The hillbilly's hydrangeas

This past winter season was not as brutal as what a lot of the country experienced the winter before but, a measure of anxiety has been creepin' up on us leadin' to a fair bit of dread regardin' this growin' season. Now that it's here we take a deep breath, a hard swallow and do our rounds. The rounds are mine, specifically, but I usually walk hand-in-hand with one of my girls. The plants I worried over all winter were new. When I say new I mean plants that I grew, either from seed or vegetative propagation. None of them were purchased with anything but sweat. And after losin' my entire supply of roses last year I wanted to make it with every hydrangea I could.

A lot is ridin' on the fate of our stock. The end result will define us as a farm and nursery. The plants that make it will have proven their hardiness and suitability for our area and they will decide for me what we specialize in. I have my druthers but as a farm we can not waste time growin' somethin' that will not be happy growin' here. 

So, the day has come...

This unknown hydrangea is the one that started my obsession. A nurse friend gave me part of her large bush and I thought I killed it. I planted it during a week long streak of 100 degree heat out in full sun! Needless to say I was ignorant to the way of the hydrangea. So after it was dead I googled it to see what I had done wrong and the rest is history. I learned about somethin' called propagation and obsessed over photos of hydrangeas, went out and bought all that this small town had to offer and relocated this plant just to see. The tough little princess came back the next year. This year it will bloom and we will have a better idea which hydrangea it is. Big leaf, mop head  is all we know for sure; and apparently not remontant.

Forever and ever 'Early Sensation'

Upon purchasin' this one, a love affair had officially begun. 

Panicled hydrangea 'Limelight'

Pretty sure this one is 'Limelight'. All the landscapers use this one, almost as much as crepe myrtles. And, praise The Lord, this one likes full sun!

Endless summer 'Twist and Shout'

Lace cap variety which switched to blue last season on it's own.

We got this one at a big box store and it was poorly marked, to say the least. It just said, 'Premium Hydrangea'. It has the largest blooms I have seen to date. Luxurious.

I suppose everyone has one or more of these 'Annabelle' hydrangeas. We have plenty if you are lookin'.

Peegee hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'. Another that tolerates full sun, and that's good, because that's about all we got.

'Invincibelle Spirit' was a Father's Day present. Now I have more than enough for everyone. 

Endless Summer 'The Original'. In my experience, the Endless Summer rebloomers are better performers than the Forever and Ever brand. Probably depends on location.

'Nikko Blue' is a classic.

'Beulah' is actually an unknown hydrangea that my mamaw could not get to bloom. So I made a bunch of them and they are comin' right along.

I always do this; I say they don't need tags and I always forget. 

Oakleaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' is the only oakleaf we offer, but we hope to have more soon. 

These are just to show the plants hardiness. I made cuttings last season and put them in the ground to protect them from fungus gnats and they survived the winter just fine.

Endless Summer 'The Original' is vigorous and gets full size quick.

'Merritt's Supreme' is almost purple so I could not walk by it and not pick it up. Most of these were rustled not bought. I mentioned the size of where I live; options are few. Like the rose rustlers of yesteryear I don't leave home without my clippers. I have brought home quite a few roses that way but more hydrangeas. Bad thing is, I'm tapped out. Now I am collecting old garden roses or antique/heirloom roses. 

Pictured was just an example of each variety of hydrangea we stock. Not indicative of actual numbers we have in the field. Next post I will show the roses and how they handled the winter, and our own, farm-bred and cultivated azaleas and crepe myrtles.

this is what plants look like in magazine layouts

Strange phenomenon occurring in the garden currently. The plants are unprecedentedly healthy and entirely bug free. Not a blemish on anything.

 The cleome is impressive in its perfection, this is just one example.

The cotton is so unique and beginning to bloom. Now how do I go about saving the seeds?

 This big dahlia has remained untouched since I dead headed last, odd but completely awesome.

 The glads are mostly erect which is in itself a small miracle and completely out of the ordinary.

And lastly, my teddy bears. Flawless. 

I have never experienced this. The Japanese beetles are always the dominant force in the garden this time of year. But it seems the wave of destruction has passed. But why? Increased bird population due to enhanced habitat? Sudden cold front and unexpected I may add? Combination of factors known and unknown?

