Propogating Pineapples

Propogating a Pineapple plant is not difficult.   The hardest part is getting it rooted.  You need to first purchase a mature and healthy fruit with firm green leaves on it.   Here are the steps involved:

1. Cut the top off the pineapple, removing all excess fruit flesh. 
2. Make horizontal cuts from the stem until you see root buds (small dots on the surface). 
3. Remove the lower leaves exposing an inch of the stem where you might find root primordia (baby roots).  
4. You need to let the stalk dry out for a few days before placing it in a glass of water to root. 
5. Place in a clear glass in a spot that is free of drafts and strong sunlight. 
6. Change the water out every few days.    (should root in 3 weeks)
7. Once roots appear you need to plant the crown in a well drained potting mix.  (such as a cactus mix)
8. Keep soil moist not wet.  Place in a sunny spot or window. 
9. If you get roots and new leaf growth that’s a good sign
10. Repot the plant after a full year of growth.
11. It’s a tropical plant so it will need to be kept indoors for the winter in temperate climates.

note:  I’ll keep you updated on how this experiment works out for me.  Figured it might be a fun project for the upcoming dormant season.

A forgotten pass-a-long

 

Unknown Sedum

 The weekend before last, when I was taking photos of my  Sedum ‘Rosy Glow’,  I spotted this unknown Sedum hiding.  For the life of me I was trying to figure out how it got there and then I remembered it was a pass-a-long cutting.  My hubby’s co-worker is a gardener like me and we share stuff occasionally.  For example when I have extra produce that we won’t eat I have hubby take it to work to share.  We’ve also shared seeds from flowers and veggies in the past.  Anyhow, last summer he gave me a cutting of this sedum.   At the time I didn’t know where I wanted to plant it so I just stuck it in the ground in my Arbor Garden.  Because it’s herbaceous I forgot all about it until I spotted it the other day hidden amongst the bluish green foliage of my other Sedum.  The bright green leaves kind of make it stand out a bit don’t you think?  Maybe once it blooms I’ll be able to id it since he didn’t know.   Sometimes he stops by to read my blog posts.   If not I might have to email him a photo so he can see it survived. 

Getting more bang for your buck!

Dividing Sedum 'Lemon Coral'

When shopping for perennials, it’s usually more economical to buy the smallest container available.  However sometimes that isn’t an option.  When it comes to the bigger  pots I look for ones that look like they could be easily split into 2 or even 3 plants.   Thursday when I picked up new things for my fall containers this is the approach I used.  Once you get home pull the plant out of the plastic container and look for a good area to separate.  Sometimes if the plant isn’t root bound and adequately moist you can just pull it apart with your hands.  I find the simplest method is to use an old knife.  This one is a leftover from a long since replaced kitchen set.  It’s still nice and sharp and works great for this procedure.  I just cut it down the center and voila….now I have two plants.  I did this with the sedum in the photos above (which could of been divided into more pieces) and with the Solidago and Asters.  Pretty much any plant can be done this way.  So for the two pots by the shed I used 3  6-8″ potted plants.   This saved me 50%, but if I had divided them even further it could of been a savings of 75%!   Division can be applied to existing plants which equals free plants to share with friends or put elsewhere in the garden.  This is how you get more bang for your buck.

I’ve been out in the garden…

I spent the entire day in the garden and it was wonderful!  The weather was in the lower 60′s and cloudy so it was great weather for planting, transplanting etc…Remember those overgrown daffodils from earlier this spring that Frances told me I could divide as they were emerging?  Well I finally got around to dividing them, lol.    Here’s a list of what I accomplished today in the garden and just in time since it started raining: 

• Divided & transplanted Daffodils into new location
• Cleaned out and moved around 2 of the birdbaths
• Repaired some cracks on the concrete birdbath
• Planted another Euonymous in front foundation bed
• Weeded &  loosed mulch in  front foundation bed
• Helped the neighbor decide where to plant his new shrubs
• Dug up a large patch of Grape Hyacinths that I dispersed into several areas
• Divided some other perennials like ferns & sedums to relocate to other areas

As you can see from the collage above I also took notice of all the new life emerging on some of my shrubs and perennials.  Starting at the left the deep red shoots of Peony are a welcome sight.  Astilbes are quickly emerging from the soil.  This one is ahead of the others by at least a week.  But the bottom right photo is my favorite plant in the garden for last season.  It is the Hydrangea ‘Limelight”!  I also noticed that his little sister ‘Pinky Winky’ which was planted last fall is getting some leaf buds on it as well.   Yay April! 

It looks like rain…

so I spent the day out in the garden moving things about again.  My ‘Robert Poore’ Phlox needed dividing.  Now is the best time to do that since they have just started to emerge.  Plant grids have been placed over them so that as they grow the centers will be better supported during heavy rains and winds.   I also moved my Salvia ‘Wild Thing’  into the center of the raised bed so that it would have more room as it got bigger. Don’t know what I was thinking when I planted it near the edge of the landscape timbers.    What a nice plant it has turned out to be so far.  It is evergreen and the leaves have turned a deep maroon color over the winter.  Should of taken a picture but when I went out to tinker I forgot my camera and by the time I remembered my hands were too dirty to stop.    While I was out there I did a bit of weeding  in all of the beds.  I can’t wait to rake out the leaf mulch in a couple of weeks when the threat of heavy frosts have passed.  After several days of warm weather we are getting a cold front the remainder of the week just to remind us that it is still March.   The most unpredictable month in the year.  Warm one day, cold the next.  The photo has nothing to do with anything in particular.  I just thought I would share a pretty picture of some spring blooms from my garden.  Isn’t this a happy little vignette?  To the right you can just make out the beginnings of a deep purple Hyacinth starting to open.  If you look really close you can see the tiny cabbage like starts of the Sedum Autumn Joy, as well as some Dutch Irises and Yarrow.  Well tomorrow it is calling for rain all day so I’m glad I played in the garden today.  What did you do you do in the garden today?