Wow that's a good-looking collection of newbies. Especially love the Calathea!! So PRETTY! Never seen a Pothos like that. Are the leaves "softer" than regular Pothos, or just a trick of the camera?

Good Morning, FPT..

Wow, you got some real goodies.

The Cyperus needs a lot of water..It grows in marshes. I once had Cyperus, kept inside an aquarium dunked in a few inches of water.
Over summer, while outside, it stayed in a bucket of water..rained filled the bucket...it did great.
Unfortunately, I bought the larger species...it grew too tall so I gave it away.
Do you know the height your Cyperus will get?

Your Ceropegia is absolutely beautiful..Is it new too?
You made out like a bandit. lol.

Have you other Calatheas? Ever care for one before?

Although JC is a gorgeous holiday plant, it's poisonous..So be careful when handling..especially if you have children/pets.
I'm not sure if leaves are toxic, but fruit is. So, wash your hands after fiddling with.

I like your Ledebouria. I call Led's Squill. I have a couple..Next spring, I plan on removing one bulb, plant in a solo pot to see how large the bulb gets. Maybe it won't grow larger but it's an experiment I'd like to try.

Congrats on your new plants..All look healthy and so very pretty.

If you have more, pleast post pics...Toni

Nice collection there! I had a Cyperus once, it needs to be standing in water as they grow on the banks of the Nile and similar places.

Hello, thank you.

I have a smaller cyperus that I keep in a pot with no drainage holes and lots of water (Cyperus prolifer) and it's done wonderfully!! It's grown ALOT and is always throwing out new leaves/stems. That's why I decided to get a bigger one. I love the way it looks. This cyperus gets about 3 feet tall from my understanding. I tried the smaller one first to see if I can even keep it alive and happy, and since the prolifer did beautifully, I decided to try the bigger one.

I too seperated 5 of the bulbs from the Ledebouria to see how long it takes to start growing babies, and I wanted to propagate so I can someday share them with the few other plant-lover friends/family I have.

And yes, I have had one other Calathea before (peacock I think it was)....It did NOT work out between us...it was dead in a few months...But this new one was s small pot for $3 and I really like the color...I'm hoping that maybe I keep this one alive...but if not...atleast I tried...lol...if it dies on me, I don't think I will try again, but I have managed to keep a maranta alive, so maybe it'll work...

And yes, I know the JC is poisonous, I'm not worried about my kids, but I have it up high on top of my entertainment center to keep it far away from my dogs and for the few times I let the guinea pigs run around. Thank you anyways for letting me know, it's always nice to get information like that in case I didn't know it.

I want to make another order with aridlands, I couldn't beleive how huge the ledebouria was that they sent me. I was thinking of starting a collection of succulent bulbs since i love them so much, they're some of my favorites. This was the first order I've made with this nursery, kinda a trial, and it worked out great.

The satin potho leaves are more stiffer then my other golden pothos...I think they look so different from each other, it's hard to beleive they're related.

-FPT

Stiffer, hmm. You just can't tell about that kind of thing from a pic.

Can't believe that Calathea was only $3! Awesome!

Wowwwww! NICE!

Mike

Theres that plant again, the Lebedoodah!
I gotta find out what that is!

Oh the cyperus, to keep the soil sweet put some charcoal in with the soil.
Stops it going sour.

Aha, interesting.

Morning..

FPT. Did your smaller Cyperus ever flower? What type of light does it get?

Ever grow a solo Led bulb? If so, did the bulb get bigger? I intend on seperating one bulb, repot in its own container, to see if the bulb grows larger.

Your new Calathea is a Roseo-Picta type. I don't want to sound like the voice of doom, but RP's are fussier than other Cals..
Don't give up if it ends up in plant heaven..Of all Calathas, RP varieties are most difficult.

If you can grow Maranta you shouldn't have problems w/Cals.

Ever see green and white Ctananthe? Related to Maranta/Calatha/Stromanthe. Ctananthe is the easiest caring for, as long as soil doesn't dry too much. Even if soil dries to the point all leaves turn crispy brown..remove dead leaves and water thoroughly. New leaves will sprout.
So, please don't give up.

Not all sites list JC's... possibly, because they're rare. I only mentioned in case you researched but couldn't find info. Wouldn't want you, your family or pets getting sick.

I've browsed Arid Lands site before, but never purchased from them. So, you're satified with size/health of succulents bought at AL's?

What size pot are succulents potted in, or did they arrive bare-root?

I agree..Satin Pothos have thicker foliage than standard Pothos.
There's a newer, '10-yrs or a little longer,' species called 'n Joy or Jades & Emeralds..something like that.
You'd never believe it a Pothos. Looks so unlike standard Pothos..Very pretty, but more difficult over-wintering and rooting.

Larry...Another name for Led is Squill.

