Happy (?) workweek everyone.
I had so looked forward to rain yesterday — which never arrived.
And the cooler temperatures? The high yesterday was 87° — better than 97°, but still pretty damned warm.
I think the forecasters were off on the timing: today we have cloud cover and cooler temperatures: it’s only 71° right now.
Ah well, at least the Ecuadorian Pink brugmansia has bloomed.
I’m on my third summer with this brugmansia, and I think I’m finally getting it figured out:
- In Colorado, brugmansia blossoms cannot tolerate afternoon son — they shrivel and burn. The brug is now on the western side of my back yard where it gets a few hours of morning sunlight;
- Brugmansia need lots and lots and lots of feeding to keep blossoming. I had tried compost top dressing, compost tea and Osmocote — not enough food. Damned things are worse than teenaged boys. Since I switched to Shultz’s bloom booster — an "add every watering" plant food. To avoid salt buildup, though, I give the brug a good flush of plain water once a week or so;
- The brug really liked being whacked back into a more compact form — the branches have filled in and I now have a lovely bush plant, rather than a scraggly one;
- Humidity — it really does keep down the spider mites. I had tried washing the leaves; insecticidal soap; horticultural oil; systemic insecticide — nothing really kept the spider mites under control, no matter how often I treated. After I whacked the brug back I moved it close to a small fountain where the ambient humidity is much higher. Since then I’ve had no mass leaf — or bud — drop from spider mites.
I bought two more brugmansias this year — Inca Sun (which will bloom at a smaller size) and Cherub (which will bloom continually, rather than in flushes of blossoms interspersed with growing periods). The two new brugs won’t be large enough to bloom until next year — but at least I have a handle on what I’m doing now.
Update [2010-8-16 15:35:41 by Frankenoid]:Anyone who thinks garden blogging doesn't belong on a political site, BEWARE TEH GARDEN BLOGGERS!