salt and Pepper - Some apples are self pollinating, some are not. You do get a better harvest if you have 2 even if they are "self pollinating". Maybe there is someone nearby with apples already and you could "mooch" off any fly-byers. Have you decided on a variety?

 

[salt and pepper]

Salt and Pepper - Some apples are self pollinating, some are not. You do get a better harvest if you have 2 even if they are "self pollinating". Maybe there is someone nearby with apples already and you could "mooch" off any fly-byers. Have you decided on a variety?

It really depends on what we can find locally. There are a couple of nurseries in our area, and I'll see what types they have. Can you give me the names of some self pollinators?

 

[MinxFox]

I once had a maiden grass and it formed a HUGE clump. I got worried that it would continue to enlarge and we had to pull it out with a chain and the riding mower! It was way too close to the house.

Ooh good I want mine to get big! We recently had to burn the pampas grass in the front yard because it was getting too big. It is already growing back nicely. I planted the maiden grass today in one of the empty corners of the pen. When I was digging the hole I dug up a bunch of tiny grubs so I was feeding those to the peafowl. They like watching me when I dig a hole for a plant and they also like to jump in the hole and sift through the dirt.

 

[digginindirt]

Braeburn, Grimes Golden, and Granny Smith. The Grimes and Granny are both good for warmer climates. Granny Smith tends to be more of a biannual producers. Grimes Golden has a higher sugar content. Both should start bearing friut 2nd or 3rd year.