I've got a weird dilemma, I just noticed tonite. This one fern in my houseplant collection has grown some sort of an oddball growth about 6 feet higher than the fern itself, it is called 'Green Fantasy'. Photos don't really describe it very well so I made a video of it! A cat that we took in the garage for the Winter jumped in my desert cacti and succulents and it abruptly ended the video, sorry. It didn't step on anything, and that mini-greenhouse thing didn't fall, the cat doesn't get up there unless I'm there, that's usually not a problem. Anyway, I got me a problem come Spring because I don't know what I'm gonna do or how I'm gonna get it thru all that shelving and everything it is growing on. I hate to snip it off, it is cool, I love that platform of fern leaves look way up. I can't make it a cutting because I don't think ferns propagate by cutting.
Any suggestions? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4LlEeA3SIM&feature=youtu.be
January-Covered in snow finally!!!
shortleaf, I did the same type of rug for a while to conceal the ugly vinyl floor! Only mine was beige/brown. Last summer, I bought 6 vinyl floor tile samples from Home Depot "Senegal" that I occasionally lay down on the floor trying to visualize them covering the entire kitchen floor. Since I've never tired of them yet & my family still likes them, this will probably be a Spring project. Home Depot still carries them too & all good reviews. I seldom do anything on impulse. I'm more the type to research & thoughtfully plan projects. I've been trying to make up my mind about painting the maple wood kitchen cabinets (HAAS Co., Sellersburg, IN). They are so well made, but need some updating; probably era 70s. Just my guess. We've lived here since 1989. I have the side panel only painted that the cutting board is hanging on sage (from an HD sample bottle). I still like it after almost a year, so may go with either painting only drawers & door fronts & leaving the rest wood grain or visa versa. (My next decision!) LOL With the outdated ceramic tile splash board & countertop, I just need to win one of those kitchen remodel contests! (Keep dreaming.) All my major kitchen appliances have been recently replaced; except for the built in double electric oven. I've priced a replacement at $1,000! At least, the old Frigidaire "Custom Imperial" one still works. The previous home owner left us the appliance manuals. The oven manual has a drawing of a woman in an apron on the front. By her fashionable apron, dress, & hairdo, she looks more early 60s. We live in a 1928 1 1/2 story bungalow that looks like a Sears kit home (there are many in this area). It has triple vertically divided upper pane sash windows; if that makes sense.
Mr. Beans is in a Disney Princess doll stroller; not a hammock. LOL My gr-daughter surprised me by showing up in the kitchen with the bunny out of his cage & in the stroller. Since he seemed to enjoy the ride & looked so cute, I decided to take a pic; instead of scolding her. I believe that Chloe was just bored & lonely & so was Mr. Beans.
I've also grown asparagus fern from seed that I purchased from Parks years ago. I have a huge mother-in-law tongue plant on my desk at work that's at least 20 years old. I've divided & re-potted it a few times. I'm now in the midst of trimming & re-rooting the pothos that rambles throughout my work cubicle.
It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop enjoying a cup of coffee, but it's time to get busy. Right now the sun is shining. Everyone enjoy your weekend. : )
shortleaf, great video! That's quite a collection of plants. AWESOME! I don't know anything about the fern runner, but I'll try to find out. I have a Reader's Digest book "Success with House Plants". I'll take a look in it & get back to you.
Wow, another coincidence, I have a book titled that too! I didn't see anywhere on it where it says Readers Digest, we might have different books, that regular Asparagas Fern is in it but I don't see Plumosa Fern in it.
Thanks, that cat didn't bother anything, it's a nice cat, we call him Bob.
Good idea to get those rug tiles, the floor here is hideous as well. I try to get my friend to let me tile it but she says I'm no tiler, I'll keep needling her until she gives tho!
Yeah, I know about not buying stuff on impulse too. I have a tendency to hold onto stuff way too long tho! I think, "I better just get rid of this, I'm never going to use it and I'm getting old"!