But that is not all, everything on the farm remains pristine.

Have I achieved the mythical balance that results in the crowding out of "bad bugs"?

I don't know yet, but I love the thick, fleshy, veiny leaves that surround me and mine.

And by the way, I already have the first rose seeds stratifying in my fridge. Can not hardly wait. And again, we are working on next year's garden/collection.

'Earworm'

My daughter is currently three years old. All last summer, while I practiced and learned the art of plant propagation, she busied her little self with collectin' seeds. She saw me fussin' with the plants all the time and she was dragged along on all the seed gatherin' jaunts around the town and neighborin' counties. Naturally she assumed seeds were mega-important (which of course they are to some of us). Most accessible to her were the spent hostas. I suppose I never considered them for growin' from seed, and in order to satisfy my curiosity about it I commenced an impromptu hosta breedin' program. Very intensive - put the seed in dirt and wait.
Here are the results of a two year old explorin' the world around her and the limited portion within her reach_

Very hosta-like indeed. But the last one, on the bottom, is very strikin', very different from what she started with. I told her she should probably consider what she will name it. Without a moment's hesitation she said " 'Earworm' ".

Malachi 3:10

" Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. "

                                                   - Malachi 3:10-11

I added verse eleven because of the reference to gardenin'. Agricultural symbols are quite common in scripture. Some say we, as workers of the land, are closer to the Father than anyone.

Anyway, I have had an epiphany; it all makes sense. You know, losin' a crop is often a head scratcher. I mean, what else can you do except stand there and scratch somethin'? 

I carry two coins on my person at all times. One is inscribed with the verse 1 Corinthians 10:13, which was mentioned in a previous blog post. The other is has engraved on it 'The Prayer of Jabez'. "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not grieve me!' And God granted him that which he requested."

All he had to do was ask.

Carryin' this coin on me is my way of continually askin' for my coast to be enlarged and for more to be responsible for, for my endeavors to be blessed. 

Thinkin' of this today, as I stood there lookin' at the stack of empty pots towerin' over the water jugs in my greenhouse, I understood. I had given the first fruits to whom they belonged. 

My new hydrangeas have been untouched by the infestation overall, but last year's hydrangeas were the first to be sacrificed as well as bein' the first plants I had commercial designs for. That makes them first fruits. So my share of the tithe is in the storehouse! If two hundred roses , an entire collection of hydrangeas, examples of each different cultivar as a matter of fact, is my 10% that some say is the correct amount to tithe then watch out David Austin because I am comin'!

If it's not the bugs it's the deer.

Oak leaf hydrangea

Sunflowers are already goin' to seed

'Lemon-queen' stunted by insect damage

 I had no plans of growin' tomatoes this year, but this rogue plant changed my mind. I needed to nurture somethin' and this plant is beautiful. Not a spot on it; perfect. I was always told not to talk about them or they would get blight, but she is gorgeous.

'Beefsteak'

These volunteer plants were answers to my prayers, I believe. I don't even eat tomatoes but I needed somethin' to cultivate. I know you gardeners understand.

fungus gnats

At this point I am on the verge of callin' it an unmitigated disaster. Game over, you know? I am lookin' for small victories now and any one of them would sure feel like a major breakthrough. 

Worse than the temperature and wind chills this winter (if you can believe anything was worse) and a source of even more devastation was the fungus gnat.
I had researched and read and googled my brains out and finally got a couple of grow lights I thought were sufficient for my needs. It was October maybe or November and I wanted to see green things growin'. With a rudimentary set-up I embarked on a flight to destiny. I was gonna have my own nursery and it all began with there, under the sink in my bathroom. Then the other bathroom. January and the Japanese maple seeds had been stratified long enough. And I brought dormant hydrangeas and a Japanese maple in. All of which I had rooted by takin' cuttings the very first summer I learned about the miracle and magic of propagation.
I wanted an advantage. I wanted to have my hydrangeas bloomin' before the local big box stores. In my fervor I and inexperience I over watered all the plants we spent the winter steppin' around. Enter the fungus gnat. Resemblin' a mosquito, he deposits the next generation in the wet soil so that generation has some organic material to feed on. The wormlike larvae mutilate the roots of standin' plants. Needless to say I lost everything, even some mature healthy plants.
Neem oil is the preferred treatment for fungus gnats. Problem is I live in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. There is no neem oil here. I remember when my hometown got its second traffic light. Before that, someone would shoot the first one out every weekend, or every time it was replaced.
Winter stretched on and the formidable fungus gnat multiplied exponentially. In my innocence I assumed once I took the plants outside the problem would just take care of itself. Now I know how naive that was. I built my hoop house, unheated polytunnel, and moved the plants and effectively ended my season with that action.

