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Mutant in paradise... Mutant in paradise...

Mutant in paradise...

Last season I ramped up my brugmansia hybridizing efforts using brugmansias with mutant and deeply serrated foliage.  The results of those...

Fred's Garden Blog

After a nearly five year hiatus, Fred's Garden Blog is back! Now you can enjoy and experience the gardening exploits and adventures of Fred in his quest to hybridize brugmansia and keep his jungle and nursery under control.

Sommer Gardens / Sunday, May 30, 2010 / Categories: Brugmansia, Reflections, Seedlings, Ramblings

Weeds, weeds and more weeds....

With many of my potted brugmansia seedlings frozen back to ground level, I had to take a wait and see approach to see which ones would live on and sprout back.  After cutting the frozen plants back to the ground, the soil surface was now exposed to bright sunlight and an influx of weed seeds from a neighboring field.  Normally I would apply some pre-emergent weed preventative on the surface, but I was afraid that may interfere with the plants ability to sprout back from the roots.  I tried to stay on top of my weeding so any newly sprouted weeds would not have a chance to get established, but unfortunately my real job got in the way.  As a result, I ended with some very healthy patches of weeds this spring.

weeds-before.jpgThe weeds were definitely gaining the upper hand and were growing faster than the brugs.  It was time for action!  .   

weeds-before2.jpgAs soon as I had an open weekend, I brought in a worker and we went to work.  After two twelve hour days, the end was finally in sight.  Pictured below is the result of our labor, one of the three, five foot tall piles of weeds we generated.

weedpile.jpgNow my older brugmansia seedlings have room to breath and grow.  A few weeks ago they received a nice dose of fertilizer and they are rebounding nicely.  Some are even forming buds, no doubt to reward me for the special care.  :)

weeded brugmansia.jpgThis group of seedlings was in bloom last fall.  Now, thanks to our severe winter, they are at a fraction of their original size,  They have some growing to do before they start surprising me with blooms.  This was the last group of gallon size seedlings I have growing directly on the ground.  Starting last spring most of my seedlings are growing on ground cloth.

The work never ends...




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