Around the Greenhouse March 28, 2016

Here are a few shots from the greenhouse today. Most of the plants shown below are for our plant sale fundraiser coming up in May.

Coleus:

Echinaceae from seed:

Setcreasea pallida:

Alternanthera:

Pseuderanthemum:

Hypoestes:

Oxalis:

Iresine:

Fenestraria aurantiaca (AKA Baby Toes)

I picked up a Fenestraria aurantiaca at Home Depot late this winter. I've seen these many times before, but for some reason, it looks like a plant I have a high chance of killing. I have a very green thumb in general, but I have my limits. So far, it has done well. I was excited that the specimen I bought had some visible buds.

Here is the plant label:

Those flower buds developed and opened into these beautiful cheery yellow blooms.

So far so good, but we'll see if I can ever get it to bloom again. I'll be happy if I can just keep this little guy alive.

Living Succulent Wreath

We recently hosted a class on making living succulent wreaths. Here are a few shots of the wreaths we made back in December to use as examples for our class in March. This wreath was made with Echeveria 'Black Prince' and 'Topsy Turvy', and Sedum 'Angelina'.

Each attendee made their own moss covered wreath using two wreath frames wired back-to-back, potting mix, sphagnum moss, and LOTS of paddle-wire. The wreath below was made with Echeveria 'Violet Queen' and 'Black Prince'.

We plant to sell our display wreaths at our upcoming plant sale fundraiser in May.

Hypoestes from Seed

I am growing Hypoestes 'Splash Select Mix' for our plant sale. It is always popular because it is such an unusual looking plant. They take quite a while to bulk up, so I started these quite early this year. I love how you can almost distinguish the different colors very early on.

After a couple of week, the tiny seedlings show above were large enough to transplant out into flats.

A few weeks later, you can really start to see the polka-dot pattern. These are great little plants for fairy gardens, can be grown as houseplants, and do well outside in shadier conditions.

Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi variegata 'Aurora Borealis'

Here is yet another of the many succulents I purchased at Home Depot this winter. This one is Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi variegata 'Aurora Borealis'. I already have one of these at work, but I've had a lot of problems with that particular specimen. All of the leaf edges (specifically, where the white part is) keep burning and turning necrotic.  Maybe this is because this is a chimera? I'm hoping this new plant will have fewer problems.

Like other kalanchoes, this plant will eventually form little plantlets on the leaf margins.

And here's the tag. This specimen doesn't have as much of the pink coloration as my previous one, but then again, it has been sitting in a dim Home Depot warehouse for weeks. It'll probably color up soon.

Surprise Project

I bought a whole shopping cart full of dinosaur toys the other day! Stay tuned for updates on what I'm doing with these. It'll make sense eventually.

 Some of them spent some time in the vice...

Cannas from Bowling Balls

Did you know that cannas grow from miniature bowling balls? Blue bowling balls?

Okay, not really, but that's what canna seeds always remind me of this time of year. Many of the seed varieties come coated in a fungicide. They make the fungicide blue so you know its there (and don't lick your fingers afterwards). The seeds are also laser-drilled with a couple of tiny holes to break through the seed coat.

They come up pretty quickly and the seedlings are adorable!

Snowdrops

I took a walk around the annual gardens this morning. Now that the snow is melting, I can take stock of what needs to be done for spring cleanup (such as repairing all the snow-plow damage to the sod).

These cheery little guys were out in full bloom. Other spring blooms will be soon to follow.

Butterfly House Opens Soon

Our butterfly house is about to open for the year. This chrysalis fell down while we were misting the rearing box (the maintain high humidity). It seems very upset about us trying to help.

Around the Greenhouse March 2nd, 2016

Here are a few shots from around the greenhouse. In the next few weeks things will be filling up very quickly.

Annual ornamental grasses:

Various annuals, mostly young seedlings:

Houseplants:

Succulents: