Viewing comments posted by sallyg

American Sycamore is a common tree along many highways in Maryland, and found in many parks near rivers.One beautiful specimen is the Witness Tree at Antietem National Battlefield. One can stand in utter peace on the stone bridge over a beautiful clear stream, near the massive tree, and reflect on the history of the site.

It is a messy tree, not a good choice for all yards, as it drops bark and twigs and has large leaves. Despite the mess, I have two sycamores in my yard and love them for their nature value and unique character.

A medium to large holly with a natural pyramidal shape. Leaves are a glossy deep green color, berries are large and ripen red. Said to be moderate to fast growing. Space 6 feet apart for a screen.

I've grown this for some years in full shade with tree root competition, no special care. Lovely foliage and spring bloom. Foliage persists into summer though it may become ratty, or go dormant. Mine still has leaves now despite some very hot weather and a dry July. Slowly increasing by reseeding.

I've had this for years. It makes a mat/clump and It has slowly expanded with zero care except watering when very dry periods make it wilt. Very resilient, I have it in shade with tree root competition. Nice unusual foliage look. Caution, chicken foraging will damage it over winter. Rocks and twig barriers (stick small branches in the ground throughout) will help shelter the roots.

An old favorite, easy from seed. I have some hot pink plumed Celosia with lime green leaves. This is my second year of volunteers. They make LOTS of seed (amaranth relative) and grow easily. Mine are about two feet tall, bushy, with big heads. Chickens eat the leaves, many kinds of wasps and bees love the flowers. I'll try to watch to see if birds go for the seeds. A really useful and easy sun annual.

A local grocery chain store had a load of these on the sidewalk to sell this spring. They are as pictured an intense blue color. I did not buy any so can't report on care.

I bought one Dancing with Smurfs plant as a nice starter at the nursery. Plant has grown well (2 months) and is producing. Fruits start out very dark and green on the bottom. As they ripen, they turn red-orange and lose the dark blue-black. I tried several, all were bland and tasteless. And not very novel, as they lost the dark color. The plant suffered in the summer heat but did rebound in fall with a fair amount of fruit. Still, they were always bland and tasteless to me, all season long. I gave them to the chickens.
('Black Cherry' tomatoes are dark when ripe, with much better Cherokee Purple kind of taste. And they make much bigger clusters of fruit too.)

I've grown this fern for over fifteen years. It grows a thick mat of roots, and spreads. Even in a moist spot, I have never had it much more than 2 feet tall. Maybe it needs to be undisturbed longer to grow so tall - I have to dig it back away from the downspout periodically here. Easy to grow and interesting both for leaf and for dry spore stems.

Bought a blooming one quart plant this spring, it has never stopped blooming yet and looks happy in partial shade. Interesting arching-cascading shape and rich orange-red flowers.

First time growing these, planted this spring.
I did a little row of it, they grow super fast huge leaves. Much bigger leaves than the swiss chard I sowed about the same time. Slightly fuzzy, Thin, with a juicy rib like the red mustard I grow. The caterpillars prefer the kale and collards, so these were less hole-y. Tasted OK, I probably need help making my greens more tasty in general. The chickens like them fresh. Very productive in spring, but have gone downhill fast through July. Too hot? Too much rain? Shade from cucumbers? I just don't know. Updating in October- some survived and started growing again, plus I sowed some fresh seed. They are growing fast again.
Update following March - some survived our mild winter and are bolting, just as RicCorey described them, will submit a picture.

I got two of these included with asters in mixed baskets, fall 2018. I planted the entire clumps from the baskets, to winter over in ground. Everything survived. I divided the asters off the juncus, and planted the juncus clumps. On moving the juncus clumps a few weeks later (Eye roll at myself) I found good root growth out into the bed. They are still doing well, late May. I bought some dusty miller annuals and they look really great next to the blue juncus, total contrast in form and complementary in color. The rush are starting to make a few blooms now, too.
2022 spring. Still going strong, expanding clumps, some dieout in the middle. Looks like one can pry off some of the expanding root mass and replant/give away. Maybe they would look better if divided.

