Strawberry Propagation Update, Sempervivums by the Pond & Evergreens for the Hartley!
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00:00 is plant some Sempervivums around the rocks in the pond area.
00:03 And the third thing we're going to do is pot up some sweet little evergreens to
00:07 put in a little grouping, I think by the benches behind the Hartley.
00:11 It should be a really fun day. So first things first,
00:13 here are the Green Stock Gardens. This is the original tower of strawberries.
00:17 We planted up this spring.
00:18 This is the one that on September 15th we filled up with fresh soil and we took
00:23 runners from this garden and put them over here.
00:28 All of these plants were essentially free and every single one of them rooted.
00:32 They've created roots. They've created new growth.
00:35 I'm just so encouraged by how this project went. Oh,
00:40 you can even see this one.
00:41 There's an extra little baby that was just laying kind of on top of the soil.
00:45 I don't remember planting that one,
00:46 but this is a great example of how they form their roots right there. See that?
00:50 But the thing is the way we did this is the best way to ensure success of
00:55 strawberry propagation. So you've got the mother plant here,
00:58 you've got the runner you see right here, there's one of the babies along the
01:02 runner. That's a really strong one and it keeps going.
01:05 We tacked that baby down in this pocket and then there was another one at the
01:09 very end of that one runner that we put here.
01:12 So while they are forming up their roots,
01:15 they're still getting fed by the mother plant through this little stem right
01:19 here. But now that they have created their own root system,
01:23 we can clip them off the mother plant,
01:25 thus saving this plant a ton of energy because it will no longer have to supply
01:29 these babies.
01:30 And we managed to find enough runners to reach all the way around all of these
01:33 pockets. And I did leave a few extras,
01:35 which today I'm going to clip these off because it's unnecessary for these to be
01:40 here. Now. I don't want the mother plant sending energy into these.
01:43 I just save these in case some of these didn't take that way. I could, you know,
01:47 bring these over and try to fill in the gaps.
01:49 I am going to go grab my pruners so that we can cut them from the mother plants
01:53 today. Now I did go through my pile of runners because we groomed so many off of
01:58 the mother plants.
01:58 And I did pop them into some four inch containers with fresh soil. Um,
02:03 and they are in the studio. Sometimes I have them root.
02:06 It's not the best way to get them to root though.
02:09 Like I think the ratio of success to failure with that is not as great.
02:14 There they are.
02:15 They really benefit from staying connected to the mother plant until they've
02:18 kind of established themselves a little bit.
02:21 Now the ones in the studio, some of them feel firm in the soil,
02:24 but I've had to cut all the tops back, all the tops wilted. Uh,
02:28 so we'll see if they have enough energy to continue rooting and actually create
02:32 some top growth. It might take some time,
02:33 but it's only been just over a month since we did this project. Okay.
02:37 So like this one here,
02:38 we can clip this stem off and it doesn't need to be here anymore.
02:43 Now that plant is all on its own liberation. Okay,
02:49 here we go. Oh, this one even has a bloom.
02:53 Look at that. Oh, and a little fruit forming. That was fast. Okay.
02:58 I think that that side has all been disconnected. Maybe hold on.
03:02 The one left here. Hey bud,
03:06 I don't know why this feels so satisfying.
03:09 Here's a big long one right there. You don't need that.
03:15 Okay.
03:16 Hey Russell.
03:25 All right. Got it all done.
03:32 So now these can swing freely from one another. Oh,
03:36 these ones that were in between will probably benefit from having a little bit
03:39 more light. At the time that we did this project,
03:43 I gave all the strawberries Berry tone,
03:44 which I do think helps get them off to a really good start.
03:47 I'm not going to reapply that today though.
03:49 No more fertilizer for these for the rest of the season,
03:52 because I do want these to go dormant.
03:54 I don't intend on leaving them here in the greenhouse. I mean, I don't know.
03:57 I could do a little bit of digging.
03:59 I do think that their natural cycle is to go dormant for a little while,
04:02 which I kind of want to let these do just pop these out into the high tunnel
04:06 where they will be protected from any extreme temperatures since they are in
04:09 containers.
04:10 But they'll still stay relatively close to the same temperature that it is
04:15 outside. You're just all over the place today, Russell.
04:18 If I was going to keep them in the greenhouse,
04:20 trying to get more fruit production out of them,
04:22 I might give them more fertilizer at this point.
