Final Show Prep

Potted up two large plants and three smaller ones -- and managed not to mess any of them up.  This is a first for me.  I also put together my terrarium and dish garden.  I really like my dish garden.  The terrarium...not so much.  Will still need to touch up each of these before Wednesday.

Now the challenge is to find boxes for safe transport to Cherry Hill.  Over the years I have accumulated a wide variety of boxes and pieces of styrofoam with pot-holes cut out.  The only problem is, every year I seem to have a different collection of plants and I end up scrounging around for something else.  Can't wait until the plants are entered and I can relax and enjoy.

A Week to Show!

There is just a week to show, and the stress is mounting.  A couple plants were way too quick to come into bloom and they will be staying home.  A couple are still kind of slow, but they will make it--just not at their peek.

And a couple plants are in pots too small and will need to be potted up a size (I hate doing this--so much risk of breaking leaves).

And then there are those that did not bloom true to type.  All of my thumprints disappointed me greatly:  Shirl's Hawaiian Lei, Princess K'Rei and Plumberry Glow.  They were blooming fine just this Fall.  I don't thinkt hey like the cooler temps in my basement.  sigh

Besides the actual bloom times that different varieties need in my conditions, I did learn a few things this growing session.

The little one do better when repotted 3 times a year rather than just twice a year.

Over-potting plants in the hopes they will grow into their pots - not a good plan.

Some plants will never like you and you should just give them away as soo as you know this so they don't take up space and your time.

Next year, I am growing way less show plants.  I will probably enjoy them more.

Here's a peek at some of the plants, almost ready to box and go.

Two weeks to show...and we are blooming

This is both my favorite time and my least favorite time to hover around my plant room.  It is wonderful to see the plants blooming, especially since many of them are not allowed to bloom during the better part of the year.  It is also frustrating because I critique them way too much and juggle them up and down shelves depending on what is blooming fast or slow.  But I will spend as much time down here as I can, because once the plants go to show, all the blossoms will come off before they go back on the shelves.  I won't make that mistake twice.  So I will enjoy them now, and quit complaining. As my husband often says, 'this is supposed to be fun, right?'

This one grew like a weed.

In January of 2010, I had a starter plant of Fancy Trail in a solo cup.  Fancy Trail is a crown-variegated standard trailer.  I potted it into a 3 inch pot in February, a 4 inch pot in May, a 5 inch pan pot in September, and then a 6 inch pan  pot in November.  In January, it has already overgrown its pot, and needed an 8 inch pot.

Here is what the plant looked like before and after I repotted.  There are two types of trailers.  One type makes a bushy plants with a lot of crowns around the center of the plant.  They do not so much trail as sucker profusely.  The other type of trailer forms long stems.  Notice how this plant really trails.  This type of trailer would make a nice hanging basket.

Before

After

Since the plant grew so fast, I should have guessed that it might come into full bloom quickly.  But I didn't, and it did.  It probably won't make show this year, but here it is.

There is one big flaw to this plant.  Since it grew so fast, I didn't get a chance to pinch it to encourage more crowns.  The more crows, the more bloom.  Some trailers do this all on their own.  Once the show is over and I have time, I will stripe this plant down and try to make it a fuller plant.