New Plant Roll Call

ABUTILON!

You sure do need a lot of water. And I'm not sure I like you as much as I like my two Abutilon thompsoniis, River and Simon. Nevertheless, your flowers are very cool. Carry on.

ALOE PLICATILIS!

Keep in mind that you are here as a long term investment. You want to grow slowly? Fine. Carry on.

ASPIDISTRA ELIATOR 'MILKY WAY'!

You have proven yourself to be of high aesthetic quality, while requiring minimum maintenance. Also, the new leaves are looking swell. Carry on.

DRYOPTERIS ERHYTHROSORA!

It has come to my attention that you are a fern. Also, you are not dead. To exist under this botanical dualism in my home is rare indeed... most impressive. As a caveat, I must warn you... I've had bad luck with indoor-outdoor ferns. If I find a single scale or mealybug on you, I'll make you wish you'd never been germinated. That is all, carry on.

PASSIFLORA!

I can't trust anything with such... racy looking flowers. I've got my eye on you. Just keep those tendrils to yourself!

PEPEROMIA CAPERATAS!

Never met a Peperomia I didn't like. At ease.

BEGONIA REX NOID!

Don't think that you get special treatment, just because you were a gift cutting. We don't take kindly to begonias around here. You better keep that growth habit bushy and compact or I will equalize you, for serious.

SENECIO MACROGLOSSUS VARIEGATUS!

You are climbing that hoop like a champ. Great job. Take five.

That's it, now everyone, BACK TO WORK!

just some plants i am growing

i am going to do some how-to posts very soon. but for now...

1. sansevieria trifasciata

2. peperomia argyriea, post-division

3. microsorum thailandicum and schefflera

4. more p. argyreia (post division, after all)

5. abutilon hybrid

6. strelitzia (nicholai or reginae?)

7. senecio macroglossus

8. aloes and agaves

9. cotyledon tomentosa

10. nephrolepis 'emina'

11. phalaenopsis 'balinese splendor'

12. sansevieria 'crazy-ass fool' (i can't figure out which

 cultivar this is)

13. fatshedera lizei

Did you know...

That peperomias will root in water? Neither did I!

I gave my good friend Julia a jar of cuttings from my peperomia argyreia (watermelon... see this post), blathering on about the correct way to root a petiole cutting. "Don't leave them in the water," I chided her, "pot them as soon as you get home." Julia, who has a life, stuck them on a shelf and forgot about them. Weeks later, she showed me this:

Hellz yes! Now that I know, I'm going to root these bitches on the daily. I love to have spare cuttings for swapping. I wonder what members of the peperomia tribe have this quality? I would guess caperata over obtusifolia, on the other hand, argyreia is a succulent variety and caperata is not. Hmm.

The Peperomias Taste Like Snozzberries!

Peperomia Argyreia "Watermelon"

Can you believe this plant? The leaves are succulent, metallic, and visually confectionary. Obtained from Gethsemane Garden Center in Chicago, Illinois. Don't spread it around, but they also carry pothos "n'joy" from time to time.