Summer Urns

 Geranium 'Crocodile'

Our summer urns at the park act as a way to showcase some weird varieties of plant in small quantities. Whatever we put in usually has to take the sink or swim approach as we want this area to always look good. Its fun to trial new plants and while everything we ordered for these didn't come in this year, I'm still very excited to see how they do.

 My version of the summer urns with some fancy begonias, lotus vine, sweet potato, alocasias, gernaium and angelonia.

My co gardeners version with Cynara, alocasia, salvia, million bells, oregano and a million other things that will need to be thinned in a month.

I'll post some updates as they fill in. It's amazing how far these plantings always progress.

Mild Success: Black Cotton

Earlier on in the season my coworker gave me some Gossypium herbaceum 'Nigra' seeds. The seedlings started off well in plugs. I then brought them over to my fathers where one of three were crushed. They recovered fairly well... and something gnawed the tips off a few days later. 


They never made it much taller than six inches. Two survived and to my knowledge neither of them flowered. I'm pretty disappointed about it either way. I planted them behind some golden Spireas so I was looking forward to the contrast. The flowers are supposed to be pretty nice and I certainly wouldn't mind having some cotton.

(I have no idea if this is a bud or seed..or hat...or..)

Honestly, I have no idea how cold hardy these are supposed to be. No one has really posted too much information on them. I would love it if they happened to be perennial, but based on standard cotton varieties, I'm not going to hold my breath. I mulched the hell out of them just in case. Who knows, with all the green trees here in New York, I don't even know if we're really having winter anymore.


I think I'll try them again next year if I have somewhere to keep it in a pot. I imagine the differences in soil and just the general neglect of things at my fathers house might have been difficult for it. Maybe it will do better if someone paid more attention to it. It does seem to be an attractive plant once it gets going.