Stormy Weather

The weather radio alarmed after 3am, warning of a tornado watch. I let the dog out before the rain which was not far off. By good daylight there were severe thunderstorms.

I went out when the rain let up to see if jungle cacti were still secure on their summer patio. The blossoms mostly are gone off the Easter Cactus in the green pot but the large one in the left bottom corner is intact. 

I checked my rain gauge which collected an Inch or water.

Yesterday before the rain I planted out 23 Chartreuse Alternanthera. I did not plant the 3 Porterweeds nor the Joseph's Coat Alternanthera that will go with them.

I meant to directly plant marigold seeds between tomato plants which are now clean of Toadflax and Poppies. I did get irrigation drip pipes into place and gave tomatoes a drink yesterday before they totally wilted. This inch of rainfall and all that nitrogen in the air should give them a boost.

Activity in the greenhouse is almost nil except for assuring that nothing gets too dry. I am eager for this cycad seedling to get big enough to go in a square pot.

 I repotted a burro's tail and some Graptopetalum together. I don't think I like it. The pebble trays are cleaned and replenished for giving humidity this fall. I haven't decided what to do with the Tillandsia on the right. The original plant produced 3 pups and I have not divided them. They take up less room as a unit. Maybe just a bigger pot? I think they're usually found as singles because it's more lucrative to sell three instead of one group. I think they're okay to grow in a crowd.

While there is little planting going in here, there's plenty of  activity. 

Epiphyllums Squeezed Inside

I started out with the smallest inside for most of the summer to see how they compared in the greenhouse with the two big Epis left outside in mostly shade. The 2 big pots,  plants here since 2002, came inside today.

They can't just sit in the middle on benches, they take up too much space.

I gave everybody a haircut, cutting away ugly parts.

 It was a struggle, but they're placed. The big blue pot at left and the terra cotta color pot at right are the biggest and oldest. Two 8-inch clay pots on the shelf at middle and a black pot on a shelf to the lower right of the rooster complete the array. It looks like more. Bits and pieces of small plants can be tucked all around among the jungle plants. I try to give the highest places objects rather than plants that need watering.

There was a near disaster when I knocked the rooster from his perch but he survived. I had to put the cat out. He tried to help every time I started to pick up a heavy pot.

This ancient cabinet had to move.

Its best site was the best Epi site. It will take shelf

space for the door to open, so it may have to go.

 Buds, we have buds! Last blooms are usually in October after they move in, so they're right on time.

Epis are inside, Christmas Cactuses are inside. Yet to move in are Begonias, Amaryllis, Firecracker Fern, Spider Plants and cuttings. I still haven't taken cuttings. Seedlings and sprouts and surprises abound.

My Secret Jungle Garden Is No Secret Anymore

When the weather got warm, I improvised an old 2x8 board into a bench for Epiphyllums with a rusty iron bed headboard for the long awkward stems to lean on.

The Jungle Cacti like a little shade that makes them feel as if they are in tree tops, so they were behind a Philadelphus and a Gardenia just north of the greenhouse. Other shrubbery forms a little hallway so it is like going into a secret garden, but just the tiniest bit dim and out of the way after dark.

I knew they were about to bloom any night now. Last night I forgot to check on them before dark. As it gets late you can tell when a bud is about to open. When I got back from Church and Town I forgot to go out there with a flashlight. Sure enough, when I thought to look around noon, two flowers were limp, their night of glory over.

Other buds are nearly ready, this one hanging over 

its support and I might have missed it too. 

I moved the pots with buds near the side door, on

the carport ledge. The ugliest stems have the

prettiest buds.

This bud is from the faux terra cotta pot -- sounds 

more elegant than styrofoam, yes? It hangs over into

a Gardenia bush here too.

I had to use a hand truck to move the ceramic pot.

See it just at the right? The pot tended to roll, but I 

got it moved without crushing the buds. 

Spent bloom next to the pot.

It will be a fragrant night with Brugmansia blooms

nearby.

Their new location will have more sun, the leaves may fade but they will

likely have more blooms with more light. There are a few tiny buds already 

formed. I expect more to follow. 

Three younger pots have no buds yet so I left them on the Secret Bench.

If a long stem or even a leaf breaks, I usually stick it in some soil to root. 

2012

Every year I post about Epiphyllum oxypetalum as if it were a new plant.

The scent is heavy and spicy, unlike the sweet fragrance of the Brugmansias.