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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Meanwhile, Out in the Laboratory...

Time to update the greenhouse experiments but first, I'm delighted to once again have Cardiocrinum giganteum in bloom in my garden!  It takes them a few years from the time the bublets from the parent plant are planted in the ground until they bloom.


The begonia experiment which you can read about here is coming along nicely.  So far, the grocery store begonias are holding their own; in fact, they have some of the largest foliage so far.  The Blackmore and Langdons are looking healthy and the tubers from Brecks, having been planted later are a bit smaller.  However the Brecks and Fred Meyer hanging varieties (started in the baskets and hanging above these are farther along.  Higher equals warmer and more sun so maybe that's the reason.

The ones that are farthest along are those that I've saved from year to year in their pots.  This wins for the largest leaves (over a foot long) is this pink American Hybrid from Wells Medina about 10 years ago.  Two thirds of them have been potted up into the terra cotta pots where they'll spend the rest of the summer.  The thing emerging from the ground at the bottom of the picture is Amorphophallus konjac which I'd forgotten about.  Must label those pots better.

Speaking of begonias with large (and furry) leaves, Begonia 'San Miguel' 

Begonia aff. Sizemorea from Vietnam came home with me from a March plant sale.  I left it and a couple of other begonias outside. The others didn't mind but this guy decided to loose it's one leaf.  It much prefers life inside the greenhouse and has produced  prodigious  new growth.



The tomatoes started from seed have now been transplanted from four inch pots into one gallon pots and will soon go into five gallon pots.

From this



To this



They're scattered around everrywhere!

From a packet of random heritage varieties came this pretty variegated plant. 


The two plants that I got in one gallon pots at the hardware store are in five gallon pots and have green fruit on them.  This is Early Girl.  Sungold has a a fruit that is almost ready to pick!   

Citrus have set fruit.  

Interesting but the plants aren't that great looking in pots, the bloom time is fairly brief and it's a lot of work for a few lemons or tangerines.  Do you grow citrus inside?

The tropical pitcher plants are putting out more pitchers and leaves so they must be happy.

These both have botanical names but their tags didn't mention them and I'm too lazy to look them up right now.

Solanum pseudocapsicum or Jerusalem Cherry that came home around December.  I thought it would be sort of a seasonal interest thing that would go to the compost heap but it kept growing, is now blooming and making more fruit to adorn itself.  


Some of the older dried fruits fell on the soil beneath and they're sprouting. Maybe I'll grow these on and give them away next Christmas.  Sounds like too much to fuss with right now.

Sedum morganianum or Burro's Tail Sedum is blooming. 

So is the grocery store gardenia.

While there's lots more fun stuff out there, you're probably bored by now so  I'll end with a couple of Neoregelias that came from the Rare Plant Research open house earlier this month. 

Happy gardening!



31 comments:

  1. Great to see some updates on your fab new greenhouse Peter! Never had mch luck with pitcher plants but yours seems to be enjoying the warm temps in the greenhouse.

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    1. I think they enjoy being watered every couple of days and being in a humid environment. We'll see what happens as summer progresses.

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  2. Wow! Your cardiocrinum at the top of the post is impressive. Mine is blooming, but it's very short. Thanks for the update on the Begonia experiment. I love the one with the big leaf!

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    1. Cardiocrinum is such a fun plant and always elicits comments from visitors! The proof of the pudding is in the eating - we'll see how those fancy British begonias grow from here on out.

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  3. Cardiocrinum?!! I'm so jealous!

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  4. Those are some impressive results from the first greenhouse year. That variegated tomato is cool, will be fun to see the tomato.

    Give your citrus a few years, they produce large crops off and on so this may be an off year. Mine spend most of their time outside. 'Arctic Frost' Satsuma should be available up there soon and you can plant it in the ground.

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    1. It's been fun watching how things perform in a greenhouse vs in the ground outside or on the kitchen counter!

      I'll give the citrus more time because you said so.

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  5. Bored? You could have went on much longer. Love your RPR Bromeliads and that variegated tomato is crazy cool.

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  6. The tropical pitcher plants are so cool... until the pitchers go away and then they're just bleh. Or is it just me? Would be so nice to have a greenhouse to know for myself...

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    1. A greenhouse should go on your list of projects Alan! The pitchers didn't go away on mine, they're still there but now new ones are growing as well.

