About Sticky Weed in the Yard

 This past March my oak tree dropped its remaining leaves, and normally we remove the leaves from the garden beds immediately.  But the weather was bitter cold and we both got COVID so the leaves set on our gardens long enough to germinate a whole lot of weeds including the sticky weed. 

Photo of  Cleavers or "sticky weed" (Galium Aparine)

The sticky weed got its name due to the hairy like hooks on the leaves this allows the plant to stick to your clothing, hand, other plants, or anything it comes in contact with.  

Know that it's best to put on your garden gloves and pull this weed as quickly as you see it.  I tend to pull it close to the soil level and I put it in a plastic trash bag.  the last thing that I want is the seeds to spread back into my yard and garden.

*My husband can pull the sticky weed by hand without the worry of a rash or irritation.  Many people say that they have gotten a rash, so I recommend that you put on gloves before you pull out the sticky weed in your yard.

Planting Chrysanthemums

The chrysanthemum is a great flower to add color and interest to your late summer garden. Shop for a variety of flower colors red, pink, yellow, ginger, purple and some chrysanthemums are multiple colors.

Normally our fall season is long and warm and Chrysanthemums will bloom until Thanksgiving. So I will plant a few in clay pots to display on my porch with orange pumpkins. I will also grow them in the ground throughout my yard and in my gardens.

The chrysanthemums that I planted in the spring are hardy perennials they are in the ground and had time throughout the summer months to get rooted. These deep-rooted mums will survive the winter and come back next spring.

I also planted chrysanthemums in mid-September. Since my fall season is mild the plant will have six or seven weeks to get rooted before there is a hard frost.

If it is too late to plant the chrysanthemum in the ground you can use the florist mum which is an annual flower by growing them in containers and using them as feature flowers on your porch or patio. 

Chrysanthemums are easy to grow.  For healthy Chrysanthemums choose a location that has rich well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5 and good airflow and full sun. 

Water a newly planted Chrysanthemum so that the soil is evenly moist but not drenched.  Then do not water again until the soil is dry to the touch. I water in the morning when the plant is rooting for approximately 6 weeks.  Then once established I don’t overwater the chrysanthemum, this plant is drought tolerant and does not need to be watered daily. I do fertilize with bloom booster by miracle-gro hose-end feeder once a week and deadhead all spent blooms to encourage new growth.

Here are some photographs of chrysanthemums

Planted this Chrysanthemum in the spring by September it was double in size

Amaryllis Belladonna Naked Ladies, Surprise Lily are Blooming

 There are many common names for this Amaryllis Belladonna but the most common name is the naked-lady-lily.  Amaryllis belladonna is derived from “Italian belladonna which means beautiful lady.  I will agree that this flower when it blooms it brightens your yard with beauty.

Whatever you call these showy funnel-shaped flowers that grow on a leafless stem they are blooming now and the sweet fragrance is lingering in the air. The hummingbirds are feeding on the nectar and it's a glorious time to outdoors enjoying your flower garden.

I planted them in my yard a decade ago with a dozen bulbs and they have naturalized all over my yard and garden I have even seen a few growing in the woods. I suspect that a bird ate the seeds and this is why the flowers are now blooming in the middle of the woods but I am not certain because I have tried to plant the seeds in a sunny location where the soil was well-drained. I dug a shallow hole and just lightly covered the seeds. None of the seeds that I planted grew into a late summer naked-lady bloom. I will see green leaves in the spring but flowers take a long time and are well worth the wait.

Here are a few photographs of Amaryllis Belladonna’s / naked ladies that grow in my yard and gardens.