Burning the midnight oil

Dama de noche flower. Stunning.

They say New York is the city that never sleeps but nature got there first. It's the original 24/7 operation. I remember years ago being in my mother's small garden waiting to see a spectacle that only happened at night: the blooming of a Dama de noche (Lady of the night). As she described it this plant bloomed only at night peaking at midnight. When daylight broke the flowers would die. The flowers were beautiful and very fragrant. Definitely worth staying awake to watch this. Fast forward to the present. My mother still has her garden and the same dama de noche. Our little garden has many herbs and fruiting plants but very little flowers. Jessica loves flowers so my mom offered us a cutting from her dama de noche. She wrapped it in a damp paper towel and off we went.

Dama de noche in a hanging pot. Each branch can be cut
and grown as a new plant.

Let's put a pause to the sentimental, personal stuff (not even sure why I shared that to begin with) and let's dig into the nerd stuff now. You would be amazed to know that Dama de noche is a cactus. Yeah, a cactus. The scientific nomenclature for this plant is very confusing with many synonyms being recognized but it is usually considered part of the night-blooming Cereus. However, it does not belong to the Cereus genus but rather to the Epiphyllum genus; its full scientific name being Epiphyllum oxypetalum. The species is native to Central America and possibly South America, and is available worldwide through the horticultural trade. It has dark green branches which can grow several feet in length. In nature, the plant grows on trees, much like orchids. Its flowers are large, white, night-blooming and fragrant. Now you might wonder why it blooms at night since most plants bloom during the day. Well, day-bloomers are pollinated by bees, birds, and other diurnal creatures. Dama de noche, on the other hand, is pollinated by bats, moths, and other nocturnal creatures. This also explains why the flowers are so large and white. They are easier to spot at night (Yep, nature is amazing).

A few more flowers just because

If you are growing dama de noche it's certainly not for its looks (it's an unattractive plant in my opinion) but rather for its flowers. Be warned that not everyone gets this plant to bloom, especially on temperate climates. While we don't have a magic formula for making this plant bloom we can offer some tips to improve your chances. Dama de noche can be grown as a monopot (single species in a container) or in a combopot (multiple species in a container). We've found that it grows better in a monopot but it has produced more flowers in a combopot (Yes, nature is weird like that). Dama de noche looks especially nice in a hanging pot but make sure it is properly secured to the wall since the plant can get very heavy. Being a cactus a well draining soil is recommended. Water sparingly but do not allow the soil to dry completely. Fertilize once a month with a balanced fertilizer. Dama de noche prefers full sun but it can grow well in partial shade (3-4 hours of sunlight). It can be propagated via cuttings or (according to some websites) through seed. We wouldn't bother with seeds since cuttings are so easy to obtain and grow. Just snip a small branch from a mature plant and place in moist soil. In 2-3 weeks new branches will emerge and 6-8 months later the plant should be mature enough to produce flowers.

If you like flowers go out there and grow some dama de noche. You won't be disappointed. Until next time. 

Roses are red...

Our polyantha rose in full bloom.

..., violets are blue,... Well, our roses are pink but I guess they come in red too. Roses are one of the most popular flowering plants in the world. They comprise the Rosa genus in the Rosaceae family. Roses come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Hundreds of books have been written about roses and hundreds more will probably be written in the future. (Unless the world really ends on Dec 21, 2012) We're by no means rose experts. Our intention here is to give you a brief introduction to roses and help you make an informed selection if you plan on growing one (or two, or three). If you need detailed information on roses by all means pick up a book at your local bookstore (reading is always recommended by Container Garden PR) or check out the American Rose Society webpage (http://www.ars.org/).

If you look at a catalog or browse an online store you may be overwhelmed by the large selection of roses. So which one should you choose for your container garden? In order to answer this question we need to talk a bit about rose classifications. We'll keep this as simple as possible (Boy scout promise. Editor's note: Joel was never a boy scout so take this promise with a grain of salt) because if you ask 10 people you can expect 10 different classifications for roses. I'll use the American Rose Society (ARS) classification because it's the most widely used in North America (and because I'm lazy and it was the first one I found online). The ARS classifies roses into old garden, species, and modern roses. Old garden roses refers to any pre-1867 variants, modern roses are any variant after 1867, while species roses are what we might call "wild" roses or any rose that occurs naturally in nature.

That's how the plant looked like when
I bought it for Jessica.

So back to the original question what rose should you choose for your container garden. In my opinion, old garden and species roses are unfit for containers. Others might disagree but I have my reasons. Species and old gardens are large specimens which, in my opinion, are better suited for people with yards or botanical gardens since they require a lot of space either above or below ground. For container gardeners space is usually a premium so who wants to have a 2 feet deep pot in their balcony or small yard? That leaves us with modern roses. Modern roses care broken down into several sub-categories but again I won't complicate matters. Without hesitation we can recommend miniature and patio roses. With some proper planning and careful selection floribunda and polyanthas can also be grown in containers. Miniature roses are just that, a plant that produces a miniature rose bloom. Patios are small shrubs that grow up to 2 feet tall. They bloom continuously which makes them great to give your garden some color all the way to winter. Polyanthas are small (just how we like 'em) shrubs that produce tiny flowers in large clusters at the end of the stems. Floribundas are related to polyanthas in that they bloom prolifically but come in a wider variety of colors. Of the four recommended varieties floribundas require the most consideration since most have a sprawling tendency.

Now which rose variety do we have? We have no idea (I told you rose classifications are confusing and complicated). I bought our rose from the nursery as a gift to Jessica for her birthday because a rose is forever as is as our love (awww...how romantic). Typical to their style the nursery didn't have any identification so we are left to guess from pictures found on the internet. We believe it's some type of polyantha (possibly pink pet) even though we originally believed it to be a miniature. Hey, we never claimed to be experts.

A new rose plant grown from a cutting.

Now that you know which varieties are adequate you need to know how to take care of your plant. First, choose the right container. Recommended sizes will vary depending on the variety but a container 12 inches deep is a good bet. A well draining soil is an absolute must since roses, in general, don't like standing water. Next, when selecting a plant from the nursery make sure you select a healthy looking plant with no signs of mildew or blackspot (a common fungus that affects roses). Place your new plant in an area where it will receive full sun (6 hours of sunlight). To establish the plant keep the soil evenly moist. After the plant is established water occasionally when the soil feels dry. Always water at the bottom of the container and avoid getting the leaves wet. This will minimize the probability of developing the fungi we described earlier. For fertilizing we recommend a balanced time-released fertilizer (You remember what a balanced fertilizer is right?, If not go here). Depending on the variety, a fertilizer with high phosphate can be used to maximize blooming. Finally, pruning is a very important process in maintaining a healthy rose. When blooms are spent cutting the dead flowers (called deadheading) will increase blooming. Also, roses need a good pruning at the end of the blooming season; winter in PR (Editor's note: Joel hates pruning. Jessica takes care of this). Cut back dead wood and prune healthy stalks to a desired shape. Don't worry if you think you cut back too much; it will grow back in spring. Another advantage to pruning is that healthy stalks that you cut can be used to reproduce your plant and #spreadthelove by gifting to a friend. We tried this ourselves with great success (see picture on the right) following the method explained in our previous post on propagation by cuttings.

So, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this introductory course on roses. If you grow roses in containers share your experiences with us in the comments section. Until next time, keep on gardening!