04:25 So that's it for project number one. Project number two are the Sempervivums.
04:29 And I just picked up three, one gallon size containers to start with. I don't,
04:34 well, maybe those aren't one gallon. Is that a quart? Whatever.
04:36 There's a whole bunch of rosettes here. Um,
04:39 and this is the variety black and they are hardy down to zone
04:44 three, zone three through eight, four to six inches tall,
04:48 six to eight inch spacing. Plus, you know,
04:49 they start producing babies and spread out that way.
04:52 So I thought that these would be really fun to tuck in around some of the rocks
04:55 and just start small with a few, and then we can add to it,
04:58 add more stems and more, uh, sedum next season.
05:02 Those are a few of our evergreens right there. Okay. Let's head over to the pond.
05:05 Here we are. Here's the SEMP. And this is what I'm thinking.
05:09 See these stones right here,
05:11 the area sort of in front of and around the stones,
05:14 I think might be a little bit harder to irrigate. I mean,
05:17 we can definitely run a drip tube around the base of that rock and
05:22 bring it in this way.
05:23 But I think that that will likely for the amount of water that we have to,
05:26 or the amount of time rather that we have to water everything else,
05:29 it'll be too much for this sort of area.
05:31 So I want something that does not require very much water at all.
05:35 Maybe just run off water from the things that are, you know,
05:37 planted up above it. So I'd like to try planting things like this,
05:41 and sedums around the rock areas and around kind of the border area here.
05:46 So I think starting in like right in here will be really pretty.
05:51 And that's why I only picked up three of the containers. Cause I thought,
05:54 I just want to start in small and see how I like the look of it for this
05:58 area. I want this space to feel very, uh,
06:02 sort of woodland and Sempervivums definitely, you know,
06:04 find those in the woods around here, but they are hardy here.
06:08 They can withstand our winters.
06:09 So I think if we add a little bit in here and there, it'll be really pretty.
06:12 Let me get my kneeling pad and my fork. Here we go. Yeah.
06:17 It feels like there is some moisture in this soil right here,
06:20 just from these being watered.
06:21 These are very compatible to the Russian and sage and the Semps both don't want
06:26 very much water. Let's see what these look like underneath.
06:30 You might be able to separate these two.
06:32 So if we take them apart,
06:37 we can kind of spread these out a little bit further.
06:42 So I think that's what I'll do is I'll remove all of the little ones from around
06:45 the big one and we'll plant the big one first and then fill in with the smaller
06:49 ones.
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07:32 I think it turned out pretty.
07:35 So that first container went right here,
07:38 just separated them and spread them out a little bit so that I could get kind of
07:42 the shape I wanted kind of hugging the rock. Oh, that's so pretty.
07:46 Now these will be in the full sun here in just a little bit.
07:51 They'll get full afternoon sun, which I think they will love. Uh,
07:54 but I tucked them in between these rocks,
07:56 kind of trailing them down and then there's more right up here. In fact,
08:01 this little group and this was the second container.
08:04 And then the third container are all of these right here.
08:08 Aren't those just really pretty down there?
08:10 And I have to say a little update on the Plumbego that they are just absolutely
08:14 gorgeous.
08:15 I wouldn't mind spreading this type of perennial everywhere.
08:20 It's starting to get a little bit of red color, red fall color,
08:24 a little bit more on that side, but the blue blooms are so gorgeous.
08:29 Let's check on the fish. There's a couple, a couple up there. Oh,
08:34 I just saw the frog.
08:35 The frogs take off real quick when we approach the pond.
08:40 I think they think I'm going to feed them.
08:47 Let's see if we can see the shark down in there.
08:54 Oh, yep. It's in the shadows, but I can see it right down at the bottom.
08:58 I swear I am counting 11. I thought there were only 10 in there. Yeah,
09:05 there are 11 Koi in there. I was sure we only had 10.
09:07 We had six to start off with and then Greg brought four.
09:11 They're too, it's too big to have been a baby. Oh, that's weird.
09:20 Okay. Now we're going to go gather up some containers.
09:22 I did pick up a few more evergreens on my way over here with the Sempervivums.
09:26 So I don't think about, maybe, maybe we'll plant all of these. We may not.
09:31 There's a really fun selection of them though. Looking so fresh.
