Growing Moon Vines

One of my additions to the garden this year will be the hot weather loving night bloomer: the moonvine.  It is notoriously difficult to germinate, and while I might have good luck rooting woody plants, my seed sowing successes have been limited to those who are fine with a fling onto the ground method.

I have visions of it growing up my two story columns on the corner of my front porch.   The area that it will be planted will be completely surrounded by driveway, sidewalk or house, so though a member of the locally invasive ipomoea (morning glory) family, I am not too worried.  If its up in my attic next year I might change my story though. In its planned spot it will only get morning sun, then a brief one hour burst of evening sun, but given the intensity around here, I'm also feeling it will fair pretty well.

A week ago, when I went home for a brief visit to my childhood home, it snowed nearly a foot!  Which was awesome for this southern girl to see, since it melted before I needed to be anywhere seriously, and I looked at the weather at home as a security blanket on the internet and it was 68 degrees.   Anyhow, along the Blue Ridge parkway where I grew up Spring is nowhere near at hand, and coupled with a roaring woodstove, coffee and nothing much to do, my Mom and I flipped through seed catalogs and talked about the gardens.  She then admitted that she had never been able to grow these things.  Therefore, I am bound and determined to grow not one, BUT two so I can give her one all potted up when she visits in late spring.

So here we go.  I think I am going to try several methodologies at the same time.  First the soak method, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to use the nick method.

This involves a couple of seeds, some water, a paper towel, and a baggie.  Combine and you get this:

I will check it every day for the next several and once (or if) I see the shell split I'm going to plant it in my handy dandy see through milk carton and peat moss and gallon baggie combo that I am partial too.

P.S.  3 days later:

2 of the 4 seeds have sprouted, so I'm going with this soak plus warm window method.  Into the sphagnum they go!

How To Root Stuff Every Time

I suspect every gardener has their thing... something that seems to come easier than to most people.  Just like real life, I guess.  You can't be good at everything, but every so often you realize that you indeed do know how to do some stuff.

As most of you know, I have just entered my 3rd year as a real gardener.  You know, with dirt and all, and I have made a lot of mistakes.  There is only so much you can learn from books and advice... eventually you just have to plant a plant, see it die and realize that it just isn't the right plant for the space!

Now in this short amount of time I have noticed that indeed I have a knack for something.  To the tune of 100% success at doing this with absolutely no failures.  I suspect, like much of 'skill' it comes down to a little bit of skill and having the natural circumstances be ripe for the doing.

I can root things.  Any things.  I hear and read about so many people having trouble rooting things such as roses or camellias and I just can't imagine why because, like I said, no matter what I try and root, it roots.  Always.  I know there are lots of competing opinions on how to do this, but I'll just add in here how I do it and why I think I'm so successful at it.

What you will need:
-cutting
-small clear plastic container
-roottone
-sphagnum moss
-gallon baggie

First I start with the clear (see-through) container in which to root... something small that will easily fit in a gallon baggy.  I like to take the bottom of the either small milk containers or 16 ounce soda bottles... cut either about 3 inches deep and put a few drainage holes in the bottom.  Nothing fancy and bigger is not better.  Either for the cutting, or the container.  Take it and run in through the dishwasher.  The reason we want clear is because we want to see when the roots get established without the guesswork.

Second, after the plastic container has come out of the dishwasher, fill it to half an inch of the top with straight sphagnum moss.  Not a mix, not with a little compost, not dirt.  The reason for this is we are about to create a permanently extremely humid moist environment and we need a 100% sterile environment.  For rooting purposes, the little plants do not need nutrients.  I know that there is a lot of debate on the web about this, but let me repeat, I have 100% success this way, so I know this won't be the limiting factor.

Okay, water your container thoroughly, and leave it for a minute or two in the sink to drain a bit.   Now, go find a pencil and stick a hole in the middle of the container about 3/4 of the way down.

Next, pick up your root cutting, which should be sitting in water at this point.  Make a little diagonal cut at the bottom.  The cutting doesn't need to be more than about 5-6 inches tall.  Remove all the leaves but two.  Dip the just cut tip into roottone and immediately stick in the pencil hole and snug up the opening if there is space.  I have never not used roottone so I don't know how much help this gives, but hey, its cheap, and if it ain't broke....

