Ivy

Ang had some plants at work, but decided to bring them home. Because most of them were not cat friendly she gave some of the larger plants to Mum and this ivy she gave to me. It was in a pot in a birdcage, but I took it out of the cage before I took a photo! The ivy had been neglected during the time we were in Manchester, and then Ang was off sick with a cold, and no one in her office bothered to water the plants. I've given it a good watering and a bit of trim. I want to put the plant back in the cage, but I'm thinking that instead of putting it back in the pot I can plant it in moss and soil. I'll probably buy another (or two) new ivy plants too, to add to this one, to make the arragement really bushy.

This is the birdcage the ivy was in - 

Early Xmas or Birthday Presents

I bought these - 6 lithops and an Echeveria purpusorum white form - with present money from Mum and Dad. They're from Etsy, and the new Post Office route must have come into force because these only took 9 days to get here, from Barcelona. I decided to bring them home to put in pots, and not wait until Xmas or my birthday.

Oh Xmas Tree!

This is going to be my Xmas tree this year - I don't have the space for my 6ft tree ... This is my little cypress tree which I've had for a few months now. I've put on a set of mini tree lights, but I can't find the box of tiny baubles I know have to be somewhere ...  I'll have a good look in my Xmas decorations hamper tomorrow.

LOTS of New Plants

I haven't updated the blog since before I left for Manchester, and my collection has grown quite a bit since then. I counted my plants yesterday ... and I have 127 - with a few more on the way!

My so-called Xmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncata, I think) had lost all its flowers whilst I was in Manchester, but there are already tiny buds growing on the tips of the leaves.

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And these are the plants I bought in Manchester. We went to Flourish every day, some days even twice! I managed to pack most of them in two plastic storage boxes, but I had to put a couple in separately (the kalanchoe in a Lindt chocolate box, for instance!), but they all survived the journey home in the suitcase. It took me a few days to get them re-potted, and in fact I still have a few in their original pots, because I'm waiting for some pink pots I ordered on the Internet. 

These are the plants in their packing boxes. Because I didn't remove the soil from the pots they were very dirty, but nothing too major.

Unfortunately the ceramic planter wasn't packed too well, plus it was close to the edge of the suitcase, so it now has a crack down the side. (I cut my finger when I took the planter out of the suitcase - ouch!) It's a very thin crack - the other marks are just the light hitting the ceramic. I've superglued the crack and hope it holds, although I'm not using at the moment because I don't have a plant which fits,

Watering the air plants ... 

These lithops are also from Manchester. I re-potted them in this "olive bowl", but have since put them in the old Citronella candle pot where I had the sedum pachyphyllum leaves. I've now potted the sedum in their "permanent" terracotta pot and have put them in with the adult succulents, on the shelves in the craft room.

Some of the plants in their new pots -

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More lithops - these are from Gibralflora. 

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I have another plant Ang bought me the other day - a pilea with beautiful leaves. 

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I've also got more lithops and an echeveria from Etsy, and an order of plants, etc from a German website on the way. I really will have to stop buying plants now! I want to re-arrange the furniture in the living room, so that I have the wall by the door free to hang shelves on, plus I may even bring my shoe cupboard from the bedroom into the living room so I have another surface to put plants on - plus it will then free space up in the bedroom ... just so I'm able to walk around the bed to the wardrobe and not have to jump across/over the bed!

Wednesday's Plant Shopping ...

Ooh, exciting ... Gavin said he'd be back from Holland on Tuesday, but to wait until Wednesday afternoon to make sure the plants were out and priced. I was supposed to meet Ang outside Gibralflora at 4.00 pm, but she got there early ... and I had to rush to meet her!  I said I wouldn't buy more than 4 plants - I have a lot already, plus I plan to buy a few more in Manchester ...

So I had these 4 -

Because not all the plants are labelled, I can't be 100% sure ... but I think this is an Echeveria Setosa. I had to get it because I like the furry leaves. It doesn't look a lot like the Setosa I had, and which died, but the pictures of Setosa on the Internet look exactly like this plant.

Again, not labelled. I thought this was a haworthia ... but it could also be an aloe. I liked that it came in this "fibre" hanging pot.

Hoya carnosa. There were two plants, one with more pink, but I chose this one. 

And this is a Peperomia - maybe Obtusifolia 'Marble' Leaves? I wish they had proper identification labels 😕

Then, as I was standing at the counter, waiting for Ang to pay for her large haul ... I looked up and saw two more I had to have!

Portalucaria afra, or Elephant Bush. It's in a hanging pot, and has lots of trailing branches.

And this is a Cotyledon tomentosa (or Bear's Paw), another plant with furry leaves! 

We were planning on going to a garden centre in Manchester, but now I think we should stick to the two shops in town - Flourish and Norethern Flower - and stay away from too much temptation!

There are still a few plants on my wish list though ...

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I forgot to take a photo of Mum's portalucaria which I re-potted today. It was Gran's and she had it planted in a large (and very heavy) terracotta basket. I took my drill and after Mum and I cleaned the basket, I drilled a drainage hole in the bottom of the basket, for when she wants to use it for another plant, or plants.  

Ang went to buy Mum a pot and saucer for the plant I was going to re-pot, and she also bought me a pot of cat grass for Cody. He started to nibble on it as soon as I showed it to him! Tilly doesn't even bother ...  This is another plant Ang mentioned to Gavin, and he remembered and brought back a few.

Anthurium

Went to Morrisons to buy a begonia I saw the other day ... but of course it was gone - so I bought an anthurium instead! It was labelled Flamingo Flower, which I think is very apt!

