The wonders of fertilizer/new plants.

Rhipsalis mesembryanthemoides. I bought this about a month ago and it's been fertilized lightly at every watering.

Almost every tip has new growth. The tips do fall off rather easily, though. (The plants have to come down for watering.)

Rhipsalis rhombea. It's been slower growing, but is showing many new tips.

Adorable.

Both plants have been watered about once a week with diluted fertilizer. Most of my plants respond positively to the amount of fertilizer and light. These two have only been here about a month, so these are good examples of fertilizers' perks. Yes, it's growing season and they probably would still have grown just fine without it. I, however, would like to think I'm doing something right.

Sempervivum 'Kalinda'. I was out buying my mom some plants for her garden, and I was in love with the color of the plant. I think it will lose its tint but I still love semps.

Euphorbia x Iomi. I'm hoping that this one lives...

That's it. I'm very tired. Next up: my mini greenhouse.

I will save your life.

This post should be titled:

Meet the windowsill gang/the wonders of fertilizer/new plants.

Though that wouldn't be as concise as I'd like. So, this will be a Deftones lyric title.

Let's start with the bedside windowsill gang. The plants don't really rotate here, as they're pest free and prefer high light.

This is Chaka not long after I bought her. February 2012. 3.5" pot.

This is her weedy behind self today. 5" pot, with roots coming out of the bottom.

Her leaves have really evolved. They used to pop out bright pink. Now they're darker.

The flowers are small, and only last about a day. They're not especially showy, either.

This is Baby. See why I call her this? She towers over her 2" pot.

I don't really know what this growth is. I was thinking new leaves until it got elongated like this. Maybe a stem for the flowers?

I don't really talk about my Crassula ovata, mostly because I feel like everyone has one. However, I had to have one when I first started my foray into houseplants. I'm Asian, so obviously I was drawn to a Jade plant.

It's just so easy to grow. I drench and then ignore it. It seems overjoyed with this.

I bought the Crassula ovata and this Portulacaria afra together, thinking they were the same plant but with different leaves. (Forgive my beginner's ignorance in February.) However, this is different but so much more impressive to me. It started sprouting leaves and hasn't stopped.

And the leaves almost shimmer in the light.

This is Russell, the Ficus. I know I should have done a profile on him by now. Things get crazy. Anyway, he's one of the first plants to live in my apartment (along with Diva, who sits on the dressers). He was moved to this windowsill a few days ago since I know Ficus don't like drastic changes in light.

This is his good angle. I wish he was that bushy all over!

My only problem with Russell is that his new leaves are growing in green-yellow. You know, as opposed to green-white. I've seen other Ficus benjamina in big box stores that are doing the same things. I don't know if this is normal or not.

The happy family, sans Baby, who hangs out with Amelia and Queen Anne on the nightstand. More on them in another post.

 This took entirely too long to post. My computer is older and I had to restart several times because I left the cord unplugged accidentally. So, I'll do the new plants/fertilizer is awesome post later on this week. Probably tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Plant panic (or, silver linings)

I just spent about an hour and a half this morning moving plants. My apartment is about 85*F right now with both windows open. Shades are down and plants are moved to less bright spots. Everything that needs to be watered is watered.

Why am I still so nervous something is going to die?

I totally forgot to mention that Baby, the dwarf Euphorbia milii, is still kicking. She gets unfertilized water about once a week and she is sprouting new leaves. She had to be isolated for a bit because of wigglies in the bracts. They were snipped off and she stayed isolated for about a month. It must have been so lonely for her.

Anyway, she is back with the pack and wiggly free. She took everything like a champ. I stopped fertilizing her because she is in such a small pot. I also probably killed Trent due to over-fertilizing AND underwatering. Shame, really. Baby is doing well and I totally forgot that she was around. I keep looking for a new Crown of Thorns, but I forget she's right there...silently growing.

I'm hoping for a white one this time around. When Baby blooms, she's red all over. I'd like something different. Trent was a beautiful yellow bloomer, but I like to switch it up. Maybe it'll be Trent 2.0.

Tonight, tonight.

After today, my brain can stop being complete and total mush and go back to being (usually) quite sharp. It's audit day at our workplace and we're hoping nothing bad happens.

Anyway, tomorrow I will be leaving the state to visit family. I will be gone 4 days. Eep! What will I do with my plants? Some are very fussy...

I'm probably going to bunch them in my living room and on my bed. Pull the sheers down and hope for the best. Some of my plants will be just fine - more than just fine - upon return. Some of my plants are fussy about water and...may not be fine. I will find a way.

H. mindorensis and H. obscura made their way outside today. I just don't have enough light for them in my apartment while they're in mandatory isolation. Coral is going back outside too.

Most of my plants are doing fine. I wish I had the time (or brains) to actually stop and take picture. They haven't had a proper bug check in about two weeks. I'm sorry, plants. This will only happen about twice a year.

I'm fighting the urge to buy more plants. I try to limit it to one plant order a pay. Luckily, I have a supportive boyfriend that tolerates this. When we move into a house, at least they can be outside or in one specific room.

That's it. Brain fried.

Eulogy.

I had to throw away Trent this morning. I was very...bothered.

He just wasn't doing well. His trunk was pliable. Very pliable. I just checked them a few weeks ago and they didn't move. I think the re-pot really did him in. Usually, my plants respond positively...or at least neutrally. For some reason, my aloes and euphorbias do not like my mix. Okay, hint taken.

I also think it's not completely my mixes' fault. I bare rooted them and their roots probably were shocked on top of having a ton of dirt on top of them. I'll have to remember to keep a semblance of a rootball intact for them next time.

