San Antonio area Plant Swap -part II - Oct 14-15

speaking of odd plants....my turtle back plant has decided that its real cozyfied in this heat...and has decided to show off by growing yet another vine out of its caudex....amazing little thing, I tell ya. Its a touchy sort of plant...just gets real mad at me...if I do anything at all that might be different...like my watering schedule...or the time that I accidently fertilized it. Like I said, it almost got itself out of its pot to go to the neighbor's house...lol But I'm right proud of it.. :)

I took a photo of this water lily at Rainbow last week.. :)

Ahh ok Thanks Rita . . . that'd be great :) I may even have one or two by then and would surely need to know how to protect them in case it ever cools off around here?

lol TxT . . . that is a pretty cool and odd look'n little plant :D Maybe he wants a pet spider to hang out with him? ;) Nice pic of that lily too :)

Ya may be right about Rainbow having them, but the show I saw on them said they're SUPER easy to start from just a small stick from a plant . . . don't need anything at all . . . just dirt and a few hours of sun - no water or ferts or anything for a couple of months. Interesting huh?

Hmmm...I wouldn't mind trying my hand and soil on one of those myself...sort of like a gardenia bloom...well, sort of... :)

Take a look at what is accumulating on my back porch, lol... My honey is sort of grumbling a bit....but I have to tell him that its only temporary. Although I'm getting mighty attached to my cuttings, lol. But I know they'll be going to good and dedicated homes. :) And I still have alot more to go....does anyone have any good ideas about transporting all of those styrofoam cups? I'm not worried about the plastic ones...since I have nursery trays........just a'wonderin'... :)

I have been cuttin my gallon milk jugs about 3 inches from the bottom, you can fit 4 cups in them nice and snug. It makes them easy to carry, plus they hold the water that drains off and helps to keep the plants moist, of course you don't want them stansding in a lot of water, but a little is o.k.
Then you can deliver them in their holders.
Nice collection you have there, Melanie.

*giggle and you couldn't have told me this yesterday? I set out 4 milk jugs for the recycler this morning!

Sorry, maybe your friends can save theirs for you, that is what mine do.

What a wonderful idea...Josephine...thanks!....I'm going outside and dig 2 out of my garbage..which hasn't been picked up yet..lol :)
Melanie

Great!! I am glad I was able to help.

GD....I have 3 Plumeria cuttings I started about a week ago....would be glad to bring some for you...(I just caught up on some reading....or else I'd have said something sooner) MMMMM they sure smell good!
Lee

ohhh those are georgous!

aww, now Lee...those are mighty pretty... :) I can almost smell the fragrance over here... :) ----->---->-->---@

Melanie

Want me to save one for you Nada....for the SA swap? It would be easy to start more...if necessary...I think I have a total of 4 youngsters right now....but my Momma
Plumeria would gladly permit more.

Rita - I would like a youngster of the Frangipanii - if you're going to bring some cuttings - I haven't identified my Plumeria yet.....you're welcome to some...if you would like! Lee

One for you too Melanie?

They're really east to take care of.....during winter,...I just put mine inside and water very sparingly,.....actually,...I think I once read that you can remove them from their soil and put in a dry area - protected from freezing weather - and then re-plant them when Spring arrives - I've never lost one.....and I've literally left them to fend for themselves after putting indoors.....maybe once in a while give a little water.....they drop their leaves and stand there bare to the world....but rebound wonderfully when the weather permits!
I'll adjust my list of plants I'll be bringin' to include Plumeria babies...they'll be rooted! :~)

oh cool thanks... would love one.

*sigh* I would definitely love to have one, Lee....but, unless I plant it in my bathtub....I'm not sure where I would put it, lol...At this point, I'm desperately trying to find the time to build my new beds...before October....because I simply don't have the space in my existing beds for much more...so I HAVE to start soon...but this dadburn heat is keeping me indoors ...as well as work. I may recruit GD and get him over here to lend me a hand (clap clap), lol...naw, I don't know yet...What with a new house and an empty canvas of a small and treeless back yard...I'm trying to figure out my next move..................................on that note....yeah, if ya have another cutting, bring it along! lol *shaking head* :D

TxT

well maybe after the roundup we can do a barn building! *giggle ya know.. everyone that wants to go help you this month then chose someone else in two months and someone else in another two months. with extra hands you can get a lot more done than with just yourself.

