Continuing updates in indoor tropicals and overwintering plants.
From
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1336614/
When last we met, Ric and Holly had new orchids, and Catmint had just suffered a tragedy on the windowsill. Stay tuned!
This message was edited Dec 7, 2013 12:36 PM
The neat thing Holly's blown glass ornaments are hanging on was a plant caster that I removed the wheels from and used black steel fishing leader to make a hanger. The steel leader is something like 70# test, which should be more than adequate. We really liked the intricate metal design and displaying them together really has an impact.
PS. Thanks for the new thread Sally~
This message was edited Dec 7, 2013 2:32 PM
The fragrant one is Zygoneria Sweet Jade 'Sweet Cheyenne'.
The hanging one is not the fragrant one it is a Vanda (manuvadee x coerylea). You are right Sally no dirt at all, the person we bought it from said he only sold it to us because we have a GH. He said it would not do well in a house. I guess not enough moisture. We are misting it quite often and enjoying inside for a few days then it will go down to the GH. The other one isn't blooming yet but it has an arching spiral yellow flower branches. Really looking forward to seeing that. Can't quite read the name on it.
Aldi is selling 'Frosty Fern" actually a Selaginella club moss. I had never seen them before
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=&searcher[family]=&searcher[genus]=selaginella&searcher[species]=&searcher[cultivar]=&searcher[hybridizer]=&searcher[grex]=&search_prefs[blank_cultivar]=&search_prefs[sort_by]=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&offset=20
They are very pretty. Vickie gave me one last year and it did well for awhile but ferns don't do well in my house too dry with our wood/coal stove. I did move it down to the GH but I think I waited too long.
I was at Aldi's yesterday--and this lady was asking me what this plant was....
WHAT????? Do I wear a sign around my neck that I am a plant person?
I had seen it before--but had no other info on it. Cute as a button!!!
Wasn't it, like, $4.99?? May be a good one for a terrarium? A big bowl?
Has anyone had any luck with it as a houseplant besides Terri's comments?
G.
ROFL, Gita with a Plant person sign….
articl
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2901/
This message was edited Dec 8, 2013 7:13 PM
Nice article Sally.
Great idea Gita, I have several terrariums that could use filling.
Club mosses are beautiful and where they occur naturally, are pretty tough. Macro photography of mosses reveals an intricate environment and structure, like a miniature forest.
I don't know why my link will not work but Google "moss photos" and select images.
There was a lady at the Philadelphia flower show, I think 2 years ago that was wearing a "hat" using mosses to create a really lovely design. I just can't imagine what her neck felt like at the end of the day. Probably like mine after the first motorcycle ride of the season with a helmet.
This message was edited Dec 9, 2013 11:21 AM
I have this HUGE terrarium container from ages ago. It is sitting on a shelf
in the Shop. I have often wanted to get it out and make a new Terrarium.
It is about 16" in diam., round with a top. The whole thing looks like a
gigantic Hershey's Kiss. Can you visualize it?
It is a pale smoky in color. Still has all the soil and charcoal and something in it.
Let me sneak down there and snap a picture. it won't be a good one--
as I am not lifting it off the shelf....Hey! Found something else there to show you too.
Holly--do they still sell any 3L wine jugs in the teardrop shape?
Perhaps the "Lake Country White or Red Wines"??? Brand???? Taylor??
I used to cut them in half (I have a glass cutting kit) and make small terrariums
out of them and sold some at our Estonian X-Mas bazaar.
I added some macrame (AHA! must have been the 70's--early 80's?) trim around it
and the "plant" in it was those treated, green (stained your fingers) "ferns" that
you could get back then in all kindss of stores..
Supposedly--they were some kind of a sea grass--and they dyed it green....
A nice AV would look good in there....or that little fern at Aldi's?
Might give some of you some ideas --Yes??
1--The big bowl
2&3--the Wine Jug terrariums...
4&5--better pictures of my Cobra Plant..
What a pretty moss! I didn't know that Aldi's sold plants.
