this blog

has kinda gone defunct, because I had various health problems and injuries one after another, and simply didn't plant a garden last season, or this. It's all weeds out there plus some self-seeded and perennial herbs, a few flowers. Borage, nicotiana. I still have the mints, the figs, the geraniums (for now). The chives died in the heat this week, but perhaps will revive with some watering. . . 

I don't know if I'll get the garden going again, but did want to make note of some changes.

One: we got a new cat!

two, actually-

The first one is quite a little beast. Sweet at times, but definitely has her own mind. And she likes to chomp on plants. Has eaten my big spider plant- all the foliage shorter, with shredded ends. Well, now I will be glad of all the babies to start new ones with! (I used to constantly give them away)

I had to give away and re-home a ton of houseplants that would make her sick (or outright kill her) if she nibbled on them. And I'm so glad I did, because she shows no signs of stopping. My Pilea peperomioides has bite marks in all the leaves. And the second cat we adopted, the tortie- she likes to dig in the dirt of my parlor palm. I'm sweeping up and replacing dirt in there all the time.

I kept only a few of the toxic plants- heartleaf philodendron, velvet philodendron, zebrina and pothos 'cebu blue'-

they are on very high shelves she can't reach, or hung from the ceiling.

It was difficult to part with so many, but many went to my brother-in-law's girlfriend, a woman just as passionate about plants, and when I visit her home I will see them thriving. The giant dracanea flowered again the week after she took it home!

Photos of our big schefflera, the only houseplant we'd named (Bob), right before I gave it away.

I had recently cut it back severely. There were plenty of new baby leaves growing

Some stem pieces I had cut and dipped in rooting hormone, the leaves all dropped off and I thought they were done for, but I pulled one out and after weeks and weeks, there were roots finally growing at the base of the cutting. So I was looking forward to see if those finally sprouted new leaves. Maybe they will and I will see someday.

I was most sad, to part with my angelwing begonias. These were cuttings I'd just started of the narrow-leaved one (forget the variety name at the moment)

And all my different coleus. They're planted outside in the front beds or in pots now, but I won't be bringing cuttings inside to keep over winter again. Toxic. I can't even name now, all the ones that are gone- but it was well over half my collection. Two-thirds or even three-quarters of it.

I do still have most of the semi-succulents, the creeping charlie (sweedish ivy), boston fern (shabby but regrowing), most of my african violets, and the zygo cactus. That's about it. For now.

Someone had just offered me cuttings of her zz plant, one I'd always wanted to have, but I had to decline. That one's toxic too. It's just not worth the risk. I know I'll never teach this cat not to chew on plants when she's bored (or antsy that dinner's not getting served fast enough). But we already love the kitties too much, they are more to me than plants right now.

the coleus

I potted up all my cuttings. More than I'd planned on, took the ones off the aquarium and put them in pots too (changed my mind on that). I liked the look of this handful of the 'witchy' cuttings in a jar, with all the growing roots visible,

but those got potted too.

(Parent plant looking good still)

My favorites are in the kitchen window

and almost every other too

Lots of these 'gay delight' as well

Disappointingly, the 'exhibition limelight' that used to make such big leaves, is puny this year

and the crazy 'rodeo drive' cuttings faltered as well (half of them got mold and I removed lots of icky leaves/stems)

Not pictured but doing fine: the 'kiwi fern'. Have been pinched, and growing new leaves already. Since houseplants, here's a few more: 

I took cuttings from the pot of arrowhead

and put them in a jar of water to start more stems

and now that it looks nicely recovered, here's a photo of my shiny begonia

window tank stuff

I put coleus cuttings across the back of my fish tank. Hoping the roots will make Tucker feet more sheltered, as I took off the background panel. We have over a week of rain predicted, the overcast skies already here. His colors are definitely less bold when the tank is brighter lit. But I don't want it so dim the plants lack enough light.

I also took more cuttings for the windowsill of my two favorites, just because.

This one has been looking great in its new spot (for the summer) just in front of the porch under those shrubs I cut back. Even though when I brought some pieces in, found tiny leafhoppers on them. Hope I didn't miss one or it will be an issue for my indoor plants.

There is more melt, all across the tank. I tested water parameters- ammonia is zero, nitrates between five and ten. I'm not going to do a water change this week- after so many on disaster day- but will dose the leaf zone again.

There's this piece of plastic I've always had on the back corner of the tank, to keep water splash from the sponge filter from dripping out and down the back of the tank. And getting all over the lip of the rim under the glass lid. It's not perfect, but it helps. This is the old one- really gunky. Usually I wipe it off periodically and replace after a few months when it gets too gross.

Today I cut a new piece of plastic to shield the corner, and held it just under the rim lip, with plastic bread bag clips. Should have done this long ago- it works so much better! I checked after ten, fifteen minutes and there was hardly any water creep.

But it was still coming up droplets and condensation through the hole for the filter tubing- so I just stuck a bit of (dry) filter sponge over that. Perfect now- hours later and the corner is still dry.

