Plant Zone

Royal Poinciana Seedlings (Delonix regia)

2012-01-28T11:12:00.001-05:00

I transplanted my Royal Poinciana seedlings about two weeks ago. There was no new growth for about a week as the plants put out adventurous new roots. I didn't see any signs of shock and there was no leaf drop whatsoever. Then about a week ago they started putting out new and even larger leaves. I'm a huge fan of large leaved plants, and these compound leaves make the plants look even more elegant.

I have no idea if I'll ever see flowers from these plants. In my opinion, the foliage alone is a good enough reason to grow them. I've been in contact with a local hotel with a glass atrium that is interesting in taking a few of the seedlings. I'll keep some for myself and try to donate others to greenhouses and garden centres. If you'd like to swap a plant (and are reasonably close in Ontario) just let me know!

If you ever plan on growing Poinciana for indoors I would recommend choosing "Dwarf Poiciana". It's actually a completely different species but more shrub like and therefore manageable indoors.

Cassabanana Update (Sicana odorifera)

2012-01-27T21:44:00.001-05:00

Just a short post. I absolutely love the leaf patterning of these little guys. I really need to split them into individuals pots. The roots are going to be a nightmare to untangle!

Pomegranates Sprouting (Punica granatum)

2012-01-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

Pomegranate's are one of my favourite fruits. A few days ago I realized that this is one of the few plants I haven't tried to grow from seed. After eating a large fruit I saved about a dozen seeds. I made sure to clean each one well, washed them, then let them dry for about a week. Next the seeds were soaked for about 24 hours and planted in a general mix at about 23C. Within about a week, these sprouts are coming up. Allegedly pomegranates are easy to sprout so I expect to see most of them germinate.

The local greenhouses have the dwarf cultivar which only grows to 2m (6') or a max of 1m (3') or so in a container. The fruit of these dwarfs is about the size of a golf ball. Although I intend to keep my plants in pots, I wanted something that gets bigger and would produce larger fruit. Maybe I'll actually see some in a few years. Only time will tell.

Cassabanana Seeds Sprouting (Sicana odorifera)

2012-01-19T19:12:00.002-05:00

I received my Cassabanana seeds a few months ago but decided to wait a few months before sowing them. I stored them in the fridge for about two months and amazingly I've had 100% germination! I soaked them for five days before planting. I actually forgot about them and was worried they'd end up drowning but I guess it ended up being perfect. They were soaked at room temperature then kept at about 24C. The roots are already almost to the bottom of the pots (about 15cm) so I get the feeling these are going to be some extremely quick growing plants.

Here you can see them two days ago, just starting to break the surface:

Today you can see that 9/10 are fully vertical with open leaves and 1 is still on the way up (hidden in the farthest pot behind another seedling). I'm thinking these will need to be transplanted within two weeks at most. I might have to pot them up at the local greenhouses just to make sure they have enough room.

Now I have no idea if I'll ever get fruit from these. They need a long growing season and although we have warm, humid summer in south-western Ontario the season isn't long enough. I'm hoping I'll see some by starting them this early so hopefully I'll have at least one fruit by the end of the summer!

Jacaranda Seedlings

2012-01-18T09:26:00.001-05:00

It's been about two months since I first started soaking my Jacaranda seeds. After three weeks I only ended up with two sprouts. I was a little disappointed that the germination rate seemed very low so I figured I'd wait a little bit longer. After another two weeks I still didn't seen any new sprouts so I transplanted the two seedlings into larger pots.

Although they're not growing very quickly, they seem to be healthy and vigorous. These may be the most elegant looking seedlings I've ever sprouted - the leaves are just gorgeous. I absolutely love Jacaranda and although they won't grow in my climate they can be grown in pots rather easily. I'll put them outside for the summer and then overwinter indoors under lights or in a greenhouse.

By the way, you may have noticed my pots are actually plastic cups. All I did was punch a few holes in the bottom. This way I can see how root growth is progressing and it's a lot cheaper than buying actually pots!

Seedling Update

2011-12-05T17:03:00.001-05:00

Just a short post today. My seedling are doing really well. Everything that sprouted seems healthy and has been growing rapidly. A few more of the Jacaranda are starting to pop up. I was worried I'd only get the one sprout but I'm glad to see more coming.

Delonix regia (Royal Poinciana)

Jacaranda mimosifolia (Jacaranda)

Schizolobium parahybum (Brazilian Tower Tree)

Seedlings!!! (Jacaranda, Schizolobium, Delonix)

2011-11-27T08:59:00.001-05:00

I only planted this batch of seeds a week ago and I already have a bunch of sprouts! I purchased them from a seller in India via ebay. They took about a month to arrive but I'm extremely impressed with the quality of seeds.

First off are the Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia). They started sprouting within 3 days after planting! I put two seeds in each pot (actually reused plastic cups) and by today 9 out of 12 have sprouted. That's a 75% germination rate in just one week. At first I thought they looked a little lanky and needed to be moved closer to the light. After a quick google image search, it turns out this is normal and there's no need to worry.

Second to sprout were the Brazilian Tree Fern (Schizolobium parahybum). I Planted five per 6" (15cm) pot which seemed like a good idea at the time. After seeing the size of the sprouts I'm wondering if that was a good idea. The seedlings are giant! I guess that's to be expected of a plant that's said to have the largest compound leaves in the world.

Finally, yesterday my first Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) seedling began to sprout. It's not even out of the soil yet, but I had to take a photo. You can just barely see it in the top right cell. You might have to click for a bigger image. :) I just noticed all three species have compound leaves. Coincidence?

I didn't have any Tomatillo sprouts yet so I decided to dig one up and see what was happening. No signs of germination at all. I looked them up again and found out putting the seeds in a freezer for 24 hours can speed germination. They are currently sitting in the freezer, soil and all until later today. Hopefully most will sprout within another week.

I also haven't seen any sprouts from my Screw Pine seeds. I expect these ones to take longer and figure I'll see the first sprouts within two more weeks or so.

Seed Planting

2011-11-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

I should finally be getting my phone back tomorrow. To repair it will cost an outrageous $1080, substantially more than the price of the phone. I'll probably just deal with the problems and phone for the next little while. Then I'll have to figure out if it's cheaper just to cancel my contract and get a free phone with someone else. Hmmm...

I have had literally nothing sprout from the first shipment (from a seller in Canada). A lot of the seeds I purchased take a while, but not even the figs have sprouted. I'm a little worried this batch of seeds experience a hard freeze somewhere in shipment. I'll have to wait a few more weeks to see if anything happens.

Luckily my shipment arrived from India a few days ago. I've already soaked and planted everything. Now just to wait and hope I'm treated with some sprouts. I took pictures of all the seeds. I'm surprised how large some of them are!

Brazilian Tree Fern (Schizolobium parahybum)

Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) after scarring and soaking 24 hours, notice the two upper right seeds haven't swollen and are not ready to plant.

Tamarillo (Solanum betaceum syn. Cyphomandra betaceum) and Royal Poinciana

Screw Pine (probably actually Pandanus fascicularis)

Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) - bottom packet

Phone Away for Repairs

2011-11-04T12:23:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, unfortunately I had to send my phone/camera away for repairs. Seeing as blog posts are a little boring without photos I probably won't have too many posts over the next week or two. I thought about doing a few more species profiles but that's all I've really posted for the last little while. It just starts to get a bit boring and I'd rather stick to the species that I'll be trying to grow. I've received seeds from one of my two sources but as of yet there are no sprouts.

I was really hoping to get some nice fall photos. It's getting to the time of the year that we have frost almost every morning. This can make for some very beautiful photos. I guess I could always borrow someone's camera. Hmmm...

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day and enjoy the weekend!

Happy Halloween! Germinating Nepenthes rowanae

2011-10-31T10:46:00.000-04:00

Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VIvbg_jVdKI/TSeI6tZXpvI/AAAAAAAAAlg/7Snfjg5y4Hs/s1600/P1210991.JPG

In honour of Halloween, I saved this carnivorous pitcher plant for last germination post. In the background of the photo you can see what the actual plant looks like. It should grow up to 1m tall and produce dozens of little red pitchers which are about 20cm long. I've always wanted a pitcher plant and in a few months could have one of my own.

These seeds may be the most difficult of all my purchases to germinate. They should be sprinkled on sphagnum peat moss, ideally living moss if possible. Seeds should be kept in closed containers, placed in bright light and kept at 30C. Germination can take months and possibly up to a year. I sure hope these ones are worth it!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Germinating Cassabanana (Sicana odorifera)

2011-10-28T11:09:00.000-04:00

Source: http://zoom50.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/sicana-odorifera.jpg

This is one interesting melon. The fruit can reach over 60cm in length and may be black, brown, orange or deep purple. The centre of each fruit contains a large number of seeds. These are surrounded by fleshy melon that tastes similar to cantaloupe. The vines themselves are vigorous perennials that grow up to 15m. They can be grown as annuals in climates with cold winters (like mine). They thrive on heat and may grow relatively slowly until summer comes.

I'm planning on starting them inside for the winter, then planting them out in the spring. In the fall I'll cut back the vines, dig them up, and bring them inside for the winter. I have no idea if they'll survive this kind of trauma, but I figure why not try? I expect to have fruit by fall next year.

The seeds should be soaked for a day or less prior to sowing. Plant them about 2cm deep and they should begin sprouting relatively quickly (within less than a week). People recommend starting them 1 to 2 months before you plan on planting them outside. I however will probably plant them immediately upon receiving them because that's how I roll.

I saved my carnivorous plant for last in honour of Halloween. It's a pitcher plant of the species Nepenthes rowanae.

Greenhouse Plants Update

2011-10-27T16:31:00.000-04:00

Woahoooo two blog posts in one day? That's right, but I cheated and my first when was written earlier and just scheduled for today. If you follow my blog, you already know that I left some plants in the local university greenhouses for the winter. I visited them today and noticed that they haven't grown much since the last visit. I ended up potting them all up but took a few photos first.

Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) - Now I thought I had F. religiosa but the seedlings look identical so I didn't take a photo and think they're just also Banyan. There is however, something strange in these seedlings. Notice how the back left pot has red in the stems and 'frilly' leaves with a different shape? The pot on the right has a seedling with the same shape of leaves but minus the red and 'frill'. Any idea what's going on here? The round leaves seem correct for Ficus benghalensis, see here. The others ones must be different, so can anyone ID them?

Desert Rose (Adenium arabicum) - I see flower buds coming! Hopefully they don't fall off this time. :)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) - They are towards the back of the photo. The one on the left is single stemmed but on the right there are 5 stems with a few more coming up! I wonder if this is because the fruit was irradiated? The young passion flowers are up front (Passiflora edulis).

Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) - these haven't grown at all. They must desperately need to be repotted. I'll mention again these can be invasive in warm clients but are generally fine in zones 7/8. They should also be hardy in USDA zone 6 (my zone), but I'll keep these ones in the greenhouse for their first year.

That's all. I hope you enjoyed my seedlings! :)

Germinating Black Iris (Iris chrysographes)

2011-10-27T10:37:00.000-04:00

Source: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fmDrOq-pOtg/TfDMpSj-k3I/AAAAAAAAAAA/LY5yTSTMBoc/5617086591252984068.jpg

I'm a huge fan of rare/strange plants. I've always liked black flowers but this will be my first plant that actually has them. After going through a bunch of photos I'm convinced that the flowers should be very dark. Some are lighter and more of a deep purple, but most really are dark enough to be considered black. This is actually a plant I can leave outside all year.

Iris chrysographes prefers fertile, moist soil. Young plants should not be allowed to dry out. Seeds must be kept constantly moist. The easiest method is just to sow about 1/5cm deep in moist compost in the fall. Leave the outside all winter and they should sprout in the spring. They are rated for USDA zone 4.

Otherwise, you can stratify them in the fridge for two months in moist paper towel sealed in ziplock bags. The seeds need these cool temperatures and may actually germinate in the fridge. Plant them in pots as they germinate or after the two month period. There's actually a cool greenhouse at the local university that may be perfect for starting these!

My next post will be on a melon. This might seem normal, but it's not just any melon. It's the Cassabanana (Sicana odorifera).

Germinating Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla)

2011-10-26T10:17:00.000-04:00

Source: http://www.travelinlocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/DSC_0087.jpg

Hurray, another fig! Now what attracted me to this fig? Could it have been the incredible roots? Maybe it was the lovely smooth bark. Then again it has edible figs and can easily be trained into a bonsai. Seems like a great combination of traits to me. Clearly I just had to have one. Also yes, I do expect to have one get this big and take over a greenhouse somewhere...

The tree in the photo above is actually located in California. Ficus macrophylla are rated for USDA zone 9b and can grow to a height of 60m with a similar spread. Once again I intend to use my ficus method for germination. I'll just fill some plastic take out containers with a seed starting mix. Then I'll sprinkle on the seeds, put the lid on, and leave in a southern window until they sprout.

Tomorrow I'll break with tradition and actually post about something hardy in my zone (USDA zone 6), Black Iris (Iris chrysographes).

Germinating Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans)

2011-10-25T10:39:00.000-04:00

Source: http://img4.sunset.com/i/2006/09/beachss-ss1-l.jpg?400:400

This plant is absolutely gorgeous! Need I say more? The picture above summarizes it nicely. Most people are more familiar with Echium wilpretti which has red flowers. These are striking, but grow larger and don't tend to branch into the attractive plant that the blue species does.

As the name suggests, this plant is native to the island of Madeira. This is owned by Portugal and located off the coast of Morocco. It's tolerant of coastal exposure and salt spray but requires well drained soil. These Echium typically reach a height of 2m and bloom in the spring. They can take freezing temperatures and are considered hardy to USDA zone 9a.

Seeds germinate readily and most should have sprouted within 2 weeks. They should be sown in a well drained potting mix, about 1/2cm deep and at room temperature. Plants establish themselves the first year and then reward you with flowers thereafter. If stressed they may only last two years but are generally considered a perennial.

Now for another Fig, the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus marcophylla).

