Vexing Vines

I decided that no matter what I was going to get the clematis planted this last weekend, which meant that I had to finish leveling the gazebo. It was difficult since it has been raining almost everyday for a week, but I got it done Saturday morning.

When I brought the clematis out to plant, the Comtesse de Bouchard all had some sort of fungus, even though the Blue Ravine right next to them were unscathed. I went to the nursery to ask if they had a fungicide I could use on them and they told me to bring them in for an exchange instead. I know you are going to say that was nice of them but actually they were quite snotty about it even though I never asked them to do it. They only had two though, so I got a refund for the third.

I have never bought a potted vine with a mini trellis before. I seriously suggest that they include instructions with these things! I started with the Comtesse since I really wanted to get them planted to avoid the fungus problem. I nearly destroyed one and did destroy the other trying to get the damn trellis unhooked from the pot so I could get the plant out. My suggestion with this set up is to cut the pot to release the trellis hooks from the bottom, take the plant and trellis out together, plant the vine, and if you want to remove the trellis - clip the vine free with sharp mini pruners. Oh, and you'll probably want a second person to help hold things. It was a nightmare.

Just as two years ago when I knocked a hibiscus shoot off the plant, I quickly acted to make cuttings. I have 6 of them and I tried all three ways that I read about. Something HAS to take, right? We'll see.

The oak I transplanted on Mother's Day is still alive. It looks like we will be losing the very top two branches, but everything else is looking pretty good. I figure that since it is three weeks in, that tree just might make it. Yay!

The pear that I transplanted this spring didn't even seem to notice that it had been moved. It never wilted at all, bloomed profusely, and is now covered by about three dozen pears! It had over four dozen, but I clipped off over a dozen of the smallest pears to keep the tree from over-working itself. This tree is only a few years old and barely taller than I am and was recently transplanted but still manages to crank out dozens of fruit - what a trooper!

My Tiffany tea rose made it another year. See my pretty toes?


Here is the rodgersia flower in full bloom. Not bad, huh? This will look really nice when there are a bunch of them blooming at once.