Edited by Cathy Tylka.
Question of the month …
Is your corn growing as high as an Elephant's Eye? Ok, so maybe, not corn. Do you have something that is going crazy in your Garden?
JoAnne Kemp simply states:
My Christmas Cactus is blooming!
Miranda Alexander, 92117, shares:
My fragrant, white flowered Nicotiana is VERY happy in its 2nd year in my garden. So are my Brad's Atomic Grape tomatoes.
Kathy Voltin adds:
Vietnamese Coriander is going crazy with growth. Maybe it helps that I only use a little of it in salads so there is more on the plant. My Guava tree is also growing a ton; I use the leaves for a hot tea.
Cindy Bruecks, 92107 answered:
My over-performer this year is dill. Ordinarily I let it self-seed and it does so grudgingly. I have always heard that either it hates you or it loves you. It seems to hate me, although this year I had a nice early batch and harvested it extensively as we were on a salmon binge and it needed fresh dill. Then June 1st we left for our summer home in Flagstaff. Bingo, it knew we were gone, and the yard folks report that the dill is everywhere and the delightful aroma pervades the entire garden. Go away, get results. Who knew?
Sue Nelson, 92024,
My cannas are looking like they live in the tropics. They grow next to my house and are all over six feet tall. I have red, orange and one named 'Cleopatra' which is yellow with red streaks and spots.
These plants are beautiful with large green to bronzy red leaves. This year's weather must be perfect for them. I am very lucky since they are my favorite plant.
Charlotte Getz, 92024, replied:
My grevilleas are blooming all over the yard and the hummingbirds are feasting on the flowers, especially ‘Robyn Gordon’ which is a favorite bloomer that is right outside the kitchen window.
Leucadendrons are blooming now as well - ‘Summer Red’ and ‘Winter Red’ in full splendor.
Andrea Wagman-Christian of 92104, states:
Our tomatoes were 6’+ and full of lush green leaves. I felt like the leaves were preventing the sun from hitting the buds. I pruned the leaves A LOT! Now there’s about 50+ tomatoes, green and healthy. I feel like they are ripening very slowly, but that could be my impatient self. The zucchini too quickly became like the size of a cricket racket. Had a great wildflower seed show. The bananas are not bearing this year but the citrus, avocado, grapes, guavas and butterfly bush are putting on a good show.
Barb Huntington, 91913, provided:
I bought a Vitamix instant compost maker and put the results on my Ficus religiosa. It started 3 inches high and now is elegant and over the height of an elephant’s eye (I think, I really don’t know how high that is.) I know they can become very big, so I’m keeping it in a very large pot for now.
Gerald D. Stewart, 92084, says . . .
. . . His coleus collection and variegated-leaf plumeria collections are going gangbusters in the heat, which isn't helpful at the moment: too much time is spent looking and enjoying, robbing time from getting stuff done.
Tynan Wyatt sadly replied…
... actually my corn is about waist high unfortunately! It has ears but is not the tall grower I expected. Oh well, first year is a learning year.
As for what is going wild right now, I'd have to say my bananas are just nuts. Ever since I installed a greywater system all three varieties have just taken off! Same thing with my Hedychiums planted in the same area. Other than that, my Vitex agnus-castus trees are as gorgeous as always about this time, attracting plenty of bees and lepidoptera.
Kathy Musial, 92001,
. . . planted a tiny Glaucium flavum in a 4-inch pot in January. It is now 7 feet across - crazy! I've never seen one that big! I've grown it before and didn't think it could get that big.
Christine Oster states simply:
Ginger & Hydrangea.
Lisa Bellora shares:
My pole beans have taken over, and reseeded themselves!
Cathy Tylka, 92027,
. . . declares she has an unknown agave blooming…. I’ve never seen this type of agave, and I thought I had transplanted it from another area of the yard, when we moved here 20 or so years ago…but it’s blooming different from any I’ve seen and it’s of course, GORGEOUS!
Cathy Tylka, RN, retired Emergency Nurse, found her love of plants and the SDHS merge many years ago. Cathy acted as Treasurer for the organization and volunteer for many activities. Now, more than happy to assist in gathering questions to ask you in the Sharing Secrets area of the Newsletter.