Look what I made today!!!!
CLOSED: FALL Houseplants/Tropical Swap Chat & Interest
Cute Elfie!! Is it made with the polymer clay?
Aww that's cute!
Ang, that is exactly how I hang all my plants in the greenhouse over winter. It works very well and looks great when the chain is full :)
Elfie -
that is so cute! It's a little green elf - what is his name?
I have a banana bread recipe that is quite moist - mine uses sour cream or I can use plain yogurt in it. I found the recipe on DG
Well.... seems to me that Smurette is taken.
Here is a list of female elf names. I have always liked the name Adele. I didn't know it was an elf name... http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/elvish/girlnames.html
Elfie, she's adorable? Can't you name her Goober 2, like they did in Little Shop of Horrors? Hmm, on second thought, maybe not...that didn't turn out so well...
Has anyone had any experience growing Rhodochiton (Chinese Purple Bell Vine) or Asarina? I have ordered seed of these three or four times but never got any to germinate. I have never seen them in person and only know them from pictures. Maybe they are not worth growing. Can anyone tell me about growing them or direct me to someone who had?
Name her Angelique
or Callie (for calla lily)
She is a cutie
Crystal
I was able to get Rhodochiton to germinate, but never got to the second set of leaves. They all seemed to be a victim of damping off. I had other things that I was starting in the same flat that did not damp off. I don't know if it was something that I had done or not done, but it was odd that it was just those seeds. Now I am wondering if perhaps I had used bottom heat if that would have helped.
Thanks Carolyn. Ihad wondered if mine was not warm enough also. It is called trailing Gloxinia and I know Gloxinias like it hot.
Wonder why you never see Florist Gloxinias for sale any more? I have one I got as a freebee several years ago and am thinking about tossing it. I can't get it to be very pretty.
Crystal
Odd you mention Gloxinias - I had not thought about gloxinias in years and when we did my inlaws 60th wedding anniversary at Turning Stone Casino in Syracuse, they had gloxinias tucked in with their regular plantings. It was the first I had seen or thought of gloxinias in years. They did make a beautiful display with the other plants and flowers - but the plantings are always gorgeous there.
I did not get my seeds locally - they were from a different country. I can try to get the information for you if you would like.
Carolyn
Ang, I sort of do the same thing with my hanging plants, but the hanging chain would hang down too far no matter what I did so I got a piece of copper tubing from HD. Drilled a hole in each end, hooked a link of chain from the hook thru the copper tube and had a hanging bar that didn't swag down, I like the look of the swag but I just didn't have the headroom for it. On the copper tube you can even buy end caps so it looks even better. Cool look inside hope your Dad goes for it. Love the macrame!
Going out to take cuttings, gonna be a hot one, but there is a good breeze thank goodness!
Carolyn, I see there are some sources here on davesgarden. Or maybe I can find someone here to get a start of it.
has anyone else seen any Gloxinias lately?
I usually see them in HD and grocery store but not until either late fall or early spring or maybe winter, cause it seems like I am always trying to figure out how to get them to the car without freezing them to death. I use to get them for my Mom. Never looked on the internet, it seems to me it is one of those houseplants that likes cooler weather.
Oh yeah I found this:“When actively growing, Gloxinias do best in temperatures of about 70 degrees F and when in bloom prefer temperatures in the mid-60s. This is ideal for a home in the winter and spring months. Relatively high humidity also helps,” he said. http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gardenerscorner/issue_05/05_winter_05.html So I am guessing in the summer they maybe dormant which is why you aren't finding them? Just a thought.
Happ I was worried about that but I'll mess around with it to make sure nothing hangs down too low. The hooks will be about 2 1/2-3 ft apart with the heaviest on the hook and the lightest on the chains to make it not too bad.
I bought the Macrame hangers off of eBay. The seller I buy from sells them cheaper than the others and often has sales. The sand color matches quite well with my sand colored walls (the one that's white in the photo will be painted soon.) Right now I'm trying to find a non-terracotta color to use for pots.
My Grandmother had them and she would overwinter them in her linen closet. I cannot remember the time of year that she overwintered her gloxinias, but I do remember once when she stuck a gloxinia leaf into a glass of water and it started to produce a new little tuber on the end.
I just found this thread! Nothing like being old and slow.LOL
Count me in the exchange! I love to get receive boxes of plants. It's like a private Christmas present from a DG friend. Lou
Woohoo! I got my box yesterday, i would have posted about it then but my son broke his arm! Fruity, the box was amazing! if i took pictures though i think it would be a big purple blob! everything was purple even the gloves. I got purple passion plant purple waffle, caladium bulbs alocasia, mother in law tongue,begonia, money tree, ponytail palm anthurium andreanum sp. It was so exciting. I ve got to find my camera and post up some pictures, ( I haven't forgot about my white spider plant its the picture attached) but my son has put it away...... somewhere! lol
Surprising info on Gloxinias. I just assumed they liked it hot. Not so. More like streps, i guess. They can hardly bear the heat and get buggy and die, I have learned to keep streps in air conditioning in summer.
Thanks for info ,all.
Ok, now you are worrying me, what are streps? I got a lot of plants of my Mom's and I am not sure what all of them are .....
Streptocarpus. Sounds like a disease, but actually means twisted seed.