Germinating Velvet Pink Banana (Musa dasycarpa formerly Musa velutina)

2011-10-24T10:29:00.000-04:00

Source: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/musa_velutina2.jpg

The lovely Musa dasycarpa really stands out for me. There are other bananas with pink flowers, but this one also has bright pink fruit! Better yet the fruit is very sweet and edible, although filled with seeds. This species is also more cold tolerant that other bananas. It's definitely not the hardiest but can survive temperatures down to -12C (USDA zone 8a). It even stays relatively small and only grows to about 2m in height.

This species was originally referred to as M. velutina. It was thought to be discovered in 1875 but it turns out it was actually described 8 years earlier in 1867. The first person to discover/describe the plant generally gets the naming rights, so the proper name is Musa dasycarpa.

This is the second species that I've tried previously but couldn't get to germinate. I think the issue was heat. I have found a lot of conflicting information on germinating these bananas. I'm going to try using moist compost and planting each seed about 1/2 cm deep. Allegedly they like temperatures between 21C and 25C with a day/night fluctuation. People keep recommending this but if they're not getting results I don't know why they still try it.

There are other theories that seeds from bananas that ripen in warm weather germinate quickly (2 weeks) with heat. Those that ripen in cooler weather germinate more slowly (2 months) and heat doesn't help. The seeds I ordered would have been collected in the summer. I've always had luck germinating bananas with heat so that's what I'm going to try. Wish me luck!

The next species up is Pride of Madeira (Echium fastuosum).

Germinating Fishtail Palm (Caryota urens syn.? Caryota maxima 'Himalaya')

2011-10-21T09:28:00.000-04:00

Source: http://www.banana-tree.com/SiteData/Products/Caryota%20urens.jpg

To be honest, I was hoping to get Caryota mitis. This is a smaller species that tends to grow in a dense clump. Unfortunately the supplier was out at the time I ordered so I went with the larger, non-clumping Caryota urens. I actually find C. urens to be more attractive, I just worry it will be much more difficult to control and will grow too big, too quickly. Then again I love fast growing plants so I'm not sure why I'm complaining. It seems to be more widely known as Caryota maxima 'Himalaya' and the alternate name Caryota urens originated in California.

Although Fishtail Palms can grow to 20 or more metres, in most of the photos I've seen they've been 10m or less. These plants are interesting in that they're monocarpic. After flowering, the entire plant dies. They may grow for a few decades before this happens. In some cases the stress of a transplant will send mature trees into flower. I'd expect the earliest the would happen would be 8-10 years, although I can't confirm this. I've also seen some sources claiming they flower yearly and are not monocarpic.

As far as I can tell, both Caryota urens and Caryota maxima are different species. Unfortunately in some areas the names are used interchangeably. I'm not entirely sure what species I have due to the interchangeability of the names.

Flowering, source: http://www.hear.org/starr/images/images/plants/full/starr-031118-0060.jpg

This is a relatively easy plant to grow from seed. Fresh seeds don't need to be soaked or scarified. I actually received mine already. They seemed a bit dry so I soaked them for three days. Next I rinsed them for about a minute in a solution of vinegar and lemon water to help kill fungus spores. They are currently sitting in a warm location wrapped in moist paper towel in a plastic container. As they sprout I'll plant the seeds about 2cm deep in a sandy seed starting mix. Room temperature is alright but the seeds can take up to a year to germinate (2 months is expected) and extra heat will help. It might be good to disinfect the seeds with a fungicide if you have it and use sterile mix. For long periods like this, rotting is much more of an issue.

Monday's post is on the Pink Velvet Banana (Musa velutina).

Germinating the Strawberry Fig (Ficus auriculata)

2011-10-20T09:16:00.000-04:00

Source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2316/2276410498_ac3cf490ca_b.jpg

So I'm sick today. I have a really sore throat and runny red eyes. There's been a cold going around for weeks and I think I finally have it. I'm going to take it easy today so hopefully I feel a bit better by tomorrow. At least I have my blog to keep me busy. :)

This is one of two plants I ordered, that I've tried to germinate previously. For some reason the last time I tried, I didn't get a single sprout. I'm not entirely sure what happened but I'm thinking I didn't keep them wet enough. Figs are definitely one of my favourite genus of plants. The species are very diverse, vigorous, adaptable, respond well to pruning and almost always make attractive plants. I love that Ficus auriculata has huge leaves and produces large numbers of figs that taste similar to strawberries. If it isn't obvious already, figs are also some of my favourite fruit!

I have found the easiest way to germinate any species of fig is to fill an old sushi or Chinese food tray with soil and sprinkle the seeds over the surface (seeds are extremely tiny). Most figs need light to germinate so be sure to put them in a south or west facing window. Keep the seeds relatively moist but not wet. They can take a tonne of water when older but damping off can be a problem for seedlings. Then just put on the clear lid that came with the food tray and wait. Within less than a week the first sprouts should appear with a very high germination rate after a week. Room temperature is fine for the first few weeks, but ideally give these plants some heat and they'll grow like crazy!

Tomorrow I move onto the Fishtail Palm (Caryota urens).

Germinating Pandanus fascicularis (Screw Pine)

2011-10-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

Source: http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/04/2500/2091.jpg

Unlike the name suggests, Pandanus fascicularis is not a pine at all. If you have ever looked up Pandanus before, you'll know it develops these fun, completely straight above ground roots. The trees tend to look like they'be been propped up by sticks. That alone was enough to spark my interest in this plant. I wanted to show the entire plant so unfortunately the picture I chose doesn't show the root potential. Google it! It's delightful, I promise.They are already commonly grown as houseplants so I figured why not give them a try?

The seeds I ordered are for Pandanus odoratissimus. This doesn't appear to be an actual species and upon looking it up, may refer to P. tectorius or P. fascicularis. I found out P. tectorius is usually grown on small ocean throughout the Pacific. P. fascicularis on the other hand is grown inland in regions of India. The seed supplier is from the same region of India so I feel it's safe to assume this is the species.

At first I was disappointed. I can be kind of picky and had my heart set on P. tectorius ever since seeing it on the show Survivor (don't judge me :) ). I was very happy to find out that the species I have may be even better! The leaves are edible and can be chewed on or used to flavour food (be careful of the barbs though). The male flowers are beautifully scented and used to create perfumes. Even the fruit is edible although I'm unsure if it's palatable. Overall, I'm very excited about this purchase!

Each seed should be given it's own pot because in some cases three plants can sprout from the same seed (sometimes up to 8). Pandanus sp. do not like wet roots! They can rot very quickly so ensure the starting mix is well drained. This being said, soaking for 1-5 days seems to improve germination, but change the water daily. Room temperature appears fine, but I would recommend 25C+ if possible. This is because germination can take a long time and will be sped up with some heat. Expect the first sprouts within a month but they could take up to half a year.

Next up is the Strawberry Fig (Ficus auriculata).

Germinating Tamarillo (Solanum betaceum syn. Cyphomandra betaceum))

2011-10-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qMeAhQCnkrM/TAiMim099fI/AAAAAAAAA5o/fl1rGqikWZo/s1600/IMG_3431.JPG

Now for a plant that most people should know, the tamarillo. I've wanted these seeds for three main reasons: I love tamarillo fruit, I'm fascinated by fast growing plants, and I am partial to plants with big leaves. I'm actually surprised I've waited so long to get these seeds. I was hoping to find some in local grocery stores and markets but I haven't seen any recently.

The plants are short lived and may only last 5 years or so. Tamarillos seem to appreciate cooler temperatures with an ideal median of about 18C. They're adaptable but I'm a little worried it may get too hot for them here. I tried to grow a Chayote which likes similar temperatures is it was often wilting by the end of the day in the summer. I think tamarillos will prove more adaptable and be alright as long as enough water is available.

This is an extremely easy plant to grow from seed. Room temperature is completely fine and plants may even sprout at 15C or lower. You can start it like you would any garden vegetable, so just use whatever method has worked for you to sprout tomatoes, lettuce, etc. A general potting mix with consistent moisture and bright light are perfect.

Next comes the Screw Pine (Pandanus fascicularis).

Germinating Colville's Glory (Colvillea racemosa)

2011-10-17T10:12:00.000-04:00

Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gNvgw8PfFk0/TkQcVFKkIBI/AAAAAAAAA0U/ZqohGNwCiWA/s1600/Colvillea_racemosa+1.jpg

Unlike most of the other seeds, Colvillea racemosa (Colville's Glory) isn't a plant I've wanted for a long time. In fact, I had no idea the species existed until a few days ago. I just couldn't resist after seeing the amazing flowers! It's actually related to the Royal Poinciana but much allegedly much rarer. I'm not sure if this is entirely true because the wiki entry lists the plant as low risk for conservation. Maybe just rare in cultivation? Regardless it's beautiful and I would love to one day see the flowers.

The tree is native to Madagascar and the minimum zone suggested is USDA zone 10. As a general rule it will not grow well with average temperatures below 20C and prefers a dryer environment. This would limit the growth period to only a few months in the summer in Southern Ontario. The only way I can keep this plant happy is probably not to keep it! I'm thinking I'll just donate the seedlings to the local university greenhouses.

The seeds should be scarified but don't have to be soaked (soaking a few hours regardless won't hurt). The seeds should be kept between 20C and 25C so room temperature should prove to be fine. A well drained seed mix is highly recommended. Keep the seeds moist but not wet and you could see sprouts as soon as two weeks, possibly even earlier. Many won't germinate for a month and could take even longer.

Now I'm not entirely sure I'll be receiving this tree. It may have been switched for Royal Poinciana which would actually be easier for me to grow. I guess I'll find out when the seeds arrive. Tomorrow I post about the Tamarillo (Solanum betaceum).

Germinating Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)

2011-10-14T10:47:00.000-04:00

Source: http://antranik.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Jacaranda_mimosifolia.jpg

The next species up is the lovely Jacaranda mimosifolia. I have wanted to start these seeds for years and I'll finally get my chance. I ended up getting a ridiculous amount: 100 seeds. To be fair the pack only cost $2 so if anyone wants to trade for the extra seeds I may just have them!

When making my plant selections I generally look for trees that can be grown as bonsai. If you can grow a plant as a bonsai, it can clearly take some abuse and be trained to remain small. However Jacaranda is one tree that may prove a little more difficult. It doesn't like to remain small and when pruned often responds with vigorous vertical growth. This might be ugly for a bonsai but could result in a nice, densely stemmed larger plant. I have no idea if I'll ever see any blooms but my ultimate goal is to get my plants to flower.

People suggest soaking the seeds for 12-24 hours prior to sowing. Many sources state light as important for germination but I have also seen reference to buried seeds germinating. I noticed a posting in a forum suggesting the best temperature was found to be a consistent 25C in a Brazilian study. Overall the seeds should be easily germinated in any seed starting mix. I'll probably experiment and try burying a few, while keeping others on the surface.

The next species up is Colville's Glory (Colvillea racemosa).

Germinating Brazilian Tree Fern (Schizolobium parahybum)

2011-10-12T14:27:00.000-04:00

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Schizolobium_parahybum.jpg

The first species I'll be posting about is Schizolobium parahybum (Brazilian Tree Fern, Tower Tree, Brazilian Fire Tree). Now to clarify, there also appears to be a Blechnum that is called Brazilian Tree Fern. This is not the plant this post is about. The plant I've ordered does not display any red foliage and is not a true fern. As you can see in the above photo, it looks very similar to a tree fern when young. As it ages, the stem begins to branch and the plant eventually grows into a large tree, covered with yellow flowers each spring.

Now clearly my trees will never get this large because Schizolobium parahybum are by no means hardy in USDA zone 6 (minimum USDA zone 9b). I'll just keep them in pots and bring them in for the winter. I don't expect any flowers just small trees possibly with a few branches. They enjoy heat and humidity and the summers in South-Western Ontario should suit them nicely.

Most sources say this plant is easy to grow from seed. Each seed should be scarified and soaked in water for 4 hours. The seeds should then be planted 1-2cm deep in well drained soil. They should be kept relatively warm (25C or higher) and constantly moist (but not soaked). Some sources suggest putting the seeds in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them after lightly scarring. Let them sit in the water for about a minute and then plant. This is probably the method I'll use. I've successfully tried it with Adansonia digitata (Baobab) seeds so I don't expect the seeds to be killed. Germination should occur within about a month.

Stay tuned for my next post on Jacaranda mimosifolia.

Setting up Winter Grow Lights (Fluorescent)

2011-10-11T14:31:00.001-04:00

No Mochi, chewing on electrical wires is not good for you!

I should start out by saying I recently went on a little bit of a seed binge. I ended up ordering 13 different species of seeds and now have to figure out how to germinate and grow them all! I'll be posting a basic profile and germination info for each species over the next few weeks. These posts will probably take me up until Halloween! When putting together this information, I'll try and find the 'average' suggested method for germination. If you have any experience with the species feel free to let me know.

After purchasing all of these seeds, it dawned on me that I had nowhere to start them! Although I keep some plants in the university greenhouses, there is limited room and I like germinating things and would prefer to sprout the seedlings myself. So yesterday I rewired an old 4 tube fluorescent light fixture. One of the two T12 ballasts was burnt out and for some reason the fixture had T8 bulbs (this causes the bulbs to burn out early). I ended up buying a new electronic ballast for $26 that runs all 4 bulbs! That's actually a really good price. I'll save the working ballast for some time in the future.

Now wiring up fluorescent fixtures is actually quite easy. You just have to match the schematic provided on the new ballast. All I needed was a screw driver, wire strippers and pliers. The hardest part is actually removing the wire ends from the tube socket (the plastic things that hold the end of each bulb). You have to pull and twist until they come out. Other than that, things are pretty easy. For lighting I purchased 4 fluorescent T8 tubes with a 6500k spectrum and CRI of 86 (4ft 32 watt Phillips Daylight Deluxe). They were about $9 for a two pack. These tubes produce a bluer light that is perfect for vegetative plant growth (but not so much flowers/fruit).

