In gardening parlance, that would be division (splits), propagation (self-preservation), and this is so not what I ordered. Let's start with the 'splits'. At first, dividing plants was a task that I never felt comfortable with for fear of harming the plant. But like anything else, do it several times and you'll get the hang of it. I dug up a daylily that was planted 6 years ago and divided it into 3 clumps to plant in other areas.
The daylily was in a tight corner in hard clay and I literally had to yank it out where the garden fork couldn't reach. Planted one of the clumps next to the iris (above). Gave them a good watering and frequently checked that the ground never dried out. They're all doing well but I don't expect they'll flower this year seeing how brutal I was at digging them out.
'Self-preservation'. Propagating by seed or purchased seedlings is the easy way to go as a novice, but then there are methods like layering and runners (strawberry stolons) that I'm beginning to really appreciate because they're free! The tayberry vine puts out new canes every year but this year it grew a baby tayberry through spontaneous layering or tip layering. I prune the canes in fall as they can go on forever, so I must've missed one, the tip made contact with the ground, and during winter roots began to form.
I was surprised to see such a good-sized root ball. Tucked it into a 4-inch pot with fresh potting soil, snipped off the attached vine, and watered well. This was on April 5th; today the tiny tayberry is more than quadrupled in size. No fertilizer, just compost tea and a sheltered spot outside. I'll update the progress to see how long it takes from a tiny plant to a viable and flowering one.
Okay, it must happen at least once to every gardener, twice or even more if you're that unlucky. A specific item is purchased or ordered, but when it comes out of the ground, it's definitely not what you paid for at all. It's a switcheroo! When this happens I just hope it'll be something that I will love, but more often than not...well, that's why I never purchase more than a few of one thing at a time.
I ordered a tulip named 'Red Dress' but got this banal imposter instead. Early-blooming, very short tulip. The fringed purple one to the right is a Negrita Parrot. My husband said it looked like a deformed purple cabbage. 'Red Dress' is supposed to resemble the one below (yes I pinched it from the seller!), only more of a red than burgundy. I should've trusted my gut on this one:
The truth is that mess-ups will occur; either from the supplier's end or the eventual seller that unintentionally did a switcheroo. The important thing is that it grows, because what's the point of having a cutting garden if you can't put together your own wacky bouquet? Negrita Parrot, Red Imposter, Sunlover.