Final step:  Place the entire thing in a gallon zip lock baggie, and leaving as much airspace as possible, zip it up.  Thats it.  You will not unzip it until it is a rooted plant.  Period.  Not once.  Don't do it.  I'm serious.  Leave it alone.

Pretty easy right?  The other piece of the puzzle is where to put it.  And it needs to be in a bright spot with absolutely no direct sun.  Not even for 2 minutes, or you have created an oven.  Mine all grow in my kitchen window which stays in moderate temperatures between 68-78 degrees throughout the year, and is opposite a wall that gets good sunlight, but almost all light coming through the window is reflected off of that building.  It works great.   If you grow orchids successfully, you'll realize that this is the same quality of light.  The holy grail of "rooting stuff" light.

Most things root in between 2 and 5 weeks.  Once I see roots in the container, I give it a few more days to grow a bit more, then I take it carefully out of the bag.  Often, you'll also be clued in from the new growth on top.  Water it and let it drain thoroughly, and then place it back, bagless, in the same spot for the next few days.  Check the dirt moisture every day and make sure it stays moist.   After these 2 or 3 days to acclimatize to the reduced humidity it is time to plant your new little plant in a bigger container.  I usually move up to the standard small nursery pot (5 inches) and fill with regular dirt, around the sphagnum and 'rootball' of the new plant.  I leave it in its place in the winter, or move it out into the outdoor shade during the rest of the year.  After a few weeks out in the shade, and keeping it extremely well watered, I move it to part sun, and then a few weeks later to where I think I want to plant it.  And voila. I usually keep mine in successive containers until about 6 months old, but I'm not really sure that it matters that much.  I have a Zepherine Drouhin out there that I planted while still in twig status and it's done just fine.

I guess a final note is that the cutting should happen when it best suits your climate, and clearly the plant that the cutting was taken from can't be in a dormant stage.  For some of you, thats most of the year, others, only small periods of time.  I have taken cuttings from pieces ending in a flower, one that had just finished blooming, and right before blooming.  I have had a mophead hydrangea root from the flowerhead and stem alone!  I see no difference at all in the end result, so I suspect all those rules are made up to explain away why this or that cutting didn't take.

How To Age A Brand New Cement Statue

My favorite statues are those that look like they've been there forever. They sport mossy nooks and stains from rainwater, and they are worn around the edges.  Any statue left in a shady moist environment long enough will take on this look with time.  But the time component is the kicker.  We aren't talking one year, or even two, but many many many years, and I just don't have that sort of patience.  And, apparently, I don't have the patience to wait around and find the perfectly seasoned statue at an estate sale.

Now some people like bright white statues, so this 'how to' is definitely not for you, as I'm sure you'll be of the opinion that it looked better before.  However for those of you who like the look of aged, and have an urn, fountain or statue which is still looking like it stepped off the showroom floor, I have a cheat for you.

Here's what you'll need:
-Little tubes of acrylic paint.  Black, a mossy (not bluish) green, and potentially a brown.
-A kitchen sponge
-Water
-a 3-4 cup container (nonstaining)

Mix a few cups of water with just a dollop (like half a teaspoon) of the green paint.  Mix well.  If you are a nervous nelly feel free to make the mixture even more watered down, because this is permanent so you can always add, but you cannot take away.

Take the sponge and totally soak it into the stain and then start squeezing it above the statue letting gravity and the natural shape of the figure dictate where the water will run.  This is what is going to give you the most natural effect, just as it would had the drippings from a tree been the agent.  I did this 3-4 times over with the light green concoction.

Repeat this process with a dollop of 1/3 green and 2/3s black.  I did these a little more sparsely, but with the same method, over the top of the statues head in order to simulate how this really happens.   Do not be alarmed if the initial effect while wet seems sort of dark and streaky.  It dries much lighter.

Finally, if you like the slightly rust colors that occasionally show up in nooks and crannies repeat the process with a medium brown/burnt sienna mixed tone.   I did this very sparsely, literally one spongeful.

And voila: brand spanking new off the show room floor statue looking quite a few years older than she did 30 minutes ago, without that fake "applied by the manufacturer" look.   I am going to leave her at this point and let nature take over from here.

Before

After

ps. if you hadn't noticed by now: I did it! Finally, I got a statue!  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it was very cheap and I just had to go ahead and bite the bullet.  Mission accomplished, as I like her and to me she doesn't look out of place or gaudy, and will only look better when the clematis and jasmine vines behind her fill in.  Phew. Good thing because she weighs 200 pounds easy.

