Epiphyllums in the Greenhouse - update

 

                Epiphyllum Curt Backeberg beginning to fade now .

I always feel a bit sad when these flowers begin to fade and wither away .

                    Epiphyllum Clown

However , it will be exciting to see what comes from having crossed these two beauties .

The flower is withering away , but the seedpod is swelling .

                                       Epiphyllum Yellow

I also pollenated the bottom two flowers of this one . Named and sold to me as being E.Yellow , although it is actually very pale yellow on the outer petals and more ivory on the inner petals  .

  I would like to rename it Epiphyllum  Cornish Clotted Cream !

So I pollenated it with this one below ......

.....which was sold to me as E. Acapulco Sunset .  Sadly, as it turns out , I don't think it is Acapulco Sunset .  It is a Giant variety for sure and these giant ones are hard to find here in the U.K.

  These were the only flowers open at the same time .  I only pollenated the two bottom flowers of the one on the left. Epiphyllum Yellow . There was plenty of pollen .

And here are the seed pods forming .

The two unpollinated flowers dropped off completely . 

Very exciting to see these seed pods swelling !

The ripening can take between six and twelve months . Exciting ! 

 To be updated !  

                                          🌿💚🌿

Cosmos 🌿

 

                 Good morning my friends ! 

Here I am tidying up my Agaves yesterday . I still have a few more to repot , but I wanted to give you an update on my Cosmos seedlings .

I sowed these around the beginning of April .

They came up almost overnight !

     I probably sowed them a bit too thickly , but they were easy to prick out and pot on . 

They grow really fast after potting them on .

In previous years I have pinched them out and by doing this ,they put out side shoots and become sturdier and bushier plants .

Here's one I did earlier , you can see the two new side-shoots .

The other thing I have done is to gently stroke them . This also makes them grow stronger .

What I only recently learned , is that you can prepare the pinched out tops as cuttings ! 

 I didn't quite believe this as they seem so delicate and frail ....but I thought I'd give it a go .....nothing to lose !

I gently stuck them into two pots of compost and put them into this old washing up bowl standing in about a quarter of an inch of water .

 

I sprayed them with a mist and just kept an eye on them over the following week or two .

 I thought they would all pass out and that I'd find them all flopped over , dead .....but no .... 

I kept checking them and yesterday I could see some roots coming out of the bottom of the pot !  Yay !

So I pulled them all out  to have a proper look......wow !  🤩✨🎉🎈🥳

That feeling of being incredibly wealthy ! 🥳🎈🎉✨🤩 I suddenly have twice as many Cosmos plants !  🤩

 ( I wouldn't actually know how that would feel , but it is how I imagine I'd feel )

                             🌿🩷   I'm in love ! 🤍🌿

All potted up !  I will give them a few days to get their roots down into the compost . 

  It's forecast to be warm again over this coming weekend . 

I might plant them out after that .

                                    Very happy me !

Other happy news ......

                                 We have cucumbers !!  😃🌿

                                  Proper long cucumbers !

I have grown Merlin and Carmen this year , I think these long ones are Carmen .

I'm waiting for some string to arrive , so that I can fix up support for them . At the moment they are scrabbling happily around all over the place , but very healthy !

                              That's all fer today folks !

                             🌿🤍Peace and Love 🕊️🌿

                                       🌧️🌦️🌧️🌧️🌧️

🌸The Beauty and the Beast 🌿

      Epiphyllum Carl Backeberg hasn't faded yet .....so beautiful ! 

 Meanwhile in the shed ....

                              Agave salmiana ferox

                                     The beast !

                   Actually lots of little beasties !

             🌿 Agaves 🌿

These had all been left in a corner outside , some have been outside all winter and others brought outside to make space for the tomato plants in the greenhouse .

           So I put on some nice music and got stuck in .

           Cutting off all the dead leaves .

Pulling off as much of the dead stuff as I can . 

            It is best to tug the dead leaves off down to the root .  

 Then to really pamper them with fresh compost , grit and perlite .

 I love the smell of the earth . This is very therapeutic work !  

                    That should make them happy !

       I have a few more of these to tidy up and label if I can . Time for lunch .

              Maybe I'll do some more later on .

                                Peace and Love

                                             Debbie x

                                         🌿🌵🌴💚🌿