Sunday, April 29, 2012

Repotting Madagascar Palm

So I took a trip out to Las Vegas, and I was gone a week and watered all my Cactus before I left. I came home to find that my Madagascar Palm has grown an inch! >> 
The bright green at the top is new growth

The root is exposed and cracked

Drake got a bit Curious what I was doing.. He had to sniff things out.

My cat Drake and the Madagascar Palm
So I replanted it again from the 6" brown clay Terra-cotta pot to a 12" red terra-cotta pot.I dripped a few drops of fertilizer on it and sprayed it. Its good to give it a soaking, I put it in the bath tub to drain out before I put it back. If you re-pot, especially a leafy plant and you spray it, never place in the sun after, the beads of water act as a magnifying glass and burn the plant.


Much to my surprise that this Madagascar Palm had so much of a growth spurt the roots were extending out the bottom hole of the pot. Although there was still moisture in the soil so not all of the root ball was in tact :(

After the replant I soak throughout and let drain in bathtub























I put soil up to the spikes on this palm to prevent further damage (which before I was unaware that the root was exposed.) So we will see how happy my palm turns with this larger pot. 

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Denver Botanic Gardens

Today I went to the botanic gardens to explore. And its a rather large place, I will have to go again and get more pictures. I freaked out when I saw they had a larger Cacti section, I'm excited to see if they have more..







There are a lot of pictures, I will have to upload some at a later time.
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Red Barrel Cactus






Other Variety of Succulents

   



Some type of  Black Beetle Definitely a pest of this succulent

Another Black Beetle



Center is a Madagascar Palm


Madagascar palm and other Succulents

A Flowering Succulent




Another Black Beetle


Zebra Hawthoria top center





Two Golden Barrels (size of basket balls)


Add caption



Prickley Pear


Brain Cactus'





Some Prickley Pear Variety

Another Prickley Pear Variety

 


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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Haworthia Fasciata - Zebra Hawarthia

Its time that I re-potted my Haworthia. Its been growing rather fast since I re-potted it back in I think November. I noticed it getting rather purple as if it wasnt getting any moisture and leaning off to the side when I first transplanted it. Ive had it since it was just a seedling rather, about 2 years old and about 2 inches high.

Now I have just transplanted from the 4 inch pot it was in to about a 12 inch pot. Its about 5 inches tall and has 2 pups. 

You can see in the above picture that its yet again leaning off to the side, which I know now to be a sign of unstable root system, meaning it has outgrown its home. 

You can tell by just taking it out of the pot the roots are bunched at the bottom, needing more room.
With potting gloves, I very gently loosened the soil over the larger pot that it was being transplanted to.
This helps break the clumps of roots that are making it unstable and will allow it to take hold in the larger area faster.\
You would want to do this gently not to rip the roots apart..
 

Generally I moisten the soil before I try to transplant, but its easier for me to transplant when its in one of those plastic tubs. And its been about 3 days since I watered this guy and you can tell its still retained some of the moisture.

I used the regular cactus and citrus Miracle grow soil with no parts sand. This succulent likes the part soil better than the stems of a cactus. 




And here it is in its new home (obviously quite a lot of breathing room!)
I packed in the soil firmly around the roots holding it steady in one hand in the middle and pouring soil around the sides until it reached the top of the plant and gently packing the soil around the root area and more firmly as I  filled it more. 






When its done spray it down so all the soil settles around the roots and gives the stressed out plant (from transplanting) some water to grow.


Here's a little bit about this guy.

This Plant is a Succulent.
Soil : Loam, Sand

Tolerances: DroughtWater Requirements:  Water when soil is dry to touch

Fertilizer: Suggestions is to feed only twice a year, once in April and once in July with a water soluble fertilizer. I fertilize my plants every third watering if they are getting more than 6 hours of sun.

Tips:  Be careful not to over-water. You can put a layer of small gravel at the bottom of the pot and also one inch on the top of the soil to prevent stem rot. Repot this plant in the spring and use a shallow pot.
Sun Exposure: Full Sun, Partial Sun

Height: About 4"-6" 

Bloom: Early Spring, Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall, Fall 

Found in: Southern Africa

Also called Zebra Haworthia,

You can see the ridges that help determine this Haworthia from others

During the summer, you should water typically every 3 weeks.  In the winter months you should change those watering habits to every few months, as there is less light absorbing the water. You will notice this plant needs water when it starts to blush or turn a reddish purple color.

The red on the tips indicating the need of water (I call this blushing)

Stem less rosettes with many 3 inch long , narrow dark green leaves , marked strongly by crosswise bands of raised white dots.

Flowers are greenish white, in 6 inch clusters. 

Haworthia Attenuata Flowering, which is very close to the Haworthia Fasciata
Haworthia Fasciata Flower up close
The Zebra plant likes bright indirect sunlight, but not in actual direct sunlight. Haworthias can survive without a lot of light.

Spreads freely by offsets/pups.

Very drought tolerant. Great house plant.
Best grown in part shade outside in mild wintered areas (No less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit)
Not frost hardy.

Suggested soil structure


Here's some other sites with suggestions on care for this succulent:

  • http://www.learn2grow.com/plants/haworthia-fasciata-care-and-maintenance/
  • http://www.plantcare.com/encyclopedia/zebra-haworthia-549.aspx
  • http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/471/

And a video I found on this guy!




Please Leave any comments or questions about your own plants.