March snowfall

Too cold in the mini greenhouse outside today!

So all the newly-potted seedlings are sharing space with my houseplants indoors, crowded by the windows. When I get more seedlings started, I'll have to set up the tiers of benches.

For now there's some on the floor-

Yesterday these collards and chard were wilted from transplant shock, this morning have perked up quite a bit.

One tray of arugula is on the worm bin with the coleus plants.

houseplant growth

My solid-green spider plant has two new runners, the white flowers already starting to fade as the baby leaves grow on the end of the shoots- 

They're like tiny white stars.

Young monstera leaf unfolded!

The wandering 'dude' bolivian (haha) is looking better- and it even grew enough that I took cuttings.

I was surprised when I first read that this plant is closely related to the trandescantia zebrina- but realized when I took the cuttings yeah, it's the same in minature. The stems feel the same, the leaves have the same type of structure, only so very much smaller. So little, that I put the cuttings in a empty fish food can.

My peace lily and heartleaf philodendron have been in this new spot for a while- moved up off the floor by a window, to living on a table by the window. It was enough increase in light to make a difference- they both have new leaves growing.

Angelwing begonia still doesn't seem to get quite enough light- it retains the ladderlike upright growth habit, even though I've pinched it twice. There's the two younger angelwings below it.

I was thinking of cutting it in half, and rooting the top to double its mass- but then found this!

It's growing a new shoot at the base. I'm tickled pink.

Not pictured: pilea also has more new leaves, it seems happy now. And upstairs, my lipstick plant has a new shoot! it's the first I've seen that one grow in a long time. Looking forward to its flowers this summer.

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...

plants-

I haven't time to take pictures- but some notes for myself. My big schefflera is in full bloom now, dropping tiny sticky bits all over the worm bin that sits below it. None of the african violet leaf cuttings have growth yet.

Some of my houseplants looked sickly- I think the same thing that plagues them every winter, tiny mites or aphids that come in with plants off the deck. Realized I should have cleaned out all the old bamboo mulch from summer, it was still in some pots. I cleaned it out, topped off some pots with new potting soil. Cleaned out pale leaves on the cuban oregano and cut it back. Cleaned off anemic leaves on the ice plant and dunked it (sideways to avoid soaking the dirt) in soapy water, then rinsed. Lost my salad burnet plant, also the variegated basil and sculpit (no surprise there) and the stevia is almost dead.

Pruned back the lemon-scented geranium and some other plants, they look like will be okay. Repotted the big jade into the ceramic pot my avocado was in, and moved that one into a bigger pot and a sunnier spot in the basement sliding-glass-door spot. It keeps shooting up new leaves on tall stems- very leggy. Not enough light? Looks pretty unhappy for a while now, so trying a new location and fresh soil. The sweet potato vines in the basement spot were looking poorly, I pulled them out and replaced with all the ones that have been on the window tank, which were also starting to look unwell. Give them another chance in a pot.

A long list of ills, but really most plants are doing well. Blooms on the goldfish plant, growth on the heartleaf philodendron, zebrina looks great since I pinched off all the pale leaves. Took cuttings of jade and started new plants. Remnants of the oldest creeping charlie are starting to look healthier, so soon I will replenish that pot with new starts from cuttings off the other plants.

In my angelfish tank, val rubin continues to thrive. Tetras look great, spunky and shine with health. Angelfish looks unhappy sometimes, sits and stares at the back wall or goes pale and hides behind plants. Twice again has fled in a panic when I approached with hand raised to feed them, and crashed into things again. I don't know why.

And I was wrong, wrong about my paradise fish. I think he's got camallanus worms. I see red narrow things sticking out of his anus, until he moves then they disappear. Maybe he didn't eat the missing white cloud after all, it could have died from the parasites and I never saw the body. He's probably swollen around the vent from the worms, ugh. The other fishes in there look fine, but I've read it's an infestation that often doesn't show signs until too late. Must have come in with the guppies, or the newer white clouds, or the plants I got from a goldfish pond at the nursery. Should have quarantined longer, or done a stronger dip on the plants. I looked closer and there's white pale debris on the floor of the guppy fry tank and some fish in the tenner have white stringy poo. I'm going to have to do huge water change and dose with levamisole- tomorrow- no time today and it will be a lot of work to nearly empty all those tanks while keeping careful to not cross-contaminate and sterilize my equipment and wash my hands between. I'm feeling glum about it, haven't paid enough attention to the tanks of late, that's for sure.

begonia speckles

My angelwing begonia grows just as quickly as advertised

Already a new leaf:

And the cuttings that were completely bare, sprouting as well:

Other plants still kinda new here- Aglaonema has some new young leaves, it already needs a bigger pot.

and it's grown a few flower spathes. They look just like anubias flowers!

Peace lily is doing alright; better since I removed some leaves that were wilting with puckered creases. I figured out this was the tiny plant-sucking insect I can barely see but was probably also afflicting my sweet potato vine cuttings on the window tank, and the avocado plant nearby. I cut off all the sickly leaves, wiped all the others down with mild bleach solution then again with water to remove the mites or aphids or whatever they were. All treated plants are perking up now.

On the same shelf- heartleaf philodendron doing nicer now, too.

plant pictures-

I potted up the bright 'pinched' coleus cuttings

and my zebrina cuttings- which had roots just emerging. Put them in two different locations with indirect light, to see where they do better- one is in my room.

Here's some of the citronella geranium cuttings- one under a cloche, the other not- behind them the osteospermum cuttings- a few got moldy and I pulled them out.

another pot of geranium cuttings outside under glass- with the vine pieces- but they're already dying

the one I stuck in the parent pot wilted at first, but has since perked up-

Little tabletop near front room window is full of other cuttings in jars-

and the dwarf sansevieria, which I just repotted-

Potted up the one baby kalanchoe in one of the smallest pots I have- in a succulent mix

Also repotted the peace lily

and moved some plants around in the house. Aglaonema, pothos, peace lily and heart leaf philodendron now all sit below the window tank

I patched together this photo of it to try and make appear more as my eye sees (the top of tank not so washed out). One of the parlor palms is now to the right of this tank- it switched places with the avocado.

The front room becoming an indoor garden.