09:34 Let's go get some pots.
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11:00 All done you guys.
11:01 And I could not be happier with how all of these look and how they all ended up
11:05 in their arrangements. And I used every single evergreen except for one.
11:09 They all ended up in this area. There are two on either side of that bench.
11:13 There's a little grouping on that corner, a grouping on this corner,
11:16 and then these two, which mirror those two. And I love these.
11:21 I really wish they stayed this small. This is definitely a temporary arrangement.
11:25 These are a Cedar Rapids Fall Cypress. I had five on hand.
11:30 They're brand new for next year.
11:31 And Proving Winters sent them out for us to give them a shot, give them a try,
11:35 plant them and see what they did.
11:37 So I ended up planting one of them in our raised bed vegetable garden.
11:40 And then the four of course today in these pots.
11:44 And I just think they're the prettiest texture.
11:46 They're just gorgeous. So soft and ferny,
11:52 but they get big like 30 feet tall and 12 to 15 feet wide.
11:56 So not going to stay in these containers for too long.
11:59 I just thought that they would be beautiful winter interest.
12:01 They could probably last in this container this, well,
12:04 this winter and probably next season.
12:05 And then they would need to go out next fall.
12:07 They are a zone four through eight and they have kind of a chartreuse,
12:11 like a very bright, fresh green.
12:13 And they take on a little bit of a twisted appearance,
12:16 but very pyramidal in nature when they're grown.
12:19 They're just a really pretty one.
12:20 And they're said to be deer proof now or deer resistant, not proof.
12:24 Nothing's deer proof, right? I mean,
12:25 I don't speak from experience when it comes to deer,
12:27 but from what I hear from you guys, they can be pretty relentless,
12:30 but this variety is supposedly more resistant to deer.
12:33 And I ended up really liking the scale of these pots.
12:36 When I first set them down, I thought, Oh boy, those are too small. And you know,
12:39 they might be the smallest I could get away with in this area.
12:43 But once I got the Cypress planted in there and they were lifted in the pots
12:48 just a little bit at the correct height, I really like it.
12:51 I think they're gorgeous. And there's cheddar. Hey buddy,
12:54 cheddar's been extra lovey today. And there's the other two over there.
12:59 Now I did remember to run drip to these,
13:01 and I only did to these four because these evergreens up here,
13:06 they're very easy for me to water and they're on the North side of the
13:09 structure.
13:09 So they don't need as much water as they would get if I hooked them to the drip
13:14 system that's there. So I don't want those to be over water,
13:17 but these out here in more sun,
13:20 we'll get these attached probably not this fall,
13:25 but in the spring, at least the tubes there. So we can attach them later.
13:29 So pretty to have that green,
13:30 that little anchor on either side of the benches. Okay.
13:33 I left the tags over here. I don't know all the details by heart on these,
13:38 like especially this one.
13:39 This is one of the ones that Isley sent out earlier this season.
13:43 This is a cumulus Saguaro Cypress.
13:45 We did plant one of these out in the South garden,
13:47 such a pretty soft little evergreen.
13:50 They grow one and a half feet tall by one and a half feet wide.
13:54 I think it's just such a clean, simple look. In fact, all three of these.
13:57 I love it. I love that look for winter,
13:59 but I think that this one will do well in this container.
14:01 It's a zone four hardy to negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
14:04 And then this one right here is a dwarf Alberta spruce, pretty common,
14:09 but really nice for containers, especially I think,
14:13 isn't that the perfect Christmasy thing? I mean,
14:16 like just carrying on the Christmas vibe from our Norway spruces down into all
14:20 of these little evergreens here in the landscape,
14:22 these will grow like eight by five and there is zone two through eight.
14:26 So crazy winter hardy, perfect for a container like this.
14:30 In fact,
14:31 both of these are for sure because when you are planting things in a container
14:35 and wanting them to winter over the rule of thumb,
14:38 like the professionals say that you should choose something that's rated two
14:42 zones lower than your growing zone. So we're a zone six.
14:45 So given the fact that the cumulus is a zone four,
14:48 the Alberta is a zone two that's perfect. That gives us that buffer.
14:52 Now we do water them about every two to three weeks,
14:54 because even if we're getting precipitation of some kind,
14:57 a lot of it sometimes gets deflected by the foliage and doesn't make it down to
15:02 the roots. We at least check them every two to three weeks,
15:05 even if we're not going to be watering. If they're saturated,
15:08 then definitely skip the watering at that moment.