I'm willing to give up one weekend day every 2 months to help others here. If anyone else is interested we could start a sorta roundup coop barn building thing....

ok first thing is to figure out a good NAME for it.

Now THAT is a wonderful idea....Nada...I love it!....I'd love to help other folks in our area when time permits. Sort of have a potluck/lawn chair/ shovel sort of day.. :) .....I've joked before that as I'm running out of room, I've been eyeballing the neighbor's empty yards with a steely eye...lol

To be quite honest...this ground out here is so dadburn awful to garden...I'd almost be worried about asking folks to give me a hand. Its literally like cement! Not for the faint of heart...or for those I'd love to have back...lol ;D

that is why most of my garden is above ground. I didn't even TRY to dig in most of it. Built tiers and put in dirt and THEN planted. I've only had to dig a few hard holes and I didn't bother with a shovel. A pickaxe is the way to go. If you live in central Texas and garden you HAVE to have a pickaxe!

yeah, I may try that suggestion of a "lazy man's garden" by laying wet newspapers for about a week or so...and then dirt/manure and mulch over that. The rocks and hard clay are bad enough....but trying to remove rooted bermuda pallets over that stuff is even harder. I actually built my last bed by scooting all over the dirt and hacking sideways at the pallets...phew...almost killed me! I guess I'll have to get a pickaxe...that definitely may help.

If I do make a raised bed...I'm just wondering how I would be able to get that plastic edging around it...since I like rounded edges and circular patterns..

I was just looking at that photo....and my grass is actually SORT OF green there.....it looks much worse...much to my frustration... : /

I've been viewing the PF 15 pages of Plumeria listings!
whew! Since I have the old-fashioned "land line"....my input is 56K.....but I'm still glad we live too far out in the country for fiber optics - DSL
Well,...I found 3 cultivars that look a lot like the Plumeria rubra specimens I have - Kona Hybrid, Grove Farm and Bud's Cloud Pink....with Grove Farm being my pick as closest to what I have.....doesn't matter to me...
but some people like to know! Anyway,...I'll make my list
for Plumeria rubra babies to include reserved for GD,Nada and Melanie so far....anyone else....just speak up! I'll be delighted to start more!

Can you add me to the list for one also willistxgarden?

Hey all, very busy here. I started school this week and work isn't letting up. soon I will get back into a routine and well then I can keep up with all.
got to go to work now. will try and write later.
calvin

I will post a pick of the Frangipanni tomorrow and all are welcome to some bits, funny never think to offer what you think is common. In Brisbane they were so common, grew every where they had a bit of a bad reputation because their roots are powerful water seekers, oops there goes the plumbing, we didn,t have any frost so they got pretty big, like a fig here. The outdoor markets would sell the grafted ones, 2-6 different colours grafted onto the one tree. Brisbane city decorated the parkways and riverbanks with an evergreen variety, that one was quite attractive, very dark green glossy leaves with an almost white flower.

Sounds great Lee & Rita! The ones in the photo are really nice Lee, I'll have to check out the PlantFile pages you mentioned. I think they will do well out here since I have very well drained soil and it typically don't get *as* cold out here south of town as it does up in the hills. I will want to try the winter protection plan you mentioned Rita and I may have a greenhouse built before the first cold snap hits this year. (Which may be a long way off still?)

BTW - Most of the cuttings I took of the Snoutbeans seem to be doing ok still. They've been in containers for about 2 weeks now and most are still green, so I'm thinking they may survive. I tried a different mix this time, mostly sand (like they are growing wild in) so that may have helped.?

Now that I know what they like - or at least seem to like, I'll try to get a few more started. I think there are about 5-6 out there now. I'll double check and try to get some pics later.


Now there's an interesting ideer Nada . . . guess I'm gonna have to change my name to Have_Pickaxe_Will_Travel . . . lol :D

I've put your name on one , Calvin!

Lee

GD, if you'd like a yellow plumeria, I have the Plumeria Yellow Celadine.
http://www.plumeria101.com/master_gallery/celadine.html
I'm a sucker for fragrant flowers sometimes.

Here is the frangipanni that i have.

