My Jade bloomed late Summer but I'm not sure if I photographed it.
Indoor Blooms, Anyone?
Really?!!!!
How'd you do it? What's the trick??
Wish I knew. I don't do much for my Jade. It's about seven years old - maybe more - so it did take a long time. I trim it up so it's a quasi-bonsai.
DonnieBrook, Sorry I didn't get back to you about the list on the college. I went off to Vt.
row 1 Flowering Maple Abutilon; Fuchsia Blacky; orchid Adgm. Summit 'Frenchtown'
row 2 Citrus myrtifolia; Royal Paint Brush,Haemanthus albiflos; paperwhites, narcissus Ziva
row 3 Hybrid Epiphyllum, pink Epiphyllum (another old one) Potted florist Hydrangea (rescued from florist trash) Thanksgiving cactus, Schlumbergera truncatus (common red one that is over 30 years old)
pixie62560, Love seeing Apple Blossom, does that mean it is spring? Cold, Icy, first real snow here. I still have bulbs to plant.
Sofonisba, nice collection of succulents and cactus. I love that echiveria bloom.
Here are some more goodies. The calla( green goddess) is from the coop 4paws did this spring and it is still so happy in the GH. The others are new gems from a trip with Boojum to a orchid GH in Deerfield, Ma. Dangerous place. Patti
Victor, I'd like to see a picture of your quasi-bonsai jade. Is that your one houseplant?
Patti, oh, those orchids are gorgeous! Good thing I didn't go to that GH in Deerfield. Which echiveria bloom do you mean in my pics? The Schlumbergera or did you visit my journal?
Harper
No, I don't consider that a houseplant, but one that I overwinter inside (somewhere). I did post a photo of of in the Summer, but it was a close-up of a leaf.
This message was edited Dec 13, 2007 8:40 PM
Thanks for the list, Patti! They are all so pretty.
Celeste - I have two amaryllis and one of them is Apple Blossom - a real beauty and a true favorite! The blooms on my red one opened here this morning. AB has foliage, but no bloom stalk yet. I posted the red one on another thread, but here it is.......so Christmasy!
I have my bouganvillea blooming at the moment! It sat like a stump all summer and is blooming like crazy right now.
Martha
I overwinter my jade plant too. It stays outdoors except in the winter.
very pretty Pixie & Donniebrook!.. mine is almost open ...maybe today
I guess it's how you view it. All my houseplants stay outdoors except in the winter... well, between the first and last frosts. Here's a few of them from this summer.
Lots of watering!! Hope you use polymers.
What's a polymer?
When they're inside, it takes an hour and a half to water them all. When they're outside, I use the hose.
Polymer crystals. They're great. Look like sugar but absorb water and expand like crazy. Then they release it slowly and shrink. I use them in all pots, baskets, etc. I can even skip a day with a decent size pot in full sun. They're not cheap, but they're worth it.
Oh, right. I've heard of them. Haven't used them. Maybe I'll experiment. Once, at a friend's house, she had some outdoor container plants with blue crystals on the surface of their soil and it was that stuff. I thought it was odd that she would just place it on top and not in the soil.
How long do these polymer crystals last?
A few years at least.
Ooooo, good. Good.
Wait. Where can I buy them?
Sofonisba, Nice collection of plants. What is that skinny looking spiked jade like plant? I have seen them before and once had something like it in the 70's but can't remember the name. Maybe "Pencil ???" Thanks.
I thought that polymer stuff had to be mixed in the soil below the surface to be effective. ???? I got some plants from a western grower that had some of them in the in newspapers wrapped around the plants and then I added them to some pots, but I should do a good test to see how well they work. There was a coop last spring for them, but I had never seen them before so I skipped it. Patti.
They should be mixed in with the soil. People use them exposed as decoration in vases - color them, etc.
That's lookin' good. Is that a gardenia?
I had a very reasonable source on the web. Bought 10 pounds about four or five years ago. Just finishing it up now.
Anita, My daughter's jade plant has currently got one bloom on it that it has had since october. I leave ours out until the last minute, but I think it truly has to do with age, pot boundness and definitely daylight. we repotted several of the others this summer so they probably aren't bound enough yet to bloom. I will take a picture.
martha
Patti, it's a Pencil Tree; Euphorbia tirucalli. They're incredibly easy to grow.
http://davesgarden.com/tools/journal/viewentry.php?rid=110405
or: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53909/
Good info on getting the Jade to bloom, Martha. Thanks!
Nice going on the gardenia Sherry. I have trouble keeping those from getting spider mites.
My Jade has been in the same pot for years now.
I also use the polymers in all of my baskets and in many other plants as well. If you use too many, they blob up to the surface like a big globby mass. They break down if they are above ground, so it is best to use the correct amount and have them under or surrounding the root ball. I sometimes use a long wooden spoon handle to make several deep holes around a plant, then push some crystals down deep into the holes and add water. They are a real asset down here with the drought and the tight watering restrictions.
Interesting polymer discussion.
Where did you guys find them for purchase?
My jade is still pretty new. Although it has been in the same pot, it's a small pot. I'm guessing I'll be waiting a few more years.
almost there
There was a co-op on here for the polymers last spring, and I got them very reasonably from that. It was 4.25 lb, with a 3 pound minimum, which is a lot of crystals. 5 pounds including shipping was 25.85. I have seen people asking for another co-op for them, so maybe in the spring. But they were Watersorb polymer crystals that were mixed sizes, and they worked well for me.
I can't imagine why anyone would put them on top of the pot, that would keep the water away from the root system, I would think.
I remember that co-op, but I think I still saw it cheaper on the web.
If you do see it cheaper, Victor, I would like to know. I used a ton of it in my Japanese irises last year. Thanks.
I will try to find it again polly! Had it bookmarked on my fried notebook so I have to search again.
Here are some of today's kids in the GH. The jades are all blooming (not the trumpets) and the first of my many hippeastrum has bloomed. The color is not at all this color. It is much more plum (called Lilac Wonder, but it may be a bogus one) not so red/orange. The impatience/begonia planter that bloomed all summer is now starting again after I whacked it back. A single orange geranium has started again too. The freesia that I potted up late has broken the ground and will hopefully bloom in early March. I emptied out in a random pot an old bag of seeds that I collected a couple of years ago from some single hollyhocks and they have all spouted. I was not expecting anything as they have been sitting forgotten in the corner of a sometimes very hot GH. Now what to do? Prick them out and nurse them through the winter and plant a forest of them in the spring? Patti
Very pretty blooms, Patti!
As to where you can buy the crystals/polymers - I have bought them at HD and Lowes. I believe the last brand I had was Jobes; they come under several brands; I'd be interested in a good source myself. They are not inexpensive.....but they do last for a few years.
Harper - when you saw your friend's crystals on top of the ground, could it be that she had overdone it and they had blobbed out of the ground around the plants?
very nice shots ... bbrookrd