I'm another coleus fan. I didn't do many containers this year, they're too much work. Mine do much better in the ground. I'm lazy. And besides, my containers always die when I go on vacation.









Tidal Wave Petunias


Karen

good job girlie... they look great!!

Beautiful Karen. Do you use the moisture beads mixed into the potting mix?
I finally learned how to keep fuschia baskets alive and healthy, thanks to Kin. He brought me one all potted up with the moisture beads in the soil. They stayed beautiful all summer and even went through the winter. Place the pot on the ground up against the foundation of the house.
I just don't do well with something that has to be watered once or twice a day. : (

I use polymer gels in every container.. love em!!

Yes, I usually do use some Soil Moist crystals in them, but they still need water every day. I think that's mostly because the plants are so big though. They lose a lot of moisture by transpiration through all those big leaves in this heat. Still, every day when I come home they're all wilted and begging for a drink of water. It's like they faint. A good soaking revives them.

Not so with my in-ground plants. My clay soil holds water a good long time.

Karen

every time I plant in the ground seems the slugs or whatever finish them off.. stopped doing that unless I have a huge excess of plants left after doing my containers

Slugs aren't much of a problem for me since I started using iron phosphate in early spring, prior to planting. I try to treat all beds twice, starting around March, before I plant anything.

Karen

Gorgeous containers, everybody!

A few of mine this year ...

great Tee... looking good!!... love your tree man too!

Thank you ... a couple more although not so good on the quality of the shots.

just love lantana

Very pretty.

Karen

Karen what brand do you use and what form does it come in? Is it harmful to children and pets? We have slugs galore this year. : (

Tee what is the big red coleus in the first photo? I looks like the one I just got, Red Head.
Great containers.

Thanks, Lynn. Redhead/Red Head it is. Gorgeous coleus, isn't it? And it hasn't missed a beat in all this heat and humidity we've been having here. Knock on wood.

Right after I snapped that Lantana shot, I snapped this one.

I'm lurking today..been so busy!
Beautiful plants!

Lynn, do you mean what brand of iron phosphate? Whatever I can easily get at the time. I've used Sluggo, Escar-go, Gardener's Supply, whatever. I think they're all the same- active ingredient iron phosphate.

It's supposed to be earth friendly, breaking down into iron for your plants, with little effect on beneficials. I don't know about kids and pets, but really? When my kid was little enough to be goofy enough to eat dirt, I never left him outside alone. And I had a collie who would eat anything, including a whole rose bush, with thorns, and a pile of PVC pipes, so there's just no way of knowing about dogs.

Karen

now you know why I love to keep the agastache on the deck rail

Hummers!

Do you know they are, according to native American, a sign of joy?

they give me joy to look at em.. sounds right to me

Thanks Tee, it certainly is a lovely coleus. I have a very small one and I'm excited to see how it will look when it grows up. : )

Thanks for the info Karen. I found some Slugo that is safe around children and pets.

Tee and Allison, great hummer photos. I have a fuchsia basket hanging in my covered deck. Love watching the hummer up close. The flowers are just now starting to open.
That is one of the things I love about container planting. You can move the hummer/butterfly magnet plants around to areas you can easily observe their activity.