Scale & Flowers - The Ultimate Ick

Oh scale, how do I hate thee, let me count the ways...

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...

Geranium Update

Well here it is again. I wrote about the Geranium plant in January '09. I said then, that I should probably repot it before spring. Yeah, that didn't happen.

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!

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!

Calla Lilies

I planted these Calla Lily bulbs two years ago and this is the first time they have bloomed. They have just sat in their pots acting like I can't see them. Finally, in the heat of Sacramento Spring they came to live.

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.

Another Grass Flower

I wrote about the two grasses that share a pot on my condo porch a while ago. At the time the Acorus was blooming in little green spikes. Well the Black Mondo took a little longer to bloom and just busted out with these adorable little white flowers. I haven't seen it bloom before, so I think it's adorable.

Sweltering Heat in Sacramento!

Oh my god, can the heat stop already! We have had over 100 degrees for a week now and the next week it will dip down to 99 a couple of times then go back up.

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.

Tolumnia Orchid

So you thought the last orchid was small? Holy cow, this one is down right mini. It must be a 1 inch pot. When I bought it there was one spike of over active yellow spotted flowers that stood about 3 times higher than the plant itself. They lasted for a good couple of months. I have high hopes for forcing this one to bloom.

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.