Seedy Saturday - Then and Now

On one hand, summer seems to have dragged on forever. Part of me is upset with my 'plans' and the HOA's desires not jiving and I got a bit discouraged with my outdoor gardening early on.

On the other hand, summer has whizzed by. And the plants both inside and outside, have also whizzed by.

So I thought I would do a little bit of comparing plants which I acquired or had during the first part of the year and where they are now.

The avocado. My Montana avocado. The one I cut back about two years ago to 6 inches when it first started growing. Then it moved with me to North Carolina. 



The picture above shows it when I repotted it into a larger pot in February or March-ish time frame.

It's now a bit over two feet tall. I think it's grown about a foot this summer outside in the heat and humidity. I am really pleased with how it is looking.

This was about April when the hand of ginger I popped into a pot started rearing it's sprouts. It seemed to take a bit to get started.

It's now a 'full' pot and very lush. And the pot is becoming a bit distorted and going from round to oval shaped. One site does saw I can harvest some of the root and it will still grow nicely. It does apparently take a couple of years for the plant to mature and flower. I think I might harvest a bit and replant into a larger pot and see if I can keep it going. It will come inside during the winter.

One plant which I am over the moon about it's growth is "Nilly" the Vanilla Orchid.

The above picture is a few weeks after I bought it home. The cuttings were about 4-5 inches long. 

Yep, Nilly has taken off!

I have one shoot which is a good two feet plus long. Another couple of shoots are starting to put on growth. The other two are just sitting there. I have had it outside and just brought it inside as it was getting a bit sunburned. I really need to find a post with coconut fiber or moss on it and do a bit of repotting. 

Another plant which has astounded me is my plumeria. The poor, lost plumeria which the cats 'hid' from me for several weeks.

Here it is in February/March in a little paper coffee cup, finally putting out a leaf.

It's put on about a foot of growth and is in a nice larger pot. I'll take a clue from Miss J and move it inside when she moves her 5-6 foot plumerias inside for the winter.

It's hard to see, but my Desert Rose has grown a tad and I can see the 'stem' is hardening off and turning the 'brown' of the base. I do keep it inside under a light so it gets plenty of light.

It's hard to see the fig tree, but this plant started out about 9 inches tall when I bought it.

I pinched some of the branches back when I bought it and it's now large and open. I am hoping next year I might get a fig or two.

This was one of those 'three plants braided together' which Texter rescued from someone's office. It was dying and about 9 inches tall. I repotted it into a slightly larger pot and set it outside in the shade for a few weeks. It put on quite a bit of new growth and seems very happy now.

Two 'new' purchases which are settling in and doing well are my...

White Bird of Paradise. I have a new leaf emerging, so I'm happy with the results thus far. I will be replanting it into a larger pot soon, before winter.

The other plant are my bananas.

The poor things were ripped out of the ground, carted across town and potted up in this large pot. And then they got hailed on. At one point I was a bit afraid they weren't going to settle in and grow. But they seem to have gotten over their trauma and are coming along nicely now. It's going to be a bear to get inside once colder weather comes. But it only has to go from the patio, through the door and over a couple a feet to be in front of the window.

I didn't take a picture of my pitcher plant. It stayed outside for most of the summer. The large pitchers on the bottom need to be clipped off, but it's growth has been about 6 inches or so upwards. 

For now there is a bit of repotting before summer is officially over with, to get them 'settled' for the winter. I will have a bit (a LOT of bits) of rearranging things and setting up some lighting for the plants during the winter. My orchids, which have been outside, need a lot of TLC before I settle them back inside.

It's amazing how fast things change.