Hey peeps ~ I got my Gloriosa and Habaneria yesterday. The Habaneria is corms and I know what to do with those. The Gloriosa, however, is...um...a...uh... this ~ How do I plant it? Flat? One end up? I want to pot them up just to get them in some soil and would like to do it today, but omigawd I feel really toopid! Haven't a clue what to do with it!!!
BTW ~ bright glowing orb in sky hurt eyes today! WOOO HOOO!
They look like horseradish roots.I'd say that the left side (Bigger end) is the end you'd want higher in the hole.Don't know how deep to plant,though.
Package says 2-4" but I've never planted anything like this before. Climbing lily, and I really want it to grow. It's spectacular!
Sheri - it's ok to plant sideways at an angle, larger end towards the top; that's how I did mine. They are in ultra loamy soil to encourage root growth AND will be easy to get out of the potting medium for a look-see.
Mine looked like, well, I really don't know how to describe it: like, I'd been taken advantage of! You know, dead roots... So the plan was to plant lightly & then check when the roots have developed a bit. it will give me a better understanding of how the roots come off the mother, LOL...oh I could go so many places with that one...
Bright Orb? Are we having another short-term visitation? As in a quickie???
none here - just upside-down grey swells....
This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 10:41 AM
Katye ~ Just ran inside for a quick looksee for you advice (how did I know you could help me?) Nope, definitely not a fly-by today. Bright orb still glowing. I'm in a T-shirt and busting a bit of a sweat!?!?!?!?!? It's certainly not 80* out there, but mid-40's, and that's good. We're off to run errands. I'll get some loamy planting mix and put them little puppies in it! They do look a bit, well, um, barren? Not quite the word I'm looking for, but just not a whole lotta alive looking...we'll see.
Definitely the left side to the top. They look healthy in the photo.
hehehe...gotta love that energy!
No golden orb, no sweat here, just lavender-pink coloured fingers - it's just too %*@¬:ž! cold.
The reason I slanted mine is I wanted to see if they have more growing points along the root, and if so, I'd take my chances. Never hurts to plant bulbs, tubers, corms, etc., at an angle, as there is less chance of the top/crown of the plant collecting water in the depression left from last year's top growth.
Barren: excellent description. I am watching to see how many days pass for something to emerge.
Hope reigns eternal in my head!
Okay...so one more questions. Are these tubers? A corms? A rhizomes? Doesn't look like any of the pictures to me. Looks like unhealthy, pale banana slugs!
They are root cuttings. Or, someone pulled off a good one & they are petrified Banana Slugs.
Just cover them with dirt and you will be surprised when they turn out beautiful.
But WW, will they come out of hibernation, turn yellow and eat all my plants? ; )
Sheri - if they leave the pot, get out of Dodge!
Just in case,surround those pots with rock salt so they can't escape.
I 2nd Katye, they are root cuttings, and they will probably do great...they look very healthy!
Daylilies come like that too sometimes.
Funny, Ned! Those roots really do look sort of slug-like. But everyone, I have to speak up for a special friend. The Northwest native Banana slugs are actually fine around ornamental garden plants. They just get a bad name because of the imported brown, black, and spotted slugs that voraciously eat everything they can crawl onto in our gardens. A banana slug sometimes visits my yard from the nearby woods in the summer, I think because of the moisture from my watering, and does not appear to do any damage. I am not sure what they do eat in the wild. The European slugs, on the other hand, have mowed down entire rows of seedlings, disfigured mature leaves, and seem to multiply several times a year. Those I am not fond of.
We do have some of the others,Holly,but mostly we have the banana slug here.I've had pretty good luck using popweed kelp as a mulch.When the fronds dry a bit they are sharp & slugs keep out.I've had a lot less damage last year.
MHF is correct. Banana slug are supposed to eat only decaying matter in the forest.
No wonder we have so many banana slugs.We have lots of decaying material in the woods,and lots of moisture for the slugs.I'll watch more closely for those other slugs now.Thanks.
oh yes - I know about the BS's. Rarely see them here, & I leave them be.
When I landed on the PNW page & saw the thumbprint, they resembled 2 small dried out BS's without my glasses on. They looked so familiar & then I remembered my Gloriosa Lily roots - looked just like that.
The European slugs are dispatched with here. I don't have $ to throw away on plants for slugs. they can make do in my little forest or compost pile. Wayyy too many slug eggs I have found already - possibly a banner year for the slugs.
I have yet to see any good slugs here, just the ones that look like little poops. I lived in the Sebastopol area of northern Cal for a few years in the late 70s and my best friend lived in Camp Meeker. Every year Camp Meeker had a Banana Slug Festival, which was really quite popular at the time (Maria Muldaur attended the last year I was there). AND, the banana slug became the official campus mascot of UC Santa Cruz in 1986, after a student rebellion against the then-current sea lion mascot. And don't be fooled; there really is only one true banana slug, Ariolimax dolichophallus, which is the pure yellow. Ariolimax columbianus is a mere cheap imitation!
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/09.26.01/slugs1-0139.html ~ a little rainy day reading...
The knock-offs blend in more with the landscape - I remember the authentic BS as saturated yellow from my Santa Cruz Mtn excursions. They did not escape notice.
So I think A. columbianus is what I have - I don't know that I've ever seen Ariolimax dolichophallus, which is probably a good thing. I had no idea that slug reproduction was so dangerous ( at least for 1/2 of the mating pair).
I thought the article was pretty interesting and enlightening as well. I just remember the slug festivals but could never bring myself to eat one. The A. dolichophallus is really quite amazing to see, very appealing to the eye. Maybe we could raise them along with worms?
Very appealling to the eye? LOLOLOL.
I've only eaten snails a couple of times. If it hadn't been for the butter, I would see no reason for a person to eat them unless they had absolutely no other option. Sea mollusks are much better. But then, maybe slugs are different then snails. Somebody will have to let me know.
I think your neighbors would run you out of town if they heard you were raising slugs - the "right" kind or not.
I ate snails once, too, and agree. If not for the garlic and butter, there would be nothing left but the tire. Never had sea mollusks either. Eating bugs just kind of creeps me out. Fortunately, I only have one set of neighbors and don't think they'd really care what I was growing here. So worms and slugs are definitely an option for me! And appealing to the eye. . .yes, for the color if nothing else. Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder ~ : )
