Coming from
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1343762/#new
Status reports, problems, praises for our indoor gardening in the dead of winter, as a snowstorm is bearing down
Pic is some sort of bromeliad but photographed in the wild.
Indoor gardens Jan 2014 Mid Atlantic
Catmint: Here's my 3 amaryllis. Or is it amarylles? ;)
Thanks Typ will be exciting to see them open!
LOL amarylii?
I am going to say that--"Amaryllis" is one of those words that is the same
in singular as well as plural--as it already ends in an "s"...like "scissors".
Anyone want to find other examples?? Might be a good snowy day exercise....
G.
According to Google, none of us are right. The plural noun is amaryllises. So now you know!
I was playing around with my fancy new camera and photo editing software and here's one of my amaryllises about to bloom.
Karen--that is very artistic--ghostly looking....
Black and white can add so much depth to a photograph.... G.
Potty training my potted palm....
No , really, what better place to prop a large pot and water till it drains??
Very clever, Sally :o).
ROFLOL Wonderful Sally!
Sally: You should frame that photo and hang it next to the loo.
AV question: I was given an African violet from a friend who no longer wanted it because she said it never bloomed. I immediately re-potted it (same pot, new potting mix), and shortly thereafter the existing leaves seemed to die -- still green, but no volume and limp. I can see a sign of new growth at the crown, but I can't tell if it healthy or not. The pot it was in was probably too large and I know AVs like to be pot-bound. Is all this normal? Should I repot again into a smaller pot, or let it be?
Begonia question: ssg gave me cuttings of her dragon-wing begonia late last summer (which I adored). I rooted them -- now two of those two cuttings seem to be well-rooted (I think I took three and one died -- don't recall for sure). Anyway there is no growth whatsoever on the rooted cuttings. In one case the stem seems alive but has not a single leaf on it. The other rooted cutting has only one leaf which was healthy until very recently, and now the tip of that leaf is starting to die. These rooted cuttings are by my kitchen window so I look at them often. Have you ever had this happen? Of course I'll be patient, but I'm curious if a stem will root but otherwise do nothing for months.
Hoya: Chantell gave me a Hoya cutting last year. It is rooted, but has grown, if at all, an infinitesimal amount. It is tiny. Is this what Hoyas do initially?
Happy--
I will try to answer your questions....Someone else could pitch in as well.
First of all--a Dragon Wing Begonia is an annual. I do not know how well
they do as houseplants?
I would not fuss too much over the rooted cuttings.
--How big a cutting did you take? Tip cuttings root better than longer ones.
--Make sure you let them dry out before watering again. Is it too wet?
--Are the temps too cold by your kitchen window? Move it to a warmer spot.
--What kind of light is at this window? I would let it be--and see what happens....
On your African Violet---the only thing I could suggest is that you remove
all the older leaves that seem "limp" and allow the leaves at the crown to take over.
What kind of soil did you use to re-pot the AV? I hope it is like a Pro Mix type...
Ask Karen this--she is a good AV grower.
On the Hoya---what kind of Hoya? Hoya Crnosa? Hindu Rope Hoya? Which?
Yes! They root slowly and put out new growth very slowly.
Let it be--keep it on the dry side (clay pot helps) and give it bright, indirect light.
Then--WAIT.............
Some pictures would help.... Gita
It will take it's sweet time, but once it settles in, it will grow OK.
Gita: I was just hoping to carry the dragon wing through the winter, so I can plant it outside when it gets warm. Ssg had a beautify container of it last summer. But the cutting is just sitting there. It is clearly rooted -- I must have planted it before Thanksgiving, and if I tug on it, it doesn't move. But there is just no new growth. It is in a forsythe pot with cuttings of your Inky Fingers. I'll wait. I have faith!
The AV I repotted in some old Miracle Gro potting soil I found in the garage -- nothing special. I really think I needed to put it in a smaller pot. The only other AV I have I repotted in Taplas Mix and it has been growing like gang-busters -- almost too strong!
