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Just a little info from the net on rhizomes and bulbs, for those interested.

Rhizomes grow horizontally and form roots from its bottom while shooting out leaves on the top. Buds form at different parts along the structure, not necessarily at the top. Examples of rhizomes are Canna Lilies and Calla Lilies. Calla Lily Rhizome

Bulb

A bulb is comprised of a plant's stem and leaves. The bottom of the bulb is a compacted stem and roots grow from this part of the bulb. Layers of nutrient-filled leaves sit at the bottom of the bulb and surround a bud that eventually becomes the flower. Examples of bulbs are Tulips, Lilies and Daffodils.
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Send, You could do tomatoes that way. I have germinated tomato seeds by placing them in moist paper towels, checking on them and adding moisture when necessary. I don't think seeds from marigolds and coneflowers would do well.

When I worked with tomatoes, we saved seeds for research from the hybrid tomatoes we made. The seeds where cleaned , dried and sent to Australia (their growing season is opposite of ours). They would germinate the seeds, grow them out to maturity for testing on different disease resistance. It would take up to 8 years before the seeds from this years crop was available to growers.
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Seems straight to me Send! zzzzzzz.............Oh, so sorry, nodded off again.
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Gershun, a Whenever I see a line of zzzz's, it just doesnt look straight to me.
Do you think my row of peas are planted straight?
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPz?
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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............oops, sorry I nodded off.
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Not a dumb question send. I think they died but will know in the spring if I have any of them return. I did not dig them up.
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SharynMarie, Hoping this is not a really dumb question, but bulbs are good replanted from year to year? The ones that were planted too close together-would they still be good planted the next year, or are they dead?
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Cwillie, Your explanation about the seeds helped me-because one cannot believe everything on the internet. So, for you to say 'nothing sinister there' has calmed my gardening worries for today. I have a glass jar with holes in the plastic lids, was a gift from my sister to grow alfalfa sprouts indoors. I could never find the seeds for that. Can anyone recommend a seed to put in there? Apparently, the seeds get put in a little water, then the water is replaced as they grow.
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Yup, with some plants it is just better to buy hybrids but they won't work for seed saving, nothing sinister there, just good old fashioned plant breeding for desirable traits. The seed companies that supply farms mostly stock plants with the characteristics that farmers need - uniformity, storability and the ability to hold quality when transported long distances - often at the cost of flavour IMO.
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Send, these irises I ordered back in January. One is from Breckenridge, the other 6 are from an iris farm here in Cali. They are bare root rhizomes.

The bulbs I planted last year did not work out. I planted them too close together. I am excited with the new irises as they are doing well and I should have some nice blooms next spring.

Seeding can be fun. I use to save seeds but just don't have time to follow through on it now. Happy seed saving and autumn gardening everyone.
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Send, it's trial and error with seed saving. Some of the hybrids don't grow true to the hybrid. I try to get seeds that are open pollinated. If something grew as a volunteer in my garden, then the seeds get saved. As the seed companies get bought out, more and more are owned by the big companies like Bayer and Monsanto. I've stopped buying from places like Burpees and gone to small indie growers. The exception is tomatoes. I buy the plants from a local nursery that grows their own stock. I get the hybrids that are more disease resistant because they work better in my garden. I save the dry seeds in 4 oz. canning jars in the fridge. I have a friend who plants seeds from grocery store produce and has some good success.
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Thanks Linda, seed saving is a good idea.
However, way beyond my pay grade and time-wise right now. Tried to save some pumpkin seeds a year ago. I understand that somehow, certain seeds are engineered to not grow due to monopoly interests of seed companies, but not sure. Maybe not grow a second time? I don't know. But if one buys an engineered tomato, saving the seeds is useless.
Guess if something is growing in your garden, saving those seeds might work.
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Send, Cadillac Desert is an excellent book about water in the West. Life stuff had me totally neglecting the garden for about 6 weeks. So it's weedy and fading fast. The basil is still perky, which surprises me. I'm going to glean what produce is left and start yanking plant matter soon. And time for some good seed saving.
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GardenArtist, Will be looking up the movie Chinatown concerning competing water interests in the West. At least I may be able to see the trailer and mark it for my husband to search.
It was my father who taught us to grow avocado seeds, but you know, in all those years I never once saw a tree! Hmmmmn.
Do you wear the ghillie suit for Oct. 31st?

SharynMarie, Congrats on your success with your Iris! Are the bulbs the same ones you bought so many earlier? Planting them in waves of iris now?

