You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
I have a south facing chain link fence I'd like to grow a dense windbreak vine on. Water isn't a problem, but it must withstand strong dry winds, and some cold (10degrees+) nights. I had given up hope, the ones I have tried have died, but I saw one recently while on a walk. It had the curling tips like a grape vine, but the leaves were different, and there were some tiny green bunches of berries-not grape, I know what those look like. Does anyone have any idea what that was, or have advice on a hardy vine that would grow in zone 8 (I think) and at a high elevation of 4200 ft?
Thanks,
Julia
I don't know what the vine is that you saw, but you might look into Solanum jasminoides. I'm not sure on the hardiness, Plant Files lists it to zone 8 though so it hopefully should be OK. It is a very robust vine and holds up fine in the wind/sun here. [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
I'd love to be able to grow any kind of jasmine, I will give that one a try. I think I will take a pic of the vine I saw and post it. I also am trying to find out the official name of these awful weeds I have always called Mustard weeds, but I can't seem to find the exact one when I Google it. They keep saying all these varieties are edible (at last, SOMETHING I can do with this stuff) but I don't want to try it until I know for sure.
Thank you for the quick response-
Julia
Don't let the jasminoides species name fool you, it's not a jasmine (or even especially closely related to them) and the flowers aren't fragrant. I'm really not sure where that species name came from, although I notice in Plant Files they list it with the primary name Solanum laxum so maybe someone decided it was misleading and changed the name! Most nurseries around here still call it S. jasminoides on the label though, that's why I gave you that name.
Here are the weedy mustards of California...I think Brassica rapa is the one that's most common up here, but by you it may be a different one, or you may have more than one. [HYPERLINK@www.calflora.org]
Yep, I think that is the one! Ours don't look that full and healthy, I think because the soil is very rocky, mostly decomposed granite, and clay. I still can't imagine boiling up one and eating it, but then, there's a first time for everything! I might just use them for a layer in my mulch pile, too. I know the seeds would re-sprout, but right now I'm just trying to find stuff to amend the soil with, and that stuff is everywhere.
I talked to the owner-turns out I knew him from around town! and he says it is a Virginia creeper.
I have a pot bellied pig, I use his poo for the compost. Right now he is creating just enough to feed my worm bin and keep me in stuff for the compost bin I am experimenting with. I have heard that horse manure might have the dewormer in it that would damage the natural organisms, so I am a little wary about that.
I haven't gotten the horse manure yet... I have to cross fence first, to keep my dogs out of it. They are parasite-free, and it was VERY difficult to get them that way. I don't want them eating ANY manure!
I don't know about the dewormer in the horse poo damaging natural organisms - we'll have to find out about that.
Rosewynd-
If you want to see the Virginia Creeper in full effect drive down Contreras past the bank, and I think its the second or third house. You'll know you've found it because you can't see anything but that vine covering the front of the property.
Thanks for the word on Lizzie Ann's, I'll check it out this weekend.
I have bought two Virginia Creepers, a Honeysuckle, and a Jasmine, and they are all doing great. But the Creepers have already grown about 6 inches in the 3 weeks they've been planted, so I'm very happy with this experiment.
Try soaking the 'rock' for a day, dig out the wet stuff, resoak, etc. I have managed to get some good sized planting holes that way, when it seemed hopeless.
Now is a challenging time of year to plant, summer is the worst season for planting things so you'll have a much better success rate with your plants (and much less time/effort/stress for you) if you wait until cooler rainy weather to plant them. I suspect your summers are hotter than mine, and even here my success rate with things that I plant during the summer is less than stellar unless it's a fairly shade area of the garden, in which case I've had just as good luck as any other time of year. You can be successful with some plants even in the summer so go ahead and try it if you really can't wait, but be prepared that you may lose more of them than if you planted at a more appropriate time of year.
It's been in the 80s this week - and I know next month will be HOT, but... I'll just have to watch carefully, and shadescreen if necessary. I have two Lady Bank's Roses that HAVE to get out of their pots.
If you can provide shade for them that helps tremendously, it's the combo of heat plus full sun that tends to be particularly deadly, so if you can eliminate one or the other then your odds are much improved!
