Your All Things Plants weekly news: August 10, 2013

There were 7 new gardening ideas posted last week:

By dave
August 10, 2013 Trish Gives a Tour of Her Herb Spiral
In this video, Trish shows us her herb spiral garden bed. She talks about what material we used to fill the bed, what plants she's currently growing, how she chose where to put each plant, how she waters, and much more. (58 words - Read the full article)
(2 comments)

By Boopaints
August 9, 2013 Put a Wagon To Work
Buy a wagon at a garage sale. They are great for moving plants and heavy garden art around the yard.
(10 comments)

By dave
August 8, 2013 ATP Podcast #30: Putting Up Tomatoes and Elderberries
In this week's episode, Trish shares all her best tips about processing tomatoes, especially how to can them for later eating! We also discuss elderberries: their health benefits, how to harvest and clean them, and what to do with these wonderful wild fruits.
(5 comments)

By goldfinch4
August 7, 2013 Earwig Control
For earwig control, place a rolled up newspaper in your garden at night. Earwigs like dark, cozy places. In the morning, pick it up and seal in a plastic bag, earwigs and all.
(no comments)

By Dutchlady1
August 6, 2013 Glossary Tip - Keiki
Keiki - literally means 'baby' or 'child' in Hawaiian. In horticulture, it is used to refer to a baby plant produced by the parent, usually in orchids, which is an exact clone of the parent plant.
(3 comments)

By Ted5310
August 5, 2013 Watering a Carnivorous Plant
Because they grow mostly in bogs where there are little to no minerals in their soil, they get minerals from their "victims." (343 words - Read the full article)
(no comments)

By goldfinch4
August 4, 2013 Glossary Tip - Catkin
A long, thin, drooping cylinder of flowers without petals, generally found on willows, birches, and oaks.
(2 comments)

The most popular images last week from our plant database:

Photo of Lily (Lilium 'Cassandra') by Joy:

Photo of Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta 'Maya') by Paul2032:

Photo of Chinese Cucumber (Trichosanthes kirilowii) by Xeramtheum:

Photo of Abyssinian Gladiolus (Gladiolus murielae) by eclayne:

Photo of Shaggy Shield Fern (Dryopteris cycadina) by bonitin:

Photo of Lily (Lilium martagon var. albiflorum) by bonitin:

The most popular image sets from last week:

Image Set by Paul2032:

Image Set by 4susiesjoy:

Image Set by Paul2032:

Image Set by Paul2032:

Image Set by pixie62560:

Image Set by Paul2032:

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:
4 people gave for a post by Leftwood under "For the DB: botany question regarding disc flowers vs. ray flowers"
3 people gave for Watering a Carnivorous Plant
3 people gave for a post by psa under "fish pond"
2 people gave for ATP Podcast #30: Putting Up Tomatoes and Elderberries
2 people gave for a post by Xeramtheum under "WOW! Trichosanthes kirilowii"
2 people gave for Glossary Tip - Keiki
2 people gave for a blog post by Sharon
2 people gave for a post by chelle under "Calceolaria mexicana"
2 people gave for a photo of Mountain Bluebell (Mertensia ciliata) in the plant database by KentPfeiffer
2 people gave for Fighting Mildew Naturally

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:
4 people gave for a post by Leftwood under "For the DB: botany question regarding disc flowers vs. ray flowers" 3 people gave for Watering a Carnivorous Plant 3 people gave for a post by psa under "fish pond" 2 people gave for ATP Podcast #30: Putting Up Tomatoes and Elderberries 2 people gave for a post by Xeramtheum under "WOW! Trichosanthes kirilowii" 2 people gave for Glossary Tip - Keiki 2 people gave for a blog post by Sharon 2 people gave for a post by chelle under "Calceolaria mexicana" 2 people gave for a photo of Mountain Bluebell (Mertensia ciliata) in the plant database by KentPfeiffer 2 people gave for Fighting Mildew Naturally

The most active threads this week:
Subject OP Area Replies

OT - The Porch Swing • Summer #3, 2013 daylily Daylilies forum 236

happy people open thread. JB Sandbox forum 71

Northern gardeners - when do you fertilize for winter? Hockeyrabbit Daylilies forum 32

Gingers! Xeramtheum Tropicals forum 25

Help with growing Cinta Orchids forum 24

Seedling Aug 2013 spunky1 Daylilies forum 21

WOW! Trichosanthes kirilowii Xeramtheum Vines and Climbers forum 21

Oddities cats1 Daylilies forum 19

, sempervivums dieing chris0817 Sempervivum and Jovibarba forum 19

The most active threads this week:
Subject	OP	Area	Replies
OT - The Porch Swing • Summer #3, 2013	daylily	Daylilies forum	236
happy people open thread.	JB	Sandbox forum	71
Northern gardeners - when do you fertilize for winter?	Hockeyrabbit	Daylilies forum	32
Gingers!	Xeramtheum	Tropicals forum	25
Help with growing	Cinta	Orchids forum	24
Seedling Aug 2013	spunky1	Daylilies forum	21
WOW! Trichosanthes kirilowii	Xeramtheum	Vines and Climbers forum	21
Oddities	cats1	Daylilies forum	19
, sempervivums dieing	chris0817	Sempervivum and Jovibarba forum	19

Some new recommendations from our members:

ge1836 recommended Avant Gardens and wrote:
Beautiful plants. I have ordered perennials from Avant Gardens several times. This was an order of succulents. Nice packing. They were dry, but succulents like that. They included a bonus also.

sandnsea2 recommended Mystic Meadows Daylily Farm and wrote:
Very happy with the huge, huge, healthy Daylily plants I received. A wonderful bonus plant was included. I could tell thought went into the choice, as the colors and design were of the type I ordered and like. That is very nice!! I like how easy it is to navigate their site and see photos. It was such a pleasure buying here.

