End of Year Peek into the Greenhouse

Christmas Cactuses are mostly finished. I deadheaded a few. It is time to think, just think about what seeds to plant and when.

Cuttings of Kalanchoe at bottom left did not bloom in time for Christmas. These are white -- I should have bought a pink or a red last summer to start cuttings for Valentine's Day. On the stool are cuttings of pink Pentas and red and blue Porterweed for next summer. At least one of the Pentas is forming buds now to bloom in the greenhouse until warm weather.

Bromeliads take up a lot of room.

Bromeliads on a tree.

Persian Shield cuttings over behind the Bromeliad tree may bloom before winter is over. They seldom bloom outdoors but I had blossoms last year. Purple Heart tucked in there has some pink bloooms.

It was a struggle but one little greenhouse pest control helper 

made it it from a Shrimp plant leaf to a Ghost plant rosette.

Next year's plans include having 4 tomato plants for the winter instead of one. We ate ripe tomatoes on Christmas Day. We would like to have enough to give some away on Christmas next year.

Another plan is to repot Russelia alone and dump the Graptopetalum which is kind of naked now. Russelia and Graptopetalum made a great show when the Ghost plant was newly rooted. Russelia requires an ocean of water to bloom continually indoors.

In order to make room for  more tomatoes some plants are going to have to move outside permanently. Spider plants have increased to a point of too many indoors. I'll take some of the planks off the end of the shelves where the spider plant sits and underneath to make a sort of tomato cage in the northwest end of the GH.

More tomatoes can sit where there are many spider plants this winter:

 Spider plants are root hardy in the ground here so these may become edging in 2015. I brought in every pot when cool weather came.

Improvised planter with succulents.

It's hard to decide who goes and who stays when things get crowded. I can always give away a few Schlumbergeras. Epiphyllums are taking up a lot of room, too. Pots of Amaryllis that sit around and wait to get going could go in the house. I used to start Hyacinths in the laundry room and keep certain cuttings there, too. 

I may change my habits to accommodate more things to eat. Peppers and eggplants did well in containers before. We can grow cole crops, lettuce, onions and greens outdoors. 

What are your plant plans for 2015?

April Peek into the Greenhouse

Alison reminded us that it is time to look in the greenhouse again. Hers looks swell. She has seedlings of all kinds and even a blooming Brugmansia. Here's mine:

I washed the outside last week before the rains came.

What looks like a pile of rubble to the left is the new Urbanite and brick patio.

Evacuation started here when I thought cold weather was over. Some of the plants I moved out shivered for a night or two, but nobody froze. Epiphyllums are on a bench under the cedar tree behind gardenias and things, ready for warm nights so they can bloom.

Tomato plants got to stay inside a little longer because of the

cold rain. What looks like yellow leaves at the bottom are labels.

I haven't decided where Bromeliads are going to summer. Red Begonias and Alternanthera can go with them, or somewhere else. The rest of Begonias are already outside in shade.

My Easter tableau looked more like Christmas, but that's an

Easter Cactus. Rhapsalidopsis.

Here's where Rhapsalidopsis and Schlumbergera are summering.  

 Urbanite and Brick Patio. Surely you didn't think I was going to sit out there in the summer? Jungle cactuses summer in this same space last year on this same table. Now there's more room and I won't have to walk through weeds.

A closer look at brick seams between the broken concrete.

Another, bigger  Easter Cactus at back left. All tiny pots of 

Schlumbergera cuttings have been bumped up to the size that fits into cache pots. They are of cache pots for summer so they can easily drain after a rain. 

Waiting for summer homes in the ground are Pineapple Sage, Porterweed, Chartreuse Alternanthera and others.

 Propagation is an on-going process here.

Every little succulent leaf that falls gets to start life 

as a new plant. Every broken piece of something

goes into a pot to root, which is why I have too

many Epiphyllums and more.

If you haven't a greenhouse, then you must have a bright window or a grow light somewhere. Orchids are blooming in an east window here. What's blooming at your place?

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End of the Grapevine Ball

Steve Asbell calls them 'Rainforest Drops' and makes them using cuttings tucked into purchased grapevine balls full of soil and moss.

I made my own grapevine ball and tucked rooted cuttings with a ball of root-filled soil into moss in the grapevine ball. I set it on a pot rather than suspending it.

I added Graptopetalum and a Bromeliad. It grew and bloomed.

At the end of it's second Christmas, The grapevine was brittle

and the Bromeliad just did not look happy.

I dis-assembled the whole thing, 

cutting the grapevine so as not to destroy the plants.

I ended up with a pot full of Schlumbergera cuttings and another pot full of Graptopetalum. I like my Christmas Cactuses in pots alone or in a group of like cuttings. Graptopetalum is good for a number of succulent projects.

The Neoregelia in the orange pot is the one from the grapevine ball. It looks happier already, potted up. It is smaller than the ones behind it, younger pups not showing much color yet because they're just been removed from the mother plant. 

Christmas Cactus

Schlumbergera at its finest. I used to think Christmas Cactus growing was difficult. Every little piece will root. So far I have three different cultivars blooming. None are named except for what I call them. There is a White, a Scarlet and Trudy's Red named for the dear lady who gave me cuttings of 5 different.

These first two pics are of the a Christmas Cactus I bought after the Holidays one year for $2.25.

I distinguish this one from the one below as Scarlet.

I call this one 'Trudy's Red' because it is different from my Scarlet,

with white at the base of the petals.

Trudy's Red and Trudy's White in all sizes.

