FLOWERS! GARDENING!

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FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby octoberpumpkin » Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:40 pm

I was thinking of planting a rose garden because roses are my favourite flowers, as cliche as that is, but I know nothing about flowers or gardening.

Are you good at gardening? Do you have a garden? Do you like flowers?

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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Qinglong » Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:52 pm

Am I good at gardening? Does THIS answer your question?!

as-if.jpg
Yeah, right.
as-if.jpg (147.1 KiB) Viewed 9965 times

Well, it shouldn't, because it isn't anything I've ever done. I love flowers, but I just don't have the patience for gardening. Alas.
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Tesseracts » Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:25 pm

Last year I tried to plant peonies and failed because I bought cheap non-functioning peonies from Home Depot. I got a refund. I think I may try again this year.
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Matthew Notch » Wed Apr 22, 2015 10:38 pm

I'm only linking to our already existing gardening thread because A) two of my wife's like six posts total on this forum are in that thread, B) said posts contain good garden pictures, C) the thread is on the same damn page as this one anyway.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=237
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby octoberpumpkin » Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:19 am

Sorry about that. It didn't occur to me that the gardening would be in hobbies (I'm not used to a hobbies forum) so I posted it in the general discussion and it got moved.

Sorry :(
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby JamishT » Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:51 am

I definitely don't have the patience for gardening, and I'm not interested in planting flowers if I were to grow a plant. There's a small flower bed thing attached to the side of my front porch that has some weeds growing in it right now, but I might clear it out and put some peppers or tomatoes in there.
Also, from what I remember, roses are really hard to grow successfully, so do your research, Octo. And use lots of commas, like I just did!
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Arkyle » Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:03 am

Nah, roses are actually dead easy to grow. It is however like I said to Notch in one of the other gardening threads: If your climate is wrong, you're going to struggle like hell to get them to grow.

My mom and dad loved roses, so I grew up with a whole bunch in the garden. If you're really concerned about it, why not start with a pot of minature roses? They're less intensive, you can control their climate a little easier and aren't as much manual labour?
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:12 am

As I understand it (Full disclosure: I kill plants by looking at them, thinking about them or being within 200 yards of them), roses used to be quite difficult to grow, lo these many moons ago. However, as with orchids (which used to be insanely difficult to cultivate, which is why they were so expensive as cut flowers) hardier and more idiot-proof varieties are now the norm.
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Arkyle » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:08 am

Orange, I honestly believe that people just do no prior research on the plants that they're trying to grow. For example, Fynbos is native to South Africa. It should seem obvious that I could easily grow it in my garden. I don't even try. Why? Fynbos is native to the Cape province. The Cape is a winter rainfall area with sandy, acidic soils. Snow is known to happen and it gets cold. Heck, they even have their own ski resort. The summers are hot and dry. I live in KZN, which is classed as a sub tropical climate. I have dry winters, where my definition of cold is 10C. Summer is our rainfall season and is stupidly hot. Any fynbos I try to grow here would drown or die of heatstroke. Proteas and Suikerbos are ok though as they're a little less sensitive to the environment.

I've seen it time and time again with roses. The biggest mistake people make is not paying enough attention to the soil. Roses HATE standing in water, so any form of water logged/marshy soil is going to kill the rose. Considering that roses are however native to areas with regular rainfall, they do need to be watered regularly and soil that is too sandy is not going to retain enough water either. The pH of the soil is also really important.

Admittedly, certain roses have now been cross bred to be more suited to different climates, so it's worth looking for those. Here is a great beginner article though. http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/how-to/g1162/how-to-start-a-rose-garden/?slide=1

I currently have a flowerbed that I absolutely nothing to maintain except go through maybe once a month to pull out the weeds. I can do this because the plants were specifically chosen to suit the area. Most are indigenous and those that aren't come from similar climates. I have one small bed that I molly coddle and have to look after every week because the plants aren't actually suited to the area. I do love arums though, they're worth the hassle :)
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:19 am

I'm currently killing a small peach tree. It did quite well last year. This year, it's flowered but I don't think it's set any fruit because I forgot to water it. I suck at gardening, I really do. It's not actually a black-thumbed curse, it's just that if I have to care for a living thing that doesn't actively yell at me if it needs something, I tend to wander off and neglect it. Never allow me to look after pet fish.
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Arkyle » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:25 am

Not getting fruit could be a variety of things, up to and including insect manifestations and insufficient pollination. Sometimes the weather also plays a part and if it gets unusually cold after the tree flowered you may just not get any fruit.

Take courage in that it might not be your fault :)

PS: Although most trees shouldn't need watering once they're about a year old as long as you've had enough rain. Their root systems are well enough developed that they can survive a bit of dry. If your soil is acidic, it might be worth tossing some lime around the roots of the tree.
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:38 am

It's a self-pollinating variety, so I'm pretty sure it's me. Actually I think it needs repotting. Assuming I can keep the thing alive, I'll get it a nice big pot to live in. But I do appreciate the "Courage, mon brave!"

If it doesn't fruit this year, would that in any way affect it fruiting next year?
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby Arkyle » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:46 am

It shouldn't. If you only got the tree last year, I'm presuming it's only a year old? Some fruit trees take a number of years to mature before they bear fruit. A litchi tree for example can take up to 7 years to mature.

Otherwise have a look at these articles, they might help you pinpoint the problem:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/peach/tree-with-no-peaches.htm
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/home-orchard-production/why-is-there-no-fruit-on-my-tree
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/peach-tree-not-producing-25300.html
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:59 am

Thank you!

We've only had it for a year. Last year it gave us about four tiny, delicious peaches.

I'm fairly sure the problem is that it didn't meow and/or push its bottom into my face, so I forgot it needed to be fed and watered. I'm really not great at gardening. But if I don't actually kill it while my husband's away, I'll count it as a triumph.
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Re: FLOWERS! GARDENING!

Postby octoberpumpkin » Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:06 pm

We're going to a nursery soon to talk about roses and maybe a few other flowers. I just love roses!

I live in upstate SC, I have no idea if that's a good climate or not
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