TennesseeDave recommended Glasshouse Works and wrote:
Glasshouse Works has a wonderful inventory of hard to find plants. The plants are expertly packed for shipping and they are healthy and larger than expected. If you are looking for the out of the ordinary, this is the place to look. Their website is a maze that really has to be experienced to appreciate the meaning of the term convoluted. Shipping takes place on Tuesdays. Which Tuesday is somewhat less definitive. You will receive well packaged, healthy plants on the Thursday following whichever Tuesday they were shipped. Be aware that you are charged when you order, not when plants are shipped. These folks have been in business for over 40 years and they know their plants. One of the owners died unexpectedly last year. He was the prime propagator, so it remains to be seen what the long term viability will be. So if you want the rare and hard to find, can navigate the website maze, are prepared to pay upfront, and are not in any hurry for the shipment, this is your place. I know that this all seems a bit negative. I don't really intend it to be. Just being very forthright with regard to what you can expect. They are pleasant to do business with, and I have used them several times to find the unusual or hard to find plant.

poobles recommended Santa Rosa Gardens and wrote:
I have made quite a few purchases from this company and have never been disappointed with all my new plants from them, and yes, they do come packaged with extreme care. I am always excited when I get my orders because I know they will be in good shape, plus they all have good root systems and are healthy. And, if you have a problem, they are most friendly every time you call. I recommend this company if you don't mind plants that are small but not too small. I will definitely order from them again.

eclayne recommended Brian's Botanicals and wrote:
This spring I ordered from Brian's for the first time. I have asked them questions in the past, however, always receiving a prompt and informative response. The plants ordered -- Colocasia, Alocasia, Taccarum and Kniphofia -- all arrived well rooted in their pots. They clearly grow them on enough that only healthy plants are shipped. I particularly like Brian's own Colocasia introductions because he is breeding many that are more cold hardy, hopefully extending my growing season by at least a month.

Some new recommendations from our members:
ge1836 recommended Avant Gardens and wrote: Beautiful plants. I have ordered perennials from Avant Gardens several times. This was an order of succulents. Nice packing. They were dry, but succulents like that. They included a bonus also.
sandnsea2 recommended Mystic Meadows Daylily Farm and wrote: Very happy with the huge, huge, healthy Daylily plants I received. A wonderful bonus plant was included. I could tell thought went into the choice, as the colors and design were of the type I ordered and like. That is very nice!! I like how easy it is to navigate their site and see photos. It was such a pleasure buying here.
TennesseeDave recommended Glasshouse Works and wrote: Glasshouse Works has a wonderful inventory of hard to find plants. The plants are expertly packed for shipping and they are healthy and larger than expected. If you are looking for the out of the ordinary, this is the place to look. Their website is a maze that really has to be experienced to appreciate the meaning of the term convoluted. Shipping takes place on Tuesdays. Which Tuesday is somewhat less definitive. You will receive well packaged, healthy plants on the Thursday following whichever Tuesday they were shipped. Be aware that you are charged when you order, not when plants are shipped. These folks have been in business for over 40 years and they know their plants. One of the owners died unexpectedly last year. He was the prime propagator, so it remains to be seen what the long term viability will be. So if you want the rare and hard to find, can navigate the website maze, are prepared to pay upfront, and are not in any hurry for the shipment, this is your place. I know that this all seems a bit negative. I don't really intend it to be. Just being very forthright with regard to what you can expect. They are pleasant to do business with, and I have used them several times to find the unusual or hard to find plant.
poobles recommended Santa Rosa Gardens and wrote: I have made quite a few purchases from this company and have never been disappointed with all my new plants from them, and yes, they do come packaged with extreme care. I am always excited when I get my orders because I know they will be in good shape, plus they all have good root systems and are healthy. And, if you have a problem, they are most friendly every time you call. I recommend this company if you don't mind plants that are small but not too small. I will definitely order from them again.
eclayne recommended Brian's Botanicals and wrote: This spring I ordered from Brian's for the first time. I have asked them questions in the past, however, always receiving a prompt and informative response. The plants ordered -- Colocasia, Alocasia, Taccarum and Kniphofia -- all arrived well rooted in their pots. They clearly grow them on enough that only healthy plants are shipped. I particularly like Brian's own Colocasia introductions because he is breeding many that are more cold hardy, hopefully extending my growing season by at least a month.

Some numbers from last week:

64 new members.
185 new threads.
3,558 new posts.
1,053 new images to the plant database.
18 new comments in the plant database.
14 new image sets.