How about a gardening thread?

[Odile]

You are so welcome - but for those of us living in the mountains, gardening has been put to bed until Easter (if we are lucky) Talk again when Spring comes.

[argus]

	Quote:	savishj
	Finally, Even after so many posts. Is the tread created or not ? This thread will be the very useful stuff. I am new to gardening and it is difficult to find good advise for local plants, dünger(fertilisers), cutting grass, caring, when to give and what to take care etc to suit local soil, and weather in English. Most of sites and people in BauHaus and instructions are purely in German or French or Italian. Do something..

Haven't you realised this is the thread for gardening tips? Ask your questions politely here and someone might give you useful answers.

This is quite a good site to buy plants from in CH (if you have the patience to wait for plants to grow):
https://www.baldur-garten.ch/produktwelt.html

[smoky]

	Quote:	sups
	Smokey..wow a real sweet potato plant!! if it isnt ornamental would you mind sharing with me a cutting? cause trying to propagate the store bought ones are next to impossible and the ones sold in nurseries are either too late to produce a tuber or are ornamental.

Hah yes! REAL sweet potatoe plant! Last year I found some in the vege section of Migros, bought 4, (Chf5!) - cut off big ends (didn`t know exactly which end was the "root" end, propped them in glasses of water with matchsticks (like you do with an avo pip), and waited.........

Little roots appeared.

Then slowly, the pieces of S/P began to rot ...... until only ONE was left.
And I`ve been nursing it along, till it got big strong roots, then beginning of winter I put it in soil in a pot, on windowsill where it gets lots of light.

They are "tropical" plants and will die if they get too cold. So this one is in the warmest room - with fire oven - and seems very happy.

Is big and bushy now. Well, big, but not as big as in SA, just large enough to maybe get a few cuttings for planting, maybe 2 or 3......

I`ll gladly give you a piece of cutting. But HOW? It will die if sent by post! Maybe wait till Springtime when I`ve planted them and they send out long runners, then you can come visit and take some home?

[Pavanne]

While it's winter, I'm thinking of getting rid of the massive bamboo plant dominating my rather wild garden. Any tips, or should I just call in a local professional?

[Texissgirl]

Oh, I have some out of control bamboo as well. Please any tips? Poison? Really its that bad!
Thanks!

[jacek]

Any ideas how to make it more cultured & sophisticated, I mean cultivated

[argus]

	Quote:	jacek
	Any ideas how to make it more cultured & sophisticated, I mean cultivated

Ooooh, if only I had a little garden like that. I only have a 2.5m by 3.5m balcony.

In spring, if I were you, I'd start digging up a curvy flower bed - right now it has too many straight lines. Too late to put in tulip bulbs, I guess.

Find plants with contrasting textures - big leaves vs small leaves, green vs reddish leaves, long leaves or fronds vs round ones, taller plants behind lower ones, etc.

As for colour - find a theme that appeals to you: white with blue or purple, or a sweet melange of peach, pink and white. Or sunny yellows and oranges, perhaps dotted with a touch of purple here and there.

I'd go for perennials as far as possible, as opposed to annuals.

Consider one or two interesting looking planters - contrast a squat one with a vertical one. Also, do you like hanging baskets of blooms?

Try baldur-garten.ch as a starting point for suggestions of plants you might want to cultivate. Consider how much sun your garden receives, too. Good luck and have fun!

[sups]

@Argus: Had a peep in the baldur site and they ave quite a good collection. Have you ordered any plants from them and what are your experiences? I am planning an asian veg/fruit theme this year.
so far thinking of sweet potato, cucurbitae and beans, okra maybe..any other suggestions are most welcome.

[argus]

	Quote:	sups
	@Argus: Had a peep in the baldur site and they ave quite a good collection. Have you ordered any plants from them and what are your experiences? I am planning an asian veg/fruit theme this year. so far thinking of sweet potato, cucurbitae and beans, okra maybe..any other suggestions are most welcome.

Hi, Sups. Yes, I've ordered from them 2 or 3 times. I have from them a kaffirlime leaf plant which is thriving on a bright windowsill and a green banana plant which is growing well in a big pot next to the glass sliding door (needs sunlight but not the cold). No fruit yet! Might take a couple of years.