"I want to make another order with aridlands, I couldn't beleive how huge the ledebouria was that they sent me. I was thinking of starting a collection of succulent bulbs since i love them so much, they're some of my favorites. This was the first order I've made with this nursery, kinda a trial, and it worked out great."

Yey Ledebourias! My L. socialis is a bit thin looking right now. I think it either needs a repot or feeding.

The nice thing about succulent bulbs is that a lot of them are shade plants, which means they're ideal as house plants.

If you don't already have any, you might also enjoy enjoy a Haemanthus albiflos (evergreen) and one of the Hippeastrum/amaryllises you usually see in a grocery store this time of year (they go dormant in the winter but I've not had issues getting them to re-leaf and bloom indoors. I think the large, caudex-like bulbs are attractive in their own right).

Hopefulauthor-

I'm not sure how Cyperus prolifer flowers exactly, but it does get these weird teeny tiny flower things on the tips. I have it in my east windowsill.

I havent grown a Ledebouria bulb solo for a long enough time yet, I just recently took about 5 bulbs off and potted them alone, I may not see anything til spring/summer, but I'll let you know as soon as see something.

I'm not sure what kind of Cal I have, I know the tag was wrong about what type it was (like thats a huge surprise there lol). I just recently stuck it in a glass lantern thing to get it more humidity, the top of it is opened and I spray it daily.

About Aridlands, I really was pleased with them. Their ordering process is very easy. Took 7 days to receive. It cost $7 for shipping and handling for orders under $19.99, then a dollar extra for every extra $20 (20.00-39.99 would be $8 and so forth, I hope that made sense lol). So my 6in plant was $10, plus $7 for shipping, and the plant was way beyond expectations, was boxed nice for plants, they ship barerooted. It's $2 extra for a heat pack (which I didnt need, but will if I order from then again soon). And when I thought a 6in plant of ledebouria would include maybe 10 bulbs, they sent me a plant that must of been ready to be repotted to bigger pot a long time ago, it has atleast 30 plus bulbs...and they're still doing great for me, but I think the stress of shipping and all that stuff did make the leaves wilt, but thats to be expected (I'm sure you know this already lol) but they're already growing back.

amccour-

I already have 2 amaryllises that I got for 50 cents at walmart after Chirstmas last year, which only one bloomed. so I went ahead and put them in dormancy, but I think in the beginning of December I might pull them back out...if they don't bloom, then I'll just wait til the after Christmas sale again lol.

And I would really love a Haemanthus albiflos, they're so beautiful. I'm gonna have to look into where I can get one. Thanks for telling me about it.

-FPT

just wanted to chime in quickly and say that I think your Satin Silver Pothos is lovely! Thanks for sharing all the pics!

Ledebouria/Squill, a bulb?

Morning,

Amccour...Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you lived in England?? lol.
Or does Arid Land ship overseas?

FPT. Yep, the tiny flowers are those I was asking about. How old is your mini Cyperus?

FPT...it will take longer than spring for Led bulbs to grow thicker..lol.
I received a freebie from a nursery a couple/few years ago..one bulb. I liked its solo look, but no matter what I did, little bulbs grew on/alongside mom.
I'd like one bulb to grow large w/o additional bulbs in the picture.

I don't know which Calathea variety you have, 'there's many' but it is C. Roseo-Picta. The same family as the Peacock, but a different variety. Am I making sense? lol

Aridlands shipping is very reasonable. You got a bargain. Some sellers charge an arm and leg, sometimes more than plant cost.

Logee's is one example. Their shipping is and always has been expensive.
Logee's has/had a Thanksgiving Cactus, called Aspen. Someone was selling Aspen on Ebay..the seller made a killing. Buyers paid, excluding shipping, 60-65.00 per cutting.
I found and bought Aspen at Logees..Between one Aspen, 19.95 and shipping, price came out to $35 and change.
The cutting is in a 2.5-3" square, growing pot.

Yep, shipping stresses plants.. I don't know your location, but it's worse when temps are too hot or cold. Being in a dark box doesn't help. Plants perk up fast, 'ususally,' depending on type.
Tropicals, espeicially thin-leaf types, take longer to adapt.

Larry, lol..yep, a bulb/s. If it wasn't so dark, I'd snap a picture...I don't know how to work camera for lighting adjustment. Toni

Hey, FPT. It took a few minutes of searching for the pic I knew I remembered seeing of the twin of one of the plants I got yesterday. Went to that huge garden center, but went by a Lowe's on the way, and HAD to stop for a minute. Might seem kind of boring to folks who live near enough to a L's to visit whenever they want, but it was a cheap thrill for me. Thought I showed great restraint buying exactly ONE item, pictured below.

How is your Calathea doing? Mine had an EA tag in it, they call it C. ornata, no cute Medallion nickname. Do they look the same to you?

purple-

My Calathea is still doing very well, I have it in an east window sill sitting on rocks with water for humidity, it's even grown two more new leaves. I hope it stays that way, they're so pretty.