Cwillie, Thanks for the reminders about annuals and perennials, as I was wondering which dead things outside I should cut back, then maybe it would grow again. Today is gardening day, but I don't have the heart to ask hubs to work hard on his day off, so I am not going to mention anything about the garden to him.
The yard still looks okay as I was outside in the sun looking around for awhile-until my rose bush bit me and I came inside.

BTW, The bouganvillias spent the summer safely protected under the carport this year, just at the edge with a little sun. As a result, the leaves are a gentler green, looking fresh and new, still with a very few flowers. Maybe I should get it some sun to strengthen it for winter. That requires the two of us to consult and move the planter. O the time, the pain....

Happy Fall gardening everyone!
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We did get rain today, it was a very fine rain (the drops were very small) which is a good soaking rain with no overflowing.
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Yes, I agree with you....I am also afraid to water because we have a crazy neighbor across the street.....she has big problems with getting along with her neighbors and she made a big scene with one neighbor who was out washing their car. We can wash our cars as long as we use a spray nozzle and are not letting water run all over the driveway into the gutter. She has a mental issue possible Rx addictions and or alcohol. She will turn music up at 2am and be out dancing in her front yard, LOL!!! At least when I was drinking, I kept to myself....Water restrictions are a big joke. New Melones Dam is so incredibly large, there is no way to fill it to capacity in several normal years, yet here in central Cali, they base the drought on how full that dam gets. Yes, I understand getting nervous about watering.....SoCal has always had "water" issues but were at one time getting water from the Colorado River, that has been reduced. Here where I live, we have so much agriculture that I wonder how much waste is given to them, yet I see much acreage that is fallow because the government won't allow them to have water.

California has too too much politics at play and YES, I am against the tunnels because I am a nature freak who wants the beauty of nature and wildlife preserved.

My daughter in Idaho can water twice a day if they want and they live in the upper desert in the Southeastern part of Idaho. She keeps her house cold as that is how she and her hubs like it (too cold for me at night), their bill does not reach $100 a month.

The water restrictions is all a political grab game for money and votes.
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Sharyn, The water retrictions are killing us here, with the turn you in attitudes. I get nervous just watering when it is ALLOWED!
My point was, prioritize to save the historical gardens in lieu of lush new plantings along the roadsides elsewhere. The Huntington Gardens can even teach us how-they have cactus gardens, and xeriscaping rock gardens.

Makes me doubt the reports of water shortages-the wealthy greens vs. the residents and farmers should allow their's to die? Grow food!
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Send, I misread your post about historical gardens. I get caught up in this water restrictions we have here.

We are expected to get rain tomorrow....most likely on and off showers, however, they are expecting snow at the 7-8,000 ft level so that is a good start for mid October.

I love coleus plants, their color is so vibrant. I can grow them outside here in the shade, they are much more vibrant outside in the shade than as a house plant.
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cwillie I don't do anything with my annuals till the first frost kills them but we haven't had that yet so mine are still in full bloom if a little jaded.
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Forgot to address the first paragraph of your last post. Typically annuals are cleared out here fairly quickly once Fall arrives, but perhaps the occasional summer type day has encouraged people to leave them in longer. Unless they're being overwintered inside, I like to see them in the garden for as long as possible.

There are even some day lilies still blooming at our local hospital, lots or roses and wax begonias as well.

One of the other local hospitals has an extraordinary display of massive container pots about 3' high and wide, filled with coleus so thick and huge they drape over the sides of the pots.

I would have guessed chemical fertilizer was used, but this hospital is a pioneer in natural medicine and gardening. It has a greenhouse in which food is organically grown for use in the hospital and the excess sold weekly on Market Day open to the public.

I would LOVE to see other hospitals follow their lead and grow their own fresh, organic produce!

I'm guessing they have a massive compost pile - I've never seen coleus grow so large.
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CW, do you have a screened in heated porch, or an adjacent garage with enough heat on the house side of the garage and sufficient light through the windows to put the pineapple plant there?

As I recall you're in a colder area than I am, yet you've managed to keep this pineapple plant for 3 years. That's encouraging! I'm going to try it next year.
but you've given me some encouragement. I'm surprised it's done so well in a nontropical climate.

Mom used to start plants from avocado seeds, sweet potatoes, and more. I think she even started some orange plants. I think one year we planted saved pumpkin seeds, after cleaning and oven roasting others for nibbling.

She had a 3 tier plant stand with undershelf fluorescent lights which she used to start her tomatoes, peppers, impatiens and other plants. Then she'd over winter begonias and aloes. Along with her collection of violets, there was always something growing or blooming in our house.

