Planting: Annuals & Agaves

I typically plant several pots in my backyard with green-leafed, red-flowering Begonias.  But for some reason, this year, I had a very hard time finding that Begonia flavor.  So I eventually gave in and got a variety of different annuals potted.

White-flowering Begonias

(Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum)

 Polka-dot Plant

(Hypoestes phyllostachya)

Coleus

(Solenostemon scutellarioides variety)

 Coleus 'Carefree Mix'

 (Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Carefree Mix')

Coleus 'Dijon'

Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Dijon'

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 And I finally got around to planting a couple of special Agaves.

Agave 'Joe Hoak'

 

Agave guiengola 'Creme Brulee'

Unfortunately, neither of these Agave varieties are completely cold-hardy here in Austin, so I'll likely need to protect or greenhouse them during the winter.

Planting Plants

It's been Agave planting time.  At the top of my backyard path, I placed a White Striped Century Plant (Agave americana var. medio-picta f. alba) into a pot to become the vocal point and add a splash of brightness there.

In the middle level of my Three Tiers Bed, I added three Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor' to repeat the colors found in the recently planted Yucca 'Color Guard' (Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard').  This combination replaces the Agaves and Dyckias I lost to last winter's late hard freeze.

On the lowest level of Three Tiers, I replaced another Agave freeze victim with Agave 'Cream Spike'.

I also added some more Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red' to the same bed as before - so that should complete the front of that bed.

Harsh Winter: Survivors & Losses

This past winter, I decided to let all of my in-ground plants (except my 20 year old Sagos) & most of my potted Agaves, Yuccas and Dyckias attempt survival without any assistance from me.  The winter had several cold fronts, often reaching the low 20s.  My plants had fared quite well up until the very last front (which happened to come after a strong warm-up, thus fooling many of the plants).  But that last one did the damage and weeded out the tough ones from those that were borderline.

I've been waiting to see if any resprouted or if they simply rotted. The results are in.

Variegated Thread Leaf Agave (Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito No Ohi') : Neither the in-ground or potted one survived.

The Red Billbergia (possibly Cryptbergia 'Red Burst) took severe damage, though one small sprig survives.

Aloe 'Hedgehog' (Aloe humilis 'Hedgehog'), as expected, got hammered.  No sprouts seen yet (and I'm not anticipating any).

Rattlesnake Agave (Manfreda maculosa) always dies back to the ground with any freeze and then returns.

The hanging basket of Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor' actually fared quite well.  There was some minor damage (already removed) but considering how exposed it was, I'm quite pleased.

Manfreda 'Macho Mocha' (Manfreda x Mangave 'Macho Mocha') took some definite damage (already removed) but will easily recover.

Pale-leaf Yucca (Yucca pallida) showed no ill effects at all.

Both the in-ground and potted Agave 'Blue Glow' suffered some damage (mainly to lower leaves), but both survived.

Dyckia brevifolia 'Moon Glow' got diminished, but still has some green growth.

The potted Dyckia 'Nickel Silver' suffered some minor damage, but appears to have pulled through.

Not surprised to see that the potted Red Yucca's (Hesperaloe parviflora) suffered no ill effects.

All of the potted and in-ground Soap Aloe (Aloe maculata), of which I have many, turned to mush.

I had hopes that perhaps the in-ground ones would return from sprouts, and I was pleased to discover that under all the rotting leaves, growth was returning.

Sometimes, even the center of the plant survived and was producing new growth.

Soft-leafed yucca (Yucca recurvifolia) did just fine.

The 'Cherry Coke' Dyckia produced mixed results.  The one planted in the backyard (with some tree cover) only had minor leaf damage.

But the two more-exposed, front yard specimens were severely burned, though small sprouts are visible on at least one of them.

I was surprised that the Twin-flowered Agave (Agave geminiflora) was killed by the low temperatures.

But was completely unsurprised that the Calamar Squid Agave (Agave bracteosa 'Calamar') were unscathed.

Potting & Re-potting

I had already placed one of my two Variegated Thread Leaf Agave (Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito No Ohi') into the lower level of my Three Tiers Garden, and have been hunting for just the right pot for the remaining one.

I finally found one I liked (and was priced right!) and got the agave planted and the pot placed out in the garden.

Next I had a couple of Moth Orchids (Phalaenopsis sp.) that were outgrowing their pots.  At least a couple of inches of bare stem with several aerial roots were exposed on both.

I found pots that were only slightly larger and gathered white packing peanuts (Moth Orchids are reported to like them), previously soaked orchid mix and scissors.

 

I removed the existed potting mix and snipped away any dead roots.  I was happy to see that most of the roots were in good shape.  (I also discovered a buried tag on the one pictured identifying it as the variety Exotic Lady.)

 

Then I returned the orchids to their pots, buried the roots and packed them in with the fresh orchid mix.

 

This is only my second attempt at re-potting Moth Orchids, so hopefully it will work out well.  Time will tell.

Still Planting

Summer has arrived and temperatures are breaking into triple digits, but I'm still trying to get some plants into the ground and then hope to baby them through the remainder of the summer.

A couple of years back, I had planted several Autumn Ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora) between the Cast Iron Plants (Aspidistra elatior) and the bed's rock border, but the ongoing drought hammered them into submission.  So I decided to try planting five Wavy Scaly Cloakferns (Astrolepis sinuata) as they are rumored to handle low water conditions better.

Before

After

Then I transplanted four Soap Aloe (Aloe maculata) pups along the highest point of the top level of my Three Tiers Bed.  I had originally planned on placing a couple of Agaves here, but tree roots prevented me from replacing the original soil with enough good drainage for them.

Instead, I placed one of the Variegated Thread Leaf Agave (Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito No Ohi') into the front of the lowest level tier where one of my Agave 'Blue Glow' had died.  I have one Agave left and will likely place it into a pot.