Thanks, Jason! I was going to make up a clever little poem to go with the photo, like "Roses are red. Violas are blue...." but I wasn't feeling very creative. I hope you are enjoying Valentine's Day!
Lovely planter and the Violas are Beautiful! Happy Valentine's Day to you, too!
On Tuesday night we went to a 'How to Grow Blueberries and Blackberries' presentation at the County Extension Service. It was very interesting, but I don't know if I will try to grow them or not. It was the first time I had heard the term 'chill hours' - plants need different amounts of cold weather to go dormant and awaken at the proper time in the Spring. He didn't say how cold a temperature was considered a 'Chill' but we have between 600 and 1000 chill hours here each year. Buying the variety of trees, shrubs, etc suited to our chill hours would ensure they could be enjoyed for years. I am going to be looking at plant tags more closely now and asking questions at the garden center. Hope you are having a wonderful day! Lea Lea's Menagerie
Hi Lea, We live in a large agricultural region where the crops consist mostly of grapes, almonds, and citrus. But peaches, apricots, and plums are also grown commercially, so I know that the number of chill hours is important to many of those crops. And interestingly, blueberries are now also being grown here commercially, using the southern highbush variety. I even have 3 plants growing in a container in my backyard. And they seem very happy with the amount of chill hours they get. Now if they could just develop more peonies that don't need so much chill, I would be happy!
Lea, I just looked it up, and we get an average of 769 hours a year of temps between 32 and 45ºand 895 hours lower than 45º. The southern highbush blueberry varieties that I grow are "Misty" and "O'Neals" (and another one that I forgot) and they only need around 300-400 chill hours. So they would probably work for you.
Interesting info about crops grown in your area. Here the largest commercial crops are cotton, soybeans, and sweet potatoes. But there is a large variety of fruits and vegetables grown in smaller amounts, mostly for sale in local Farmer's Markets. Your blueberries, 'Misty' and 'O'Neals,' are on the list of suitable varieties for our area. The speaker gave us his favorite recipe for blueberries - Dissolve a little sugar in low-fat milk in a bowl, add frozen blueberries and stir. The cold blueberries will freeze the milk mixture into a sorbet kind of treat! Early morning here in Mississippi, 31 degrees, rain mixed with snow expected today, though temperatures should warm up into the low 40s. Hoping you have a wonderful day! Lea Lea's Menagerie
What an excellent idea for a valentine!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jason! I was going to make up a clever little poem to go with the photo, like "Roses are red. Violas are blue...." but I wasn't feeling very creative. I hope you are enjoying Valentine's Day!
DeleteLovely planter and the Violas are Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day to you, too!
On Tuesday night we went to a 'How to Grow Blueberries and Blackberries' presentation at the County Extension Service. It was very interesting, but I don't know if I will try to grow them or not.
It was the first time I had heard the term 'chill hours' - plants need different amounts of cold weather to go dormant and awaken at the proper time in the Spring. He didn't say how cold a temperature was considered a 'Chill' but we have between 600 and 1000 chill hours here each year. Buying the variety of trees, shrubs, etc suited to our chill hours would ensure they could be enjoyed for years. I am going to be looking at plant tags more closely now and asking questions at the garden center.
Hope you are having a wonderful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
Hi Lea, We live in a large agricultural region where the crops consist mostly of grapes, almonds, and citrus. But peaches, apricots, and plums are also grown commercially, so I know that the number of chill hours is important to many of those crops. And interestingly, blueberries are now also being grown here commercially, using the southern highbush variety. I even have 3 plants growing in a container in my backyard. And they seem very happy with the amount of chill hours they get. Now if they could just develop more peonies that don't need so much chill, I would be happy!
DeleteLea, I just looked it up, and we get an average of 769 hours a year of temps between 32 and 45ºand 895 hours lower than 45º. The southern highbush blueberry varieties that I grow are "Misty" and "O'Neals" (and another one that I forgot) and they only need around 300-400 chill hours. So they would probably work for you.
DeleteInteresting info about crops grown in your area. Here the largest commercial crops are cotton, soybeans, and sweet potatoes. But there is a large variety of fruits and vegetables grown in smaller amounts, mostly for sale in local Farmer's Markets.
DeleteYour blueberries, 'Misty' and 'O'Neals,' are on the list of suitable varieties for our area. The speaker gave us his favorite recipe for blueberries - Dissolve a little sugar in low-fat milk in a bowl, add frozen blueberries and stir. The cold blueberries will freeze the milk mixture into a sorbet kind of treat!
Early morning here in Mississippi, 31 degrees, rain mixed with snow expected today, though temperatures should warm up into the low 40s.
Hoping you have a wonderful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
That blueberry sorbet sounds delicious. And healthy! I didn't realize that Mississippi was that chilly. But spring is on the way!
DeleteI love them also but have to say not only is that heart pot neat but the Violas look lovely in it.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Thank you, Cher. Originally I wanted to plant something red in the pot, but I couldn't come up with anything i lked. But I do ♥ violas!
DeleteI like them too. Mostly, because they grow during my favorite time of year.
ReplyDeleteHi Maybelline, And I know you are a winter person, but I like them because they are still blooming during my favorite time of the year, spring!
DeleteI love violets, too. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi ClippedWings, I agree. Violets are so pretty!
Delete