Saturday, June 11, 2011

Saturday morning Sheba and/or Nina picture


I'd been in desperate need of a haircut for about the last month, so we went to Iowa City yesterday so I could get one. In the process, I also wound up getting two plants at the ex-job, because I am weak, and because I was left there to kill time taking pictures while the husband did stuff. Neither were terribly interesting plants, but I've told you about them already so I may as well show them to you too. I mean, you've come all this way.

Asparagus macowanii, I believe.

I didn't need another asparagus fern. Hell, I don't even like the Asparagus genus. But it was one of those deals where I saw a plant that I almost never see for sale, in a manageable size and at an acceptable price, and it was relatively fresh off the truck so it hadn't had time to look all mangled and sad yet, so I got it.

Also a consideration: my A. setaceus, which I've had for almost four years now, has been doing very well lately. I had to cut off a three-foot "frond" on Thursday because it was unmanageably large and threatening to cut the other plants. So I'd been thinking about asparagus ferns already, I suppose.

Episcia NOID.

I didn't need another Episcia, either, and as far as it goes, this doesn't strike me as a particularly beautiful variety, not by comparison to some of the other Episcias they had. But: I hadn't seen it before, and I already had plants that were similar to the other, prettier varieties. (I've somehow gone from zero to eleven kinds of Episcia since last August, with a lot of that from a single trade.) Plus, it looked like it was pretty robust -- lots of plants and plantlets. So.

There will maybe be a Walkaways post happening soon as a result of this trip, too, as I saw a few plants there that I'd never even heard of before, and what was either one highly exceptional flower of a fairly commonplace plant, or the perfectly mundane flower of a common plant that was dead, sick, or sunburned. I think the former. I'd tell you what it was, but obviously that would ruin the surprise, so, um. Just be ready for that, I guess.


4 comments:

CelticRose said...

Clever pic of Sheba. :)

Nancy in Sun Lakes AZ said...

I just got a Asparagus macowanii (Ming fern) too. The stems are great in with cut flowers. They do well here in AZ so that in itself is a big plus.
I'll bet Sheba enjoyed that breeze!

Kenneth Moore said...

It's all because of that one mention you had a few years (?) ago about being scared of Episcia. Everyone wants to make you try them--an now you're hooked! I call that a successful conversion.

I just joined the Swedish chapter of the Gesneriad Society. Wanna join with me? :)

Thomas said...

"Sheba, you take right flank"! "Rrrff"! She looks focused.

My very first houseplant (in high school) was A. setaceus. Kept it alive 2 (maybe 3) years. It even bloomed a few times.