As to the Hoya, Chantell said it was a Hoya lacunose, Cinnamon Scented Wax Plant. I've never grown a Hoya before -- I know zilch about it.
All of these pots are behind my sink, in the kitchen window, where it is quite bright.
Happy, the unhealthy AV leaves should be removed as suggested by Gita. If that produces a "neck", you can bury the "neck" when repotting. The soil level can go all the way up to just below the first set of bottom leaves. Eventually, roots will grow out of the "neck".
AVs can die very quickly if the potting mix is too wet and heavy. Make sure you use a very light mix that drains quickly. If your AV can hang on for a few more weeks, I can bring you some potting mix to the seed swap.
This message was edited Jan 30, 2014 6:12 PM
Donner -- thanks -- I have some excellent potting mix in the garage -- I just didn't use it! If I repot the AV into that (Tapla's mix), should I shift the AV into a smaller pot?
It depends on the size of the plant. I normally use 3" pots when they are small, and 4" pots when they are big. AVs can get very big in large pots, but it will take a while before they bloom.
If your AV has lost a lot of leaves, you probably can use a 3" pot for now.
It is in a 4" or maybe even 5" pot now, and it was small to begin with -- so I'll downsize it and use Tapla's mix.... Thanks, donner.
For what it's worth, I once had AV that never bloomed even though it was very healthy.
Muddy, It probably needed more light, not strong light on the south window in the summer time though.
Gita, the Dragon Wing is a technically a tender perennial. They are hardy in zone 10.
Happy, my DW is still blooming! It's dropped some leaves and looking a bit sadder, but looking okay considering it's not supposed to be a very good houseplant.
I plan on taking lots of cuttings next month, so no worries if yours doesn't work out!
Happy--
At last count--I have 65 AV's--ALL sizes. None of them have bloomed yet--
but I have high hopes that maybe this year I will see some.
I never intended to have so many--but I cannot help propagating the from leaves.
My AV's used to sit on shelves right against my LR and DR windows.
WAY too cold in the winter--the glass is right there.
So--this year--I decided to do something different. First--I re-potted them all
in a fantabulous AV Mix (made only in Canada) not sold here....
I chanced upon it at the GH I shop at. They had gotten a shipment and had some left-overs.
I put a card table in the far corner of my DR, bought a hanging light, put a 100W
CFL bulb in it and hung it above the table-full of Violets. Not sure if they get enough
light--but they all seem to be doing OK. They are growing..even the itsy-bitsy ones.
Hoping for some bloom--very badly.....Gita
Looking good to me!
Yours look great. I daren't post a photo of the one I inherited -- it looks dreadful. I hope I can coax it to live and bloom!
happy--If not--take off some of the better leaves and root it.
I can walk you through it--there are 3 easy ways to do it. Al of themm work.
Just make sure the leaf is healthy and plump.
G.
That's the problem, Gita; the plump leaves have un-plumped. Later tonight I still plan to repot it (I've been doing paperwork all evening).
Your plants look great, Gita!
Donner, I think I tried that plant in several places. Gita's cuttings got me to thinking...the AV that didn't bloom was a division of one that did. The other half kept blooming, but I finally gave up on the new plant.
Do some AVs simply never bloom?
AV fertilizer makes them bloom...
as for the Dragon Wing..I have brought some cuttings in also and they seem to take forever to grow but put them out in the spring and they really take off..
Blue Poppy, I agree on the Dragon Wing.
I have the same same 8 containers and 6 large coco hanging baskets that I began with 6 years ago! Never repotted, rarely fed looking good from June on! They spend the freezing winter on my unheated porch untended and unwatered til I put them back outside and wake them up with a good soak or two and some osmacote, During the winters so far, they continue to bloom and drop their leaves and some canes are bare sticks by spring. Most bare sticks put out new growth once again outside. The soil I used initially must have been pretty good as any time a piece breaks off or I trim back to shape a plant I can stik it in mother pot and it will take, even l o n g branches 15" have taken! Wonderful plant that suits me.
