The Plant Killer

I think the concept of vertical gardening is awesome.  And I have a vertical planter.  Only problem is, my vertical planter kills plants.  Very reliably.  

No matter what I try -- drought-resistant plants, watering every day, plastic baggy "invention," plant nannies and water globes -- I turn my back for a second, and we're looking at this:

or worse, this

Why?  Because the combination of heat with felt bags just dries everything right out.

My husband has started asking me regularly to throw it away.  But I think the concept of vertical gardening is so awesome and I have a vertical planter, so I refuse.  He has started getting creative and suggesting neat alternatives (like a wire lattice with air plants... Ooo, hey...).  And they are tempting.  But vertical gardening!!

Nevertheless, even I am starting to see the futility, so this year, as you know, I am trying something different...  Succulents.

I am very fond of my succulents, and these succulents are ones that I have nurtured for some time now, whether from propagated cuttings or in other pots that they have simply overgrown.

What better to overcome The Plant Killer than the (almost) unkillable succulents?  Good luck, little guys.

I should add that you may notice that the Dipladenia that I blogged about last year as a superhero plant and that is also present in the picture above of the completely dead vertical garden... save for the Dipladenia... is still alive.  Deathless Dipladenia, aka Superhero Plant, I am in awe.  Way to go.

So here's some samples of what I've put in the vertical planter:

A jade propagated newbie which started as this almost exactly one year ago--

Tiny roots

Repotted into a tiny pot

And has now turned into this, with a well-developed root system--

Has a few more leaves too!

Impressive!

I replanted the Echeveria which was nearly murdered by the rack in our kitchen window and in that process sparked this whole discovery of succulent propagation. 

That is all one plant except for the Kalanchoe propagation at far left

 In the process of unpotting and replanting it, a side branch fell off.  Oops.  But it already had a root system developing, so I planted that in another pocket as well.

Mama plant behind

The Crassula perforata branch that I had cut off and tossed into the Baby Succulent Farm, wondering if it would grow roots...  It grew roots!

And here it is, replanted with another repropagated "Kalanchoe Aurora Borealis" as well as a fuzzy succulent friend, "Kalanchoe Chocolate Soldier."

I will be quite sad if The Plant Killer kills them all, but I am taking a few measure against that:

First, instead of the usual very well-draining cactus mix, I added some potting soil (which does not drain as quickly).  The pocket on top is all potting soil and the ones on the bottom are mostly cactus mix, to account for the bottom pockets generally retaining more moisture (effect of gravity while watering).  

I have said before that the best way to kill a succulent is to over-water.  So it will be a delicate balance -- usually I water once a week rather lightly.  With these, I started with a heavy watering yesterday as you should with any plant that you have just planted, and intend to do a light watering 2-3x per week until established... and then we'll see.  And no watering with a hose to avoid excessive moisture.  That's the game plan!

I have had such success with propagating succulents that I have relegated another pot to a second Baby Succulent Farm.  Soon I will have to start giving succulents away!  There are so many!

Look at that teensy tiny baby succulent at the end of the leaf in the middle... Can you see it??

Meanwhile my other cuttings continue to grow (taken last week)

I love it.  Well, as you read this, I am in Las Vegas with the siblings, so I leave you with this fascinating aside (ever wonder what people would be like if born during a different generation?  Like would an Elvis born in 1983 be famous now?) ......Anyway: Elvis "Viva Las Vegas!"

The Best Flower Ever

Okay so that photo above was taken approximately 1 year ago.  ONE YEAR.  And this plant is still alive, not just anywhere, but on the top row of my felt hanging planter, which if you've been following my blog, is the planter of death. 

Let me explain something:
ONE human year = SEVEN dog years = EIGHTY-SEVEN Michelle's garden years

This plant is basically 87 plant years old in the mini-cosmos reality of my patio garden.  All its contemporaries have died, and yet it still lives strong.

Furthermore, I neglected to mention, that during winter time when it was too LA-cold to go outside, I didn't water this plant at all.  For at least a month!

