John, I haven't tried Flikr but if they have different codes under the photo then the HTML code will work. Just cut and paste. Should work. :)

Ashley

Johnh,

Check out Photobucket (I use it myself). Free, no password & the 3rd line of code, when copied into here is what you'd what. When pasted in it looks like gibberish, but if you continue to the Preview, it will appear as a pic, try it!

[IMG]http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx13/sejodiren/SURPRISED.jpg[/IMG]
My wife and I at her surprise 50th b-day party

OK...let me try again

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Ashley:

So far it has rained every weekend in October here in New Hampshire. The summers are variable. Sometimes we get hot summers, but this year and last they had a good amount of rain. I had a community garden plot this year so I grew some vegetables outside. But I mainly grow inside, as my moniker suggests, cacti and succulents. Succulent Euphorbia I have recently become obsessed with. I grow cacti such as cereus, ferocactus, epostoa, opuntia and mammillaria. Also Euphorbia trigona, E. ingens, E. lactea and other Euphorbia, aloe, desert rose from seed, haworthia and fuzzy kalanchoe like panda plant. I like to start fruit seeds as well - just started a carambola seed a few days ago. Sometimes I will buy an exotic fruit just to get the seeds, like a passionfruit.

What succulents and cacti do you see outside in Dallas? I know its colder than Florida but I know you can grow some pretty cool plants outside that people like Mike and I could only dream of growing.

BTW I know a lot of people on the forum use Photobucket, but I use Picasa myself and find it works very well for posting photos.

Christopher

Great photo Johnh! I'm happy it worked for you. :) PG, i had also suggested photobucket higher in the thread. Thanks for the second explanation. Christopher, I'll get back to you soon when i compile a list of the plants in my neighborhood. :) Ashley

Chris...

I saw some of the photos of your cactis..

Absolutely amazing! And to think they look so good up here in our area. You certainly have the magic touch with those.

Great job!

Mike

I used to post here quite a bit.

Noticed the thread and decided
it'd be harmless to post a pic.

Hey,..why not?lol

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Howdy!
Thought I'd give this a *bump*...and post a link to a Thread on the Hoyas that I grow. I also took a pic of the particular avocado that I plan to dig out of the garden. I'm covering it with an Alhambra bottle at night. I think I'll pull it out of the ground tomorrow.

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Josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenman's Hoyas

When you say "pull it up",..you don't mean to kill it,do you?

Josh..Nice pic...What a healthy looking plant..

Someday I just might try and grow one..

P.s..You do mean dig it up and and protect it for the winter, right?..:-)

Mike

Ashley:

Did you come up with some succulents which grow in your area?

Mike, I wish I could grow cacti as well as you think I can. I've had a few losses through overwatering. Do you grow succulents besides jade?

Christopher

Why not, is right! This thread is just for fun and getting to know people. Asleep in the garden, thanks for posting :) Ha! I would hope he wouldn't want to kill it!

That is a nice plant, Josh. Did you dig it up yesterday? How did it go?

Chris, I couldn't find any succulents. Most of the plants are fall flowering plants. I'll post a picture tomorrow of my condo's pool area, there are many platns there. But I have to warn you, I don't know many of the names of the plants but its a beautiful place. Ah Chris, I've killed a cactus from overwatering too. I don't have any Jades yet but again my wish list of plants is long..haha

Ashley

Josh, I just looked at your hoyas! WOW such beautiful plants. I love Hoyas but have just been recently introduced to them. How have they grown since the last photos of the blooms?

Ashley

Hi Josh, Chris,Ash, everyone else,plus the lurkers..lol
Hope you are all well!

Chris, I have yet to grow a succulent other than a Jade:-)
I think I might have one...I will post a pic tommorrow and maybe you can tell me if it is one...
I got the plant I'll post as a gift.
I have always been scared to grow them.;-(
I use to kill everything I grew, not succulents even, with bad watering habits.

I remember going to the flower show in Boston before learning from here and the container forums, and "staring" at so many of them for hours, wishing I knew how to care for these. Some can be quite intriguing looking!

I might be able to grow them now, since I have got my watering practices much better, and my soiless mixes compliment the kind of care they need.

