Leucojum - Summer Snowflakes

I bought Summer Snowflakes bulbs; it was sort of a compulsive buy.  My mother, who loves to plant, had this plant by the front door of our house.  I like the refreshing color contrast of white and green, and I wanted it in my yard, too.  Commonly called "Summer Snowflakes" has rather not-so-cute official name: Leucojum. 

 A bulb of Leucojum.  I planted this on November 8, 2010 in a clay container.  Later, I read that they should've been planted in the ground. Ah well.

33 days later, I found a little tip in the soil.  I started to get worried since I thought "plant immediately" meant speedy growth.  It was a long wait!

61 days after planting, all 5 bulbs sprouted.  I placed the container at a very sunny spot.  Maybe that helped?

67 days after planting.  I see a bud!  This picture was taken in the morning.

Same day, in the afternoon - can you see the  change?

In the later afternoon - I didn't get to see the first flower, but I know I can see it very soon!

Next morning (68 days after planting the bulbs), the first flower finally opened!!

 This is from this morning.  It is hard to see in this picture, but three flowers opened.

Also, I see another bud at the bottom of the plant, and another from a different bulb.  I am very excited!!  Stay tuned for more pictures with more flowers~

BULB INFORMATION:

Bulbs I bought: Leucojum Gravetye Giant

Bulbs bought from: Easy to Grow Bulbs.com

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: Unknown - Mine took 33 days to sprout

*  Days to bloom: Unknown - Mine took 68 days

*  Plant height: 16-20 inches

*  Grows best: Full Sun to Light or Dappled Shade

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: Immediately upon delivery - I planted in November

Leaf-Shape Changed?

It's time to update on Blanket Flower!  After a little over 3 months from seeding, slowly but surely, the plant is growing, but I have just realized that the shape of the new leaves is different?!

This picture was taken in November.

This is now. (40 days later) 

Is this normal, or is it because the weather has been wacky this year?  Hmmm... I will have to see how this turns out.  

About a month ago, I transplanted two plants in the ground.  They are still doing well and growing, despite the occasional 'attacks' of snails and slugs.  Oh, Chickweeds, too, give me headaches.  They keep sprouting as I pull them out!  Why snails/slugs don't eat the weeds instead?  Sigh. 



The Day I've Been Waiting For!

Finally, after over 4 months of waiting, my first Calla Lily flower opened!  I truly love the beauty of it.

Chinese Lantern

I love Chinese Lantern as it reminds me of summer festivals in Japan.  I love the vivid orange colored, tomatillo-like fruits that resemble lanterns.  I remember, as a young child, I helped my parents decorate the house for Obon; these lanterns would guide our ancestors home.  I want plants that let me remember home and my childhood, so when I saw the seeds, I just had to get them.

This is a vigorous and very invasive plant, so it's highly recommended to plant it in a container.

This is how the seeds look like.  It is like chili pepper seeds.  I seeded them in some peat pallets as I always do.

The seeds germinated in about a week, but I forgot to take pictures when that happened (grrr!).  Here's a pictures of the seedlings, 27 days after seeding.

 46 days after seeding.  Large true leaves started to grow, and roots were growing out of the pallets, I transplanted the seedlings into plant-cells.

This is how they look at 72 days after seeding.  They grow fast, huh?  I will transplant them in larger pots in a few days.

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's CHINESE LANTERN

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 20-30 days - Mine took about 7 days to germinate

*  Days to bloom: 60-90 days

*  Plant height: 24 inches

*  Grows best: Full Sun

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: February-May & August - September - I planted in October.

Texas Blue Bonnet Update.

It's been just a little over a month since the last post on this plant, and Texas Blue Bonnet seedlings are doing well and growing faster than other plants I am currently growing.  I just learned something new about this plant, too.  It's a kind of Lupines!  How tall will these be?

At the end of November, only a couple of small true leaves were shooting out.

In 2 weeks from the above picture, more true leaves grew out. These are really, really cute looking leaves.  The first two true leaves were split in 3, but newer one are split in 5 sections; foliage is hairy but soft.  The white stuff around the plant is snail bait.

About 3 weeks past since the above picture.  As you can see, more leaves are growing.  I think they look like baby hands.

Gaura, Flash Forward!

I bought a plant called Gaura from Home Depot.  Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge and skills killed it pretty quickly.  However, I kept the seeds and planted them to see if I can save the plant, and it's working :)  Click here to see what this plant's seeds and seedling looked like back in October (approx. 3 months ago).

I transplanted the seedling as soon as its roots started to show under the peat pallet.  This is about after 3 weeks after seeding.

 True leaves started to emerge!  I transplanted the plant to a bigger pot. Unless the plant wants to grow big, this will be its permanent home.

 Approx. 2 weeks after the first true leave showed, the plant started to grow fast!

 And even 4 days after the picture above, Gaura is growing at an incredible speed.

This is how the plant looks like now. Approx. 3 months after seeding.  It's about 5-inches tall.  I am hoping to see the flowers this summer.

Calla, Calla!

Calla Lilies are one of my favorite flowers, and I have always wanted to have them in my yard.  Now, my dream is getting closer to come true!

I planted 2 bulbs in my front yard.  They spouted out and grew fairly quickly.  This is about 3 weeks after I planted the bulbs.  Big leaves!

Another month past, and this is about 2-months after I planted the bulbs.  Unfortunately, one of them was ruined by a heavy rain we had in San Diego.  I procrastinated to put up the rain gutters, so all the water from the roofs dripped on the very spot these were planted.  I am glad one survived, though!

 Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who helped putting up the rain gutters, the survived Calla wasn't hit too hard by the rain fall last week.  Look!  A flower is about to open!! 

Maybe tomorrow??  Can't wait to see the flower!!!!!

Forget Me Not is a slow grower...

Forget Me Not was one of the first plants I seeded.  So many of them were destroyed by snails and slugs as soon as I planted them in the ground, so I decided to keep some in pots.  I don't know if it's the weather, or if it's just the way this plant is, but Forget Me Not grows slow.  I wonder when I get to see the cute, baby blue flowers??

 This picture was taken right after Thanksgiving

 (from the last blog on November 30, 2010)

 Not much change in 2 weeks. 

This picture was taken in the mid-December, 2010

As of today.  The plant IS happy and definitely is growing, but VERY slowly. 

I can't want to see the flowers!

Geranium in January

Wow, it's been way too long since I made the last entry.  It's time for me to catch up a little bit.

It's been unusually rainy this year in San Diego, and I like it.  I think my plants are liking the 'natural water' much better than the water out of faucet.  Out of 6 seeds I sowed, 3 Geranium plants survivided by now.  Two just died, and the one I planted in the ground were beat by one heavy rain.

74 days from seeding.  They look happy in these pots.  I will wait until they get a little bit bigger and stronger to plant them in the ground.  Click here to see how they looked like back in November!