AA August

Pictures of AUGUST flowers, fruit, propagation and more at the Flowering Shrub Farm in Voorheesville, NY. www.floweringshrubfarm.com

Similar to a slide show, I add more comments, pictures and hyperlinks frequently throughout the month (with the most recent additions added at the top) before I start another similar page the following month. Click on the picture and it may open a larger version with more detail. I like to hear your comments so please email me and subscribe if you haven't already. Those who dont subscribe will have to wait for the most recent pictures until part way through each month but can still enjoy last year at this time. More explanation at the bottom of this page.

One of the few weeds we remove is this one that produces an oval seed with a pair of horns that stick to all hair and clothing they come in cotact with. This picture shows it in flower.

Black eyed Susan is a biennial that was spread around the US in hay shipments of the 19th century. The perennial many garden centers sell is from Czeckoslovakia.

Lilacs in field showing a lilac that was tagged this previous May to be transplanted next March (082709). If you click this picture you can read the number on the inventory label (11_337). You can look the number up at www.floweringshrubfarm.com/label06.htm and you'll see a picture of the flower taken last May. Its an 'Edward J Gardner' French Lilac with pink flowers. After removing a tagged plant from the field in March we cut it back to promote better branching but maintain a picture of its flower on the web site to prove the variety.

Monge Lilacs in the field not ready yet (082709). Some may flower in spring of 2010 and we'll tag the plants with inventory labels while taking a picture of the flower and saving the picture using the inventory number, on the web site.

Krasavitsa moskvy Lilacs in the field showing a couple that were tagged last May for transplanting next March 2010 (082709).

Cuttings from 'City of York', covered and in the cold frame. Note the date these cuttings were taken; August 24, 2009. They'll be uncovered in about six weeks. I prune back a stock plant and stick the prunings together in a 3 gallon pot labeled with the date the cuttings were taken. A label on the side notes the soil mix and hormone used (or not). Once rooted they may be grown together for several years in this same pot before being divided. I fertilize every month with Espoma Rose Tone; March through July.

Cuttings from 'New Dawn', after being uncovered and removed from the cold frame. Note the date these cuttings were taken; July 9, 2009. They were just recently uncovered after six weeks. I like using three gallon pots because the cuttings are exceptionally well drained while still having a large reservoir of moisture in the bottom third of the pot. Immediately after uncovering, I fertilize with a handfull of Espoma Rose Tone and move it to a location where it will be regularly watered and receive sun filtering through and between a few trees.

00000lilacgro081609 Started these lilacs ('Paul Thirion' & 'Rochester') this spring from 2.5 inch pots. Transplanted into 4 inch pots and cut them back so they form more than 3 stems. Next year I'll transplant into 3 gallon size and place out in the field under drip line.

10525fatherhugofruit081609 Hip on a Father Hugo's Rose or Rosa hugonis.

11151prunedto12inch081609 This is one of a series of pictures created for those who wish to renovate their lilac. Everybody wants to know "When renovating a lilac where should I cut back to? 12 inches, 2 feet, 3 feet or what?" So I'm cutting back to all of those and flush with the ground as well. So I pruned this one to 12 inches in Mid August and I'll take pictures next year and the year after so you can compare.

11185alfreddedalmas081609

11370leverkusen081609

11371frudagmarhastrup081609

11372fruhlingsmorgenfruit081609

00000ballerina080509small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Ballerina'. This picture is of a plant that I use as a source of cuttings to propagate from.

00000basyespurple080509small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Basye's Purple'. Propagation plant we are growing a couple own root that may be available soon. Watch the picture collection of available plants linked from the hyperlink above (I'll add pictures as the plants flower).

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00000frudagmarhastrup080509small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Fru Dagmar Hastrup'. Propagation plant

10547henrykelsey080509small.jpg Extremely hardy and disease resistant it may still drop its leaves in summer if you let it get to dry.

10792bellepoitevine080509small.jpg One of my new plants own root of course that I took as a cutting in 2005. Not quite ready yet.

10897bellepoitevine080509small.jpg Another of my cuttings from 2005 that I'm training. When its available it will be placed on the Belle Poitevine Page.