I am almost tempted to buy one..

Do you know where to get some nice ones around here?
The ones at the local nursery are so expensive, and the ones at Home Depot look they they need some work..
I do have doors ones, or are they called hens and chicks..lol

Great weather ha, for now...

Mike

Mike,

If you want to play w/ succulents, I'd suggest the cheap Home Depot ones (which you referred to as 'needing work'). This way if you kill 'em, they're cheapies & if you can figure out the delivery schedule of your local HD, you can try to buy them the day they arrive, that is to say BEFORE they have a chance to drown them by overwatering. I'd advise against nursery plants 'til you've had a few easy succulents.

Easy succulents to start w/ that can do fine in lower light/semi-shade other than Snake plants (hey, why not start there?), would be Haworthias & Gasterias & some Kalanchoes (not the one that Florists sell in bloom).

I'd stay away from Aloes & Euphorbias to start, they need LOTS of light.

Hey Mike...pirate girl gives some excellant advice. One of the rules of thumb that I picked up on the C&S forum about watering is...."when in doubt, don't"

Thanks so much !!! Pirot girl, I think I will do just that..

Great idea, and thanks sooo much for your ideas...

John, thanks for bringing up that up! GREAT ADVICE

Practice makes perfect definately in this case I see..;-)

The avocado is still in the ground....
the weather's been so nice, I just haven't had the heart to yank it...I am covering it every night, however, as the temperature has been dropping into the low 40°F's. When I do dig it up, I'll take pics of the process.

"I just looked at your hoyas! WOW such beautiful plants. I love Hoyas but have just been recently introduced to them. How have they grown since the last photos of the blooms?"
- Thanks! They've all grown very well!
- During the summer, I hung the "Pink Silver" in a maple tree. At first it was a bit too much sun, and the leaves yellowed and took on hints of red. So it was moved lower into the shade of the maple, and the interesting "splashes" on the leaves returned...along with tons of new growth.

Josh

Awesome, Josh, I can't wait to see how it goes!

I'm glad to hear that your plant recovered from the sun. That happened to some of my pothos but they've recovered as well. :)

Ashley

Ashley, Dallas must have some decent succulents somewhere?

Mike, saw your succulent on the CS forum which was identified as a type of monadenium. Nice plant, with very nice caudex. I bought a Monadenium schubei recently, which almost looks like a green crown of thorns, and looks nothing like your Monadenium.

A good place to buy cacti and succulents in New England? Don't think there are any. I saw some nice ones at Kane's Flower World in Danvers(?) and sometimes a local greenhouse will have some, at a premium price, and sometimes you are lucky and find a prize at the "big box stores". But once you buy one or two, usually you want more.

Christopher

Lol..Thanks Chris!

I have a question about watering succulents...I am not sure if all apply to the one that you saw, basically ignoring it and being stingy in the watering department..

Are they all this way?

Can they handle a soil that completely dries out, and a few days more, before watering, without any ill effects?...
Are they like cactus, hardly ever water..?

Seems like with the jades I have, I can let the soil "completely dry out for days, and then water, the plants can take it and do well, living off the water reserves in thier leaves.

For some if you wait to long and the roots dry too much and shrivel, then once watered, a plant can collaspe or develope rot because the roots have dried too much.

I this what this means from PG:...."when in doubt, don't"

How long can succulants go without a drink basically without any harm to it? I suppose watering them and most other plants is a whole different world..

Thanks man! 60's all next week!!! YIPPY!

Hey Chris! Well, to find some decent succulents...might take me a few days of walking and searching. Which I don't mind at all. I'll just venture out into a different direction when I go for my walks the next couple days. But...in the meantime...here are some photos of plants in my courtyard and some that I grow as well. :) I took these early this morning before I left for work so If anything looks blurry, sorry! ;)

Courtyard: Aloe Vera and Spider Plant?
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Courtyard: begonias and more
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Couryard: Is this a type of Aloe?
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Courtyard: I'm unsure on the IDs for them but I think the tall read flower is a Hibiscus.
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Courtyard: Cactus and other plants
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Courtyard: Not sure on the ID for this
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The next 3 photos are of my Croton I almost lost last summer in a horrible storm. It got up rooted and the roots were soaked for days. Yikes! When it got knocked over many leaves on the bottom part (which has turned to a type of bark)fell off. Most of the leaves are new growth since the storm.
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I need to repot it but not sure how big I should go. Suggestions? Should I seperate the 3 into 3 seperate pots? Or would this damage the root system too much?

