Wednesday, August 31, 2016
How To Take A Cutting Off A Plant (Video)
Hey guys so today I made this video today after work, I hope you enjoy it. Most of the information can be found on my "How to take cuttings from plants" post, but some of you I know are visual learners and/or just want to hear my smooth voice. ;) One thing I forget to mention in both post and video (because I rarely follow it myself) is to sterilize your blade that you are taking the cutting with. I've never had a cutting fail because of this, or really any other reason, but it's just one more trick to avoid contamination. Another thing to be noted here is I have most of my cutting experience with succulents, which are notoriously hardy plants. With others plants you might have to be more careful to get the same rate of sucess. Anyways, here is the link to the video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it, and please like, subscribe, and comment to show support for me and my efforts. I will try and post things more consistently,and of course hopefully get better as I do. Thanks and have fun growing!
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Crassula sarcocaulis or Ming Jade
Hey guys! so I made a new YouTube video, a sort of impromptu review of a Crassula sarcocaulis bonsai I had gotten after taking my SATs in Janurary of 2016. It's a wonderful plant and I would suggest these for anyone who wants a bonsai or houseplant that's easy to take care of.
As you can tell from the video, when they bloom they are stunning. The flowers on mine does exude a strong odor that isn't exactly appealing, but isn't horrible, so be warned. As with most succulents, this plant doesn't require much water, so try not to over water. Do water whenever the soil is dry, and make sure it gets lots of sunlight.
I cover quite a bit of information in my video, so try and watch the whole thing and comment any questions you might have left! I'm still working on being less awkward on camera, and making my videos as short and interesting as possible. It would mean a lot to me if you could also share the video and like it. You may subscribe if you feel the need. Hope you enjoy it!
Click this link to watch my video
As you can tell from the video, when they bloom they are stunning. The flowers on mine does exude a strong odor that isn't exactly appealing, but isn't horrible, so be warned. As with most succulents, this plant doesn't require much water, so try not to over water. Do water whenever the soil is dry, and make sure it gets lots of sunlight.
I cover quite a bit of information in my video, so try and watch the whole thing and comment any questions you might have left! I'm still working on being less awkward on camera, and making my videos as short and interesting as possible. It would mean a lot to me if you could also share the video and like it. You may subscribe if you feel the need. Hope you enjoy it!
Click this link to watch my video
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Mushrooms of Northwest North America Review
Hi guys! So I have been reading this book, "Mushrooms of Northwest North America" and I've got to say it's pretty great. It's not your typical field guide. I've actually had it for a few years, but I didn't give it a chance until a few weeks ago. The reason why was because I skimmed through it, and thought "this won't help me I.D. a mushroom right away". And maybe that's true. If you're looking for a field guide with clear photographs, then you should probably just get an Audubon field guide, or some other quick I.D. Field guide.
The book I'm reviewing does not actually have photographs of mushrooms. Instead, it has very nice illustrations. While they are very nice pieces of art, they are probably not as helpful as an actual photograph. But what this book lacks in that aspect, it more than makes up for in knowledge. It contains a species description section in the second half of the book, which is chalk-full of fun and useful facts for the different groups of mushrooms. It breaks down each class, order, family, genus, and lists several different species for each group. It tells you which genera are usually safe to eat, which ones are dangerous, and which ones are intoxicating. It gives you characteristics of each genera. with this information, you can almost tell if a mushroom is edible or not just from background knowledge.
Basically, this book is a must-have for anyone seriously interested in mycology or mushroom hunting. I've learned a lot on Identification just from reading this book, and I still could learn so much more! Keep in mind, this was written in the early 90's so some information is a little outdated. For example, is lists the class "Hymenomycetes", however this is no longer relevant, and many of the orders have been moved to Agaricomycetes. But it still has a plethora of useful information, and is worth at least a looking into. Well that about wraps up this review, hope it is helpful! Lone Pine, the company that published this book, also has a book on Mushrooms of Northeast North America, which I have not read, though I assume it is also helpful and worth a look.
The book I'm reviewing does not actually have photographs of mushrooms. Instead, it has very nice illustrations. While they are very nice pieces of art, they are probably not as helpful as an actual photograph. But what this book lacks in that aspect, it more than makes up for in knowledge. It contains a species description section in the second half of the book, which is chalk-full of fun and useful facts for the different groups of mushrooms. It breaks down each class, order, family, genus, and lists several different species for each group. It tells you which genera are usually safe to eat, which ones are dangerous, and which ones are intoxicating. It gives you characteristics of each genera. with this information, you can almost tell if a mushroom is edible or not just from background knowledge.
