My Bit of Earth

Indoor Gardening

The other day I was flipping through some gardening blogs and saw "Calendula and Concrete" was organizing her seed stash.  I totally dig her organization system.  No fancy note cards or fruffy boxes to get muddy the first time they're taken outside--just fat binder clips organized by the time the seeds need to be planted.  Less is more.

While my little ex-chocolate-box'o'collected-seeds is not nearly as extensive as her collection, I went through all my tiny packets this evening and sorted into flowers, early vegetables, and late vegetables.  Very nice!

And as I was pittering around in the kitchen, I noticed my daffodil bulbs (the ones I potted up in September) are finally blooming.  This picture doesn't show it, but these "miniature" daffodils are almost two feet tall.  They look kind of silly with their teeny blooms on top--the stems just kept growing!

But they do smell awfully nice.

Pickled Paperwhites' Progress

My paperwhites have started opening up, and the smell is heavenly!  Combined with the baking I've been doing, I could happily just sit in my kitchen all day and sniff.

As you will recall, this year I'm experimenting with my paperwhites pursuant to a study done at Cornell University.  I've been watering my paperwhites with a solution that's about 5% alcohol in order to stunt their growth and keep them from being tall and floppy. 

For the most part, the experiment has been very successful, but I've noticed something peculiar.  All the bulbs I planted in deep containers (e.g. jam jars, vases) are perfectly about half as tall as they should be.  But the five bulbs I planted in this shallow bowl are just as tall as they were last year.  I can't think of why the depth of the container would make a difference, but that's the only variable I can see.

I'm tempted to write Cornell and see if they can tell me what's up....

Drunken Paperwhites

Every year about this time I always start a big crop of paperwhites.  And every year three weeks later, I go around the house with a packet of stakes and string, tying the paperwhites up because they're falling over on their spindly stems.

Apparently other people have this problem too, because some Nice People at the Cornell University Flower Bulb Research Program have come up with a solution--getting your paperwhites drunk.

Nope, not kidding.  Researchers discovered that, when watered with a solution that's 4-6% alcohol, paperwhite growth is stunted by 30-50%.  The flowers aren't effected, just the stems.  From the Cornell report:

"We suggest planting your paperwhite bulbs in stones, gravel, marbles, glass beads, etc. as usual. Add water as you normally would, then wait about 1 week until roots are growing, and the shoot is green and growing about 1-2” above the top of the bulb. At this point, pour off the water and replace it with a solution of 4 to 6% alcohol, made from just about any “hard” liquor. You can do the calculations to figure the dilution, but, as an example, to get a 5% solution from a 40% distilled spirit (e.g., gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila), you add 1 part of the booze to 7 parts of water. This is an 8-fold dilution yielding 5% alcohol."

The report goes on to say you can also use a solution of 1 part rubbing alcohol to 10 or 11 parts water to get the same effect.  That's what I'm going to try this year--it's cheaper than the good stuff--and hopefully I'll be reporting back in a few weeks with some pretty, mini-paperwhites.

Beautiful Bulbs

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Spring flowers.  But I think I might like Fall bulbs even more. 

I went to the nursery this afternoon to get some daffodils and spent the better part of a half an hour playing in the bulb bins.  You'd think a bulb is a bulb, but when you look closely there are all kinds of differences in color and size and texture of the skin.  Daffodils are brown and peel-y, while the tulips are pinker and smooth.  The allium bulbs are big as onions (which they're related to) and white with no skin at all, and the muscari are tiny enough that they're almost more like seeds.  And the hyacinths--although their blooms are many different colors--all start out bright purple.

I really could have brought home a few of each, but I was good for the most part and limited my choices to the space I actually have available...for once.

I did splurge on a few pre-chilled bulbs to grow inside this winter.  If you will recall, the last forcing experiment did not go so well, but I'm hoping--since they're ready to go and won't have to live in the fridge for two months--these will work better.

For a list of what I chose, click onward....