So what is this wonder plant?  Dipladenia.  I picked it unaware of its awesomeness because I thought it was pretty.  You might see other tropical plants that look very similar to it vining all over trellises and walls -- these are a very closely related plant called Mandevilla.  Some sources say they are the same, that Dipladenia is the old name and now these plants are called Mandevilla.  Other sources say they are the same family or perhaps Dipladenia are in the Mandevilla family (very confusing).  Nevertheless, from what I can tell, they are slightly different -- Mandevilla grow well as vines while Dipladenia are bushier and do not vine in the same way.

A few facts about Dipladenia:
-Sunlight -- varying sources recommend everything from full shade to full sun; mine are doing well in full sun.
-Originated in South America, they like warm climates
-if your climate is temperate enough, they are "evergreen" as opposed to annuals
-Moderate watering (unless you have a super-plant like mine which is totally okay with drying out a bit)
-A good container plant
-They are the Best Flower Ever

Thank you, dear Dipladenia, for making me feel good about my gardening self.

The last very cool thing about this plant is that the Italians love it too.  I do not know if they are partial to the color red or if they just choose what works, but there were lots of red Dipladenia and Geraniums in Italy.  Below is my Dipladenia's Italian cousin in Rome -- I am sure you recognize the structure in the background!

Anyway, today's really awesome track of the day suits my feelings very well today -- I love this plant and even more than that, I love you for reading my little garden blog.  Que Dios le bendiga!

Invention convention

What??  Has it really been over a week since I last posted anything?  Unbelievable!  Well, it has been a busy time...  I am a mere SIX shifts away from completing residency and thereby finishing my lifelong (since preschool to be exact) journey through school and training.  A long road it has been, and here, where the road forks, is an exciting, exhilarating place.  Not so exhilarating that I would ever forget my lovely garden though.

So when I was in 4th grade, I won Invention Convention in my class and went to the school-wide level (where I did not win, but hey).  It was a crowning achievement for me, to the degree that I still talk about it with slightly odd frequency and take it as a sign of wonderful things ahead (I'm talking destiny).  Anyway, I invented a "Bug Smasher-and-Picker-Upper" which was a long handled wooden block attached by a spring to an equally long handled flat piece of pliable board below, such that you could trap an insect, demonstrated by an origami square with a roach drawn on top, by laying the pliable board on top and then squeeze the handle, causing the block to smash on top of the board/bug.  Then you could scoop up the bug on the board (it was very thin) and toss it in the trash.  I hated bugs.  Still do.  And that invention was ingenious.

Anyway, fast forward to 2013, I am stuck with the problem of a vertical planter that kills all my plants because it dries everything out.  And it killed half my plants while we were in Italy.  So I decided to try to fix it, somewhat crudely.

This was square 1, ie, my planter about 1mo ago, post-trip, pre-plants:

Clearly the Dipladenia (top left, red flowers) is a superhero plant because it has managed to grow through all forms of hardship since last fall, despite being an annual.  Aside from that, though, nothing has managed to grow successfully in the top two rows all because of the dryness.  Simple solution:  Figure out how to retain water...

Plastic bag lining!  Fancy!

A bit crude perhaps, but a way of keeping moisture from evaporating out the sides.  I did this on the top right and middle left.  And as a separate mini-experiment, on the middle right, instead of using plastic bags, I added a Plant Nanny with a water globe, which I had previously stuck in the dirt with my dahlias, where it was useless -- all of the water would immediately drain out the bottom in 2 minutes or less, rather than seeping slowly as the advertising insinuates it will.

Row 1:  Dipladenia, Marigold (1).  Row 2:  Marigolds (x2), thyme.  Row 3: Figaro Dahlia, Spearmint.  This is maybe the oh, 5th, incarnation of this vertical planter...  And about a month later, through a bit of hot weather as well, we have the following results:

Looking pretty good!  Okay, so not an invention, per se, but still a solution with results I am happy with.  Both the plastic lining and the plant nanny/water globe combo seem to be helping.  Of course, there are the variables that marigolds are pretty awesome in terms of hardiness.  That's why you see them literally everywhere -- they're easy to grow.  Thyme isn't so fragile either.  But still... not bad!  So let's hope that the 5th time's a charm!