Verbena Lanai

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Heather
Posts: 72
Joined: 11 Jun 2017, 16:23

Verbena Lanai

Post by Heather » 14 Jul 2018, 12:57

Hi - I've looked up Verbena, & see that 'shrub verbena' is poisonous. I think the pretty trailing verbena I have (Lanai - Early Deep Red) comes under the 'garden verbena' heading, judging by the leaves. It's a hybrid by Syngenta according to the label.

Achillea has widened her munching this year to include new flowers, which is interesting. She will now eat nasturtiums & mimulus & my gorgeous dark purple pansies! I have some tubs in her area with these in, as well as the one verbena. This has now spread & is shedding flowers, so I need to be sure.

Thanks,

Heather

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Nina
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Joined: 16 Mar 2017, 11:22

Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Nina » 14 Jul 2018, 14:08

Hi Heather,

Yes, your Verbena lanai should be OK to feed sparingly, as per the advice in the entry for Garden Verbena. I would only feed it sparingly though, and not in moderation or freely. Also, if you have bought the plant recently from a garden centre then you will need to let it grow on and only feed new leaves and flowers, in case it had been sprayed with insecticide before it got to you.
Happy munching!

Nina

Heather
Posts: 72
Joined: 11 Jun 2017, 16:23

Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Heather » 14 Jul 2018, 17:09

Thanks Nina - I bought the plants a couple of months back (I realise the recommendation about new plants) & it has recently started to spread & blossom freely & drop flowers. I'm not intending to 'feed' it at all, just wanted not to worry if Achillea picks up the odd dropped flower. It's in a pot above her reach.

Wonderful weather for torts, eh! She was even stomping about in copious rain yesterday.

Heather

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Nina
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Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Nina » 14 Jul 2018, 19:34

OMG -- copious rain??!! Where do you live, Heather? We haven't had a drop of rain here in Oxford for about a month! I envy you :D

Nina

Heather
Posts: 72
Joined: 11 Jun 2017, 16:23

Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Heather » 15 Jul 2018, 20:05

Ross-on-Wye - a solid 4 hours. SUCH a relief.

One of my other passions is axolotls, who can't cope with water temperature above 18-20degC max for long. Nightmare. I've had to create a 'cold room' with several tanks for mine at home. As luck would have it I found a mobile air conditioner in a charity shop last weekend for little money & it is simply brilliant. I brought the axies home from school (where I work) last Sunday, as I was so worried about them.....Never had to do that before in 10 years!

Heather

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Nina
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Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Nina » 15 Jul 2018, 20:29

I'm in Oxford, which is only 65 miles from Ross, but we might as well be on a different planet -- everything is brown and dry and we have several fields that are on fire in the countryside and no way to stop it. I do have a friend in the Welsh Borders and she has had a bit of rain. I really like Ross-on-Wye -- the last time I was there (which was quite a long time ago) there was a really nice little shop that sold candles that they made on the premises, and I bought an old leather jacket in the market there.

I love Axolotls -- my ex-husband used to have a tropical fish and exotics shop and at one point he had some axolotls in and they are fascinating looking with those feathery external gills -- and am I correct in thinking that they can also grow legs and tails back if they are cut off? I didn't know that about their temperature requirements. It's funny because I was just saying to Lin the other night that we are always telling people that in the daytime tortoises should have a hot end of their enclosure of about 30C, and a cool end of 20C, and no heat at night so that they have a drop in temperature. Over the last couple of weeks there have been many nights when the temp in their indoor table hasn't gone below 27C or 28C -- but what can you do. At least you managed to get the air conditioner for your axolotls, which is great, and I can only imagine the relief you felt when you found it. Were you contemplating jars full of ice cubes sitting in the water before you found the air conditioners?

Nina

Heather
Posts: 72
Joined: 11 Jun 2017, 16:23

Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Heather » 15 Jul 2018, 23:08

At school I have a chest freezer in which in summer I keep a rotating stock of frozen 2L bottles of water, plus a couple of 2L tubs of frozen rain water, & on the Friday before last I used most of them. I haven't had to resort to this at home previously, as I had my tanks outdoors in undergrowth by my ponds up to last year (unsatisfactory really, but cool). Now I have control winter & summer. Phew.

As to legs & tails - that's what they are good at. They have been studied by scientists for their ability to regenerate for many years. I lent two juveniles to the local pet shop a few years back, & they didn't get on. Some while later the pet shop suggested that I might like to take one home.....all four legs were missing, plus about half the tail & some gills - what a very sad sight that was. Within 5 months, maybe less, I couldn't tell it apart from others in the tank. The smaller ones regularly nip off legs & gills...I think it's an evolutionary strategy. Some are more aggressive than others - another survival strategy for the species.

I have 'wild type' (black), leucistic (white, non-albino), golden albinos & a motley one called Spot! Three generations....Love them.

Heather

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Nina
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Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Nina » 16 Jul 2018, 07:38

You've really got this sorted, haven't you! The chest freezer at school is a brilliant idea, and there can't be many years like the one we're having now when you would run out of your frozen bottles.

That is so interesting about the regeneration! Wouldn't it be great if people could do that after having a limb amputated. It sounds like you have a lovely collection of Axolotls -- I've just been looking at this site, and hadn't realised there were so many varieties - including that one that glows green (interference by man, unfortunately, but very interesting). https://axolotlcity.com/different-types-of-axolotls/


Nina

Heather
Posts: 72
Joined: 11 Jun 2017, 16:23

Re: Verbena Lanai

Post by Heather » 16 Jul 2018, 13:26

Excellent link - my equivalent reference for axolotls to 'TTT' is www.axolotl.org, run by a Brit. called John Clare.

Also - there was a whole BBC prog. about them a few weeks back. Google: BBC nuns & axolotls for loads of links.

Did I smile!! :D

Heather

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