Can’t come soon enough.
Winter’s not through yet, though. High temp only hits the 30s today and the 20s tomorrow. Not only are my daffodils up several inches, but the irises and day lilies are poking up through the winter cover as well. I hope everything survives the short blast. Temps rise into the 40s and 50s after that but it doesn’t take much to slaughter a little bud.
For someone who posts a lot about plants and gardening, I did a great job killing off house plants over the last few months. Most of the slaughter happened during the kitchen/bath refresh. I was frazzled and lost track of time, thinking I’d just watered plants when in fact I hadn’t. Then I took a good look at my ficus bonsai and saw way too many yellow leaves. One or two–not unusual. Twenty? Houston, we have a problem.
So I fed it some plant food even though it’s not the season for it and watered it obsessively. Then I checked all the other plants and oh dear. The pink African violet? A goner. One of my mini-roses? Also gone. Prayer plant looked iffy. Both serissa were infested with spider mites, and one of the philodendra in my bedroom is definitely toast.
Violets are known to be touchy and serissa will drop all their leaves if you look at them funny, but it takes talent to lose a heartleaf philodendron.
Anyway, regular frequent waterings have helped my bonsai recover. Multiple sprayings with both homemade and commercial organic insecticides have squelched the mites, and the smaller serissa is starting to sprout new leaves. Growth really does slow during the cold months–I need to keep reminding myself of that. But still, it was in worse shape than in past years and I am crossing my fingers that I have managed to save it. The prayer plant looks a little better. Everything else–the palm, larger philodendra, fern, the three gerbera daisies–all look okay. Looking forward to warmer times when I can put some of them outside.
In closing, here’s a photo of my old lady girl looking quite spiff in her laser goggles. She receives cold laser treatments for arthritis–they’re not too traumatizing (other than the fact we’re at the vet’s office) and they do seem to help.
Gaby Goggle Girl
Truth be told, I think she’s dislikes the goggles more than the actual treatment.