Zone 8

Comment

Comment by Lee Findley on July 15, 2010 at 1:30pm

Search for "rosa rugosa" on mail order lists, the dormant plants ship well, they are very hardy and salt spray doesn't phase them. They are often planted for erosion mitigation as well as beautification on freeways in the northwest.

Comment by Shari on July 11, 2010 at 7:13pm

A while back I asked if there were any hummingbirds in central Florida as I had been trying to attract them for almost two years with no success. Well as my husband and I were enjoying dinner by the patio, to our suprise there was a hummingbird enjoying his dinner of honeysuckle nectar. What a happy day in our house.

Comment by JoAnn Phillips on July 11, 2010 at 1:42am

I envy you, too, Lee. I hate the boiling hot and so humid Texas summers, lived in Texas my entire life, and hated every summer here. Your gardening conditions and living conditions sound like bliss! I wish I could live in a place like Portland. I live in the Dallas area, and it is a roaster all the way through October. Ahh Portland is calling...and the gardening there, ahhh yes!!!! A girl can dream.

Comment by Charlie Patin Z8 TX on July 10, 2010 at 9:52pm

I so envy you Lee. Summers here in TX are miserable to me. I live 100 mi. no. of Houston just off I-45.

Comment by Lee Findley on July 10, 2010 at 3:22pm

After 30 years in Houston (born in Fort Worth) I left my dear friends to garden in cool zone 8; Portland, Oregon. I really thought that I liked heat and humidity...until I experienced the bliss of cool nights and temperate (mostly) days. Plants leap out of the ground! I still grow my favorite tropicals (brugmansias) Angel's Trumpets. They go in the basement for four or five months with little water and they break dormancy in March and bloom all summer long. It is very different than Texas, and a new climate means I can grow different plants!
About Bluebonnets, the seeds need scarification to germinate, nicking them with a blade or scratching them with sandpaper always worked for me.

Comment by JoAnn Phillips on June 18, 2010 at 8:19pm

That's right, Charlie, the best way to enjoy the bluebonnets is to look at them all along the highways and in the fields! They dont' last too long, but they are gorgeous when they're in bloom.

Comment by Charlie Patin Z8 TX on June 18, 2010 at 5:05pm

If you're going to garden in an area, TX esp., get in touch with your local Master Gardeners ASAP. They can guide you to the best plants and varieties for the area. And make no mistake, if you try to garden with cool weather or with plants that require lots of moisture you will have problems eventually. I'm finally going toward drought resistant and Earth Kind plants (esp. roses in the later category). TX A&M AgriLife Extension has some excellent publications and websites available for this. Use them as a guide or contact the local AgriLife Ext. Office (formerly the County Agent). They can also put you in touch with the Master Gardeners in the Sherman area. They have a wealth of information.
Bluebonnets do grow wild and some have them in their lawn. They are beautiful while they are blooming but a mess when they finish and the plant dies. They can also be invasive. If you're in a subdivision you may want to limit your use of them to beds or just enjoy them along the highways.

Comment by JoAnn Phillips on June 18, 2010 at 4:45pm

Bluebonnes grow wild and free over here in the north Texas, so April you can look forward to those in early srping! Yes, I have a medical condition myself...onw which makes me very heat sensitive, so yes, you have exactly the right idea, garden in the early morn, and then LOVE that garden behind the window during the rest of the day!!! That is how to roll down here! Your garden will aslo astonish your friends and neighbors! Watering at night, it is also a very good thing....no mildew to worry about like in the South, as we have so much drying wind to keep that away! You should do just fine! And by the way, if you need any pointers for heat gardening, I am always available to tell you what I have learned since living in this climate for 17 yrs...I used to live in far East Texas, which is still zone 8, but it's not as constantly hot there, nor do they contend with all this wind we have here.. that can be a doozy, too, but you learn how to deal with that, too! We make it somehow *smiles*!!!

Comment by Judith Kennedy Arthur on June 18, 2010 at 2:13pm

My oldest friend in Oklahoma grows them in her tiny yard and they seem to be fine. She has never said that they are invasive. I tried to grow them here in Alabama, but it just didn't work. I know you need to plant the seeds in November. I bet someone who lives in Texas can give a better answer.

Comment by April Lymer on June 18, 2010 at 1:58pm

I'm thinking that same way, JoAnn. Go out during the coolest part of the day and get as much gardening done as possible and then go in and enjoy. Also, I'm old enough and have a medical problem so I'm more cut out for sitting in the air conditioning watching flowers grow than trying to go out in the cold and snow of the Wyoming mountains. I'll leave that for the young and healthy.

Are bluebonnets a good garden flower or are they pretty wild and take over your garden?

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