New Features Added

 The inclement weather this weekend has prohibited any outdoor gardening, but it has given me an opportunity to work on the blog and add a couple of features that I want to tell you about.

Google Translator: On the upper right-hand side of the homepage you will see a new feature labeled "Translate", with a drop-down menu that allows you to view my blog in any of 110 different languages. Try it  yourself..just "click-on" Select Language , pick a language & enjoy.

The other feature is embedded in the Blogger code (Blogger is Google's blogging software). If you "click" on any photo on the blog, it will open in a full-size version & display all of the other photos on that page as thumbnails along the bottom of the screen. You can scroll through all those photos without having to read the narrative. So, if you're searching for a particular photo, you can review them en masse' as opposed to one at a time.

Nov 17, 2025 - UPDATE:

This morning I added another new feature to the blog that seems highly appropriate after the last few days..a 

Weather Widget . Placed in the upper-right corner, it will most likely be the first thing you see when you log in..enjoy.

Rain, Rain & More Rain

Nov. 16, 2025 

This is our 3rd straight day of rain..very much a typical early, taste-of-winter storm for us. This storm has been a real "soaker"with few breaks in-between the squalls carrying tropical moisture in addition to a preview of the coming rainy season that we call "winter".

My "little trees" not only  came through this storm, they are absolutely thriving..they look happier & healthier this morning than usual, due to the rain that has cleaned the air and given the plants a deep drink of clean, fresh water & hopefully flushed many of the toxins & chemical water treatment residues that build-up over time.

Unfortunately, I only have access to municipal water here, which is not great. The only alternative is either bottled water or some sort of water filtration system, which sounds extreme, just to water some plants, but seeing the visible improvements to their foliage, posture, color makes me think that I need to spend some time finding out if I can improve the situation at a reasonable cost.

the calm before the storm..

Nov. 12-13, 2025

There's a BIG low-front, probably the 1st Alaska Low of the season moving in & the weather forecasts are calling for a multi-day rain event, statewide. Looking at the weather radar, you can see that this one might be our first real winter storm. Keeping that in mind, I want to get a few things done before the rain hits.

There are a number of trees that need their potting mix refreshed, the soil having settled, due to compaction & loss of soil due to frequent watering. Also, this will give me an excuse to get a look at the roots & to get a general sense of the plants health & rate of growth since their last re-pot.

First victim, Dracaena or Dragon Tree: de-potted & immediately saw impressive root growth, with long, white (healthy) roots encircling the root ball, as well as many feeder roots fanning out from the center. I unwound the circling roots & was pretty surprised at the amount of root growth..if you're interested in knowing more about this process & how the plant was affected, you can read a more detailed account on this plants history page if you click here 

Next up was my Star Jasmine: this little tree has been totally trouble-free, to the extent that I had forgotten to register him & set-up a History page. The Jasmine, like the Dracaena, showed what I considered impressive root growth, which required substantial pruning before re-potting in a small bonsai tray..your can read a more detailed account & view photos here 

What Did You Do Today?

Laurel Sumac

Nov. 9, 2025

In spite of the warm weather we've had, the calendar doesn't lie & the shorter days & cooler nights presage our "winter"and I find myself preparing by re-potting plants &/or simply refreshing the potting medium that has served it's purpose..for young, healthy, growing plants, about 6 mo's seems to be the yardstick, at least for my trees.

I've been growing this tree (in a training pot) for several months, while periodically pruning him for height. Over the months, I've been able to reduce his overall height by roughly 50%. The time has come for the next step in attempting to train him to live in a container.

Once I de-potted him & removed most of the soil & exposed the rootball, I decided to take a chance & skip the 2nd training pot & give him, for what might be, a permanent berth in a small ceramic bowl (pic) that needed a tenant.

As with all of the trees in my collection, the Sumac has it's own Album which documents it's development & growth, which you can access & follow by clicking-on  Laurel Sumac here or in the menu on the r-side of this page.

Divide & Double (updated)

 Oct 26, 2025

Here's the challenge..can you divide a tree with 2 trunks & make 2 little trees from one? This one is an out-&-out gamble..I found this HoneySuckle at Home Depot

Nothing special about this plant, but when you take a closer look, you'll see that he has parallel trunks, seemingly growing beside one another or, are they both growing from the same root stock or ??

I won't know until I get it out of it's pot & take a look..

First step is removing soil & trying to see if this is one plant, or two that have grown together & slowly, slowly, start to pull them apart.

The idea is to NOT destroy this little tree, & after a few minutes of pulling & prying & trying not to tear too many roots, I turned to my trusty pruning saw.

