Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

Sorry if this is a double post but I remembered K'Lyn saying about looking at other things in the grocery store to start growing so I had to post this article I found.......

If you want some unusual plants, there are many so-called "supermarket plants"
that can be grown from seed including grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime, date
palm, papaya, starfruit, mango, guava, kiwi, pomegranate, and passionfruit.
These are tropical fruits which have no seed dormancy to overcome as in
temperate fruits such as apples, pears and peaches. It is best to grow most of
the smaller seeds in potting soil rather than water.

It is also easy to root a pineapple top in water and grow a fragrant ginger
plant from a ginger root in potting soil, although it actually is a ginger
rhizome or underground stem.

You can sprout a whole carrot root in aerated water and get a Queen Anne's lace
flower. Use toothpicks to suspend the carrot root in a two liter soda bottle
with the top opening enlarged, and use an aquarium air pump and tubing to
gently bubble air in the water to provide oxygen. Cover the outside of the
container with aluminum foil to exclude light so algae do not grow.

Other interesting plants that can be grown from seed indoors are cotton,
coffee, and peanut. The chia seed from the Chia Pet can be grown into a very
tall plant if grown in potting soil.

Whatever you do, grow several seeds to protect against losses.

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

OMG OMG!!! I found it... I found it!!! I have this plant ok and i dont know what its name is... we call it different here... we call it candle... but today accidentally looking at a cactus page... I GOT IT!!! Its called Asclepiadaceae and this time of the year is blooming little bouquets... and its full... full of little bouquets...here you go...

http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/shoyak...20307Hoya2.jpg


and here is a closeup of the flower

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/27...99688a5d91.jpg

Isnt it amazing!!! I love to see it every morning! Each time i tried to take a photo is not as good as this...

Oh i am so glad! :jossun: Thank you God for making such an internet searching machine expert!!! hihihi :)

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

WOW Harold ...GORGEOUS!!!...Is yours the same colour then? Absolutely stunning and if it is all full...yummy...and how is the bouquet? And yes the internet searching thingy the Universe made ...LOVING IT!! Oh wait...or is that McDonalds...lol...very pretty indeed.

I had bought these last year for my garden and before I moved dug up the bulbs to give my parents...well from one bulb...they now have 5 beauties growing up as we speak...mine are just a little more pink in them but this art I found is pretty darn close. Call Lilly is the name.

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

Good for you, harold. I know how you feel, darlin'. I just love finding things on the 'net that I didn't know. :)

Nef - thank you so much for that piece on growing your own fruit/vegetable plant/tree. I loved it!! :)

As for my avvie tree. I checked her out good this morning. She's about 3 inches high and her root is about 1-1/2 in. long with a couple more coming out. The stem has about three leaves on her and she's growing so fast! I'm starting to feel a bit panicky, to be honest with you. I just don't want to mess up at this point, you know? :lol:

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

LOL!!! You are doing great K'Lyn,if you are worried about the pinching back when the time comes I want you to know the other option.
I have never had nerve enough to do this but one avocado grower said that when the stem (trunk) gets 12 inches high to cut the stem back to six inches!!! They say it will make new shoots on the tree but I couldn't bear to cut the tree to half as high. Maybe I will try it sometime but when I have leaves on one it is to hard for me to cut that all off!
Widow we have the Calla Lilies here and because of our climate we leave them in the yard all year. I have one plant(or group) of white ones that must have at least 50 of them. I also have some that are yellow buy they are miniature ones and it doesn't seem to do as well it only has about 10 on it but it is a newer plant. I love to cut the flowers and put them in the house because not only are they beautiful but they last a long time
too.Here is a pic of yellow ones I found online that look like mine.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n...8/images-2.jpg

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

I hear you girls...sometimes it gets scarey to have to cut back or even transplant, split and so on...but you have to have faith in Mother Nature...She knows her stuff...lol...So when are you gonna plant it K'lyn?? Hmmm??
And Nef...those are gorgeous!! Wow and white ones too...Must be beautiful, truely and seeing how they multiply so fast you must have gorgeous cut flowers as well!!

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

Yeah, they are beautiful. As for Mother Nature... um... yeah, she may "know her stuff" but I'm the one getting stuck doing the dirty work, you know what I'm sayin'??

Anyhoo, I'm still feeling panicky as my avvie's root is growing pretty long and the other sprouts are becoming more numerous. She has four gorgeous little leaves on her and she's quickly outgrowing the bottle I have her in.

Do I keep her in there and if so, what do I do if her roots start curling around the bottom?

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

You can plant her in potting soil now. Please remember to put some bark or small rocks or something to make sure the water drains through the pot without loosing the soil. Avocado trees need good drainage. Don't forget to plant her with about an inch or so of the seed sticking out of the soil.
It sounds like she is well on her way to becoming a beautiful tree!!!! :biggrin:

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

Thank goodness for Nefertiti!!! And the rocks babe go at the BOTTOM of the pot...*smile*...so happy planting and tree-coming Queen!:biggrin: :jossun:

Re: Widow Blacks Garden Centre
 

Oh-oh-oh.... what size pot??? And, and what about this pinching her leaves back? ... When do I do that???!!!

I don't know if I'm cut out for this!!!!!!!!