X-Flower: First Class

Spring Awakening

Conversation Piece [Updated 4-4-10]

This is a protea. Although one may find the cut flowers gracing arrangements from the florist, it is unusual to find a growing plant for sale. So, when we saw this one at our local Trader Joe's, we had to have it. Visible through the back window of the car as we completed our shopping, it caused many people to stop, peer at it and speculate on what it might be.

A month after these photos were taken, the plant was dead. Our primary mistake was disturbing the rootball when the plant was moved to a larger pot. (For those interested in learning more about the care of proteas, here is a good source we discovered after the fact.)

The lessons from this experience are (1) do not assume the care instructions on a plant label are complete (or even correct), and (2) do research the care and cultivation of any plant you bring home--do it as soon as you get home. Why else do we have the internet?

X-Flowers

This is a variety of pelargonium commonly known as Martha Washington (or Lady Washington) Geraniums; in the UK, they are called Regal Pelargoniums. (Go figure.)





The label for this plant with the solid maroon flowers is open to debate. It is also a pelargonium. We suspect it is a mutation of the plant with the white-edged flowers or, perhaps more accurately, it is a reversion to the form of the parent plant from which the white-edged mutation was produced.



Too confusing? Try this then: plants grown from cuttings = clones of the parent plant; plants grown from seeds = anything goes.

Is This ...

... hail?




Then here's some more hail, with a Chinese elm seedling.

Is This Cool or What? [Updated 12-26-08]

And here's how it was done:

6 Watt Solar Panel (back)




6 Watt Solar Panel (front)



Connect the solar panel to a solar-powered water pump, put the pump into the pond, position the panel for maximum light exposure, et voila!

It was good, clean solar fun -- while it worked. Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks, it suddenly stopped working. At first, we thought the panel had gone bad in storage (it was several years old).

Then we began to suspect sabotage.

... Others Not So Much

While daylilies may shrug off hot weather, fuchsias have an entirely different response: generally, they curl up and die.


Fuchsia bud



In flower.






Fruiting -- or seeding. Maybe both.



Fuchsias can be grown in hot, dry climates with certain precautions:

First, make sure that specimens kept in containers have sufficient room for the roots to spread. A pot-bound plant should be moved into a larger pot. Keep an inch or more of soil between the rootball and the wall of the pot. Plastic pots trump the clay ones, in this instance.

Second, water regularly and keep the soil moist. You can mist the foliage too, but the roots must have consistent water, especially when the weather is hot and dry. As we learned the hard way, even a few hours' delay in applying water to these plants can be lethal in summer. A layer of mulch will help the soil retain moisture, but it's no substitute for regular water.

Third, give them some shade. Even varieties marketed as being able to take full sun will have an easier time in partial or full shade.