The plants/gardening thread!

[Lobelia]

That's a zinnia? It's like 10 times bigger than my other zinnias. This flower is at least a couple inches across. Are there different varieties of zinnias?

[UndercoverGator]

Different sizes, colors and types. My favorite are huge and striped. If I get any to bloom this year I'll post a few pictures. It's been dry here.

[Lobelia]

Need some suggestions for use of Rose of Sharon bushes. I have them planted alongside a picket fence that was destoyed in a recent storm. Now they do not look right in their current placement.

How big are they, and what is their shape?

[Zee]

They are small enough to be moved to another location. Standard bush shape. Just fixated with having them as an edge and not as a specimen plant.

[Lobelia]

If you use them for edging, try to make sure they have plenty of room to expand because I think they look horrid clipped & shaped. Neighbor has them flanking his garage doors, and they've gotten so big that he has to trim them, or they would block the entrance. I had never seen them clipped like hedges before, and I know why.

I think they look good at corners of houses. Or you could make a whole new bed with one or more of them as the focal point. Wherever you have plenty of sun. If they're still pretty small, they might be trained into tree shape. I have one like that, & it's beautiful.

[Sojiita]

I have a regular hibiscus (hibiscus syriacus) that came up as a seedling. It was left to grow near the driveway and it bloomed in pure white, large blooms. So I transplanted it and it does very well. It is about six feet tall and with regular yearly pruning is kept a nice round oval bush shape. by starting the pruning early you can keep them the same size (in my experience). I think it looks better trimmed..it is fuller and thicker than it would be. I think a line of them would be nice. They can even be trained as a standard(trained to grow on one trunk like a tree). I think mine works well cause I have alot of branching coming up and starting right near the base-I think this along with central Ohio climate help keep it smaller and looking fuller and thicker, and not all straggly-overgrown looking.

Zorbeet and UCG..do you have access to any recipes for Maypop? It is up and growing like crazy right now..if we have a late frost I will have a good crop of them.

[A*O]

For some reason I find passionflowers a bit creepy but I love the fruit. I'm a big fan of pruning - you have to be brave, the harder you prune the better the result IMO.

[Sojiita]

For some reason I find passionflowers a bit creepy but I love the fruit. I'm a big fan of pruning - you have to be brave, the harder you prune the better the result IMO.

Do you mean you love it as it you know what to do with it or love it as in buy it in the store as a product? I have no clue of how to prepare these things. I love the flowers though. I also like how people think of passion as in sex/romance/heat and the name really refers to 'the Passion" of Christ on the cross. They are weird and alien-like but I like them and they are sure to get a response from people .

[Lobelia]

I have a regular hibiscus (hibiscus syriacus) that came up as a seedling. It was left to grow near the driveway and it bloomed in pure white, large blooms. So I transplanted it and it does very well. It is about six feet tall and with regular yearly pruning is kept a nice round oval bush shape. by starting the pruning early you can keep them the same size (in my experience). I think it looks better trimmed..it is fuller and thicker than it would be. I think a line of them would be nice.

Take & post a picture. Yours just HAS to look better than my neighbor's.

[A*O]

We don't have to buy passionfruit - the plants grow like weeds in this climate and there's plenty of (free!) fruit. I just scoop out the seedy pulp and mix with fresh fruit salad or in yogurt or over a pavlova dessert. I like the intense, slightly sour taste.

[Lobelia]

Hmm. Bug bites, thorn scratches, dirt, sunburn, complaints from neighbors.....

Nope, you're completely normal.

[Lobelia]

Complaints from neighbors? You must be kidding. Tiki is one sexy bitch.

Well then, change that to "hooting & whistling by the neighbors."

[MrsMarsters]

hm...what do you recommend on planting..I live in the high desert and it is like hell in the summer...and well I am tired of looking at the empty backyard..lol not evne grass is back there..any suggestions?

[Lobelia]

Wow, I am completely uninformed about plants unless a humid climate is involved. I bet catci get kinda boring. (I feel quite highbrow saying "cacti".... my first impulse was to say "cactuses" ) What DOES grow there? I mean, do your neighbors have anything going on?

[UndercoverGator]

Can you grow succulents like clumps of Aloe or some sort of groundcover? palmetto?