tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post608597749556754752..comments2024-03-27T07:35:21.832-07:00Comments on Plants are the Strangest People: The BDSP, and other new plantsmr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-83854027881243199382009-06-23T13:00:13.557-07:002009-06-23T13:00:13.557-07:00Treat your senecio like a succulent, bright diffus...Treat your senecio like a succulent, bright diffused light, let dry between waterings. <br /><br />Mine is doing this weird growth right now, long and thin - very different from the fleshy existing stalks. I'm not sure if it needs less water or more light, but I probably should try more light and see what happens.Jennhttp://gardendjinn.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-68852821555404427532009-06-12T20:49:18.978-07:002009-06-12T20:49:18.978-07:00Andrew, that's a hell of a good picture.Andrew, that's a hell of a good picture.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-72968343914491826242009-06-12T20:41:18.849-07:002009-06-12T20:41:18.849-07:00I've been looking for an ID on a plant for alm...I've been looking for an ID on a plant for almost a year that I now (thanks to this post) believe is Pandanus utilis (possibly 'Red Edge' or 'Red Dragon' or similar). <br /><br />I saw a very large specimen of it at the Toronto Zoo and loved the very pronounced spiral growth pattern on it as well as the stunning red thorns.<br /><br />Here's a picture of the thorns on the Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-39121013901633160122009-06-12T16:56:11.478-07:002009-06-12T16:56:11.478-07:00Probably more the animal shelter thing than the ot...Probably more the animal shelter thing than the other. Though the facts that it was cheap for its size and I like strappy-leaf plants (<i>Dracaena</i>, <i>Yucca</i>, <i>Clivia</i>) anyway didn't hurt.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-62615231556492878132009-06-12T16:34:09.556-07:002009-06-12T16:34:09.556-07:00Your BDSP is a puzzler--could it be that you did n...Your BDSP is a puzzler--could it be that you did not want to leave him behind? Sort of like a long-time (oops, you may be about to correct my punctuation!) shelter employee adopting a dog no one else wants? Or is it the thrill of a gigantic and singularly inappropriate for a normal house specimen that has induced temporary insanity--not unlike Henry Mitchell and his fixation on banana trees?<br /"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04892686231029047130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-43669868842445788662009-06-10T15:36:49.349-07:002009-06-10T15:36:49.349-07:00I found myself drooling over the Furcraea foetida ...I found myself drooling over the <i>Furcraea foetida</i> and the <i>Zingiber malaysianum</i>. Wow, talk about stunning...<br /><br />Anyway...I've never grown a <i>Zingiber malaysianum</i>, but I have grown an <i>Alpinia zerumbet variegata</i>. And if the two are similar in their care needs, I'd recommend this: don't let your <i>Zingiber malaysianum</i> dry out, and make sure it Plowing Through Life (Martha)https://www.blogger.com/profile/06547318824997712369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-23485837176193517802009-06-10T14:07:22.892-07:002009-06-10T14:07:22.892-07:00I totally get the desire to admit spiky, sword-thr...I totally get the desire to admit spiky, sword-throwing plants into the garden, but I draw the line at the door. ;-) <br /><br />I'm sorry you couldn't find the true agave you wanted--big, bold, and dangerous, right? But the false agave looks interesting. Some of the real agaves have soft, twisting leaves too, so it looks passable to me. I hope yours grows into the size you want soon.Pam/Digginghttp://www.penick.net/diggingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-79037562539813541112009-06-10T13:54:36.599-07:002009-06-10T13:54:36.599-07:00Ah-ha! My trusted plant-name dictionary does not c...Ah-ha! My trusted plant-name dictionary does not contain the name <i>Pleomele</i>, but there is a <i>Dracaena thalioides</i>, which apparently was renamed again, to <i>D. aubryana</i> (I couldn't really find any info for that name, either, although I have to say I'm not trying hard either), I dare say you can trust that book to have the correct name. <br />The name <i>Pleomele</i> seemed Ivynettlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-20728095014522797112009-06-10T11:10:05.727-07:002009-06-10T11:10:05.727-07:00sheila:
It's masochism, mainly, though the fa...sheila:<br /><br />It's masochism, mainly, though the fact that the plant is large and vigorous helps. I like the plants that have fairly broad definitions of what's acceptable care, and will reward acceptable care with rapid, measurable growth. I'm impatient that way.<br /><br />Steely Dan: <br /><br /><i>Cordyline</i>, too. There's definitely a Venn Diagram to be made.<br /><br mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-35398047399813312122009-06-10T10:15:16.671-07:002009-06-10T10:15:16.671-07:00I had* that Zingiber, and sad to say, in my experi...I had* that <i>Zingiber</i>, and sad to say, in my experience it is even less forgiving of erratic watering than <i>Alpinia zerumbet variegata</i>. I got them both as very small plants, the <i>Alpinia</i> in 2007, and the <i>Zingiber</i> in 2008. The <i>Alpinia</i>, despite suffering a bit from dryness on occasion, is now large, and pretty good looking, though I have to prune away ugly foliage Karen715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-24073678101233893302009-06-10T08:51:41.270-07:002009-06-10T08:51:41.270-07:00Pleomele and Dracaena are two of those ill-defined...<i>Pleomele</i> and <i>Dracaena</i> are two of those ill-defined genera that seem to overlap like a Venn Diagram. Your name, <i>P. thalioides</i>, was used recently in a recent (2004) taxonomy paper for all monocots. Wikipedia, however, has an unsourced statement that implies all <i>Pleomele</i> have been subsumed into <i>Dracaena</i> (maybe this happened in a reference I can't search for).Steely Dannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-81261280972214820962009-06-10T07:25:53.823-07:002009-06-10T07:25:53.823-07:00I would never willingly admit a screw pine to my h...I would never willingly admit a screw pine to my home. You're a braver, and much more masochistic, man than I!<br /><br />Nice plants, though. I've never heard of the pleomele either. Can't help with cultural advice for any of them, but I'm sure you'll do fine.<br /><br />Except I'm guessing that the ginger, if it's like most other tropicals, is going to be prone to sheilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-24451936558293857572009-06-10T04:48:47.668-07:002009-06-10T04:48:47.668-07:00I'd been assuming probably P. veitchii or P. u...I'd been assuming probably <i>P. veitchii</i> or <i>P. utilis</i>, since those are the names I've run into most often. They all look pretty similar to one another anyway, as far as I can tell, so I'd be surprised if there was any practical difference in care. I just like to have as specific of an ID as possible, 'cause I'm neurotic that way.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-89665440621245023512009-06-10T03:46:03.856-07:002009-06-10T03:46:03.856-07:00I can't offer you any information on the Pleom...I can't offer you any information on the <i>Pleomele, Zingiber</i>, or <i>Furcraea</i>, but the BDSP looks like what I know as <i>Pandanus veitchii</i>. I can't guarantee that it <i>is</i> the correct name - I might be the one to hunt down botanical names at work (and who will do that when I'm gone in autumn?), but I'm too lazy right now.Ivynettlenoreply@blogger.com