Wow . . . I think they're all beautiful and wouldn't mind having one of each :)

Here's the updated photo I promised. These are two of about 5 Snoutbeans I started (2nd round) about 2-3 weeks ago. I'm not sure if they have any roots yet, none are visible through the plastic cups and I haven't tugged on them yet. However they are still alive and seem to be doing fine - even in this blazing heat. As you can see in the cup on the right, one of the two I placed in that cup didn't survive, but the other is fine. That makes me think the ones that have made it this long will be ok. Only time will tell I guess?

I'll keep ya'll posted :)

Wow, GD....that is some kind of odd colored soil ya got there....amazing how different it looks then my hard clay stuff out here...and we're not THAT far apart.... lol, I notice the colors of everything... :) And whatever that red piece of furniture is beneath your seedlings...can I have it? lol....just kiddin'! I love old weathered red stuff for some odd reason...well, red in general...our house is full of old red stuff...actually had to get permission from the HOA to paint our front door red...lol

Your snoutbeans are looking real good...a shame about that wee one...I keep forgetting to ask how all of your other collected plants are doing? Are my oak babies doing ok? lol... :D

lol @ the travelin' pickaxe.....I'm afraid you might have to use a jackhammer out here....lol

This message was edited Aug 26, 2006 9:40 PM

GD, those cuttings look real nice, I guess you used the sandy soil that they were gowing in, that was a smart move.
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Melanie, you love red? Well red is my favorite color too, what a coincidence.

I have mostly done everything around my house in either browns or greens. I saw a couple of gardens here that had some blues in them and I was just won over. I have started getting some blue items and bought some blue paint for if/when I need to make something else blue.

I love red...Josephine! My living room is a combo of reds, blues, greens, yellows....and a little bit of black....sort of like an old house in Mexico. Being Irish...green is another favorite :)

Take a look at our newest Napoca cabinet from Romania....had it painted yellow in El Paso...and is home to my most cherished possessions. :) Can ya'll see the red curtains? :)

Melanie

This message was edited Aug 26, 2006 11:00 PM

This is our other cabinet...from India....and also a home to my other important things... :) I reckon that I'm so attracted to primary colors..esp red...perhaps because of the artist in me...? :)

Melanie

Very nice Melanie, you sure have a colorful home, it matches your personality very well.

Melanie,
You must really like to travel? My wife went to Romania summer 04 for a mission trip with our church. She really like the area and the people group.
Never been to India though. My wife, again, was in that region of the world this summer 06 for a humanitarian trip to SRI Lanka to spend time and comfort(help where she could) with the tsunami victims. I thik she felt alot better after that trip than when she went to Romania though. She probably won't admit it, hehe.

She sure looked enriched when she returned from Sri Lanka. To me at least.

Oh well I am ranting
got to go

calvin

lol Calvin....you're not ranting...just chattin' with your pals... :)

Yes, I love traveling, tho I've never traveled outside of this hemisphere..lol.. only Canada...and the border of Mexico...and Boston, since THAT is sort of another part of the world...lol...and of course all over this beautiful country. But I'm an AVID armchair world traveler...and always wanted to go to the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as Northern Africa, Ireland and Scotland. Well, all over the place, really...lol It seems as tho the parts of the world that I've always wanted to see are having the most difficult of times. But one can dream. :) I remember you mentioning that your wife had gone to Sri Lanka. What a wonderful way to lend a hand. :)

Thanks, Josephine.... :) I reckon that when I really think about it...my life and nature are pretty darn colorful at that... ;)

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.........................................................................

Scotland! and Ireland! I only dream of it. I wish maybe someday.

By the way, those cabinets TxT are really beautiful. the character they add to your rooms is probably very relaxing and homey. Nice touch to your decor form what I can see in the pics.

thanks calvin :) I DO love color...and the stories that are behind the pieces of furniture that I have. Its hard for me to walk into a dept store and pick out a living room. Actually, I've never done that, lol. I love well used, well loved and "welcome" ;) pieces in our home. Each thing has a story...each picture on the wall, a tale. :) For example, our dining table and chairs came from the city dump in Wellesley, MA.....which in all actuality...is an incredibly wealthy community where people have to actually pay to go into the dump to find stuff..lol. But it has its scars...and cigarette burns (I don't smoke, mind ya, lol). I actually purchased the set at the store that I worked in near Boston where we appraised antiques and furniture for consignment. And so yes...they do make our home.....homey. :)

Melanie