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  7. Your greenhouse was a fabulous investment, which is already yielding dividends! You're going to have begonias all over the place. And enough tomatoes to start a spaghetti sauce business.

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    1. While tomatoes and begonias are wonderful, I don't know if a greenhouse is the best financial investment unless one were to start selling plants. Fortunately, the dividends of fun, enjoyment, and having a whole new garden space to accommodate the plant hoard is pretty darned wonderful.

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  8. My cardiocrinum looks like it wants to bloom for the first time this year, I'm so excited! Its running behind yours in timing though. 7'8" tall so far, and no sign of buds yet (though I don't really know what to look for). It has two fairly large offsets, which makes me very happy. I've never wanted a greenhouse, seems like too much work, but your posts are gradually sucking me in...your plants are so awesome!

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    1. A greenhouse is work just like any gardening is work but if you like gardening, you'll like . The things that you can do in a greenhouse open up a whole new world of gardening possibilities. You really need a greenhouse!

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  9. Actually, I have cardiocrinum questions for you, if you'd be so kind, since I'm a newbie. Do you dig up and separate your offsets? Do you cut down your seed stalk to keep it from drawing energy from the offsets? I've read lots of conflicting advice. I'm inclined to just leave it in place, all of it, and let it do its thing, since it seems happy. I'm really just hoping it will establish a colony on its own, and I'd really like to enjoy the stalk without removing it. Thoughts? Thank you!

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    1. I've thought about cutting the stalks to reserve energy but they are as interesting as the flower so I don't. I've seen last years stalks decorating a variety of gardens including Far Reaches Farm so go ahead and leave them. I was told that the offset bulbs need to be removed in the spring and planted separately. This makes sense as the bublets (at least on mine) were above ground level and would have less winter protection in that above ground position. Plus, mine always have multiple offsets that would be pretty crammed together if left to their own devices. On the other hand these grow in the wild with no help from humans so probably leaving them undivided would work.

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    2. Thank you very much. Since I have two offsets, maybe I will remove one and leave the other, as an experiment. We'll see if I get around to it.

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  10. I was not bored!! you´ve got so many treasures!! The Cardiocrinum giganteum bloom is beautiful. I bought one bulb last year but there is no foliage right now so I think it died during winter or something.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the peek inside my greenhouse! Sorry that your Cardiocrinum giganteum bulb has no foliage! Did a goat eat it?

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  11. You are making good use of that greenhouse...must be rewarding. That Cardiocrinum is the prettiest one I have seen to date.

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  12. I' m not bored, I' d like to see more. My goodness you are fond of tomatoes. Whatever do you do with them all? Your Cardiocrinum is gorgeous, mine is in bud too. What a long wait it is to get flowers.

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    1. Most years I've grown one or two tomato plants outside. The cherry tomatoes always produced nicely but one plant usually only made enough for snacking. The larger tomatoes usually didn't yield a lot of fruit in the ground as other plants usually shade them a bit in my garden. The tomato growing thing started with a couple of free packets of seeds and adding a few more that I thought sounded good. I'd no idea that they'd all germinate. Anyway, I've been giving plants away and will probably only keep ten to fifteen and be giving away tomatoes come September.

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  13. WOW...continue on! The experiment is a success! Love the begonias : )

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  14. Maybe I should pay more attention to my begonias. Yours are beautiful. That one that lost a leaf recovered nicely.

    Mama used to grow Jerusalem Cherries.

    We never get tired of poking around in the greenhouses of others. Every little sprout and pot is of interest. You know that. I wish more people posted about their GH, and their windowsills and everywhere some plant is tucked. I wish everybody would put up some kind of greenhouse or fashion some growing place for exotic purposes.

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    1. Jerusalem Cherries are sweet plants for sure! I love poking around in other people's greenhouses too! Like your idea of everybody fashioning some growing place for exotic purposes!

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  15. Tom's from seed tomatoes, the few we kept, have been in the ground for several weeks now and are taking off. We gave the rest away to various relatives.

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  16. Only this morning I realized that yesterday's comment disappear. A day late and a dollar short, I want to write again to let you know I really love the stained glass window in the first picture. (Maybe you can show a picture from the inside one day). And also that I've been growing Sedum morganianum for many year, and it NEVER bloomed for me. What's your secret?

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  17. Cardiocrinum. Must find somewhere in my garden to put some. That variegated tomatoe is too cool!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.