I have Christmas cactus blooms for the first time ever! These are cuttings I got from Gita last year. Beautiful pink blooms! I'll get pics tomorrow.
What a pretty moss! I didn't know that Aldi's sold plants.
SS--
I bet your pink one is the same as my new favorite.....
I have decided that I will call it--"Pretty in Pink"--
I think Aldis gets some shipment of plants in once in a while.
No one takes care of them--so they just slowly die.
I was in my local Walgreen's today to p/u a RX--and there, at the cashier,
stuffed in 2 tight shelves were 4" Norfolk Island Pines. $5.99!!!
They were All dry as a bone--starting to shrivel up.
WHY does Walgreen's need plants??
WHY do stores that should never have plants get them????
G.
LOL Gita! That is too funny.
Gita, your Dr. Seuss Brug is doing fabulously. The Maya still just has baby leaves, but the Dr. Seuss has really sprouted, so I wanted to share a photo of it with you.
Also: one amaryllis in full bloom now (I wonder if this is the Flamenco?). One bulb well on its way, and the other still just with 2 tiny sprouts on it. Fingers still crossed.
While I was merchandising plants at a Sam's Club I met a gentleman who told me he was the on who convinced Sam Walton that a nice display of his red geraniums outside Sam's store would bring in customers. It did and it was also beautiful. The rest is history.
Impulse buyer that I am, I picked up this 'Zygocactus' at my drugstore. Check out the multi blooms! I bought it just to see what will happen. It was the only one like this in the bunch.
Catmint I am glad that your Ammys are coming along
Anyone ever hear of using alcohol when forcing bulbs like paperwhites to keep them from getting too tall?
what a lot of buds!
I've heard of that
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2761/
thanks, Coleup!
Cat--
My Dr. Seuss always grows ahead of everything else...
My Maya is still not doing much either. Just one little nubbie of green.
I relented--and also took some cuttings of the pink NOID.
Those are growing OK.
Your Amaryllis are all pushing through with a lot of bloom buds.
Gonna be so pretty! Sometimes leaves come out first. I don't like that...
All my pots sre still in the Shop not doing much yet...
G.
thanks, Gita. That's good to know about the Maya v the Dr. Seuss. Wish I'd put ID tags next to the bulbs since I don't remember which is which. Oh, well--I guess it's nice to be surprised! :-)
prompted me to look at my Am bulbs; sure enough, one has new leaves
Cat--
You can always tell which one is Dr. S.--as its leaves are serrated
around the edges. Most others are smooth. Maya's are variegated.
Simple.....G.
What a cool tip about the bulbs, I never heard that one.
Wow -- the alcohol trick also works with amaryllis: http://awaytogarden.com/post-holiday-cheer-alcohol-for-sturdy-amaryllis My amaryllis always flop, so I love this idea. Apparently alcohol should not be used until roots develop a bit and the first green shoots appear.
Cornell recommends 4 to 6% alcohol. If isopropyl alcohol is 70% alcohol, doesn't that mean we should use 8.57 parts of 70% isopropyl alcohol (6% divided by 70%) for every 91.43 parts of water? So a little less than 1/10th?
I think paper whites are lovely but I HATE the way they smell, so we don't mess with them!
Happy, the tips sheet I picked up on Sat says one part rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol to ten parts water gives a 5% solution.
It also states that one can use distilled spirits like, gin, vodka or whiskey (typically 40%) One part with 7 parts water. Then it says
" Do NOT use Wine or Beer!!'
Coleup -- I'm not sure the math works right -- if the alcohol is 70% pure alcohol, then a 10% solution should result in a 7% solution... (10% of 70% = 7%). I only make this point because I read that no more than a 6% solution should be used.
The sheet I picked up says concentrations of 10% or above will damage plants,
Here is how one site does the math
"If at this point you are thinking “I am terrible at math! How do I figure the percentage?” Here’s the answer: To get the 5 percent solution in Step Six, just add one part booze (distilled spirits are 40 percent alcohol), to seven parts water. The result is an 8-fold dilution, of which 5 percent is now alcohol (40 divided by 8). Note: Rubbing alcohol is usually 70 percent alcohol. If you use this, dilute it to one part rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water. The result is an 11-fold dilution, of which
6.36% is now alcohol."
oh he# just drink the dammm alcohol and you won't get upset if your bulbs are too tall…..