You TOO Can Build Your Own Trellis in just 30 Minutes!

I've been looking for a trellis for a climbing rose I planted back in May.  As one might suspect, it did quite a bit of growing since May and is now in big need of a trellis.  A big, substantial, tall, won't be bullied by a monster rose-type trellis.

But here I have had several problems and no, none of them have been from laziness.  I know, its always a possibility, but not this time.

First, as do a lot of houses in coastal flood plains, my house sits on 3 ft. tall brick piers.  This makes my doors, windows etc etc, (other visual clues) 3 feet taller than one would suspect just by a casual glance.   Basically, meaning a 6 foot trellis just ain't gonna cut it, it will just look stupid from the back step only 3 feet higher.  Not only that, but the climbing rose itself grows along the lines of 15 feet or so.  I needed a taller trellis than I could find available around here, which was 86 inches, for those of you who are counting. (7 ft 1 inch, for those who can't do math).

Also, the space I'm trying to fill against my house really needed a 3 foot wide trellis.  Not 2, not 4, not a fan.  3 foot wide.  Apparently nobody else in the world has a commercial need for this product.

And finally, online I found a few in the 96 inch plus area that I was hoping for, but they were 100 dollars plus shipping!  I am waaaay too cheap for that.   So finally fed up with fighting that rose to get out of the back door I drove myself to Lowe's and built me a trellis.   It was a piece of cake and I'll never buy a trellis again in my life.

Here's what you will need:

*5 pieces of 1x2x8 (or x10 or whatever height you want) in cedar (or any rot resistant wood)
*a drill, with a drill bit
*16 aluminum or stainless steel 1.5 inch-ish screws.  Aluminum/stainless or you'll be pulling out rusted ones within the year.
*tape measure
*a cat or child to make the process 3 times as long and more dangerous for all involved

You won't even need a saw, because what you are going to do is walk your 5 sticks over to the saw area in Lowe's, bat your eyelashes, and ask the guy there to take 2 of those pieces and cut each of them into two 3ft pieces, 2 six inch pieces, and whats left will be a one foot piece (which you will not use but maybe your dog will like).

The guy will probably smile and ask you a stupid question such as whether or not you know to use aluminum/stainless steel screws.  Stick your tongue out at him.  How dare he. You know this. Just because you are wearing very cute 3 inch heels and awkwardly dragging 10 ft boards around in Lowe's does not mean a damn thing.

Take all this home.  Total cost: $15.68 (assuming you don't have to buy a drill)
Lay out your design on your living room floor. Such as this:

Take a tape measure and decide the midway point (for me at 1.5 feet) and decide how much side overhang you want (for me it was 4 inches), for you it might be none.  Line up your four 3 foot long cross boards and draw a line through all of them where those 3 upright stakes are going.. straight is best but close enough is close enough.

Now take your drill and put your drill bit in and drill pilot holes in the middle of each line.  Do not drill into your hardwood floor.  It is tempting, but much better in the end if you avoid it.

Repeat the process for the 3 longer pieces - just don't drill all the way through.  Figure out where you want the cross boards to go and then measure it out, stickem together, draw a line and then drill.   Make sure you leave at least a good foot at the bottom to sink your trellis into the ground.  You could measure each one of these out individually but its a total waste of time.  The lines work just as well.

Once all drilled get out your trusty screws and if you haven't messed up all the holes will align and you will have a nice pretty cedar trellis.   I would suggest securing the top and bottom cross bars first to make the thing easier to square. Unless you are going for that drunk parallelogram look, of course.

I attached the 6-inches pieces to the back of the uprights to allow me to attach this to my house without having the trellis directly beside the structure.  Into those I'm going to screw in a hook screw which is going to attach to the side of my house with a matching eyehook screw.  If you don't live in a windy place and never get hurricanes, I guess you can skip this step all together.  I take no chances here.

I painted mine with 2 coats of leftover latex white paint so that it matches the architecture of my house and the white picket fence, but being as it is cedar, if left alone it will get that pretty weathered look in a year or so.

So a reminder why we are doing this:  similar substantial trellis, if you could find it: $100++, this structure: $15.68 plus one half an hour.  That, folks, is $85 dollars that can be spent on plants, while telling significant other you finally bought that trellis.  And no, you don't know how that drill hole in the living room floor got there.