They Call It a Wanderer

This was another bit of good karma that came as a result of the spare hens'n'chicks I passed out.  Nice Friend has been rooting it for weeks, and finally deemed it ready for potting.  She tells me it's called a "Wandering Jew".  With a name like that I knew it had to have a story.

Of course, wikipedia reveals all.  Here's the info on the plant--which is properly called Tradescantia zebrina, by the way--and here's the story behind the name.  Apparently you can make tea with it's leaves as well.

Paperwhite Zen

I'm not exactly sure what I did right, but I think it was a matter of water.  Or rather lack of water.  All I know is that I watered the paperwhites I had at work a lot, and they're all leggy and tumbling over and dying; I watered these very sparsely and they're sturdy and green and one even has a double bloom. 

Unfurling Paperwhite

Paperwhites Pushing Up

These are some paperwhites that I planted the day before Thanksgiving.  I think a deeper container might have been good.  I'm continually tamping down dirt around the roots, and they're still pushing up, as you can see.  But really, that's what I love about these bulbs; there are good years and bad years, but even when you do something wrong you really can't screw them up. 

This year I'm trying an experiment--I'm trying to grow some in my office under only fluorescent lights.  So far they're doing just as well as these that are growing in my windowsill at home.  If they keep going as they've started, I'll be completely convinced that paperwhites are the perfect plant.  They're always pretty, they always smell great, and (what's even better) there's still time to plant some and have them blooming for the holidays--so what are you waiting for?

Branching Out

My nice little tree branches have bloomed beautifully. Their counterparts outside are also starting to open up--not having been killed by our almost non-existent snow--but they aren't as far along as these.
I really need a leaf to be able to figure out what kind of tree it is, but just from the blossoms I'm guessing it might be some kind of cherry or crabapple tree?

Saved?

It's supposed to snow so I didn't feel too bad cutting these blooming branches off of a tree near our house and bringing them in to bloom inside.
I'm working on ID'ing the tree they came from, but I'm not sure what kind it is yet.

Encouraged Bulbs Were Unencouraging

The "encouraged" bulbs that I gave up fridge and shelf space for were...well, frankly, it didn't go so well. I'm not sure if I didn't chill them adequately, or if it was the mold? Or maybe we had fruit in the fridge that retarded the blooms?

There were a few sorta-kinda successes.

The Amarylis was gorgeous, but a little unwieldly. I think next year I need to study up on how to keep it from getting so leggy. I need to aim for nice short, stout little stalks.

The Paperwhites were also nice, but next year I need to either plant in a bigger container or less bulbs.

Unfortunately almost everything else was pretty disappointing.

The "Tete-a-Tete" Daffodils looked like they might do ok, when the first one bloomed. By the time more started to bloom though, the first were terribly raggedy. I kept hoping for a pretty little pot full, but they were so staggered that it just never worked out.

The "Greigii Diantha" tulips also began well. The leave variegation was really pretty at first, but then they got brown at the tips. (I watered them, I swear!) They're still sitting in my windowsill with no sign of a flower any time soon.

The "Woodstock" Hyacinths almost bloomed. And they were pretty in their forcing glasses if nothing else. The chilled ones did a little better than the unchilled (which pretty much looked dead as they were blooming) but just a very little.

The worst disappointment was the Lavendar Muscari. Each little corn put up a single green shoot, that promptly began to turn brown and die.

I'd like to say I'll try again next year--and I suppose I might on a smaller scale--but really that was a lot of work for what I got out of it. And from a cost standpoint it's just as cheap (if not cheaper) to buy professionally "encouraged" bulbs.

BUT as soon as we're properly situated somewhere I want to plant a whole plot of the "Greigii Diantha" tulips--the leaves were too pretty...while they lasted.

A Calculation to Remember

Forced Daffodils COST Bulbs....$4 Potting Soil....oh, let's say $.50 Time, energy, and fridge space....let's not even talk about it!

BLOOMS....not all that spectacular

Fresh-Cut Daffodils From Grocery Store
COST
Price....12 for $3
Time and energy....about 10 seconds to put water in vase, re-cut flowers, plop flowers in vase

BLOOMS....Gorgeous

Clearly this is something to think about next year.