Oh, there's probably 35 or 40 houseplants there, my houseplant collection has gotten pretty large and I want more! The only problem with houseplants, is you need a house!
Cool, a 1928 home! That would be nice.
Hehe.. a Disney Princess Doll Stroller!
You have a good weekend too, greenbrain.
This message was edited Jan 26, 2013 11:49 PM
Mr. Will - here's your plant/fern information:
Asparagus setaceus aka Plumosa Fern
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2575/#b
Thank you, Ms. Jo! Wow, it looks way more like that than the label that came with it! I just looked Nephrolepis exaltata up and it says Boston Ferns! Holy Cow! Even I know it's not a Boston Fern! I don't recall it being thorny though like it says Asparagas Setaceus is. I might've just missed the thorns on my fern, maybe they're insignificant, but it looks VERY similar to the photos I've seen of it. - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2575/ I was back down there a while ago inspecting it to make sure I didn't break that runner that I was handling and I didn't, the leaves up high are still going strong, I'm not like a bull in a China shop on my plants! I saw one of my other ferns in there when I was looking, 'Delilah', I have that one too. I don't think it's doing to well in the garage this Winter, quite a bit of the foliage has turned brown. I saw a "Climbing Fern" in Plantfiles that was zone 3, it looks sweet too, I can't find it now to link to it, but it was nice. Looks like I'm not the only one who had id problems! - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/904177/#b
Climbing Fern. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/32029/
Very invasive.
Thanks Pepper. Similar, but it says zone 8 for that one, the one I saw was zone 3. I remember thinking it could grow outside here but now I can't find it. It didn't look like a traditional fern, it looked all stringy, but if it'll grow outside here I'd be all for the strings!
I found it! I went into the history of my browser, I knew I'd seen it before and it was like the third page I went to in Plantfiles, so I didn't have to do that for long, that browsing history is huge, Plantfiles pages alone were nearly 60 or 70 pages that I went to. Anyway, here it is, sorry it was a Climbing Asparagas Fern, I said it wrong, sorry. -
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/262438/
I've been looking for Asparagus verticillatus for a while, now - if anyone has it to trade, please dmail me.
Here's a link to my houseplant book. I've had it for over 30 years.
http://www.amazon.com/Success-Houseplants-Editors-Readers-Digest/dp/0895770520/ref=pd_cp_b_0
Publisher: Readers Digest; First Edition edition (July 1, 1981)
I have the Better Homes and Gardens Encyclopedia of Gardening , the 1978 edition ,, ans that is about how long I have it. Could be 1976...lol
If you find one Ms. Jones, I will trade for one too! I'd love to have that plant.
That's some reading there! I fancy myself Backyard Living by Time-Life!
I got a closer look at my Plumosa Fern, it does indeed have thorns. I always thought those were just the joints or nodes but not thorns. They aren't like a Rose Bush or something with some serious and intimidating thorns, these are kinda unnoticeable unless your looking for them. I doubt if they'd even poke you if you stuck your hand in the plant's middle, but I'm not going to try it to find out!
Here they are if you can see them. - The first 3 are the Plumosa Fern, that purple is my striped Wondering Jew in the third photo.
Boy, pepper, those Mezoo cuttings you sent me have really done well, they are going to make beautiful plants this Spring and Summer, I have 4 of them. - I bet they really put on some serious growth this Spring/Summer!
Now this last photo is your big boy Asparagas Fern! - Well.. it's getting big, it was tiny!
Will
Yours looks better than mine right now. I didn't trim mine enough so it's shaggy looking. This spring I will do another trimming and give the cuttings to whoever wants them.
It's a neat succulent to have. - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/188738/
Maybe I'll make a succulent type dish out of some of it, I like the way it spills and trails in a hanging type arrangement. Anybody'd be crazy not to have some of your trimmings, it's a beautiful plant. And the bright red flowers on it are cool as heck too.
This message was edited Jan 28, 2013 11:11 AM
Hello all, it's been a busy weekend. I can't believe it's almost over. I hope that you enjoyed yours too!