I read about the rose breeders usin' a layer of perlite on their pottin' mix to thwart dampin' off. When I ran out of perlite I used sand from my daughter's sandbox, hence the pink topdressin'. But, it works on the dreaded fungus gnat. A lot of times they will escape in winged, adult form out the bottom of the pots. They can not penetrate the sand to re-enter their snug, preferred environment. As far as the damagin' larvae, I don't know. I have tried peroxide, vinegar, all the organic cures found on the internet. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is let the soil dry as much as you can and just weather the storm.

Hello, my name is Dustin and I'm a plantaholic...

I am also an opiate addict and an alcoholic. I am currently in recovery and all the counselors say I will always be recovering; I will never be "cured". One day at a time and all that.
1 Corinthians 10:13 basically says He will never put more on you than you can handle. He is faithful and although you have a cross to bear He assures you that it is bearable. Well, I have been handling this for 20 years or so and there were times when I was nearly crushed. But, I am here to tell you there is beauty in the crushing.

That brings me to the 'Apothecary's Rose' or the 'Lancaster Rose' I believe. Those of you familiar with English history will know. Anyway, it was used in some capacity for making medicine or herbal something-or-others, thus the Apothecary reference in the name. Ironically, it has grown alongside me here for the past twenty plus years. It was already here when we bought the property and looking at it I assumed it was just some wild rose. What did I know? I couldn't even point to the hips on it a year ago, remember?
Now my obsession with breeding roses and making a collection of my own leads me to work with it every day. I was once obsessed with the medicine that came out of an apothecary now I am bent on taking the essence of this rose and manipulating it in such a manner that an entirely new entity is born. And I would like to believe that I have some measure of control in this situation.
But do I really? 

If I cross any of those hybrid teas with this rambler will the result be one I predicted?

If I cross this one with the 'Apothecary rose' will I get the desired result?

Will I get a larger bloom with that awesome fragrance from the 'Apothecary rose' if crossed?

Will the blackspot susceptibility be bred out of the Gallica rose if I introduce it to 'Double Knockout'?

In that last case I am hopeful. The point is I have no control over what happens ultimately. But I will get something unique.

In order for me to gain some control of my life and addiction I began an outpatient treatment program. The program utilized suboxone, the brand name for buprenorphine with an additinal blocker that allowed me to slowly taper down so the danger inherent with detoxing would be minimized. Like methadone treatment accept you don't get high like you do on methadone. That was for the opiates. For the alcohol I went to church. It was a Pentecostal church that spoke in tongues and everything. The pastor approached me and said he felt I needed help for something, he just didn't know specifically what. He and a few members laid hands on me and prayed and I haven't had a drink since. 

That was huge. It saved my life in an immediate way. I was near death. I was puking blood and couldn't get out of bed without a drink, literally. The same approach didn't work with the pills; I didn't want help. 

Anyway, Independence Day this year is a high water mark for me. I will run out of medicine today. No refills, no more appointments. I just want to be normal, whatever normal is. And I want to pee all by myself, without someone watching for the first time in five years, and in something besides a cup. 

So this day is truly a celebration of freedom. Tomorrow will be the first day I will be without a crutch. Check back to see how it goes. I have dreaded this day all my life.

