Blooms, Transplants and Acquisitions

Despite above average temps, the roses are still valiantly blooming, although sparsely, and the poor Anna apple is confused, as it's reblooming, which it's done before, but never in August.

Clmbing America

Climbing Don Juan, looking a little crispy around the edges.

Can't remember the name of this rose.

Iceberg rose

Mini roses; these were dark red in Spring.

Apple blossoms in August!!

The surviving Cel's agave Agave celsii that was planted in the wheelbarrow succulent garden on 7/25/12 has tripled in size and gotten so big it was crowding out it's neighbors, so it got transplanted into a pot and now resides on a hanging shelf along with the cactus I got from my neighbor last year and some aloe I found for free on Craigslist.

Cel's Agave, Agave celsii

My succulent shelf

I also transplanted three 3-year old clumps of sage into the ladder planted, as they were planted where I plan on adding more raised beds for veggies.  I gave them a severe pruning, as they were getting leggy, and fully expect them to thrive in their new location.

One of three clumps of sage transplanted to the ladder planter.

I also was finally able to transplant the tiny unknown Kalanchoes I got at the Spring Swap, as they finally got big enough to be confident that they'll survive.  I potted them up in a vintage frog planter, which looks great on the plant bench on the front porch.

Unknown Kalanchoe in a frog planter.

I recently spent some time on my lunch hour visiting two local nurseries near the office and found an unknown Stapelia, which I added to my collection.  I also went to WalMart and found some canna 'Tropicana' on clearance for $3, so it came home and got repotted today.  Eventually, I'll transplant them to a new bed I'll dig when the weather cools.

When I bought this it was marked "Stapelia sp.".

Canna 'Trpoicana'

Lastly, while searching for new Stapelias, I also checked out the bonsai section at each nursery and at one I found an Elephant Food, Portulacaria afra, that had been made into a bonsai and was priced well over $100.  Since I already have a nice specimen on my front porch, I decided to take a cutting to create my own bonsai at no cost, making sure to get a cutting with some girth to get the desired effect without having to wait years for the trunk to fill out.  Once it roots, I'll pot it into a bonsai pot and then decide what style of bonsai to create.

Future bonsai