Pictures From Sunny California

I recently took a trip to southern California and WOW am I jealous! Plants, plants everywhere! It always amazes me to see pretty much all of my houseplants used as garden plants in CA. 

So of course, I was the crazy tourist snapping pictures of plants. I'm sure people were wondering about me, but I'm used to the weird looks! Here are some of the pictures I took during my trip.

Cyclamen

Check out this Cyclamen garden.

It's so beautiful with the Christmas decorations!









The picture doesn't do it justice, but this Agave was 6-8 feet tall, HUGE. There were tons of babies growing around it too. This is the largest Agave I've ever seen, it has to be several decades old.

The spikes on the thing were lethal too. It's funny because this plant was right next to a biking/walking path that curved right before getting to the plant (I'm quite sure the path was built around the Agave).

So basically, if a biker wasn't paying attention, they could easily crash right into the plant and...well let's just say the Agave would be in better shape than the biker. Ouch!

Aloe with blooms

These Aloe plants with the orange blooms stopped me in my tracks. The colors were so bold and gorgeous!

The coolest part was that there were hummingbirds flying all around the flowers. I tried to get a picture of one, but they were too fast.

If anyone knows what type of Aloe plant this is, please let me know. I would love one of these for my collection!!

Succulent garden

These next two pictures are of a cool succulent garden I saw.

Succulents are my favorite type of plants.

Succulent garden

I was planning on putting in a zone4 hardy cactus and succulent garden this summer in the backyard, and the garden in these pictures will be my inspiration.

It's difficult to tell from these pictures, but this garden had a bunch of different types of succulents, I couldn't identify all of them.










This is a picture of another HUGE plant, a philodendron. I have a similar plant in my collection at home.

Cut-leaf Philodendron (?

I believe the one in this picture is a Cut-leaf Philodendron, but I'm not sure.

Wow! The leaves alone on this plant had to be 3-4' long!!  (ehem, I won't talk about the size of my similar plant)


Last but not least is this awesome Staghorn Fern I saw, next to a beautiful blooming hibiscus. Again, the size of this plant was impressive.

Staghorn Fer

This thing was gigantic. It was about 4' tall. Amazing!

Sadly, I had a pathetic Staghorn fern at home in a 4" pot for about 3 years and it finally gave up and died this winter.


It makes me sad that I have to struggle so hard to keep these plants alive at home, and they grow like weeds in CA. Well, I'm sure there are gardening challenges there that we don't have here...right?

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If you have any questions about gardening, or ideas for a topic you'd like me to write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. You can also post something on my Facebook page.
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Containers for Winter Sowing Seeds

Now that the holidays are over and my Christmas decorations are packed away, it's time for me to start thinking about winter sowing. Ever since I wrote my first blog post about winter sowing last year, I've had several people ask me about what types of containers they could use.

Winter sown containers in the snow (Feb 2010)

As I briefly mentioned in that post, there are many different types of containers you could use for winter sowing.






The shape and size of the container doesn't matter, as long as the container...

• has a lid that lets light through (ie: not completely opaque)
• is deep enough to hold 2-3 inches of dirt
• is tall enough to accommodate the height of the seedlings as they grow

...then you can use it for winter sowing.

The types of containers I prefer to use are ones with lids that are easy to take off and put back on.

Examples of great winter sowing containers

I've heard of many people using milk jugs or 2 liter bottles (which they cut in half for sowing and then tape back together), but I find these difficult to work with in the later phases of winter sowing.

On warm spring days, I like to take the lids off my containers and then replace them before dark. This is difficult if you have a container you'll have to tape every time you have to put the lid back on. But again, this is just my preference.

Some of my favorite types of containers include (a few are pictured above):

• Old food storage containers (tupperware, glad/ziploc disposable containers...etc) - you can find these in the free bin at garage sales all the time!
• Ice cream buckets
• Food take out containers
• Food containers from the grocery store deli
• Containers from bakery goods 

Some containers hold up to the elements better than others. I have had containers that start to disintegrate when they're outside for only a few months. I've had others that hold up very well and I can use them for multiple years.

I especially like containers that can withstand the heat of the dishwasher without melting. This makes the task of cleaning hundreds of containers much easier. I've noticed that if they can stand the dishwasher, they usually last longer and these are the containers I can use for more than one year.

