Bow Chicka Bow Bow, part two

Spring is here, summer is almost here, and that means nature is feeling Awesome and Sexy. There are flowers all over the place, and even indoors, things are growing crazygonuts.

Abutilon cuttings. I'm hoping I can train them as a standard.

Neoregelia 'Kimberly' flowered beautifully, and has put out a few pups. Here's the biggest:

and the plant still looks awesome. Not quite the same for as my mystery bromeliad (neoregelia 'carolinae?'), which flowered totally in secret and is looking a little haggard now.

Still, maybe the decline is due to MORE PUPS!

Bromeliads are so fun. They have such a wonderful life cycle.  Meanwhile the opuntia seedlings have totally grown... shhyeah. Frigging cactus.

No really, I'm fine. I'll just stay like this for a couple more years. I'm good.

Of course, there have been failures. My papayas committed mass suicide! My passiflora cuttings drank the cool-aid. My clematis never sprouted. Spring is a time of everything being wonderful... then you forget to water, and it's a time of "AW SHIT."

And speaking of "aww," check out my scindapsus argyreus. What's that? The view is obstructed by sleeping cat adorableness? Oh, I know. Our cats are still all up ons.

Maybe it's their mutual need to destroy houseplants and possessions that brings them together.

Tadpoles At My Garden Center

Yo What it Do?

     I try to propose answers around here, for the most part. Much less often, I pose questions. Here are two questions that have got me stumped:

    1) Can powdery mildew be treated with Physan? In fact... what is up with Physan? How is it managing to kill algae and NOT kill my gametophytes, simultaneously? I mean, aren't they both photosynthetic organisms? Physan.... what it do??

powdery mildew, 2009. it has already killed this year... and it will kill again.

    2) Rooting hormone aka artificial auxins (street names include Rootone, Dip N' Grow): riddle me this. What if I plant cuttings, and I forget to dip them in rooting hormone. Would it make sense to immediately water with a solution of rooting hormone? Does that make any kind of logic? What the fuck is up with rooting hormone, anyway? WHAT IT DO?



    And in other, random news... after the completely accidental, non-negligent, not-my-fault death of my pitcher plant, Sarracenia 'Tarnok,' I bought another one. This time it's Sarracenia 'Catesbai.' I think I can induce dormancy with this one and get it to come back next year if I partially overwinter it in the refrigerator. Anyway, it's awesome, and it looks like it's singing very loudly.

     When I brought this plant home, I discovered an undeclared hitchhiker: a SLUG! I stuck it in a terrarium, named it, and tried to give it away for free on Craigslist:

One slug, good condition I guess... I mean, slugs look pretty crappy to begin with, right? Rode in on a houseplant. I can't keep it, but apparently I'm some kind of hippie because I can't kill it either. Don't know the age or gender, or if slugs even have genders. I've been calling it Justin, after Justin Bieber, your favorite pop singer and mine. Anyway, Justin is free to a good home, or even an ambivalent one. Just please come get it.

I didn't actually take this picture, but it looks exactly like Justin Bieber. For all I know, it IS him... maybe he was a model previously.

       My post was flagged three times. Slug activists? Who knows! Several people offered to take Justin, and a few people made death threats. "Kill the bugger, pour salt on him! Slugs destroy plants/gardens!" Humanely, my boyfriend suggested we drown Justin in an excellent beer, and also drown ourselves in said beer to pay our respects. In the end, I just let him go on the porch. Good luck, fucker! Sorry world! You're welcome, Sarracenia!

And that's all for now, from my slice of paradise.