An Urban Tex-Mex Garden

Amaranthus Summer Poinsettia

This is an old post I had on my drafts from last summer. I tried to grow it again this season, but it was a failure, so is good to find this old draft to share it here. Many people like the way summer poinsettia looks. My plant did ok until the mid of summer, when it simply became mush one day in the morning. I believe it was the historical record heat. I recommend to leave the plant in half day sun(morning sun). Here in the extreme heat of the south the plant will die in full sun during the summer.

Basil— The noble herb

The herb is a noble entity. It grows easily as long as hot weather remains constant. It will die below freezing point and the leaves could burn even at 35 F. Before first winter frost arrival, the plants will look woody and not looking good, a classic sign of aging and ending life cycle —as all annuals prove.

Last year I grew four of them —Two were sweet basil, the others genovese.— The only thing they need is sun and heat. Here in May is when they really start to grow. The previous three months they were simply tiny-small plants, and you couldn’t do anything to make them grow faster.

Growing them in regular garden soil is the best option, unless you have a big pot —Twelve inches pot is ok— Any smaller pot will result in smaller plants. If you are a pesto fanatic as I’m, plant it in regular garden soil or 12 inches pot. Anything smaller will let you craving for more leaves.

Basil is so resistant that you can take it out of the garden soil and move it somewhere else. Once you move it to the new place don’t forget to water it a bit, the next few days the plant will look kaput, black, but wait and like a fenix it  returns from the ashes— At least that’s my own last year’s experience with basil

They are pest resistant. Did I say basil is A VERY NOBLE PLANT?

This is a three month old basil. Now is really growing.

A wonderful thing about basil is the fact that you take all the leaves off from the plant —Making pesto out of them is a good excuse— and in a week or so the plant will be almost full of leaves again.

Plant it when the last spring frost is gone.

Rosemary and Ixoras setbacks

One of the few things to upset me in the garden is to see plants dying off. In a shrubby plant’s world there are some real tough plants. The dwarf bottle-brush and the gulf stream nandina hold an ability to laugh at heat. For this plants to be growing in big pots, full sun, and never showing off signs of deterioration is because they must love desert conditions. It is the case for the bottle-brush, been a desert plant in its native Australia.

But rosemary is another situation. These plants will not complain if they were planted in regular garden soil absorbing more water, and not in a medium size pot as I did. Rosemary is an “I don’t forgive you personality.” If you let the soil dry off in the pot for a few days and some branches start to dry-off; the plant may well never recover and die!. The opposite is to have a bad drainage soil. Rosemary roots die this way too.

My rosemary plants began drying-off some branches— One plant more than the other!— They were in full sun in 12” clay pots —Small for Tuscan blue variety— But they been in the back of the garden, is that area where sometimes I don’t want to go watering. The death toll? None yet!, but I had to shop off many branches from one rosemary. Then I moved them to bigger pots where the ixoras were.

Rosemary is now where the Ixoras were before.

Chop off

Ixoras look majestic in summer and fall, blooming all the time. They are tropical luxurious shrubby plants. That is until the cold makes its presence. If you forget to move ixoras indoors once temperatures reach 40 degrees F or less, the plants lose its foliage. They may die below freeze point. My ixoras didn’t die, but in late fall and winter the sun doesn’t shine as much as spring, summer and mid fall. Areas where you get partial sun in spring, summer and fall become less sunny in winter. That makes plants less happy during the season.

Wasn’t easy to move ixoras from bigger to smaller pots. I had to get rid off 30% of the root ball.

Ixora’s roots.

Ixora’s new pots.

I learned a valuable lesson. Plant little shrubs in bigger pots! You’ll do less gardening every year giving thumbs up to that advice. Your plants will be happier too.

Leaf muncher.

Growing from seed no more and no more tomatoes.

What I dislike the most when growing from seed is the fact that not all your seedlings germinate in the tray. Then if that’s not enough to surrender, still you have to wait at least two more months to transplant. That’s why I’m done with growing from seed, it’s just tedious.

From now on I will buy bedding annual plants from the nursery only. In fact I just started it, and my first beds of the season are ready. They just need some more time to keep growing.

Six angelonia serena lavender pink and twenty-four little devil marigolds. Now it’s time to move them to the bed.

When I was ready to transfer the plants, a Cessna plane passed by above the house. I was lucky to have my cam on me, so I took some pictures.

Then on one of the little trees, I found this anolis hiding between the leaves. The rascal probably thought they were looking for him.

So I did my work.

Now it’s time to let them grow.

No more tomatoes! It’s my final conclusion. I had four plants growing, but they got so big, it was impossible to let them there. You can see them behind the flower beds. Only the grape variety had six green tomatoes growing in it. No more tomatoes, and no more vegetables. Kaput!