Saturday, December 4, 2010

It's getting colder....

Well, it is finally beginning to get cold now. Not that I would have been disappointed if it had not, it's just that being a gardener and wanting to grow things year round ( or whenever it suits me) the first frost is something that is looked forward to and yet dreaded at the same time. Is it just me, do any of my other gardeners out there feel this way too? I know there are places where this little event happened months ago, but for us, it really is right on time and I feel as though I haven't saved/cut to root enough plants just yet. There is still room in the greenhouse to walk between the plants so I can't possibly be done right?
Today, as I bought firewood I thought, ok what else can I cut and root before Sunday.  Sunday  (when our temps will really drop) is scheduled to be our first "killing frost" so I am trying to cut and root everything I can between now and then. I really should be outside and writing this later, but right now I think I will stay cozy or maybe I meant to type lazy.

I am starting lots of lantana ( 4 varieties)

this time and camellias ( this is an experiment, I have only ever rooted them in summer)
   and Azaleas.



Have any ideas? I am experimenting with flats, seeding trays, and I really want to try jelly rolling some cuttings with plastic and sphagnum moss. Have you tried this method? I really don't want to have heat mats running all of the time, but depending on the temperatures, I may have to. ( really I can't get to my water heater and the top of the freezer doesn't get warm, thanks to the energy star ratings.)

Maybe it's just me, but are any of you out trying to save plants before the cold zaps the life out of them? I will keep you posted, maybe my experiments will be successful this winter and in the spring, I can show you lots of new ways to propagate things......................

1 comments:

Della said...

All of my plants are in the garage for a few days. It has been cold in central Florida! We usually do get a cold snap this time of year, but we could be wearing shorts again by Christmas!

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