DFB's Greenthumb Project

[Citroënbender]

They’re approaching a plague around my way, too. Is it the same in your area, DFB?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-...bers/100680890

An upside to La Niña here, has been a second or protracted blooming of many plants. Bees are absolutely going off, like the height of spring - but they’re just busy, not so aggressive.

[DFB FGXR6]

It's that time of the year when Hydrangea's are in flower, although where I live it can be a fleeting moment.







If the early summer is mild, these plants will delight with their display for an extended period. If the weather is hot and windy and the plants not adequately shaded, these flowers can be a brief appearance. Water, water, water is the key for Hydrangea's, especially in when in flower and especially when planted in pots.

In the nursery, we generally only get Hydrangea's in stock when in flower. As such, they make an attractive gift or as a way to provide a nice greeting at a doorway at Christmas. In years past, when the summer arrived early and HARD, I remember a few 40+ degree days where we were watering our Hydrangea stock ever couple of hours to maintain their flowers. Big leaves, big flowers and small pots combined with heat and wind means big water consumption from these plants.

[Citroënbender]

One here is doing really nicely, too:

[DFB FGXR6]

Duranta repens or 'Geisha Girl' flowering in my neighbors garden.



While looking rather delicate, these fast growing shrubs are quite drought tolerant. They do however resent frost and cold conditions in general, bouncing back with vigor in spring and summer. This plant can be bought as either a standard or shrub form.

[xkxlxm]

Hydrangeas: my father reckoned that if you put nails in a pot of hydrangeas you would get a certain colour flower; not sure if it was pink or blue.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by xkxlxm

Hydrangeas: my father reckoned that if you put nails in a pot of hydrangeas you would get a certain colour flower; not sure if it was pink or blue.

The iron is what changes the colour to blue. It acidifies the soil as it breaks down.

[DFB FGXR6]

Starting again with this extremely old Bougainvillea.



This plant sits under a tree right on the fence and front gate of a property I maintain. Bougainvillea are a hard thing to get right in northern Victoria. Too cold for them in the winter means they need the right spot to withstand frost. But they also love to be in a warm, sunny position.

This specimen sits under a tree to protect it over winter, meaning it has very rarely flowered due to a lack of sunlight over summer. Also preventing it from flowering is the regular trimming I give it to keep the plant from getting out of hand.

Late last year was a rare occasion where it actually flowered. It then put on a big flush of growth and subsequently fell forward from the fence. At this point I will say Bougainvillea are horrible plants to play around with. If the spines from the fresh growth don't get you, then the harder dead wood spines will!

The only way I wanted to get this deal with this was to cut it all off, using the weight of the material to allow it fall further off the fence and then dragging the whole lot into the back of my Ranger. I used my Stihl battery powered chainsaw to do the deed.





I have to play middle man with this plant, the husband hates it and wanted me to follow up with a health dose of Roundup, the wife quite likes the coverage it offers. Me? Well I think I'm in the Roundup camp! The shear power behind this plant means it will bounce back harder than ever.

We actually had 40 Bougainvillea arrive in stock last week at work. I put them out on the shelf with gritted teeth!