-- Post From My iPhone
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Bird of Paradise - rebloom
-- Post From My iPhone
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Orchid Bloom! 1 of 4...
The Neolauchea Pulchella Orchid is one of my favorites because it looks like a weed that has been strapped onto a piece of wood with some moss... well actually, that is what it is. But it's very unique and I keep it hanging on my avocado plant in the windowsill.
Right after I posted my orchid challenge I noticed the tiny bulbous parts of the plant were getting more bulbous and breaking through their papery coverings. I looked closer and realized a little sprout had also come out with a pink bud.
A few of them have bloomed and I think there will be about 8 by the time it's done. I can't explain how tiny they are so look a the picture below...yes, that is the tip of a pencil. How freaking adorable is that?!!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
My Orchid Challange
As you may know by now, I have reluctantly become some what of an orchid person. As cataloged by these past orchid posts:
Tolumnia Orchid
Den Jenkinsii Orchid
Neolauchea Pulchella Orchid
Orchid Window
Den Aussie Chip Orchid
Yuri Orchid
Iono Orchid
Another Orchid - Rescued
Space Ship Orchid - Holy Crap It Bloomed!
I am not only accepting my orchid person title but I am setting myself up for a challenge. I hope to get half of my orchids to bloom this season. You heard right. Half! So, I currently have 8of them so I'm aiming to bloom at least 4 of them.
I know they tend to bloom after they have been stressed and I've heard somewhere (probably the orchid show), that if you put them outside every night for a week when it starts getting cold - they bloom!
Tonight is their first outside night and it's supposed to be 45 degrees. I think that should be cold enough.
I'll keep you posted!
And by the way, I have to admit I have had one orchid failure. The Iono Orchid just dried up and died. I watered it the same as the other orchid, but for some reason it just keep getting thinner and drier. There, now you know.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Leopard Orchid Rebloom
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Grandma's Cactus - Part 2
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Scale & Flowers - The Ultimate Ick
Scale has got to be one of the worst bug infestations of all time! For one thing, they are just icky looking and are disgusting to pull off the plant. They look like they are from space and are pretty impossible to kill unless you have a canister of agent orange around somewhere.
I have scale on my very pretty shrubby bush that grows on a lattice and has great pink flowers that the hummingbirds love. It's been there for about 4 years now. Because of the scale it lives a little away from the rest of my plants, and I have had to break down and get some extra strength systemic bug killer that I slather on the plant every few months.
Even with all that, it just keeps it under control. I have had to sacrifice a few plants over the years and throw them away with their scaly infestation, but this one has survived.
I pick off the little buggers when they get big enough to see, but the crawling mobile stage that are white and powdery move around and I can't see them usually. Ick. I hate scale!!!
So, any pearls of wisdom, besides burning my plant? Let's hear them...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Geranium Update
So here it is, blazing middle of summer and this darn plant has doubled in size again! The pot is so small compared to the size of the plant, the over 100 degree days have been fierce and it's looking perfectly happy, fresh and lovely! What a rad little plant!
I never expected to like a geranium, but this one has changed my mind. It's awesome!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Succulent Flowers
I got this little succulent back when I first started working at the Zoo so it must be going on 10 years old. I got it from a guy who would sell rare plants out of his backyard - no joke. It loved plants and once a year would sell some off for charity. It was a little square 2" pot when I got it. After a few years I moved it into a 3" pot that it just loved.
He told me they like to be crowded so I never moved the little guy along, until a few years ago. I jumped straight to a 7-8" terra cotta pot that I had laying around. It did pretty well and has grown, once again, to the point where you can't see dirt at all... Just a lot of papery covered, bulbous roots.
It's a totally adorable spotted leaf plant that I love. In the late spring it busts out with a huge amount of flower spikes! It practically doubles the size of the plant for a couple of months. The little spikes are covered in super tiny, bell-shaped blooms that range from soft pink to purple.
Like most of my older plants, I have no idea what it is and have never seen it in a nursery. Oh well, I will enjoy it all the same...even without a name.
JULY 2014 Update: It's a Ledebouria socialis!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Calla Lilies
They have both bloomed a few times now, with each new flower whiter than the last. They started off with this blushing pink thing going and now they are just white. Weird.
They seem like they would really rather be in ground or a larger pot. I may have to move them in together in larger pot over the winter. Until then, I have a nice little flower on the porch.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Another Grass Flower
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sweltering Heat in Sacramento!