I got these by way of buying two clearance baskets in fall 2018. (with Blue arrows juncus)
I planted the basket contents as one clump in fall and they survived winter. I think all the plants showed some growth in spring. I divided everything and planted these small plants individually. They are growing, more or less, but I'm still unsure how big they will get. They were very compact in the baskets but that may not be their true habit. Editing to add, I accessed plant info from the tag via a text and link. I just added plant height and cold zone to the details.

I got this from a swap several years ago. The original plant grows in a very moist spot. I have moved a few into other garden sites as well. I can't say if it prefers one site over another. It has a lot of flowers, on which I noticed one tiny unusual type bee or wasp.

I planted one about six years ago next to a maple tree in a woodsy setting. It is hardy and returning but I have not found it to multiply or spread at all, as the common violets and Viola striata do in the same area.

I got a couple of these a few years ago. They have been spreading in my woodsy shade garden and are happy with no help from me. Leaf texture is a little thinner than common violets.

You might find a baby coffee plant, they are pretty common among the 3-4 inch starter plants. They will branch sideways. It seems pretty easy care for me (3-4 years) and has been in my low light bedroom all winter with barely a hiccup. Leaves are dark green, slightly wavy, and glossy- pretty! Wilts when dry, but recovers well, seems to be sort of a thirsty plant.
Adding this Feb 1 2020- I have a ripe bean on my plant, it must be self fertile or pollinate very easily, as I only noticed very few flowers on it in summer.
Update Feb 2021 Still have the plant, still thriving, looking great in a corner for winter between an east and a south window. Pest free.
Update April 2023 - Coffee had spent summers in shade outside and grown well. Fall of 2022 I took it to work for winter, set by tall windows. It is loaded with blooms right now, started in about March, blooms on new wood. But it gets dry quickly, (very dry air) has lost a lot of older leaves and got a bad case of mealybugs. The need for humidity and the problem of me making sure its watered properly at work are a bad combination for this big bush. I've brought it home and am planning a major prune and repot. I do have one of it's babies, from a cherry it made last year.
Update September 2023 - as the branches had lost most leaves and only have a few leaves at the wnds, I tried cutting a few branches in early summer to about halfway to induce new growth from the bare branches. None of them has any new growth. Mealybugs returned, and also found the baby plant. Alcohol and water mix spray knocks them back but you must always follow up.

I purchased this as an edible root 'yautia' from a grocery store. My googling says it is this plant. I sprouted and grew it. Native to lowland tropical South America, I expect it likes plenty of water. Like other elephant ear types, the spider mites like it. By the second year, it got over 3 feet tall. If you re patient and like trying things, this is a cheap way to get an elephant ear.

This plant is a real eyecatcher at my library- many people have never seen one. After 'what is that' they often ask 'where can I get one'. I think getting bulbs is easy but finding the plant in a nursery, pretty rare. Their stems are very fragile and I doubt it transports well.
A summer of growing in a pot outside will yield many of the funny 'mini pink pine cone' looking tubers. While actively growing, the tubers have a grey, juicy, carrot like segment at the bottom. I let the pots dry in fall, store them dry, in fall, then start them again. After storage for winter, they can be a little slow to get sprouted. Plant them crowded in the pot as they are "airy" and it takes a lot to look like a full plant. But after a growing season, that pot will be full of tubers.
It has been somewhat unfaithful indoors in winter for me, leaves dry off and drop. It is underplanted in my fan palm, which I bring inside. Pacific Bulb Society says this is native to marshy areas. Maybe it is indoor dryness that makes mine dry out, as I try not to overwater most other plants. More likely I think it likes bright light. They can take a lot of sun if planted outside and well watered.
May be winter hardy in zone 8 ish, I had them live one winter but not the next.

Unusual flowers and they bloom a long time. I rooted cuttings of Angelonia in fall by just sticking them in potting mix. They are growing under lights for winter. By spring they have gotten limp and leggy with bare stems. Probably not worth the effort and space under your lights.

Slow growing, bug free, the dark green leaves always look healthy. I have blooms every year following the rest period.