Trent, you were a good plant. I'm sad that I couldn't keep you thriving. I'm going to try again ASAP.

In other plant news, the aloe I re-potted hasn't died. It lost a few "leaves" but it seems to be doing fine. I'm ignoring it for the time being. None of its babies survived, supporting my theory that my mix simply stays too wet for them. I'm going to have to work on less vermiculite, or no vermiculite, for my succulents and more sensitive plants. Lessons learned.

It was surprisingly irritating to throw Trent out. He had a sunny spot and good ventilation. Throwing him away bothered me in another way I didn't realize. I'm a big fan of nature and I see it as sacred. I have plants inside as a way of keeping the divine close at all times. I know that sounds totally out there, but seeing them thrive gives me several levels of satisfaction. I'm keeping pieces of the Earth happy, yay!

So, when one plant dies...I wonder. What did I do wrong? Why couldn't I keep this piece of Earth happy? So not only do I have gardeners' pride to contend with, I have a spiritual and moral pride to deal with as well. Phew.

-------

Coral was saved last night. I grabbed her, took her out of her pot, took out whatever wasn't clearly part of the rootball, and brought her inside. The soil I took off was sopping wet. She has not yet rotted, and so I gave her fresh soil. Her rootball was still moist, so I'm not watering her in yet. Her foliage looks good - I think her staying outside for now is a good idea. No signs of mealies. When I picked her up to put her back in the pot, I marveled at how much she has grown. When the Philadelphia Flower Show comes back in February, I will take a picture of the sized pots she was going in. She has come a long way! I'm hoping this is the last time I will re-pot her for a while...her rootball wasn't extensive and she needs time to grow. I realize why she isn't blooming - she's working on leaf production.

My pieces of Earth are growing pretty well, all in all. I'll take pictures tonight if I have time. I'm bringing work home with me and I may or may not be completely braindead by then. This post made me feel better about my indoor garden. I feel like I've been killing a ton of plants lately, but that hasn't been the case. Most of them are still here with me, growing away the day.

Damn you, mother nature!

My brain is frying. It's audit time here at work and I swear my IQ plummeted from 140 to 100.

I've been so scatterbrained that I left Coral outside during several rains...and her soil was already wet. I was so annoyed this morning because I knew it would rain Monday...not SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. Damn you! I was going to move her into the greenhouse this morning but I was too late. I might do an emergency dryout for her tonight.

My poor boyfriend. He's really been the victim of my brain this week. I've been working 6 days a week and dog tired the whole time. Poor guy had pink eye all week and we finally got to see each other over the weekend. I should do something nice for him tonight...maybe make him dinner.

Anyway, my plants are chugging along. I got plants from Mr. S and for the most part, I'm satisfied. The Schlumbergera looked pale and weak (which he told me about prior to shipping) and on a whim, I divided and repotted. They're on a stool near a west window and they get plenty of light. The Tradescantia zebrina didn't make it home. I think I shocked the crap out of it putting it in the enclosed entryway, which is pretty bright all day. I had to chuck it.

The Nematanthus 'Tropicana' is looking great. It's in a sunny spot and I hope it doesn't go the way Coral did. No mealies, please!

Most of my plants are doing fine. I have some that are throwing hissies for whatever reason. Trent is still kind of floppy and still gets yellow leaves, though not everyday. I just watered him after ~1-2 weeks of not doing so and I'm terrified he'll pull the leaf drop thing with me again. He was doing so well before I re-potted!

I'm keeping the windows open to stave off having to move my plants off the sill so I can put my AC in. I don't know where I will put them - especially Russell the Ficus, which has been enjoying pretty high light all year. He hasn't shed one leaf on me and I wasn't planning on that happening anytime soon.

Enough rambling.

New plants/random plant events.

On an impulse, I made a purchase of two Hoyas from Gardino nursery. The two Hoyas I bought were going for insane prices for 3-4" pots elsewhere. I would try to pounce on an Ebay listing and I would get outbid every time. Shipping was quick, the plants look healthy and I feel like I got my money's worth. Anyway, here they are:

H. mindorensis. I have been looking at it for some time - it's blooms are gorgeous and the foliage is pretty enough to grow it without blooms. The foliage is a little plain, but they sent me such a nice sized plant for $10. I was really impressed.

These sell out really quickly for whatever reason. I snatched it up before I made the mistake I made with H. macrophylla.

Oh my god. I love H. obscura! This plant also sparks bidding wars, and I wasn't about to spend $15-20 for a small pot. This went for $8 and I'm so happy about the color of the foliage.

Though I probably won't be able to maintain this cheery red, I'm going to keep it as happy as I can.

I also have some plant events. Not all are about growth:

I transplanted the (probably not) Aloe nobilis into a bigger pot. It was horribly rootbound! I know it's big, but I want to give it room to grow. I haven't been having much luck with repotting aloes...I usually remove all of the previous mix and re-pot like that. I had a division that didn't like that and I trashed it yesterday. I'm terrified that I will kill this poor thing. Luckily, this root ball had bigger roots, so I may have better luck.

The aloes' pups. I have a feeling one of them will take. We'll see.

Do not mind the fly strip - still battling fungus gnats. Anyway, this is what Trent looks like now...on his good side. The ventilation and sunnier spot has seemed to end his fussing.

Lots of other things are going on in my jungle apartment but I need to cook dinner. My poor boyfriend has pink eye and I haven't seen him in a little while. Work is getting hectic (we have an audit coming up) and so this quiet time is welcomed.

Until next time, arrrivederci amici!