Concerning gardening, it seems you are always working on next year. Me, I am working on today_

Happy Independence Day

a good year for the roses

Man, what a winter. July and we are still talkin' about it. I guess we will always. A once in a lifetime winter, one can only hope and pray. With the extended temperatures below freezin' and zero you had to expect damage to plants and loss of some others. We are now quantifyin' the extended wrath of what became the winter of the "polar vortex".
So I had a dream of ownin' my very own nursery and in October the local representative of a big box home improvement chain dropped prices on all their remainin' stock of plants in order to make room for the seasonal shipment of Christmas trees. I got all the crape myrtles for a dollar apiece, the peonies for the same price, the last two white rhododendrons, and I was makin' my two year old a butterfly garden so I picked up the last of the Buddleias. She showed a proclivity for chasin' and catchin' them that belied her age. And they had a rebloomin' Azalea and a price of $5 on the Japanese Maples (mislabeled as they were).
I ended the day with ten each of the crape myrtles and Buddleia, eight peonies, one Azalea, the two rhododendrons, seven Japanese Maples, and a weigela. But, when the seasons changed the weather changed suddenly, drastically, and permanently. Then we soon learned what a " polar vortex " was.
As delicate as they appear the JMs outperformed every plant on the property, even established plants. The devastation was total.
Come spring, replacements were sought out. I had been growin' indoors, under lights all winter in preparation for a grand openin' and in anticipation of the greenhouse I planned on buildin' when the sun came back. A trip to the big box store tempted my starved soul with big, fragrant hybrid tea roses and i impulsively collected one of each color.
Now, whenever I acquire a new plant, I consult all the usual suspects and exhaust every source I can find. In a moment of divine intervention I came across a video by Paul Zimmerman and Brad Jalbert and found Paul Barden's now idle blog and the rest, as they say, is history.
Who knew that major breakthroughs and history makin' developments in plant genetics could be made by normal amateurs like Will Radler or me? Well, you probably did know, but I was clueless. A year ago, I didn't even know what a rose hip was.
When I received the David Austin Roses catalog and realized he breeds all those beautiful plants himself I decided to embark on the current journey. Man, I feel like a real scientist contributin' my own discoveries to the world.
Fortunately, it has been a good year for the roses. They like it hot. More importantly, all my roses are new plants because I refused to grow them for so many years. Status quo and not wanting to conform to the norms of society and all.

R. Gallica and I am unsure of the darker one. Maybe Dr. Huey?

This is what I had to work with. That is, before I went shoppin'. There were a couple of 'Knockout's on the property as well, the original single 'RADrazz' and a yellow one 'RADsunny', which I just ignored initially because of their ubiquity. 

 'JFK'

 'Ambassador'

 'Sonia' 

Apparently the best selling rose of all time.

'Chrysler Imperial'

Knowing absolutely nothin' about what I was doin', not even knowin' why I was doin', I proceeded to buy these hybrid teas. Technically, 'Sonia' is a grandiflora. Turns out, I was doin' somethin' wrong and right at the same time. Propagation is problematic with the hybrid teas from cuttings, which is how I planned to move forward. I humbly submit that I am a gifted propagator, except that I have not yet attempted graftin'. But I figure if I can consistently root Japanese maples from cuttings then anything is possible.

Luckily, these roses were exactly where I needed to begin. After more research into genetics and breeding theory and learnin' about how leadin' breeders of today work it looks like I lucked onto the right path. Even David Austin uses the hybrid teas crossed with his "English Roses".

My stroke of idiocy paid off quickly. Seems like they were good father plants when I crossed their pollen with r. gallica and they seem to be decent mother plants as well. 

 I am a novice admittedly, but, to me that looks like a pregnant hip.

Then I had what I considered a moment of genius inspiration. If the 'Knockout' family was such an improvement and displayed disease resistance and was remontant and the gallica I was utilizin' was blackspot susceptible and a one time bloomer, why not cross the two? If all it accomplished was addin' a fragrance to the 'Knockout' then that was somethin'.

The one pictured is 'RADtko' the double. It happens to be an excellent pollen donor but as a seed parent it is a bust. At first I couldn't understand why. But now, I know. One of its attributes is bein' a self-cleaner, which means when the bloom is done it dries up and drops off.

So now one of my gallica bushes is covered in handmade tags with very scientific lookin' numbers and dashes on them.