I like plants. Have I mentioned that? When we moved from Chicago I had to harden my heart and leave behind, sell, or toss many of my Juniors. The ones I kept were moved into the basement during the house-selling process so they wouldn't look cluttery (except in the basement, of course). Some plants didn't mind the reduced light, others not so much. And the move itself claimed a few little green lives. R.I.P. little Juniors.


Rhipsalis capilliforma, and our truly awful curtains

Two plants in particular, however, not only relished the move, but have thrived beyond my expectations! The first, Rhipsalis capilliforma, Old Man's Beard, was in a south window for years. It grew some, it died some, it was cool but never showed any obvious signs of life or joy. Suddenly now it's growing like a crazy thing, and it's in full flower! What the heck?? I didn't even repot it.


The other plant that is exhibiting unbridled enthusiasm is this Euphorbia tirucalli. This also hasn't been repotted lately, but somehow the southeast-facing window is so much better than its old southeast-facing sunroom that after years of not a single sign of growth at all, it is growing all over the place. I guess having dogs crash into it once in a while does it some good!


Euphorbia tirucalli. New growth is strange and yellow but hey, at least it's growing

Pruning the Deuterocohnia

Even though my plants are my babies, sometimes I totally drop the ball and neglect one even though it's crying for help. I can't explain why.

I got this Deuterocohnia brevifolia (pretty sure on that ID) at the Garfield Park Conservatory when they had their post-hailstorm fundraiser sale. (The hoya I bought that day died almost immediately.) Carrying this huge thing to the cashier station was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Those spines are SHARP!

I love this sassy, prickly, historical thing. It's unlike my other bromeliads, being terrestrial and desert-adapted, and it's pretty unusual.

So yeah, I dropped the ball. Moving it across the country was hard on it, with those stiff branches getting bent and roughhoused, and then I put it in front of a window where the dogs can knock into it occasionally. I noticed after a few months that some of the stems had died. I put off working on it (did I mention it's SHARP?) but finally sucked it up and did it.

I started from the ends and worked backwards, removing everything dead. There are some remaining stems that may be dying from the proximal ends outward, but since even the living stems look dead at that end, I will wait and be sure before doing any more butchery.

I discovered in the process that the silly plant flowered at some point. D. brevifolia has green flowers so it's not surprising that I missed it.
I also took a few stem cuttings and many leaf cuttings. I don't expect the leaf cuttings to work at all, and nothing online suggests that they could work, but hey, why not try? The cuttings are callousing and will be planted soon. I invested in some rooting hormone to give them a better shot at rooting.
The stems in cross-section are interesting, very fibrous with distinct dark brown vessels. I don't know what special role the brown vessels play. Desert plants are often fibrous because fibers provide strength with very little water content.

The finished product. Fingers crossed for a healthy recovery!

Houseplant season

In autumn, a young woman's fancy gently turns to thoughts of...houseplants. Several of my plants died during the move to Colorado--some because I left them on the patio too long (my poor violets!), some because they were stashed in the low-light basement too long, some just from general trauma and perhaps homesickness. I went into a holding pattern for a while, keeping the survivors alive, taking cuttings from semi-rotted succulents, and just waiting for time and interest to catch back up with me.

Finally! I am ready to get back into the swing of things. I had left many plants behind, mostly easy-to-find things like pothos and philodendrons and holiday cacti. This left me with a dearth of hanging plants that I needed to correct. I was thrilled to find a great source of cool plants here in Fort Collins - Fort Collins Nursery. I also received the order I placed with Glasshouse Works a few weeks ago.


New juniors from Glasshouse Works

I'll post more pictures later, and an updated inventory, but for now, here's the plant I won at the Sustainable Living Fair in September. It's a croton, Codiaeum variegatum, very pretty. Unfortunately, I know what happens to crotons in my care! I've had it for a couple of weeks and it's already lost leaves. It droops every two days. According to Mr. Subjunctive, it WILL get spider mites, if I don't kill it first. I'll do my best but sorry, little croton, you may be doomed.