Forsythia Cutting Propagation

Several Months ago my aunt wanted more forsythia bushes. I cut three 14" or so new wood stems and chopped them into pieces. Each piece had two leaves left, though half the leaf was clipped off to conserve moisture. Each was dipped in rooting hormone, and put in it's own pot. I put them all in a tray and kept them in the shade for about a month and they rooted. I potted 12, and 12 grew roots, forsythia is known for being ridiculously easy to root. So far none of them have grown any new leaves, but they did develop new buds along the current leaf bases. I expect next year they will have several new shoots.

Easter Cactus Propagation

Assuming you start with a plant, there are two easy ways to get more plants. These instructions should work for any of the easter, christmas or thanksgiving cactus types.

Cuttings: Twist off a single pad or multiple pads and leave them out for a day or two to dry a little. I put mine in clean plastic containers with about 1/2" of damp potting soil. Push the base of the cuttings into the soil, cover the container to keep in moisture and put under lights, or anywhere with good light that isn't going to cook the containers. I generally do multiple containers so if one goes bad I don't lose all my efforts.

They should start putting out roots quite quickly, after roots they will begin growing out new pads. Once it starts growing new pads it can be removed from the container and put in a pot of its own.

Seeds: Takes a lot longer, but the seedlings are cute... Start with the plant flowering, preferably with several blooms of different ages open. With a paintbrush transfer pollen from different flowers, do this for several days. When the flowers die it will be obvious which ones are now growing seeds, the base will not drop off, and in the case of easter cactus the flower will also stay attached. Months later the fruits will be ready to harvest (mine got lighter in color and sort of squishy to the touch.) I germinated mine with instructions from this link: http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2011/09/germinating-easter-cactus-seeds.html. The seeds will germinate very quickly when fresh, as in less than a week. However they take a while to get larger.

Red Dragonfly

Another dragonfly from Sunday. other then it being a type of meadowhawk I've largely given up on ids for the red autumn dragonflies. It could be one of 3 or 4 species, especially if it's female.

Late Blue Dasher

Over the weekend I went apple picking with family, and for the first time in years it was warm and sunny, not cold and drizzling. There were tons of dragonflies flitting about, most of them being the standard red autumn ones, but there were a few blue dashers mixed in.

Rose of Sharon

Also from last week my much abused Rose of Sharon decided to bloom. Half this plant died two winters ago and since then it has sort of tottered along. I can't believe it, but there are even a few more buds so I might get more then just one flower. Now I kind of wish I hadn't planted the aggressive tomatoes next to it.

Water Lily

A surprise water lily that bloomed last week. Obviously I should have posted it last week. I've been busy, working, not doing anything fun...

Vermont Morning

The view in the early morning from my aunt's house in Vermont. Back in MA we don't get fog very often. The fog stuck around for maybe 15 minutes after I went out to take photos.

Another Unknown Purple Flower

I expect this one is likely a common Enough greenhouse plant, but I didn't see ID. It looks almost like an orchid up close.

Froggie

Tower Hill has frogs that might as well be plastic for how much they move. Judging by the double line of flower petals in the nearby grass they saw a wedding yesterday, so I probably wasn't that interesting.

Purple and White Flower

I found no label for this though there were a few bunches. I liked the color change it appeared to be doing.

Monarch Butterfly

Accommodating Monarch Butterfly from Tower Hill. It would keep returning to the same flower and didn't mind an audience.

Yellow Zinnia

This week will be highlights of my recent trip to Tower Hill. This was a much later visit for me, normally I go in May.

Fence Fixing

So one of my mother's dogs made a break for it again. This time by breaking open a weakish section of wire fencing. Since it was wrapped over a very large rock I'm not moving I had to improvise a solution. I couldn't replace the wire without it being less secure then it was. It's right next to the shed so I attached rails from the next fencepost that was solidly in the ground and the shed wall. Then I cut pickets out of 1" x 3" strapping. I kept them level to each other, and contoured their height to keep them from resting on the ground. I'm quite happy with the result, and the dog will have to find a new place to plan her escape. Of course there are 4 dogs using the yard and only one is planning escapes. At least her boomerang tag gets usage.

Winged Mantis

About a half hour after yesterday's picture.

Molting Mantis

The mantis hanging out in the grass moves around every day, but Sunday it was time to molt. So I found it hanging from the grass trying to get out of its skin and let its new wings dry.