Then I plugged in the fixture it lit up... sort of. I was really worried I did something wrong until I found this wonderful website. Apparently some brands of fluorescent bulbs don't light up fully when first used. They can actually take up to 3 hours to reach full brightness! Lamps with reduced Mercury content that have 'ALTO' or 'ECO' will generally exhibit this behaviour. I left the lights plugged in for three hours. They achieved full brightness and now light up completely within a few seconds of being plugged in. *wipes sweat from brow*

Tomorrow I'll start with the plant profiles so stay tuned!

Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis) at 2 Months

2011-10-10T12:33:00.000-04:00

First of all, happy Thanksgiving! I have had a tonne of seedlings updates over the last few days. This is the last one, I promise. I started these seeds from fruit I purchased at a local market. This is probably the most dramatic transformation of all the seedlings. They were growing well outside but as soon as I brought them in the new leaves doubled in size. When I check on them a week later it took me a few seconds to figure out what I was looking at!

Here you can see them just after I moved them outside. They spent about a month outdoors and have been in the UWO greenhouses for about two weeks now. This is not the hardy passion flower and doesn't tolerate cold well. I actually have 6 pots worth but these plants are much easier to photograph individually. Hopefully within a few months I'll be growing some fruit of my own!

Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) at 2 Months

2011-10-07T13:23:00.000-04:00

The Empress Tree has a reputation for growing extremely quickly. That being said I was a little disappointed with the growth rate of the seedlings. They germinated within less than a week but were quite delicate and took their time developing. At just over a month the growth rate started to pick up. Within the last two weeks they have doubled in size! I kept one seedling that was putting out 3 leaves at a time instead of the usual two. Unfortunately, it seems to have reverted to the standard from though.

Although the Empress Tree should be hardy here, I decided to only leave a few outside and move these ones into the greenhouse for the summer. They've been growing so well that I thought it might be time to transplant already. When I checked, there were no roots growing out of the bottom of the pot. It seems that at least as seedlings they have a much smaller roots system then expected.

I should mention that these trees become invasive in warmer climates. This can be controlled by cutting them down every year. Unfortunately this mean you won't be able to enjoy the lovely purple flowers. I'll probably leave some trees to grow large and cut others down each year. The new growth has very large leaves which can add some dramatic foliage to a garden.

Sacred Figs (Ficus religiosa) at 3 Months

2011-10-05T14:04:00.000-04:00

This is just going to be a quick post. Most of what I wanted to say I already said in my last post on Strangler Figs. My Sacred Figs have been growing almost as fast. I haven't noticed any abnormal or odd seedlings yet. One thing you'll notice is that both species of fig look every similar when young. They are only just starting to show sign of being different species.

I fell in love with the Sacred Fig because of these gorgeous leaves and very light coloured bark. The most recentl leaves on the large seedlings are beginning to show more of an adult shape I'm hoping to grow some of these over rocks similar to what I have planned for the Strangler Figs. Hopefully they all do well and I end up with some very interesting plants!

Strangler Figs (Ficus benghalensis) at 3 Months

2011-10-03T17:47:00.000-04:00

I had to drop by the University Greenhouses today and as always decided to check in on the plants I've left there for the winter. I was shocked to see that some are barely recognizable! It really is amazing the difference as little as a week can make when you have plants in a greenhouse.

The happiest seem to be my Strangler Figs (Ficus benghalensis). I started the seeds about 3 months ago in an old take-out dish in a southern window. They grew relatively quickly and after a few weeks I moved them into a small greenhouse outdoors. Here they did even better. The heat really makes a big difference with these figs. As the weather began cooling down I took them into the greenhouses and their growth rate exploded. In the last two weeks, some have literally more than doubled in size!

Now I shouldn't be surprised. Strangler figs are native to India and the surrounding regions. They LOVE lots of water, high humidity and warmth. A greenhouse is a perfect home for them. I'm hoping to eventually train some over rocks and let the roots grow into soil below. I might actually have to do this sooner than I thought because the plants are already putting large roots through the bottom holes.

If you didn't notice, one of the seedlings has much more red and a bit of a ripple in it's leaves. This is also the only seedling to display red stem colouration (far right in the picture above). I'm not sure if this is the result of cross-pollination, a common natural mutation, different species, something new, or even if it's permanent. I'm just excited to have at least one plant with unique characteristics!

I really love these figs. I'll be sure to update regularly and post my progress as I train some of them over rocks. I also have some Bo-Tree or Sacred Figs (Ficus religiosa) growing. They're planned for my next post, so stay tuned.

Lithops Update

2011-09-20T23:32:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm still alive, I've just been pretty busy the last few weeks. I recently had to bring my Lithops in because it's been raining just about every day. I figured I'd take the opportunity to post some pictures. It's pretty bright so the colours are a bit bleached out but I have about 4 different varieties.

At least eight have survived; I've noticed some pull beneath the substrate but return later when really stressed. I had twice as many planted after I moved back to Ontario. Unfortunately I shipped ahead of time and the person I sent them too wasn't a plant expert. Needless to say, about half of them died (the post sat upside down in a centimeter of water for a few days). They're still a bit small (averaging about 1cm) but I'm hoping by next summer I'll have some flowers. Then I can start some new seedlings!

Jackfruit Update (Artocarpus herterophyllus)

2011-08-17T16:26:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update about my Jackfruit seedlings. They're growing well and seem relatively healthy. I have noticed a little visual damage to some of the leaves that may be the result of insects. The plants don't seem to be negatively affected, at least not yet.

These seeds came from irradiated, refrigerated fruit and the seed leaves were actually damaged (they ended up rotting). I figure the seed on the left was damaged more, as is evident from the multiple stems which usually happens after damage to the main stem. I don't ever expect to get fruit from these, but they'll be nice plants nonetheless. How many people living in Canada have their own Jackfruit trees?

Ficus benghalensis & religiosa Seedling Update II

2011-08-15T16:13:00.003-04:00

Although my ficus seedlings seem to be growing slowly they seem healthy. I transplanted them into small pots from the original germination containers a few weeks ago. I figured I'd put a bunch in each pot because I'd heard that sometimes the seedlings are finicky and will die. Somehow, literally every seedling survived the transplant. I should probably cull some of them soon, maybe leaving 4 per pot. I'll pinch them at the soil level so I don't disturb the roots of the seedlings I keep.

I have a few pots of each species. Below you can see some of the Ficus benghalensis:

... and here are the Ficus religiosa:

I'm hoping to train some into little bonsai-like plants and grow others in a semi-epiphytic state. It all depends on how many survive. In the current hot weather, they seem to LOVE water. I've noticed the pots "standing" in the water have the largest seedlings. I expect growth to keep picking up as they get older and I've removed the competing plants.

Passiflora edulis Seedlings (Yellow Passion Fruit)

2011-08-12T15:58:00.004-04:00

This summer I have been obsessed with tropical fruits. I've tried to start many seeds from these fruits. Some of them have been a complete failure and not sprouted at all or died immediately afterwards. These include Sweetsop, Cherimoya, Longan, Lychee, and Papaya. As far as I know all of these seeds were from irradiated fruit.

I also tried some seeds from those dried sugary Dates without luck. My experience thus far had told me that nothing would sprout. Luckily I'm addicted to germinating seeds and planted some from a yellow passion fruit anyway. Within less than a week the first sprouts were poking out of the soil. Like most of my seeds, they started in a south-facing window in a grocery store sushi container.

I moved them outside into partial sun and they kept doing well. I managed about 75% germination and had to cull the extra seedlings. One really hot day I accidently let them dry out. I figured I'd lost them for sure, but soaked them in the hopes of saving a few. To my surprise they all survived! A few days later I transplanted the largest into the pots below. They have since started putting out new leaves and seem quite happy.

This variety is not hardy at all. There are some cultivars that will die down to the ground in my area but you'll never see the fruit for sale. I'll have to bring these plants in for the winter. Hopefully I'll have some flowers by next year!

Paulownia tomentosa seedlings (Empress Tree)

2011-08-10T15:41:00.001-04:00

I have always been fascinated by plants that grow extremely quickly. I used to think it was because I was impatient. Then I grew Lithops from seed and if that doesn't take patience I don't know what does! There's just something incredibly rewarding and exciting about a plant that can change so greatly every day.

Although I'd heard about Paulownia tomentosa before, it wasn't until a few months ago that I actually saw one growing in my area. One of the trees seemed to be cut down to the ground every year. These young, vigourous growth actually produces larger leaves than the mature branches on the other tree. At that point I realized I needed my own. I ordered the seeds online and they arrived a few weeks later.

I germinated them in this little grocery store sushi container. I LOVE my sushi and even though the grocery store kind isn't the best, sometimes it's enough so I never have a shortage of these containers. I kept the lid on and the container in a southern window sill. Within six days the first sprouts were up. They looked very delicate but seem to have become more robust. Supposedly there were 50 seeds and it looks like I have at least 50 plants so the germination rate was really high.

The seedlings are currently outdoors in a mini greenhouse (partially open) and receive a few hour of direct sun each day. I'm going to have to pot them up soon because they've more or less stopped growing. Hopefully I'll be able to pry them apart relatively easily without too much damage to the young taproots.

Lithops Update

2011-08-08T12:46:00.002-04:00

My poor lithops have been through a lot of abuse in their short lives. I'm down to only about six healthy plants, one of which was nibbled on recently. There are a few more but they're currently pretty shriveled and barely visible in the gravel.

These little plants are now just a few months shy of two years old. I was hoping for some blooms this summer but I don't really expect any until next year. A few months ago I actually had over a dozen healthy plants. Unfortunately, I shipped them during a moved to someone with little horticultural knowledge. They ended up laying in water for several days and many of them are gone. At least these ones made it!

Adenium arabicum Update

2011-07-28T09:52:00.003-04:00

After moving back across the country, the Adenium arabicum experienced a little bare root shock. They ended up dropping all of their leaves and going dormant for a few months. New growth started just in time for me to move them outside for the summer. Of course after moving them once again they stopped growing for about 3 weeks but fortunately there was no leaf drop.

After about a month I moved them into full sun against a nice warm rock. Guess what happened. They stopped growing again for about 2 weeks. So if my experience with this species of Adenium has taught me anything, it's that they like to be put in one spot and stay there! About 3/4 of the leaf growth is actually from within the last month. They really do grow quickly when not being moved around.

There are a bunch of little branches forming all along the trunks and most of the caudices are swelling up quite nicely. I ended up with a good mix overall: Some dwarf, some not, some with fuzzy leaves, some with smooth, some with a pronounced caudex, others with next to none, some with lightly coloured bark, and others dark. All are unique in one way or another.

I have yet to get any flowers. One bud formed last summer but after an aphid attack fell off. I have had absolutely no problem with insects so far this summer. Hopefully I'll finally see my first flower! The plants are now about 2 years old, grown from seeds provided by a supplier in Thailand.

Jackfruit Seedlings (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

2011-07-25T13:44:00.001-04:00

It took an extremely long time, but I now have two healthy young jackfruit seedlings growing! As far as I can tell it took longer than expected because the original seed leaves were damaged during irradiation and refridgeration of the fruit.

I'm thinking the plant on yhe left suffered even more damage. It sent up a bare stem with no leaves whatsoever. At least I've ended up with an odd bushy seedling that probably wouldn't have existed otherwise.

These are the only seeds I've successfully sprouted from irradiated fruit. The papaya sprouted but stop growing and eventually withered.

Horned Melon

2011-07-22T16:56:00.001-04:00

I recently came across a horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) in a grocery store. I've seen them before but after reading up about it, I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to try. I didn't end up getting it. A while later Jame brought one home. Curiosity got the better of me and I ended up trying it.

I've got to say that I'm really not a fan. It tastes like an extremely acidic cucumber with harder seeds. Although fun to look at, it really wasn't fun to eat!

I still recommend trying it. Just go in with low expectations and you won't be disappointed. Then you can grow your own with the seeds. Apparently they're as easy as the related cucumber, and the melons could be fun decorations for fall.

Ficus benghalensis & religiosa Seedling Update

2011-07-15T15:25:00.005-04:00

Just a quick post today. The seedling have been growing slowly but steadily. They've still only been inside around 21C or so. I moved them to a West window where they receive nearly full sun, just filtered through a window screen. When I divide them I'll move about 1/2 or each species out into filtered sun. They should enjoy the heat as long as I don't forget to water.

Ficus benghalensis seedlings

Ficus religiosa seedlings

Recipe: Chayote Soup!

2011-07-08T10:38:00.011-04:00

I finally got around to making another batch of my currently favourite soup! One of the things I love most about this soup is that it's really thick and creamy but with little fat and far fewer calories than comparably types. Depending on how you season the soup, it can sometimes taste like KFC gravy! You need to blend it all in the end, so make sure you have a blender or food processor available.

You can't usually get chayotes at typical grocery stores. I suggest going to more specialized ones. I've found them at Asia Food Mart, in London, Ontario for 50 - 69 cents per chayote. The recipe below allegedly makes 4 servings, but for us it's more like 2.

So you will need:

Onion

Red Pepper

Garlic

Coriander

2 Chayotes

Pepper

Water

Chicken Stock

Butter (or oil)

Generally, I'm not going to tell you how much of each to use because that's up to you! Just look at the pictures for guidance. :)

Step 1:

Put about 2tbsp of butter in a large pan. You can probably make due with one but I like my butter. Turn the burner on to medium-high and chop the onion, garlic and red pepper while the butter melts. Then toss it in the pan and let it cook for about 3 minutes.

Step 2:

During this time chop up the Chayote. I tend to remove the seeds. Some people also remove the skin but I haven't noticed a difference and just leave it on.

When done, toss in the chayote and shake up the pan. Let it cook for about 4-5 minutes still on medium-high heat.

Step 3:

While the veggies are cooking, mix 2 cups of water with 2tbsp of dry chicken broth. Chop as much coriander and you want and add it. I find the more you add, the more it tastes like KFC gravy. If you want to use it as gravy just cut down the water to make it thicker. Add pepper to taste. Again the more pepper, the more like KFC gravy. If you want to make it like gravy just seriously over-season it.