Also here is a photo of my begonias with 2 spider plant babies (planted early spring '09) and ground cover (i think) that is taking over!

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I need to remove the two spider plants into different pots so they don't get strangled by the other plant. :)

Mike, were in the mid 70's all week. It feels wonderful here. :)

Ashley

Ashley,

That Aloe in the pot could be a real Aloe vera, rather than the impostor commonly sold as A.v.

Yes, the red flower is a Hibiscus.

I think the columnar cactus is a Cereus aethops - a nice one to be sure.

TFS.

Ashley, plant in 6th photo is Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii. The big leaved plant in 2nd (next to elephant ear) and 5th looks like a nice plumeria, must have beautiful blooms. Hibiscus, like the red one, grow as shrubs in Florida, so beautiful in winter. Yes, gotta love that cereus, seriously. The croton can easily be divided into separate plants as long as you can divide the root system. I might wait till spring, though. Seems like you have a nice climate there, I've been waking up to frost on the windshield these past several days, with talk of snow on Friday...ugh!

Mike, different succulents have different needs, so no general rule works for every one, but "when in doubt, don't" is a good one to keep in mind! In the past, I have not watered some of my cacti all winter, 3 or 4 months or more, because I know if I go back to my addiction of wanting to water, water and water some more, I'm gonna have a pot full of mush! There is a wealth of information on cultural requirements of most any succulent available on the CS forum as well as many internet sources. You also have to take in account variables such as temperature. I now never water my succulents on a cloudy winter's day. Just my opinions, though.

Christopher

Hi Ashley
I think your beauty got more replys than the actual subject because most of them are from men, including me. This picture is 10 years old but it is me.

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Hey johnh I'm a johnh too!

Johnh thanks for the compliment. Thats a big fish you caught there. :)

Chris, we are having nice weather. Today will be in the high 70's. Snow sounds nice.

I wasn't sure if the plant in picture 2 and 5 was a desert rose, now that you say plumeria you might be right. I'll have to get a better look at it when I get home. Cereus is night blooming but I've only recently moved into this place so I haven't seen a bloom yet.

Ashley

Hi Chris..

I am not worrried about overwaterig, since I am ok with that, with my jades and other succulent.

What I needed to know is, that once I feel or know that the pot a succulent is in is "dry", is it ok to go beyond that a few extra days, like bone dry? Is there such a thing as unwatering within a "few days" of a pot drying out?
I definately know a regular tropical or houseplant can't get this far, they wilt and almost never recover once watered....

Hope I didn't ask the same question twice..I think I could of rephrased it to make my point even clearer..

Thanks so much..;-)

Mike,

I'm not clear on what your question is, but broadly speaking, succulents can be let go to VERY dry, those fat, fleshy leaves hold water, just like you know is the case w/ the Jade leaves.

The important point here (& maybe answers whatever you're asking) is about the general rule of "when in doubt, don't" referring to watering. This is because (again, speaking broadly), succulents can recover far more from underwatering than overwatering. Overwatering succulents tends to lead to rot & mush = death. Too dry CAN be brought back, but not always.

Other important point -- some succulents can withstand a fair amount of cold (like Jades) but only if they're dry. Generally wet & cold tends to = death for succulents.

I think you might be overthinking this a bit.

I will publicly admit to having killed at least several Sans. from UNDERWATERING (over 10 yrs. or so); takes talent, I know >:)

Thankyou PG....
Makes more sense now...That is the answer I was looking for. Probably what Chris was telling me too. I just didn't get it..
Pg, you, you killed several Sans in the past? NO.....Lol

Karen, I read a post you started over 3 years ago on the fragrance forums....I can't believe how far you have come from then. You were just a youngin there..I hope by now you know how to keep a healthy gardenia...:-)

It is amazing at how much we learn here over the years here ha?