11174ferdinandpichard080509small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Ferdinand Pichard'.

11178fourseasons080509small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Four Seasons Rose'.

00000lilacsinfield080809small.jpg This will be added to the growing page at www.floweringshrubfarm.com/growing.htm In May as lilacs bloom I label each flowering plant with an individually numbered tag and take a closeup picture of the flower and number so it can be saved in my web site under that individual number. Then, plants with fewer that three stems are cut back. The following March we move them to the plant sale location and repot into a 7 gallon pot to be available for sale at $30 each. You can verify the variety by looking at the number tag and checking the picture, saved as that number in my web site. If you click this picture you can see Lilacs, no longer in bloom, but a yellow number tag peaking fro foliage on the left of the mowing strip.

00000cityofyork080109small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'City of York'. 'City of York' is considered by many the best wichuriana rambler. This faded flower isn't such a prime example except to show that it does repeat later in the season. There's a fantastic display in June.

00000contedechambord080109small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Comte de Chamboord'. This Portland Rose 'Comte de Chambord' is a little more disease susceptible than most of our plants. If you click on the picture and look in the back ground left at the leaves you can see how much spotting it has. Of course this is with no fungicide whatsoever.

00000helenehibiscus080109small.jpg The problem I have with growing Hibiscus syriacus like these is that the plants, hardy to zone 5, cant be grown in pots (root hardiness for a plant hardy to zone 5 and growing in zone 5 needs more protection than a pot gives). So I have to plant in the ground and disturb the roots more when I transplant into a large pot.

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00000queenannslace080109small.jpg This wildflower, brought here by colonists from Europe has much necter to provide for my beneficial insects.

00000staymanwinesapfruit080109small.jpg Considered by many, including me to be just about the most perfect eating apple once its ripe which it isn't yet. We usually eat most of ours as apple sauce but I'm training a few trees to espalier and will either have espalier trained trees in the future to sell or maybe the fruit grown organically.

10139rosderescht080109small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Rose de Rescht'. Just about the ideal portland.

10552roseraiedelhay080109small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Roseraie de l'Hay'. This hard to find rugosa is similar in many ways to the much more obtainable and slightly smaller 'Hansa'.

10555prairieprincess080109small.jpg Click the blue link for more information about 'Prairie Princess'.An extremely hardy (Zone 3) and disease resistant, hybrid tea like rose that is not a hybrid tea.

10555prairieprincess080509small.jpg A slightly different shape of the same flower several days later.

10574rotesmeerfruit080109small.jpg above

10594leverkusen080109small.jpg Some people have suggested this doesn't repeat bloom but I assure them it does. Hardy and disease resistant, a short climber that has a strong fragrance and flush blooms from new growth. I feed it with Rose Tone and Dehydrated manure once a month until August 1. Remove the faded flowers but not within 6 weeks of frost. In spring I wait until leaves have formed, then remove dead wood only while tyeing in vagrant branches.

10718cornelia080109small.jpg Hybrid musk above

11360hansa080109small.jpg

I take pictures in my nursery all year of the shrub, flower, fruit, fall foliage of the plants along with us doing chores and then post them in my newsletter. Each newsletter is presented similar to a slide show (clicking on the picture opens a larger version then click the back arrow, scroll down to the next and click that one). At the beginning of each month I'll start an issue in one of several hundred past newsletter pages and send a link to my subscribers. Every several days I'll add more pictures, comments and links to other pages. About half way through the month I'll link the page to the month shown on my home page. Many of the pictures will be of the inventory type with the date the picture was taken within the picture. Each inventory picture is saved using a file name that starts with the inventory number of the actual plant either for sale or in the garden for propagation, ending with the date. Simply by saving the picture without the date will overwrite the picture in a crop page for that variety alone. Potential Customers subscribe and I send a link to them from the latest picture-newsletter. When they see something they like they come buy it in bloom. Subscribers also send me an email after they purchased a plant telling me what they got and in exchange for subscribing and sending that email may receive some warranty protection.

We grow plants to sell at our plant sale. Read my notes on the zone hardiness numbers I use. Do we do mail order? Check my picture-newsletter www.floweringshrubfarm.com/growing.htm Want to purchase? email me.