Blooming and Bloomed

We were just walking out the door Monday night to head to Topeka for the bar exam Tuesday morning, when I noticed that my little Tete-a-Tete daffodils were just beginning to bloom. I took it as a good sign.

When I got home today, they were in nice full bloom.

It's funny, we haven't really had enough winter for me to have Spring Fever yet. And we're planning on trying to move this summer, so there's no outside garden for me to plan and anticipate planting.

But the daffodils have reminded me that while I've been holed up with my books, the year has been trudging on--it's almost Spring!

Variegation

I pulled the tulips out of the fridge about two weeks ago. I had checked about a week before that and saw that they had a few inches of roots, but they didn't have any sign of sprouts. The bulb book said they were supposed to be just barely sprouting before pulling them out, but I decided they had been cold for long enough and went ahead and brought them into the kitchen.

The first week they didn't do much, and I thought I had done something wrong. This week they've really sprung up though. I picked these out because of the pretty variegated leaves, so I was excited yesterday when I noticed that the leaves were beginning to show some color.

Growing an Avocado Tree

I read an article in the Lawrence Journal World the other day about growing avocados and dates from their pits. The dates will have to wait until another day, but Sweet Husband and I had tacos the other night, which left a spare avocado pit lying around ripe for experimenting.
I'll skip linking to the article in the paper. It borrowed very, very heavily from this article on diy.net which has better instructions anyway. It's basically the same idea as keeping a cutting or forcing bulbs in water. You suspend the pit over a glass of water, with the water just barely in contact with the bottom. Eventually it will put out roots and begin to sprout. Many, many years from now it will bear fruit, but in the meantime it supposedly makes a nice little plant.

I really like the shape and texture of the pit. It looks like it would be really hard, but it actually has quite a bit of give. The toothpicks pushed right into it. The outside skin has a very silky texture. It's almost like the avocado meat itself, but more substantial. I think it looks like a little peach and green colored space ship hovering over my jar.

A Prayer

I finally bought the book Bringing a Garden to Life by Carol Williams, and have been reading through it bit by bit every night as a kind of gentle, relaxing sedative (in a good way, it's not the least bit boring). When I woke up and saw this teeny peek of one of the chilled hyacinth blooms, it's shape made me think of a passage at the end of her chapter on bulbs.

"Planting spring bulbs is exercise for the imagination. Gardeners push wheelbarrows filled with bags of bulbs...over the dead leaves and black flowers of autumn, looking for good spots to plant. Skeletons of sunflowers hang their heavy seed heads to feed departing birds wheeling overhead. As they bury those gnarled onion shapes in the earth, gardeners gaze across half the year to green leaves, white stars, and golden trumpets."

Geraniums That Pop

I potted up my little geranium cuttings this afternoon. (To see their complete story read here and here.) The roots of both were beginning to look quite cramped in their respective water vessels so I decided it was time to move them onward.

I found the idea for these nifty pop bottle planters--that's soda to the non-Midwesterners--here. This site gives great instructions for making them and includes pictures--always good for the slightly construction-challenged. They're completely recycled and make the plants self-watering. And they were free!

And as for this last picture--we got a tripod last weekend so I've been playing with all kinds of lengthy exposures and other fun things. I love the detail that shows up on this leaf. I could almost start a little catalog for myself if I didn't have anything else to do!

Tentacles

No bloom on the chilled hyacinths yet, but I'm enjoying the roots as much as anything. They're like some form of exotic sea creature floating in the glass.

"Encouraging" Mold

I checked on the tulips and daffodils in the fridge today. I had wrapped them in aluminum foil to keep things from the fridge from falling into the pots and visa-versa, but I don't think that was the right thing to do. When I took off the foil, I discovered that instead of just encouraging bulbs, I was also encouraging some fuzzy, white, catepillar-like mold.

I watered the pots, to rinse away the mold, and also lifted up one of the tulips to make sure they weren't just rotting. The tulip I lifted had about two inches of thin root growth, but no sprouting on top at all. The bulb book says I should be able to pull them out of the fridge about now, but I think I'm going to put them back in for a few more weeks--covered with ventilated plastic this time--just to make sure they've had long enough to chill.

