|
[ Past Issues Index ] [ Rex's Seedco Home ] [ Our Seed Catalog ] [ About Us ]
|
||||||
|
Table of Contents
1) Editor's Comments:It is a brand new year. We hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season and that the new year brings you all prosperity and joy. We now embark on our second year of publication. All your comments and kind words made our first year special. Our goal is to continue to offer content our readers will enjoy. Some of you may have grown tired of our articles on watering, so we thought we'd talk about a couple other things this week. We'll continue the watering topic in future issues. Thought we'd take a look at cacti and other succulents for this week. Our joke is a little longer than we like to use, but we received it from one of our readers -- and besides, we like it. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop us a note. Tom Krueger Rex Gregor 2) Cacti and Other Succulents: Indoors
If you have a greenhouse or conservatory, you can certainly have cacti and other succulents thriving. If you're wondering what a conservatory is, it is basically a space solely devoted to planting where you can control the environment for your plants. Of course, you can also have a room in your home devoted to plants; you might call such a place your garden room or your plant room. But don't let the lack of a specialized spot in your home or yard keep you from giving cacti a try indoors. In fact, most of the plants recommended for outdoor cultivation in warm climates will thrive in your home in cooler regions.
The nice thing about cacti and succulents, there are so many varied shapes and growing habits, as well as beautiful flowers, that they can provide interest all year long indoors. The major requirement for these plants is a high level of light, warmth, and good ventilation. Some leafy succulents might need protection from direct sun to protect the leaves from scorching in the summer. Yet, there are some varieties from the rain forests of Central and South America which prefer shade, or at least filtered light. Species from warm climates need bright light, a fairly dry atmosphere, and a temperature of 64° F. (18° C.). For these species you really want to offer such conditions so they can develop to their full potential and flower. That is why these tend to be better suited to a greenhouse or conservatory where you can control the environment more closely.
Large bowls work great for growing succulents. Remember that all the plants in a bowl should have the same environmental requirements. But succulents in a hanging basket also make for great visual displays. You'll want to use appropriate trailing plants for those hanging baskets. Finally, before we forget, be sure to wear gloves when you are handling any spiny variety. Click Image for Our Botanical
Gallery 3) Humor for Today:Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and God was tired of hearing all of the bickering. Finally God said, "Cool it! I am going to set up a test that will run two hours, and I will judge who does the better job." So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away. They moused. They did spreadsheets. They wrote reports. They sent faxes. They sent e-mail. They sent out e-mail with attachments. They downloaded. They did some genealogy reports. They made cards. They did every known job. But 10 minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder clapped, the rain poured, and, of course, the electricity went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld. Jesus just sighed. The electricity finally flickered back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically and screamed, "It's gone! It's all gone! I lost everything when the power went off!" Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of diligent work. Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait! He cheated! How did he do it?" God shrugged and said, "JESUS SAVES." 4) Free Resolution Reminders:Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Or should we say did you? Making those resolutions is always easy, keeping them is another matter. How'd you like to have some assistance on meeting your goals? We found a site where you can sign up for a free Resolution Reminder Service. You simply tell them your e-mail address and choose from a list of possible resolutions. Each month they'll send you a friendly note reminding you of your goals. They'll also include links to other web sites that might help you out. If you don't find yours on their list, you are given the opportunity to write a customized reminder. Check it out by clicking here or visit http://www.hiaspire.com/newyear/ 5) Repotting Cacti and Succulents:
Click Image for Our Angels Gallery 6) Quote for Today:"Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle
... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining
to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream." 7) Plant Spotlight: Ferocactus (Barrel Cactus)Since our lead article is on cacti, thought we'd spotlight a good selection for indoor growing, the Barrel Cactus or Ferocactus.
In fact, these cacti grow so slowly that seedlings can act as colorful window-sill plants indoors for quite some time. They will start to bloom when they reach about one foot in height. The flowers are 1-1/2 to 3 inches wide, appearing in the spring at the top of the stem. To keep the plant a nice shape, it does need as much sunlight as you can give it all year long. You'll want to keep spring and summer temperatures between 65° and 90° F. During the fall and winter keep the temperature between 45° and 55°. For many of us that turn our thermostats down at night, I'd swear we get awful close to that. Your soil mixture should be about one part sharp sand and one part commercial potting soil. You'll want to allow the soil to become dry to the touch before watering in the spring and summer. In the fall and winter you'll want to keep the cacti very dry. Feed Ferocactus every two months from the sprint to fall with a balanced liquid home-plant fertilizer; don't feed it in the winter. If you do want to give this one a try outdoors, you'll want to be in Zones 9 or 10, or in Zone 8 from Central Texas west. Indoors or out, be sure to set the plant away from where someone might brush against it or touch it - neither they nor your plant will be happy. In the spring you can give it a sprinkling of bone meal.
Click Here for our Cactus Page or visit http://rexseedco.com/cacti.htm to find the Barrel Cactus (seed #D8433) or the Golden Barrel Cactus (seed #D8418) 8) Winter Garage Safety:
Also, an attached garage can pose an even greater threat to those in the house. The change in air pressure between the garage and house can allow the exhaust to be pulled into the house. Years ago I had a friend whose family died in the house from a car running in an attached garage. Pull the car out of the garage to let it warm up. You might also consider installing an inexpensive exhaust fan for the garage. You could hook it up to a motion sensing device so it turns on when the car pulls in or out. Might be an excellent safety project. 9) Subscribe/UnsubscribeThis newsletter, the Green Thumb Times, is sent out only to those who have requested a FREE subscription by signing up at http://rexseedco.com or specifically asked to be added PRIVACY: Your email address is held in the strictest of privacy. It is never traded or sold to anyone else. To subscribe to The Green Thumb Times To unsubscribe Tom Krueger, Editor and Publisher Rex Gregor, Contributing Editor Please feel free to forward The Green Thumb Times to a friend. Rex’s Seedco has searched the world for quality
growers of garden seeds. Many of these farmers bring together ancient
wisdom and modern science so people everywhere may have good health
and enjoyment in life. We are dedicated to providing the best wherever
they are found.
|
||||||
|
[ Past Issues Index ] [ Rex's Seedco Home ] [ Our Seed Catalog ] [ About Us ]
|
||||||
Since
it is the winter season, thought we'd talk a bit about growing cacti
and other succulents in the home. We'll take a look at cacti for outdoors
in the spring and summer. That is assuming we remember because topics
aren't tough to come by in the spring, summer, and fall.
The
same characteristics which allow cacti to do well in harsh, arid climates
also make them well suited to the warm, dry conditions of a heated home.
In fact, there are some outdoor plants that would not like the winter
indoor conditions cacti would love.
For
your home, many cacti and other succulents will do well in containers
if you provide them with warmth, bright light, and draft-free conditions.
You can use small pots for displaying individual plants, or large bowls
for creating your own beautiful display. Of course, in a bowl you'll
want to have plants that live well together.
This
species has beautifully colored spines on stems that are globular, oval
or cylindrical. In their native habitat they can grow up to 10 feet
tall and two feet wide. Of course, that is in its native habitat where
it takes it many years to grow that large.
You
may also want to consider the Golden Barrel Cactus.
Now
that the colder weather is with us, many in the real cold spots like
to warm their vehicles before driving off. Unfortunately, a running
car in a garage can be a disaster waiting to happen. Breathing any amount
of combustible gases can be dangerous.