It's dry on the opposite end of tank because I turned the second filter off. I'd been watching a film clip of someone else's paradise fishes, how gorgeous and healthy they looked, and his tank has no tech at all. More plants than mine, though. And went back to my readings about paradise fishes, remembered that really they like very still water. No flow at all is often recommended. After seeing how much better my fish fared without companions, I wondered if I ought to follow this as well. 

I'm not quite bold enough to turn off both sponge filters, yet. Maybe after there's more plants grown out, and the water stays good quality. Should, with just one fish in here now. I bought a new mini siphon too, one that's a better size fit for this tank.

And I have these crypt balansae (with maybe a few spiralis or retrospiralis among them, can't recall) saved from the last angelfish tank. I couldn't bear to throw them in the compost with the rest of the discarded plants. They're in my taller vase- but of course cramped for space.

Looks like they're surviving okay, though. I want to plant them in the 33L, but worried about giving Tucker whatever disease the angelfishes died of. I think if I'm going to move the plants in there at all, I should wait several months to do so, hoping the pathogen will die by then.

so very busy

and glad to be, but man am I tired at the end of the day. So not always finding time to jot down what I did, and now I have a backlog of pictures already. Last night it was supposed to get just below fifty degrees, so I took precautions and mulched a bunch of plants in the yard (remembering how I almost lost a cranesbill to the cold before) and brought a few tender ones inside. Here's stevia next to the citrus geranium- grown all tall from the summer- it does have a bit of dried leaf tips curling, but I can't tell if that's from chill or insects

My lemon geranium had issues earlier. I'd slowly noticed that it was very sparse on foliage- usually there's always a few leaves turning brown that I trim off, but this end of summer it was so thin! I was out on the deck picking off dead leaves and suddenly noticed when the plant moved from my touch, tiny white bugs fell and flitted off. It was teensy pale aphids. I made a quick spray of dishsoap, water and a drop of oil. Sprayed that plant all over- and then for the next few days checked by shaking it gently- no more bugs disturbed. Now it's looking so much better!

I also took cuttings of the coleus to bring inside- not necessary yet as it turned out- none of the plants outside died from cold! but well, I have some now as 'insurance'. I skipped the orange-and-lime one, it's just not sppealing to me anymore. Got the all the others- 

plus two more 'exhibition limelight' not pictured, and this group of 'kiwi fern' I actually clipped several days earlier, because I went outside and found an animal had bitten off the top of my plant! I think it was a rabbit.

While I was at it, took a few cuttings to restart of the witchy one that has always stayed indoors- just for the heck of it-

and because it was sitting nearby and looking particularly nice, here's the waxy begonia (I don't remember its real name). It was doing awful just a few weeks ago- I had forgotten to water some plants often enough- but I trimmed it, took a bunch of cuttings to restart, and watered it every other day for a while. Even gave away a second pot of it. Now doing great!

indoor stuff

I forgot to mention, but over a month ago I got a few new houseplants from someone taking cuttings in the neighborhood. This is string of hearts plant. So small!

I've since cut it back to one leaf set on the single rooted stem, and pieced the rest out into three parts to root again in water.

This one I think is supposed to be 'Cebu blue' pothos. It's leaves aren't as elongated as I've seen in other pictures, so I'm not sure if that identity is correct?

Here's another not sure of anymore- this plant when my husband bought it for me, was labeled as a monstera deliciosa, or swiss cheese plant. Mine's doing better now it stays where there's more light. I thought the leaves would get a lot bigger, and have a more broad shape, but maybe it will do that when it matures.

I recently took a few cuttings of this begonia (which I can't remember the name of right now!) and cut back hard the 'black witchy' (or whatever it's called) one just visible behind it the upper right corner, kept most of that as cuttings for new plant 

My little 'frosty' begonia is doing better in its new location.

The pilea has gotten taller- I'm starting to think I should cut it back

No picture of my madagascar palm, which survived the winter in a warmer spot but didn't get enough light there, so the leaves are all very small (as short as the thorns!) Sad to say my crown of thorns plant is all dead. 

Upstairs, I noticed my goldfish plant has a few bare spots. Trimmed some stems that were growing crosswise each other, am trying to start them rooting in water. Before, I've just stuck the stems in the soil and they didn't seem to take. Maybe this will work better.

some green

My coleus are the only plants I'm tending right now that will go out into the ground. The orange/lime ones have done the best this winter:

'Kiwi fern' is also in pretty good shape

 Some of the others- not so much. In the past few years the crazy 'rodeo drive' one was always thriving, but now some of those have the sickly look, and I threw out two pots of it entirely.

The one with purplish stripes (I'm forgetting names right now) and pale 'Limelight' are also puny- I only have one of each. Hope to propagate more when they get a bit bigger.

Thank goodness another favorite, the bright one I pinched years ago- I feel sure I learned the name of this one too, but now can't recall it either

 Didn't notice until now, taking pictures, but I seem to have finally lost the pink 'watermelon' variety. I probably only had one cutting of it in the fall, and I guess it was among those that withered and got thrown out. The one I like so much that it's always lived indoors, is still doing grand, though!