Why I Oughta...

In late January, I tried a succulent propagation experiment with one variable:  cutting vs callus'd-over pieces of Burro's Tail.  I used rooting compound and went about planting two small containers of little pieces of succulent.  In the green, plastic container, I planted segments that I sliced in-to and then applied the rooting compound.  In the clay pot, I left the segments with their calluses and just rubbed rooting compound on the surface.  The little white post-it note says:  "Uncut = Clay".  (I keep an offline garden diary of sorts, too...) Four-or-so-weeks later, here's what those two containers look like: What has happened?  The cuttings on the left - the ones that I sliced into with a knife BEFORE applying the rooting compound have just melted away.  On the right - the ones that I left intact?  Many of them are still there and doing just fine.   Lesson learned:  when propagating succulents, make sure they have c...

On my Winter Gardening to-do list are a few propagation-related items:  Being more deliberate with propagating some of the Burro's Tail buds that seem to fall off of the main vines everyday and starting to propagate our Christmas Cactus .  To do both of those, I'm going to give this Rooting Powder from Bonide a shot.  For Burro's Tail, I've had luck WITHOUT this rooting hormone , but that all was when I was in a downtown high-rise window.   I'll post some photo updates when I get around to planting these small cuttings in their own containers and will experiment with how this rooting powder helps/doesn't help with getting them going. 

Like a lot of you guys, the year of working-from-home caused me to have a little work plant casualty.  On the ledge at the Aon Center, I was keeping a couple of pots/containers of a Burro's Tail succulents that when we SUDDENLY decided to just stop going into the office were mostly abandoned.  The last time that I posted about them was at the end of October 2018 here on the blog .  Well, thanks to our office services team, one of those containers somehow survived the Spring and Summer, so when I ventured into the office in Fall of 2020, I was able to bring one of them home and nurse it along this Winter.   I mostly neglected it the past four months, giving it occasional water.  And, here's what it looks like now: The container that I have on hand is the very one that I started with cuttings from the parent succulent that I was given by a co-worker who was leaving .  If you look at the bottom of the green bin that this container is sitting in, you can ...

It was just a little bit over a year ago that I last posted a photo of my office succulent - a Burro's tail - that I keep on the ledge by my window in the Aon Center.  That photo is here .  And here's the post from August of 2016 - just over two years ago - that shows it in its youth .  Tracking the changes over the years shows the growth of not just the main plant, but you'll also notice in this year's version, a series of other growths.  As for the primary pot, you can compare last year to this year and see that it is still going strong with a few long shoots and a full pot.  But, you'll also note two other experiments.  The first is the container on the far left that shows a bunch of new cuttings that I took from the main plant and put in a smaller pot.  They have taken off and begun to make their own 'tails' as it were.  Also, in the center of the photo, you'll see a clear plastic cup that I've tossed some succulent bits in that broke off...