Lantana

We went to preview a foreclosure home today and I found an abandoned but blooming lantana forgotten in an old pot. I took a small cutting to take it home.

We used to have a huge lantana growing behind the shed and it attracted a bunch of butterflies! Some species are considered invasive in Florida, or at least that's what I've read.

I cut the blooms off, dipped it in rooting hormone and stuck it in a little greenhouse. Can't wait to see what will happen.

I would love to have a few lantanas on the east side of the house and get rid of the socialite garlic (not sure that's what it is though). But.....I do have a lot of bindweed / wild morning glory growing there and I'm thinking it might just choke the lantana to death. Not sure what to do about the bindweed......

Maybe keep the lantana in a pot and away from the bindweed

Gardenias

My Mother In Law has a huge Gardenia bush on the east side of her house and I took some cuttings of it today.

I'm in uncharted territory here, I've never handled gardenias.

My Mother In Law suggested I root all the cuttings in water. "Just stick 'em in a glass of water and forget about them." That's what I did with half the cuttings. The other half went in a pot with growing medium. I couldn't find a large enough plastic cover for the pot though.

I'm thinking I might have to re-pot them tomorrow to be able to use my soda bottle greenhouse to get around misting them constantly. I'm curious to see which method works best.

Update on "the other" croton

Update on "the other" croton

I took this cutting on September 24 from what was previously known as "Mystery Plant #2". I raise all my cuttings in miniature greenhouses. They are home made from old nursery pots with a cut-off soda bottle as top. These things work great and I never have to worry about the cutting drying out. This deserves its own post! Anyway, the cutting above had been pinched several weeks before I took the cutting. Pinching the top growth encourages branching, especially important since crotons tend to become leggy.


Now below is the same cutting today, about 2 weeks later:

You can see where it was pinched. To the left and right to the pinched off top you can see how the plant has branched and formed new growth.

Sure, the rooting hormone helps but is probably not responsible for this rapid growth. This guy didn't receive any fertilizer, nor did I water him. I like to think that the little greenhouses are soley responsible for this success!

Croton Petra

Croton Petra

We were showing property the other day and found this lovely Croton Petra half ripped out in the neglected landscaping of a foreclosed home. I had to take it home!It looks like the main part of the plant had died off during the last winter and was then cut down.

Two shoots formed pretty much at the base of what was left of the main trunk and I'm really hoping to be able to get this guy back in shape to take cuttings from next summer!

I know it's maybe a bit late for this but I gave him a moderate shot of fertilizer today and I'll leave him on the screen porch until he's established enough to live in his own spot out in the yard - next spring.

Growing Cacti from seed!

Growing Cacti from seed!

I've never been much into succulents, much less cacti. Today, at Home Depot, I came across this seed packet for mixed varieties and I figured it couldn't hurt to see what would happen, so I bought it.

I have this shallow plant-bowl that isn't suitable for very much but it seemed perfect to grow cacti. I covered it with clear plastic wrap (packet suggests covering the planted seeds with glass). It's now in the guestroom infront of the window.

Germination is 7 - 56 days..............

Caladiums

Caladiums - Even though I brought white caladiums with me when we moved in, these pink ones were already there and they survived the hot scorching sun better than mine. They still didn't seem too happy on the outer edges of the Front Garden, so I eventually dug them up and placed them in pots next to the front door. There is more shade available for them and it seems the appreciated the gesture!

This is the first time I'm having caladiums (mind you, I live 30 minutes from Lake Placid, the Caladium Capital of the world), so I'm not absolutely sure about what to do with them during the winter. I would really like to keep growing them in pots.

My front garden - a work in progress

It lookes like this when we moved in (7/2010). The bed is a nice size and I like its location right infront of the window. Underneath the weeds and the mulch was a layer of big river pebbles. The winter 2010 was pretty harsh for Florida and many landscaping plants didn't survive. You can see the two dracaena bushes to the left and right side of the bed coming back with new growth. The two Cordylines (ti trees) on each side of the window had survived as well but are hardly present in the above photo. Everything else it weeds (lots of bindweed or wild morning glory). A pretty sad sight!

This is what it looks like now (10/2010). Mulch was replenished, dracaenas are gorgeous and serve as stock plants for my evergrowing collection of new dracaenas. The cordyline are slow growers but they're doing alright. The weeds were replaced by boatlilies and new dracaenas. To the left of the entry, in a pot, grows Italian cypress. Next spring I'm planning to add marigold, zinnias and calendulas for splashes of color.