The seal of approval from Tilly. I'm glad that's as interested in my plants as both cats are, because this is one of the ones toxic to cats ... I've put it on a high shelf to be extra careful though.

Thursday's Acquisitions ...

When I went to Mum and Dad's last Thursday Mum wanted to go to buy herself a plant like Ang's (a fittonia), but she ended up buying a begonia!  We met Ang outside Gibralflora ... by chance! I bought these two aloes. Gavin said he's coming back from Holland with the new plants on Tuesday, and to go in on Wednesday to see what's come in. Ooh, exciting ...

Then, on our way home I mentioned to Ang that I wanted to take kalanchoes from outside the block in Varyl Begg, and she very swiftly grabbed two plants! I think they're the same variety as the  plant I bought on Etsy, and so it's a Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi. My older plant is at the back, in the pot, and the stolen newcomers in the front.

And here are the three plants in their new pots -

A Present

A present from Ang! She bought one for herself too, from Morrisons - £5, including the face planter!

Another Rotted Plant ...

I've lost another plant ... The Echeveria Setosa dimenuta, which I bought from Succulents Ireland, has died! I noticed it was looking a little bit sad the other day, but it was rotten at the centre, and all the leaves were dropping off. I've left the leaves in a dish to see if they will propagate, but I very much doubt it!

Jade

I'm not sure if the jade plant cut had healed or not, but I've put it in a pot, and I just won't water it for a while, until I think it has roots.

New Purchases ... and a Gift

I'm calling it today, but it's now yesterday ... I went to Gibralflora this afternoon, before going to Mum and Dad's, and as I walked in I saw Angelique! I was going to buy her an African Violet she'sd asked for yesterday. For the second time this week I saved her cats' lives, because all the plants she'd already picked up were not safe for moggies! I bought myself an African Violet, and got one for Ang and one for Mum. I also bought a Christmas Cactus and a little bag of bark chippings.  Ang bought a palm and a Christmas Cactus.

Ang had this jade cutting which Paul got from outside their office ... but of course it's also not cat-safe, so she gave it to me! I'm waiting for the stem end to heal before I can pot it up. 

Echeveria Lilacina

I noticed the leaf had fallen off this little plant, and I thought it would be best to put it in its own pot, as it already has some roots, and the little dish is getting cramped. This is one of the leaves I bought from Dabri Plants;  it's an Echeveria Lilacina. I've given it a little bit of water, and put it in with the other plants in the craft room. 

More New Plants!

I got this lot from the same Etsy seller from the Canaries I bought from recently. He included two free plants, and a few plant labels. He also identified each plant, which is very helpful!

I now only have the larger terracotta pots, so I potted most of them in those. I put the sedums (bottom right of the photo) in a plastic hanging pot. I didn't want to put the festraria (bottom left of photo) in a large pot, and had a look around for something I could use. I knew I had a ceramic teapot with flowers in the corner cupboard in the living room, but it takes so long to drill a hole in ceramic I didn't want to use that. There was a tall terracotta vase, but that wasn't any good - the top is too narrow. Then I moved a doll ... and behind it was this pot with paper flowers, I didn't even remember owning!

It took me longer to remove the bits of stuck on glue gun glue than to drill the hole in the bottom of the pot! Turned out to be the perfect size for the fenestraria (baby toes).

I'm going to wait until the weekend to water the new plants, and then try and find where to put them all! I was thinking of getting rid of the desk - which I never use - and putting the second set of shelves beside the ones I'm using now ...

Sickly Succulents

Echeveria Affinis. I noticed part of the plant was rotting ... although I haven't watered it in a while! I removed the bit on the right, which was worse off, and hopefully the other bit will survive.

This one is also rotting at the stem! I've left what's left planted in the soil, and I'm trying to propagate the leaves I snapped off.

String of Hearts

I moved the String of Pearls to the craft room, next to the balcony doors (and beside my succulent collection). The new shoots have been growing, but they were turned towards the balcony doors in the living room, so I think it could do with more sunlight - unfortunately it's been dull and grey today.

I had one of the cuttings I bought (either from Malta or Portugal) recently in the ceramic wellies, but it wasn't getting a lot of light either, so I've re-planted it in the pot with the larger String of Pearls. 

The cuttings I have in water don't seem to be rooting yet, but the lengths of String of Pearls I put in the opaque plastic bag has a couple of think white roots! I started rooting them on 10th September, so I think I have to be a little bit more patient and they'll eventually all root and I can plant them all in one pot and get a nice, bushy String of Pearls. Later on, when I need to move the String of Pearls into a larger pot I want to plant it in a hanging pot - I have a nice big brown plastic hanging "basket" for it.

I've put a length of bamboo on the supports of the old living room curtain rod, and I want to see how I can hang pots from it. At the moment if I hang a pot with a hanger from the bamboo pole the plant is too high to get any light, so I'll need to add S hooks or maybe rope around the rod, and then hang the pots from the extra length I'll have added ... 

UPDATE - Scrap that ... I've bought 4 chains from AliExpress!  I think they're meant to be used in sets of three, for hanging pots, but I want to clip one end of the (24cm) chain to the bamboo pole, and the other end to the hook on the pot hanger.

Mystery Pot

I can't remember buying this pot ... It's an 11cm pot, the size I want for my succulents, but I doubt I would have bought just one. Thing is, when I went to tell the seller the pot was damaged (it has three cracks) I couldn't find anything on eBay or AliExpress!  

I've fixed the cracks with Polyfilla, but I doubt it will hold water or soil now, but I don't want to throw it way just yet.