Tag: drainage

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02/10/2024 rain forecast tomorrow

That means plant moving time! (Because if it rains then I don’t have to water them.). This is one of two C. altissimum Thistles that have survived (a third seedling is up too we noticed). I’m not sure if the cold was too much in a pot, or it’s been too wet. All the undulatum seem to have died and a big chunk of texanum did too, because of those two holding too much water in pot trays. The texanum in the ground seem fine.
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07/28/2023 surprise yellow flowers

I had assumed these tall plants were Gaura longifolia but they turned out to be Oenethera rhombipetala, four-point primrose! I did put seed out last winter. There are multiple plants! They are supposed to be self incompatible so hopefully they can reseed. (A few years ago I had just one plant come up and it didn’t reseed for that reason. This is from
new seeds.). I think they must bloom sometime after midnight but before 5am (my range of dog taking out times) because seed pods keep forming yet I only see spent flowers.
07/28 a flower done blooming was missing two petals.
07/28. The leaves.
A mystery plant in a small pot has turned out to be Ludwigia alternifolia! I collected the seeds locally because of its intriguing square seed pods. We have since planted the 4-5 plants near a rain barrel and a swamp milkweed plant, as it likes occasional moisture. The habitat I got it from was a dry wash leading to a lake, so I think it is pretty flexible in that requirement, but a wash definitely collects together more moisture than a flat open area. I believe Mom said she’s seen it in similar places. Happily, it is a perennial.

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06/11/2023 straggler photos

A seedling Virginia creeper. This is by the dining room window.
At the rescue prairie today I took a clump of Cladonia (probably C. peziziforma?) reminder: we only took wild organisms because the land is slated to be built on, and with permission.
And some adjacent moss. Both the lichen and the moss were on sand at the base of a tree, shaded, so I put them in the concrete blocks (for good drainage) in the shady end of the prairie.
Paula has worked hard to remove bermudagrass and other non native intruders from our buffalograss at the edge of our property. She seeded it a few days ago. Today I connected the soaker hose that she had laid out.
The hose was a bit too long so I looped the extra by the Mexican sage and showy milkweed.
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06/10/2023 baby cactus repotting

Paula felt the baby Coryphantha sulcata cacti were not getting good drainage in their sprouting trays.
So, she repotted them into slightly bigger pots that all have drain holes!
Gram helped by laying in the plant window, taking over Shackleton’s spot temporarily.
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05/04/2023 big long soaking rain

We got 2.75” in less than 24 hours!
Missouri Fluttermill primrose baby survived pouring rain even under the rain barrel!
Left seedling is Winecup and upper right seedling is Astragalus crassicarpus!
Two possible yuccas in the green section.
Not a milkweed
Not a milkweed?
Maybe a milkweed
Known milkweed (probably viridiflora)
The skinny adult leaves of known milkweed. New book The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants by Diboll and Cox mentions many milkweeds first adult leaves are skinny even if the eventual adult leaves are broad. Either that or I got the species wrong.
One of two Blackfoot daisy survived earwigs and is now growing flower buds and a few new leaves!
Perennial coreopsis begins!
Briar was pretty miffed it rained HARD most of the day. So before our walk she curled up in disgust right on my big Liatris mucronata from home. Thanks.

The Mexican Sage from Judy is up!
A sedge?
Partridge pea
Oldplainsman
Mystery
Caliche planter babies
The tomatoes have gotten a bit sunburnt from past rain with sunlight after, so this time I flicked water off and put them in a less intensely sunny spot. Trying to get them hardened off for planting.
Like Briar, Shacks was disappointed by rain and not being out. Paula brought him some favorite juicy grass and he loved it.
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08/07/2022 bulb time

Wild Hyacinth bulbs arrived in the mail yesterday!
We planted the three bulbs in a little crescent along the edge of this drier strawberry/honeyberry bed, and reinforced the dirt berm to trap a little extra water. Prairie Moon Nursery says they like medium-dry at most, but will generally do okay if it’s wet during the bloom time (which is usually our rain times).
New earwig… We saw it moving around as we dug into the hard packed dry soil! It was somewhere between 2-6″ down. Just as bone dry the whole way. It swam across the water mud as we watered in the new bulbs. Hoping it might be a native one but waiting on what inaturalist or friends say.
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Heavens opening

Mesonet says 2.03″ rain today for Norman.
Paula and I took 15 min or so to try to drain some of the water off the low patio area. Hopefully this will also absorb slowly into yard. Briar moved in this picture but she spent several minutes staring at us like we were nuts. Why not either go play or go back inside? Why stand and get wet toes??
I discovered a tiny bluet in the transplanted prairie parsley!