I also potted up the Muscari, but I think I'm going to have to go back to the library and recheck out the bulb book to make sure I've done it right. The notes I made for myself say to chill for eight weeks and then put them in rocks and water, but the rest of the world says to chill longer and pot up in dirt. Until I have time to get to the library, I'll trust myself and leave them in the water, but I may be doing some fiddling soon.

Pink-ety Pouf Pouf

Silly title? Yes. Accurate? Well, see for yourself.
As you will recall, I bought five "Woodstock" hyacinth bulbs, back at the end of October. I chilled three, but left these two unchilled as an experiment. The bulb book said they should be blooming towards the end of January, so the unchilled bulbs have bloomed about a month earlier than they really should have.

Also, as of right now at least, they really are just two little poufs. The stems haven't really grown at all. I thought that unchilled bulbs would grow just stems, with no blossom, but instead I have all blossom and no stem. But maybe they just haven't hit their growth spurt yet.

As for the color, eh, pink isn't so much my thing--Sweet Husband actually picked these out. If I remember correctly, we'd been in the store for quite awhile. I couldn't decide so I told him to just pick something. He grabbed the first bulbs he could get his hands on, and, well, when you've asked someone to decide for you it's not nice to second-guess.

But, even though I probably wouldn't grow this variety again, they are kinda cute.

Just In Time

We got home just in time to save the amyrylis from itself via timely use of a garden stake. Sweet Husband said that it bloomed during the week between Christmas and New Year's (for future reference), and by the time we got home today the base of the stalk was about to break from the weight of the flowers.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed that there isn't any smell, but she's gorgeous all the same.

And while I'm talking about forced bulbs, next year I need to plant a few less paperwhites in my dish. They've gotten brown and scraggily looking much more quickly than usual, and they look like they're all stumbling into each other. I planted 15 in a large shallow bowl, and I think 10 would have been plenty.

Amaryllis Art

I'm leaving for Christmas today, and I'm a little sad because I think I'm going to miss the amaryllis' bloom. The head gets just a bit more swollen every day, but just hasn't quite burst open yet. Next year I need to plant just a wee bit earlier, I think.

But the sleek, tall shape of just the stalk and head is gorgeous. It's like a sculpture that changes ever so slightly all the time. And as you can see from the background, my paperwhites have been gradually flowering for about a week now, so I'm getting my flower fix just fine for now.

Christmas Topiary

Wonderful Dad sent me some birthday money, so I picked out something completely just-for-fun. I think the people at Sunrise might think I'm a little crazy--it took me about fifteen minutes to decide between this and a rosemary tree. But the little tree that died last winter broke my heart, so we'll see if this stays alive better.

Paperwhite Growth

These were planted at the beginning of November, but not watered until mid-November. They're just about to pop. The extra root space that the bulbs nearer to the center have is making for a nice conical effect.

Also, you'll notice we have an uninvited--but maybe not unwelcome--guest. A very interesting looking little sprout of a fellow has popped up. I have no idea who or what he is (I used clean potting soil, I swear) but he looks benign so we're leaving him put for now.

Geranium Putting Out Roots

I was dusting the window the other day (useless task to avoid studying) when I noticed that one of my little geranium cuttings is putting out some nice roots.

Not sure if this is the variable that's making a difference, but the one that's growing better is in an olive oil bottle (bigger) as opposed to a spice jar (smaller). Every time I change the water in the spice jar there is a thin layer of greeny film on the bottom. I'm wondering if the smaller volume of water is allowing the mossy stuff to grow faster and somehow stunt the growth of the cutting? Of course, I have no scientific basis for saying that, but it's just my hunch.

Poinsettias

If you have time--and are lucky enough to live near a nursery--go in on your lunch break sometime and walk through the poinsettias. I snuck into Sunrise today to do just that and it was like stepping into another world. First of all, it's freezing outside and the greenhouse is perfectly warm. And inside, rows and rows and more rows of perfect "Christmas red" leaves--puckery "Winter Rose" poinsettias, poinsettias with leaves like flaming maples, and a tiny miniature poinsettia in a baby pot that came home with me.

