14 14 14 or 18 6 8?

That's what I use too, Gina. Even some of the orchids get a dose of it. I'm holding off with difficulty for another couple of weeks. It's warm and breezy out there but we're gonna get thumped and then cool tonight, it seems. ARg.

Alice, the analysis of mine is 18-6-8 I think but there are some different ones available. Got mine off amazon as it's so much cheaper than buying the little canisters at the box stores.

Not sure where this rose bush is going to end up. It's pretty small right now so I'm just enjoying the blooms - a third bud coming along. It's out there doing it's sunset act again - the first flower is golden yellow now, and the second one is distinctly pink-ish. Such fun.

You're a stronger character than me, I never EVER cut my roses if they have blooms coming. I let them bloom, then either cut the flowers and bring them in the house, or wait a week or two until they're finished. Couldn't bring myself to prune a rose bush about to bloom.

That the one I usually use but I was getting ready to buy more and wondered about the balanced formula.
We will have high 30's two early mornings this week but I am not worrying about it. Anything that lived through the extended freeze will be fine this time around. I'll bring the Phaius back inside because I won't chance losing their buds. I actually found another Phaius in the garden, it must have been buried under something else. The leaves are completely black but that is how the others were last year and they came back from the roots.

Have you had your soil tested, Alice? The big reason to use the 18-6-8 is that there is already phosphorus in the soil in a lot of places in Florida, especially if you use well water for irrigation. So using a formula with a low middle number is recommended. Too much phosphorus buffers the system and causes the nutrients to not be readily available to the plants, right?

I have to look and see which one I got. Nutricote is the same basically as Dynamite and the StayGreen 180 day in the respect that it releases with every watering and is not temperature dependent like Osmocote. I think all my Osmocote from last season is gone

I have always lived where there is too much Phosphorus in the soil that is why I use the lower P formula. I was just curious what others are using. At my SC home phosphorus had been mined on the river a few hundred years ago and we would find huge chunks of P rock around the property.

It is time to have my soil tested again but it is such a pain having to pack it up and mail it off myself to UFL to get a more complete report than just the pH that the MG's do in the county office.

We have adequate phosphorus in the soil. E also have an abundance of iron and cal- mag in the water. There are a lot of goofy aroid growers on Facebook who make a big deal about using rainwater or distilled water or reverse osmosis water for their plants then the end up supplementing cal mag and everything else

Yes, I've never seen problems with using the hard well water here for misting my orchids every day, in warm weather. They seem to be able to use the minerals in the water just fine, or else it rains often enough to wash off any hard-water deposits because I almost never see any.

Update on my new rose bush, I'm a bit befuddled - the two blooms on it are entirely different. One is now full-blown and mostly yellow, the other is developing into a huge, perfectly formed tea rose and is mellowing through pink to a very pale elegant ivory/peach. It's so large and heavy I went ahead and cut it off because it was bending the thin, young branch it grew on. Admiring it on the kitchen counter the rest of the way.

yesterday
And this morning




In other news, I'm really enjoying my pale yellow Calendulas (not a fan of the brassy yellows and oranges they usually come in) and the variegated Nasturtiums are all beautiful red flowers (and those artistic leaves) this time.

I love seeing those red nasturtiums. I finally got around to planting my seeds. They popped out of the ground this morning, I hope I get a few flowers out of them before it gets too hot. At least they hang around and sulk during the heat and emerge once again in the fall. I planted several different reds,

Me too!! It is a favorite here in Summer!

I got a 'bonus' packet of nasturtium seeds with my last order from Baker Creek, and it is a variety called "Purple Emperor". Even the picture on the seed packet is of a sort of faded red, and it says they start out burgundy but fade to a "dusty rose". I'm looking forward to seeing them - just planted those last week, so will have blooms well into spring even if the variegated ones are winding down.

I'm sure your seedlings will bloom nicely for you, Alice. Last year my nasturtiums bloomed well into May, as I had started them all a bit late. They like the hot, dry springtime weather and don't mind heat during the day, it's the humidity and hot nights that discourage them. They go crazy and bloom all summer in Utah, even when there are weeks of 100+ degree days. Cooler nights, no humidity, that's what they like.
'Troika' blooming in late April last year.

One of the ones I am growing is called Climbing Phoenix. It is an heirloom variety and to me the flower looks more like an old fashioned pink.
https://www.reneesgarden.com/p...

Elaine, not sure why but everytime I see begonias, I think of you! I think it is because I learned from you how easy to propagate my B Looking Glass. And my last winter's rescue begonias that I thought died last summer are alive and healthy looking. I like them all now.

Our Costco has beautiful ones but
I think these are ones that don't do too well in our area so I didn't buy one.

They're fun to 'visit' at the nurseries, Gigi but I think you're right, those won't do well through the hot weather. I have one that is currently defying the odds, but it was a gift, and came to me as a 'rescue' from my garden helper, Judith. I potted it up and plunked it in the shady border, and here it is blooming like crazy - in the cool weather.

I think I might try taking some cuttings of this one as the weather heats up, and see if I can carry it over the summer that way. It's definitely not as vigorous as the big cane begonias, but it might work.

dyzzypyxxy said: They're fun to 'visit' at the nurseries, Gigi but I think you're right, those won't do well through the hot weather. I have one that is currently defying the odds, but it was a gift, and came to me as a 'rescue' from my garden helper, Judith. I potted it up and plunked it in the shady border, and here it is blooming like crazy - in the cool weather.

I think I might try taking some cuttings of this one as the weather heats up, and see if I can carry it over the summer that way. It's definitely not as vigorous as the big cane begonias, but it might work.

There you go! Maybe there is hope it will eventually acclimate to your weather.

The ones Gigi posted are tuberous begonias and they do melt in our heat. If they weren't so expensive they would make great annuals because they look amazing in the spring.

Elaine, could yours be Big Red? It is one of the newer and significantly larger wax type begonias. I have found they are not as robust as the little ones in the long run.

No clue as to it's ID, Alice. My helper rescues plants that her other clients are throwing away, and brings them to my garden because she doesn't have one of her own. It arrived last fall some time, I think. It grew nicely after I potted it up. And it has been blooming since about early December.

It is big, about 18in tall, I think and the flowers are larger than the little fiberous-rooted ones that are appearing in droves at the box stores now. It's in a 9-in. pot and seems very happy. The flower petals are about an inch across, and the biggest leaf is less than 5in. It had that long stem sticking out to one side which I broke off, and it looks and feels like a miniature cane begonia stem, with stiff sections and strong knobby nodes.

Sure looks like Big Red to me. That one comes in both green and bronze leafed varieties.

I picked up some young geraniums today to brighten up the patio. This is Red Moon and the leaves are a bronzy tone.

ardesia said: Sure looks like Big Red to me. That one comes in both green and bronze leafed varieties.

I picked up some young geraniums today to brighten up the patio. This is Red Moon and the leaves are a bronzy tone.

That's a beauty! My geranium is having a hard time coming back from winter.

Nice and colorful!