Month: August 2010

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Royal Horticultural Society Garden Hyde Hall Flower Show: Aug 13-15, 2010

Blue stemmed thistle – RHS Hyde Hall by Scootzsx

Are readers of TheGardenLady blog going to be visiting England this month or do you live in England? Lucky you! because you have the opportunity of attending the RHS Garden Hyde Hall first-ever flower show this August 13 through the 15.  See here.

It sounds fabulous. Besides the displays there will be experts answering questions, plants and shrubs for sale besides garden items for sale. Wish I were there. If you attend, could you send TheGardenLady some photos and write something about what you thought of the show?

While at the show, if you have any time, you can also explore Hyde Hall which is a 360-acre estate with a diverse range of self-contained garden areas.  Because Hyde Hall is located in one of the driest places in England, a highlight is their Dry Garden featuring more than 4,000 plants representing 730 species and cultivars, developed to promote sustainable gardening techniques.  With the drought in so many parts of the globe this summer, it would be interesting to learn what Hyde Hall recommends.  TheGardenLady would love to know what is included in the 4,000 plants in this Dry Garden other than cactus.

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How To Decide On Whether to Grow these Kmart Plants Outdoors

Dracaena marginata blooming by our Bamboo Gate by jungle mama

TheGardenLady received this question from Luella.

I bought some plants from Kmart a few weeks ago and I was wondering if I could plant them outside. I have a mother-in-law’s tongue, a drac marg (whatever that is), and what I believe is a rubber tree.

You did not tell me where you live for TheGardenLady to know if you can grow them outdoors. The plants that you bought do not tolerate any frost or snow or they will die. Since you bought them at Kmart, I imagine you live in an area that cannot grow them outdoors. All three plants that you bought are considered ornamental indoor plants in most of the continental United States.

Dracaena marginata comes from Madigascar. If you live in the plant hardiness zones 9 and 10 you could grow it outdoors.

The rubber tree, also known as a Ficus elastica, will grow outdoors in  hardiness zones 10 or 11. Hawaii is in these zones. In a pot, the Ficus remains manageable but these plants can become really huge trees that can grow up to 50 feet tall.  So even if you lived in a zone where the Rubber Tree would live outdoors, I doubt that you would have enough land to grow such a large tree. But don’t worry about its getting too big in your house. When grown in a pot the Rubber tree should only grow about 10 feet tall.

If you live in California and some other hot areas of the US, you might be able to grow the Mother-In-Law’s Tongue plant, Sansevieria, outdoors. You need to live in Plant Hardiness Zone 8 or higher.

Check the Hardiness Zone you live in to see which plants you can grow outdoors.

Even if you can’t plant these three plants outdoors permanently,  know that during the hot summer months you can take all three plants outdoors in their pots.  They love hot weather.  But you must bring them in before the first frost or they will die.

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Don’t Expect Delicious Avocados If They Have Been Grown From Seed

Avocados growing from seed by joeesabol

Jonathan from California has an avocado tree growing nicely in a pot on his deck.  He asked if this avocado tree that he has raised for many years from the pit of a delicious avocado he used in a salad will ever bear fruit if he were to plant it in a garden.

Sadly, Jon, the answer is probably not and if it does produce fruit, you might not want to eat it. “Avocados grown from seed rarely produce fruit before 8 – 10 years, and such fruit may be of poor quality. Commercial avocado orchards are planted with budded or grafted trees of named varieties of known fruit quality.”  See here.

So enjoy your avocado tree as a house plant.  If you do get a garden large enough to grow an avocado tree, buy a grafted one that is guaranteed to produce delicious avocados. But you have to have a fairly large garden because avocado trees can grow quite large and have large strong roots.  See here.