#kihakugatogardenposts

F*CKING MASSIVE ROSE

Ignore unhinged jaw of my face I wasn’t planning to be in the shot. Y’know when I said “the Canadian Explorer Rose will be the T-rex of the plant relocation/rescue project” I DIDN’T REALIZE HOW ON THE MARK I’D BE ON THAT DISTINCTION! She’s fucking HUGE! Also hellishly thorny just like grandma rugosa, I actually had to get my gloves out to be able to lug her up (I was stubborn about NOT getting the gloves till that point. Much yelping had ensued beforehand). A lot of her full size was concealed by the overgrowth of weeds where she resided. Such a contrast to the other hybrid rose (which is a Hybrid Tea) which barely reaches my knee, THIS rose could reach my waist+ if propped up. In Canada this size is not unusual for many species roses, but for a lovely hybrid rose this is something I am not the least bit used to, even after having this girl for as long as I’ve had.

Unfortunately as you may have noticed from the photos though; not a lot of roots came up with the rest of her, which is bad, really bad for such a monster (ESPECIALLY if one is transplanting in MID FREAKING SUMMER). So after these photos were taken I took to pruning two thirds of her (which may still not be a liberal enough of a prune-out) which should hopefully make up for lack of roots. I’m hoping her Rugosa background gives her the edge to take to the new flowerbeds (more on that another time) and bounce back, though that does not entirely keep my confidence as I have never had luck with transplanting Rugosas either.

Fingers crossed she makes it through the summer, but if not I at least know which group of Rose hybrids I will seek once again; Canadian Explorer roses all the way.

Christmas Greetings from the December blooming Schlumbergeras Photographed December 7th, 10th, & 13th, 2017

Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) Germination Photographed 2018

Hatiora gaertneri flowers Photographed February 16 2018

First Houseplant rebloomings Photographed November 31st 2017

Tired plants in the New Living Room in the new House addition, Photographed October 9th 2017

No watermarks, no super high photo quality (from here on out I can no longer guarantee my “update” photos will be perfect quality, the phone isn’t exactly a stellar platform for quality over here), but I said I’d post my own content so posting I am.

Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) seed sown into a Windowbox planter, Photographed January 7th 2018

Have I mentioned that I’m surprised I got any seeds at all from stratford cause of how late in the season the harvest was? Cause I’m still floored I even got so many seeds. Little behind schedule again with seed sowing (I was gonna sow these guys back at the start of 2017 Christmas holidays) but nonetheless in the window of time I’d still prefer to get them their kickstart. Katsura are reputably tender to winter freezes/frosts when young so getting them started now will give them a better chance of survival for the next winter. Window boxes to put it bluntly have very poor drainage for seedlings so most window boxes I’ve been using I’ve been drilling holes into them like patterned swiss cheese to give lots of consistent drainage for when I start watering the trays more routinely. Ngl I’ve been doing the “is there sprouts yet?” checking ever since I sowed these up.

Bigleaf Magnolia (M. macrophylla) Seed Cones Collected Oct. 13th Photographed Oct. 16th 2017

In the past I’ve done Magnolia acuminata, M. tripetala, M. virginiana, and even M. soulangeana, but Magnolia macrophylla is a first for me (honestly save for M. acuminata, I’ve attempted to grow all of these listed species only once with varying success).

This was actually the only species Magnolia in Cuddy Gardens that still had seeds in their cones this year! It could very well be that some of them just weren’t gonna fruit this year or had otherwise long since dispersed their seeds. I feel like a doof to not have recognized this species w/o help but now that I’ve seen it I won’t be forgetting the distinct features again.