SSG never have tried maintaining indoors and good to know a source if this deep extended cold on my unheated porch has done them in. They do produce new canes and some older(?) canes die and dry out and easily break away from base...
Happy--
After reading all this--I believe the problem with your AV is that you put it in OLD soil.
Perhaps it was too heavy--too wet once watered, too cold etc.
Fresh, loose and well draining is the way to go....always!
Not sure you can undo the damage that easily.
Follow Donner's advice--and you may have a chance. G.
Gita: The soil I used for the AV was previously unused Miracle Gro potting mix -- I had had the bag for a couple years, which is why I referred to it as "old." But it isn't as free draining as Tapla's mix. I'm afraid if I disturb it now I'll make matters worse. I put it directly under a fluorescent light and I've stopped all water, so I'll see whether the new leaves are viable. If they are, I'll repot into Tapla's mix.
Coleup: That's very reassuring about the dragon wings!
Happy, it just occurred to me that your AV might have crown rot. If you google african violet crown rot photos you'll see some photos of it.
I defer to the AV experts regarding whether or not it can be saved. I haven't tried to grow AVs for years because my cats ate the leaves. It didn't hurt the cats, but it really made the AVs look terrible. I had one spot in the house where they couldn't get it, and when it didn't bloom for such a long time, another plant got that spot. Sadly, those cats have passed away, so I could try again and hope that my new cat won't eat it.
This message was edited Jan 31, 2014 1:43 PM
Muddy: Crown rot is exactly what I'm worried about. I have only "owned" this AV for a week. A friend gave it to me because it wouldn't bloom for her. So I won't cry buckets if it croaks, though I feel duty-bound to give it a chance.
I understand about feeling duty-bound and wanting to give plants a chance! About 3 weeks ago, my daughter brought me her boyfriend's potted plants to see if I could save them. All of them were either dying or dead, but I gave it a shot even though the only space for them was on my kitchen table. One revived enough to produce some green leaves, but all of them were added to one of my compost piles today anyway. I hate throwing away plants, but I don't much like ratty-looking ones on my kitchen table and counter either.
The AV is looking worse by the minute, sadly. But I'll wait until it is beyond the pale to give up on it.
Happy, not saying this is the story of your av but unless the av went from heated house to heated garage to heated car to heated garage to your heated home the cold and windchills we have had the last few weeks may have done it in as they are sensitive to cold and chills anyway.
Happy, if you really want to save this AV because it came from your friend, you can propagate it by using the best looking leaf from the plant in case the plant doesn't make it.
Here's my Dragon Wing begonia, not looking as pretty as it did a couple of months ago.
And a bonus purple oxalis.
Beautiful plants, and you picked the perfect pot for that oxalis. It really shows off that purple.
ss-
I have several pots of Oxalis--but they are semi-dormant on my laundry room
window shelf.
Maybe I should water them more? Fertilize a bit? I would love to have a full pot
like yours when it comes time to put my plants outside...
I have grown them upstairs as a houseplant--and they are spectacular.
G.
Gita, I think they need at least a little bit of winter dormancy. Last winter they looked ok until around March when they started looking dead, so I stopped watering. They perked up again when brought outside in April and I started watering again.
I also have a bunch of oxalis that I left outside. They're supposedly hardy down to zone 7, so we'll see!
I think my AV is toast -- I don't see a leaf good enough to propagate. Well, there's one, but even it is on its last legs. I'll try it! Gita, do I just stick it in some good potting soil, like Tapla's gritty mix? Maybe I can just add it to my forsythe pot with ssg's begonia -- that's it -- that is what I'll do. That will take zero work, and since this cause is doomed that level of effort is all that is appropriate.