The two trunks were indeed joined..looked as if they had both grown out of a large, woody root, but the saw cut cleanly through the root ball.

Now we have 2 specimens, each with root ball intact..now, can I keep them alive...?

I potted both & here they are..will they survive after major surgery? Only time will tell... I will leave them alone for a few days..see what happens.

Oct 30 - Update

Both of these are doing fine..no sign of wilting or die-back. If you want to follow their progress, click on HoneySuckle II

Nov. 8 - Update

Over the last week, these 2 lost some leaves, but otherwise showed little ill-effects to the surgery & re-potting, as separate trees. Now I have to decide if either is a candidate for potting-on &/or development..however, I now have 2 HoneySuckle specimens for the price of one.

Bonsai Pics from China

A friend of mine & his wife are vacationing in China. He visited me here in Ontario a couple of weeks ago, before his trip & I took him to Eastern Leaf, the Bonsai nursery in Chino. So, he sent me those snapshots taken when they were visiting a Buddhist monastery in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan with a population of over 20 million. It is also famous for the Giant Panda Breeding program. The practice of Bonsai traces its origins to China.

What Did You Do Today?

 Nov. 4, 2025

• Gave Madagascar Dragon Tree a "haircut"; I do this 2-3 times per year.
• Watered & Fed everybody: the plants, the cats, the whole fam-damily..
• Cut my ankle & bled all over the place.

Happy Birthday Pittosporum (Wheelers Dwarf)

 Nov 1, 2025

It is a year since this I brought this dude home, so one day being as good as another, I declare Nov 1 as his birthday. 

    

AFTER

BEFORE

If you want to learn more about this plant & see his transition to the present, click on the Pittosporum Album in the right-hand column.

Miniatures/Succulents - Part 2

My knowledge of &/or exposure to succulents, up until this last year, was limited to Jade plants, that hardy, almost impossible to kill, ubiquitous Jade that back in the day, every good love & peace-nik grew alongside their marijuana plant.

Succulents are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. Succulents are not a species..a given species can have both succulent & non-succulents in their family tree & vice versa, multiple species may be succulent, while not related, such as cacti.

The main attraction for many (me, included) is the ease of succulent propagation; whether from a leaf or root cutting, or seed, most succulents will readily reproduce in a wide variety of potting medium & environmental conditions. One can build a collection of succulent plants quite rapidly, compared to other varieties.

As I grew different types, I was intrigued that many of them looked like "mini-bonsai" or faux bonsai plants when potted..And so, alongside my tree collection, however incongruous it might seem, I've started building a collection of succulents.

And to bring some order to the chaos, I'll create an Album specifically for Miniatures/Succulents, so I have some historical record of each plant..coming soon.

Re-potted Red Caro & New Additions

 Yesterday, I repotted my Red Coprosma..used the same training pot & held off on root pruning except for cleaning-up some exposed roots, as I wanted to minimize any trauma..this plant is recovering from being badly burned by an accidental use of full-strength fertilizer & I am treating him with "kid gloves"

The accident also affected 3 other trees; 1 dead, 1 lived but permanently disfigured, 2 others which are recovering. Lesson learned? Yes!

On a brighter note, also potted some new additions to our succulent collection:

Euphorbia -
Crown of Thorns

Golden Rat-Tail
Cactus

Haworthia

Miniatures/Succulents

A little over a year ago (early summer - 2024) when I was just starting on my horticultural adventure, a neighbor-lady brought me a jar full  of Jade plant cuttings & asked if I would like to have them..

I gratefully accepted & in a few days time, some of the cuttings were showing tiny roots and so this odyssey began.

I potted a couple in very small bowls & realized that they looked like little bonsai..gave a couple away to various folks, which promoted my thinking.

Soon I had rooted cuttings "coming out my ears"..when someone suggested I offer them for sale in our community thrift store. Our building is largely tenant-run & has a very active tenant association (they call it a co-op) in that we regularly host luncheons, brunches, & decorate for holidays..these activities have costs attached which are not paid for by the management company & so the proceeds from the Thrift Store go to help pay for those activities.

Now I'm having trouble getting small pots like these at a reasonable cost since the
source for these is China. But the real upside to this story is my exposure & introduction to Succulents, of which I shall write in a future post.

1st Snow of the Season..

There was an early-season Alaska Low that blew through So. Cal this week and, yes, we got our first snow..on the mountains..above 3000 ft..Mt. Baldy (local mountains) was "dusted" as they say with snow on the peaks..got chilly here, but we had rain, rain & then, some more rain..but, oh-boy, did my trees love it!

