some houseplant notes

Potted up one of my smaller african violets- from its small paper cup 

 into a regular pot

Took a cutting from the pothos in a sub-irrigated planter, added it to the pot with the one that came from the angelfish tank, and braided cord around the pot to hang it. Thicker on the line from the pole hook to where it divides to go around the pot, idea is maybe the vine will climb the braid and then I can train it to grow along the pole. Always wanted to have a pothos vine climbing around near the ceiling, never had it work before.

It's immediate neighbor is the tradescantia zebrina- I stuck all the rooted cuttings into the pot so it looks a lot fuller now-

and the new stems grew upright this much in just a week

Also removed two small bits of creeping charlie from a regular pot and added them to the hanging one

which got a new string as it was crooked before

It looks better now. Seems to prefer hanging. Stays a lot drier I've noticed.

Aglaonema has gotten leggy. I moved it to a different spot, guessing it needs more light.

Finally, my two parlor palms weren't doing so great again. I suspected spider mites and sprayed them twice for that over the past month. Older leaves have drying tips but the younger ones appear fresh green entirely, so I hope they're doing better. 

I made some Things-

Outside- a bench! from planks left over when my husband repaired our deck. Had some assistance with the power tools- saw, drill and screwdriver- but I sketched it out, measured, cut a few things by hand, braced things and hammered some nails, ha.

It still needs to be scrubbed clean and maybe stained or painted, I haven't decided yet.

Two of the legs are propped on paving stones because it's on a slope. Not sure yet what part of the yard to sit it in- although I already enjoyed some time out there with a book- it's kind of nice to look across the lawn at the garden, from a different viewpoint. 

I'd like to surround it with ostrich ferns and lenten roses, a carpet of aguja underneath. We'll see. Very pleased how sturdy it came out, and a perfect fit for my short legs! (Those of you who, like me, often find their feet dangling, will know how important this is for comfort).

Also, in the bedroom I put up a pole to hang some plants. 

This is one of those things that looks better in person than a photo, though I admit it's not great. After several tries to put hooks in the ceiling or above the window into a stud, I gave up and just propped this pole on top of the doorframe. It holds up my lipstick plant-

smaller creeping charlie (this one needs some TLC)

goldfish plant

and the sprawling trandescantia zebrina- which I trimmed back a lot. Will replant the cuttings into the pot once they show first roots in a jar.

I needed more space on the bookshelf tops for the african violets!

33L full tank shots

Put a backdrop on to take these (click to view larger)

the center:

more of the room in view:

with the usual light behind it:

Short end with large anubias

Other short end with smaller anubias

Angle down from same end-

How I see it when I come down the stairs:

in the house

Recently I repotted my arrowhead

and the crazy 'rodeo drive' coleus. It's the first time I kept one all season as an indoor plant.

Compare to the foliage on the two outside (trimmed this bit off the porch plant):

This one in the shade of upended coldframe has gotten leggy- I moved it to a brighter spot.

For some reason I haven't become fond of the aglaonema. It keeps getting pale leaves that drop off- I thought bugs and sprayed, maybe overwatering? It also needs a larger pot but I haven't got around to it. 

However! It's flowering. 

Looks like the flower spathe my anubias used to make in the aquarium.

Nearby- the plants that live under my window tank- they don't usually get shown off here. The creeping charlie is doing well now

Heartleaf philodendron has a few new leaves

Peace lily hasn't filled in much yet, but does look better than has in the past

Of all the plants I got at the library swap, this begonia is now my favorite. It got tall enough I finally pinched off the uppermost shoot to make it branch out. Also needs repotting...

in the house

Arrowhead is doing better than I've seen in a long time.

Last creeping charlie cutting got moved from its water jar into this pot with others

These bright coleus could go out into the front bed now, to replace some that got cold damage a week ago

but I'm enjoying them on my kitchen windowsill a bit longer

creeping charlies

Potted up the cuttings I had in a jar on top of my bookcase. I'd forgotten to change the water often, so some of the stems had rotted and got tossed.

It's doing much better than its parent- still here on my desk corner- where it probably gets too much light.

But up on the bookcase I can't see the newly-potted charlie well, so I moved it to a shorter bookshelf between two windows

Here's the one that's been by sliding glass door in our living room. Still yellowish. I moved it further back into the room, to sit on the tv furniture.

And here's the remnants of the original pot, recovering nicely now.

Creeping charlie all over the house! Yet another sprig stuck in water to root (from the jar I just potted up, this one had no roots left when I trimmed off rotten stem), and there's a small pot of newly rooted cuttings in my kid's room too.