Turn the burner down to low and add the chicken broth mix and coriander. Now cover with a lid and let the entire thing simmer for about 30 minutes. You don't even need to stir it! Remember the lid, without it you won't have enough water to make soup in the end.

Step 4:

Turn off the burner and let everything cool for about 5-10 minutes (so you don't get burnt and your glassware can take the temperature). Now you have to put it all in a blender. I find moving stuff from a pan to blender to be incredibly difficult. I tend to get something like a spaghetti scoop to get out the solids first. Then over a sink a pour in the liquids. It usually dribbles a bit. As a general rule the liquid should be level with the top of the veggies.

Blend until smooth and your done. Many people prefer to chill chayote soup in the fridge, but I like it just as much warm. It's completely up to you. I also tend to end up with a brown coloured soup instead of the usually green. I'm not sure if it has to due with the green skin turning brown or a tendency to slightly overcook the entire thing. Maybe because I use fresh red pepper instead of red pepper flakes?

Enjoy!

Jackfruit Sprouting (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

2011-07-07T23:12:00.004-04:00

One of my jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) seeds is sprouting! It was collected from irradiated fruit and soaked for about 24 hours before planting. Allegedly they germinate quickly, but this one took well over a month. Another seems to be putting up a stem, so hopefully I'll end up with two!

Chayote

2011-07-06T13:03:00.003-04:00

The Chayote (Sechium edule) is a gourd native to Mesoamerica but grown world-wide. I actually came across my first plant in Vancouver. Many houses grow them on trellises in their front yards. The root stalk is borderline hardy there depending on the severity of the winter, so it's probably a tender perennial in zone 7. At the time, I had no idea what the plant was. I just seemed like another random gourd. However, after getting back to London, Ontario I discovered them for sale at Asia Food Mart.

I asked someone working there about the chayotes and she suggested I make them into a soup. The soup was absolutely delicious! I'll be sure to post the recipe next time I make it (probably later this week). I loved it so much that I decided to plant some seeds. Each Chayote comes with a large edible seed in the centre. In many cases the vine has already started growing out of the fruit when you purchase it.

Now they normally tell you to plant the fruit whole, but I really like the soup. I basically cut about 1cm around one seed and planted another one bare. The bare one never sprouted but the one with fruit has turned into a little vine. Growth has been slow to start but I expect it to speed up. I'm in zone 6a so I'm hoping if I cover it up for the winter the roots will survive. It's probably to late to expect any fruit this year.

I highly recommend you try Chayote if you can find one. You can even eat it raw and chop it for salads. It almost tastes like a less intense pear/apple cross with a similar texture. I'm thinking the summers here may be a bit too warm (bordering on 30C during the day). There's only one way to find out. Hopefully by this time next year I'll have baby Chayotes covering a vigourous vine!

Salvia sclarea in Full Bloom

2011-07-05T18:06:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update. The Salvia sclarea is now in full bloom and looks gorgeous! This is actually a few plants growing together in a nice dense cluster. I hope you enjoy the blooms.

Ficus benghalensis & religiosa seedlings

2011-07-03T12:23:00.006-04:00

I've always been fascinated by figs. The genus includes anything from small creeping vines, to many edible varieties, those used commercially for rubber, and many houseplants. As such, I ended up purchasing some seeds on ebay from India. I went with Ficus religiosa (The Sacred Fig or Bo-Tree) and Ficus benghalensis (Indian Banyan Tree) both of which can grow epiphytically initially.

I chose the Ficus religiosa because of the lovely leaves and generally light (almost white) bark. Then went with the Ficus benghalensis exclusively because of it's well known extremely vigorous growth habit. My long term goal is to grow both into small house plant trees. The summers in Southern Ontario often see temperatures of 25C or higher and have high humidity. I figure both trees will be very happy outdoors in the warmer weather.

Ficus benghalensis seedlings

I planted the seeds about 2-3 weeks ago after soaking the seeds overnight. The soil is a mix of compost and clay loam. I added a few wood chips and some shredded coconut fibre. I figured this would help encourage some fungal growth which would be beneficial to seedlings expecting a moist forest environment. I did end up noticing growth over about 1/4 of the soil surface. The seeds were just sprinkled over the soil surface (allegedly the need light to germinate). Each container has a lid which I've kept closed most of the time and receives about 2 hours of direct sunlight each day. The first sprouts popped up within less than a week.

Ficus religiosa seedlings

They seem to be doing well, although the Ficus benghalensis is a bit slower to get going. Thinning and transplanting them will be interesting but hopefully I'll have little healthy trees within the next few months. I also grabbed a fig fruit from a local nursery. It was the most DELICIOUS I've ever tried. Of course I saved some seeds. The fruit may not be as good but I'll see what happens...

The Lovely Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica

2011-06-23T16:18:00.007-04:00

Click the picture for the full image (it's cut off).

About two years ago I was searching for free outdoor plants. The owner of one house ended up offering me some datura seedlings and one plant that I have struggled to identify ever since - until today that is! After a few twitter retweets, Mary Butterfield, of the VanDusen Botanical Garden (Vancouver) suggested a plant with very similar flowers. The leaves were too different to be in the same genus so I looked up the broader family 'Lamiaceae' which put me on track to finally identifying it.

The common name of Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica is Vatican Clary Sage. Individual plants grow up to 3ft and in some cases 4ft tall with a spread of about 2ft. They tend to end up in large clumps, dropping new seeds every year which vigorously grow the next spring. They don't generally bloom the first year from seed and die to the ground with freezing temperatures.

They grow best in full sun, have average water needs, and seem resistant to all pests. I haven't seen a single munched on leaf! Between the seeds and pest resistance it can be a little invasive even in a zone 5 garden (allegedly hardy to zone 4). I would recommend growing it either in a pot or surround by stones so it's a bit easier to handle.

The mature flowers will be vertical with the bracts spread much farther apart. The young blooms really are lovely, almost spilling over from the foliage in a white waterfall with light pink edges (many plants are more purple). I hope you enjoy this plant as much as I do!

UPDATE: Full Bloom!

Question: Irradiated Fruit Seeds

2011-05-27T18:46:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has tried germinating seeds from irradiated fruit. I've heard that often many of the seeds won't sprout, but this doesn't mean that none will sprout. I figured the more seeds I try the more likely I am to get a sprout.

Has anyone had luck germinating seeds from tropical or imported fruits? I'm currently experimenting with papaya, tamarind, starfruit, longan, cherimoya, sweetsop and sapote. Next I'll try passion fruit. I've had papaya sprout (started weeks before the others) and they're currently starting to put out their second leaves.

#Tweethday #Twanniversary

2011-05-22T13:57:00.002-04:00

This post is not in any way related to horticulture. Don't worry though, I will be posting again soon. :)

#Twanniversary - based only on the number of tweets (365 for the first) and not a specific day.

#Tweethday - the specific day upon which this #Twanniversary event happens to take place.

Below is a list of #Twanniversaries 1 to 100. It works just like a year, but each tweet is considered a day. So 365 tweets is one #Twanniversary and 365 x 2 = 730 tweets is the next. But just like with leap years ever four #Twanniversaries you have a leap #Twanniversary and add an extra tweet. I just made it simple and posted below. I know a year is actually about 365.2422 days but simplified it so there would be no partial tweets!

How many tweets until your next #Twanniversary?

Twanniversary Tweets

1 365

2 730

3 1095

4 1461

5 1826

6 2191

7 2556

8 2922

9 3287

10 3652

11 4017

12 4383

13 4748

14 5113

15 5478

16 5844

17 6209

18 6574

19 6939

20 7305

21 7670

22 8035

23 8400

24 8766

25 9131

26 9496

27 9861

28 10227

29 10592

30 10957

31 11322

32 11688

33 12053

34 12418

35 12783

36 13149

37 13514

38 13879

39 14244

40 14610

41 14975

42 15340

43 15705

44 16071

45 16436

46 16801

47 17166

48 17532

49 17897

50 18262

51 18627

52 18993

53 19358

54 19723

55 20088

56 20454

57 20819

58 21184

59 21549

60 21915

61 22280

62 22645

63 23010

64 23376

65 23741

66 24106

67 24471

68 24837

69 25202

70 25567

71 25932

72 26298

73 26663

74 27028

75 27393

76 27759

77 28124

78 28489

79 28854

80 29220

81 29585

82 29950

83 30315

84 30681

85 31046

86 31411

87 31776

88 32142

89 32507

90 32872

91 33237

92 33603

93 33968

94 34333

95 34698

96 35064

97 35429

98 35794

99 36159

100 36525

Civic Garden Complex Tour

2011-04-17T14:12:00.008-04:00

Today James and I decided to check out the Civic Garden Complex tour. To be perfectly honest, I thought this would be some small event with a few people and self-guided tours. I was completely wrong. With some creative parking somehow the parking lot capacity was doubled. You can see the little bit of a clusterfudge below:

Upon entering we were greeting with a free herb! I took a coriander and James received a sweet basil. There were a tonne of booths set up with information on plants, insects and general wildlife. There were also some seeds and plants for sale, both indoor and outdoor. The total booth area was about 5 times what you see below.

The greenhouses were built in three main phases from the mid to late 1900s. They grow most of the plants for the nearby Springbank Park and for decorative beds throughout London, Ontario. All of the greenhouses have sunscreens, fans for air circulation and heating pipes. The yellow sticky papers are for mite control. After the woman giving the tour mentioned that, I may have muttered "I f!cking hate those mites!" Which apparently was a little more than a mutter because Jame started laughing. Sometimes I have trouble modulating the volume of my voice... It's what makes me special. ;)

Attached to the complex is The Samuel R. Manness Conservatory which was donated in memoriam to the grandfather of Keith Manness, an avid gardener. Although it feels larger than the UWO Tropical Room, the planting is nowhere near as lush and their is a lot of open space.

We spent about an hour in the complex before returning to some beautiful spring weather...

New Plants!

2011-04-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

It was my 23rd birthday yesterday and my bf went with me to Parkway Gardens. I ended up with my first air plant and a very interesting Begonia.

The above Tillandsia was $2.99 and is the first air plant I've ever purchased. I've always wanted one or two (thousand) but they're usually sold glued to rocks or some other awful trinket for 10X what a reasonable price would be. Fortunately I finally found one available by itself. The species wasn't labelled but I think it's a Tillandsia fuchsii. Any thoughts?

The begonia I ended up is one that I would never have wanted if I just saw it online. However, there is something charming about this strange begonia and how it seems to almost have a crook-stem trunk. The variety name is Begonia 'Boomer'.

Also saw my first Cordyline australis flower and this lovely Hibiscus.

Garden Centre Recommendations?

2011-03-26T18:55:00.004-04:00

I'm finding winter is really taking it's toll on me and spring just can't come soon enough! So to try and forget about all the white fluff covering the ground, I'd like to visit some garden centres. My favourite one in London, ON is Parkway Gardens. It's one of the largest in London and even has some large Eucalyptus, Ficus benjamina and Ficus elastica growing in the ground.

I'm hoping to find some large and luxurious (well wide selection of plants) greenhouses in South-Western Ontario. What are your favourite must-visit garden centres in Ontario? For that matter are there any great greenhouses or summer gardens you'd recommend?

Back in Ontario

2011-03-16T14:08:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm still alive and now back in Ontario. I had to leave quite a few plants behind because I drove back through the US and had to ship them via plane because of the winter. They all survived but some are a little brutalised. Hopefully I'll be able to start some seeds within the next few days and start up some regular blog posting! Hope all it well.

Free Stuff for Local Gardeners

2011-02-12T15:38:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, I have some things I no longer need (and possibly some plants too). I'm offering them free to any gardeners in the Metro Vancouver area. I may even be able to drop some of the stuff off, depending on my schedule. Those clear plastic trays are about 20cm long and I've been using them as covers when germinating plants.

I have some pots, seed starting mix, seeds, seed starting trays, water gardening books, fertilizer, iron chelate, and more. Just let me know if your interested either through a comment or on twitter.

I'm also curious about shipping plants in cold weather. Had anyone done it before? Do you just need a heat pack and if so where do you get one? Thanks.

Herb Seedlings

2011-02-08T23:04:00.005-05:00

My herb seeds sprouted incredibly quickly! I only planted them about 10 days ago and already every variety has sprouted and all of them even quicker than the minimum time given on the packages. This was a great set of seeds!

Parsley

Sage

Chives

Thyme

Purple Basil

Cattleya Transplant

2011-01-27T13:02:00.004-05:00

Cattleyas are one of the more tolerant epiphytic orchids. Although they require both humidity and high levels of light, they can dry out in-between waterings far more than the average orchid. I looked online and I've found several people with them growing attached to stumps receiving full sun. So... I decided my Cattleya would be happier attached to wood as well.

A few days ago I went out to Cottonwood Community Gardens are found a nice looking piece of wood. It was a little dirty so I brought it home and cleaned it, washing with extremely hot water. After letting the wood dry for a few days (and to make sure there were no insects) I was ready to transplant my orchid.

The Cattleya I bought was originally in a pot with densely packed spagnum moss. This is nowhere near the natural environment of Cattleyas and the roots were far to wet. I thought about simply putting it back in the pot with some wood chips but though placing on a piece of wood would be far more interesting.

It took about 40 minutes to remove the moss from all the delicate roots. Somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 or the roots had actually died and also had to be removed.

After this was complete I placed the Cattleya on the wood. The shape of the wood piece actually held the plant in place relatively well. I was worried it would fall and thought about tying it on but just leaned it against a wall instead. The new roots have been growing well and some have hit the new wood surface. Most of the old roots aren't touching but they'll probably die and they were grown in a much more moist environment. The three oldest pseudostems are a little shriveled but the fourth (which also has a flower spike coming) seems completely fine.

I expect the older portion of the plant will eventually die but the new portion has two pseudostems forming and several more roots. I'm not sure if the flower will make it but at least it's been moved to a better home. I've been misting several times a day but never late in the evening because these plants don't like to be wet at night.