Last spring I got a blueberry plant which gave me all of 24 large berries. Hope it gets pollinated this year for more fruit. Someone mentioned I should get another blueberry plant, so it's easier for the bees to do the job.

I also bought a giant blue hosta from them but it didn't get very blue (probably too much sun) and it didn't get very big. I emailed them about it and they sent me another 3 bulbs or whatever you call those root thingies. Have to see how well they do this year.

I tried to grow lemongrass from seed but have failed thus far. Will try again outdoors in spring.

Calla lily (Picasso bi-colour) - they had 3 blooms last year, so will replant the dried root in spring and see how it goes.

The Christrosen plant I got from them had aphids, grew very slowly and required (still does) treatment (I should have complained earlier and they could've replaced it). Will only bloom next season if it survives.

I also got some tulip bulbs which are in pots of soil out on the balcony - will have to wait till April. Good luck to you with your plant plans!


On another note, is anyone else enjoying hyacinths in the house right now? I got 4 from Aldi for only 99 Rappen each and two of them are blooming already.
http://squarewithflair.blogspot.ca/2...ur-winter.html

[sups]

	Quote:	argus
	I tried to grow lemongrass from seed but have failed thus far. Will try again outdoors in spring. http://squarewithflair.blogspot.ca/2...ur-winter.html

I have heard that the store bought lemongrass stem easily roots in a vase of water, then you can plant out the rooted cutting. I was planing to do tht in near spring.

Does the kafir lime also have or produce limes on it? that would be super cool to have at home.
I am also thinking of ordering berries mostly blackberry( no no not the telecom thing) thornless variety, since we have children around.
And a Banana , which variety do you have argus?

[argus]

	Quote:	sups
	I have heard that the store bought lemongrass stem easily roots in a vase of water, then you can plant out the rooted cutting. I was planing to do tht in near spring. Does the kafir lime also have or produce limes on it? that would be super cool to have at home. I am also thinking of ordering berries mostly blackberry( no no not the telecom thing) thornless variety, since we have children around. And a Banana , which variety do you have argus?

Yes, I too have seen gardening blogs with pictures of how they make lemongrass stems grow roots in water. Might try it in spring but I wonder if the refrigerated lemongrass sold in CH is still viable.

Eventually the kaffir-lime plant will produce kaffir limes but the limes are not juicy and you grate the rind for flavour in certain dishes.

Interestingly, one friend who planted kaffir lime in California found that the new leaves lost the figure-8 shape and its fruit became smooth-skinned (kaffir limes have a ridged or distorted surface - the Chinese in Malaysia call it 'leprosy lime'!) - her boyfriend thinks the plant was cross-pollinated with a lemon tree. The rind was still very thick though and its aroma was exactly like kaffir lime.

The banana plant I bought from Baldur is Musa basjoo (Winterhart apparently; if you plant it outside in the ground, it will die down in cold weather and regrow in spring, but mine is safely in a big pot inside).
http://www.baldur-garten.ch/produkt/...en/detail.html

[Maria80205]

Hi all,

I've seen an insect around my balcony(though not lately) and I'm hoping someone can help me identify it. It is a brown flying insect, about 1.5 cm long with a hard shell and it is somewhat triangular shaped. It doesn't seem to be harming my plants and it hasn't bitten me when I shoo it out the window. I'm just curious what it is. Any ideas???

Thanks

[Maria80205]

Maybe it is a stink bug? I haven't squashed it so I can't be sure.

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	Maria80205
	Maybe it is a stink bug? I haven't squashed it so I can't be sure.

Why take a photograph and post it here (preferably un-squashed)?

[smoky]

	Quote:	argus
	Yes, I too have seen gardening blogs with pictures of how they make lemongrass stems grow roots in water. Might try it in spring but I wonder if the refrigerated lemongrass sold in CH is still viable. The banana plant I bought from Baldur is Musa basjoo (Winterhart apparently; if you plant it outside in the ground, it will die down in cold weather and regrow in spring, but mine is safely in a big pot inside). http://www.baldur-garten.ch/produkt/...en/detail.html

Interesting post. Lemon grass is a grass, and grows itself outwards from the roots, similar to bamboos. So, I`m thinking that you`d need a little nodule on the end for the roots to strike from?