About gardening books:
juhur7 I find Better Homes & Gardening a very useful source too. I'd be interested in seeing how much BHG has changed since 1976. I purchased my 1st gardening book in early 1974 (published 1973) "All About Vegetables" by Ortho for $3.95. Surprisingly, there's a chapter on composting and a very useful planting chart. I still reference it today though the binding is now held together with tape. There's just so much I love about this book.
When my library was tossing out old books, the librarian saved the gardening books for me; such as; an entire series of "Sunset" books. One gardening book was published in 1961. I have the 3rd edition of a 2 volume set of gardening books titled "10,000 Garden Questions Answered by 20 Experts" published in 1974, but I can't remember where I acquired them. I've had them since around 1980 because of my last named signed in the cover. I've found some useful information in these books too.
I just checked and my Success with House Plants book is the 1979 edition. I found the same asparagus fern referenced by KayJones. It reads, "a mature plant will send out 4 foot runners that are bare at first, but will eventually produce tiny bright green branchlets". I guess mine never made it to maturity. LOL
Shortleaf, I took this photo tonight for my oldest daughter to see what my grand-daughter and I did while she was at work. Chloe learned to make her first sweet potato pie. : P Then, I noticed the cutting board, so here it is! LOL
Oh yeah?! I just used my cutting board last nite to cut a green pepper and a pear for my friend's lunch today! I get all kinds of high fives and "good job"s from people on the newly painted kitchen. You'd think the women folk died and went to heaven and got a new kitchen! I say, "oh, it was nothing, just some paint", I'm very humble! My friend just loves her kitchen she even said "it's like a new kitchen". It was a nuisance when I was painting the ceiling and everything and had the kitchen all bolluxed up but it is well-worth it when your done.
You'd be surprised the price some old books can command nowadays on Ebay or Craigslist or some site like those. Not so much Craigslist, people want stuff dirt cheap or free on there.
I listed an old book in December for over a thousand dollars, I didn't sell it though. It mighta been old but it wasn't really anything special like a first edition or something. On top of not selling it, Ebay took a dollar to TRY to sell it, so that didn't work out too well. People with valuable books do get some interested parties. In defense of Ebay taking the dollar, it would have been free to list but I had to cancel that listing and relist, that's what cost a dollar. IHAD to cancel as I found out you have to sell to highest bidder in an auction listing, I changed it to a fixed price listing so they can't do that. I was getting close to having to sell that book for $1.25 with FREE shipping, there was no way I could do that. It should always be a fixed price listing on Ebay or one risks selling their stuff for 99 cents apiece the auction way.
You guys made sweet potato pie huh? I had some sweet potato pies around Christmas myself.
I have some old 1940's Reader's Digests I would sell, but no one wants to pay the price.
Wow, 1940's, that does go back a ways. I found a 1925 McCalls magazine, it's fun sometimes to look thru it and read about stuff then and look at the old time advertisements and stuff, hairsyles are really different. It's funny to see stuff for sale in it that has been proven to not really work now! I just fixed my camera's date, it was off a day, for instance, that photo of the kitchen was taken this morning, (the 28th) not the 27th.
Greenbrain, those old manual books are interesting and full of goodies!!!!!
For the others of you here HI!!! and guess what I found ♪♪♪♫♫♪♪♪♪♫ i got the music in me♪♪♪♫♫♪♪♪♪♫ I got the music in me ♪♪♪♫♫♪♪♪♪♫ allright !!!lol
Oh you do do you?! Me too! I like to listen to the station that plays music back from my glory days! Hey, everybody has their music back when they were younger! I remember my grandparents used to like to listen to "Big Bang" era music that reminded them of that time. It was either that or listen to the stories of Dust Bowl times and World War 2, I'll take Big Bang!
Boy, did it ever warm up today, we beat an old record for this date on heat. It even got a little warmer downtown than my thermometer on the deck.
