Primrose in Pink

I discovered that plucky pink primrose growing and blooming in between the flagstone in my front yard flower bed. The species version is blooming out in the wild fields surrounding the neighborhood, but in my flowerbed it is getting bullied by Gregg’s Mistflower. I would love to see more of these Oenothera berlandieri ‘Siskiyou’ blooming in my beds, but I realize I may need to have something blooming that lasts all season, rather than the spring show.

Admittedly it’s not planted in a very sunny spot but I admire it’s determination.

Hardy Hibiscus Returns

With baited breath I closely watched my hibiscus plants for any signs of life. They spent the winter outdoors under a tent. I was fairly certain that the variegated tropical hibiscus I grew from starter plants bought on Etsy in 2021, Snow Queen and Rose Queen, met an untimely demise due to the cold.

Excited to see the Summer Carnival making a comeback.

Crape myrtle scale

What’s with all these white spots on my tree-pruned Acoma crape myrtles? The myrtle in Pond South had its trunks spotted profusely with white, while the crape myrtle in Pond North only had a few spots. Turns out the blight has a name to it: crape myrtle bark scale.

Acoma Crape Myrtle in Pond South
Close up of damaged trunks

After surfing for an answer, I used the jet option on my garden hose nozzle to spray off the scale, which seemed to work pretty well. Except that some peeling occurred at the base of the tree. The damage was concerning, but at least the evidence had been washed off. However, I had a hard time locating a natural option for banishing the pests, so I have horticultural oil  waiting in the wings should the insects emerge.

Crape Myrtle Scale
Scale infestation