Eventually I'd like to put the wood in the centre of a large water proof tray with some pebbles and water. This way humidity will be provided and moisture will trickle up to the orchid. It should also look great!

Etsy Shop

2011-01-21T17:09:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone. Seeing as I take a lot of photos I figured I might as well open and Etsy Shop. I'm selling prints of flowers, landscapes and various other interesting objects I photograph. Some are true colour but many are enhanced or a combination of black in white with some colour for emphasis. I've only posted 11 so far but I'll be added about 10 per day. Out of my thousands of photographs I've narrowed it down to about 60.

Please take a look and thanks for any suggestions/tips you can offer!

LivingInspirations on Etsy

Free Herb Seeds!

2011-01-19T19:21:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I was excited to see that I'd received some free herb seeds from Home Town Seeds. The herb pack comes complete with a large quantity of seeds from 10 different species/varieties! It's a great way to jump-start your herb garden for the spring.

I've never really grown herbs before which is strange because I enjoy cooking with them, especially making fresh pesto. I was very excited by the opportunity to get some seeds, and species included in this pack include:

Dill (Mammoth Long Island)

Oregano (Italian)

Parsley (Italian Flat Leaf)

Sage (Broad Leaved)

Basil (Sweet Dani)

Basil (Purple Ruffels)

Chives

Thyme

Cilantro (Slow Bolt)

Rosemary

It's a great selection and I can't wait to start sowing! If you're interested in your own pack you can take a look over at this link. Pollination is open and none of the varieties are from GM parents. I even got a nice little Thank You Note!

First Plant Purchase of 2011!

2011-01-15T15:14:00.004-05:00

I finally made my first plant purchase of 2011! Vancouver has a high Chinese population and needless to say Chinese New Year is a big thing here. Today I went to Walmart to pick up some groceries and discovered $10 orchids! I've never seen them this cheap. They're usually about $30 in bloom and then around $15 after bloom time. To find a beautiful, healthy-looking orchid with most blooms as buds ready to open was something I just couldn't pass up for $10.

Apparently it's part of the Chinese New Year sale. They even have some lanterns up hanging from the ceiling. Although simply labelled as Phalaenopsis I discovered it was actually a cross between Doritis and Phalaenopsis. These hybrids were once considered a separate species but are now a subgroup under Phalaenopsis. The entire name as far as I can tell is Phaelenopsis Doritaenopsis taida salu (Red/Red Strip).

Anyone in the Vancouver (or similar) areas should check out Walmart early in the morning (before 9am) for some more deals. I get the feeling they put them out every day but they go fast. Hopefully you can grab a cheap one too! A word of caution: The plants are actually in plastic post (with holes in the bottom) which are placed in clay pots. You'll probably want to repot relatively quickly or they may get too wet.

Propagating Peperomia

2010-12-31T09:10:00.001-05:00

We'll it's taken two-and-a-half months but I finally have a Peperomia plant. I cut the original leaf into these three pieces. They all seem to be firmly rooted but this is the first to send a leaf skyward. It broke the soil surface about 3 days ago. I feel like it took much longer than it should have. I'm in a basement rental which gets relatively cold at night and I'm wondering if the lack of consistent heat may have been part of the problem. Now just to wait for the others! Happy New Years everyone! What better way to start the year than with some new life?

Frustrating Ficus elastica

2010-12-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

This is my Ficus elastica.

This is what happens when I try pruning my Ficus elastica.

Why won't it branch and become bushy? It gets lots of light. :(

Cosy Cattleya

2010-12-27T22:33:00.003-05:00

About two months ago I purchased my first orchid, a Cattleya NOID. I'd never worked up the courage to take on an orchid before because of all the horror stories about them being impossible to keep alive. They also tend to be rather pricey which isn't in my current budget. That was until I discovered that they can be half price or even less after they've bloomed. In honour of this discovered I made the spontaneous purchase of a plant I new nothing about (not even the species name).

I've been giving it moderate humidity and about 12 hour of light per day with the top of the plant 30cm (1ft) away from fluorescent tubes. Cattleya like brighter light and this one seems really happy. It's already put out two new leaves and in the picture above you can see the next two already developing.

A few days ago I took a look in between the first two new leaves and noticed what looks like a flower bud! I'm excited that my first orchid is doing so well and already producing a flower. I'm also curious to see what the blooms will look like because the store had a large mix of hybrids.

Does anyone know when to repot Cattleya? It doesn't look ready yet but the plant is growing from the centre of the pot over the side and I just want to provide the best environment possible. What if I stuck some bark with moss underneath it so the epiphytic roots could attach (eventually I'd like it out of the pot)? Also, the leaves are a little dirty from minerals in the tap water. Is this fine or would it be best to wipe them so more light can get to leaves? Thanks in advance!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-25T13:14:00.003-05:00

Just want to wish everyone a happy and relaxing holiday! I'd also like to mention that Anthurium should probably be sold as often as poinsettias as a decorative holiday plant. They're just as festive and offer the unique waxy flower. Just saying.

Lithops Update (10 Months)

2010-12-18T18:20:00.004-05:00

Although they grow slowly, I've really enjoyed watching my Lithops develop from seed. It's been about ten months since I sowed the seeds and the first little sprouts started to pop up. You can see just how tiny they were nine days after sowing here. Although there were a few set-back along the way I've manged to keep 15 happy and alive. They haven't gone through a dormancy cycle or flowered yet. They are however starting to differentiate into different colours.

Does anyone think these look too crowded? I was wondering if I should repot or or wait a bit longer. I was also wondering if these Anthurium seeds might be fertile. I've never had any develop this far before. I think my current fluorescent lights are a bit too heavy on the red spectrum because many of my plants have started to flower.

Ficus pumila Cuttings & Calathea Flower

2010-12-12T16:59:00.005-05:00

I love Ficus pumila. They have nice dense foliage which grows very quickly with little care. The only problem is that you can never let them dry out. I learned this the hard way with the first plant I purchased after forgetting to water once. It was in an extremely small pot and I should have transplanted it immediately after getting it. Instead I left it in the pot and took some cuttings. Within two weeks it was dead. It doesn't seem these plants ever recover from drying out.

Fortunately the cuttings survived. It seems I still hadn't learned my lesson. All the cuttings rooted and resumed with growth but within another two weeks I'd let two more dry out (in those little peat pockets). I immediately put the remaining three in a plastic container filled with water. They'll stay there until I find room for a permanent home. I'd recommend you always do this with the cuttings and put mature plants in a pot with a self-watering reservoir. If you're prone to letting plants dry out, this is NOT the plant for you.

My Calathea roseopicta 'Medallion' has sent up several flower spikes over the last few weeks. Nothing spectacular but interesting nonetheless.

Question About Cuttings

2010-11-21T16:17:00.004-05:00

About six weeks ago I was given some cuttings from Begonia masoniana (Iron Cross), Begonia deciata (Angel's Wing), Pilea mollis, and Peperomia argyreia. For the Iron Cross, I simple sliced all major leaf veins with a knife and sprinkled the cuts with rooting hormone. Then I placed the leaf on the surface of some home-made potting mix and placed the entire thing in a bag. I checked a few days ago and most of the cuts have rooted. I checked the bottom of the pot and there are roots. I'm just wondering when top growth will start.

I placed the Angel's Wing stem in the same mix with a bit of rooting hormone. Again the entire thing was placed in a bag. This was the first to root and has new top growth.

I did basically the same thing with the Pilea and Peperomia however I cut the Peperomia leaf into three pieces. They have all rooted and again the roots have grown to the bottom of the pot.

I'm wondering when I can expect some top growth to start. Six weeks seems longer than usual to me. Any thoughts?

I'm also going to Victoria this afternoon (Capital of British Columbia). I'll be leaving tonight and coming back on Wednesday. I'm hoping I can get some good pictures because it's a really beautiful city.

One more question. This Calathea is located in a bank with low light levels. Is it young, dwarf, or just suffering from chronically low light levels? You have to see it in person. I never thought of Calathea as adorable, but this one really is!

Update: Apparently it's a Maranta leuconeura var. kerchoveana. Thanks to mr_subjunctive!

Wordless Wednesday: Peeled and Ready to Cook

2010-11-04T01:37:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween, Fruit, Food & Community Garden

2010-10-31T19:22:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone, happy Halloween! I've been missing in action but I'm still alive. ;)

Today was the November work party for Cottonwood Community Gardens. I've been assigned kiwi duty so I spent most of my time there. The pruning has been finished for the most part so we've constructed as woodchip path through the area beneath the kiwi arbour and added some compost to fertilize for next year.

I also tried three new fruit today. The first one is called a Fuyu Persimmon. I've noticed dozens of these mid-sized trees across the city which appear to have mini pumpkins dangling from them (the one in the picture has less pronounced ridges than most). These are in fact a hardy variety of persimmon which is only ripe when it has a soft, mushy texture. It tastes like a cross between a pumpkin/squash and a mango. Not too sweet or fibrous, basically just right.

I also tried some tomatillos both raw and fried with butter. Very interesting. Sort of like a sweeter unripe tomato with a lemon twist. These were followed by some small 'grape kiwi' that were about the size of cherry tomatoes. They were delicious and taste just like the larger kiwi but don't have a hairy covering so you can eat them right off the vine. I had both a male and female plant back in Ontario but never ended up getting any fruit.

To finish off the day I'll be making some banana bread. I didn't have baking powder/soda so I'm trying to use yeast and I'll just let it sit for an hour or so. Hopefully it works and I don't end up with some banana brick! I'll upload the recipe and a picture if it turns out.

BTW Does anyone know what this fruit is? EDIT: Barry Parker has determined it's a Common Medlar (Mespilus germanica). Apparently they're one of the few fruits to ripen in winter. It is related to the Loquat which is also hardy in Vancouver.

Also what variety of Ficus is this? I'm thinking a Ficus carica hybrid. I've seen both green and brown figs in Vancouver but nothing with leaves like these. EDIT: Identified by College Gardener as Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera).

Wordless Wednesday: Plant Zone

2010-10-21T00:54:00.003-04:00

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall Planting Complete

2010-10-07T18:47:00.007-04:00

It took ten days, and the planting of the largest exterior greenwall in North America is now complete (at least my portion of it)! I ended up uploading a picture from the second last day because the weather and angle were both a little bit better. All the empty portions have since been filled in. At the time I left, some extra ground covers were just being added to deciduous patches. Eventually all the areas will grow in and the fabric will be difficult so see. The pieces that remain exposes will be colonized by mosses.

The area underneath will eventually be landscaped with a patio area so that everyone can enjoy the vertical garden. This will also prevent all the seeds/stems/leaves from sprouting a jungle beneath. It was a great experience and I would love to be part of more in the future!

It is also my first day off in over a week and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. It's really hard for me to just stop something. So now I'm designing the backyard garden for my father's girlfriend. It's south-facing but blocked by some large maples for part of the day with sandy loam soil. I might even upload a few images to get your feedback, we'll see how it goes!

BTW there is a wealth of information on these walls online. You can start by taking a look at the wikipedia page. This wall was designed by Green Over Grey.

Adenium & Lithops Update

2010-09-28T18:01:00.004-04:00

I was recently emailed by someone who was starting some Adenium and hoping to sprout some Lithops. He was interested in seeing how they were doing and it's about time I update so here they are! The Lithops are still growing slowly. I haven't lost any recently and I think the few that look a little odd will be alright.

The Adenium have been slowly coming back to life after their last dormancy (actually a leaf hopper attack but dormancy makes me feel better about not catching it in time). It's cooling down so I've brought them inside until next year. I have one under artificial light to see how it does. I'll probably have to move them all there eventually because winters here don't see very much sun.

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall - Day 2

2010-09-28T17:29:00.002-04:00

Day 2 started with rain but ended in sun. I spent most of my time putting plants up on the wall, but spent some time depotting as well. Things are progressing well and the work so far has been a lot of fun. Above you can see a portion of the area planted so far. This living piece of art is really starting to take shape!

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall - Day 1

2010-09-27T17:31:00.005-04:00

Today was my first day working on the Semiahmoo Library Greenwall near White Rock (South-East of Vancouver). Upon completion, this will be the largest exterior greenwall in North America.

The irrigation and wall systems had already been installed. I started out by finishing up the pattern outlines on the wall. These mark the edges of the various planting zones. My job then turned to the transport of plants, depotting, and mount them on the wall (with a hydraulic jack). There was a bit or rain but nothing serious enough to need a raincoat, overall a relatively nice day. There are already some plants up on the wall but my camera decided to have a disk problem and I couldn't get a picture. Tomorrow for sure!

I'll try to update every day with pictures. Unfortunately there is no 'same-position' vantage point that I can fit the entire wall in a picture (for a time-lapse). The building across the street is just too close. I will however get some angled shots, they just won't be from the same location each time. I hope you'll enjoy following along with this project!

More Mochi!

2010-09-20T20:41:00.002-04:00

This was a yawn. Apparently if you take a picture at the wrong time, a kitten can look like an savage Alien. I think the next two will make up for any fear this one may have caused.

*CUTE*

*SUPER CUTE*

New Plants & Looking for More!

2010-09-18T19:45:00.000-04:00

I've purchased a few more plants that I was either desperately in love with or were on sale for various reasons and super cheap. I'm also looking for more! If anyone in the Vancouver area has some extra houseplants or would like to donate some leaves for cuttings or plantlets it would be much appreciated!

The reason for this resurgence of plant purchases... the free section of craigslist. I received 3 - 4ft light fixtures with two bulbs each. The bulbs themselves are brand new and have a reasonably good spectrum (not ideal but I can replace a few).