It is a croton!!!

It is a croton!

I'm not that sure about which variety but since it has a long cluster of small spikey looking flowers growing on it, looking exactly like croton flowers I've found online, it must be a croton.

Now I need to figure out which variety.

This poor guy took a pretty hefty hit during the harsh Florida winter 2009/2010, with unusually cold temps and more than average night frosts. I'm hoping the coming winter won't be that hard and I'll get away with covering the croton with sheets if temps go below 32 now and then.

I have taken several cuttings, two of which have rooted and are living in pots now.

I really like the look of Croton Petra and I think I will have to have one at the next trip to Home Depot!

Is this a croton?

I've been treating it like one but I was unable to find a plant like this either in a nursery or anywhere online. It kinda looks like a curly boy croton but without being curly:

It has yellow specks so I thought "Gold Dust Croton" but all the species I've seen have only green leaves. This one also has deep red leaves where it receives the most sun......

I've rooted it successfully but it bugs me that I don't know for sure what type of plant it is.

Addicted to propagating plants?

When we moved in, I took inventory of all the plants around the house. There wasn't much there as we had a pretty frosty winter. Many of the tropical landscaping plants didn't survive the cold spills.

Here's what I found:

Moses in the Boat
Dracaena Marginata
Croton
Ti Tree
Bird of Paradise
Shefflera
Caladium
and then two other plants I'm still unable to identify.

The Dracaena was the first one I took cuttings from and I've been doing it every since. I can't stop! I have two huge stock plants in the front yard. They are very bushy and just by looking at their many trunks, they must have been cut down many times. I take cuttings every 3 weeks or so. I really enjoy seeing them root and grow as individual plants - it's so amazing.

Moses in the Boat - there isn't much I'm doing to propagate. Their babies are showing up everywhere. Once they are big enough to pull out, I put them in small pots until they are large enough to join their bigger siblings in my ever growing "Moses Patch" in the front yard. Love the purple color on the outside of the leaves. The brighter the sun, the brighter the purple. Absolutely lovely! Best of all, they don't mind drought conditions.

Croton - I'm not even sure it is a croton, I'm guessing here. However, I took cuttings from it and while they take longer to root than the Dracaena's, they do root eventually. I have two new crotons so far.

Below are the latest Dracaena cuttings, ready for a new location, halfway grown Moses plants and a sorry Shefflera I've been trying to keep alive for almost a year now:

Even though I'm not even sure where these Dracaenas are going to live, I know that I'm taking more cuttings tomorrow. The last cuttings I've rooted went right into the front yard, not in a pot. I think these might be nice in a pot maybe. Not sure!

The Shefflera - I think we're looking at a few more months in the pot and some more research as to what I'm going wrong (thing won't grow).

Moses plants are no biggy, they'll go live with their larger siblings in the front yard (very pretty display).

Tradescantia spathacea - Moses in the Boat, Boatlily

Tradescantia spathacea - Moses in the Boat, Boatlily

A beautiful foliage plant boasting vibrant green and purple leaves that is used as attractive ground cover in the Central Florida. The color of the leaves reflects how much direct sun it gets. For a darker shade of purple, plant in direct light.

Moses in the Boat is very drought tolerant, too much water will rot its roots.

Warning: this plant is considered invasive in many warm weather areas, including central and southern Florida.

Dracaena Marginata - Madagascar Dragon Tree

Dracaena Marginata - Madagascar Dragon Tree

Native to Madagascar, this slow growing shrub or small tree is a popular houseplant that needs little attention as it is more tolerant of dry soil and irregular waterings than most plants.


If you live in Central Florida, you have probably seen Dracaenas adding a tropical touch to a front yard. Yes, Dracaenas are used as outdoor plants in Central Florida and are hardy to between 30F to 35F in this region.

 




Best of all: Dracaenas are easy to propagate! Simply cut off the top of a stem, dip it in rooting hormone and plant in a small container. Water moderately. You will notice the lower leafs turning yellow. That's quite alright, don't give up. It will take the plant about 4 weeks to root, once that happens, the leaves will stop turning yellow. Give it another 4 weeks to establish roots strong enough to be planted in its new location. Voila!