'Elmsett' & The Great Migration Home

'Elmsett' is one of the best dwarf fancy leaved and fancy flowered varieties.  It it tough, blooms all the time, and does very well under lights or in direct sun.  It is a great bullet-proof variety for introducing somebody into dwarf pelargoniums as it is not finicky and gives you a lot of value for the care required.

Every spring my greenhouse stock plants make the trip to my backyard.  This year I am retiring some plants and repotting those rarer varieties, but the end result is 100s of plants getting loaded into my car and transported to their summer vacation spot...my patios, decks, around the pool...just about anywhere I can find a spot.  My neighbours must think I am mad.  I find this a bad time to take cuttings, yet for those plant I retire, I often try some if I do not have many replacements on the go.  Juggling 100s of varieties is mind-numbing, and my greatest pelargonium fear is pitching a plant without having backup.  Always check the soil of older plant's pots for disease evidence or pests, and if you do take cuttings now, it is best to keep them in a semi-sunny at best location out of the direct heat of the sun.  And for those really, really rare tricolour plants (especially silver tricolours), keep some plants under lights indoors as backup.  I have learned that my 'Dolly Varden' plants love the shaded gazebo. 

'Bird Dancer' &Cleaning Out The Greenhouse

'Bird Dancer' is a pelargonium that I have had in my collection for a very, very long time.  My mother bought one at a garden center back in the 90s, and it sat on the kitchen table for many months slowly growing.  It was gradually potted into larger containers and I recall it getting very large...at least a foot tall!  It sadly passed away, but cuttings of cuttings of cuttings later, I still keep it growing in my collection.  It is a miniature stellar, but it can over time accumulate size.  It is also classified as a fancy leaved variety as it has a dark zone.  The blooms are pink and very thin.

Sorting out the last stock of a large greenhouse is quite the chore.  It is somewhat like spring cleaning...some plants are pitched, others given away, and some prized specimens carefully up-potted for the summer months.  I produced more than I should have, but I would rather have material to share than not enough to meet the demands of the sales.  Some people are like vultures when I am doing this and will jump on anything that hits the compost can.  I try to tell people why I get rid of certain plants but many dont bother listening...a free plant is a free plant I guess.  I suppose people like a challenge.  One thing is for certain...I have learned what not to grow so much of for next year.

'Ray Bidwell', Japanese Maples, & Ducks

'Ray Bidwell' is a miniature tricolour variety with dark pink blooms.  It grows fairly strong for a miniature tricolour, but I find it doesnt bloom as much as I would like.  It grabs attention and this specimen has grown particularly well for me.  It was started from a cutting last fall, and now fills up a 4 " pot nicely.

I also grow Japanese maples.  This variety is called 'Butterfly' and has tricolour foliage.  It is partially shaded under an umbrella (spoiled plants) which helps prevent scorching in the summer's heat. 

I cant believe that ducks have landed in the (unopened) swimming pool.  Dear lord, I have ducks.  They are cute too, so they will be hard to evict, but I cant imagine hosting them all summer.  If they start to nest I dont know what to do.