Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Gardening on a snowy winters day

It was time. Three, almost three and a half, months since the prisoners came indoors I was past due to inspect them for signs of life (of the non-plant kind…an insect infestation), death, and growth. Heck maybe I'd even give them a small drink of water if they needed it! It was a pleasurable coincidence that the day I’d set aside for this activity was the most wintery day yet. How wonderful to ignore this…
…and head down to the basement where I could enjoy this!
What I found most interesting was the change in color of many of the plants, and some of them were changing in ways I didn’t expect. No doubt both the quality and quantity of light (outdoors vs indoors under florescent light) is the culprit. The Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' has gone from a beautiful powdery purple/blue outside…
To glossy green/blue inside…

The Senecio vitalis was a powdery green all summer, and the bottom parts of it still are…

However the top is now very blue.
Here’s an attempt to show you the overall gradual color change, a difficult thing to capture with my camera.
Remember the Coteledon orbiculata I bought at Plants of the Southwest in Albuquerque last October? Here’s what it looked like there…
And now it looks like this.
The new growth is shiny green, not powdery blue. Reminds me of something I read on The Desert Edge recently: "Some of the foliage…has a bluish or grayish cast. That's a mechanism to help conserve moisture, which many plants have, where clouds, rain, and humidity are rare."
I’m a little worried about how it will respond to the sun when they are reunited, sunburn seems a distinct possibility.

This Neoregelia has lost its distinctive brown/plum hue…
And instead is a sickly green, but look it has a pup! And experience says it will color up nicely when it returns to the outdoors in the Spring.

Keeping its colorful accents this Echeveria nodulosa 'Painted Beauty' is indeed a beauty.
The succulent bowl (on the left) which spent summer on the patio table has also retained most of it’s color.
Senecio stapeliformis v. minor...
Isn’t it crazy? Here’s its tall new growth with either a purple tinted branch, or maybe a bloom, at the end.
I bought a Dudleya collomiae at Xera Plants in May of 2010, that’s it at the very top of this photo, the day I bought it.
Here it is now.
The center plant died and has been replaced by these smaller branching plants, I hope they plump up this summer.
Finally we’ll end this afternoon of gardening in the basement with a look at my Aloe suzannae and a banana loaded motorcycle.
This image was part of a photo card we received from relatives who were visiting Vietnam. The husband carefully cut out around the image and it showed up here one day, it looks like they’re just passing through.

25 comments:

  1. I've gotta say the plants look very happy indoors, even with the color changes. It's bound to happen. Seems like you could lessen the chance of sunburn on the Cotyledon orbiculata by keeping it under the shade pavilion initially and gradually bringing it into brighter sun. I love Andrew's whimsical addition to your pot - a former housemate of mine once said that was why he liked living with housemates: everything wasn't always the same as he'd left it...

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    1. Yes things will definitely be "eased" into the sun, once it makes an appearance and the shade pavilion helps, I also find that the dappled shade of a tree (or bamboo) works well.

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  2. So you did get some of that snow! I love getting a peek of your jungle in the basement. Wow, I barely recognize Fred Ives. I'm sure Jane is right about acclimating them to stronger light via the shade pavilion. But then you're an old hand at this stuff!

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  3. Snow has finally descended on to the Danger Garden! At least you've got the basement for a green refuge, surrounded with your lovely succulent collection. My senecio and painted lady are looking leggy in the greenhouse, might give it a chop in the next few days so I get more plants too.

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    1. I gave a couple of Aeoniums "the chop" a week or so ago, it's amazing how fast they start pushing out new growth!

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  4. Nice contrast from snowy outdoors to almost San Diego inside! That last pic is hilarious...good thing you don't use photoshop, or those bananas would become cacti and yuccas! I think the comment on transitioning some plants into full sun is good. And juvenile foliage can look different, developing it's final color later.

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    1. Now that you mention it I'm surprised Andrew didn't do a little agave collage work on the motorcycle before I placed it in the succulent jungle!

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    1. You speak the truth. I've got a makeshift one, the shade pavilion wrapped with thick plastic and a small heater keeps it above freezing (just barely) and most importantly dry. But in my dreams we annex the neighboring property renting out the house and part of the back yard while I use the back section of the yard as my greenhouse, veggie garden, and plant maintenance facility. It's a dream...

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  6. Great post. Very interesting to see the changes. I recent had the opposite experience with the G. Fred Ives. It was in shade at a nursery, all blue and green. Now it's outside in SWFL and went through its purple phase and now borders on purplish-yellow. Such a cool plant.

    May I ask what type of container the tall metal planter is? It looks familiar (and affordable!), but I can't quite place it.

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    1. Are you asking about the container in the 4th picture from the top, on the far left? Actually I bought it at a local nursery (Garden Fever) as a planter, it's not repurposed. Although it definitely has that look!

      Interesting about your G. Fred Ives!

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  7. I keep being surprised by the stages succulents go through (half the fun, don't you think?).

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    1. As long as that stage doesn't include death.

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  8. I love seeing a basement full of plants. A true testament to plant hoading. Excellent specimens, it was nice to take a peak.

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  9. Loved seeing your house guests. I wish I had a basement! Very few people in California do, don't know why. I've got plants crammed in the dining room and upstairs.

    My Cotyledon orbiculata has lost its beautiful red margin, too. I wonder if it's just the amount of light it receives or something else. Mine is outside all year.

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    1. I recently found out that most of the houses on the other side of my street do not have basements, odd. My house in Spokane didn't either, our house is so small I don't know what I would do without a basement.

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  10. Please stop making me want these plants. I just don't have the winter room inside!


    (just kidding of course -- don't stop!)

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    1. No worries...I'll keep the temptation coming.

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  11. You can definitely tell the passionate gardener. Methinks if you had to choose between a warm basement for your plants or yourself, that you would be learning the joys of winter camping. I so love the cyclists.... a delightful touch of whimsy! Thanks for offering me some warmth and green on what is a very snowy day here!

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    1. Even though you might be right the husband would insist we come first. He loves the plants and all but is definitely a guy who likes to be comfortable.

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  12. I'm glad that your plants are overwintering so nice! I've got mine out in the greenhouse and there are still odd little changes that they do even out with all the filtered light. They're all beautiful as always!

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    1. Good to hear that perhaps my plants aren't suffering from being indoors. Heck as grey and dark as it's been here the last few days they probably really are getting more light than the ones outside!

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  13. Your basement looks great for a temporary greenhouse. The baby plants are an exciting development even as some colors have changed. Surely these will revert once the plants are outside again.

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