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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 7, 2020 17:42:52 GMT
Not rubbing it in! Those pictures were taken in such glare that it does make it hard to identify some of the plants. Also, because the patio is long and narrow, the picture perspective is deceiving. The lemon verbena appears to be next to the coquito (tall green trunk), but the coquito is actually well behind it, with other plants and some walking space in between.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2020 15:11:05 GMT
While my ficus continues its death throes, my very ill hibiscus is doing something amazing.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 12, 2020 16:17:41 GMT
Kerouac - have you ever fed these plants? plants in pots need feeding and the best food I can tell you about is a Seafood liquid. The nearest garden shop should keep it otherwise I would probably head straight to BHV GARDEN SECTION.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 12, 2020 16:34:18 GMT
Seafood? Crabs, mussels etc?
Or seaweed??
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2020 16:40:16 GMT
Kerouac - have you ever fed these plants? Yes, I do feed them. They have been dining on organic liquid fertilizer from Monoprix for years. It stinks pretty bad, so it must be good.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 12, 2020 17:13:36 GMT
Probably need a repot? Too.long in the same pot and compost mean all sorts of nasties build up.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2020 17:28:05 GMT
I've repotted twice over the years. I'm all potted out.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2020 18:47:07 GMT
Any chance the ficus is getting too much water?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2020 19:09:45 GMT
No, that was a mistake I made two or three ficuses ago. Never again.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2020 20:32:55 GMT
Sometimes a ficus will sulk really badly if you move it from one spot to another. It will show its displeasure by shedding leaves, but should eventually recover. The problem could also be what Mick suggests in #384.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2020 20:37:00 GMT
I am devoting my attention to the hibiscus now. The ficus can go and fuck itself. I will be happy to replace it. Ficuses never show any appreciation.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2020 20:39:16 GMT
Well, I have often wondered how long a ficus can realistically be expected to survive indoors, as they get so huge when grown in the ground outdoors.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 12, 2020 20:54:06 GMT
I have seen numerous reports about indoor plants in Western Europe. At least 90% of them come from the industrial hothouses of the Netherlands. And they are only meant to live about 6 months at most. In their hothouses, they are nurtured 24/7 and live under UV lamps. The moment they leave that environment, they begin to die. The vast majority of these plants go to plant suppliers all over Europe. These are the companies that put plants in offices. The employees come once a month to tend to the plants, or to dispose of them and replace them. The office workers often beg to save some of them and take them home (at least that's what happened in my office). No problem because otherwise they go straight to the trash.
Those of us who buy these same plants at nurseries or Ikea don't understand why they slowly perish. We don't have 24/7 UV lights and magic plant food. So it is a miracle when we keep them alive and we mourn when they die, but they were never meant to live more than 6 months in the first place.
Our disposable world is disguting.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 12, 2020 21:05:15 GMT
Got it in one.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 12, 2020 21:07:30 GMT
I am devoting my attention to the hibiscus now. The ficus can go and fuck itself. I will be happy to replace it. Ficuses never show any appreciation. Perhaps it should fick itself.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2020 21:47:36 GMT
I thought we weren't supposed to cus on this family forum.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 14, 2020 14:53:57 GMT
The loveliest Ficus plants around these days are the "plastic" ones. These days not made from plastic but very clever silk and and and…..they look very real. My son's partner has recently put a huge fake banana tree in our shop and for the aesthetics it breaks the monotony of all the fabric and never looks like curling up and dying. I'm not suggesting you go the fake route Kerouac but let's face it. It's less stressful -
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Post by tod2 on Aug 18, 2020 8:42:58 GMT
My rose cuttings already shooting!
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 18, 2020 11:22:54 GMT
They are looking good!
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Post by casimira on Aug 18, 2020 11:53:43 GMT
Looking good Tod! I'm doing a lot of propagating right now as well. I went to a fabulous garden this past weekend to get some bags of compost that my friend was giving away. She has a gorgeous array of plants and offered me to take cuttings and some divisions. I have at least a dozen very cool perennials and herbs in small pots that I will put in once I clean out all the weeds and spent plants that rotted out during the recent heavy rains of the past couple of months. There are a few new salvias, a couple of cupheas, two different artemisias, three different coleus and a couple of scented geraniums (one on particular, Attar of rose is heavenly!). I'm armed and ready for some spiffing up!
