Revisiting

On the occasion of starting to write again, I took a little trip down memory lane.  I started looking at the photos of my plants taken for this blog, starting in 2009.  It was a tad depressing to see how many plants I've lost over the years, especially in the last two. First there was the scale infestation that took my large White Bird of Paradise, (Strelitizia nicolai) two variegated Alpinia zerumbet and a few other small plants in the sunroom.

The Strelitzia nicolai that once anchored the northwest corner of my sunroom

Far worse has been the ongoing Great Mealybug Incursion, which began some time in 2016.  This devasted my succulent collection, particularly the Echeverias, Aeoniums, and other Crassulaceae. I also lost several tropicals, including a mature Piper ornatum, a large Dracaena reflexa 'Song of India' and several Phalaenopsis orchids. I still do battle with the mealies on a daily basis, to the point where I just put a spray nozzle on a bottle of rubbing alcohol. I carry it with me when I inspect my plants and zap the little white demons whenever I see them.

It broke my heart to get rid of this Dracaena

But there were some pleasant surprises. I was was thrilled to see how much a few of my plants have grown and changed over the years. This picture of my Euphorbia lactea crest is from 2008.

Euphorbia lactea with two other Euphorbias I had at the time.
The grafted one is the same one I dismantled in my 2013 post. The answer
to my question "How will you make is on your own?" is: Not Very Well.
Both parts of the graft died.
  

Here it is today, very much alive and quite a bit taller. Compare the distances between the crested portion and the top of the plant.

Euphorbia lactea, flanked by Crassula ovata varieties

,
Those Jade plants (Crassula ovata) seen on either side of the Euphorbia have done also done quite well.

Crassula ovata 'Gollum' in 2010

The same plant today

Crassula ovata in 2010

The same plant today

Both of these plants survived mealybug infestations, and have continued to grow and thrive, I am happy to say.  

How Will You Make it On Your Own? Degrafting a Euphorbia

Several years ago, I purchased this crested Euphorbia lactea, which I think is the cultivar E. lactea 'White Ghost.'  Since this plant has enough green growth, i.e., chlorophyll, to survive on its own, I assume it was grafted to help promote faster growth. Both crests and variegated plants can be rather slow-growing if left to their own devices.  Whatever the reason, I've never been fond of grafted plants, but since I wanted a white Euphorbia really badly, I accepted this marriage of convenience.

Euphorbia lactea crest scion grafted onto an unknown (to me) Euphorbia stock

But just as it did for Mary Richards, (the title of this post is from The Mary Tyler Moore Show season one theme song) the time came for this plant to break free from its ill-suited union (an engagement in Mary's case) and put down roots of its own.  It even showed me the roots:

Close-up of roots formed by the Euphorbia lactea scion, independent of its host

So I set to work with my knife and pruners, as well as safety glasses and gloves, to protect myself from the potentially caustic sap that the genus Euphorbia is known for.

The patient, prepped for surgery, along with a pot of well-draining potting mix for the severed scion.

I made the first cut straight through the rootstock plant, as close to the scion (the E. lactea) as possible.

Severed scion.  Note the white foamy sap on the cut edge of the rootstock

Another view

I then used my knife and pruners to cut away as much of the stock tissue as I could.  Since I am not experienced with grafting or degrafting plants, I didn't want to attempt actually separating the two plants.  I was afraid I might damage my crest.

Euphorbia scion with as much of the green tissue from the rootstock pared away as I could manage.

Finally, after letting the stump dry a bit, I potted up my newly independent Euphorbia:

Euphorbia lactea 'White Ghost', free at last

 And as for the poor rejected rootstock?  I'm going to keep it and see what happens. I have no idea what kind of Euphorbia it might be, but now that it's free, it could turn into a star in its own right.

The NoID Euphorbia rootstock, potted on its own

They both might just make it after all!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, January 2011

Once again, I am joining the garden blogging community in celebrating Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. I'm pleasantly surprised to have several plants blooming this week. First of all, I'm thrilled that at least two of my Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plants have bounced back sufficiently from their white-fly infestations to grace me with flowers. (If this is their swan song before their insect-induced demise, I don't want to know about it.)

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis with a peach-colored double flower

Another tropical Hibiscus, this one a single-flowered yellow

Also in flower are the two NoID Phalaenopsis which surprised me by putting out new buds on old stalks, which I originally wrote about on November 27.

Yellow NoId Phalaenopsis, which has been in bloom since November

Two views of a multicolored NoId Phalaenopsis flower, which just opened this week. When clicked for a larger view, the second pic really shows off the sparkly petals.

Hippeastrum 'Lilian' is blooming for the third time. You can see the remains of the second flowering on the left. I must get around to cutting that off.

Besides the Mystery Echeveria which I wrote about in my most recent post, the only succulent currently in bloom is this Euphorbia milii:

Euphorbia milii, also known as Crown-of-Thorns. There are two different plants in this pot. The multicolored yellow flowers belong to the plant with the longer, paler leaves; the pink/peach flowers belong to the plant with the darker, more oval leaves.

Apparently, the color theme for January is yellow, peach and pink. Nice, cheery colors for a not-so-nice, dreary month.

Bringing In, Bringing On the Blooms

Maybe they are feeling a bit stressed by the change in the environment, since they've been brought indoors where it is warmer and less sunny. Maybe it is just the right time of year. But anyway, several of my succulents have decided that now is the time for producing flowers.

Aloe 'Doran Black'

Aloe greenii x lineata with bloom stalk. This will be the first time this plant has flowered in the four years I've owned it.

