Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 1.37-1.40

Rules and Stuff
1) It's probably possible to vote more than once per poll, but please don't. If I believe that someone is voting repeatedly, I will throw out those results, repost the poll, and seriously question that person's priorities.
2) If you want to link to a poll on Twitter / Facebook / your blog / whatever and encourage your friends to come and pump up the support for your favorite plants, you are encouraged to do so.
3) You are also encouraged to leave comments on Rumble posts, if so moved.
4) All photos will enlarge if opened in a separate window/tab.
5) You can choose which plant is "best" according to whatever criteria you decide for yourself. My personal process is a bit convoluted.¹
6) All polls will be open for three days.

Today's results (matches 1.21 to 1.24):

Match 1.21 is another one of those rare matches that started out favoring the eventual loser (Ficus lyrata, in this case) and then flipped. Dracaena marginata cvv. won, 61 to 51.
Match 1.22 was quite a bit more one-sided: Cereus peruvianus beat Fittonia albivenis cvv. without even transpiring hard. Final score was 71 to 40.

Dracaena marginata will face Cereus peruvianus in match 2.11, on October 9.

The most one-sided match for this set was 1.23, Polyscias balfouriana and P. scutellaria vs. Hoya carnosa cvv. Hoya won easily, taking Polyscias down 82 to 23.
Finally: match 1.24 is where I realize that I hate slightly more than half of y'all. Maranta leuconeura cvv. defeated Anthurium cvv. 63 to 50.² I take some consolation in the fact that it was at least relatively close.

Hoya carnosa and Maranta leuconeura next compete on October 9, against one another in match 2.12.

And now, the matches for today:

Match 1.37
Pilea involucrata 'Norfolk' vs. Cereus tetragonus (fairy castle cactus, Acanthocereus tetragonus, Cereus hildmannius cv.)

(Both Pilea involucrata 'Norfolk.')

Cereus tetragonus. (Photo credit: Gwen's River City Images, via Flickr.)





Match 1.38
Chlorophytum comosum cvv. (spider plant) vs. Echinocactus grusonii (golden barrel cactus)

Clockwise from left: Chlorophytum comosum 'Vittatum,' C. comosum 'Vittatum,' NOID.

(Echinocactus grusonii.)





Match 1.39
Peperomia clusiifolia cvv. vs. Kalanchoe luciae / thyrsiflora (flapjack plant)

Bottom right: Peperomia clusiifolia. Other photos: P. clusiifolia variegated cv. (sometimes 'Rainbow,' 'Red Margin,' 'Jellie,' etc.)

Left: Kalanchoe thyrsiflora flowers. Right top and bottom: probably K. luciae.





Match 1.40
Echeveria cvv. and related plants (Sedeveria, Graptoveria, Pachyveria, etc.) vs. Nephrolepis exaltata cvv. (Boston fern, fluffy ruffles fern)

Top row, L-R: Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg,' E. 'Topsy Turvy,' E. setosa.
Middle row, L-R: Graptosedum 'Alpenglow - Vera Higgins,' Echeveria coccinea flowers, Echeveria 'The Rose.'
Bottom row, L-R: Echeveria nodulosa, Pachyveria x glauca, Echeveria x shaviana 'Pinky.'

Top and bottom right: unidentified Nephrolepis exaltata cvv. Bottom left: N. exaltata 'Lemon Button.'





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¹ I'm deciding according to a hypothetical situation in which all of my houseplants are gone, as are all the other houseplants of the world, except for one producer/supplier/retailer. Said person is offering to restock me with one or the other of the plants in question but refuses to give me both. Which one would I choose?
² Seriously, though -- you guys take Yucca guatemalensis and Anthurium both out in the first round? Have I done something to make you hate me?

Random plant event: Spores!

Love is in the air, apparently. Or whatever the fern equivalent of love is.

Phlebodium aureum 'Blue Hare.'

Nephrolepis exaltata.

Microsorum musifolium 'Crocodyllus,' newer spores.

Microsorum musifolium 'Crocodyllus,' older spores.

Cyrtomium falcatum.

The very very beginnings of spores on Asplenium nidus. The whitish lines covering the middle half of the leaf will eventually turn brown and shed spores.

Boston Fern Scrunchie

Repotting Boston ferns is a pain. They're big. They have fronds flopping every which way, there are often dead fronds around the base of the plant, right where you have to add the new dirt, which can be so stiff they're sharp. And so it's kind of an ordeal.

But when I was getting ready to repot a customer's plant on Saturday, I had an idea. Here's what I did.

I cut a piece of plastic from a roll we've got in the potting room.

I popped the fern out of its old pot.

I laid it down on the piece of plastic I cut, so the foliage rested on the plastic and the root ball was not on the plastic.

Then I rolled the foliage up in the plastic and then taped the plastic to itself, basically making it into the scrunchie for a fern ponytail:



I repotted with this on the plant, which kept the fronds out of my way and let me get my hands in close enough to add the dirt around the root ball, and then when the repotting was finished, I pulled the plastic off --

-- and it was done.

Granted, it's a little bit complicated to wrap the fern in plastic in the first place, but I think it's still faster to take the time to do that than it is to have to keep brushing fronds back so you can see where to put the dirt. Even if it actually takes longer, it's way less frustrating.

One could substitute butcher paper for plastic and the basic theory would still hold up, I think.

Maybe this is not a big deal, and everybody else already knew about this. But I was pretty proud of myself.