Your post reminded me of how much she loved gardening and how much of an influence she was on my life.
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I've noticed a lot of people here have cleaned up their gardens for the winter. It seems a shame to cut back my annuals that are in full bloom, but I have gone along my perennial bed and cut back everything that is past it's prime. I will probably regret waiting when I'm out there tidying up in the cold weather, but everything will look so barren when it is all gone :(
I have been trying to find a place for all my houseplants that were vacationing on my deck this summer but my pineapple plant is still outside. I started it for fun a couple of years ago but it is now almost 3' across... where to put it?
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Ladybug, thanks for the info on the elephant ears. I like the fact that buying one set of these fascinating but expensive bulbs will yield more and more over the years.

Have you seen the variety of Jack in the Pulpits available? They're just beautiful, but just too expensive.


Send, I think there's just too much white on the page to avoid eye strain, although that might be why the response box is set in a background of very, very light color. Depending on the position of lighting in the room where the computer is, there can also be glare. But I've never had this problem on other sites with more space to reply or less focused concentration necessary in a little reply box.

You raise an interesting question re snow shoveling. I learned long ago from reading Jack London's books on Arctic wilderness that sunglasses should be worn when shoveling snow, or engaging in winter activities in snow covered areas. Snow blindness can and does in fact occur in those areas where white becomes the monotonal color.

Maybe that's the solution - wear sunglass when posting here?

And yes, I'll drag out the ghillie suit again; can't resist the temptation to frighten the code enforcement stormtroopers into thinking there's been an invasion of giant rodents. They'll rush out with their rulers to measure the lawns and shrubbery - you know, in their infinite wisdom shrubbery is definitely a cause of rat infestations. No one seems to wonder why the rats are moving out from Detroit. Maybe they're coming with the escapees.

Think about it - when someone moves, their house doors and the doors of the moving vans are left open during the packing and unloading process. Any undesirable 4 legged beast could easily get into either the van or the house. That's a very unsettling thought.


How sad it is that Huntington Gardens plants are dying, but as you write, water is being squandered on what I consider frivolous uses. I'm reminded of the movie Chinatown and the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes as competing interests in the West manipulated for water control.


SharynMarie, sounds like your water enforcement people are just as bad if not worse than the code enforcement people here. Do they send warnings to people with large lawns as well? Are golf courses allowed to maintain immaculately manicured and watered grounds?

Great news about your irises! Isn't that exciting? I think the regular growth and change in plants as they mature is one of the fascinating aspects of gardening. It's nourishing to the soul to see that progression and constancy.

When I plant, I can't help checking daily to see if the babies have sprouted. And it's so exciting when fruiting plants are in flower, then little fruits start to form.
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Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite, LOL!!!
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Goodnight everyone!
Goodnight Sharyn.
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Stats Floral Supply in Pasadena, I was there. Someone was filming across the
street at the historic Green Hotel.
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Send my Cali neighbor, I am in agreement with you. So much water used by the cities and businesses just irks me while us citizens are limited and fined. Here in my city, the city will send employees out in the morning hours and if you are seen using water to wash off your driveway or walkway, they take your address and send you a warning.

In the positive, my irises are coming along great!!! The 6 I planted about 6 weeks ago are at least a foot tall now, and the one iris I planted almost 2 weeks ago is about 4-6 inches tall. Our winters are very mild, with temps right now averaging between 75-82 during the day.It will get colder, but no snow here...just fog and rain when this crazy drought stuff or global warming ...whatever the combination is.decides to settle down to normal.
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Going outside to water on Tuesday-allowed today and Friday. It is already dark.
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Today, driving by The Huntington Library and Gardens, was going to eat a quick lunch in the parking lot. The place is closed on Tuesdays! It took hours extra to get home because I don't like stopped traffic on freeways. Stop the freeway, I want to get off!
Well, I noticed many dead looking plants, trees. Some looked like they died of the Oak disease. Sure hope they put some of their money resources into caring for the actual gardens. Years of historical plants, flowers and trees should not, imo, be sacrificed in the drought for this reason: 1) If it's true, during the abundant rains, the powers are sending water to the ocean! 2) Homes still being planned, approved, and built have lush green landscaping along the streets and paseos, being watered to keep them green. Commercial uses of water don't seem to be limited-I see zero zeriscaping tried there. Why should the museum-like gardens suffer instead?
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Garden Artist, Now that I am posting and running, driving and what not, the white background requires sun glasses to avoid an instant eye strain. Do you think your white background is whiter than on other threads? There is a lot of wide open spaces in this garden thread though. At least the banner has not dropped down to hide my typing.
We are going to need the white to set the stage for all the snow shoveling stories
you northeners with 4 seasons tell us-looking forward to that. Are you going to wear your ghillie suit this year?
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