Flower Friday - Colourful Blooms

Why not end your work week with some lovely blooms.  For anyone in Southwestern Ontario, the UWO biology department runs these greenhouses.  They're open to the public during normal working hours, so feel free to drop by.  I'd recommend emailing/calling ahead to get a visitor pass because parking can be a bit of a pain.

African Violet

Ambutilon

Begonia

Dietes

Kalanchoe

Flower Friday - Orchids

Now I'm not sure if it's just because Phalaenopsis are so common, but I tend to prefer just about every other genus of orchid.  My favourite at the moment seems to be Paphiopedilum.  They are said to be a much more primitive orchid as referenced by the flower anatomy and colouration.  I think my interest stems from the variation of colours, textures and patters in a single flower.  I believe the first flowers below are Cymbidium, and the second photos are of one of my favourite Paphs.

Flower Friday - Pink

Lovely pink blooms to brighten your Friday.  The delicate petals of the begonia are my favourite.  How about you?

Mandevilla

Azalea

 Begonia

 Camellia

Flower Friday - Orchids

At the moment, I don't have any orchids of my own.  Last summer I ended up accidently exposing my only plant to full summer's sun.  Bad idea.  After only one day, it was burnt to a crisp.  It never recovered and apparently I was so traumatized that I couldn't pick up a replacement.

Luckily I have a greenhouse to visit that's filled with blooms.  It was a bit cloudy, but I hope you enjoy these three Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis plants.

Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) Seedling Update

My little (or not so little) Poinciana seedlings have been doing great.  I'm surprised at how quickly they seem to grow.  I'm actually hoping to give a few away so if anyone in Ontario would like to pick one up or knows of a garden centre, mall or greenhouse that would appreciate them, just let me know.  I absolutely adore these seedlings and I'm glad they seem strong and healthy.  There's something about fern-like foliage that you just can't beat.

Flower Friday

I'm a huge fan of Bougainvillea.  A large Bougainvillea in bloom is really a sight to behold, it's absolutely gorgeous.  They'll actually grow relatively well even as houseplants when given a tonne of sun.  The only downside for me is that they have thorns.  For some reason thorns and I don't mix.  I remember my first experience with a rose as a child.  After staring at a lovely flower for about 20 seconds I realized I had grabbed the stem and had a thorn buried deep in my thumb.  For some reason I don't remember what happened after that...

Thorns aside, this is one plant that I would love to have even though I know I'll be tempting fate.  Some varieties even have variegated leaves and you can see that they come in a variety of colours.  They grow readily from cuttings, so maybe I'll ask if I can start one.  Enjoy the lovely blooms!

Sun on a Cloudy Day

Greenhouse Plants Update

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! :)

Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis) at 2 Months

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

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

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

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.

Move Update!

Soooo... We officially have a place in Vancouver.  It's about 5km from downtown and a five minute walk to all the amenities we could need.  The price is absolutely fantastic!  It's a basement apartment but the owners seem great and said it was fine to leave some plants outside.

Our planned date of departure is Saturday, April 1st.  This isn't set in stone but seems to be the best bet to get everything done that we need to and still have some time to relax.  We currently have just about everything packed but clothing, toiletries, plants, and electronics. 

I went into the UWO Greenhouses today for the last time.  I had to drop off about 70% of my plant collection but picked up a few more things I had growing there.  This includes a Musa basjoo (banana) with a 1.5m tall trunk (4.5ft) with similarly sized leaves.  I'll probably cut off the leaves, remove the pot and wrap the roots for transport.  Mr_subjunctive at Plant are the Strangest People has some good suggestions for moving plants so if you ever need to, he's the one to ask.

I also applied for my passport today and it will be mailed to my new Vancouver address.  Tonight dinner with my cousin and brother, tomorrow lunch with my father and grandma, and Wednesday dinner with my mom.  I'll set everyone up with skype so there are no phone bills.  Plus face-to-face conversations!

What's crazy is that a few days ago we thought we'd be going for June 1st.  Then out of nowhere we find a great property available for May 1st.  Craziness.  We've been rushing to get ready but it will be well worth it.  I'm concerned about my plants.  I figure most will be alright but need a few weeks to recover.

My posts will likely be infrequent if at all over the next few days.  That being said I'll try and post every day when on the road with a map, interesting sites, and an update on the dashboard plants.  Yes I will be starting some dashboard plants and watching them grow in the car!  I really hope this works...  I'm thinking morning glory because Kenneth Moore commented that in a week they've already reached the top of his window.  I'm open to other suggestions as well.

I probably won't be posting many comments on other blogs as well.  Don't worry though, I'll start up again in full force when I'm there.  :)  I'll try and respond to comment made on this blog.  Anyway, I hope everything is going great for everyone and that you enjoyed these randomly placed last images of the greenhouse!  I just remembered we haven't dealt with our aquarium.  Anyone want some Mbuna?  You'll have to pick them up though!

Short Lower Greenhouse Tour

Here's a video tour of the lower greenhouses.  There really isn't too much at this point.  Most of the plants have been cleared out because the lower areas are mostly for labs.  There are barely any labs in the summer so barely any plants.  Keep the audio off because it's just static-y.  :)

Finished University!

Last day was my final exam now and now I'm done university.  It's not official yet because none of my marks have been released, but barring doing something completely wrong and not realizing it, I'm finally finished.  I have been attending school for 18 years!  Junior kindergarten (1 year), kindergarten (1 year), elementary school (8 years), high school (4 years), and finally university (4 years).  It's almost unbelievable how lucky I was to be born in a country where this extensive education is not only available but common.  That being said I'm glad to be done!

We've found a rental place for the summer in Vancouver.  Nothing is formalized yet, but it's available on May 1st.  The price is really good and includes laundry, internet, cable, and energy.  It's located about 5km from downtown.  We probably won't go for May first but if we can get everything sorted out we could leave within less than a week.  We'll drive our way across the country.  I think I'll post every day when we stop in major cities and hopefully have access to internet (coffee shops).  Yeah!!  I'll have to figure this out and give more details later.

No job yet but we have enough money saved up to live off of for several months.  I'll probably find some part-time job while a search for a full-time position.  I heard from many people that they couldn't get interviews and as soon as they had a local address they had interviews within a week.  It's understandable as saying that you will relocate does not necessarily mean it will happen.  It's risky to invest so much time and money for an interview if the candidate won't end up moving.

Below may be the last set of UWO Greenhouse photos ever.  I'll be back Monday to drop off some plants and take some others.  It's suppose to rain but I might take some pictures anyway!  The Hippeastrum look awesome.  If anyone wants pictures of some specific plant just let me know!

Don't worry, there will be lots of more pictures in the future.  Vancouver is a beautiful city with a tonne of gardens and several large greenhouses.  Yeah!!

Wordless Wednesday (Hibiscus)