For a long time I thought we weren't going to be able to have a poinsettia this year because of the pups. At some point someone told me they were poisonous to dogs and cats, but I did some research and have found that that's a myth. Well, not entirely a myth, but even little Moe would have to eat about 300 leaves. My little mini-poinsettia might just barely give him a stomach ache.

Poinsettias originally came from Mexico, and were used by the Aztecs to dye cloth. They were imported to the United States by Joel Poinsett, the first American ambassador to Mexico--hence the name.

But sometimes legend is more fun than fact.

"Legend says that Pepita, a poor Mexican girl, had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve mass. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, sadness filled her heart. Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a bouquet. Looking at the scraggly weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed by the humbleness of her offering, but felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as Las Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season."

Christmas Blooms

I'm becoming one of those people. One of those Christmas-starts-at-the-stroke-of-midnight-on-Halloween-Thanksgiving-does-not-exist-get-the-tree-out-and-lights-up people. I'm trying to fight it, but I get a little worse every year. Last year we put the tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving (under protest from Sweet Husband), this year I already have wrapped presents ready to go in our spare bedroom. I justify it to people by saying that law school finals are rough and I need to get my Christmas stuff done early so I can study properly. But that's a big fat lie. I could easily do it all in December, I just like to get some extra mileage out of Christmas.

But one thing that really does need to be started early in order to be ready are the bulbs for my Christmas flowers. I went to Sunrise Garden Center the other day to get paperwhites to wrap up as gifts, and the cashier told me that if I want a Christmas Amaryllis, now is the time to start it.

So I picked out a "Mont Blanc" which is an all-white Amaryllis (we're having blue and white and silver decorations this year). I potted it up in soil up to the top third of the bulb, as per instructions, and am watering sparingly until it begins to grow. The best part is that, because Amaryllis don't need a dormant period, the bulb and pot are now sitting on my kitchen table instead of in the fridge.

The paperwhite bulbs were enormous, and also don't need refridgeration, so I went ahead and got some of those for myself too. I usually wait until closer to Christmas, but by then the bulbs are usually much more picked over and thus much smaller.

Paperwhites generally only take about a month to grow. Looking back, last year I planted around December 7th and they were just barely blooming for Christmas. I'd like them to bloom earlier this year because we'll have guests for graduation on the 16th, so that would ordinarily mean a mid-November planting. But I wanted to go ahead and pot them up while I had the dirt out for the Amaryllis--one mess instead of two--so I went ahead and put them in dirt, but won't give them water until mid-month. Hopefully this will stay their growth enough to get the timing right. Paperwhites are good about holding their blooms for a few weeks, so even if I'm a little early it should still be ok.

And maybe if I have flowers growing we can put off the tree for a few more weeks at least....

"Encouraging" Bulbs Victorian Style

So, I got more bulbs this weekend. What's that? You mean some people actually keep food in the refridgerator? No way! Why would they do that when they can fill it with bulbs? And flowers are food--they're food for my soul.

I didn't really intend to get more, but on Sunday I went to Earl May "just to look" at something or other when I saw that they had hyacinth glasses. Hyacinth glasses are hourglass shaped vases used for forcing bulbs in water. The shape of the glass keeps the bulb just touching the water. While you can do this with any type of small-mouthed jar, specially made glasses are worth looking for because of their elegant shape. I got a clear one, but they also come in several different colors.


I bought 5 "Woodstock" hyacinth bulbs, but only one glass. So I put 1 bulb in the glass, 2 in regular jars. The idea is, you put the bulbs and water in the glass or jar (with the water just barely touching the bottom of the bulb) and chill for about thirteen weeks or until good roots have formed. Then you pull the glass and bulb out of the fridge and--presto, chango--beautiful flowers in a beautiful vase. Mine should be ready around the end of January.

