Dendrobium Kingianum blooms

At long last I have blooms.... 3 to be exact! It looked like she was going to give me many, many blooms but I left it in the cold window on a very cold night and most of the buds froze:-(

They/it smells fantastic and I look forward to the other 2 buds opening.... and next year I promise to be more careful about her winter care when the buds appear!

Diane

Hoya Shepherdii Umbels?

Are these umbels? Sure looks like it to me.... the beginings of one? Please Hoya Gods.... Let it be so;-)
Diane

It would be my first flower on a Hoya (Got my fingers crossed again:-)

Hoya Australis

My queery about my Australis might have been premature as there is new growth coming out where the leaves were turning yellow and falling off. I'm now not sure I should change a darn thing with my watering or potting soil? It might just be doing what comes naturally to fill out?

Any ideas?
Diane

Phalaenopsis Carlotta (purple multi flora)

My first Phal!
She's a beaut:-)
SuperStore has these mini and semi mini Phals for twenty dollars. Had to get one. (before they KILL them all!!)

Roots and leaves seem healthy, (but what do I know about it? Nada!) firm and green.It's growing in a 4 inch plastic pot with charcol and foam pieces in the bottom and planted in sphag.

Please let me know any of your opinions and growing tips.

Thanks
Diane
















I couldn't find my gravel to make a humidy tray so I thought I'd try Hydroton. I LOVE it! It stays all wet even if there is hardly any water in the tray! I think you can easily see how wet the pebbles are but you can't see the water line (Only about 2 oz. of water in the tray:-)

Chirita

She's just about to bloom:-)

Streptocarpus "Dilbeys Kim"

She's a beauty! Bloomed from the first baby leaf she grew and hasn't stopped since.

Hoya / Hydroton

October 11 update: Although my KQ looks smaller in these photos, I lost a vine or 2 due to shock, the remaining vines look great. I've left the container 1/2 full of water to help the roots adjust to their new environment. As I see new water roots growing I'll lessen the amount of water in the container to an inch or 2. So far I'm happy with the way things are going, but next time I'll start with rooted cuttings instead of an established plant. Diane




I decided to plant a Krimson Queen in Hydroton yesterday! I love this stuff as it opens soooo many doors to what I can plant in:-)

This is a votive candle holder. I sure like the word semi-hydro! (hope it works:-)

Juncus spirales

This truely is a crazy looking plant that I know absolutely nothing about and all I have been able to find out is that it's a bog/marsh plant that I assume should be kept wet/moist.

Any other hints would be most welcome:-)

Diane






Sept 20/06

Seems this plant didn't care for me or my environment:-(

Lyle, as he was know to his friends cause of his bad hair day, passed away today.

Diane

Liriope 'Cassidy'

OMG! I just got a Liriope a few days ago at SafeWay's floral department. I just couldn't resist!!! Especially when I saw the vase! Had to have it!!But because it's a grass, I have to put it up on the fridge every night so the CAT won't eat the ribbons.

This is Liriope 'Cassidy' and is one of those pattened hybrids that you are not suppose to propagate. (yeah right!!) I'm growing it in Hydrotron clay pellets (way to cool of a way to grow plants as you can use any container:-) The tag says to keep in indirect light and moderately moist soil. Average home temps. and grows 10 to 12 inches high.

Marble Queen!

I scored at the grocery store the other day! I've always wanted a 'Marble Queen' so when I came across it I just HAD TO HAVE IT!! Love the white!

Diane

Some of my plants Hate me!

This Aloe, if that is what you would like to call it, is an after thought. I was reminded by a GW'er that Aloes are his bane in life and that reminded me of mine:-(

5 plants I have HATE me!

first we have my lovely Diefenbachia. She looks good now but really she hates me! When it was living in soil she had a stem in it that was twisted around it's self 4 times.... Looked like a roller coaster and NEVER had more than 4 leaves!!! Now that I've cut it off that long stem and plunked it in water (about a year ago) she looks great and has (WOW!) 7 leaves. No food... only water... I think I'll leave this one be and leave it in water.
Now we have what I was hoping to be a beautiful Monstera. Really that is what that is! Not so pretty.... I think I'm not giving it enough light but I can't do better right now. She'll like it a lot more when I get my sky light put in next year!
Alocasia? Yes sir eee bub, but you'd never know it! We call it 'Evil the Plant', as the leaves used to look like Evil the Cat's face. I've tried everything to get this plant to thrive.... I give! I will continue to let it to grow but I wouldn't be too unhappy to see 'EVIL' die!