One thing to note is that some "plastic" take out containers are now made out of corn, which is great for the environment....but not for winter sowing unfortunately. (and these will disintegrate in the dishwasher)

Container without a lid

What if you have the perfect container but no lid... no problem.

Cover the container with a plastic bag and secure it at the bottom with a twist tie, then poke a few holes in the top.

Cover tightly with a plastic bag

 Make sure to pull the plastic as tight as you can so it won't blow away.

If you have a container that will fit into a gallon ziploc bag, you can put it in and zip it up...but make sure that you poke holes in the top and bottom of the bag, as well as in the bottom of the container!





It's best to experiment with containers and see what you like. Sometimes you have to take what you can get and then you'll know what modifications to make for next year.

I don't usually start winter sowing until February so there is still time to collect containers. What are you waiting for... get busy collecting those containers!

Winter Sown Seeds Sprouting (Spring 2010)

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The Story of a Lady and Her Frozen Houseplant

The other day I saw a woman walking out of a big box store with a huge tropical houseplant in her cart. The plant wasn't covered, and it was close to zero degrees F outside that day.
Bad combination.

At that temperature, it takes seconds for a plant's foliage to start to freeze. I'm not sure who I feel worse for, the lady or the plant.

This poor lady spent all that money and is probably so excited about her beautiful new plant...only for it to quickly start to turn brown and die over the next few days.

I'm sure she'll wonder what she's doing wrong that's killing the plant.

Did she over water it? Under water it? Not give it enough light?

I bet it won't even cross her mind that it froze to death shortly after she paid for it. It was a goner before she even got it into her house. She might get lucky and the exposure won't be fatal, but there will definitely be significant damage to the foliage.

This isn't the first time I've seen something like this happen during the winter here in Minnesota. But it never ceases to amaze me that people don't think this could be bad for the plant.

So think about this the next time you buy a houseplant in the winter. Before you leave the store, take an extra minute to make sure the plant is fully wrapped. Then take it directly home, don't leave it in the car while you run other errands. The less time it's exposed to the freezing temps, the better off it will be.

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If you have any questions about gardening, or ideas for a topic you'd like me to write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. You can also post something on my Facebook page.
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Storing Seeds

Throughout the summer and fall, I collect seeds from my gardens to grow for the next year. The seeds I collected this year are dried and now it's time to organize and store them for the winter. 

Seeds drying on paper plates

It won't be long before I'll start thinking about which seeds to sow this year.

Having them organized will help speed things up when it comes time for sowing.
 
Storing seeds can be complicated. 


It's important to know that some types of seeds don't store well, and need to be sown as soon as possible.

Other types of seeds need cold stratification in order to germinate, and therefore should be stored in a cool location. (These are the perfect types of seeds to use for winter sowing. Winter sowing does the job of cold stratification for you!).

But I am not going to go into the storage needs of particular types of seeds here. In this post, I will talk in general about the way that I store most of my seeds. If you've collected a type of seed that you aren't familiar with, I recommend looking up the best storage method for that particular seed.

So, in general... 

My seed storage containers

To store my seeds, I like to reuse the small containers that condiments come in with take out food. 


I like these because they are lightweight, small, easy to store, reusable... and of course, because they are free!

I also like that they are clear so I can see the seeds. 

Other containers I've heard of people using are pill bottles, baby food jars, spice jars, plastic film canisters, small plastic zip top bags, paper bags, envelopes... you get the idea! Note that if you choose to use a plastic container, make certain the seeds are completely dry otherwise they could mold.

For trading and sharing seeds, I like put the seeds in small envelopes. Some people buy envelopes for this purpose, but I am cheap and like to recycle... so I make my own out of scrap paper. 

4 steps to make a seed envelope

Here is a picture of how I fold a paper square into an envelope. 

(Note, I don't use lightweight paper like newspaper or magazine pages because they rip easily.) 

For tiny seeds, I fold them into a small square of paper before putting them into the envelope.
 
Once the seeds are in their container, I label the container/envelope with the name of the plant, color of flower and the season/year I collected them. It's important to keep track of the year seeds were collected in order to keep seeds fresh.
 

Seed boxes in closet

Generally, it's best to store the seeds in a dark location where the temperature stays consistent and the seeds will stay dry. 

I keep mine on a shelf in a basement closet.
 

The length of time seeds can be stored varies depending on the type of seed. 

I have had success germinating seeds that are several years old. But in general, I would recommend discarding unused seeds yearly once fresh seeds have been collected.

How do you store your seeds?


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