Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫

[Prairie Mom]

This is one of the spineless type of cactus, Doesn't look very happy right now.View attachment 226358 This is what temperatures in the teens do to it. You can only see one but the seedling palm trees are under them.

Will they recover from that?

 

[Len B]

Will they recover from that?

I hope so, they have survived very cold temps here for several winters now This is my first winter with seedling palm trees though. Will have to wait to see how things go.

 

[Yvonne G]

I received my first seed catalog in the mail yesterday. Can Spring be far behind?

 

[Oxalis]

I received my first seed catalog in the mail yesterday. Can Spring be far behind?

Just received mine too!

Any recommendations for tortoise-safe, low-light plants? I'm looking for some edibles to add to Steve's indoor enclosure and his current plants are demanding more light. So far, I may try Coleus.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Fun! I'm sure more plants will come to mind later... *Hostas* and African violets do really well (definitely do these two if you aren't already!), other violet/violas, edible ferns like Ostrich fern, shade grass, and I've rotated in tons of other plants and veggies that don't do as well being in an enclosure for a long while.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Happy New Year Tortoise and Garden growers !!!

 

[Oxalis]

Happy New Year Tortoise and Garden growers !!!

Happy new year to you as well! Hope everyone is staying warm!!

Fun! I'm sure more plants will come to mind later... *Hostas* and African violets do really well (definitely do these two if you aren't already!), other violet/violas, edible ferns like Ostrich fern, shade grass, and I've rotated in tons of other plants and veggies that don't do as well being in an enclosure for a long while.

I think I will try some Viola plants then. Thanks for the list!

 

[Yvonne G]

Wouldn't you just love to have this in your garden?

https://www.logees.com/elephant-ear-thai-giant-colocasia-gigantea.html

If I could figure out how to keep it alive during the winter, I'd sure send for one.

 

[Len B]

Wouldn't you just love to have this in your garden?

https://www.logees.com/elephant-ear-thai-giant-colocasia-gigantea.html

If I could figure out how to keep it alive during the winter, I'd sure send for one.

All you have to do is dig the bulb in the fall and store it in a cool dry place over winter and replant it in the spring.

 

[Yvonne G]

All you have to do is dig the bulb in the fall and store it in a cool dry place over winter and replant it in the spring.

Piece of cake, right? I think I'll give it a try this spring. Planting it next to the pond might be a good location.

 

[Len B]

Piece of cake, right? I think I'll give it a try this spring. Planting it next to the pond might be a good location.

Sure nothing to it. Check out Brian's Botonaicals, He is located in KY.and has a great variety of hardy plants.He has a colocasia gigantea that is good for zone 7 and his prices are good. I have bought from them a few times and everything went good. I'm not sure when he starts shipping in the spring though.

 

[Maro2Bear]

These giant Elephant Ears are great. Have been planting them in our garden for the past few years. Each year they get bigger and bigger. The bulbs are now monstrous BUT worth the trouble digging them out right after the first hard freeze. We cut the leaves all off, dig them out, dry the stalks and store in tubs of peat moss. Spring time, back in the ground. Our big leaves now get over three feet long, two feet wide....Amazonian by the end of the year.

I think we got our initial bulbs at a very good garden center.

I have pix....just have to find some!

Here’s one pix, not the best, but gives you an idea....full sun. The lamp post provides some perspective and scale.

 

[Yvonne G]

I love it!!!

 

[Oxalis]

These giant Elephant Ears are great. Have been planting them in our garden for the past few years. Each year they get bigger and bigger. The bulbs are now monstrous BUT worth the trouble digging them out right after the first hard freeze. We cut the leaves all off, dig them out, dry the stalks and store in tubs of peat moss. Spring time, back in the ground. Our big leaves now get over three feet long, two feet wide....Amazonian by the end of the year.

I think we got our initial bulbs at a very good garden center.

I have pix....just have to find some!

Here’s one pix, not the best, but gives you an idea....full sun. The lamp post provides some perspective and scale.

View attachment 226996

Wow, awesome! Plus those huge leaves must make for some great compost at the end of the year!

Does anyone happen to know where I can get a pineapple plant? I think it would be fun to try growing one, and then I'll give the pineapple to my hubby.

 

[Yvonne G]

@Turtulas-Len - you sent me some seeds. I remember the wild grape, but can't remember what else was in there. Here's a couple pictures of the flat I planted the seeds in. Disregard the weeds. I'm cultivating them as baby tortoise food. In the picture with my hand in it, can you think of what that plantlet in front of my index finger is? I'm assuming all the seedlings with the ragged edge leaves are the wild grape:

 

[Len B]

@Turtulas-Len - you sent me some seeds. I remember the wild grape, but can't remember what else was in there. Here's a couple pictures of the flat I planted the seeds in. Disregard the weeds. I'm cultivating them as baby tortoise food. In the picture with my hand in it, can you think of what that plantlet in front of my index finger is? I'm assuming all the seedlings with the ragged edge leaves are the wild grape:

View attachment 227635 View attachment 227636

The only seeds I can remember sending are the wild grape and palm tree. But that doesn't mean I didn't stick some other seeds in the box while I was packing it to ship out.

 

[Oxalis]

We've received our catalog from Prairie Moon Nursery! Hubby has ordered me Viola seeds for Steve; the wonderful thing is that this species is native to Michigan (Viola sororia). If you haven't heard of this company, check it out! Someday, my flowers will hopefully look like this:

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't usually buy those packages of produce that include the whole plant, roots and all, but last Friday my store had them marked down to 99 cents because they were getting to be past their sell by date. So I cut off the tops and added it to my baby food for the day, and I planted the roots in a flat in the greenhouse that contains seedlings from a wild grape plant. This was two days ago, and they're growing already:




My Euphorbia grandicornis in the back ground of the first picture leapt off the shelf a few days ago and broke his pot to smithereens. Since I don't have a new pot, he'll have to stay as is, in a broken pot, until I can get to the store.

 

[Yvonne G]

We've received our catalog from Prairie Moon Nursery! Hubby has ordered me Viola seeds for Steve; the wonderful thing is that this species is native to Michigan (Viola sororia). If you haven't heard of this company, check it out! Someday, my flowers will hopefully look like this:

View attachment 227754

I love violets. and pansies, violas, etc.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Those will be super cold hardy too. Mine can survive a few off season snow storms.