ROFLOL Sally
First pic is Christmas cactus from GIta. The picture doesn't do it justice! It's a very pretty pink color.
The next one is a succulent I got from Sally. I couldn't take a good picture of it, but I love how it drapes down! I almost killed it this summer from pure neglect, but it's doing really well now. Sally, do you know what it's called? I think it was called pig's ear or something similar.
And my lipstick plant cuttings are also dead. I'm just terrible at keeping cuttings alive...
SS Just like outdoor gardening,it takes lots of trial and error to find the plants that work for you.
Happy, I'm with you on a strong dislike for smell of Paperwhites. Evidently, if you water them with the proper % solution of whiskey it will over power the Paperwhites and everything will smell like an old saloon!
I'm not giving our whiskey to the paperwhites --I'd rather forgo the paperwhites and save my eggnog!
If isopropyl alcohol is 70% alcohol, one part isopropyl alcohol to ten parts water gives a 6.4% solution.
When using pure alcohol (whatever that is), one part alcohol to ten parts water gives a 9.1% solution.
Cheers!
yes ssgardener, it is called pig's ear, it is a kind of Kalanchoe. Really hard to kill by neglect; rather, your care or lack of care will result in various 'looks', leaf sizes etc. And at time you may see babies on the leaf edges.
cheers, donnerville!!
They look lovely, SSG--and I'm glad I'm not the only one whose lipstick plant cutting didn't make it. :-(
I have a question about my Amaryllis Flamenco Queen. The first bloom is fading now, but other blooms are on the way--one stem is quite tall now, and another baby one is starting. In MoBot it says "Regardless of growing cycle, bulbs need (1) a period of recovery and rejuvenation after bloom when flowers are removed but foliage is left intact and watering is continued, albeit reduced and (2) a subsequent period of dormancy (at least 2 months) before starting the bloom cycle over."
So my question is, when do I start this period of dormancy, recovery, and rejuvenation, since the bulb is sending up stems for new blooms already? Does it reach a point where it stops sending them up? Also, what do I do with the bulb during its dormancy? Do I actually remove it from the pot, or just let it stay in the pot while it 'rests'? Do I need to do something to force the dormancy, or does it just happen naturally?
Final question: are my blooms faded enough to remove, or should I leave them on till they fade more? Sorry for such simple questions--it's my first amaryllis bulb!!
Have others started growing their amaryllis bulbs from Jill's bulb buy yet? My other two bulbs are beginning to grow now, too, but the Flamenco Queen really took off.
catmint, you are gong to keep this going through summer and start dormancy in fall, say September.
Let the blooms happen when they want, cut off dead flowers, cut off the stem when it shrivels up. WHen you get leaves treat it like a leafy plant, give it plenty of light and some fertilizer . In spring move it outside, even acclimating to some sun, plenty of water and fertility to bulb new buds for next winter. Fabulous bulb to have 3 bloom stalks!!
Thanks Sally that is very helpful. Yes this particular bulb has been amazing! Flamenco Queen.
Hey,
I've got mine growing great, a flemenco is about to bloom for me as well. Perhaps for Christmas.
I have one that is really struggling to grow, it is very far behind its counterpart. Perhaps, too much heat, maybe somebody gave it too much water before it started to bloom. Who knows. II'll post some pictures when they start to explode.
Catmint -- they like a lot of fertilizer and a lot of sun.... Critter takes hers out of the pot and sticks them in the soil over the summer. I leave mine in the pot, but I think Critter's approach is better if you have the room.
Terp, I wonder if the one that is struggling for you is the same one that has been struggling for me! It was the one of the 3 amaryllis bulb types that was small (not sure which cultivar). It is way behind both the Flamenco and bulb #2.
thanks for the reminder that I should sprinkle a little fertilizer in, Happy.
