I’ve neglected the Coleus cuttings that I have in water and their roots are now so long.
I figured that I needed to plant them as soon as possible so they can grow well… and before they die off.
I also found a Pink Geranium on a shopping cart at our local Lowe’s parking lot. It must have broken off when they loaded their plant into their car.
Here are all the cutting planted in reused plastic drinking cups.
It’s that time of the year that I dread, when I have to start taking Coleus cuttings. It’s not that I hate doing it, but it takes a while (I think I have over 80 varieties now) and it means that the Coleus in the pots will start to die as it gets colder :(.
The weather forecast says that cold weather is coming, so I have to get this done by tomorrow. I started soaking/expanding two trays of jumbo size Jiffy Peat Pellets.
Each tray (which are really reused plastic drawers) holds 35 peat pellets nicely.
I took photos of each Coleus before taking cuttings. I took extra cuttings of some of my prized ones that I either grew from seed or is hard to find. I totalled 35 cuttings today and have two more batches that I will do tomorrow.
I just placed an order at Rosy Dawn Gardens for some Coleus for 2012. I ordered:
– Sedona
– Plum Frost
– Ruby Laser
– Flamingo
– Florida Inferno
– Diane’s Gold
– Trailing Plum Brocade
– Saturn
– Saturn’s Rings
– I also placed a special request for Tilt-a-Whirl if it becomes available.
I’ve have most of these in the past except for Ruby Laser and Florida Inferno, which are new to me. I should be getting these around May 14, 2012.
I just heard on the news that some cities in the Bay Area may have near freezing temperatures tonight. Oh man! I’m not even for cold weather yet… I haven’t even taken cuttings from my Coleus to overwinter indoor… and I’m almost out of Jiffy Jumbo Pellets so I have to get more.
Went to a couple nurseries and big-box home improvement stores looking for 1/4 inch drip irrigation tubing with emitters spaced 6 inches apart. I didn’t find any but got a couple of plants.
I got the following from Mid City Nursery:
– Celery 
6 cell-pack (I’ve never grown Celery, except for the Asian Leaf types)
– Red Russian Kale 6 cell-pack
– Tree Collard 4 inch pot with 2 plants which I later divided into two pots 
– Coleus ‘Dark Star’
– Coleus ‘Big Chief’
I also bought a bag of Bonsai Mix which I will try making some String Balls planters with.
As I putting things away in the patio, I found a box that contained Gladiolus, Dahlia and Asiatic Lily bulb/tuber/corms that my brother bought at clearance a month or two ago. They were not in good condition, but I thought I would go ahead and plant them just incase I can save them.
The plants included:
– Asiatic Lily ‘Stargazer’
– Dahlia ‘Heat Wave’
– Gladiolus ‘Wigs Sensation’
– Gladiolus ‘Pastel Mixed’
I didn’t do much gardening, but I planted the 6-pack of Green Swiss Chard into three half squares in back of the Lemon Cucumbers. I think I will plant either some Bush Beans or another summer greens in the other halves of the three squares.
I also moved some of the Coleus pots I planted a few days ago into the front patio.
Which reminds me… I need to do some research and find out if there are green leafy vegetables that will grow in the summer time… since I believe most greens like Kale, Bok Choy, Mustard, etc. like the cool weather. Any suggestions?
[Update]
I found a couple sites that have some good ideas:
– Veggie Gardening Tips: Top Ten Leafy Greens for Summer Gardens
– Mother Earth News: Spinach Alternatives: Warm Weather Salad Greens
This morning, I went to the Berkeley Rose Garden to meet up with some members of the East Bay Modern Quilting Guild to take photos of some quilts. It was my first time at the Berkeley Rose Garden and they had tons of roses. I saw Cyn, Lauren with her two kids and Margaret. I didn’t have any of my own quilts but took some photos of theirs.
Afterwards, I stuck around and shot some photos of the Roses and other plants around the garden. It was a beautiful warm day… but I kept dropping my camera lenses! Argh!
I then passed by Westbrae Nursery and picked up two Coleus: Coleus ‘Mozaik Thin Mint’ and Coleus ‘Mozaik Lava Red’ . I also saw a pretty double Spidery Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum maximum ‘Aglaya’) .
Before going back home, I also passed by Complete Garden Supply and purchased more cheap basic black pots (1, 2 and 3 galloon sizes) and some 10×10 trays.
Young Coleus (Unknown 2011-01) purchased at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery. Most of the plant rotted for some reason, but there is still a little bit left that survived.