Ack! Well, it can indeed climb 4 feet, the Plumosa Fern that is, it is a climber here too. Now, I don't know what I'll do come Spring when I set them all outside. I wish they grew by cuttings, I could just clip it off and get a new plant, but no!
My husband is the pack rat in this family, so there's no room for me to even start. He has St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspapers sealed in plastic and Times Magazines with major headlines going back to the 60s stored on shelves in the basement. All I care about are my gardening books. : )
shortleaf, did you mean "Big Band"? My husband is a drummer & is a customer at the local Drum Shop whose owner has a Big Band that plays in the nearby park pavilion every Thursday night for the public thru the summer. They're pretty good. I know that a fresh paint job can really brighten up a room. We did quite a bit of painting last year & plan to pick up where we left off this Spring. My husband has focused on the outside & me on the inside. My youngest daughter takes turns helping us both. The last bedroom I painted "celery ice" & I still like it.
This is our 3rd sweet potato pie since Christmas. My youngest daughter wanted one for her birthday Jan. 10 and a blackberry (homegrown) cobbler; instead of cake. I was glad to oblige.
I hope that everyone had similar Spring like weather today & got to enjoy it. Groundhog Day is almost here!
I'm sorry. Not "Times" magazines, but "People" magazines.
shortleaf, I just looked at your kitchen photo. A stainless steel sink is on my wish list. I like your ceramic tiles too!
Does anyone elses roses still have their leaves? Maybe mine always keeps the leaves & I forgot? My yard & garden just doesn't look like the dead of winter. I noticed what I believe is chickweed taking over my veggie garden. My fall planted spinach is still growing too. Does lamb's ear usually winter over? That's green too. Oh!!! And daffodils are up!
Have any of you noticed outdoor greenery that isn't usually green this time of year?
Yes, that's it! Big Band! You know when you just have this feeling that something is off, like spelling or definition? I had a feeling that wasn't right but I couldn't put my finger on it,
thanks green. If I had a dollar for every wrong meaning or misspelling I'd be rich. I've almost put down chauvinist pig sayings, (for example) because I wasn't sure what it meant, when it's like that, I don't post it...lol Then it hits me later, "boy, am I glad I didn't say that!".
"Big Bang" would be loud explosive music? LOL
Thanks greenbrain, but if you saw that stuff up close, they aren't that nice. That stuff is all original from the 60's, we need one of those kitchen renovation prizes!
Unfortunately, I didn't get out much today and look at the garden. Oh, I can imagine there is significant greenery out there. They say if the ice caps eventually entirely melt that the sea levels will rise 200 feet. I'm glad this area is about 920 feet above sea level!
Hehe..yes, I musta been thinking about the tv show, "The Big Bang" theory, my roommate is watching it now! I'd rather watch HGTV myself!
I do that all the time, and my youngest daughter often corrects me. So sometimes after I say something that doesn't sound right, I'll look at her for help. Every now and then it comes out too funny to do anything but laugh. ; )
My daughter & I just halved the last piece of sweet potato pie after my husband said that we could have it. JoJo is eagerly washing the pie plate for me.
I just found some articles about chickweed being a very useful green that does grow in the winter. I'll have to research this some more. Named chickweed because chickens feed on it in the winter time. Does anyone else know about this beneficial weed and would you like to share your knowledge? If so, please do and thanks. : )
I bet Sharon Brown (Sharran) has an article on it. I'll have to check. I love reading her articles!
Well, time to go ride the exercise bike a while. Got to stay in shape for planting season.
I know chickweed is a pain in the rear to get rid of but is supposed to be a healthy and tasty green. Just like dandilion. You could even experiment and see if you can make a chickweed tea. LOL!! Or pie, or.. or.. or..
My roses are still green. Even my Happy Child, which is in a pot, is still fully leafed with only some sunburn or frost damage on some of the tips. I haven't looked at my lilac lately so not sure if it still is. I haven't seen any bulbs popping up yet either but should here a week or so.
