Seen next to the College of Religious Science in Monterey, CA.

And to think how hard I tried to get my jade to flower... this one is just growing next to a building, in full bloom.

brett at 12:39 PM on January 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

All of the pruning going on in my apartment has left me with more than a few choice jade cuttings, so this weekend I spent quite a bit of time propagating them.

Propagation is such a simple and rewarding process, but it also happens to be incredibly time consuming. Mixing soil is dirty and tedious, and rooting hormone happens to be highly toxic. Not to mention that I simply don't have anywhere to keep plants anymore! Regardless, I managed to get more than a dozen jade clippings down into (some kind of) dirt. I experimented with two types of rooting hormones, and three different soil mixtures (an all perlite mix, an all vermiculite setup, and a layered perlite/cacti mix blend). Soon we shall see which combination works best, and soon I will have a ton of new jade plants to give away.

brett at 08:21 AM on July 16, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (10)

It took more than a little bit of sweat, but the jade has been repotted and is now ensconced in its new home, which happens to be a beautiful black and white glazed pot. Also, take a look at the nice decorative stone atop the dirt.

There are, of course, more pictures on Flickr. I'll post another update on Mr. Jade when I get to pruning him back (which will hopefully lead to some beautiful flowers around Christmas time!)

brett at 08:06 PM on July 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

My amazingly huge jade plant has been having some trouble lately: crinkly leaves that have been yellowing and dropping off. It has gone on for about a month now, and I've decided that my approaches to solving the problem initially (providing more water and a better position for sunlight) weren't drastic enough. So I decided to re-pot the plant, remove all the dirt from the rootball, and insert it into a new soil mixture.

The problem was that the jade had been potted in a commercial soil mix that included peat moss--something that becomes hydrophobic if it dries too long. So basically, my jade has been stuck in a perpetual drought since I've purchased it (as after the first drying session, the peat moss never rehydrated, despite repeated watering). So though I've been watering, the jade hasn't been drinking, and has been dropping it's leaves in an attempt to survive.

The fix, of course, is completely new soil. Thanks for a few friends (Walker, Eric & Megan), and the help of the hose from Ali Baba's Gyros, we were able to cut the pot off and wash the root ball off, thus removing the peat. And let me mention that this thing is heavy, dragging it up and down two flights of stairs was not fun at all.

Hopefully we will repot this giant tonight, as it is currently lounging (pot-less and dirt-less) in my bedroom. A few more photos of the repotting can be found on Flickr.

brett at 10:22 AM on July 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since I have harvested my windowsill basil (for the pesto stuffed potatoes), something had to replace the barren soil. This weekend I went shopping around for a few different plants, and eventually settled on these two types:

I think they compliment one another quite well. The deep violent perennial and the little silvery crawling vine look lovely. Now we shall see if they can withstand the winds of summer.

brett at 03:29 PM on June 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today I took an overhead photo of one of my small cacti. I tried to line it up to match with a photo I had taken of the same cactus about 6 months ago. Take a look.

If you look closely, you can still see the original branches that the cactus has grown from. Pretty explosive, I'd say. This plant has been a fun one to raise.

brett at 03:03 PM on May 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow. This is just fantastic. My calathea is flowering! This plant is one of my favorite houseplants. It has been a blast to take care of, and has shown explosive growth since I added it to my apartment.

What I love about this little guy is that his leaves actually unroll instead of simply growing out and getting large. They extend as little scrolls, and then just sort of unroll whenever they are ready. I also love the mysterious way in which it's leaves react to light: they prefer to point straight down during the day (looking as if they are dying), only to flip completely up at night when it's dark.

So the other day I noticed that something was extending out of the top of one stem. I assumed that it was simply another leaf, but after a closer inspection I realized that it didn't have the small, scroll-like look to it. No, it was flowering, and I was looking at a flower stem! This is just the first day, and so although I took a ton of photos of it, I anticipate more flowers as the spring progresses. Now let's just hope my jade tree can flower!

Also, if you like the photo above, I have it saved in a wallpaper format for your desktop. Download here.

brett at 05:00 PM on May 10, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I bought a new plant this weekend. Actually, I bought three, but the most majestic of them all is my new, 5 foot tall jade tree! Isn't it magnificent?

This thing weighs over 100 pounds, easily, and I might be in love with it. Hopefully I will move it to a larger pot within the next few weeks, in order to give it some room to grow even bigger. I'm just a bit worried about how I'll get it out of my apartment when the time comes to move.

brett at 11:35 AM on April 02, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The proud head gardener of my own private herb garden! It's springtime which means that I can finally sow my seeds for dill, basil and other delicious treats that will be springing to life in a few short weeks.

It's going to be glorious, and also yummy. I can't wait to make vegan pesto with the basil!! I also can't wait to play with all the little caterpillars that the dill will be sure to attract. Any ideas for some other herbs I should grow?

brett at 05:34 PM on March 24, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

My apartment is full of lovely plants. They keep me happy. I love my plants.

My mom gave me this cactus. I have a feeling that it will do quite well at my apartment. I'm cooking a curry and leek soup tonight.

brett at 03:37 PM on October 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)