Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: New shoot on February 03, 2021, 15:28
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A bit late, but off we go on a new year.
My plant theatre with various pots, crocus, snowdrops and a hellebore.
The perfect antidote to February is spring flowers :)
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I've got tiny Snowdrops but nothing else yet :(
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Pop over this way, Mum, they're just coming out in the churchyard!
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Lovely new shoot, where did you get your plant theatre from please?
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Lovely new shoot, where did you get your plant theatre from please?
Here Snowdrops, although they are out of stock at the moment. I got a voucher code for money off, but even full price, it is a sturdy well made bit of kit for the money and takes the weight of a lot of pots without any issues :)
https://www.sarahraven.com/gardening-kit/pot-holders-and-plant-stands/classic-plant-theatre.htm
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What a fantastic hellebore :D
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Thanks for those pretty pictures, love the plant theatre. Mrs Bouquet
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Thanks New Shoot, might have to think a bit longer on that front. I’ve got a garden centre voucher from my birthday from last year for £100, but a, I’ve hardly been anywhere & b, when I have I can’t find anything I want to spend it on & c, online stores don’t accept them :mad:
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Heavenly hellebores and some colourful cyclamen today :)
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Tulip Ice Stick open during the day and then closed up for the evening and showing the stripes they have on the outside of the petals.
More tulips, this time little mini ones pushing up past violas.
Last one is a tiny gem called Herpatica.
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They’re beautiful News
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Today’s selection are a tiny little dwarf pea I grew from seed years ago. I thought it had gone, but I cut down a large shrub nearby last year and back it came. It really is minute and barely more than a handspan tall, but very pretty.
Then wallflower Blood Red I also grew from seed. They smell wonderful :)
Lastly my twisted hazel which is just breaking into catkins.
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This is one of our common Georgia wildflowers, Atamasco Lily, also called Zephyr Lily. This clump came from a pasture near a cotton field, one the project sites I worked on in south Georgia decades ago, as a geologist. The flowers are over 4 inches across, it is blooming well this year.
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First picture, & I just can’t think of the name at the moment , that I spotted in my alpine trough on the front this morning, & the 2nd picture a pot of Minnow narcissi that have just come into flower next to yet another vase of daffodils from the allotment
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Some flowers what I has gotten in my garden like...
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Some flowers what I has gotten in my garden like...
Can't go wrong with hyacinths and daffodils.
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Good start there P1P
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Thank you both! They're just a bit of colour to fill in that bed until the rhubarb and the much neglected Japanese maple tree establish in the bed.
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Churchyard close by, and the semi-wild 'Turrets' front garden, with a mock-orange in the middle, still wondering if it's a shrub or a tree... (Any tips on how to tackle it would be appreciated)!
It's been just a fabulous year for daffs and now primroses, for some reason!
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Both lovely Mr G.
Here’s my take on I wandered lonely as a cloud ....on my plot :)
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Gorgeous, Snows!
It never occurred to me to plant daffs on 'The Patch' - it'd would have saved us hundreds as I buy three bunches for the house every week around now...;0)
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Thanks Mr G, I’ve picked no end all ready & given numerous bunches away & it’s so lovely to see the bee bums sticking out, a few on the plots have asked what are they for or what on earth do you do with them all!
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We've had this one for years, but it has been too shaded to bloom well until recently. It's improving.
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We've had this one for years, but it has been too shaded to bloom well until recently. It's improving.
That’s lovely, is it an azalea? Can’t quite make it out
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My olive tree with pot mates - Anemone White Splendour that I did plant, plus some Scilla and an Aquilea that seeded in themselves.
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We've had this one for years, but it has been too shaded to bloom well until recently. It's improving.
That’s lovely, is it an azalea? Can’t quite make it out
Yes, it's an Azalea. Happy Easter to you!
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News, that’s a lovely combination
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How old is your olive tree, News?
I was given an identical one several years ago, and it has roughly the same shape, but doesn't get any bigger!
Like your display - early spring colours are just fantastic around now!
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How old is your olive tree, News?
7 or 8 years old I think. It was quite a small tree that I bought in Homebase when they had an offer on. It was under a tenner.