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 18, 2020 13:51:59 GMT
That's wonderful, Tod! Tips? Tricks? I consistently fail at rose cuttings.
Casimira, you must be champing at the bit. What a wonderful haul & so perfect to get you started on garden renovation.
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Post by fumobici on Aug 18, 2020 14:52:59 GMT
They look quite like my roses after the deer have been through.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 18, 2020 16:06:52 GMT
Bixa I will post PHOTOS, yes I've got my Mojo back! I took a series of pics to show my sister how we went about it. Stay tuned.
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Post by casimira on Aug 19, 2020 12:06:33 GMT
Casimira, you must be champing at the bit. What a wonderful haul & so perfect to get you started on garden renovation. Yes, I'm thrilled with my haul. The artemisias in particular are a real "score" as one rarely sees any at the nursery except the boring "Dusty Miller". The same with the Attar of Rose scented geranium. The only scented geranium available is the citronella one.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 19, 2020 12:13:04 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2020 15:16:48 GMT
Yes, I'm thrilled with my haul. The artemisias in particular are a real "score" as one rarely sees any at the nursery except the boring "Dusty Miller". The same with the Attar of Rose scented geranium. The only scented geranium available is the citronella one. Yes, very frustrating, especially since artemisias are tough and prolific plants. Why aren't nurseries more imaginative about carrying more of the many varieties? This must kill you, since I think of you as a real artemisia person. As far as the scented geraniums ~ you know they are one of my deep true loves. When I lived in the US, way back in the era of physical paper catalogs, I had one dedicated to scented geraniums. It was right up there with the old rose catalog as an endless wish list of delights. Well, I went looking and see that many of your old favorite catalog people carry scented geraniums. Looking further, I found pure gold. This place has 141 (one hundred forty-one!) varieties of scented geraniums. It's just as well that I don't live in the US, as I would bankrupt myself overnight with this catalog ~ geraniaceae.com/cgi-bin/listPlants.cgi?major=Pelargoniums&minor=Scented-LeafHere are the steps to how we did the rose cuttings. Tod! This is out of this world super-duper useful ~ thank you! Right off the bat I can see a major mistake that I've been making and can now rectify. You clearly show the size and the right age of the shoots to use for propagating and the exact way to do it. I have hormone powder and an out-of-control rose bush, so I'm raring to go! You are a >>star<<!
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Post by tod2 on Aug 19, 2020 16:04:13 GMT
Bixa can I add the steps in writing/typing… You select a stem which must not be old growth, it must be firm nice shoot with a few leaves at the top with some shoot nodes. Not a young floppy thin thing.
As you see you must scrape away the skin on the root end.
Wet the scraped end and dip it in hormone, or honey - but we tried the banana route which is the only one that did not root.
Poke a dowl or stick into the potting soil to make a hole for the rose clipping.
Keep the soil damp but not over so. Relying on the moisture in the top half trickling down. Please keep the cap on loosely. don't screw it down.
You will see that the shoots have "taken" as they will appear alive with shoots appearing.
Store in a warm but also shaded area . a bit of sun is OK. Keep checking they don't need water.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2020 17:00:07 GMT
Wet the scraped end and dip it in hormone, honey Are you addressing me by a pet name, or can honey actually be used as a rooting medium? (never heard that about bananas, either)
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Post by casimira on Aug 19, 2020 17:01:50 GMT
Oh!!! "being a real artemisia person"...that's the nicest thing I've been referred to in a long time! Thank you! The other wonderful thing is you finding that scented pelargonium source! Mon Dieu!! Absolutely divine! I know of several people locally I can share that with and maybe if we pool together and each buy say four different plants apiece and then propagate them to share, the possibilities are endless. They are gratefully very easy to propagate. This is so very exciting! You made my day!
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Post by tod2 on Aug 19, 2020 17:03:46 GMT
Bixa, you are a honey, but honey is used as an antiseptic in plants. It's widely used in propagating slips from other plants. In the Far East a banana is used extensively - the whole fruit or sometimes just the skin, but we had no luck with it.
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