I've just tossed the plants if for now but you can see most of them in this photo. You may notice I am extremely fond of plants with reddish or striped leaves. So clockwise from the bottom left:

(1) Alocasia x amazonica (I've seen this mislabeled as Alocasia 'Purple Prince' and 'Metallica' so please let me know if my ID is incorrect)
(2) Calathea roseopicta 'Medallion'
(3) Anthurium amnicola (with deep almost black flowers but NOT Anthurium watermeliense)
(4) Schefflera (old news)
(5) Ficus elastica 'Burgundy' (also old news)
(6) Spathiphyllum wallisii ($1.99 because it was slightly wilted, barely visible)
(7) Cattleya NOID ($7 marked down from $25)

Front Tray, left to right:

(1) Aphelandra squarrosa
(2) Ficus pumila (which I purchased and immediate took 5 cuttings of)
(3) Fernicus unknownicus (seriously, I have no idea, some fern)

The red container has three papaya sprouts. There are also my Tracycarpus and Chamaerops palm sprouts as well as my unsprouted Jubaea hidden in the back. Now...

Can anyone ID this fern? I have no idea what it is. It reminds me of a Microsorium pteropus 'windelov' but the edges of the one I have are not smooth but slightly saw-like. It's the one I split into three in the picture above. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Hardy Palm Sprouts!

2010-09-15T16:09:00.005-04:00

I was getting really frustrated with my palms so I went outside and dug them up. I was delighted to see that two species had begun to sprout! You can see the Trachycarpus wagnerianus on the right. One of the two sprouts has a bit of rot towards the tip but I'm hoping it will pull through. On the left you can see two Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera sprouts. I don't see any signs of rot. I expect some more sprouts so I'll keep checking. I planted about 10 seeds of each variety. I'll grow them indoors through the first winter under lights. Still no luck with the Jubaea chilensis but apparently they can take up to a year.

Now here is what my community plot looks like right now. Just planted the Musa basjoo (banana) as well as some calla lily in front and my 25 Trachycarpus fortunei palm sprouts. I've been told they probably won't survive the winter unprotected so I might have to erect a little structure. They're hard to see in the picture, just to the right of the tomato plants in the centre.

Mochi & Unknown Insect

2010-09-10T17:15:00.003-04:00

Here are two more pictures of Mochi from today!

Also does anyone happen to know what insect this is? Any help in IDing it would be much appreciated. It has six legs but the back two are against it's body. The protrusions on the sides are definitely wings but I haven't seen it fly yet. It's fun looking whatever it is!

Meet Mochi!

2010-09-09T10:29:00.004-04:00

A few days ago Mochi arrived! We adopted her from the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA). She's from a very strange litter and looks nothing like here sisters. It seems this litter had multiple fathers which is not uncommon with street cats. The adoption fee covers spaying, first shots, check-up, two de-wormings, flea-treatment (if necessary), and a small tattoo or microchip for identification.

She was a little sad for the first two days. Her foster home had about 8 cats and she felt a little lonely. We'll be here to fill in the void though! I should launch a sister blog and call it Cat Zone. I get the feeling there will be many pictures over the next few days. Probably years. Let's be honest.

Hibiscus in the Rain

2010-09-06T19:33:00.002-04:00

It's been a rainy day in Vancouver, but it doesn't come without some beauty. I took this photo outside of a job site where I was painting today. Very lovely and hope you enjoy it.

Brugmansia Bludgeoning

2010-09-03T08:11:00.000-04:00

My Brugmansia is now about seven months old and has been growing really well. It was stalled after it's cross country adventure, but growth picked up and I had to repot a few days ago. The roots had nearly completely filled the old pot! I could even see little roots appearing across the surface. Seeing as I want a giant plant I through it in the biggest pot I could find.

I also did a little trimming. Most of the time Brugmansia are trained into a standard form with a long, thin trunk leading to a horizontal canopy. This apparently is the best way to display the large bell-like flowers. To be perfectly honest I hate this form. The plant has no trouble displaying it's beautifulness in nature with multiple branches. I've decided I'll train it into a dense bush.

I started by lopping the top off. This will help encourage side-shoot growth. I also noticed that the lower shoots have been dying off. I removed the mature leaves on the side of the plant facing south (the sun) so these little shoots could get full sun. I'm hoping the combination of these two will result in a nice bushy plant. Once the south-side shoots have matured, I'll remove the rest of the large leave so they can get as much sun as possible.

Has anyone tried anything like this before? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've also noticed something seems to be eating the leaves. I'm thinking it's the giant BC slugs. Any tips on keeping these at bay? Happy Friday!

Yucca rostrata Transplant, Musa basjoo, stevia

2010-08-31T01:16:00.000-04:00

Not only did my banana make it across the country without even the slightest amount of mould, but it is now thriving! All four of the pups survived and have grown considerable. The only thing slowing growth is a lack of water. Every night I soak it and by the end of the next day it is dried out and often wilting. I might need to stand it in a tray.

It's really crazy in Vancouver. You see bananas everywhere. Musa basjoo is hardy here and often the stems will survive the winter unprotected. Cold spell will however kill them down to the rhizome so many people wrap them.

My Yucca rostrata have also been doing well. They desperately need to be repotted. They look small but I checked the roots. The one on the right has the upper soil washed away. I need to repot it soon because the growth is clearly lagging behind the other.

Now stevia! it is sweet. Unfortunately some other animal realizes that as well and has been routinely munching on it. I think I might bring them to my community plot. It seems like they're finally large enough.

Cottonwood Community Garden: August Work Party

2010-08-29T19:34:00.003-04:00

The last Sunday of nearly every month, anyone with a plot in the gardens is asked to come out to a Work Party. Keeping the gardens up and running requires a lot of time and effort and everyone needs to lend a hand.

I volunteered for kiwi duty. Unfortunately only myself and one other person were able to make it today. Both of us are new to kiwi care and unsure of the required maintenance. We ended up just going around removing weeds, young raspberry bushes/locust trees, and trimming off the dozens of branches reaching over the side of the trellis. We decided not to touch the ones growing vertically over the trellis. Some will be trained for next year and others removed. It seemed safer than risking damage to the plant. There are two varieties and the fruit won't be ready until October/November.

A young mouse also payed us a visit near one of the compost bins. It seemed really timid but instead of running like a normal mouse it just froze. Perfect for a photo! This photo is a bit low quality but the pose is great.

Now for another Vancouver surprise, the giant slugs. This one even comes with an orange racing strip! The coffee cup is an extra large for comparison.

New Houseplants!

2010-08-25T12:22:00.008-04:00

Believe it or not, a few days ago a had no plants in my house. None. Not a single one. Everything I have is currently outside enjoying the sunny Vancouver summer. I figured it was about time to get my first Vancouver-bought house plants and ran to the best/worst place I could think of, HD. Like usual nearly everything was unlabeled.

I ended up with a selection of three plants. The place I'm in right now is a basement apartment and is really drab. Luckily, it's an entire basement and there are windows on all four sides of the house. I wanted some plants to add a punch of colour.

Side Rant (You can skip this part if you're not a cynical person):

This place is painted an ugly colour somewhere between light grey and brown. It's like grimiest attempt at white anyone has ever tried to achieve. Literally the entire place - ceilings, walls, trim, and the carpet/tile is a similar colour. Why?!?! I've been painting part-time for the last two months and every last thing I've painted has been beige or off-white. Please no more. Could everyone do me a favour and design with colour in the future? I need colour in my life and so do you. See example of colour below. Makes you happy doesn't it?

I ended up deciding upon Ficus elastica 'Burgundy', Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii Lemon Lime' and a polka-dot plant. I'll probably end up putting the Ficus outside. It needs bright light to retain the deep 'Burgundy' colour. Full sun is a bit too intense near the equator (although it will still grow) but here is seems to be ideal.

Fortunei My Lithops are Alright

2010-08-24T01:41:00.005-04:00

Get it? What a great blog post name! I guess someone would have to be really creative to fuse two seemingly unrelated things into such a seamless title. That or just desperate for a post - erhum...

I was worried about my Lithopses because I forgot to take them in during a rainy weekend. Now I didn't think this would really be a problem but when I checked on them some had swelled to nearly twice their size! Like any concerned parent, I immediately brought my children inside to let them dry out a bit. Almost all of them ended up 'shedding' a skin and I only lost one. I had no idea they were so sensitive to moisture. You can see in the picture above what's left of their old skin.

The Trachycarpus fortunei palm seedlings have also done very well. They're about a month old now and kind of look like little green fan shaped sails. I thought they'd look much more grass-like. I think I'll repot them relatively soon and might even drop half into my community plot. I have about 25 sprouts so if I loose a few I should be able to make it through (eventually).

Adenium Update X (12 months)

2010-08-23T19:41:00.007-04:00

I think my Adenium are my favourite plants. They are just so interesting and all around fun. It's been about a year since I sowed the seeds and they're still going strong. I've noticed they seem to put up with a lot of abuse. They are relatively resistant to insects but I have had some aphid problems. I ended up spraying with a garlic/onion solution and the pests have for the most part disappeared.

It's much cooler in Vancouver in the summer than in London, Ontario. Even though there has been a tonne of sunshine (over a month straight) the growth rate seems to be a bit slower probably due to the lower temperatures.

One plant has also produced a plethora (what a great word) of blooms at the tip of the stem. I've been waiting weeks but none of them have opened yet. As soon as the one below pops I'll be sure to grab a picture.

I also LOVE all the different forms that this batch of seeds have grown into. Some are short and stout, some have a highly developed caudex and others are relatively tall and narrow. All are beginning to develop a large number of side branches. After growing these plants for a year, I would highly recommend them to anyone that enjoys succulents with somewhat unusual forms.

Recipe: Herb Crust Pizza

2010-08-16T14:59:00.001-04:00

I don't think I've done a recipe post before but I figured I'm cooking all the time now so why not. The last four years of my life have been spent mostly heating up pre-made food. Now that I've graduated and I'm only working part time, I've discovered two things.

(1) Good food isn't cheap
(2) I have free time

The combination of the two has resulted in adventures into new and relatively easy to make recipes. Today we'll be having pizza for dinner so I figured why not chronicle it. We used to eat 1/2 the pizza each but now have about 1/4 at a time so I figure it serves 4 people (maybe 6). I'll focus on the crust because topping preferences vary considerable. So without further ado, let's begin.

Dough:

There are a tonne of different dough recipes out there but this is based on the one that has been the easiest for me to make and the most consistent after cooking. You need:

2 cups water
4 cups white flour
1 cup soy flour
2 tsp sugar
4 tbs oil
1.5 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt

Parsley, Basil, Spinach (as much as you're comfortable with, I use spinach as a topping too)

Now put the two cups of water in the blender with the sugar and herbs/spinach and blend until mostly liquid. Visually it's nice to have larger herb pieces but the dough doesn't tend to stay together as well. I favour more workable dough and blend for a while. The water should feel relatively hot when you are done. Now place in the bowl and mix in yeast. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes (a bit longer tends to be better). There will be a bunch of foam on top so make sure the yeast is in the water and not just sprinkled on top.Toppings:

While this green, almost radioactive mixture is sitting, grate some cheese and chop up your vegetables. This part is completely up to personal taste. We enjoy our pizzas loaded with toppings. Instead of telling you what to put on, I'll just include a picture of our chopped delights. I put them all on plates and leave them in the fridge until needed.
If you have the time, you can also put some oil over the baking sheet. We put down aluminum foil because our sheet is old and the pizza tends to stick a bit (usually about 15% of the bottom sticks which is just enough to annoy us into using aluminum foil).Dough:

When the radioactive green mixture has finished it's 15 minutes of shame, you can add the flour, salt and oil. Now you can use 5 cups of white flour if you would like, but I switch out 1 cup for soy flower for two reasons:

(1) Defatted soy flour is 53% protein (James is vegetarian)
(2) Soy flour is gluten free, so if you use more than about 20% the dough won't hold together well.

I believe defatted soy flour also has slightly less calories, but this is a pizza covering an entire baking sheet so I don't think I'm going to go there. I find the soy also adds a bit more depth of flavour. I also removed the salt from the dough recipe because there will be more than enough in the pizza toppings.Now you have to kneed everything together. But first I would recommend putting down a dusting of flour on the surface you'll place the dough on. If the dough mixture seems really dry, you can add some water. This will make the dough more workable but also much more sticky so it's a bit of a trade-off. I tend to add a bit more water but then it sticks to the baking sheet.

When the dough looks relatively evenly kneeded, it's time to shape it into a ball. You can see here that mine is really sticky. I scrape off as much as I can and add it back to the dough then just wash my hands. If you have arm hair make sure to wash the attached dough out. If it dries in it can be uncomfortable to pull out. ;)
Now I just flatten it a little with a dusting of flour and toss it on the oiled baking sheet. Then I put the entire thing in the fridge until closer to dinner time. I find the cooler dough easier to roll out and less sticky.
Break. Time to contemplate if the last few minutes of your life have been spent wisely. If you are reading this, then I would assume so. ;)

Back to Dough:

When ready, take the dough out of the fridge and drizzle some oil on top. Set your oven to 450F so that it heats in time. Then roll the dough out with a rolling pin to fill the entire sheet. Remember, the more oil, the more delicious! You can go overboard though so don't put too much on. The only reason I even started to put it on top was so that it wouldn't stick to the rolling pin. It does however improve the overall taste.

Now Toppings Again:
Add some sauce and toppings. I've made it with both tomato sauce and creamy salad dressing. I would love to try it with an alfredo sauce but haven't yet. If you are using cheese, don't put it all on at the same time. I would recommend using half of it, putting on the other toppings, and then finishing off with the rest of the cheese. This prevents the topping from drying out. I noticed a huge difference with olives in particular.
Place the pizza-like object into the preheated oven and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes.

When it looks done (which again is personal taste) remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Don't cut the pizza on the baking sheet as this will probably damage it. If at all possible, remove it and cut it somewhere else.
STUFF FACE!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe. It has evolved over the course of two months (about 8 pizzas). If you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to comment! Oh and the pictures are from two different pizzas so if you caught that it is now time to pat yourself on the back.

A Beaucarnea of a Dilema

2010-08-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

This is just a short post to ask your opinions on something. I love ponytail palms and would like to start my own from seeds. Obviously I couldn't just do things the easy way and decide to go with the common variety.