It does not get much in the way of special treatment. Top dressed and fed with chicken manure pellets each spring, then a weekly feed with whatever I am feeding the other pots and containers with over the growing season :)
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Here’s a couple from today
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The greenhouse recorded an overnight low of -2C and the Zantedeschia (Greek Arum lily) didn't like it much!
The flowers have gone brown on the edges and some of the leaves are looking unhappy :(
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Still a good looking plant though :)
Being totally nosey (who me - who would have thought it) what are the rocks and plants to the left? Have you got a permanent planted display in there ?
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Yes, a soil border with a (very rough!) rock edging, this is my 'pretend you're still living in the Med' greenhouse 8) :lol:. The other side has the grapevine in a much smaller border, so the roots can grow underneath the base.
The flower bed had Sicilian Chamomile, Greek Oregano, pink and purple Osteospermums and a big pink Oleander (the origional cuttings for that were brought back from Zante when I came back)
No sign at all of the Osteos or the Oregano after the first really cold snap - but the Chamomile and Oleander look a bit rough, but are still alive! :D
I've sowed more Oregano and Osteos - so fingers crossed, it'll be back to normal soon - hopefully the weather will be as well.
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Sounds lovely :D
You will have to post some pictures in the summer when it is back to its full glory :)
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Tulip Light and Dreamy. New to me this year and I am so pleased with it :)
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. . . But where I grew up in Indiana, we always called them Tulip Trees (Latin: Liriodendron tulipifera).
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The greenhouse recorded an overnight low of -2C and the Zantedeschia (Greek Arum lily) didn't like it much!
The flowers have gone brown on the edges and some of the leaves are looking unhappy :(
I'd bet that recovers with no problems. Nice looking plant!
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Tulip Light and Dreamy. New to me this year and I am so pleased with it :)
Brilliant! Wonderful color and form.
I wish we could grow tulips here. Our winters are not suitable for them. There are only a very few varieties that claim to be adapted to southern conditions.
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This is one of my favourite corners at 'The Turrets'!
These few tulips and the bluebells have been here ever since we arrived in 1989, and never fail to pop up every year!
The rose at the back is a 'Casino' (yellow), which was one of Mrs Growster's presents early on, because we'd had to leave another one at the old place! The other stuff is self-sown after some work there a couple of years ago - we once had a fabulous pink poppy, and last year, a 5ft Evening Primrose cropped up!
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Lovely Mr G a real blast of colour
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The tulips are finally beginning to drop petals, so the only thing flowering is the Sicilian chamomile :)
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Cyclamen basket still flowering in May... it's one thing that seems to have enjoyed the cold Spring!
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Took these a couple of days ago, first picture is sun disc, followed by Hillstar, which I must like because I bought some in the autumn for the pot, then when I was looking round the garden I realised I’d already got a clump in the border lol.
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Despite the cold the Byzantine gladioli have decided to flower to keep the Chamomile company :D
Oh dear, first time ever that one of my phone photos has tuned itself sideways :lol: :lol: wonder why this one did..
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Welcome to the sideways club mum lol
My crinodendrum flowering it’s socks off
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Allium christophii with some blowsy peonies as background for its firework display.
And somewhere else in the garden with a rose.
It seeds around so has migrated all over the place :)
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This orchid is one that I've had since 1985.
The pale flower has been open a week or so, the smaller flower opened last night.
It's nicely fragrant (standard rose fragrance, combined with a hint of vanilla and clove).
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First flower has appeared on one the climbers we planted to hide the compost bin.
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Awakening climbing rose and clematis Perle d'Azure on the garden arch
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First flower on the Passiflora
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Bit of a different one from me. A peace lily flowering. A run of the mill houseplant, but I have it growing out of an aquarium. I blame the winter lockdown and watching too many other people’s projects on YouTube :blush: :lol:
Anyway I am quite happy with my new tank. An underwater view as well so you can see the effect I was after.
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A combo I have in a pot together - Salvia Nachtvlinder and Coreopsis Mango Punch.
