@Upstate I decided to go ahead and take the risk of planting outside.
I dug a hole next to a huge, wild gooseberry bush, down to bedrock. About eight inches. Then I dumped a mixture of compost and used soil I was keeping in a large plastic container on top of the hole
That’s when I saw the volunteer, still in the pod. So I must have discarded it for not sprouting. So whatever it is, it’s something I wanted to grow at some point. So I decided it could stay.
Then I planted all the Pearl Stem clones from the pot. They’re already looking better, so we’ll see.
Anyway, I wanted to talk about siting. The gooseberry hides most of the plant from my next door neighbor on the west. But I lose two hours of sunlight by being next to the gooseberry. Then there’s a tree, and another, at a perfect location to block, depending on where the guy is in his yard. Besides, he’s hardly ever there, just comes by once in awhile to check on the place.
Other neighbors are blocked by bushes, trees, whatever, but the plants otherwise out in the open. It’s all line of sight.
Thanks @Panamajock
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If they are pearls, you have no worries. If you get a chunky one mixed in, use the pearls for camo. You’ll be shocked. They are like a ghillie suit as camo
Yeah the pearls are something I can just grow anywhere and nobody’s going to notice. I left the volunteer in the expectation that the pearls around it would block.
Jobsite visitor yesterday. Pretty cool. Watched him or her scratch a maple and lick at the sap. Poor thing must be starved this time of year. Hardly any fear.
Of course, I don’t think nighttime temperatures have dropped below the low 40s°F since I planted them.
Nighttime lows are projected to be between 36° and 45° over the next week or so, with daytime highs between 55° and 80°. So yeah, a normal spring for me. My only worry now is slow growth due to the cold nights. But I feel pretty confident that they’re going to grow pretty quickly once nights stay above 50° in June. Late June. We still see near-freezing temps in June.
I think Oaxacan could live into the first to third week of November, depending on the year. But late October is better because days are still mostly warm and nights are still above freezing.
Same here. We even get freezes in mid June. I take the plants in at night, but they go out in the morning and often get a couple/ few hours in the 30’s before sun hits them. They handle it fine. When you get light frost every night, that will slow them down, but even then they keep going if daytime temps stay moderate.
I’ll try to get an Oaxacan done outside this year. With this new climate we got it might work out. How well do they deal with PM? I think that will be my biggest problem. Had a Hindu Kush Auto at the same place years ago rather late in the year and had to take it down early because of PM (but it had a very different structure obviously)
That’s great to hear, and is what I’m coming to expect after seeing them in action.
I’m not the guy who knows, but I bet it handles pests better than just about anything else. The pearl stem is probably immune to molds and bud rot, for example.
I’ve only seen PM on one Oaxaca plant, and it was exposed to it constantly for at least two months before getting any at all, and even then only got it towards harvest. I never had any outdoors. Your issue will be latitude rather than weather. These don’t start flowering outdoors until pretty close to the equinox where you are.
Yeah, 100% immune. The only thing that will go after the tall stretches is spider mites, and those are easy to control because there is so little leaf to deal with.
So whatever it is, it’s something I wanted to grow at some point. So I decided it could stay.
Pearl Stems are looking a little greener today.