Struggling New Tree: Hong Kong Orchid

So, I planted this new tree about a month ago. I feel like I did a decent job of planting it; I've planted trees before with success, but this one is struggling, for whatever reason. Perhaps it's just the normal adjustment stress that trees go through, or a combination of our recent weather (a few nights of frost) plus the transplant stress. The leaves that are affected seem to be distribute evenly throughout the tree with affected leaves: on bottom/top, younger/older, inner/outer branch (although I believe the problem originally started with the older, inner leaves, which would point more towards a manganese or zinc deficiency, if chlorosis is what's at play here. Here's an interesting link explaining: Chlorosis). They all have a bit of a dry (not yet crispy, though) texture, and are mostly folded rather than open. I know the Hong Kong Orchid is said to be susceptible to salt-soil damage, but I'm not sure if that's what's happening here. After planting it, I did some deep-water slow-drip with the hose, and then we were fortunate to get some really nice fresh water rains in the weeks following. So I'm a bit confused as to why the tree is hurting so much. Another possibility is that this is entirely normal, and that the tree, being deciduous, is getting ready to drop its leaves! Keeping my fingers crossed!

Primrose Beauty

When I think of England, I think of primroses. What do England and Arizona have in common, climate-wise? Absolutely nothing. And yet, even though I know they'll only last for 3 months tops before melting in supra-70 temps(for us in Arizona that could be as early as late February or early March), I can't resist planting them every year. The large floppy-eared leaves, the bold bi-color flowers, the tall, regal stems...I love everything about the primrose. And they love everything about the cooler temps we're experiencing right now- highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Here's one that I have planted in the front yard walkway to my house. I actually succeeded in growing some primroses from seed last year, in a Rube Goldberg design that involved ice from the fridge, thermometers, a timer, a grow light, and all other manner of crazy stuff. Sadly, I made the mistake of putting my fledgling primroses in direct sunlight way too soon, and they got completely fried. It was so heartbreaking (after pampering them for 2 months!) that I don't think I have the will to try again so soon. But maybe next year, who knows? At least I know I can get them to sprout!

Mum's the Word

I'm surprised more people don't grow mums in Phoenix, because they can definitely survive the Summer Death March, and they're gorgeous of course! In fact, I had one in full sun(south side of house) that made it through inferno just fine. With that in mind, I've just planted a few new ones in my front yard. They do tend to sprawl, so it's best to find a spot with room. My only beef with mums: they seem to be a sporadic rather than continuous bloomer.

Happy Days are Here Again

What a difference a month makes. This Madagascar palm loves the cooler temperatures of November...which in Phoenix means mid-70s. Interestingly, the Madagascar palm is not a true palm; it's actually a succulent and more closely related to a Plumeria than to any palm. The scientific name is Pachypodium lamerei.
With winter and cooler temps, the lovely green leaves will drop and the plant will go dormant, hopefully rebounding in the Spring with bright new leaves.

Forgetting

Since this is Sunday, I'm thinking of football, naturally. A popular cliché for football commentators is that successful cornerbacks must have a short memory, because it's inevitable that they will at some point get 'torched' by the opposing team's wide receiver. No point in dwelling on the negative. This reminds me a bit of Arizona and its extreme heat, and how we survive it psychologically. I spent a great deal of time cursing the infernal September and October that we had this year(with record temps and a very dry monsoon), and the way it cruelly murdered my glorious tomato plant and so many other garden delights.
But now the 'real' Fall and cooler temps have finally arrived and I am ready to forgive. Often times, we have gorgeous sunsets in these parts, but occasionally the morning clouds can also be awe-inspiring. Here's a quick snap I took while on my way to work last week. Clouds like a bas-relief sculpture of some far-away kingdom; the promise of rain and relief. Who says the art of losing is hard to master?

The Devil's Triangle of Gardening?

I've got this one spot on the north (shady) side of my house that has a habit of 'sinking' my African Boxwoods in record time...usually within 2 weeks! Even though I've tried amending the soil, digging out caliche for better drainage, lowering watering dramatically, it still doesn't work. Within a couple of weeks, the new replacement boxwood's leaves will first turn a dull green, then become super brittle to the point where brushing up against them will cause the leaves to drop.The middle 3 baby Boxwoods transplants/replacements you see here are all in varying degrees of misery. It's been said that veterinary medicine is so difficult because animals cannot speak our language to tell us what's wrong. Then how much more difficult is it to diagnose what's wrong with vegetative life?! lol...

In doing some research on the internet, I suspect I may have a case of phytophthora fungi roaming around in the soil, as I understand Boxwoods are very susceptible to this. The thing that's tricky about it is, even though the inclination is to water a plant whose leaves seem shriveled and dry, watering just serves to hasten the demise! Apparently the water helps the spores 'swim' more easily through the soil so they can attack the plant's roots. Bummer!
Worse yet, once a plant has been infected, they say 1) there's no way of curing the plant 2) it's really difficult if not impossible to decontaminate the soil from these particular fungi, so you can try replanting over and over, and even amend the soil, but eventually the spores will return and wreak havoc. In a desperate attempt to stop the demise of my fledgling plants, I've applied some cinnamon around the root area, due to its supposed anti-fungal properties. Corn-meal is also said to prevent fungus but it's probably better as a preventative than a cure. I may try it if I don't see any improvement.

