Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Episcia & Kohleria

So some of my Episcia is taking over in my humidity domes, rooting itself into other plants, rooting itself into the thin layer of water at the bottom, pretty much rooting itself into anything it can. So to make more space (it's always about space....lol) I decided to root some in a bit of sphagnum moss in a jar.


I also decided to try and take some out to live in my home environment, on a humidity tray.....but within 24 hours, that batch threw a fit, and started drying up, shriveling up......whatever it could do to show it was NOT happy. It got what it wanted and it had to be moved back into the humidity dome. I am going to have to figure out another way to keep it tame, possibly by putting more in covered jars. This is when I always think, I need a terrarium.



Now that I am over the Kohleria rhizome scare, I have been noticing that my Kohleria seems to be growing quite well since all 5 pots were moved into the humidity domes. These guys are pretty finicky when it comes to the humidity. Too little, and they get crispy, too much, they rot. They are growing nicely, most are over 6 inches tall. I pictured this plant to be bigger in leaf size, but maybe they will get bigger by the time they bloom. I have no idea how long it takes before they bloom, grown from a rhizome, I am going to have to look that up, because for such finicky plants, they had better start proving themselves, or they will lose their premium space.



Like many other flowering plants, Episcia and Kohleria like to be snug in their pots before they send out flowers. Well I am thinking they are quite snug.......what do you think?? LOL I refuse to repot them into something bigger until they grow a little more......or at least until I have tortured them into bloom for a little longer. Bigger pot means more space, and I am not going to give them more space until they give me a good reason too......like flowers.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

What the HELL is That?? & Happy Bday Cacti Seedling!!

I get creeped out pretty easily when it comes to bugs.....I can handle small insects, but anything big, fuzzy or weird......and I am outta there. So far it hasn't caused too many problems with my plants, but I admit that each time I find a mealy bug, I love my plants a little less for a couple days because they gross me out. So today while checking out the plants in my humidity dome, I found the grossest looking caterpillar-y things. I swear my heart stopped for a second or too, and I dropped the plant pretty fast.


So once the plant was out of my hands, I of course had to take a closer look. The plant in question......a Kohleria plant. Well stupid me.......it was a rhizome coming up from beneath the soil. I was equally creeped out when the person that sent me the rhizomes, sent me little baggies with what looked like worms. So now, I am not as creeped out by these things, but it did give me quite the scare.


A Happy Birthday is due in my little world of plants. It was a year ago this month that I planted some 12 pots of cacti seeds. Most germinated quite well, but as time went by and space became a rare and valuable resource in my house, I got rid of all but 2 pots of the cacti seedlings.


They are still really small. The one in the pic below is just over an inch tall, whereas the other 2 in the above pic are no more than a half inch tall. They are really, really, really slow growing plants. I don't think I would grow them again. It was cool to try and say I did it, but I am not a cactus fanatic, they are just too slow growing to keep my attention. Maybe if the cacti I had in my house would flower **hint hint**, I would pay more attention to them, but in my house, they barely do anything but exist. Either way, Happy Bday Baby Cacti!



On a final note......I have to give recognition to my Hoya Kerrii. For what you ask?? For growing 2 leaves on the same node. Now normally this isn't a big deal, most Hoya's grow their leaves in pairs, but this guy always seems to start with 2 leaves, and then drop one, and grow the other. This would be why, in the pic below, there is only one leaf per node. For the first time, since I received the cutting last year, it has decided to grow and keep two leaves on the same node. I can't believe this of all things gets me excited, but it does. Go Kerrii Go!!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Purple Flowers Bloomin' in my House!

What a wonderful surprise I got today. I checked in on my Datura's, and one of the flowers was in the process of opening. And yay, because they are the double purple flowers I had hoped for. This might possibly be the most spectacular flower I have ever seen.



So from seed to flower, it only took approx 4 or 5 months, which is totally amazing to me. I can't wait to put these babies outside, and show them off to the whole neighborhood....lol. I have some double yellow datura seeds laid, so hopefully in a few months, I will have more. They are just amazing! And yes, there is a faint aroma from this one......it's a floral scent....lol, I can't really describe it much more than that, as I don't normally like floral smells. But this is faint, so I can appreciate it when I want to by sticking my nose in the flower.



So from the biggest flowers I have ever grown to one of the tiniest, here is a wee little bloom on my Ceropegia Woodii. These flowers are so intricate. The detail of such a small little flower is stunning to me.




I have been trying to catch this one bloom since Christmas (new cam). The hairs on this flower are supposed to trap small flies. Being able to see the flower this close gives it such a different perspective.