I got a photo of my 'Royal America' white Climbing Rose, it's still green! I just planted it last year. That was another one that I got duped on at Kmart. The packaging didn't say the zone so I took a chance again. If it dies, I am also bamboozled because Kmart doesn't have the 1 year guarantee on plants, they are like all other merchandise on returns unfortunately.
Anyway, I've since researched it after I bought it, (Googled it), it is minimum zone 6b, so my fingers are crossed again, as this is mostly 5b or 6a at most, depending on the weather. But, it sure is pretty, I hope it hangs around a while. The place here really is in a protected from the North spot, you can't even see the horizon on the North. Maybe that'll be enuff to let it live! - http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5522.0
helpmefind.com is a good site on Roses.
Will
shortleaf, I use helpmefind roses too! Your rose looks very healthy. Your green thumb, no doubt. : )
I have America that I probably bought at Kmart 10 - 15 years ago. It is my most productive rose. The blooms are like tea roses all summer long and provides some lovely bouquets. Mine is planted against the south side of the garage with the daffodils. I think that's why it does so well. I pruned it back severly last year because we had a new roof put on our garage. America came back even better than before.
Will, have you ever heard of MULCH and BLANKETS?! I live 4 zones warmer than you and I cover all my tropicals - when it gets down to 40 degrees, my yard looks like tent city!
Speaking of tropicals, a clever co-worker gave everyone an Amarylis bulb in a glass vase for Christmas. Mine is a beautiful coral color and is still blooming! I'm thinking about forcing bulbs for next winter around my home and in the office. I know that you can force branches from Spring blooming shrubs to bloom early by bringing them indoors. Does anyone do this?
I haven't had houseplants for a while because I'm so terrified of mice. Don't laugh! A few years ago, my oldest daughter had discovered that a mouse had tunneled inside one of her pots. She went to water it, and the mouse came running out!
Here's another unpleasant mouse story from a few years ago. My tomato and pepper seedlings were just getting big enough to set out when overnight they disappeared. I blamed my little gr-daughter, but she finally convinced me that she didn't touch them. (I caught her picking a few one day.) Then I did some research on DG, and learned that a mouse could be the culprit. I bought an electronic mousetrap & caught it the first night. Now I grow my seedlings in gerbil cages. I thought with 2 cats in the house that mice wouldn't be a problem. They just have to be sneakier.
Garden Talk: Disappearing seedlings. Culprit dead. Mystery solved!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/975544/
Glad to hear your 'America' is doing well many years later, greenbrain, nice photos, I always like seeing Roses all in bloom! That's nice to hear about the 'America' of yours.
Ms. Jones, I doubt that I have that many marginal plants as a Floridian might have in their collection, I don't leave houseplants out there! : )
I don't garden in zone 4b, missy! lol
Sweetie, my tropicals are in the house!
Even my Banana 'Basjoo's are mulched and covered up and they're rated -20°.
Here is one of the 'Basjoo's, there's that cat "Bob" that we took in for the Winter, he's in the garage. -
That's a big lava rock on top of the big pot on top of a 'Basjoo'.
This message was edited Jan 29, 2013 7:25 PM
Eeeek, mice! I never had that problem with them getting in pots. I've never forced anything myself, if you try it let us know how it turns out.
I once had a toad take up residence in a cup of dirt with a seed in it! -
I love you, too, Will!!!!!
I love you too, Jo!!!!!! You started it sister!!!!!
Tee Hee, Will - it's all good!
I love toads! I stopped using my tiller after injurying a little guy. I carry toads home and release them in my garden.
The best thing about February is the Missouri Botanical Garden's orchid show. Tropicals are well appreciated by northerns who depend on places like Mobot displaying them for us in the middle of winter to relieve the winter duldroms. : )
Off to St. Louis to work. I ride the commuter train, so no traffic woes. 52 F now & expected 38 F during my commute home. Dressing in layers. Maybe the Mississippi River will look a little higher after all the rain. : )
Ok great, Ms. Jones! I thought you were mad.
Wow 52° in Stl.?! It's 29° and lightly snowing here. I'd like to go to Mobot someday.