28 August 2012

new SIPs

I wasn't hoping much of it, but the Mock Strawberry plant I uprooted as a weed and stuck in a pot recovered marvelously. It initially got potted about two months ago and looked so bad at first I didn't even take a picture of it, expecting it would die. I cut it back hard and then forgot about it, but now it's starting to look attractive!
I brought it inside a few weeks ago and it continued to do well. So this morning took it out (lots of nice roots!)
and repotted it. It had lots of holes from slug or some other pest. I trimmed all those leaves off to make it look nicer, and so that if more holes show up I know I've brought a pest inside...
I put it into a sub-irrigated planter made out of a recycled soda bottle. It looks a lot thinnner now with the damaged leaves and dead material removed, but I think it will fill in again soon.
You can see in this photo how long the runners have grown!
My little Creeping Charlie cutting doesn't seem too happy, in contrast. I think it's because I potted it up before it had very many roots. It hasn't been growing any new leaves.
I put that one in an SIP too, made from a smaller bottle.
I think part of the problem was I kept forgetting to water it often enough; when I took it out of the little pot it was quite dry. I think being in the SIP will help it retain more moisture and with the stunted root system that might help it.

2 comments:

MOM said...

The holes in the leaves may be from leaf cutter bees. Look it up and see.

Jeane said...

I never heard of the leaf-cutter bee before! That was some interesting reading. Maybe, except a lot of the holes are also in the center of the leaf, so I'm not sure.