I think they are Gesnerids.
goldhillal, I have never tried to grow Purple Bell Vine - Rhodochiton atrosanguineum, but now that I see the pictures I wish I could. You Southern girls get to grow all of the fun plants! I complain about the heat and humidity in zone 6 PA, I would really struggle in the South. You get more insects, reptiles and other fun things there as well. However, I wish that I could grow a Jasmine big enough to cover a house! I manage to keep gardenia and Jasmine alive in pots. My gardenia was struggling a bit, but perked up when I fed it some acid food. I make sure that I add a bit of acidifier when I water and check its pH frequently.
I tried to grow Asarina 'Victoria Falls' from seed, but it didn't germinate. I have a few seeds left to try again.
Hope everyone is surviving the heat. Cramps and a migraine were slowing me down this week. I try to wake up at sunrise to get some gardening done before the sun and heat get too strong. My sleep cycles are off. Luckily, I do free lance work from home so my schedule is flexible. Winston the pug doesn't seem to mind. He is either at my feet or in front of the fan. He talks to me when he wants to go out for a walk. He saves his bark for other dogs and strangers.
I have often said it is good that I do not live in a place with "real winter" as I do not know how I would survive it. As it is, January and Feb almost destroy me. If it were not for daffodils in February, I would never make it through. I used to say things like"our weather is so pernicious and fickle and that is why a lot of things will not survive here." Sudden hot spells and just as sudden temperature drops in winter.
Then my daughter moved to Ithaca, NY. Well, her experience taught me to shut up. The winters are such that people can't go outdoors with damp hair in winter as it will freeze and break off. Do not even THINK about flip flops, our preferred foot wear. And summer! In May it was unbearable hot and humid, to rival any May/June weather we ever have.
So.. I guess the cure is to love the one you are with. That will never stop me from testing the limits though, and personally I lust after Easter Lily Vine and Thunbergia mysorensis and other tropical things that will never work here.
Aww well, Thanks for reminding me how good I actually have it today, when the temperature feel is predicted to be 112. Poor Texans who actually have that temperature.
YaHoo!!!! I think (knock on wood-is that KOW?) that I may be on the way to getting those coral beans to germinate!! I took a nail file to 3 and scrubbed down through the red layer, the white layer, and to the tan layer. Then I soaked them in hot faucet water. I changed the water every day. Starting the second day they began to swell. I am going to plant them this AM. Interestingly, the red color is leaching out and turning the water orange.
goldhillal, you are right it sounds like a horrible diease but is a beautiful plant. Sorry to say that is one my Mother did not have. Don't know how she would of missed that...rofl.
Weather wise we have the worst of all worlds, winters to rival Minnesota and summers like Georgia....lucky us..rofl. Heating greenhouses all winter cost wise now is almost out of the question. We are on propane, not that any heat source is cheap anymore. I have a hybrid greenhouse, looks like larger shed, no windows on the north, lots of windows on the south, and one on the west, with a glass door and window on the east with a solid insulated walls and roof. Does pretty good for tropicals until early spring when the sun starts rising and I don't get as much thru the south windows but too cold still to put out tropicals. Decided this year I am going to have to hang some lights to keep things perky.
Our springs the last few years have really been cold and wet, then overnight it turns 90.....we don't seem to have any time to get plants adjusted.
Hey Happ I have some streptocarpus. If I can keep it alive through the summer I'll send you some when it cools off.
Neener did you see the Coral Bean picture? Did you want a few seeds? Just Dmail me your address and I will get some out asap.
I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow and drinking that nasty stuff right now. Ewwww is it nasty. I sure wish I could get out of it. My dr slightly scolded me for not having it sooner. My mom died of colon cancer at 61 and I will be 56 next month. I had one over 10 yrs ago but....... oh well the stuff you do before is worse than the procedure!!! OK enough whining and back to drinking....hhummmp
Sorry about that ole colonoscopy stuff.
I want in too please
Quote from ilovejesus99 :
Neener did you see the Coral Bean picture? Did you want a few seeds? Just Dmail me your address and I will get some out asap.
I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow and drinking that nasty stuff right now. Ewwww is it nasty. I sure wish I could get out of it. My dr slightly scolded me for not having it sooner. My mom died of colon cancer at 61 and I will be 56 next month. I had one over 10 yrs ago but....... oh well the stuff you do before is worse than the procedure!!! OK enough whining and back to drinking....hhummmp
I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what a coral bean is. :)) Is this edible?? Is it ornamental? Full sun? Help. I am at a loss here.
Thanks,
I think it is ornamental. See the above message from Mud_Elf with a link of the picture on July 7th at 8:14PM.
I too didn't know what it was.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/erythrinaherbace.htm
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/erythrinaherbace.htm
Interestingly, I cannot find it around here for sale. I have seen one or two in the wild but not where I could get to them.
Joy
Joy the one here is where an old homestead was. Here is the picture of it in bloom. It was beautiful this spring and I collected the seeds. If you would send me a dmail with your address I can send you some seeds.
It will look lovely against the fence mixed with some salvias. Now I just need to get some salvias...
Aha..Now I know. Thanks for the info.
Hey Joy..remember the red lupine seeds you gave me in Sept.? Well I got several babies out of them and they are blooming. They are very small probably from the lousy soil and not enough sun. I have transplanted them out into more sun and hope they return next year.
Gotcha added, Tina & Lou, and am so glad to have you join us again.
This seems to be my night for turning pages. Everybody come on over to our new book...or should I say new room 0:)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1196115/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1196115/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1196115/