After scouring through six possible species I've narrowed it down to either Beaucarnea recurvata (common variety) or Beaucarnea guatemalensis. So what one do you think is best? For kicks here's another crazy one that looks like a cross with a yucca called Beaucarnea stricta. I think I have a favourite, but I won't go through my reasoning until after I get a few responses so I don't influence anyone.

Palm Sprouts & Lithops

2010-08-11T17:01:00.003-04:00

Miraculous Mostly-Mature Mulberry Monday

2010-08-02T21:54:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been in LOVE with mulberries. There is a large tree in Cottonwood Community Gardens and whenever I go to water my plot I make sure to grab a bunch of mulberries. There's a random outdoor chair near one of the tool sheds. I drag it over under the tree and grab as many as I can reach.

I've almost fallen a few times. This would be particularly bad because there is a patch of raspberries under the branches that I harvest most of the berries from. I should probably stop trying to grab things out of reach but I won't learn that until I end up falling. It's not that I'm overly confident in my abilities, just very very foolish.

You know the berries are ready when pretty much fall of the branch just by touching them. That being said even when they're not completely ripe they're still quite good. The tree in the garden has been fruiting for about a month and may have another month to go! I grabbed a few dozen today and gave them a good wash. Make sure not to soak the berries long because they'll loose their taste relatively quickly.

WARNING: The follow is not plant related and mostly incoherent. Do not read unless you have time to waste.

This post may seem a little disjointed. That's because I was only going to post the picture with the title. Then I figured the title is so great that it would get people's hopes up. If they clicked on it just to see a picture it may be a little disappointing. I also just made brownies from a mix and added Reese Cups and butterscotch chips. I'm EXTREMELY excited!

I'm really not sure how to end this post. My landlords are back with their three screaming children and I'm a little annoyed. I don't mean to alienate anyone with kids, but there is at least one child screaming/crying every minute of the day. It starts to grate on you. I think it's about time to find a new place. Unfortunately with only one of us employed that isn't in the cards.

I have all my plants outside and I'm afraid they'll end up being abused. Last time they were hit with a basketball. It took my Adenium a month to start growing again. That is something you just don't forget. I'm afraid to go outside and move stuff and risk an awkward social interaction. I think I'll sneak out in a few hours under the cover of darkness and move stuff then.

Hopefully they don't think I'm trying to break-in and end up coming outside. Then *BAM* awkward social encounter. Speaking of awkward, I just saw an ad for a 24 hour reality show channel. That kind of makes me sick. Of course I'll have to give it a chance so I don't make a hasty, uneducated decision.

Now I'm just warm and slightly annoyed. I think I may have gotten a little off topic. I think I'll add some text after the stuff that's plant related to warn my readers of what is to follow. This long, odd little ramble that has a tone of slight annoyance.

Of course it isn't as long as the book "The Reality Dysfunction". I'm a total sci-fi fan. This book has over 900 pages in relatively small print (smaller than standard at least). I'm around page 460. I think I'm going to have to renew the loan.

I'm going to end this post now. I just want my brownies. I'll call them special brownies. You can take from that what you will but they only have the added Reese Cups and butterscotch chips. They have to cook longer and generally don't turn out entirely solid but if you put them in the fridge they're just AMAZING!

Adenium arabicum Flower Buds?

2010-07-29T19:57:00.000-04:00

Could it be? Is it possible? I think one of my Adenium arabicum may have a bunch of flower buds! I haven't noticed them on any others but unless the leaves have mutated I'm pretty sure these are flower buds. It's on one of the more sickly plants but YEAH!!! Click on the picture for a better view. I took it with my phone and it doesn't have a macro.

I'll update as soon as one opens. My Trachycarpus fortunei palm sprouts are also doing really well. I'm up to 19 sprouts and the first leaves are starting to emerge!

This Dahlia is from Cottonwood Community Gardens. It's nice, so here it is.

Quasi-Mega Plant Update

2010-07-22T21:02:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've done a full on plant update so I figured it was about time!

I'll start with what I did today. There is a large mulberry tree in Cottonwood Community Garden. It's currently covered with mulberries. James and I LOVE mulberries. I noticed a branch that was hanging really low (into a hydrangea) and decided why not try some cuttings.

Apparently they are quite easy to start. It's recommended to try in spring or summer but I figured why not try now. You can see they are different sizes so hopefully the variety will end with something that roots. Each twig has at least two buds in the soil.

I also ripped out my spinach and pak choi because they were covered with flowers. Then I went to Plant Works expecting to come back with enough plants to fill the rest of my plot. Nope. Sometimes I forget how expensive things are. Like when I think $9 for a shirt is ridiculously expensive. I think I may be a bit cheap. I ended up spending about $15 on some petunias and reasonably drought tolerant, discounted, slightly sickly looking plants. I dropped them in the plot but forgot to take a picture. Next time.

Now for the Trachycarpus fortunei sprouts. I've counted a total of 14! There aren't any actual leaves yet but I'm still excited. They won't even have leaves resembling a fan for at least two years. Some of the seeds were picked off a tree and the others were grabbed from the ground (probably one and two years old, so not very fresh). I don't think I'll split them up until after the second leaves are out.

These are the Yucca rostrata that I started from seed. I had three but left one at The University of Western Ontario Greenhouses. The one of the right has started growing again and has produced several healthy new leaves.

My Musa basjoo has recovered. This is the one that I chopped in half, destroyed the roots and wrapped in a bag. Apparently they can put up with quite a bit. All four pups even made it! I probably won't split any of them off until next year. I got this one as a 20cm plant at Home Depot.

BTW My landlords are gone so may plants are strewn across their yard. You can see their children's toys randomly scattered in some of the pictures.

Here are my Stevia seedlings. Only a few sprouted and they were growing really slowly. In the last few days they've really started to pick up and have almost doubled in size. I'm can't wait to try them as a sweetener!

I have my Adenium arabicum located in three different spots (two outside and one inside). These are the saddest. They were hit with a basketball and then attacked by aphids. I was extremely angry at the time but now I'm just a little annoyed. I figure the aphids attacked because they were stressed, as plants in the other location seem fine. They'll be almost a year old at the end of August. The other plants look much better (not pictured here).

I split my Moringa stenopetala between my community plot and these three pots in the backyard. These ones were hit with a rather bad attack of aphids. I think they were stressed because as far as I know aphids aren't very common for Moringa. I sprayed them with a water/onion/garlic mix and I think it's been working.

I'll end off with my Brugmansia. I started this one from seed in early spring. It's the only one that I ended up taking across the country. You can see from the trunk that it got a little bent during the trip. There is a lot of new growth towards the top and offshoots along the entire stem. I'm hoping for some flowers this year but don't expect to see any.

Hope you enjoyed this long and arduous post! I've been a little MIA the last two months. ;) I also got recognized today! "Hey, aren't you the guy with the blog?" Yeah! I'm famous! I've officially arrived!!! If anyone would like an autographed seed packet, send money to... :P

The Three T(w)(o)os?

2010-07-20T20:53:00.000-04:00

I was on my laptop last night in front of the TV that we purchased instead of a bed, sitting on an old couch we found in an alley, and something dawned on me. Something strange. Something that may be earth-shattering. Something that could change our very existence.

It all began with a simple response to an unrelated comment. In my previous Lynn Canyon post, Kenneth Moore mentioned he was listening to a certain band too much lately. I responding with, "You can never listen to too much of them." Things may have been fine if I had just stopped there. Unfortunately, I followed it up with, "Ew two t(w)o(o)s in a row."

Now writing that last sentence took me a good five minutes. I guess it technically should have been two to(o)s in a row, seeing as I didn't use the number version of the word. But I was scared of becoming trapped in an infinite t(w)(o)o loop! You see I used two t(w)(o)os twice in a row. The next sentence would have had to be the same. This would continue on forever as, "Ew, two t(w)[o]os in a row." The square brackets are there because I originally had them before the "s" but upon writing this post realized the first "o" should have brackets.

What is the correct plural form of the word when referring to multiple homophonic words (same sound, different meaning) and why has this never crossed my mind before? I guess this would be a noun. As far as I can gauge, it's a bit of a mess without any clear answers:

To & Too - To(o)s or T(o)os - Any thoughts on whether the first or second "o" should have the brackets?

To & Two - T(w)os

Too & Two - T(o)(w)os or T(w)(o)os - I think bracketed "o" first to be alphabetical.

To & Too & Two - T(w)o(o)s or T(w)(o)os or T(o)(w)os - They all start with "T" and end with "o" so I figure the 2nd or 3rd option. The 2nd is probably best because it doesn't look similar to any other words. That being said I like the bracket symmetry of the 1st.

All of this is turning into a horribly complicated mess and I'm starting to get scared. I'm sure someone has thought of this before and there must be some kind of answer. If not we'll have to petition a dictionary to include a magical all-encompassing plural form/rule for homophonic words!

I started to think a little harder and things became even more ugly. What happens when you want to refer to "there", "their" and "they're"? Is it something like this:

There & Their - The(i)r(e)s

There & They're - The(y')res

Their & They're - The(i)(y')r(e)s or The(y')(i)r(e)s

There & They're & Their - The(i)(y')r(e)s or The(y')(i)r(e)s

Now things are starting to look like some weird phonetic dialect. At least there aren't any other awful groups of words. Certainly not:

For & Four - Fo(u)rs

For & Fore - For(e)s

Four & Fore - Fo(u)r(e)s

For & Four & Fore - Fo(u)r(e)s

Here something terrible has happened! The last two both have the same pluralized spellings!!! How will people know if someone is referring to "Four & Fore" or "For & Four & Fore"? My pluralization formula has failed!

Is this some paradox that will destroy the universe? A once-in-a-lifetime world changing revelation? Something easily solved with a clear answer which my extremely limited and lazy googling cannot bring to light?

Please help. I've opened Pandora's Box and I can't close it.

Confused... Frightened...

Lynn Canyon Park

2010-07-16T20:08:00.000-04:00

We LOVE Lynn Canyon Park! It's located in North Vancouver and is about a 15 minute drive from where we live. The place is amazing. It includes a barbecue area, suspension bridge, rapids, waterfalls, trails, boardwalks, swimming in pristine glacial melt water, and more. All completely free!

We've been there a few time already but we have a friend down from London, Ontario and figured we'd take another trek. I took 51 pictures today but I figured 3 would be enough to upload. They really do not do it justice. It's an amazing place! If you don't live in Vancouver, you probably should. Just FYI.

Tomorrow it's off to Whistler. We'll probably to some more hiking (over three hours today) and possibly some kayak rentals. I'll probably upload some photos of the other amazing places we've been over the next few days as well. It's also James' birthday tomorrow!!!

Bloom Day July - Plot Update (Don't Get Too Excited)

2010-07-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

I have a single Lantana flower in my plot so instead here's an update with the veggies! I've been watering every two or three days. What they really need is water two times a day! You can see they look a little awful but at least they're still alive. My plot has purple orach, leeks, tomatoes, spinach, chard, pak choi, moringa, and zucchini.

First Palm Sprout (Trachycarpus fortunei)

2010-07-12T19:32:00.003-04:00

Today I noticed my first palm sprout! It's a Trachycarpus fortunei and the seeds were harvested from near the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park. There are two other seeds that have also sprouted that were harvested from the UBC Gardens. They've put out roots but no upward growth yet so they don't count. ;)

It's towards the right side of the picture, just in the light and looks a bit like a sprouting blade of grass. BTW my blogoversary was on July 5th. I missed it! One year old!

This was the fist batch of seeds I planted. I'm glad that they are finally starting to sprout! Now I just have to wait for the first of the next four palm species to come to life. The coffee also hasn't sprouted yet but some of the stevia are out.

My community garden plot looks a little sad. You'll see what I mean the next time I update. I planted before the compost arrived and the soil dries out in about 30 seconds. Needles to say, my leafing greens are not happy.

Strathcona and Cottonwood Community Garden Open House & Plant Sale

2010-07-10T12:44:00.001-04:00

Just a quick update: I've been hired to work part-time as a painter. This will really help out with the money as I keep looking and will get me better acquainted with the city. So if anyone needs some painting (primarily interior) take a look here.

This weekend is the big open house at the oldest community gardens in Vancouver. Last year it was estimated that between 500 and 600 people turned out. This year they are getting even more coverage including a front page article in the Vancouver Sun! I'll be acting as a floater (doing whatever they need me to) all day on Sunday in the Cottonwood Area. There will be a chili lunch, plant sale, info session of chicken keeping, permaculture and much more. Drop by and take a look!

You’re Invited to

Magical Gardens in the midst of the city

Sunday, July 11, 10am to 2pm

Visit eight magical acres, sway to live music with Tambai Marimba, learn from free gardening sustainability workshops, see one of Vancouver's oldest off-grid solar houses, eat scrumptious goodies, sample local garden honey, snatch wonderful plants at bargain prices, & celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Vancouver's first community garden and the opening of Cottonwood's new garden that is the first community garden fully accessible for seniors and people with disabilities! Everyone is welcome!

Strathcona Cottonwood Gardens Annual Open House

Prior/Hawks * Raymur/Malkin

Info: (604) 608-0384 or (604) 253-3384

info@cottonwoodcommunitygardens.ca

www.strathconagardens.ca or www.cottonwoodcommunitygardens.ca

Open House Events

Live Music! Tambai Marimba! Fiddlers!

Sway to the music of awesome fiddlers or dance your socks off with Tambai Marimba, Vancouver’s great youth Marimba Band.

Tambai Marimba: Cottonwood Garden, 10:30am to 1:30pm.

Fiddlers: Strathcona Garden, 11am to 2pm.

Free Gardening & Sustainability Workshops

How to Keep Chickens in Your Backyard for Complete Beginners: Sunday, July 11, 10:30am: Cottonwood Garden

Thinking about having your own chickens and fresh eggs? Jordan Maynard, Manager of Southlands Heritage Farm, will help you understand the basics of keeping chickens in your backyard. You’ll leave this workshop with the confidence to buy, care for, and enjoy your own backyard hens. Workshop organized by Village Vancouver.