My experience with Banana plants is from SA .... where once the adult plant has given fruit, it`s chopped down leaving just the stem, and then in the next season, a new plant comes up next to that stem - the old stem "feeding" the new plant. Is yours a different species of Banana? .... and if it dies down outdoors, do the roots still survive?
In the pot, does it survive right thru the winter here? Does it realy give fruit?

[argus]

	Quote:	smoky
	Interesting post. Lemon grass is a grass, and grows itself outwards from the roots, similar to bamboos. So, I`m thinking that you`d need a little nodule on the end for the roots to strike from? My experience with Banana plants is from SA .... where once the adult plant has given fruit, it`s chopped down leaving just the stem, and then in the next season, a new plant comes up next to that stem - the old stem "feeding" the new plant. Is yours a different species of Banana? .... and if it dies down outdoors, do the roots still survive? In the pot, does it survive right thru the winter here? Does it realy give fruit?

Yes, the lemongrass stalks sold in Migros and Co-op look kind of over-trimmed. Perhaps the longer ones from Asian shops will have a better chance of sprouting roots.

Well, in Malaysia, we just leave (other species of) banana trees to their own devices. They grow up and fruit, and have baby plants coming up from the underground rhizome beside the 'mother' like you said. Don't remember chopping down the oldest plant though.

The winter-hardy Musa basjoo which I have in a pot in my flat right now is commonly known as Japanese banana (but originated from southern China, apparently). I have had it since last spring, but it has yet to bear fruit.

According to Wiki, its fruit is inedible. Requires 12-24 months of warmth to flower! Which means it has a better chance of blooming as a sunny-corner apartment plant.
(However, according to Baldur, it takes up to 3 years to fruit and that it's edible.) Which is which?!

If you plant it in the ground in spring, it will flourish until the next winter. Then die down, but if you protect the area above the rhizome with mulch, it can withstand up to -15 C and reproduce a new stem or stems the following spring.

Should have bought this one perhaps:
http://www.baldur-garten.ch/produkt/...ne/detail.html

The pic I attached was taken end-October. The plant is a little bit taller now, has 9 leaves but a lighter green (perhaps because of the weak winter sunlight).

[sups]

Nice Nana, argus.
yes in fact I am planning to get the pink banana from baldur too but they will deliver it only end march...SO waiting for march.
Smoky is right, that is what they do a banana after it has finished fruiting to stimulate new pups.
also last year I saw dwarf Cavendish in coop plant section which basically means similar to Chiquita..lets see what is in store for this year.
AARRRG CAN'T WAIT TILL SPRING!!

[argus]

	Quote:	sups
	Nice Nana, argus. yes in fact I am planning to get the pink banana from baldur too but they will deliver it only end march...SO waiting for march. Smoky is right, that is what they do a banana after it has finished fruiting to stimulate new pups. also last year I saw dwarf Cavendish in coop plant section which basically means similar to Chiquita..lets see what is in store for this year. AARRRG CAN'T WAIT TILL SPRING!!

Thanks, Sups. At first I thought you were calling me a nice grandma.

If ever you have to chop down a banana plant (can't imagine doing such a terrible thing), remember to use the leaves to wrap hot coconut rice in -- it lends a wonderful aroma. Or use a section of it as a plate - banana leaf rice!

You can also scald the leaf or steam it briefly (to soften so it doesn't tear so easily) and use it to wrap up fish, curried or not, to barbeque or roast in the oven. Aromatic!

There are some legends and ghost stories involving banana stems in Malaysia, so don't chop it down while laughing gleefully.

[sups]

ARGUS!
I am already drooling..hmmm coconut rice in banana leaf! anyway this belongs to another thread. yeah me too I can't imagine chopping down a tree so exotic esp here in switzerland where such tropicals are pricey treasures.

dont worry, I wouldn't call you nana...I once misspelt Odile- oldie...so embracing

[chrissie7]

I am new to the forum and have been reading this gardening thread with great interest.

I wonder if anyone can tell me where to find good quality garden compost (for pots, etc). I've been looking for something equivalent to John Innes, but my local garden centre stocks only the basic all-purpose stuff.

Thanks!