I'm going to use the other 2 bulbs for an experiment. I know they say bulbs need to be chilled--and I think I believe them, whoever "they" are--but I'm curious what will happen if I just try to grow some as if they were pre-chilled, as if they were paperwhites. Do they just not grow? Do they grow funny? In order to find out, I put two of the bulbs in jars with water, just like the other ones, but I'm going to not chill these. Could be a waste of two bulbs, could be a way to move food back into the refridgerator--time will tell.

I also got five little Muscari corns ("Grape Hyacinth Plumose" or "Lavendar Muscari") but, although they do have to go into cold storage, they don't need to be potted up until they're done chilling (just eight weeks--I'll pull them out right after Christmas). After planting they need to go to a fairly cool, dark place until they sprout, which should take just a few days.

Again, happy thoughts are appreciated....

(Note: Throughout all of my bulb experimentation, I've been relying heavily on Better Homes and Gardens Bulbs For All Seasons. This book has amazing pictures and really great directions, which are kind of rare to find in one place. If anyone's looking for present ideas (Birthday, Graduation, Christmas--I'm about to hit the motherload all in one month) I've added it to my Amazon list--click on the "Outdoorsy Sorts of Books" link to the lower right).

"Encouraging" Bulbs

As a two season veteran of paperwhites, I've decided to branch out a little this year and try to "encourage" some tulips and daffodils (I hate the word "forced"--it makes it sound like I'm holding a gun to their heads). I'm taking the bar this winter, so I was originally going to do a massive, all-winter, two week interval staged operation, just to keep studying cheerful. Then I realized we wouldn't have room for food in our refridgerator with that many bulbs, so I decided to scale back a bit and make it an experimental year.

I read that miniature daffodils do well inside so I got five "Tete-a-Tete" narcissus. They're so sweet! According to the book I got from the library they need to spend 12-15 weeks in cold storage, and should be pulled out when roots are coming out the bottom of the pot or there is a little bit of top growth on the bulbs. That should be between December 24th and January 14th. They should bloom in 15-17 weeks.

I wasn't really intending to try tulips, because I couldn't find any that were specifically intended for forcing, but I found these "Greigii Diantha" Tulips and they changed my mind.

The bulbs were a completely unique color--kind of peach, like a summer tan with just a little bit of burn--and the blooms are gorgeous. What I really like though is the variegation on the leaves. I really hope they work out. The bulb book says they should be brought out of cold storage at 10-12 weeks or when the sprouts are about 4 inches tall. That should be between December 10th and December 24th.

Since I'm experimenting, I wanted to be scientific and find out what the fridge temperature is, but the thermometer I'm using doesn't measure that low (Christmas present idea, everyone!). Sweet Husband says that standard home fridge temperature is about thirty-eight degrees--and he generally knows random things like that pretty well--so we'll go with that.

I'm also a little concerned about the fruit in our fridge. You're never supposed to keep bulbs with fruit because fruit lets off a gas that will inhibit the bloom, so I've put all of our fruit in the crisper drawer and hopefully that will be enough to prevent cross-contamination.

Think encouraging thoughts everyone!

Sniffing Geranium Cuttings

This summer when I was buying herbs I spotted a few different kinds of scented geraniums mixed in with the mints. They probably wouldn't have even caught my eye, but in one of my very favorite books, Anne of Green Gables, Anne has an apple-scented geranium that she names "Bonnie".

The ones for sale were lemon-scented geraniums, not apple, but I got two none-the-less. They had a nice summer outside, but when I started bringing stuff in for colder times I realized I only have windowsill space for one. Last winter I checked out a book about propagation and I remember reading that one way to economize where geraniums are tender is to take a cutting from your plant in the fall and let it root over winter. If I remember correctly, I'll have to get it started in dirt in a month or so, and by spring it should be ready for it's own grown up pot.


So, a little experiment--we have one geranium freshly repotted and pruned and we have two geranium cuttings from the other plant rooting in water with just a titch of rooting powder on the ends. May the best plant win.