The colors yet to bloom are toward the back.

Two shelves in the greenhouse are devoted to Christmas 

Cactus in all sizes. There's even two tiny shoot rooting now.

Anything more than a single leaf gets laid on a pot of soil.

Besides the red and white there are pink, peach and yellow yet to bloom.

I put this mug in my kitchen window after I got him potted up.

A Jungle Cactus Blooms in the Night

One bloom or 10, it is always exciting to anticipate the opening of Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. Last night was no exception. I lighted tea lights to add to the festive occasion.

These would not be nearly so dramatic if they bloomed during the day. There are 3 buds remaining.

More Jungle Beauties, Schlumbergera

Did I mention the fragrance that fills a room? 

Known by the common name Night Blooming Cereus, not really a Cereus.

The pendulous plants hang over everything.

The next Ephiphytic spectacle will be the bloom season of Christmas Cactuses. Buds are forming, repotting is done. From now on, it's like waiting for Santa Claus.

We expect near-freezing temperatures outside by the end of the week. I was not so premature in bringing in tender plants after all. There are still cuttings to take and tender plants to dig because I always want to save everything from the cold. The tea lights can be packed away making room to tuck little plants everywhere. I must remember to leave room for dozens of Hyacinth bulbs in tiny pots after Thanksgiving when their chill is finished.

Friday Addendum: Two blooms opened on Wednesday night. I though the last one would wait until Friday night, so let He-who-mows and fastens doors close the greenhouse last night. Guess what I found this morning? A wilted blossom, the very last one of the season and I missed it. The two on Thursday morning were still open when I went out fairly early.

Tonights near-freeze is upgraded to 37º which isn't so bad. I may set the Kalanchoes waiting at the door inside.

Linking to Tootsie's Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. I think I'll go put a teaspoon of fertilizer beside each of my cabbages, kale and broccoli. They are growing nicely if certain pets will stop digging.

Seeds Planted and Christmas Cactuses Repotted

Do you Pin photos on Pinterest and then follow through? I saw photos of pots and beds last week with Parsley and Alyssum included that gave me some practical ideas. Today I planted 18 cells with Alyssum seeds and a half dozen cells with Parsley. Parsley has to go 'to the devil and back' before it sprouts, nearly a month. Maybe emerging Alyssum will give me hope before Thanksgiving.

What have you done that came from a Pinterest idea?

While I was busy with potting soil, I went ahead with bumping some plants up to larger pots.

Christmas Cactuses except some large pots were on a single shelf.

The long flats with 6-cell trays held rooted cuttings with roots growing out the bottom. I had just enough potting soil to pot up a Gerbera Daisy seedling and 8 square pots holding 3 Schlumbergera cuttings each of pink, peach, yellow and white.

 I remembered to label them all, even the Gerbera at lower left which started out as a seed in a yoghurt container. There are some small pots of Christmas Cactuses with no label that will be mysteries until bloom.

Eight pots in a flat are too crowded. I'll separate them.

The 8 square pots are at upper left. They need more space around 

each pot for air circulation. At right is a tray of 6 red rooted cuttings 

yet to repot and some small pots of single cuttings. Larger plants 

are in cache pots on the bottom shelf.

Other GH activity:

 

 We will soon see Epiphyllum blooms, always a treat.

Update on the cycad seedling growth. 

October Bloom Day in the Greenhouse

It isn't cold enough for plants to be inside but I am prone to being caught by an early frost, so they are in early except for the cuttings I keep putting off. This is just a sample

I added extras to the Begonia pots: Spider plants and Foxtail Fern.

Schlumbergeras will have buds soon. I root every

little piece that is pruned or breaks.

Last Hurrah for Epiphyllums. These will bloom 

for one night, soon. Maybe I'll remember to look.

Their fragrance is the best part.

White Lantana outside the greenhouse.

Next year I hope for a glorious white garden.

Look closely in the left lower corner. My camera kept focusing on dry leaves and foliage rather than the

beautiful blue Dragonfly who posed so patiently. 

Happy Bloom Day.

Babyland

I can't help myself. Every stem with leaves, every seed, every bulb needs sticking in some soil.

The need to plant cuttings is why I have Kalanchoes lined up on a board outside the greenhouse and three old plants with tender foliage crying out to be used in a similar way.  If I can coax them to bloom just before Christmas I can find homes for them.

Schlumbergeras and their kin the Easter Cactus have rooted themselves into dozens.

Bromeliads have a curious way of reproducing by making offsets after they bloom. The ones on the left have tiny insignificant blue blossoms in the centers. New plants are forming around them. The one on the right was in bloom when I bought it. It has all but died off and new plants are surrounding the old one. I didn't make a new photo of the tillandsia in the greenhouse that has new plants forming in the center of the plant instead of around the edges. I think they can all stay in one pot after I repot.

 

Every little bean that fell off my Burro's Tail made a new plant.

I have a plan for these, really. Martha Stewart's greenhouse has a display with Burro's Tail and Mistletoe Cactus which is another plant that I just happen to have divided....

 

I could not resist tucking a couple of seeds from a Gerbera Daisy into a yoghurt cup. These can go to live in the garden when they reach some size. It has been a good year for growing Gerberas, though they've been shy to bloom, the bigger ones.

 

Little Plants are  like kittens. finding homes is not easy. I am to a point that I rarely go into a garden center any more except to buy potting soil and more pots.

 

On the other hand, I am making lists of fall planted bulbs and will order soon.

 

I did not garden today. It rained all day, slow drizzle mostly, an inch and a half.