Remember this post where I was talking about my little attempt at gardening? Good news: I haven't killed my lavender plants yet!
Side note: Are there any gardeners reading this blog? Should I be trimming the dead stems off of those plants? Looking at the photos from the last post, the flowers were purpler (it is so a word!) and fluffier then. I see some little shorty flowers coming in, so am I supposed to cut off the long ones that have already finished flowering and let the new ones grow in? (Yes, yes, I am totally clueless.)
This shot shows some of the shorter, purpler stalks that are cropping up along the bottom:
And remember my catnip? Well, the day after I made that post, I thought I had killed it for sure. It looked like this:
Ack!
So I went online to read up on it and everyone says, "Oh, catnip is so easy to grow! It's practically a weed!" Oh, thanks. But then I saw this: "It is possible to overwater it." A-ha! I had definitely done that! I asked Bill, "So what do I do now?" He looked at me and said, "Stop watering it." Duh, right? So I did that and now look at it:
Healthier than ever! (I do water it sometimes, just not as much as I started with.) I can't wait until it flowers and I can dry the 'nip for the kitties. Kaesea and Biscuit loooove catnip. Is it a popular drug-of-choice amongst the felines in your house?
Despite my lifelong aversion to plants, gardening is going pretty well for me this year. So far, at least. Oh, but wait until you see what Bill is growing in the backyard! Wow!
love,
kelly
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5 comments:
I'm no master gardener, but I'd say yes - go ahead and trim off that dead stuff. The plant no longer needs it, it'll look better, and it gets things out of the new growth's way.
. . . That logic doesn't apply to bulb plants, like tulips and daffodils, btw.
Congrats on keeping 'em alive and thriving!
Thanks for the tip! I'll trim them tonight, then go out of town for a week and see if the little sprouts have grown up while I was gone. (Yes, someone will be watering in my absence... plants need water, right? ;) )
It's always difficult for me to trim plants back -- I get so excited when they get big. But then I regret it when they get all gangly... Sigh.
The nip looks great! I have a black thumb. I have killed cactus. Apparently they need sunlight.
Yay! Your plants look terrific! Congrats on the green thumb!
Yes, yes! All flowers benefit from 'dead-heading" them. It regenerates the plant to produce more flower buds. I have a few potted Lavender plants on my front porch steps... dead-headed them a few weeks ago and now have LOTS of new flowers (yay!). Lavender also like to be in the sun. They are perennials so if you plant them in the ground they will come back next year. "P
Amy
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