Shy Violet

It was so sweet the way this blossom on my African Violet unfurled--just ever so slowly, like it wasn't quite sure of itself. I've been feeding her with coffee and coffee grounds, and I think that may have helped boost her along.
African Violet

Aussie Update

Haven't posted a picture of Aussie yet, so I thought I would. I finally felt like he was adjusted enough into his pot to prune him a little.

Aussie

My Pretty Valentine

My very wonderful mummy bought me this as a Valentine. It is a Phalaenopsis Orchid (Phal. Be Tris X Phal Yakihme), and is supposedly of the "easy to grow" variety.

Care: Keep evenly moist by watering every 5-7 days, letting dry slightly between waterings. Never allow the pot to sit in excess water. Medium to bright indirect or filtered light. Feed with 20-20-20 at half strength every two weeks.

Mmmmmm....

Winter Sowing in the Snow

I read an article about winter sowing the other day and decided--since we're decidedly in the middle of a nice little 4-5" winter snowstorm here--to give it a shot. The idea behind it is that a lot of native seeds live outside during the winter, and germinate perfectly well in the spring without being cosseted inside. So if you plant native seeds in flats and leave them outside--rather than taking up lots 'o' space in my loft--they'll germinate at the right time and become happy plants. I just planted one flat as a kind of experiment because I didn't want to waste all of my seeds if it doesn't work. Here is what I planted ...

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
Arugula ("Roquette" variety)
Genoese Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
Garlic (came from Dillions, has sprouted for me before)
Lavender "Lady" (Lavendula angustifolia)

The potting soil I used (the only organic kind I could find) seemed funny when I got it home. It was almost grainy looking, but it wasn't fluffy when it was wet like other potting soil I've used. Maybe not the most well controlled experiment as a result, but regardless I like the idea of just kind of having faith that things will grow regardless of (and perhaps even with the help of) a half a foot of snow.

Plants ID'd and normal

In asking questions about a few of my plants at GardenWeb, I was able to get two of them identified and learn that their weird seeming behavior is normal. It's good to know one's plants are normal.

The plant I thought was a fittonia is actually called a Peperomia caperata, and the weird shoot that's coming out of the top is going to be a flower.

My cactus (echeveria) that's loosing it's leaves (which I am reassured is in response to winter dryout and will be just fine) is called a Perle von Nurnberg.

RIP Rosemary Topiary

When I started this I said I wanted to record "the good, the bad, and the ugly"--today we had the first of the bad and the ugly. My rosemary had been starting to look brown for awhile now. I had forgotten to turn it so one side hadn't gotten any good sun for a bit, and according to the message boards at GardenWeb, Rosemary is very hard to keep alive inside because of there is a very fine line between drowning it and letting it die of thirst. Also, the topiary's that are sold at Chirstmas time (the one's shaped like mini Christmas trees, which this one was) are apparently pretty stressed out to start with. So, today I decided to prune it back to see what life was left--yeah, it was brown and brittle to the core. There's one little stem growing out from the bottom that's still giving me a little hope but .... (sigh).

On the upside, I trimmed off the few remaining limbs and am trying to root them so maybe we'll be able to have new life despite the death ....

Lessons for next time...herbs need lots of sun and very careful watering when visiting inside. I think I'm going to try to make my own rosemary topiary this spring instead of buying one ('cause I have to have a rosemary plant around for cooking). Maybe more of a standard-type shape.

Grrr....this makes me sad.

Pruning for the potted herbs

Almost forgot to mention that I pruned my potted lavendar and sage. I've been reading a lot about Lavendar in anticipation of trying to grow some outside in the Spring, and supposedly in order for it to grow corectly it has to be hardcore pruned once a year. So, since mine was starting to look a little spindly, I cut it back to about a third of it's original size. It looks much better.

While I was at it, I also pruned the hell out of my Sage plant ... no, make that my Sage blob. I was about to throw it away anyway, because it was really brown and nasty in places, but at the same time it kept putting out new stunted leaves. Basically I had nothing to loose--because this was not a pretty plant at this point--so I cut it back to just a few inches tall just leaving the skinny little trunks. I think that was just what it needed, the little fellow is already putting out new healthy leaves again.

