December 18, 2021 - Issue #544 Read in Browser

A garden always has a point.

Sweet Potato Essentials Here are the basics to growing sweet potatoes.

Gardening is Exercise I love to garden on Sundays, a day that my wife prefers to hike, bike, or take long walks. Often I do both.

Sweet Potato Varieties To grow sweet potatoes you have to start with young sweet potato plants, variously called slips, draws, poles or transplants. These are simply tall sprouts grown from sweet potatoes kept from the previous crop. You can call these sprout-producing sweet potatoes "seed potatoes". One potato will produce many slips or plants.

Growing Corn in Small Spaces There's nothing better than eating fresh sweet corn harvested from your own garden, boiled up within minutes of picking. The combination of the sweetness and corn flavor makes this vegetable the quintessential summer treat. But sweet corn has a reputation of being a space hog. When we think of growing sweet corn, most of us think of vast fields of plants. The impression is that sweet corn needs lots of room to grow. But you can grow sweet corn in a small backyard garden, a raised bed, or even a container. It's just a matter of selecting the right varieties, having fertile soil, and making sure the corn gets pollinated properly.

Fruit Trees in Containers For folks who want to grow their own fruit, but who don't have adequate space or a suitable climate, growing fruit in containers

Rose (Rosa 'Castilian') Bloom size: Large: 4-5" Bloom shape: Cupped Petal count: full: 26-40 petals Rose bloom color: Red blend Rebloom: Good Class: Hybrid tea Extra Color Info: Orange-Red, with cream reverse Growth Habit: Medium-tall, 4-5 feet, upright Fragrance: Mild Hybridizer & year: J. Benjamin Williams, 1999 Plant Habit: Shrub Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun Plant Height: 4-5 feet Plant Spread: 2-3 feet Leaves: Deciduous Flowers: Showy, Fragrant Flower Color: Bi-Color Flower Time: Spring, Summer, Fall Uses: Cut Flower Wildlife Attractant: Bees Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem, Cuttings: Tip Miscellaneous: With thorns/spines/prickles/teeth

Itoh Peony (Paeonia 'Unique') Originator/Registrant: Roger F. Anderson Year of Registration or Introduction: 1999 Cultivar Group (Type): Intersectional (Itoh) Hybrid Flower Form: Single Flower Color: Red Plant Habit: Herb/Forb Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade Water Preferences: Mesic Plant Height: 30 to 34 inches Fruit: Dehiscent Flowers: Showy Parentage: Martha Washington x Paeonia potaninii

Heart of Flame (Bromelia balansae) Plant Habit: Herb/Forb Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade Water Preferences: Mesic Plant Height: 2 to 4 feet Plant Spread: 4 to 6 feet Leaves: Evergreen, Other Fruit: Showy, Other Flowers: Showy Flower Color: Other Bloom Size: Under 1" Flower Time: Late spring or early summer Underground structures: Rhizome Suitable Locations: Houseplant Resistances: Drought tolerant Propagation: Other methods: Offsets Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots

Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata 'Rare Yellow') Plant Habit: Cactus/Succulent Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Partial or Dappled Shade Leaves: Other Flowers: Showy Flower Color: Yellow Flower Time: Fall Suitable Locations: Houseplant Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds Propagation: Other methods: Other, Cuttings: Stem Containers: Prefers to be under-potted, Needs excellent drainage in pots, Suitable in 1 gallon Miscellaneous: Epiphytic

Variegated Teardrop Peperomia (Peperomia 'Orba Variegata') Plant Habit: Herb/Forb Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade Water Preferences: Mesic Plant Height: 4 to 6 inches Plant Spread: 6 to 12 inches Leaves: Evergreen, Variegated, Other Flowers: Inconspicuous Flower Color: Yellow Bloom Size: Under 1" Underground structures: Taproot Suitable Locations: Houseplant, Terrariums Uses: Suitable for miniature gardens Resistances: Humidity tolerant, Drought tolerant Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots, Suitable for hanging baskets

Pacific Coast Iris (Iris 'Conga Line') Photo by Iraygus "Unusual weather last year resulted in increased pigmentation deposits in blooms."

Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'For Your Pleasure') Photo by Valery33

Silver Princess (Eucalyptus caesia subsp. magna) Photo by bootandall

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Ice Punch') Photo by sunkissed

Allium 'Ambassador' Photo by dirtdorphins

Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Indian Giver') Photo by dirtdorphins

Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Linda's Magic') Photo by hillbilly

Aeonium 'Jolly Clusters' Photo by bumplbea

Kalanchoes (Kalanchoe) Photo by GigiPlumeria "Second rebloom since purchased on clearance!"

Rose (Rosa 'Inspektor Blohm') Photo by pmpauley

The numbers from this week: 384 members joined. 3,627 posts written in our forums. 668 photos posted to the plant database. 785 plants added to personal inventory lists.

The color of springtime is flowers; the color of winter is in our imagination.

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