They will have to go in greenhouse over winter, but I think I might also try and split them this autumn or next spring and make more, as they make a lovely mix and are both growing like mad :)
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I don’t know about you lot, but I needed some vibrant colour today on a wet and blowy Sunday that is more autumn than summer ::)
Anyway, some summer sun flower wise with Gladiolus Papilio Ruby, Calceolaria Kentish Hero and Thunbergia Brownie. The first 2 will need greenhouse protection for the winter. The last is an annual usually grown as a climber, but I have it trailing over a water butt to disguise it from view :)
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This bed of vincas are all volunteers that popped up this spring from seed dropped by last year's.
They are drought and heat tolerant and the deer don't eat them. I don't encourage them more than throwing down a little fertilizer once in a while and a little water when it's really dry.
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Some orchids prefer growing on a piece of wood!
The flowers off this species are only fragrant at night (pollinated by moths).
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This chap was self-seeded, and grew in a row of fruit bushes!
At one stage, it had over twenty heads on it!
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I had a beauty too Mr G a self seed down on the plot
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I quite like the idea of multi-flowered sunflowers, can you guys recommend some varieties? I've only ever grown the tall single flower types.
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That's another beauty, Snows!
P1P, we usually grow a packet of Unwins 'Toy Shop', which is a mixture of lots of seeds, but they don't get too tall! The one above is probably a reverted one from the previous year!
Last year we had one like this growing in the runner beans, and it reached at least 10', well above the closest bean plant! I had to saw the stem to get it down!
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I quite like the idea of multi-flowered sunflowers, can you guys recommend some varieties? I've only ever grown the tall single flower types.
Send me your address P1P & I’ll send you some seed if you like when they’re ready
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I’m going for an unassuming but odd flower today, which has appeared on a String of Hearts plant. A single small pot bought on line was split to make two, so flowers already are a bonus :)
It is part of a display of air plants and tiny terrariums. The latter are just experiments before trying anything more elaborate tbh.
The mini circular shelves usually sit on a windowsill, but I have screening up to diffuse the light so a piccy taken in situ was too dark on an overcast day like today.
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Here's some of my begonias with trailing petunias in a big oak barrel and some pelargoniums and pansies in a smaller tub. Also see a rose called Eustachia Vye which we chose to make a hedge by the front wall.
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Lovely GG, so bright & cheerful
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Just posting a snap of one of my favorite vegetable flowers: okra!
Okra is related to hibiscus, as you can tell from the flower shape. Our hummingbirds are attracted to the butter-yellow petals and maroon center of the flower.
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Oh wow Sub, that’s worth it just for the flower, not something I’ve ever eaten I don’t think even when I visited the West Indies where I knew it grew. I think I’ve seen that it can grow here but not too sure on that. How do you cook/eat it please? Just in case I’m tempted by that flower :lol:
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Snowdrops, our family favorite is an okra casserole. Okra and tomatoes is also good. The kid's favorite, back in the day, was breaded and deep fried (definitely not as healthy as the first two). Pickled okra is a real treat too!
Okra is also a staple of Louisiana Cajun cooking, so it is common in soups like chicken gumbo, or dishes like dirty rice.
You also see it in Indian cooking.
I will locate the casserole recipe (at least) and post that on the recipe page.
I think that you could grow okra in parts of the UK. Frost kills it, so you can only grow it if the season is long enough. Seed packet says 60 days to harvest, so I would start it indoors, 1 plant per medium sized pot of rich compost, transplant in the ground in full sun when weather is frost-free. The variety I grow is Clemson spineless, it is THE most widely-grown variety (there are other varieties, including at least one red variety). My plants reach 2 meters tall, but I have seen other varieties at our local botanical garden twice as tall!! :ohmy:. Okra will produce more, and more, and more, as the plants get older, until frost finally takes it in the fall.
The ideal stage for harvesting okra is when it is the length of your index finger.
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Amarines on the plot. I had them at home in pots and they flowered like mad year 1. Year 2 a few flowers. Year 3 just leaves. At that point I got fed up and dumped them in at the plot, then completely ignored them. They stayed in last winter because I forgot all about them. You are supposed to offer them protection from winter cold and wetness.
Guess what ::) :lol:
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Autumn version of the plant theatre. I pulled it all apart a week or so ago as the summer bedding was starting to look tatty and refreshed it all.