Which brings us to the Parasol Plant. (Heptapleurum) This doesn't like me either! It neither grows nore dies.... Just is!! Drops leaves in the winter and grows a few back in the summer... That's it!

I'm not really looking for advice on how to grow these plants, just wanted to confess my brown thumbs for them. I don't have the conditions they need to grow well so they just plod along:-)

Diane

Jasmine Sambac 'Maid of Orleans'

Satin Pothos

This is my Satin Pothos. She's located in a west window in my kitchen. The neighbor blocks a lot of the light that she gets but she still gets at least a couple hours of direct sun light a day. I take cuttings regularly to try and keep it full.

It's a Jungle in Here! (so DH thinks)

This is my main growing area, in the Living room, which consists of 3 old coffee tables, one of which is stacked on top of another one to give me more room:-), and 2 end tables. There lives 23 plants, most of which are Hoyas. It faces east and gets sun this time of year from sun up (4 am) to around noon. I'm sure I can find more room for plants.... I still see day light! LOL

This is the Kitchen/Dining room window. I have pretty much used up most of the window space there too but I have to leave room for the cat:-)

BTW both photos were taken from where I sit at the computer. The desk is right in the middle of the 2 spaces. I like my Jungle!



Welcome to my kitchen.

I've posted this picture so Toni could see my sky light. This is also my only west window to grow in, so it's packed full of plants too. A friend of mine made me the stained glass so I wouldn't have to keep shutting blinds every night. I am very happy with the glass and my plants don't seem to mind either!

On top of the fridge is where I keep all my newest plants that are in quarantine and where I start seeds and cuttings. It gets no direct sunlight up there but it is nice bright and warm.

Diane

Dendrobium Kingianum

This is my little Dendrobium that I receive from Boergreen 2 Januarys ago. Considering that it took 2 months to receive and it almost died of frost bite, I think she looks pretty good:-)

Today while admiring and watering it I came across this growth. Seems to me that it must be a bloom spike..... or a keiki? I'm hoping for a bloom (bloom, bloom, bloom!) but I'd be happy with a keiki too.

So what do you think?

Diane


June 14, 2006
Yup, she's gonna bloom:-)
The "King of Dendrobium Kingianums", Wilford Neptune, informed me that it is a bloom spike!!
This is where she resides.
This is my bathroom in my bedroom ( I am hiding behind the door so you won't see me in the mirror, so mind the mess) and the window that I grow my Dend. and a weird cacti that I got at a garage sale. It's the only south window I have and the trees outside block a lot of the morning and early afternoon sun.
Diane

An update on my Streptocarpus 'Kim' and Episcia '?' leaves.

Last fall I receive 2 leaves in the mail, included in a Hoya trade, that I had no idea what to do with!

Thanks to the GardenWeb folks, 6 months later I have 2 very nice plants:-)

The Strep appears to have a bit of sunburn on the leaves but it also has 4 bloom spikes. I think I'll have to shade it a bit more.

Epi is growing like gangbusters now that the days are longer.... Thanks for all the advice!

Diane

June 12 2006

So my Epi is actually a Chirita. New plant for me to learn all about:-) I've learned that I should have separated them when they were smaller but I didn't realize that at the time. I have separated them now. (and now have 4 more plants:-)

These Chiritas actually suit my growing conditions better than Epis, so it's a good thing. They prefer cooler and less humid conditions. That I CAN do!
Diane

My 2006 Spring Trade!

