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greenBen

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    Cornwall
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    Plants/gardening

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  1. I love the simplicity of the design- if I was working with that space it would be packed to the sky with random stuff and you'd need a machete to get to the greenhouse! Maybe Mrs Jim could be coaxed one day into a raised bed for some hardy CPs....? After all, a raised bed surrounded by ferns would surely come under the title of 'feature planting'? greenBen
  2. greenBen

    Nose peg time

    I had one flower.... last year or the year before. The spathe stayed tightly closed for what seemed like an eternity until one morning when, on my way out to work, I stood on the doorstep and could smell it from 20ft! Fingers crossed yours won't take too long (but it will probably still open overnight). greenBen
  3. Chempac #2 at usual dosage (as per packet) once every fortnight all through the growing season. greenBen
  4. As with all Arisaemas go for the good old 'moist but free draining' combo. Oh and shade is good! A nice sheltered spot would suit A. tortuosum... a full size plant should be in flower at 6-8ft! With a good feeding regime the tuber can swell to the size of a grapefruit in just a few years, but even a smallish tuber will flower. greenBen
  5. It is risky but you can open Eucalyptus pods by A) gently toasting them with a lighter (without burning your fingers or setting fire to the extremely flammable foliage!) or B) putting the pots on a baking tray and putting them under the grill. HOWEVER I cannot advise on temperatures or times for the latter technique. It is simply a technique to get seeds out of the pods of fire-stimulated genera. Eucalyptus pods will probably just rot in the ground. If memory serves Attenborough covers the topic well in 'The Private Life of Plants'...? greenBen
  6. Brings to mind Woodwardia unigemmata... greenBen
  7. Lovely pics. Hate to be dull and boring here but what is the fern in the background? greenBen
  8. Eucalyptus need gentle heat (so that small warm greenhouse is great) but apart from that they germinate whenever they feel like it in the UK. You should have reasonable success as your seed pods are so fresh! What to do with the Eucalyptus when they've grown for a couple of years is the next question.... My E. gunnii seedling is a tree 25ft tall after four years in the ground! Olives need a more open soil- gritty and free draining (John Innes Seed compost with added grit is ideal) but which does not dry out; despite being drought tolerant as mature trees they are less tolerant when they are young-uns. And as for the Strawberries I would suggest a fortnightly feed with Miracle Gro when they are bigger. This is a balanced NPK fertiliser to encourage growth of leaves, flowers and fruits. greenBen
  9. Very impressive. I wish mine would get a shift on... greenBen
  10. Even with all my weird and fussy plants around this one still impresses me every time I see one in flower! greenBen
  11. Hi, most aroid tubers (in fact all of the ones I routinely deal with) root at the top; the root plate surrounds the growing tip. Therefore anything between 2-6" will be fine, but usually you only need to plant deep if the plant is outside over winter or has any chance of drying out. I think it's fair to say that yours is now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, going to flower!!! In my experience of growing them outside they often linger tantelisingly at this stage for a couple of days, but yours is probably opening right now. Also I think they tend to open up over night... greenBen
  12. Aroids do have a trick where they put up a nice fat shoot to get you excited in anticipation of an inflorescence... but then produce a leaf! It's just their cruel sense of humour...! But seriously that does look good. Pot it on a drainage layer when you do pot it. If you want to grow it on a saucer keep it in a cool but bright place. The tubers rarely hold the bud straight up in a saucer so put a layer or sand in the saucer and bed the tuber into that so the inflorescence grows vertically. And don't forget when it's planted to check it in late summer to see the infructescence- very much like a small black grenade or pineapple! greenBen
  13. greenBen

    New Growth

    My Dracunculus vulgaris and D. canariensis tubers aren't yet in growth but they are further along than I would have usually expected. Now it's in growth feed plenty of high nitrogen feed (standard dose every fornight) to bulk it up and give it plenty of growth fuel! Try and give it as much sun as possible and keep it away from low temperatures- there's no need to keep it in tropical conditions but you want it to stay in growth until autumn. I see yours is already producing an offset... greenBen
  14. greenBen

    Unknown Arum

    Hmm, that's an interesting one... Initially I thought it looked a bit like Pseudohydrosme, but when I look up Pseudohydrosme in my books it's not right. Could be an Amorphophallus (they are quite variable in form)... why not email the botanic garden with the picture and ask them what it is (they also may need to know when your friend saw it)? Just let us know as well! greenBen
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