15:11 But it's something that we have to keep on the schedule and keep our eyes on.
15:14 Now this one right here is a type of shrub that I've never grown before and it's
15:18 a brand new variety for next year. It's a type of sweet box called sweet and low.
15:22 Now this one's a zone five through nine, so I'm pushing it a little bit,
15:25 but this one is said to be incredibly shade tolerant. Uh,
15:28 so being on the North side of this structure,
15:31 I think that it's going to do well right here.
15:33 And I think that this one is a perfect variety for a container because it
15:37 naturally stays on the smaller side,
15:39 about 18 to about 24 to 30 inches tall or so.
15:44 And then maybe two to three feet wide.
15:46 So you could put it in a bigger container eventually if you wanted to, but,
15:50 you know,
15:50 plants that naturally stay that small can handle containers better than things
15:55 that get huge like the Cedar Rapids, fall Cypress.
15:58 These get in the early spring. You can see them actually, the little buds,
16:01 they get really thin flowers that are hot pink and white.
16:05 I'm looking forward to that. And they have a Jasmine like fragrance is what they
16:10 say. Now these, from what I understand, do like acidic soil.
16:14 So I'm going to be coming in with soil acidifier. In fact,
16:16 I'm going to probably go get that later on this evening and we'll come out and
16:19 apply that because we do have high pH soil and water.
16:23 So even though I used the potting soil, that's just usually a pretty nice neutral.
16:28 I will need to add soil acidifier because our water will,
16:32 will make the soil a little bit too sweet for these.
16:35 So that does it for that grouping. And this one is pretty similar,
16:39 except for I didn't have an Alberta Spruce. I had a Lemon Cypress,
16:43 which this one I will not be able to leave out all winter. Possibly.
16:47 It's hardy to zero. I don't think we got down to zero last year.
16:51 Our lowest temperature was nine, if I remember correctly, or right around there,
16:56 but we've been in the negative teens before. I mean,
16:59 since we've been in this house.
17:00 So it's something that I'll have to really watch or I could preventatively just
17:04 pop it inside the Hartley and just keep it in there.
17:07 They're wonderful houseplants. They take a ton of water though.
17:09 They're like kind of like Rosemary to me inside Rosemary.
17:13 I have to water so much to keep it happy. And same with these Lemon Cypress,
17:16 as opposed to when you have them outside, typically they want less water,
17:20 but this one has the same structure as the Alberta, you know,
17:23 it's that nice cone shape. They smell so good when you prune them.
17:26 I've got another little guy right there.
17:28 That one because it's in a smaller container will definitely go inside. Uh,
17:32 the other two here are the same repeats from the other side.
17:35 And then I do have a kangaroo paws out here. I bought this last winter,
17:40 had them in the greenhouse, potted and put them out here,
17:42 and they're just rocking doing great.
17:44 So I will put those in the Hartley as well. They won't winter outside.
17:48 And you guys, that is going to do it for today.
17:50 I was really excited to update you on the strawberries because it's always fun
17:54 when you have a success like that. And I will let you know about the other ones,
17:57 the ones I had to cut back that didn't, you know, do a whole lot.
18:01 And I didn't really expect them to, I've had strawberries root, you know,
18:05 separating them from the mother plant before, but it's hit and miss.
18:08 And the Sempervivums are so fun.
18:10 Benjamin actually came along and told me that he really liked my plants, mama,
18:13 is what he said when I was just finishing up with those. So that's fun.
18:17 And I think Erin is really going to like those as well. And then of course,
18:20 getting a little bit more fluff around the Hartley is always nice.
18:24 I think we're going to low key the Christmas lights around the Hartley this
18:26 year. We're not putting any on the structure.
18:28 It hasn't really looked right to me to have them on the structure.
18:33 Did we have them on the structure last year? Maybe not,
18:35 but I think the only lights I want to put around this structure are white lights
18:40 on the Christmas trees on all the corners.
18:42 And then of course we'll do a Christmas tree inside.
18:44 So there'll be a glow from inside.
18:45 And I think the simplicity will be really nice. Anyway, guys,
18:49 thank you so much for watching this video. I hope you enjoyed it.
18:52 And we will see you in the next one. Bye.