Thank you Audrey for the great plants that you sent me in our trade:-)

I sent her 2 cuttings of each, Pubicaylx, Rubra, Tsangii, and my Carnosa. In return I received green and variegated Compacta plants and 'Jade' Carnosa cuttings.

variegated Compacta

In the photo below... Is this a bloom spike coming out between the leaves? I hope so, but since I've never seen a Hoya bloom, I just don't know. (I was hunting for Mealies and found this growth!)



Green Compacta

Carnosa Jade ('Jade' was on the plant tag so that's what we are calling her!)


All in all, we had a very successful trade and I am very happy with my new Hoyas!
Diane

New Hoya cuttings:-)

OK, I must be insane!(or I think that other people must think me INSANE!) You can't take me anywhere without Hoya's on the brain! Tuesday a friend of mine and I were shopping for coveralls and we went into a industrial coverall store, which also dabbles in Hydroponics, and what to my wandering eyes should appear but a gorgeous Hydro-Hoya!!! Must have cuttings....Must have cuttings!!! I felt like Gollum, 'Oh.... My precious....'

I offered to buy some cuttings and once again they said no... You may have them and he started to cut 4 really nice size cuttings for me! Thank you so much, I said as I dug into my pockets for some change and gave him about 3 bucks and told him to have a coffee on me.

So once back in the car, I realized that there were 2 different kinds of Hoya in my hands (BONUS!) but what kind of Hoya's? I have no idea? The one in the top Hoya photo has almost black leaves(deep, deep green with flecks) and are very flexible and fairly thin leaves.

The hoya photo below, the leaves are rigid and waffled. I suspect that it's a 'Crinkle" that hasn't had enough light. (The plant was hanging about 8 feet away from a north window.) It's the bubblely texture that makes me think it's a 'Crinkle' variety.... But I'm not certain?

Any help in identifying would be greatly appreciated.
Diane

Fatsia seedling.

This is the Fatsia seedling. It's about a year old now:-) It's well on the way to being a happy healthy plant!




And this is the other plant a couple years ago. Same corner. (sorry this is such a crappy shot but it was pre digital)
She has grown TONS!!

Fatsia's Summer Home!

This is another reason why I love this plant so much! She got repotted and sent to her corner:-) She doesn't need direct light in the summer months and does really well in the corner with indirect bright light from the skylight. We have it back lit, with an old base from a lava lamp, and it just glows at night. Hard to get a realistic shot of the translucent leaves and the shadows, but I think you can get the idea.

Diane

"Lucky Bean " Tree

Castanospermum Australe is it's real name. I bought this plant, on a whim.... You know, the "Lucky" plant thing, about 2 years ago. It grew out of this huge bean that split in the middle and this lovely tree grew out of the center. The bean feeds the tree until it's no longer needed and shrivels up and dies, leaving it to fend for itself....

It looks a lot like a ficus benji but the leaves get much larger. (1 1/2" wide and 4 1/2" long) This tree is about 2 1/2 feet tall and sits in an east window.

Hope I am "Lucky" enough to keep it happy and healthy, as I'd like someday to see the blooms! I've got my fingers crossed:-)

Diane

White or no white?

This is the question! Well, I did a bit of an experiment to find out whether or not to keep white/pink leaves on a Hoya Krimson Queen or not.

I bought these 2 at the same time but I decided to let one plant grow the all white/pink leaves or stems (bottom photo) and the other, pick them off(top photo). They are both in the same eastern window, soil and watered the same.. They use to look almost like twins but a year later......? BTW...I have taken all the white/ pink leaves off the Hoya in the bottom photo.(I did that about 3 months ago, as I couldn't watch them suck the life out of the rest of the plant. ) It seems to be doing a little better:-)

I have determined that as a young plant, white/pink leaves can hamper the growth. I think this is obvious! (at least to me) What do you think?