Strangely, you may notice that I've got two Boxwoods in the same planting area (each at the bookends of a row, each getting the most sunlight, and thus probably drier soil) who still seem to be thriving. Perhaps the thick mud soil has prevented the disease from spreading to these two Boxwoods? Ah...the secret life of plants...

My First Pumpkin Carving Attempt

I call him 'Keith Richards'...ok, well maybe not. Something tells me Keith would not be drinking a wine cooler, no? :)

Anyhow, I didn't grow this pumpkin, but I've heard that pumpkins can and do grow here in Arizona. I'll have to try it next year...I wonder if the seeds of this pumpkin will work? I absolutely love and devour anything with pumpkin flavor...including any beverage from Starbucks. Not too long now till Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie! Yum!

Brazilian Blue Cactus- Pilosocereus azureus

Spectacular! No, I don't own this but saw one earlier today at my local nursery. I am so tempted to bring one home; I didn't even realize a cactus could be blue. It was only after I came home and researched it that I found out most blue cactus are Brazilian in origin, like this one. That being the case, it's obviously destined to be somewhere in my life. They say it likes full heat and sunlight...check. But it's only frost hardy to about 40F...probably would have to keep it in a container so I can move it around as needed. Hmm... I'll have to see if anyone else in Phx has had any success with it.

Avocado- the Holy Grail of Ambitious Phoenix Gardeners

This isn't an avocado tree. It's actually an orange tree on the east side of my house. But when I look at it, like those who foolishly dream of climbing Everest, I dream of planting an avocado tree underneath its wide lateral canopy, and seeing if I can be one of the blessed few who actually get an avocado to survive in Phoenix and produce tasty fruit.
Of course, those who live in Phoenix know that it's completely illogical to wait 7-10 years to get a decent fruit from a mature avocado tree. After all, the ones that are shipped to us from California only cost $0.50-1.00 each, and taste delicious so why bother?
But ever since I heard it's impossible, it seems to entice me even more!
Seriously, though, the east side, as you see here, is pretty much a blank canvass...not lots of room, but enough for something...hmmm...what shall it be?

Same Bush: Different Shades!

Plants are such mysterious critters. For example, I've got these 2 Ilex Vomitoria (dwarf holly), side by side, seemingly with the same environment. But one is a healthy deep green, and the other looks like it's suffering from chlorosis or some other ailment! Could it be poor drainage(a block of caliche underneath)? Amount of shade versus light? Dog peed on it?

Strawberry: The Lone Survivor

Happy Birthday, Little Fella! This strawberry was actually 1 of 2 strawberries I bought last October. The other one died in July, of course, as most strawberries here in Phoenix do. The funny thing is, this one was definitely a runt! But I think this worked to his advantage because he remained sandwiched between a huge, sprawling tomato plant and a large mum. Natural shade, protection from our intense sun and heat(and yes, I realize this is not a sentence, but it's my blog and I can use poetic license, no? lol). Once I removed the dying tomato, I put a bit of white shade cloth to protect him from afternoon sun(he's on the south side of my house). As you can see, he's got a few brown-crispies, but I'll pull those off once it cools down a bit more(still in the high 90s this coming week) . Should be a great crop for next spring, since frost isn't so much a problem (I believe they're good down to about 25F). Yay, Mr, Strawberry!

Madagascar Palm with Five Branches

My Maddie had a rough year...first, we had that horrible hail storm last winter that damaged all its leaves, then we had the 2 late frosts. And if that weren't enough, I transplanted him from a container into the ground in March! Poor thing! I'd heard that when the top becomes frost-damaged, it will create offshoot branches...that's exactly what mine did. You can see the new branches sprouting from the sides. His leaves always look a bit wavy and distressed from the summer heat (I've had him for 2 years now), but there are a lot of baby leaves starting to sprout. Surrounding him are some verbena, which also survived(barely) the summer heat (I did lose one verbena, which accounts for empty space to the left). Next year I'll probably just plant some vincas around it and make life easy!

After a Long, Hot, Summer in Phoenix...

I actually tried to kill off this poor Chinese Pistache tree at the beginning of summer because it was so lopsided(nearly a 45° angle), and I didn't have the patience to wait for it to straighten itself out. At that point it was probably about 6 ft tall. All that remained was a 2 ft stump, hidden behind the now scorched (but still alive) daisies. But this thing obviously has a will to live! Out of the stump came 5 perfectly symmetrical branches, evenly spaced like a starfish's limbs. Not sure what will happen long term, since I've heard trimming trees that low (topping) can cause some issues. But it seems happy, so why not let it live for now?