Unidentified Euphorbia. This is the third round of buds since early spring for this plant.

I meant to cut the rosette of this Echeveria runyonii from its leggy stem to re-root, but never got around to it. Small offsets are forming at the base of the stem.

E. runyonii blooms up close. It is hard to get a good picture because of the reflective nature of the plant's glaucous coating, which is why the flowers seem washed out in both pictures. They are much more orange in person. Also your blogger needs hand lotion, since her fingertips appear to have developed a glaucous coating of their own.

Echeveria 'Black Prince' just getting started. Its flowers will be red-orange, if I recall correctly.

Unidentified Echeveria. The "rosette" to the left is actually atop a bloom stalk, which is hard to see at this angle. I think this will be the first time for flowers from this plant.

One thing that makes me think that it just happens to be blooming season, for the Aloes at least, is a recent trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, where their grouping of Aloe thraskii either in bud or in flower.

Aloe thraskii group at the CBG earlier this year

Plants in bud yesterday, with a blooming Yucca (I think) in the background

Closer pictures of an A. thraskii in bud

Plant in bloom

Finally, at least one cat's curiosity got the better of him during today's photo session:

Luke says "Hi!"

In Praise of Succulents: Euphorbia edition

In a post from last November, called An Unexpected Favorite, I shared my thoughts on my largest Euphorbia lactea. I also mentioned that I find Euphorbias in general fascinating, and a little scary, what with their often vicious spines and equally vicious (and viscous) sap. But I delight in their dangerousness, not unlike girls who go for bad boys. And like certain so-called bad boys, who are real sweethearts once you get them home, these have all been a pleasure to have around the house.

The Euphorbia lactea that I wrote about previously. The non-crested portion of the plant continues to grow at a much more rapid pace than the crest. I have finally noticed some growth in the crest this summer.

Another view of the same plant on the porch along with the NoId Euphorbia I wrote about last week, and two small crested E. lactea. At least I think the pinkish one is an E. lactea.

Euphorbia milii. There are two different varieties in one pot. As seen here, the variety with the darker, more rounded leaves has pink flowers. The plant with the longer paler leaves has bi-colored flowers that are predominately yellow.

Known in my household as the "Evil Pointy Plant of Death" my Euphorbia tortirama, here and below, is currently in bloom.

I took particular delight in taking some pictures of Euphorbias during my last few trips to the Chicago Botanic Gardens:

Euphorbia abyssinica variegata, the full plant in all its convoluted glory above, and a closeup below.

I'm sorry that I didn't note the name of this species, but I love its variegation, which can be seen more easily here below. The flowers in both pictures are from a nearby Aloe. Edited to Add 9/9/10: I saw the tag today. The plant is Euphorbia pseudocactus.

Last, and certainly not least, is a Euphorbia lactea crest that puts my little plants to shame.

Of course, I haven't had 100 percent success with Euphorbias; I've lost both Euphorbia obesa and Euphorbia suzannae in the past. But those small setbacks have left me eager to try both again in the future.

The Good, The Bad, and The Birthday Present

Somewhat surprisingly, summer is proving to be almost as quiet a season for houseplants as winter. There is a fair amount of growth going on, I suppose, but nothing to write home (or in a blog) about. My repotting is done, nothing needs pruning, nothing much is blooming. It seems that to a large degree, spring and autumn are where the indoor plant action is.

Nonetheless, I have had a couple of things happen recently that pleased me, a couple of things that have me dismayed, and a birthday present that will wind up doing one or the other. I'm not sure yet.

The Good

My Aglaonema 'Siam Aurora' is putting out new growth, not just from the existing crowns, but from the roots and stems. The pink shoot in the center is easily seen, but the bumpy areas on the stem to its left are also developing shoots.

Previously posted picture of the whole plant.

This unidentified Euphorbia is sprouting leaves for the first time in the three or four years that I've owned it. It has flowered regularly in the past, however. I didn't even like this plant at first--I only own it because it was part of a dish garden along with plants that I did want. It has won me over though.

A picture of the same Euphorbia showing more of the plant.

The Bad

Even though I took care to introduce it to sun gradually, my Echeveria purposorum has developed an unsightly case of sunburn. I should have trusted my instincts, and left it indoors with the Haworthias it so resembles.

This is what my Aloe variegata looked like this past winter:

Previously posted picture of Aloe variegata

I pruned out the center plant in the clump late this spring, because the stem was weak, and would have broken off without support. (It is actually propped up against the door in the picture.) It is now rooting in a pot on my porch. The rest of the offsets were doing fine out in the sunshine until this week. Monday, after some heavy rain over the weekend, I was examining the outdoor succulents, and noticed that several of this plant's offsets were rotting. This surprised me, because this was this plant's seventh summer outdoors, completely exposed to the elements, and at least two of those summers were far, far rainier than this one has been. I'm wondering if pruning "Mom" away without removing the base of her stem introduced rot to the pot.

Seven offsets. I've pruned away all traces of rot, (though I think that small one on the far left might need another look) and now that cut ends are calloused over, I will pot each of them, and hope they root. (I've had luck rooting stem cuttings of Aloe ramoisissima, and Aloe ciliaris before.)

The Birthday Present

My stepson bought me a Bonsai:

Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'

I know absolutely nothing about Bonsai culture. But I do know that this plant was purchased a decent nursery, is planted in fairly high quality bonsai medium, including bark and Turface, and is wired in place in its pot. So it is a plant of some quality, and not a so called "mall-sai." I hope I can learn its needs and keep my reputation as the Crazy Plant lady intact. I've got some work to do.