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The off-topic topic

Finch

Whats it to ya?
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This is very successful at another forum that I visit. Essentially what this does is create a place to post and discuss topics that are not necessarily important enough to warrant starting a new thread over. As there is no set topic, the discussion topic at hand can be changed at any time. Thoughts, musings... daily discoveries... if you have an amusing funny image you want to share... all is welcome and encouraged. Don't worry about disrupting the current discussion; off topic is the entire point.

This is NOT a place for spam, arguments, etc.


I hope the mods give this a chance, because if (big if) this takes off it can be a fun and rewarding thing.

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I will start.


I have recently gotten a number of succulents, something that I am new to, and I was really excited about them. I was setting them up on the shelf when I dropped the Crassula 'Spring Time' pot. Now, dropping plants is never a good thing and often damaging, but something that I had not considered until too late was how HEAVY water-filled succulents are compared to the light potting mix, and how fragile they are. It fell upside down and the plant almost completely shattered on contact with the ground. And I mean shattered, each leaf section breaking off and going every which way. I was devastated. Luckily each of those leaves can be used to make a new plant but i have never really done this with Crassula, and the worst part is I have absolutely no idea how long it took for the plant to grow the size it was previously at since it was a new acquisition. I hear it is very slow growing.

On the upside, I hope I end up liking it because hopefully i will have alot of it. If anyone is interested, I assume that if they take I will have more than I will know what to do with. Still, it sort of sucks.


Also, this was hilarious
alternative_energy_revolution.jpg
 
Great Idea Finch

Well today I found that my VFT is finally beginning to grow again. Great! For about two weeks it didn't put out absolutely any growth, but now, all of the sudden, I see new leaves emerging :D

Plus my D. capensis root cuttings are growing, FAST. They've tripled in size the past week and a half.

Just wanted to add this vid as well. It's really mean, but the kid's reaction is priceless!

<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-7087105128411387208&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true"
 
Omg! great ideaish :3

Omg today was like the greatest day ever! I got my spag from Crissytal, and she gave me some P.Parvolia Hohasnfasas something seeds :3. Then I went to my growrack and I noticed a small little green speck, I went to identify it and one of my anglica seeds had sprouted :3. Then I looked at my tuberous sundew... BLOOD RED! Omg! so coooool. The new leaf is compleeeeeeeetly blood red, with dew on it making it look like an eye with little hairs :3 Then I went outside, and my unknown#1 Sarr made a new pitcher! It is soooo tall. But the downside of the day was I saw a snake and I ran inside :3.
 
Finch,
I assume you are talking about C. ovata the standard "Jade Plant" (including the "ET Fingers" or "Gollum" cultivars with tubular sucker like leaves) or C. arborescens the Silver Dollar plant having white leaves with red edges and some red speckles. These 3 plants are decent growers (in dry rocky soil) and can in time become like small trees. That's how I'm training my plants of the above, to be like succulent Bonsai's. My great aunt grew hers for some 30 years as a small shrub in the living room (hedge was more like it it was huge!) But the smaller Crassulas like C. pyramidalis, thrysifolia and the weirder looking ones never develop into more than a clump of a few 4" tall stalks. There are even some neat rosetted ones that I'd like to get someday.

If you're not sure what sort it is you've got here's a link to the Crassulas, most entries have images:
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Crassulaceae/Crassula.html

Setup a 11" x 11" Jiffy tray or some other wide flat surface that isn't too deep and lay your broken off leaves on dry growing media (don't bury the leaf tips) and set in bright light but not direct blast of sun or metal halides (good light but not hot light). After some weeks the leaf tops will turn red or purple and roots will emerge and seek soil - usually by the time you forget about them. If you have the stem pieces you can clean those up and replant them as well.

Once the roots get a couple mm long then bury the roots by sprinkling a tiny bit of some more growing media over where the roots are coming out and set the tray in water if it has bottom holes, if not just mist real well but gently (mist up and let it rain down) until the soil surface glistens, then let it dry out again for a week or three. However long it takes to dry out, if you use mineral or clay based media it will dry up much faster than nasty old wet peat and you can give some moisture again without fear of rotting the tender plantlets that will develop and emerge from where the leaf is rooting itself in the soil. Getting it back to a full fledged "plant" with a 1" thick stem and so forth will take quite some time since most "jade plants" are started from stem cuttings but leaves work

Don't put the leaves under glass or a plastic humdiity dome or anything, they won't root as readily (or at all) for some reason. I was imagining it would be a great help but my assorted Adromischus leaves did nothing until I took them out of the humidity dome, now they've almost all shot out roots, except of course for one of my faves the type species A. marianiae, there always has to be one spoil sport in the family!

As far as that video, that kid looks way too old to be balling like that over a monster on the screen! I was sneaking into horror flicks at that age. I'm guessing he's 10 but I suppose every kid looks "10" to me unless it's a baby in a diaper! :D
 
I love this:

imagesspider-20as-20payment.gif
 
Maaannn, I love XKCD
...and the spider email is one of my favs too
 
hahaha the cat carrier and the spider emails are so funny also is the first post is that gandolf coming to save the day ? rofl



Richard
 
  • #11
Lol, funny email thing.

fail-dvd-rewinder.jpg
 
  • #12
gandolf...hahaha

so funny..


yet so sad..
 
  • #13
This is how I feel a lot of the time at work:

meetings.jpg


lol.

xvart.
 
  • #15
This is AWESOME. Make sure you watch the whole thing!
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vc4HCORxz78&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vc4HCORxz78&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
This may be tough if you've never made sandwiches, but I think it's really worth the effort.
 
  • #16
Finch the leaf propagation method is quite similar for most leafy succulents.
I just had my Ihlenfeldtia vanzyliae (my pic) mostly rot off at the base cos I didn't see that the person who sent it to me was using a peat soil with just a very deep top dressing of nice pumice and gravel. I assumed the whole pot was this mixture as it was a very deep top dressing. So we'll see how a mesemb like this takes to being rerooted from a top segment.
 
  • #17
LOL...Cat carrier. Which end is which? Hehe
 
  • #18
Where do I send the check for that cat carrier? (based on recent posts - Sir K. may buy them all before I get there ...) :poke:

Also - who was that stranger who posted just before me?? :0o:
 
  • #19
Hey, swords. I have a jade growing in peat. It spends the winter inside with no water unless I remember it exists, then it spends the summer outside little in waterlogged soil and its growing fine. Its a succulent? XD
 
  • #20
If you have it in peat and rarely water in winter that's helpful, I on the otherhand...:water::water::water:

So if my stuff is in rocks and dries out super quick I'm less likely to transform them into expensive green slime with my magic watering can! :D
 
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