What Is Your Heart's Desire?

Oh, Lin. That's the kicker and the worst of all: going into a room and forgetting why you went in there! I HATE it when that happens. LOL It's starting to happen to me more often now, so I guess I'd better start accepting that I AM getting older!

I've ordered 2 plants from MiamiMax and have been pleased with both. I will be placing another order within the next week or so! Always Philodendrons.

GH

Hey GH .... can you refresh my memory with his web address? I can't seem to find it .... Really! My BD is in another 1 1/2 weeks and I just may buy myself a present! :)

Yeah ... I love Philo's too. Don't know why. I only have a few, but we never see any around these parts except the common heart leaf in the hanging baskets .... none of the really neat ones everone wants!

Sure...http://www.raretropicalplants.com is his website, BUT you need to ask him for a list of his available plants. He has much more than what you will see there and may not have some of what you see there. Email him. The last time I ordered from him was for my birthday last Sept.:))))) Go for it!

GH

Thanks GH!

GrowHappy, the stapelia sits in an east facing window and I water from the bottom whenever I see the segments starting to wrinkle....I don't use fertilizer on anything during the winter but the first of March (tomorrow) I will start using SuperThrive and the first of April will start using that mixture from the hoya forum.....these are starts a friend gave me last year and there is actually two different ones in the same pot...here's a pic of the other one when it bloomed....Deb

Oh, I have that plant .... It's Huernia schneideriana "Red Dragon Flower" ... here's the Plant Files link:


http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/61056/index.html



One of my favorite plants .... so easy to grow!

Here's a photo of my Red Dragon Flower, not in bloom. I also have one in a hanging basket. Love this plant!

Depsi: I have never noticed a fragrance, good or bad from the flower of this one. Does yours have any fragrance? Maybe I shouldn't say fragrance, maybe I should ask if it Stinks! LOL.

:)

I had this named as: Huernia Pillansii Hybrid...glad you corrected me....no, there was no fragrance of any kind with the little purple, only the starfish one in the pot with it and believe me, that one bloom was stinky......Deb

Wow,Lin that plant is huge.
How old is it & what have you been feeding it?

Hey, Depsi...I might be able to get some Stapeliad cuttings to you in the spring, but unfortunately most of them are unidentified.
I do have a couple that are ID'd, though.

I have always wanted Dracaena goldieana, and have been looking for it, literally, for YEARS.
Finally, Asiatica has it....but it's $50.
It's reported to be very tricky to grow, and though that's probably not an unfair price for a plant that absolutely no other seller carries, it's just too much for me to pay for a plant that I'm almost certain to *kill*!! (if you know what I mean, lol!!)

I also want any funky Dischidias or Dischidiopsis, and I have my eye on some cool ferns, Pyrossia and Elaphoglossum.


That's 3 I can think of at the moment...but like a lot of you....there's more than just 3 that I covet!

Colie: I have had this plant for a long time .... I'm pretty bad about feeding and fertilizing my plants! Since joining DG in October, I'm trying to be a better "Plant Mommy"!

Going by the way your plants looks,you have been a "great" plant mommy.

Deb, I really like that Huernia. Is this the plant that has blooms that look like lifesaver candies? I can't really tell from the pic. I can't wait to make my next batch of "the brew" from the Hoya forum. I've been using it, but sans the fertilizer. The next batch will include fertilizer. I don't see a real notable difference in most of my plants and I've been using it for a month now. A couple of my Hoyas seem to like it- like Obovata and Hueschkeliana. I know others have reported that their plants greened up or that christmas cactus developed buds like crazy. I just haven't seen it to that magnitude. I'll keep using as I haven't noticed any ill effects. Maybe I can locate some black strap molasses for the next batch.....see if that makes a difference. I used Lager beer too.

It looks like Lin has been feeding her Huernia a stead diet of steroids. LOL

GH .. No steroids .... I think it's just the camera making it look larger than it is! Actually, I feel so bad sometimew when reading these different threads, because I am really bad about not fertilizing/feeding. Must be something in our well water that these plants really like! I know we have iron and lime in our water! Don't have a clue if that is good for plants, but it hasn't seemed to harm anything. We've been in our house 32 years and I've always used this water for plants. I do use the purified water from the kitchen sink on anything inside like my AV's and house plants that are around the house, mainly because it is easier than hauling everything outside! We have a water softener that uses those salt pellets, so I only use the faucet with the filters for my indoor plants. I just this month had my Ace Hardware store order me a case of Eleanor's VF-11 plant food and have begun using it a little. I'm hoping by late spring - mid summer to notice a difference in my plants! I am using the VF-11on everything except one plant - I wanted to do a test, so I bought two little Croton's identical in size etc at Wal-Mart. One I am watering with plain ole well water, the other with the VF-11. I wanted to see for myself if it made any difference.

My plants have not had any "food" or "fertilizer" in a long, long time. I used to buy those little sticks that you put in the pots, but it was time consuming, so I just quit. I hope I see a HUGE change in my plants now that I've begun using the VF-11 stuff. Will definately keep everyone posted.

That's a great idea for testing the effectiveness of VF-11. I'll want to hear updates, so make sure you keep us all posted on the progess(or lackthereof!).

I used VF-11 last summer and I did see a difference in my plants, especially the blooming ones. I still have some left and plan to use it again this year.

GrowHappy, You know, that is funny you should say that about CC greening up and blooming like nuts....I did not connect it up.......almost everyone of my CC's have either bloomed again or are setting blooms right now although I quit using the "brew" in November....the only fertilizer thats been going since then is a misting of SuperThrive on everybody about once a week....what has really put my plants over the hump and getting good starts is putting them inside the ziplock baggies....My varigated Kerrii especially has benefited from that....I have one really small guy that I started and it is such a slow grower but has really been happy inside the baggie, plus I was able to do some starts from the same mother plant the small guy is from and they really put out the roots once I bagged them & put on top of my TV box for alittle warmth....the little purple bloom of the stapeliad was more bell shaped without that prominent ring you're talking about.....& Nan, I will gladly reimburse you for any postage you use....I could care less if they are named...it will be exciting to investigate them as they flower...Thank you so much for the kind offer....if you're interested in the peanut cactus I would be glad to send starts of him to you.......attaching a different pic of him from above the plant....Deb