The Great Bonsai Experiment

With one nudge of encoragement from nice husband, and another from a good book at the always wonderful Lawrence Public Library, and after wandering by them more than once at Sunrise Nursery, I brought a bonsai tree home today--well, at least I hope it will be a bonsai tree when it grows up a little!

He's just a little slip of an Australian Cherry (aka a Brush Cherry or Australian-Brush Cherry) right now, but with some character ala Crocodile Dundee or Nicole Kidman. The tips of his branches are starting to go red and pointy like he wants to bloom out soon--my little Aussie.

I also went ahead and bought the special bonsai potting soil--do it right or not at all, as my Dad would say--which was more spendy than the tree and the pot put together. It was very, very well draining, almost so much so that it seemed like the water basically just went right through. But they supposedly need it so hopefully it won't be too much. I also had trouble getting the root to go where I wanted them to. There was one big fat root that just wanted to stick right out into the air. I buried it in the potting mix and then put a little pebble over it to keep it down, so I'll have to check on that over the next few weeks and make sure he stays ok. He definitely needs some pruning, but I want to let him get settled in first.

Care: Let dry out between waterings, best way to water is to soak in a sink for 5-10 min.; Full Sun/Part Shade; Keep humid by putting the pot on a tray of pebbles with water or by misting; Repot about every 2 years in early Spring, don't prune roots too much, and keep plant somewhere shady after repotting so that new roots can grow; In Spring may bear small white flowers followed by red, edible fruit 2-3 months later; Feed every 2 weeks during growing season and every 4-5 weeks in winter; can be pruned hard but branches are sensitive so wiring is not recommended; can be propagated by cuttings in summer or seeds in fall; common pests include scale, mealy bug,Caribbean fruit fly, aphids, red spider; may drop leaves if watering is inconsistent; not salt tolerant (Phew! That's a lot to think about!)

Christmas Presents

These were my little baby Christmas presents raised by my friend Tara.

Jade plant takes a plane ride

On the aforementioned trip to California, I noticed my ever-so-not-evil-step-mom's beautiful jade plants ....

Jill's Jade

....since she is a sweetie, she let me take a cutting home.

Here's my jade that rode home on my lap today, safe and sound in it's pot.

And now for an interlude with the houseplants ....

The houseplants are holding together--they liked summer and fall better than they like winter. We're suffering from a small mealybug infestation, that occured when I brought some ivy inside for the winter. The nice guy at the greenhouse suggested an organic spray that seems to have gotten them mostly under control, but the baby ficus has been sick sick sick. ...Ficus lyrata (Zeus)--looking wonderful, loving it's nice new bigger pot, missed out on the mealybugs because he's on the other side of the room. ...Boston Fern--still looking a little ragged from a bad haircut this fall, but other wise doing well, also missed out on the mealybugs. ...African Violet--last bloomed in September, but leaves are looking good ...Roesmary--needs more light I think, as it's looking a little scraggly. I'm going to move it up to the table and see if it does better than on the floor. If it does better there we'll have to see about a more permanent sunnier spot. ...Other herbs rescued from outside--seem to be doing better since repotting, they were very rootbound so I pruned the roots back a bit and I think it's helping them ...Succulent pot--the little cacti are doing fine, but the bigger succulent is still loosing leaves. I've tried less water and more water both. I think maybe it's getting cold. I'll try moving it somewhere a little warmer. ...Ivy--growing like a weed as usual, despite the mealybugs. Thinking of training it around a topiary form to get it off the floor and all in one pot. ...Fittonia--a few brown spots on the leaves (possibly from the mealybug spray), but otherwise good ...Gardenia bush--a new addition (for my happy birthday) all budded up and looks ready to bloom, but not quite there yet. I think we'll have flowers in January. Got some of the mealybugs, but still looks healthy. ...Ficus benjamina (baby ficus)--lost one braid of the trunk due to the mealybugs, loosing some leaves and otherwise just not looking up to par. I need to call the greenhouse and see whether or not I need to cut out the one shriveled trunk (Poor baby ficus)