This is the Poinsettia that I kept after Christmas 2022. I repotted it early summer in good potting soil, in a heavy pot to prevent falling over. It doesn't get a lot of care. It was blooming at Christmas and even better now.
This is the one I bought Christmas 2023 and repotted not long ago in good potting soil and a heavy pot. Most of the leaves have fallen off but the colorful blooms (sepals?) continue.
I guess I wont be buying Poinsettias next Christmas 😀
This box has been sitting around for a long time. It was on a back shelf in the garage, awaiting repairs. The top was broken into two pieces. The bottom had broken into three pieces. Anyone else would have thrown it away. But I like things with a nice wood grain, and I wanted a box for remotes that isn't plastic, and it was something to play with.
I glued the top together. Unfortunately, the glue ran in the grain, invisible until polyurethane coat was added. Then it showed badly.. So I sanded it off. The glue shows with alcohol too. I alternated alcohol / sanding / alcohol / sanding, until the glue no longer showed. Then I sanded with super fine sandpaper, gave a coat of wood conditioner, then multiple coats of spraybpolyurethane.
I like cedar wood, its grains and knots. It shows nicely on this box. I ordered new hinges and a hasp on Amazon.
The inside was too difficult to give a good finish, and glue showed there too. I lined it with faux-antique paper lining. This stuff is as thin as a coat of paint, and very sticky. It was a learning process and my result was so - so.
I remember the original feet were wooden, but they broke off and were long gone. I just used some felt feet for scratch protection. The bottom is 1/4 " plywood. I finished it for protection, but it's nothing special.
Now I have a box for storing remotes and reading glasses, so they won't get lost and there is less clutter. And not plastic.
The dwarf dahlia seedlings are making their true leaves now. I think germination was about 50%. These seeds were planted in regular potting soil. They were at room temperature, not warming mat. I read they do better without the added warmth.
My plan was 8 cells of "Mignon" and 8 cells of "Dandy". Full height for Mignon is listed as 20 inches and for Dandy 24 inches (Baker Creek Seeds). Maybe smaller if container grown? Since some cells were empty and some had two or three plants, I rearranged today so each cell had one plant.
These are in full sun, outside, during the day and inside at night. They usually get a few hours of LED light to lengthen their day. Watering with Schultz at recommended houseplant strength. I think Miracle Grow at 1/4 tsp per 2 quart would do fine as well.
The tomato seedlings are doing well. With days this week mostly 50s to 60s, maybe slightly warmer in full sun, I have them out in full sun all day and in sunroom at night. Nights are high 30s into the 40s.
The pale leggy seedlings look a lot better now. I thinned them today, one seedling per cell.
Before thinning.
I think they are about to have a growth surge now.
I'm watering as with other seedlings, weak houseplant - strength Schultz with each watering,
I looked at a variety of websites regarding fertilizing fig trees.
From Univ of Georgia extension service, "a satisfactory amount of shoot growth is about a foot per year."
Clemson Univ talks a lot about fertilizing, but also states that in soils of average fertility, fertilizing might not be needed. They also state that too much fertilizer can cause loss of yield, as can too little water.
A website called "The Fruit Grove" discusses fertilizing, but notes that if the trees are already growing and producing well, then fertilization might not be needed and, again, too much - especially nitrogen - can reduce fig production and cause rank, non-hardy growth that is more susceptible to winter kill.
I can't find the reference right now, but another said don't fertilize if there is more than six inches of growth.
I checked how long new growth was from last year.
A lot of new stems are six to nine inches. Some are longer, and Violette de Bordeaux (as noted earlier, probably falsely sold as Petite negri) always has less growth, being dwarf in habit ( I think brachytic dwarfism = short internodes).
Considerations -
I almost always get more figs than I know what to do with anyway.
I normally don't fertilize my fig trees. They usually do fine without.
American and worldwide fruits and vegetables have become significantly less nutritions, as well as less flavor, over the past 70 years. Part of that is fertilizing depleted soils to boost yields and speed growth.
Sometimes I have spread wood ashes in the fig grove. I don't know if that is fertilizing or just soil building.
The fig grove is also a "rest stop" for Rufus. It actually gets quite a lot of fertilizing via doggie. That the grasses there are the lushest and fastest growing in the yard, probably indicates that is enough.
My aim is quality, richness of flavor, and while I might not see or taste it, nutrition. Raising yields, and growing even bigger figs, just isn't on my wish list.
So after all of that, I decided not to fertilize the fig grove. After the next grass cutting, I'll cast a dusting of wood ashes. The added calcium as well as other minerals should be beneficial without causing rank, weak, overgrowth.
I was cleaning out one of last year's flowerpots, and found these. They are Four O'Clock roots.
It's possible I pulled off the growth tops. I thought there was a weed. These look nice and firm. Maybe they have adventitious buds that might grow.
I planted them in potting soil in starter pots. If they grow, I'll plant them in the border or in from of the house.
These are the first open apple blossoms of the season.
Redlove Calypso.
Zestar.
Gravenstein.
I need to keep this in mind if I eliminate a variety. Gravenstein is triploid - I think - so wont pollinate the others, and needs them to develop its fruit.
Still, there will be a lot of overlap with the next ones. These are just the beginning.
I'm curious about how Zestar will do. Last year, there were apples but they were not all that good. Whereas, the Gravensteins were fit for a King!
These were nice mini dahlias. I had bought them last year in 4 inch pots, and planted in a large container. They bloomed like champs.
I let the container dry out, and stored in the garage, dry, over the winter. I didn't know if there would be tubers. There were. I really didn't do anything - just leave them dry, in their flowerpot.
This cluster sort of fell apart. Each tuber has a small growing bud that looks viable. I planted them un a circle in the container.
Here's what they looked like last summer. Kind of amazing.
I discovered that I had saved some GoldRush apple scion in the refrigerator. They were in a ziplock, fallen at the back of the dairy drawer. There was one remaining tier, the 3rd up, to replace on the Redlove Calypso espalier, so I made some grafts.
Where I could find s stem to graft onto, I used cleft grafts. This is a century - old illustration. It hasn't changed.
The main thing with this carpentry, is at least one side requires the cambium layers of scion and stock are pressing against each other. Even better if for both sides, but not required.
There were some locations I thought might be better, but no branches. For those, I wanted to do a traditional side graft. An illustration from the 1860s.
I've done this before, but with bud grafting. That was cherries, in June. This time it's apple in April. I had difficulty getting the scion to fit in the slit, even though I was able to expose the cambium layer, I tore some of the thin bark and cambium and did not wind up with success. So I treated that area of the branch as a self-graft, placed the layers back together, and wrapped snugly.
Then I went with my earlier idea, and cut a thin tongue in the bark, again exposing the cambium layer. Insert the scion into that slit, Wrap snugly, as best I can.
Will they tKe? Watch and wait.
This Hippeastrum (Amaryllis is the popular name but not accurate) was showy and delightful this winter. I wonder if I can keep it going for next year?
Given the small pot, it will need up-potting. I used good potting soil the first time around, instead of that useless stuff they sell with Hippeastrum bulbs.
Since I always inspect the roots, here they are.
The roots look great, despite winding around. The bulbs are sold without roots, so they are all new. I didn't traumatize the fleshy roots by unwinding them.
After.
I forgot to add bone meal. Later.
