thez_yo
instigator
Well, the plants seem finally settled in for the 'winter' here in San Diego, and it's even been 60F by day/40F by night the past few days. Usually the coldest week of the year is the one between Christmas and New Years. With it brings tidying up the plants, and thinking about spring. I've finally got the plant things I've collected over the years framed too, and all hung now! Here's some pictures:
My resident frogface
So, lets start with the bad and ugly to get it out of the way. I received a pot of C.f. Big Boy a number of years ago, which I've been struggling with because it seems to always have a nasty mealy infestation. Well, late this fall I just soaked the whole thing, pot and all, in the worst pesticide I could find, and gave the top growth (mosses, some weeds) a complete raze. Here they are, fully exposed to hopefully remove any remnants of possible mealy re-infestation.
All sorts of interesting basals are popping up, including this N.dubia
Since I had so many pop up, it was definitely time to spray on some anti-basal-inducing neem oil. Then, finally getting the CP stamps in frames:
Here's close-ups of the individual sets--
And a haeckel print, of course
I got a CP show poster from a friend a while back too, so that got framed too - it's the last one this morning!
Not just the CPs got a repot:
these bell crotons will hopefully produce bells again one of these days
And B.hechtioides became 4 B.hechtioides
In any case, here's the whole outside mess
The Sarra pot after its winter haircut
The inside mess
with the newly repotted clippies
And a while ago I ordered (ok, a few weeks) a cinnamon and some cacao trees. Sadly my last cacao died this past spring/summer, and I'm pretty sure it was due to cold. Well, this time around I'm actually turning on my heating for the new cacaos, and after almost thinking they would surely die due to shipping stress, one has survived! Look at my Christmas miracle:
Yay!
And the cinnamon, with the poor dead cacao to the left
Speaking of new, here's the propagation window. I've got D.lasiantha gemmae, the top off a small, wee little pineapple, some moss spores, some new nice variegated vanilla vines, and some Nep basal clippings going on
Oh, and outside in pint-sized ice cream containers, the S.minor seeds I found while clipping back the pitchers for the 'winter'. The S.minor from Home Depot (the ones I've kept all these years) are self-fertile, so I find seeds every year.
Now back to thinking if I should get a non-cp flower-filled hanging basket for the balcony, some ceropegias, start a bonsai, or try to grow a black currant bush in zone 10b
My resident frogface
So, lets start with the bad and ugly to get it out of the way. I received a pot of C.f. Big Boy a number of years ago, which I've been struggling with because it seems to always have a nasty mealy infestation. Well, late this fall I just soaked the whole thing, pot and all, in the worst pesticide I could find, and gave the top growth (mosses, some weeds) a complete raze. Here they are, fully exposed to hopefully remove any remnants of possible mealy re-infestation.
All sorts of interesting basals are popping up, including this N.dubia
Since I had so many pop up, it was definitely time to spray on some anti-basal-inducing neem oil. Then, finally getting the CP stamps in frames:
Here's close-ups of the individual sets--
And a haeckel print, of course
I got a CP show poster from a friend a while back too, so that got framed too - it's the last one this morning!
Not just the CPs got a repot:
these bell crotons will hopefully produce bells again one of these days
And B.hechtioides became 4 B.hechtioides
In any case, here's the whole outside mess
The Sarra pot after its winter haircut
The inside mess
with the newly repotted clippies
And a while ago I ordered (ok, a few weeks) a cinnamon and some cacao trees. Sadly my last cacao died this past spring/summer, and I'm pretty sure it was due to cold. Well, this time around I'm actually turning on my heating for the new cacaos, and after almost thinking they would surely die due to shipping stress, one has survived! Look at my Christmas miracle:
Yay!
And the cinnamon, with the poor dead cacao to the left
Speaking of new, here's the propagation window. I've got D.lasiantha gemmae, the top off a small, wee little pineapple, some moss spores, some new nice variegated vanilla vines, and some Nep basal clippings going on
Oh, and outside in pint-sized ice cream containers, the S.minor seeds I found while clipping back the pitchers for the 'winter'. The S.minor from Home Depot (the ones I've kept all these years) are self-fertile, so I find seeds every year.
Now back to thinking if I should get a non-cp flower-filled hanging basket for the balcony, some ceropegias, start a bonsai, or try to grow a black currant bush in zone 10b