It lives!

The Coleus isn’t dead!  In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out these posts for background.  “Molten Lava” is still kinda dead looking, but there is new growth on the stems and they have regained their stiffness, i.e. they’re not limp anymore (viagra for plants perhaps?).  It is still outside in the baking sun on our patio and I water it in the mornings.  So I’m not sure what to think of it at all.  Is it dead?  Living?  Is it a zombie Coleus?

More importantly, why am I obsessed with this plant? lol

Jibber Jabber

I’m proud to say that I’ve not bought a plant for a few days now.  Yay me!  Well, I guess techinically I did buy one, an African violet for the boy’s teacher, but since I don’t get to keep it, it doesn’t count.

The “Molten Lava” Coleus is definitely on its way to being very dead.  I staked it up and repotted it, put it in a bright shady spot outside and its still droopy as all hell.  I’ll give it a few more days to see what happens.

My Aspidistra is just there.  I know that they are slow growing, but mine is very slow growing.  Of course, I don’t have vast resevoirs of patience either, so perhaps that has something to do with it.  I just repotted it and it perked up quite a bit.  I also gave it a bit of the worm poop food (which is amazing stuff) and it seems as if the color is a bit brighter now.    That could just be wishful thinking on my part.

My Christmas cactus is setting some new blooms – I’ve had the best luck with it!  I purchased it last November (actually on my 30th…errrr…29th  birthday) and it bloomed in December, then again in late February/early March.  The Spring cactus is happily growing and the new little pads are just the cutest things!  I keep calling the boy and the boyfriend over to marvel at the cuteness and they just don’t get it.

My Jades keep getting mealybugs and that pisses me off (see previous posts here and here).  I’m just keeping on with what I’m doing as it seems to keep them at bay for a month or so, but sheesh, it is really frustrating.  And, to be honest, the mealybugs creep me out.

The palm tree is thriving!  As is the bamboo and most of the plants that are outside right now.  I am not sure what I’m going to do with all these plants in the winter time as most of them will need to come back inside.  But, I’ll deal with that when it happens.

Additions, Part V

  • Variegated Rubber Tree
  • Maranta
  • Coleus – I don’t remember the name, but it is a great 1970′s orange color.

RIP, “Molten Lava” Coleus

At least, I think that it is dead.  On Sunday morning it was standing up nice and proud, no droopy leaves or anything.  That afternoon, it was bending over and the top halves of the stems were limp.  I immediately gave it a good soak, but alas, it is still weepy.

I still have it in the kitchen, in indirect light, but I fear it is hopeless.

But, I am googling while I write this and I have discovered that you can stake a Coleus when it gets to a certain height.  Perhaps I’ll give that a go -  perhaps I’ll be able to reanimate the plant!

Mealybugs…again

OMG, they are back!

The mealybugs.

On both my finger jade and normal jade.    Thank goodness not on the variegated jade.  So, tomorrow will be spent with the rubbing alcohol and qtips again.

I hate mealybugs – they are my nemisis.

Incidentally, one of my Coleus has taken a turn for the worse.

Additions

In the past two weeks, I have bought just a few plants.

  • 2 Coleus (“Kong” and “Molten Lava”)
  • Rhipsalis
  • Caladium bulbs
  • Sempervium
  • Laurus nobilis (Sweet bay)
  • Herbs – lavender, chives, greek oregano
  • 2 unidentified plants

The Lavender is in addition to the 3 other Lavenders that I’ve got potted already.  I now have two pots of chives – one that I can chop on and the other that is growing very well.  The Greek oregano is in addition to the Cuban oregano that I already own.  Both have totally different flavors and I can’t wait to do a mix of the two together.  The Caladium bulbs are a total experiment.  They were 50% off at my local bigbox so I thought “What the hell” and picked them up.  I ordered the sweet bay online and I hope that it will show up in good shape.  I couldn’t resist adding the Sempervium to my little collection of succulents.  I picked up the “Kong” Coleus just because I liked the combo of bright green and pink leaves.  It also is a shade lover, so that works well for me.  The “Molton Lava” Coleus was to satisfy the young person in the house, who wanted a plant of his own.

The Rhipsalis was an impulse buy, although I’d had my eye on it for a while.  On the way home, I stopped several places, leaving the plant in the car (on a very hot day) and it got quite wilty.  As a result, all of the nifty branching on the ends has shriveled up.  I’m trying to salvage as much of the branching as I can, so it has been sitting in a shady, warm spot in the house for the past few days.  The main part of the plant is fine, I just hate to lose the branching.

Once I figure out what the mystery plants are, I’ll post pics.

Tomorrows project is bulbs – planting the Caladiums and prepping the daffodils for storage until fall.  Wish me luck.

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