I stuck this thing in succulent dirt, in that pot, from a right off the top of a grocery store pineapple 5 years ago and figured that it would never have a shot to flower because it’s in a north east facing window, but I always thought it was a cool thing to look at that I kept alive. I’m shocked that it’s actually flowering. I had to share.
Because you shared your story with me, I feel like sharing with you one of mine.
We had some neighbors move in across the street. This is way back when I used to live with my parents. The new neighbors had two little girls and they were worried about this huge cactus in the middle of the yard. They didn’t want the girls to run into it while playing. They tried to dig it up, and failed miserably. It was just too big and too heavy. The next bright idea was to wrap a chain around the cactus and anchor it to the back of a truck and rip it out of the ground. The plant was absolutely gnarled. Clearly, the rot would set in and it should surely die. It seemed like they only got 3/4 of it out of the ground and the rest of it died in that spot.
We asked if we could have the remains. They said sure, why not. We dragged the massive cactus flesh pile across the street and made a vague attempt to plant it in the ground beside our house. Almost 20 years later it’s flourishing, and we have dozens of beautiful blooms every year. I watched over many years as the plant carefully grew new offshoots and discarded the mangled parts of itself from the chains. The specimen is truly stunning now. Thing is, that cactus probably lived there for years before they built the house, and they sold the house five years later. That was 15 years ago when they sold it.
That plant faced such adversity and then with almost 2 decades of neglect it looks like it was tended by the gods. Perhaps it was.
That’s an incredible story. All of my plants are rescues and because of the shit light situation that I have in my apartment they are all leggy but I have given out so many pups from offshoots and broken off branches that all thrive. It’s like a little orphan village in my windows now. bonus family photo
I live in the Netherlands and GMO's are banned here so I hope some get to Switzerland(not EU) where I could buy them and then import them like glofish.
Man... Fuck the US patent system.
"Our Firefly Petunias are protected under patent, and as such, propagation and breeding are not permitted. These petunias are sold exclusively for personal use."
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it is what it is, however petunias are very easy to propagate and you can do whatever you want with your plant as long as you aren't selling it.
I already have a second one growing from a cutting I took.
Ok, I'll take back some of my hate. I thought they had put some sort of monsanto-like 'if you try to reproduce it on your own they'll die' gene.
If it's not 'pay $40 if you want another plant' then that's more reasonable.
To be fair, they probably spent years of time, effort and money to design this product. Why should someone else be able to propagate it and profit from their blood sweat and tears?
'Personal use' covers propagation and breeding by an individual, for non-commercial purposes. Nobody's saying -you- can't try to propigate or breed them, but you could be libel if you try to make money off the endeavor.
In this case I would say the patent system is working as intended, in that it gives some protection to LightBio's investment into creating the firefly. While I would LOVE to see an expanded variety available from other -commercial- growers (with MUCH larger operations and funding), I don't want it to be at the expense of LightBio's effort, or the commercial success they've earned for creating it in the first place.
Since you are new to plants, you will probably be better off skipping the seeds and starting with a full plant instead...seeds tend to be more difficult to grow successfully into plants and it may be frustrating for a first timer!
A pothos could be a good choice, they're cheap, they tolerate very low light and can thrive on neglect (and if you're on a budget can be easily propagated, which is always fun)
Ooh, that's exciting! Please post pics when you do.
If you like the style of mine, here's a tip: I told the artist I don't want any hard outlines / line art. Here is what it looked like before she shaded in the black areas:
That’s awesome - good tip. I think I’m going to try to find someone to mimic the physical leaf I like as closely as possible. How much did it hurt to get it done on your shoulder blade? I’ve heard mixed things and my only tattoo was on the outside of my shoulder and didn’t really hurt much at all. Have also heard that when they go back to fill in the color, it hurts much more
I don't recall the shoulder blade hurting too much. I feel like the areas around the edges are what hurt more because the skin is more delicate in those areas. Overall it really wasn't bad, but I do think the coloring hurt more than the black parts, but I don't know if that's just from me getting used to it physically and mentally.
There are houseplants that are taken from nature endangering the species or grown in tropical countries and imported. But this isn't that common, especially for plants that are meant for beginners. Most countries will also have very strict laws and policies that prevent importing invasive, endangered species, or any plant that may become a threat.
Most houseplants are grown much closer to the place they will be sold (if you live in Europe, the ones you find in stores probably come from the Netherlands. Many will have their Plant Passport that can tell you where they exactly come from!), which not only reduces the impact but it also helps the plants to be better acclimated to those places.
I am not really sure if you can grow native plants indoors unless you live in a tropical country. Plants in colder climates usually need to experience the cold of the winter! Which is hard to provide in a home. Also, some plants are protected and can't be taken from nature.
My favorite houseplants are pothos, philodendrons and other aroids.
But I would suggest you look into Tradescantias instead. They are very hardy and easy to grow. And they come in many different colors!
You just must be aware that they are considered an invasive species in some places. However, as long as they are kept in pots inside the house (or a balcony, for example), there shouldn't be any problem.
Since they are so easy to grow, many people sell or give away cuttings (check for example this thread on Mastodon). You wouldn't need to attend a commercial store if you don't want to support the environmental impact all the greenhouses and nurseries have.
I don't think cuttings are usually a good idea for beginners cause they grow so slow!! But you don't have that problem with Tradescantias.
Snakeplant. You basically can't kill them I stg. They are sold everywhere. They come in fancy flavours. They can adapt to most lighting conditions. They're ok with you messing up watering them.
Get a cutting from a friend's pothos. Dig up a tiny local sapling and learn about bonsai. Make a moss terrarium. Go get more if they all die catastrophically. Think locally if you're worried about the ecological/ethical footprint. And don't buy miracle gro.
Not sure on the ID because that plant is hella stressed. Might just be aloe vera, but could be juvenna. There can variety within a species that may explain some of the irregularities I'm seeing. Do you have a picture of the healthy mother?
The soil needs to dry out between waterings to encourage root growth and prevent the plant from falling over. Chronically over watered aloe will get floppy and weak.
They don't do fantastically with a hot soil, I cut my Fox Farms Ocean Forest with coco coir and perlite at about 30/50/20 and I have gotten aloe vera to be about 30" wide 3ft tall with more babies than I know what to do with. The only time I fertilized was when I went up a pot size and I just added more of the same soil mix, planted the babies in it too. So if you are using miracle grow or an uncut hot soil, that is bad.
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