I moved all of the plants (see photo) under the overhang of the apartment above me, but they still got more than adequately watered..at least, I got them out of the wind..most plants don't mind the cold & don't seem to mind a little wind, but put the rain & wind together & you have a widow-maker.

Everybody came through the storm just fine & they all loved the rain..after a steady diet of municipal water, I'm sure the rain was like a fine wine to them..(tap water here is terrible)

My Magic Water-Wand...

 If you consult almost any authority on the basics of growing plants, almost the first thing they will tell you is that "over-watering/underwatering is the No. 1 cause of failure" Most plants, I find are remarkably resiliant & can tolerate poor soil, poor water, too much/little shade/sun, but unless they are plants that evolved in the desert, they need water to survive.

  I tend to overwater..so when I discovered that cheap, accurate hygrometers are available on Amazon, I didn't hesitate..now that I've used a hygrometer, I wouldn't be without it. Much as a meat thermometer is to a  gourmet cook, the hygrometer is to a container gardener. I call it my Magic Water Wand, the wand reaching down nearly 7"; that means that instead of measuring the water content of the first inch or so, my magic wand reaches down into the root ball to tell me whether it's wet or dry.

Why is this important? Recently, I acquired a new plant from one of the major Home & Garden Supply co.'s, & as is my routine, gave him a good drink of water as soon as we got home. But the water seemed to run right through the plant & a while later, when I was watering my other trees, I checked the new plant & got a DRY reading?? I took multiple readings at various depths & discovered that while the very top & the very bottom of the plant were moist, the middle 3-4 inches were bone-dry.

The middle is where the rootball lives..and the rootball IS the plant..so this led to the whole ordeal (for the plant, not me) of de-potting, root-comb-out & prune & re-potting, as documented in the Blue Point Juniper Photo Album 

Since I started using the hygrometer, I have not lost a plant to overwatering..because my plants are being properly watered, skipping a day does no harm & because my plants are properly hydrated, they are happy & that makes me happy.

 Allow me to introduce you to...

Another new plant? Another Juniper? 2 Junipers? Yeah, but this one's a different cultivar..a Blue Point Juniper, so named for it's blue-green  needles. This plant is usually found as a ground-cover or a low-lying bush, but will grow to 2-3 feet, over time.

Source: Home Depot

Cost: $11.

The foliage is so dense on this plant that I could not tell if it had a single "trunk" or multiple trunks, until I started pruning. After 2 pruning sessions, he is starting to reveal what looks like a multi-trunk profile, but the unclipped dense growth is still hiding his "bones".

You can see how the process develops & follow how this little tree progresses over time by viewing his "Photo Album"..each plant in the collection has his own pictorial history in the dedicated Albums, listed on the right-hand side of this page.

 Oct 5, 2025

Days Getting Shorter

Another page on the calendar turned.. feels like summer is over..days getting shorter..early mornings now are cool, not "brisk" yet, but there's a different feel now. The sun is going down a little bit earlier every day as we slide inexorably towards winter, or what we call winter, here in southern Cal.

                                 

Just for fun, I'm growing a couple of Hatch Chili plants; although it's not necessarily the correct time of year to be starting plants, they seem to be doing fine. Grown from seed, ordered from Sandia Seed in New Mexico, these are the "real deal".. Hatch Chili's have a near-cult like following among affectianados of the sweet spice that is acclaimed across the spectrum of chili-pepper enthusiasts.

I germinated the seeds in peat pots (my go-to since discovering them during my cannabis-growing stage in the 70's & 80's) & transplanted to 3" plastic pots..I will probably transplant them to terra-cotta once they've achieved near-mature size. 

Speaking of "potting"...

Yesterday I potted the only cutting from my Monterey Cypress, that survived..he is only 2 1/2" but it took 6 months or more to get there..I got a chance to see his root structure, which is not much larger than his top-side, but looks healthy & reaching out. The cutting is from the Wilma Goldstreet that was badly burned by an accidental chemical application of full-strength liquid fertilizer (Liquid SeaWeed) & I was not sure if the "Wilma" would survive, but she did survive & is now slowly recovering. At any rate, regardless of what happens, I have another Dwarf Cypress for the collection.

Sep. 27. 2025

Welcome to the Patio

Not very big..roughly 10 X 12, with a closet that serves as a potting shed & catchall for tools, pots, potting soil & anything else that has no home. With a SW exposure, the patio gets both morning & afternoon sun, while receiving shade during mid-day.