More Flowery Stuff

It's been almost two weeks since I stuck the Lantana in the ground, so I figured it was time for a flower update.

First, the elderberry.

I deadheaded the previous blooms after they expired, and also clipped off a fair number of leaves since they were covered in powdery mildew. I couldn't get all of it off without stripping the stems bare so I'm letting it grow a bit more before I go back in and pluck out a few more leaves. On the bright side, it doesn't seem to be harming the growth all that much.

Next up, the Lantana.

So far two of them are responding very well to planting (the above pictured being one of those), while the other two were showing signs of wilting between waterings which got me a bit worried that the roots might be weak or damaged. I trimmed the flowers off of those two to reduce the load on the roots and that seems to have been enough to get them to stop wilting, so hopefully that means that disaster was averted.

Some Milkwort, because why not.

I had a bit of trouble late in the summer with the milkwort showing some stress and having some of the branches go crispy and die back. I pruned out those branches pretty aggressively, as the milkwort has a tendency to grow back pretty aggressively when pruned. It'll take a few months for it to be back to its bushy self, but gardening is all about patience. Meanwhile, I can just frame the photos carefully to only show the parts that look lush and green.

Finally, the rose bush.

With some experimentation I've come to the determination that the rose I've got is an incredibly thirsty plant. I give it about triple the water of all my other plants and that seems to be enough to keep it blooming year round (along with an appropriate amount of deadheading and pruning). It's still got a bit of fungus on the leaves so I'll probably hit it soon with the combo fungicide/fertilizer I got a while back.