Diane


June 9th 2006

Just an up date on my 2 Hoyas. The one I picked the white leaves off of continuously, is doing fantastic. The other one is too, but it's still so much smaller. Oh well.... it'll catch up eventually:-)
Diane

This is just a test

I'm having troubles with posting my current blog. Spring has Sprung is only showing up if you click on the March tag? Go figure.... just told Toni how easy this is and s**t like this happens???? Arggggg! So anyway, I'll post a picture of my Pilea just in case posting this fixes things.

Spring has Sprung:-)

This is my lovely Ivy. It was a small 3 inch cutting not 3 years ago! She looses many leaves every winter and boy, did this ever use to bother me.... thought she was going to bite the big one!










Till spring comes along and everywhere she lost a leaf..... starts a new branch!! BTW!! It's spring! Makes me happy to think my plants will start taking off now and the darn snow will be gone soon:-)

Diane

Hoya's

Most of my Hoya's are babies!
This is Shepardi and Tsangii(1).(click on images to enlarge)

Hoya Carnosa(2)

What I believe to be Rubra (maybe Krimson Princess)(3).



publicalix(4)



Carnosa Krimson Queen(5)







Hope to to get more soon but all in good time:-)
Diane

My Framed Painting - Grassy Lakes, Canmore, Alberta

This was painted in pastel about 8 years ago. I just got it framed this past Christmas. I've got about 12 more of my own paintings, hiding under my bed, yet to frame!? Cost so much to do it though, so all in good time!

Hope you like it:-)

Diane

P.S. Sorry about the glare but it's really tricky taking photo's of glass!

My Bathroom's Faux Finnish

For those of you that were curious about my bathroom's Faux Finnish..... This is it.

I used a sea sponge and 2 colours of paint. Dark blue and a off white. I sponged wet on wet and blended till I couldn't tell what was dark blue and what was white. I've done this finnish in Sage Greens too. Made it look like you were bathing (or whatever) in the jungle! Since this room has no windows I thought blue would be better, like sky.

I also had to paint the cabinet as it was water damaged and we don't plan to renovate that room for a few years. A suede ,(spelling?) burnt red finnish on that.

DH stole the painting I bought for the wall, as he thought it would look nicer in the livingroom. Okay.... we'll let him have his 2 cents worth! I'll have to buy or frame something else for my bathroom walls.

Diane

My favourite plant - Fatsia Japonica

This is the easiest plant I've ever had the pleasure to grow! (touch wood) Commonly known as the 'Caster oil Plant'

It lives in the corner there where the Snake plant is in the photo but for the winter months it's closer to the window. They switch possitions once the days get longer. This IS a plant that can almost live in the dark and still look great:-) But it likes more light in the winter.
I've had it for about 2 years now and it's only lost 2 leaves ....2 smaller leaves on the under side of it! I highly recommend this plant for any newbie or anyone who likes large leaved, easy plants to grow!

Diane

Merry Christmas

So this is Christmas? As I live with Scrooge himself, I find Christmas alittle dull. Good time to start a blog:-) DH is annoyed with the "new concept" of Christmas (and frankly I can't blame him). "Shop till you drop and spend till ther ain't no more!"

I've been living in this home with DH for 5 years now and every Christmas I've wanted to get a "Real Tree". I ended up buying a $2.00, 6" tree from the dollar store the first year. Predecorated, easy to unpack and easy to put away. (not quite what I had in mind but it's better than nothing!)

Anyway, this year I had some extra money and decided that if I couldn't have a "real tree" that I would buy a small fake one. This is it:-) I absolutely love it! It stands about 2' tall and is predecorated, but with lights, porceline collectable ornaments, mini balls and a gold bead garland. The base of the tree is a little house all covered in snow, the windows light up like someone is home and the eaves have blinking multicoloured lights. It's sooo charming! DH even liked it after I replaced all the white lights with coloured ones. (groan) Have you ever tried to replace over 40 mini lights? *sigh* I have to admit that it does look much nicer with coloured lights, its softer and more realistic.

Hope that you have/had a wonderful holiday season and come back to visit, as I will try to add new stuff as time allows. DH has to work this year so Christmas day should be uneventful (I'll let you know:-) but my kids are coming over on Boxing Day to celebrate with me.

Diane