Elmer's Brother

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2008/7/29

Bougainvillea Summer - A love, hate relationship

@ 02:28 PM (1 month, 7 days ago)

I have mixed emotions about these plants. They do have pretty flowers but they sure are a pain to clean up. Since I am the sole gardener in the house, I often want to scream when I have to clean up those loose flowers. Not to mention they grow like weed. 

I should let my wife take care of them. She runs a hospice for house plants. Seriously. When she takes care of plants they come to our house to die. One time I came home from work to find this very nice looking ivy of some sort in a pot on our kitchen table. I was starting to feel sorry for it when I asked my wife how much money we wasted on it. She said $15.

Then I learned it was plastic.

 Big sigh.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c358/elmersbrother1203/P7290044.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c358/elmersbrother1203/P7290042.jpg

One of my lantanas is getting overtaken, so I'm moving it and a pittosporum.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c358/elmersbrother1203/P7290049.jpg

 

Comment(s) »

  1. What happens if you stop watering them?

    BG

    Comment by Barry G.— 2008/07/29 @ 03:23 PM — (Reply)

  2. Barry I've had friends who have pulled them out with pick up trucks...roots and all thinking they killed them...they still came back.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/29 @ 03:28 PM — (Reply)

  3. I have 4. 1 yellow and 3 red. I left them in an outside grouping with other plants for the winter. They all 4 died. I was dumping the pots into a mix and left them there. They all began re sprouting and now I have all 4 back again. Now if I could just get my dead roses to do the same I would feel like a real gardener !

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 05:14 AM — (Reply)

  4. Gas? Fire?

    Comment by Ed— 2008/07/29 @ 03:59 PM — (Reply)

  5. dynamite?

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/29 @ 05:12 PM — (Reply)

  6. ive seen them tree sized in cancun,,,,,,absolutly stunning....but watch out for the wicked thorns.....lol...riff

    Comment by riffran— 2008/07/29 @ 07:07 PM — (Reply)

  7. yeah even when you trim them they are a pain riff

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/29 @ 07:52 PM — (Reply)

  8. But, they are SO BEAUTIFUL!!(spoken like the first woman on this thread, right? I can't help it......) Keep the bushes and keep sweeping...that's my vote!

    Comment by Z— 2008/07/30 @ 04:46 AM — (Reply)

  9. Riff I went to Spain once and they have some very large ones there as well.

    Z, easy for you to say...you just have to look at them.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 05:06 AM — (Reply)

  10. I haven't ever seen a yellow flowered one Jim. Do you have any pics?

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 05:20 AM — (Reply)

  11. Unfortunately No.

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 07:40 AM — (Reply)

  12. They are beautiful.

    Tell your wife I feel her pain; my black thumb is notorious. Once, Dave let me water a dead plant that had dried out and looked nice twice a week for a month. Finally he says, "You know that thing is dead, right?"

    Yeah.

    Comment by Brooke— 2008/07/30 @ 07:13 AM — (Reply)

  13. what pain? She's the hospice worker...it's the plants that suffer. That's why I take care of the yard. I thought I almost killed our cocktail tree last year by over fertilizing it. It made me heartsick. Fortunately it recovered. I just haven't figured out how to trim it yet.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 07:21 AM — (Reply)

  14. I your Pittisporum the variegated variety ?

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 07:41 AM — (Reply)

  15. I'm not sure Jim. They have long thin leaves and dark purple flowers. I'll post a picture. Perhaps you can tell from it.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 07:53 AM — (Reply)

  16. I have been trying to propagate the Variegata from tip cuttings and they dont take well. I'm told they are propagated from tissue cuttings instead. Do you also have oleander ?

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 08:53 AM — (Reply)

  17. jim do you know what variety this is? This is a pic of one of my pittisporum

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 09:22 AM — (Reply)

  18. Looks like Mexican Petunia. Mine are pinkish in color and the leaves are darker but have the same long, serrated leaf margin.

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 09:29 AM — (Reply)

  19. is it a variety of pittisporum or a different type plant altogether?

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 09:33 AM — (Reply)

  20. Have you ever propagated by making a cutting and planting? or by rhizome?

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 09:42 AM — (Reply)

  21. I'm doing Rhizone now. Keeping up with the watering is whats hard. if youre in a sever drought envoriment forget St. Augustine grass. Once you have youre Rhizone venturing out they only go for the water ! There in lays the trick, Water and lot of it !

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 10:22 AM — (Reply)

  22. I think mine are of the dwarf variety

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 09:34 AM — (Reply)

  23. "I should let my wife take care of them."

    There you go! Problem solved!:grin:

    Comment by EDGE— 2008/07/30 @ 08:30 AM — (Reply)

  24. edge - like I said it's a LOVE hate relationship

    I don't have any oleander Jim

    I have 3 desert sages, four succulents (two varieties), a cocktail tree, a texas ficus tree, 3 bougainvileas, 3 pittisporums and 3 lantanas...this is in the back yard

    in the front I have a Chilean mesquite tree, it too grows like a weed...it's all I can do to keep up with trimming that beast

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 09:08 AM — (Reply)

  25. You have enough to keep you busy. I have Purple texas Sage in bloom now. along with purple Neons and Perry Winkle and Althea (aka Rose of Sharon)

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 10:26 AM — (Reply)

  26. sounds nice Jim. I have a drip system that I can expand easily. You've made me think that maybe I'd like a few more of the Mexican Petunias in my yard. I like them.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/07/30 @ 10:29 AM — (Reply)

  27. When the flower, Ah hummm, Wiltith and Fadeth Away. The seed is inside the flower and where ever it falls and finally lodges after the rains come. It will propagate a new plant in the spring.

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 10:40 AM — (Reply)

  28. How could i forget Crepe myrtyl

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 01:16 PM — (Reply)

  29. Your leaves arent serrated and niether are mine. It was the picture elements that made it appeared serrated.

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 10:28 AM — (Reply)

  30. Prepare your beds accordingly. Predict and arrange how your drainage affects the bed after watering. Look for oportunities to create stairstep drainage and you will trap many of your seeds.

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 10:43 AM — (Reply)

  31. Varigated Pittisporum

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 12:40 PM — (Reply)

  32. apparently it didnt post.

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 12:41 PM — (Reply)

  33. Mexican Petunia

    Comment by jim— 2008/07/30 @ 12:43 PM — (Reply)

  34. keep sweepin' ElBro! I love bouganvilla!
    I killed mine, though. Mine were in a pot, didn't water enough.
    I think you should plant some zinnas, marigolds, daylilies, and irises. :grin:

    Comment by Pinky— 2008/07/30 @ 08:05 PM — (Reply)

  35. oops, misspelled it. bougainvillea.
    there. better!

    Comment by Pinky— 2008/07/30 @ 08:07 PM — (Reply)

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