Plants we tried but gave up on
In the photo gallery you will see some pictures of plants and flowers not growing with us anymore.
Sadly there are always plants I would like to grow but for different reasons this doesn't happen. We enjoy the flowers for as long as they last but have to let go when the time comes. We just have to learn which plants are happy to live in Myrtle Glen
Here is our Memorial List:
Texas Wisteria. This one had a slow start, just sat in its place by the pergola for the first 2 seasons. It grew nicely the third year, bloomed real pretty, but died of unexplained reason in the fourth year. In its place grows a perennial morning glory, happy as could be with flowers all year round.
Strawberries. We kept trying to have a few plants for the fun of it, the boys wanted them so badly. We tried in the flowerbed, in pots, in sun, in part shade, it just didn't happen for us. We get all the strawberries we want at our local grocery store ;-)
Cats whiskers plant. in white and pink. Beautiful flowers, but the bushes get huge and somehow wild looking. I kept trimming them and that made the look of a sheared hedge. Since we did not have the right spot that was big enough for them, they had to go.
Yellow blooming Ixora. We had them as foundation plants in the front yard, but they just withered away to sticks with a few leaves and sorry looking blooms. I then moved them to the back yard to different locations, but same thing, they just did not seem to be happy in Myrtle Glen. We lost quite some money.
Roses. We still have three Old Garden Roses and a Don Juan, but that will be it. Roses are just too finicky for me. They do good for 3 years and then start to decline and get less and less until I throw them out. I am happy with the ones I have and do not want any others.
Black eyed Susan vine. It is an annual, but doesn't die during the Florida winters. It grows and makes a big bunch of foliage on top of the trellis, just not that attractive to me.
Mexican Flame Vine. I have seen it grow in different gardens looking absolutely beautiful, but after our second try with this vine, we are giving up on it. The first time, it did not want to grow vertical over the structure but bunched up all into a big knot. The leaves developed dark spots and finally dropped. The second time we tried this vine, it grow to the top but not any further. It was covered in spider mites, with curled up leaves. Too messy of a vine for me.
Canna glauca 'Panache'. I ordered this one online with a handsome price tag, but after two seasons it never showed up again.
Yellow honeysuckle vine. I guess it is just too hot for this plant. A few leaves and some sad flowers, it just withered away.
Bow tie vine (Dalechampia dioscoreifolia)
I loved this vine, but it froze to death in 2010. If I find it again I will plant it again.
Mandevilla, soft pink, white, red (Mandevilla sanderei)
Whatever those plants don't like, I could never figure it out. I tried at different spots in the yard, with different fertilizers, more water, less water, it just did not matter. They get less and less until they are gone.
Wheatstraw Celosia. Tried twice to grow this one, but I guess I do something wrong, it died both times without seeding out.
Salvia 'hot lips'. This one was beautiful for two years, but died away over the third year. I had no luck rooting cuttings of it either. Should I run across it at a nursery, I may buy one again.
Lipstick plant, aeschynanthus radicans. This one is just not happy with me, It seems I can't find the perfect spot for it and I probably overwater.
Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos)
come in many different colors, are sold in our local box stores with the label 'zoned for 10/11' But this plant is not happy with the Florida humidity.
"New gardeners learn by trowel and error"