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This is a good one for the season, it is called by various common names, either Indian pipe (the name I knew as a child), or ghost pipe, or ghost plant. If you're curious, the Latin name is Monotropa uniflora. They are thought to resemble the clay pipes made by Native Americans centuries ago.
It is a wildflower, a true flowering plant, which produces no chlorophyll, therefore no photosynthesis. It is parasitic, living off of fungi that are mycorrhizal with trees. This is part of a clump in my neighborhood that blooms every few years. It's always fun to see them bloom like this.
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That's truly weird and wonderful :D
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This is a matchstick bromeliad. A friend gave me a cutting 4 or 5 years ago, this is the first time it has bloomed for me.
I'll try to add the species name later if I can remember it.
The species name is Aechmea gamosepala (I got the common name wrong too; changed it to matchstick, which is correct).
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It does look like match sticks :lol:
Pretty plant :)
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First of two orchids blooming for me in November. I have had this Vanda since roughly 2013, this is the second time it has bloomed for me. 4-inch diameter flowers, no fragrance.
It's growing in a 12-inch long vitrified clay drainage pipe. There is no soil, bark moss, etc. in that pipe. Just a lot of happy roots.
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I've had this one about 7 years. It is a nice cheery plant, given to me by the horticulturalist at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. The orchid club I belonged to helped the Garden with educational classes on orchid growing.
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Wonderful Sub
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First of two orchids blooming for me in November. I have had this Vanda since roughly 2013, this is the second time it has bloomed for me. 4-inch diameter flowers, no fragrance.
It's growing in a 12-inch long vitrified clay drainage pipe. There is no soil, bark moss, etc. in that pipe. Just a lot of happy roots.
What a beautiful colour and patterning :D
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Sub, Perhaps you are the man to advise me . I have nothing as stunning as yours, but a supermarket one.
It was in flower last summer when given to me. I stuck it in a bathroom and neglected it all winter. Then stood it in the garden. It started to flower mid-September. I bought it in and put it on a kitchen window ledge.
It is just about finishing now. But I don't know what to do now. One tall stem has no leaves. In the past I have cut those off, so the base of the plant has a few of these. It has never been replanted, and I notice it is growing better on one side than the other. I plan to put it in the bathroom again soon, along with some succulents. Any advice will be great, thanks, Mrs Bouquet
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Sub, Perhaps you are the man to advise me . I have nothing as stunning as yours, but a supermarket one.
It was in flower last summer when given to me. I stuck it in a bathroom and neglected it all winter. Then stood it in the garden. It started to flower mid-September. I bought it in and put it on a kitchen window ledge.
It is just about finishing now. But I don't know what to do now. One tall stem has no leaves. In the past I have cut those off, so the base of the plant has a few of these. It has never been replanted, and I notice it is growing better on one side than the other. I plan to put it in the bathroom again soon, along with some succulents. Any advice will be great, thanks, Mrs Bouquet
Mrs B., I will try to help if I can.
I will hazard a guess that your grocery store orchid is a type of moth orchid (the genus is Phalaenopsis). Look that name up (pictures online), and see if the plant and the shape of the leaves and flower is a pretty close match.
The tall stem that you mention, is that the flower stem? You can leave that on, or remove it, either is fine. Sometimes the plants will make a second set of flowers from that stem (but that also requires the plant to expend more resources). I usually cut that stem off after the flowers are done.
A little "benign neglect" is fine with these, but just a little. What they need is to have indirect light (filtered or diffuse light instead of full sun). Water well at least 2 times a week, 3 times if your air is very dry. If the roots are in sphagnum moss, limit it to 2 waterings (you might do 3 if it is in bark chips). "Water well" means flood water through the pot for about 10 seconds; drain; put it back in it's growing location, the growing medium (moss or bark) should dry a good bit before you water again. That wet/dry, wet/dry cycle is important for the roots to stay healthy.
The plant will be happiest if the temperature stays above 60 degrees F (16 C).
Don't worry too much about fertilizer while it is indoors. It is OK to give a little fertilizer at this time, but it really needs fertilizer when it is actively growing. In summer, fertilizer diluted to 1/4 the recommended strength, once a month, is helpful.
