Office Plants Update 01-19-08

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I thought it would be fun to provide an overview of all the plants I have at work. At my work, we have L-shaped cubicles with a light source on one end of the cubicle. The size of the light is probably around 3 feet in length and it illuminates that whole side. I use that side for housing my plants and since I have two desks that are adjacent to one another so I have two lights to play with. I take most of my houseplants from my apartment to my office during the winter and take them back in spring when all my seedlings are outside and growing. I just don't have enough space on my grow shelves to accomodate all my plants that need light so fortunately, I have lights at work. It's an extension of my grow shelves.

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Currently, I have 4 coleuses, 5 spider plants, 3 hydrangea cuttings, a Christmas cactus, 3 african violets, 1 Hawaiian Scheflerra, and finally 1 pothos. The coleus, african violets, hydrangeas, and Christmas cactus will come home with me in a couple of months but the rest permanently stay at work. The Hawaiian Schefflera and pothos are doing super well at work. The pothos was having some issues in the beginning like turning yellow and dropping leaves but it has adjusted well. I am currently rooting some pothos in soil so I can have a plant at home. I am also growing some pothos in a jar of water. It's doing well and has already produced 6-8 leaves!

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I'm excited to see what color blooms will produce from my discounted Christmas cactus. I probably won't know for a couple of months but it'll be fun to know. I got another Christmas cactus at Walmart the other day. It was discounted 50% off to $3.44. It has pretty pink blooms. I currently have a red, white, and pink Christmas cactus. I hope this new one will be a pretty white one. Here's hoping.

Nice Present

Hydrangea Present from my fiancee

I am a lucky gal. Last night, my fiancee surprised me with a pot of purple hydrangeas. Isn't he the best! He was at the store and thought I would like them. Awww. These aren't the florist hydrangeas. They're the ones you find at the nursery so they're a hardy variety.

Of lately, I've been marveled with the growth in my garden. It seems like my tomatoes have doubled in size and have been flowering. The supersweet 100s are flowering like crazy. My patio hybrid has started to get a thick stem and have flowered large flowers. I'll let that produce to see how big they fruit. They're suppose to be great container tomato plants and supposed to look like this. I've been pinching back some of the flowers on my other tomato plants (Roma, Marglobe, & Supersweets)to encourage top and side growth and to ensure a bigger crop in the summer.

My cucumbers, on the other hand, aren't doing too well. Some of the one's I planted on the side of my fence have shriveled up and died. Luckily, I have extra transplants but nonetheless it makes me sad :( The cucumbers on the other side of the fence are doing much better producing new leaves. Ergh...nature is so unpredictable.

A couple of days ago, I was able to harvest a handful of strawberries for dessert. A light dusting of sugar is all is needed for a good snack. The ones in the ground are doing much better than the ones in the hanging basket.

I soaked some sweet pea seeds last night. I'll pot them up tomorrow morning in a 1-gallon container and see if I can grow pretty sweet pea blooms. Last year, I only got one silly sweet pea flower (boo). My coworker told me that sweet peas reseed themselves at the end of the season. She said the peas, after they mature, will twist and twist until they pop and reappear next year. We'll see if this theory pans out.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try and clean up and pot up the seedlings I have on my gardening table. I was an overachiever this season with my endeavors at seed starting. I have way too many pepper and tomato seeds.

Let's move on to my flowers:

• My calendulas, in the past couple of months were blooming like crazy but recently have been puttering out. I'll let them go to seed and start new ones for the summer. They have given me a lot of flowers for the various flower arrangements I have in my home. They are very easy to grow and I highly recommend them.


• The hollyhocks, asters, more calendulas, zinnias, poppies are steadily growing next to my fence. They don't like a lot of sun so I've placed pots next to them to shield them from the hot sun.


• The geraniums are producing flowers like crazy. I love geraniums. They were the first plant I have successfully propagated from a stem cutting. They're easy to produce from a thick branch. I hope they can last til my wedding. I would love to showcase them in September


• The petunias are gradually getting their footing and blooming.


• The stocks and snapdragons are slowly blooming. Anyday now, I'll have a blooming garden!