Basically, this book is a must-have for anyone seriously interested in mycology or mushroom hunting. I've learned a lot on Identification just from reading this book, and I still could learn so much more! Keep in mind, this was written in the early 90's so some information is a little outdated. For example, is lists the class "Hymenomycetes", however this is no longer relevant, and many of the orders have been moved to Agaricomycetes. But it still has a plethora of useful information, and is worth at least a looking into. Well that about wraps up this review, hope it is helpful! Lone Pine, the company that published this book, also has a book on Mushrooms of Northeast North America, which I have not read, though I assume it is also helpful and worth a look.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Back from Hiatus, and Ready to Rock (and a terrarium review)
Hello! I'm back from my months long Hiatus from this blog, so yay! Things got crazy because I visited Alaska for the summer, and I've just been super busy with school. So for my first post back, I decided to do something new. Instead of Writing and posting photos, which is always frustrating because of the way Blogger is formatted, I am going to post a YouTube video I uploaded. It's a terrarium, I used pretty much the same technique as all my other ones, so without further ado, here is the video! Hope you like it, and make sure to like, comment, and subscribe!
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Japanese Maples Update 3
Hey sorry for the hiatus! For this post I'm just going to show some pictures and give you guys an update on the Acer palmatum (also known as Japanese Maple) seedlings. So without further ado, here are the pictures. This is the fifth week since I took them home.
Sadly some of the maples did die, but a majority of them did make it through, and a couple have made giant leaps of growth since then! I think part of the reason why some of them died was overcrowding. I had them in 4" pots, and some plants were 2-3 per pot. I did transplant quite a few into their own pots, but not before some died. The one labeled in the pictures as "Big Bubba" definantly won the award for most growth. most seem to be at about the same growth as before, though several show little new growth buds, so that's good. I have been keeping them pretty well watered, though I try to let them dry out before waterings, which is what most tree like.
Anyways, today is just a short little update, but I hoped you like it! I know I really love to see plants growth, it's just kinda cool to see things get bigger and change. Please share this post with a friend, anyone who might be interested. Thanks for reading, bye!
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| Big Bubba |
Sadly some of the maples did die, but a majority of them did make it through, and a couple have made giant leaps of growth since then! I think part of the reason why some of them died was overcrowding. I had them in 4" pots, and some plants were 2-3 per pot. I did transplant quite a few into their own pots, but not before some died. The one labeled in the pictures as "Big Bubba" definantly won the award for most growth. most seem to be at about the same growth as before, though several show little new growth buds, so that's good. I have been keeping them pretty well watered, though I try to let them dry out before waterings, which is what most tree like.
Anyways, today is just a short little update, but I hoped you like it! I know I really love to see plants growth, it's just kinda cool to see things get bigger and change. Please share this post with a friend, anyone who might be interested. Thanks for reading, bye!
Monday, May 25, 2015
Succulent cuttings
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| Moss Stonecrop Sedum |
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| Rooting Hormone |
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| Trailing Sedum |
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| Cutting |
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| Cutting Dipped in Hormone |
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| Flowering |
So I followed the steps from my How to take cuttings Post. They are doing well, And I expect to see growth in a few weeks to a month.
That's about all I have for now, Please comment if you have any questions, concerns, and comments. Please Share this with a friend, and thanks for reading!
Friday, May 22, 2015
How to take cuttings from plants
Hey Guys! Today I'm going to teach you crazy kids how to propagate from cuttings! Taking a cutting from a plant is super easy, and it's nice because the cutting is going to be exactly the same genetically as the parent. So if you have a plant that say, produces really sweet fruit, a cutting from a sweet fruit tree might just be what you need. Many plants can be started from cuttings, such as (just off the top of my head), Ivy, wisteria, jades, most succulents, tomato plants, african violets, bamboo, and many more!
Steps
1) Find a plant that you would like to take a cutting from
2) Cut a new growth branch (not woody), at least three nodes long
3) Strip the cuttings leaves, leaving only a few at the top,
4) Take the end that you are going to root, and slice diagonally, this helps to get as much area as possible for rooting.
5) wet the rooting end
6) Dip the rooting end in a growth hormone of your choice
7) Poke your finger, a pencil, ect, and make a hole in a container of potting soil.
8) Plant cutting in hole
Notes
If you do not have a rooting hormone, it's ok. Just follow the other steps. Rooting hormones just help to make sure the plant roots, and can be a bit faster than without. I heard you can make a rooting hormone from honey, though I have never tried.
A good medium to grow cuttings is a mix of peat moss and perlite. Half and half should do the trick, although I do suggest you experiment and find out your preference.
If you're plant seems to be wilting, cut the leaves in half, this helps the plant to focus more on rooting, and less on leaves.
Later this weekend I will make some posts about some succulent cuttings that I took, One that I took and while back and how it's doing, and some wisteria cuttings that I took.
Thanks for reading! Please share this with a friend, and make sure to come back, I make a post at least once a week. Hoped this post helped! Byeeeeee!
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