I will definately take these suggestions to heart...Someday I might be able to post some healthy succulent pictures after first applying these methods, and hopefully not kill any along the way..;-)

I think I will start with a couple of cheapies at Home Depot....:-)

Mike:-)

Mornin', GardenWebbers! ;)
Just thought I'd share a pic or two of one of my Hoyas out on the front deck during the summer (you can see how the intense morning sun caused the leaves to yellow). This is one of my favorite places to sit after work....my cat likes to sit here, too ;)

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And, just for kicks, a little Texas love....Llano style... ;)

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Ok I did it Josh and Ashley!

This was the only alright recent pic of me after a couple of beers during the celtics game...I don't like pics of me, but I found one..lol

For those of you that I have shared about my bro in the Marines, this is him....Please pray for his safety..Thanks alot!

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Josh, what a beautiful Hoya!! So nice and healthy, not to mention HUGE!

Hey Mike...What a couple of Good looking men you guys are!! Its very nice to finally meet you and all the rest of people that have posted here!!

Best wishes and SAFE journey for your brother...we are very lucky to have people that are willing to serve for our country. We are very grateful for all of them!

Ashley, this is a great thread, and I agree you are very pretty...this coming from a girl,lol...

Hello, I saw how large this thread was becoming and am trying to get as many opinions as possible and was wondering if anyone has tried the method of growing plants used in my link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water Roots

Karate,

Since your subject is decidedly different that the subject of this thread, you might wish to post it on its own - more visits and potential opinions.

I almost went over to the thread he already started - the one he was soliciting for - and posted an off topic reply, changing the subject and directing readers of that thread back to this thread, but I was strong and resisted. I'm assuming he didn't realize it was impolite and a breech of etiquette. Besides, I figured Ashley was doing just fine on her own with no help from me.

Me, on the US Navy Weather Station pier at Point Barrow, AK:

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Al

I know ...... I'm soo tasteless. ;o)

See the heading to this post.

Al

hahahhahahahhahaaha

God

Al!lololl

Too FUNNY Al...:o)

You can't fool me...now where's the real Al?

Beautiful Hoya Josh! I see you have a money tree outside (how does it fair? mine is indoors) Looks like a very calming space to relax in after work :)

Hey Mike! Great photos, smile ;) Mmm...Canada Dry, delicious. I hope your bother is safe. He has a big heart for doing what he does for our country. :)

Thanks for the compliment Pug!

Karate, I've only tried a few plants. I'll find the names of them and then head to the water roots forum and post a few with pics! :) See ya there

Al, you crack me up!

Thank you everyone for making this a successful thread! :)

Ashley

So Ashley, do you have a list of succulents for me? I've been looking at the plumeria in your photos...sweet plant! Have you seen it bloom? A plant that size is expensive. Been meaning to ask...do the plants in pots stay outside all winter? If so the climate there is warmer than I thought...

Christopher

I am honored to be included with a bunch of very young knowledgeable people, I will be 80 next year, and feel very comfortable with all of you, thank you for being so patient and kind to me. I still actiely keep up with all of my plants. Don't have a picture to post, you all look so young, and it makes me feel good to know that there will be young people to carry on and care for our plants after we are gone. We were discussing this today at my garden club, we are old who will continue after we leave. Now I can report back that the plants will be in very capable hands. Thanks for including me. Ashley you look to be the age of my Granddaughter. Norma

It is truly an honor and priveldge to know you too!

So much for us to learn from kind knowledagable people like you..It would be even more of a privilege to sit and have a discussion with you...

Thankyou Norma..:-)

Norma, I agree! It is so wonderful to have so many young gardeners! What a good looking bunch!
Here's me last December on my 25th Wedding Anniversary.

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Theresa

Yeah!
Finally some more bright shining faces...! Hi, Theresa! It's a pleasure to see you all! Including that image of Al's fiery posterior! ;)

Norma, it is wonderful to have such a body of wisdom in your person! We are lucky to have you, without question. I hope to learn as much as possible and to transmit both my knowledge and enthusiasm to subsequent generations. As it has been said, Each one Teach one....

