Sunday 17 March 2024

Several wheelbarrow loads later ๐ŸŒฟ

 

In case you were wondering where I'd gone , I had a bit of a nasty old migraine and had to take a break from moving plants , embroidery or even looking at the computer screen .

I'm ok. again now and have pretty much filled the left-hand side of the new greenhouse .

I remembered that I'd left this big Agave utahensis (the truly evil one !๐Ÿ˜ฑ) outside .

Until the old greenhouse was pulled down , it was kept in the furthest corner under the greenhouse bench , only getting the odd drops of water from when I watered the cacti above . In fact  I don't think I 've actually gone to specifically water it for a couple of years and it looks as though it has really enjoyed the rain and puffed itself up with renewed vigour .

 Into the corner it goes with all the other dangerous beauties !

 I grew this from seed that I bought from the British Cactus and Succulent Society many years ago .

The thing with an Agave is that no matter how big the pot is that you put it in , it will quickly grow into it and then stop . If you don't re-pot it then it will make off-shoots ,which I noticed this one has . I decided that this one was big enough and so I have put it into this pot and there it must stay forever more now as it would be far too dangerous to set it free in my garden .  I already have three or four less dangerous ones in the garden .

Tomorrow I will take a closer look to see if I can separate the off-shoot  . ...and send it to some other botanically insane person to love .


Here we have from left to right Epiphyllum var "Curt Backeberg " A couple of Epie cuttings , a beautiful Aloe that my brother gave me , somewhere in there is a plant label , unfortunately at this time it is swathed in cobwebs and I don't want to put my hand in !  I have already had a few nasty surprises whilst moving all my plants , I had to try and not look as I moved them for fear I'd drop or throw the pot !  

The plant behind the Aloe was sold to me as being Rhipsalis elliptica , although I'm thinking now that it might be Rhipsalis pachyptera .    Can anyone out there identify it for me please ? 

It was looking very sad after having been in the shed over winter and while the new greenhouse was being built .

I re-potted it into a hanging basket and stood it in the lovely terracotta pot ,where it can stay and recover until I fix up another hook to hang it from . It has lovely red phylloclades .... (leaves ) .

 I also need to put a big hook up in the beam from which to hang my lovely old Chinese lantern . 

         Some of the less dangerous Agaves..like Agave americana , Agave salmiana ferox , Agave medio-picta alba . Some of which I have grown from seed , some which were off-shoots .
                   Less dangerous but they still bite !

I brought in some of the Agave pups (offsoots ) and that has made room for my new season vegetable seedlings . The tomatoes are already doing well in their 3"pots and now there will be space to bring down the Sweet Pepper seedlings from my bedroom windowsill .

The sun shone all day ! It was warm . So nice to be able to open the windows  , after all the rain .  


One more pic of the Albuca bracteata ,  more familiarly known as the Pregnant Onion . Here we have a pot full of fast growing babies !

          The rain returns next week  .... and the grass never stops growing in Cornwall .

                                                   ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿ’š๐ŸŒฟ


Tuesday 12 March 2024

๐ŸŒฟWheelbarrow load of Epies - no 1๐ŸŒฟ


                                     So here come the Epies !


                               Wheelbarrow load number one .


I put them in , but I think there was another tray of them that should go in first . 

Stands thinking ...

    they all need repotting and where did I put the other tray of Epies ?  

I have to get all the Epiphyllums in , as they should all be beginning to show flower buds soon .  

I hope they haven't suffered too much from being moved about .  

Dreaming about beautiful Epie flowers , usually about the beginning of May .

                                        Epiphyllum "Marilyn Monroe"    

 Get called in for lunch .  

               ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿ’š ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒฟ See ya later !  ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿ’š๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒฟ





Monday 11 March 2024

Cactus re-potting ๐ŸŒต


 Today I took my dreaming Buddha from his temporary home in the porch and carried him up to his place in the new greenhouse .

Instantly the atmosphere became peaceful , warm and comforting  . 

                   I love this place so much ๐Ÿ’—๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป๐Ÿ•Š️


So time to make a start bringing the plants back into the new greenhouse .


First to bring in the  biggest and most dangerous of my Cacti . These , for safety reasons , have go into the furthest corner of the greenhouse .

These haven't been re-potted for at least fifteen years . Now would be a good time to do it . 


I had to cut the plastic pots apart from these pot bound beasts !  


    Thankfully cactus roots don't have spines ! It would be impossible if they did !


  I managed to drop it into it's next size up pot and lashed it to a couple of canes .


                 This , the biggest , fiercest and oldest Opuntia was a bit more difficult .
I had to cut the pot and find a heavier pot that would not fall over with the weight of the Opuntia . It had grown out sideways ,meanwhile another Opuntia that was in another pot next to it had leant over and taken root in with it . It was the strong roothold from the invading smaller Opuntia that was keeping the big Opuntia from falling over . Are you still with me ?


 So I found this beautiful , really heavy terracotta pot and it was all going so well ......


                          ............ only it didn't fit !


So I ended up bunging it into a horrible ugly big plastic tub and it served it right for slapping me across my cheek in the process . I'm o.k. miraculously no spines got me . 
 So here they all are after hauling them into their corner at the back of the greenhouse . 
Everybody happy and peaceful again !
They all got some fresh compost and when the roots have had some time to settle  I'll water them with some good rain water .......that's when the water-butt is fixed up again . 

                                                 Happy and peaceful  .
  ๐ŸŒต   That is all I can handle today . 
Tomorrow I'l begin bringing in the Epies .  ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒฟ

                                             ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿ’š๐ŸŒฟ  


I sow the seeds of faith . The good actions that I perform are the rain that waters the seeds . Buddha ๐ŸŒฟ