I hope this helps, let me know if you have other questions.
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Thanks Sub for that info. All inwardly digested. I think I may replant in a slightly large clear orchid pot in the spring as well. Cheers, Mrs Bouquet
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This Zygocactus used to belong to my late mother in-law. I would spruce it up for her until it bloomed and put in her home (she was not a gardening person). After it bloomed, I would take it back and repeat. I also did this when she was in a memory care facility.
I'm still caring for it, even though she's gone. Here we call them Thanksgiving cactus, Christmas cactus, or Easter cactus, depending on when they bloom. This one is at it's best, approaching our Thanksgiving holiday next Thursday.
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They're so lovely aren't they!
I've got a couple of Christmas ones, but they don't flower reliably, I've no idea why, though. Is it more watering or feeding they require?
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I’ve got 3 , one is just beginning to flower & I spied the white one is budding up, nothing on the 3rd so far. Mum, I used to put mine outside in the summer but then the slugs started finding them. I think letting them dry out in between watering is recommended, & I thought not moving them when we n bud as they tend to drop the buds then but subs advice throws that advice out the water lol
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They're so lovely aren't they!
I've got a couple of Christmas ones, but they don't flower reliably, I've no idea why, though. Is it more watering or feeding they require?
I will tell you the care regime mine get, which mimics what my mother used to do. She had a very large Christmas cactus, and she always got it to bloom reliably. I say I try to mimic what she did, as I never got precise instructions from her. I seem to be close enough though.
My mother's Zygocactus grew in a 10-inch diameter clay pot, the plant was at least 2 feet across. Who-knows-what kind of soil. I never saw her repot it. The plant in my photo is in a 4-inch clay pot, and has been in that pot for years. It is likely very root-bound. I don't repot, but occasionally top off the soil a bit.
In spring and summer, mine goes outside. To be on the safe side, put them out after your last frost date, leave them out until autumn, pull them indoors before the first frost. The real truth is that mine are sometimes put outdoors a little too soon or left out a little too late, and a light frost does not seem to hurt them, but I don't recommend it.
When outdoors, water and fertilize like other houseplants you have outside. In the UK you probably get enough rain that watering may not be needed if the plants are exposed to the rain. Give it soluble houseplant fertilizer once a month. In reality, I usually am casual about the exact NPK ratio of the fertilizer, and how often it gets fertilizer, as long as it is growing well. Mine in Georgia are put in full sun.
Autumn. What my mother did: when it is too cold for them outdoors, bring them in, put in a room away from direct sun, and cool to cold. My childhood home had very poor heat in the bedroom areas, dim lighting, she used that space and witheld water completely. I think she did that for maybe a month or two. What I do: our October gradually cools and becomes dry, I leave my Zygocactus out until either it gets too cold or until buds form.
After the cold/dry/dark treatment my mother would put the plant in a south-facing window, and take her 1-quart watering can, add a half teaspoon of plain household ammonia to that, water with that solution, and water weekly until blooming. Mom grew up during the depression, and her family didn't spend money on houseplant fertilizer, but the ammonia provides nitrogen. I just water, with or without houseplant fertilizer, when the plant comes in, and water weekly.
Thats it!
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I’ve got 3 , one is just beginning to flower & I spied the white one is budding up, nothing on the 3rd so far. Mum, I used to put mine outside in the summer but then the slugs started finding them. I think letting them dry out in between watering is recommended, & I thought not moving them when we n bud as they tend to drop the buds then but subs advice throws that advice out the water lol
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Snowdrops, my opinion is that if it works for you, keep doing that!
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Mine thrive (well, at least, survive :wub: ) on neglect. The ones with the spikier corners on leaves, I find are flowering about now. The ones with rounder corners on leaves tend to be nearer Easter.
Absolutely lovely piccie, SP
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This is an intergeneric Cattleya-type hybrid that I have owned since 1985. I have divided it and given pieces away more times than I can remember! Some years it's fragrant, most years it isn't, but this year I'm in luck.
In case you are wondering, yes, it is growing potted in wine corks, nothing else. To be specific, those are plastic wine corks!