Thanks, Ashley! My front deck is my summer retreat...I come home from teaching summer school around three in the afternoon, then I water my plants and enjoy the green shade. Sometimes I read, sometimes I write; and sometimes I even make phone-calls. Soooo relaxing. And, at night, when the Star Jasmine covering the deck-rails is in full bloom, the scent is intoxicating! Like an Arabian courtyard full of mangos and other exotic beauties.

My Money Tree is back indoors now, but it spends most of the summer outside. I wait until the maple leafs out, otherwise the new May sun will blast the leaves off of my Money Tree....I learned that the hard way. I grew this plant from a single leaf...and so it is special to me. From the end of June:
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Norma! It is an honor that you have faith in so many of us new younger members to care for plants and help others as you have. Thank you for posting a comment and I hope to see more of you on the forums. I am 23 and fell in love with gardening because of my grandma. She gardens all day in a beautiful backyard, I now strive to have her green hands! She deserves more than a thumb ;)

Theresa thanks for the great photo, you have such a kind face. :) 25 years is long, congratulations! I hope you have many more happy years to come!

Josh, such a lovely porch. I love when the sun hits the leaves so there is a green tint to everything, makes for a nice afternoon. I've pruned my money tree a bit and placed a stem in the ground. Lets see if it takes, I've wanted to start Christmas presents for friends. Many of them comment how nice my place looks with so many plants...so I've told them to let me know which ones they like and I'd try my hand at propagation. :)

Its great to see so many wonderful faces and posts! This is such a great group of people I am privileged to get to know.

Ashley

Thank you Ashley & Josh!
Ashley, your courtyard is beautiful! You do have green hands like your Grandmother!
Josh, Your deck is a beautiful, relaxing one indeed!
Thanks for sharing your pix!

Theresa

Josh, your deck is goergous!!!!

What I would do to sit there on a quiet morning and have a nice cup of coffee..I bet birds frequent that place too, oh wait, unless they see you cat!..lol

Great work Josh...Thanks for sharing!

Have a great day

Thank you, Mike!
I'm glad you're recovering, and typing straight again! ;)

You are right...many a bird hath met its end here...
My cats are criminals. They left me a bird on the doormat two days ago. A nice little bird, too. I wish they would only hunt the blue jays that scream outside my window in the morning...and the woodpeckers and the magpies...

Ashley, good luck with the Money Tree! They can be fickle at times, but overall I think they're worth it. Let me know how your rooting goes, as I'd like to propagate the same way. I know they can be grown from a single leaf, in a cup of soil without drainage....but that takes a long time to produce a plant of good size. I'd like to root larger cuttings if possible - which really means that I'd like to behead my plant to make it more squat and compact, as well as grow the healthy tip-cutting into a new plant.

Oh, almost forgot! I dug the avocado out of the garden finally! I'm not sure if it will survive, but I have my fingers crossed. Half of the avocado seed fell off the roots, so it's going to be a gamble. I also noticed how woody the avocado's roots are - not a lot of fine root hairs to be seen. And I noticed - when I pruned the tap-root - that the roots have a pleasant, faintly spicy smell to them.

I have pics of the process to sort and upload. Should I post them in the Houseplant Forum? Something like, Converting Avocado to Houseplant? Or I can e-mail the pics directly.

Josh

Thanks Theresa, I can't take credit for the courtyard but the last photos of the croton and the begonias with groundcover is my doing! So thanks! :)

Josh, Glad to hear you got around to getting the avacado out of the ground but sorry to hear that its a little unstable right now. Hope for the best! Spicey scent, you say. Hmm...interesting. I'd love to see the pictures! :) You can do either! If you want to share with others post but you can just email me as well if you like. I've added that feature to my profile so if you can't get it let me know.

I also want to prune my money tree, it went through a somewhat dormant period when I repotted it and now its shot up. So now parts of the stems are bare and I've been thinking about cutting off all the new top growth, tying to root those and see if the mother plant will grow a little more bushy. I'll keep you up dated on the progess!

Ashley