It's taking it's toll on the porch ecosphere. Everything has plenty of water, I have a large umbrella to counteract the hottest part of the day but even so, the plants aren't happy. They aren't getting any cool air at night.
Everything is looking a little listless, some are just giving up and dropping their leaves. The lemon tree hasn't started dropping fruit yet, so that's good. Over all, they won't die, but they are going to need some TLC in the fall to get back into shape.
Poor hot plants.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tolumnia Orchid
It is growing lots of roots and leaves and expanding to fill it's tiny, tiny pot. Also adorable - there is moss growing on it.
Must. Stop. Buying. Orchids.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Den Jenkinsii Orchid
I only have a small space on the window sill that likes orchids, so I went looking for something small...oh and this is small! In a two inch pot, it fits just fine. It wasn't blooming but I'm told it has orange blooms. I guess we will see in the winter if I can get it to bloom. I am loving the mini orchids. Just as much fun with some much less space.
Another mini one coming up next time.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Work Plant
I bought this little guy about 5 years ago when I was having a shitty day at work. I went to Capital Nursery, right around the corner from the Zoo, and wandered around until I felt better. That included picking up this plant and a nice brown pot for it to live in.
$11 later, and I it lived in my office. It loves to have a little bit of water every couple of days. If you can't remember to water your plants, don't buy this one...it will drop all it's leaves and die on you. I only seem to do well with it cause it lives on my desk and I look at it every day. It usually gets my leftover glass of water at the end of the day.
I recently went on vacation for a few weeks and left the plants in the care of my coworker. Not all of them survived, but this guy hung in there.
I love the little spikes it shoots out every once in while after it's been happy for a good long time. They look like the kind of spikes that come out of a peace lily.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Succulent Window, RIP Tummy
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Neolauchea Pulchella Orchid
The only reason I know the name of this orchid is because it has a tag nailed to the back of it! This is yet another plant I picked up at the Sacramento Orchid Show back in the spring. I only have a small area in the window that is orchid friendly, but this one hangs! So, no need for extra space! Yes, I can rationalize with the best of them.
It is currently hanging off a little stump of a branch on the avocado tree that lives in the same windowsill. It loves it there. I run it under cool water ever couple of days, then hang it back up to drip into the avocado - it's a win, win.
I've never had this type of orchid, and it is supposed to grow like a weed. So far, that's true. It just keeps expanding those little weedy stems and shooting out tiny, papery roots. It's great fun to have since it's novel little thing. If I can get it to bloom, I'll post some pictures.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Air Plants!
Ursala
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Orchid window
Since they are right up against the window, it gets nice and cold at night in the winter which seems to be the secret to getting them to bloom. There's not a lot of room left there, but I wend to the orchid show with my Mom and ended up with three of the tiniest orchids ever! I am not addicted, I can stop any time.
I'll share the new orchids with you soon.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thin plant
I have no idea what this plant is. I bought it at the Davis Ace Hardware over 10 years ago because it was so unique looking. (BTW, Davis Ace is one of the best places to buy plants. Pretty affordable and they have a fabulous selection of stuff you don't see at your regular big box nursery. Plus a bonsai section which rocks!).
Back to the plant. So, it must be a bulb plant cause it dies off for a little while in the late fall, early winter then starts growing greenery about a month or two later. It's so damn hearty and I've never repotted it. It just trucks along happy.
The flowers are pretty cute too, clusters of 3 pointed blue flowers that seem to last a good long while. Only down fall is that the cats think it's cat grass and can't resist sometimes.
If anyone knows what it is, please let me know!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Lemon Tree
Meyer lemons are pretty much the perfect fruit ever! They are so much more flavorful than regular Eurekas and seem to ripen nice an quick plus they are delicious in cocktails. I have been wanting a tree for a long time, but with a condo porch, what are you going to do?
Answer: Buy one anyway and try to "sneak" it in the from the garage, up the stairs, across the living room and onto the porch without Ben noticing. He caught me when I was halfway out the porch door. It's been about a year and a half and it has tripled in size!
Last year it had quite a few blooms but nothing was pollinated. I thought it might be because there were no bees around where we are, so I was resigned to not having any lemons this year either. But, the tree was covered in blooms... hundreds on this little porch tree and the bees came!
I have little tiny green balls the size of peas on a bunch of the branches. I am hoping they hang on and turn into lemons.
Bring on the lemon drops!