Permaculture/Vancouver Permaculture Meet-up Group: Sunday, July 11, 10:30am; Cottonwood Garden

Permaculture is an important way of letting the earth take care of itself. Learn basic permaculture techniques from the Vancouver Permaculture Meet-up Group. Workshop organized by Village Vancouver.

Winter Gardening/Grants Gourmet Gardens: Sunday, July 11, 1pm; Cottonwood Garden

Want to have fresh vegetables from your own garden year round? Certified organic farmer & edible landscaper, Grant Watson, will teach you the basics of what/when to plant, so you can harvest from your garden in the coldest season. Workshop organized by Village Vancouver.

Corsage Making: Sunday, July 11, 12-2; Cottonwood Garden

Learn how to make corsages from flowers and leaves picked that morning at Cottonwood. You can have a corsage custom-made for you, make your own, or choose one that has been made.

Compost Making/City Farmer: Sunday, July 11, 10:30am-2pm; Cottonwood Garden

Learn how to make compost from City Farmer’s Compost Hotline Staff.

Birdhouse Making for Kids: Sunday, July 11: Cottonwood Garden

This hands-on workshop teaches kids how to make their own birdhouse. Each participant will be able to make and keep a wooden birdhouse they have made.

Bee-keeping demonstration: Sunday, July 11, 10-2

Bee-keepers from each garden will demonstrate basic bee-keeping techniques and teach people about bees and their needs.

Solar Eco-House Demo: Sunday, July 11, 10:30am – 2pm, Strathcona Community Garden

See Strathcona’s wonderful solar house. This garden house generates its own power with solar panels, re-uses all its water with a grey-water recovery system, was built with recycled materials, and has a licensed composting toilet. Built over 20 years ago by teenage women learning carpentry skills, this is one of Vancouver’s oldest off-the-grid houses.

Magical Oasis in the Midst of the City: Garden Tours

Please join us for tours of Vancouver’s oldest community gardens, as we celebrate 25 years of community building, local food production and sustainability. Recipient of a City of Vancouver Heritage Award, Strathcona and Cottonwood Community Gardens feature eight magical acres with 350 individual garden plots; countless varieties of native and exotic perennials; one of the largest collections of heirloom apple trees in BC; thriving honeybees; a solar house that generates its own power, recycles water, and has a licensed composting toilet; beautiful water gardens, terraced gardens, oval gardens, fragrant gardens, reflecting ponds; an Asian garden, native garden, permaculture garden, wetlands; cherry, apple, plum, mulberry, fig, pear, persimmon & Asian pear trees; blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, Saskatoon berries, gooseberries, grapes & kiwis; eight types of bamboo; nut trees; and many ornamental trees and shrubs. There are two solar greenhouses; toolsheds; extensive composting; and many species of birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. A pair of bald eagles nests overhead. Garden Tours: 10:30am to 1:30pm, at Strathcona and Cottonwood Gardens

Cutting Edge Sustainability: Solar House

Strathcona’s Eco-house is a model of sustainable building. This garden house generates its own power with solar panels, re-uses all its water with a grey-water recovery system, was built with recycled materials, and has a licensed composting toilet. Built over 20 years ago by teenage women learning carpentry skills, this is one of Vancouver’s oldest off-the-grid houses. Learn how the eco-house was built, principles of grey water recovery, solar power: 10am to 2pm, Strathcona Garden.

Opening of New Garden Fully Accessible for Seniors and People with Disabilities: 11:30am

Join us as we celebrate the opening of this new ¾ acre inclusive garden that is designed to enable everyone, regardless of age or physical ability, to garden. Based on the principles of universal design, the garden features raised beds that are high enough for seniors and people with disabilities to garden from a seated position; pathways 3-4’ wide and surfaced with a firm surface appropriate for persons with walkers, canes, strollers and wheelchairs; water taps at a convenient height for people who have difficulty bending and close to raised beds so that carrying a hose will not be needed; a tool shed with easy access and reachable tools; meeting spaces with wide-enough, smooth surfaces.

Official Opening of New Accessible Garden: 11:30am: Cottonwood Garden.

This new part of Cottonwood is along Raymur, at the corner of Raymur & William, across from the Food Bank, on the east side of Strathcona Park.

Honey! Local Bees!

Honey sales from our own bees, who thrive on the diversity of flowering plants in our gardens. The honey is fresh, local, and delicious. Come early! The honey usually sells quickly.

Honey Sales: 10am at Strathcona Garden and at Cottonwood Garden.

Wonderful Plant Sale! Bargain Prices! Great Plants!

Strathcona & Cottonwood’s Annual Plant Sale features an incredible variety of plants at bargain prices including perennials, vegetables, heirloom fruit trees & berry bushes, bamboo, flowers, shrubs, native plants, shade lovers, sun lovers & more! All of the plants are grown by our gardeners or donated by local nurseries. Prices are awesome and the range is impressive. Over 600 plants at bargain prices.

Plant sale starts at 10am, Sunday, July 11, at Strathcona Community Garden (corner of Prior & Hawks).

Silent Auction
If you haven't been to our Silent Auction before, you're in for a visual treat. Beautiful hanging baskets with fuchsias in full bloom, heritage apple trees, and a stunning Passion Flower vine, to name but a few of the entries we've had -- all generous donations from local nurseries and gardeners. Come and check it out and maybe you'll go home with a spectacular plant to highlight your garden or patio.

Sunday, July 11, Strathcona Garden, 10am to 1pm.

Native Plant Tour
Come to the Native Garden at Cottonwood and we'll show you which BC native plants you can grow to replace some of the invasive plants that have come into BC.

Cottonwood Garden 10-2.

Location:

Strathcona Garden & Cottonwood Garden are sister gardens located next to each other in and next to Strathcona Park, on the east side of Vancouver, on Prior Street, between Main & Clark.

Strathcona Garden is located just west of Strathcona Park, on Prior & Hawks.

Cottonwood Garden is located along the south side of Strathcona Park, on Malkin, between Raymur & Hawks.

The new accessible garden expansion is on Raymur, opposite the Food Bank (1150 Raymur).

The two gardens host the Open House together

Lithops Update VIII

2010-07-02T15:42:00.001-04:00

I didn't end up bringing the Conophytum to Vancouver but I did bring my Lithops seedlings. They have done extremely well and I started placing them outside during sunny weather and bringing them in for the night. I think they would be fine to stay out all the time. Unfortunately they're still really tiny and if they get knocked over or a bird decides to relieve itself, there may be a problem. I figure it reduces the risk to only keep them out when necessary. :)

About half of them have begun their first leaf renewal cycle. The seed leaves have shriveled and a new pair of leaves baring adult colouration have appeared. Hopefully I'll end up with a good variety of colours but I'll have to wait a few more months to find out for sure. Still no luck on the job front, but I'm working on it. Just takes some time!

Wordless Wednesday: Idyllic Home

2010-06-30T15:54:00.001-04:00

Jubaea chilensis Manual Cracking

2010-06-24T18:06:00.002-04:00

When looking for information on germinating Jubaea I noticed to different groups of people; those who said sow as they are and those who lived by cracking them. I decided not to crack them for fear of damaging the seeds. Today I changed my mind. I took a look and there were no signs of germination.

At first I thought a nutcracker would work. I asked the landlord if I could borrow one. There is no way that a hand-held nutcracker could ever open one of these things! I thought for sure I was set and would have better control so I wouldn't damaged the seeds. Nope. Nothing. I think if I kept trying the nutcracker would've broken.

Next I found a way that actually worked. I set the seeds up vertically so that one of the pointed sides faced up on a brick walkway. Then I grabbed a rock and smashed. To my amazement the shell exploded like a bomb and the seed was completely unharmed. Ideally your only suppose to do it in one blow to prevent damaged.

I cracked them all with varying degrees of success. Some still have their entire shells, some half and others are completely naked. They are more prone to mould this way but I'll check daily and take care of any that shows up. I did split one seed. I died a little inside but then remembered that they're edible. They do look and taste like mini coconuts. Just no coconut water.

I'm going to soak them another few hours then plant them in a mix of sand and compost/potting soil in 15cm (6") depth pots. They tend to put out a deep taproot before showing any signs of top growth. Hopefully it works! They should be up within a month now (at least the first few).

I've been a little distracted lately so sorry about the lack of posts and commenting. Things are still a little crazy. Hopefully I'll be getting more settled soon. ;)

Cold Hardy Palm Seeds Arrive! Jubaea chilensis, Chamaerops humilis 'Cerifera', Trachycarpus wagnerianus

2010-06-17T13:43:00.002-04:00

My final batch of seeds arrived this morning! I purchased them from Jungle Seeds. It decided to buy a second pack of Jubaea chilensis in the hopes that if one batch doesn't work out, the other will. I also grabbed some Trachycarpus wagnerianus and Chamaerops humilis var. Cerifera. Apparently a leaflet with special instructions was suppose to be included for the Jubaea. I looked for about 10 minuets but it's definitely not there. I thought maybe it slept out to I checked the floor. Still nothing. Fortunately I know the 'special' method used to sprout them.

I've also been introduced to a possible job and the University of British Colombia Botanical Gardens as a shop manager. It sounds like a great position and I think I'm very well qualified. The only negative is that I'll have to drive right across the city each day. Fortunately, we were planning on moving the end of the summer anyway so we could just relocate closer.

Stevie from Garden Therapy also forwarded my resume to two companies which I really appreciate. Thanks!

In the Community Garden, the seedlings are growing well. Everything has sprouted. I noticed a few dog treads crushing some of my spinach which pissed me off a little. But then I took a few deep breathes and... everything was fine! Now there was a rage blackout somewhere in there but I have no idea what happened or if anyone/thing was harmed.

I've also been asked to border a large plot with stones. There aren't very many left in the area and Stevie pointed me to some large concrete chunks. They actually look quite good and offer a home for what otherwise would be garbage. They're a bit sharp though so if anyone comes to Cottonwood, make sure to wear shoes.

I would love to make a willow structure at Cottonwood. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations? Maybe where we could grab some willow twigs?

I was too lazy to type out the germination info so I just took pictures. In 5 - 10 years I'll have a jungle!

Vancouver Desert Plant Society Show & Sale at VanDussen

2010-06-12T22:43:00.004-04:00

Today was quite the day! I met up with my uncle at the Vancouver Desert Plant Society Show & Sale at VanDussen Gardens. I saw a tonne of really interesting plants and ended up touring the Gardens as well. I also got pictures of some other community gardens along an abandoned track in the Kitsilano area.

Finally I spent three hours at Cottonwood Community gardens helping with raised beds. A portion of the gardens has been designed with wheel chair access in mind. The beds are elevated to the proper height, there is room to turn around and a small rock layer will be placed so the wheels don't sink down.

The plant show was awesome and I ended up with a plant that my uncle purchased for me. I'm quite excited. The gardens at VanDussen were gorgeous and really worth a look. All my veggies but my tomatoes have also started sprouting! I can already taste them.

My day is best summed up with pictures. Please check the album link at the end of these few to see them all. There are some really interesting succulents!

To See the Rest of My Amazing Pictures Click Here! Here are some other people's photos of VanDussen and the Desert Plant Show:The Dandelion Wrangler Garden Therapy

Seeds Arrive!

2010-06-11T22:18:00.000-04:00

Today my first batch of seeds arrived from Whatcom. I don't have much to say except that I'm super excited! I've already started soaking some of them. The other palms should arrive within the next few weeks. I also transplanted my largest Moringa stenopetala into larger pots today. Three of the five look fine but I'm worried about the other two.

Moringa stenopetala 2 Update I (24 Days)

2010-06-09T12:54:00.002-04:00

I started soaking a new batch of Moringa stenopetala seeds about 24 days ago. For anyone that doesn't know, I've tried them previously. They grew well in a greenhouses but eventually succumbed to a pest. I think the pots I started them in were too small. Moringa are known to be sensitive to the amount of soil they're started in. They send down a taproot and I think when it hit the base of the pot they stopped growing.

I was sent a second batch of seeds for free but I held onto them until just about three weeks ago. I soaked them for several days, planted them in compost and then left them in a warm cupboard. I had to use ice cream pots which seem to work really well. Six seeds were planted in each. The right one was always kept indoors until sprouting. For the left one I wanted to see if they would sprout in outdoor temperatures. After a week there was nothing so I brought it in and then they started to sprout.

I've been putting the seedlings outside on sunny days and bringing them in during the winter. It's still a bit cold here in the evenings and I don't want to impede growth. Animals also LOVE these little Moringa seedlings and there is no way I'll leave them outside unguarded during the night.

For anyone that wants to know why I'm so interested in this plant, take a look here. The nutritional properties of Moringa species are similar. My goal is to grow them as a tuber in the summer and then dig up and store for the winter. We'll have to see how it goes!

Twanniversary	Tweets
1	365
2	730
3	1095
4	1461
5	1826
6	2191
7	2556
8	2922
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11	4017
12	4383
13	4748
14	5113
15	5478
16	5844
17	6209
18	6574
19	6939
20	7305
21	7670
22	8035
23	8400
24	8766
25	9131
26	9496
27	9861
28	10227
29	10592
30	10957
31	11322
32	11688
33	12053
34	12418
35	12783
36	13149
37	13514
38	13879
39	14244
40	14610
41	14975
42	15340
43	15705
44	16071
45	16436
46	16801
47	17166
48	17532
49	17897
50	18262
51	18627
52	18993
53	19358
54	19723
55	20088
56	20454
57	20819
58	21184
59	21549
60	21915
61	22280
62	22645
63	23010
64	23376
65	23741
66	24106
67	24471
68	24837
69	25202
70	25567
71	25932
72	26298
73	26663
74	27028
75	27393
76	27759
77	28124
78	28489
79	28854
80	29220
81	29585
82	29950
83	30315
84	30681
85	31046
86	31411
87	31776
88	32142
89	32507
90	32872
91	33237
92	33603
93	33968
94	34333
95	34698
96	35064
97	35429
98	35794
99	36159
100	36525