Yes, they are the same plants, I think even the same size. Mine too came from Lowes and is from EA. I'm planning on repotting it this spring with better soil and into a much nicer pot, I was thinking a pink one to match the lines on the leaves.

-FPT

Oh that's good to hear. And I agree, a pink pot would be snazzy with this plant!

I was looking at my receipt and it says "purple foliage assortment" but I couldn't find anything about that on their website. Wonder what other plants are part of this sku? Also curious if this is a term coined at EA or at the store level. Anyway, it sounds like a description of MY collection. Ha! One of these days I MUST make a pilgrimage to Apopka! It would be up there with visiting Godiva in Belgium!

Those are all so pretty!

Have fun with them and enjoy! I love the pink in the Calathea 'Medallion'.

Mike:-)

Howdy...

Purple..one problem..there's so many different Calatheas for a proper ID..especially Rosea-picta groups.

Color or stripes differ slightly...a new cultivar is named. :)

FPT...how are ALL your new plants doing?

Howdy Mike.... Toni

I have one of those Calatheas, too, and I think it is called 'ornata'...
Nancy

Hopefulauthor-

All my plants are still doing great, hopefully they stay that way...we've been having some very grey days and I'm thinking most of my plants are not happy about not having hardly any light....spring is taking too slow to come.

Greybird-

Your calathea is very nice and healthy...but is that a RicRac plant in the background?? I just finally found one and love it.

-FPT

Thanks, Toni. EA seems to be pretty accurate with their ID's although I did buy one that simply had the wrong tag in it, probably didn't happen at the grower. I also like they way they seem to ignore this name changing ridiculousness, perhaps in protest. They sell Dracaena godseffiana, not D. surculosa.

Greybird, you got a really great one! Looks the same to me, through both parts of my bifocals, so that's definitive! LOL! I'm sure it will be happy in your excellent care and awesome plant room. Does the tag indicate the grower?

purple-

If your talking about the Calathea from EA having the wrong tag, mine did too...I know it said Calathea but it had the wrong kind on it (I threw away the tag after I discovered it was wrong)...I'm starting to think that maybe EA has some people working for them that don't know the difference in plants (or don't care)...like I remember I bought a Bantel's sensation Sansevieria from EA at Walmart but the tag just said Sansevieria trifasciata, so it took me a while to find out exactly which kind of sans I had...I've even bought a few plants from EA that just said 'family of plant' hybrid (I know I've got two Rhipsalis from them that just says 'Rhipsalis hybrid' on the tags)... It's very irritating sometimes...I still have a Rhipsalis that I have no idea what kind it is, and I hate not knowing exactly which plant it is....

-FPT

Hmm, that's similar to the situation I had. I got a Tradescantia labeled as "zebrina 'red hill'" but from the pics on their Tradescantia page, it's clearly the fluminensis, not zebrina. It was bugging me because I've never seen any other zebrina and I got it because it was different from zebrina and pallida.

I believe the motivation for them to be correct is pretty high. They do them by the thousands. They probably don't let just anybody stick tags in pots because they don't want angry calls, letters, emails. I think shoppers switch them accidentally, or leave them laying somewhere and an employee puts it where they think it might go. The little trays push the pot rims up against each other, it's easy to do it even if you're a conscientious shopper and trying not to. That's another thing I love about EA though. They have pics of almost every individual plant they sell (over 400.) If you know the genus, you can see if it's one of theirs and which one.

Another plant you showed here is one I've been looking for too, the Ceropegia. I keep looking up!... (at the hanging baskets...)

Odd, I just now noticed the little Pep I got & asked about the other day is here too. Now that I know what it is, it's funny how the pic here makes yours look HUGE!

FPT - Yes, that is a RicRac plant....I actually have two, and I'm trying to figure out if they are different species because they look a little different. So far I haven't had any luck getting them to bloom.
Purple - I got my Calathea from Lowes as well. I must have happened to go in there right after they got them, because they had several, but they didn't last long. Our Lowes takes better care of their plants than many I've been in.

purple-

I've never seen ceropegia for sale at any big box stores just nurseries, so keep your eyes open when you visit them...my local nursery just got in a HUGE shipment of them in (atleast 20 hanging baskets of them)but they want $20 for each one. Alot of them even have tons of seed pods on them....I kinda wanted to get one just to see if I can grow the seeds...But I really love Ceropegia woodii for some reason, but I don't know if I really need 4 baskets of them LOL...Anyways, it's something to keep in mind for trade for your callisia cuttings I want really bad if you cant find any ceropegia by this spring (I'm sure I can seperate some bulbs for you)...heck, I'd send you just about any plant I have just for some cuttings LOL.

I always wonder what the EA factory/nursery looks like...I would love to visit them. They grow some really nice plants, but it's too bad that once they hit most of the store shelfs they get abused by workers who dont know squat about plants....but yes, tags do get messed up really bad at stores, like last week when I got my new RicRac plant, it's an EA plant from Walmart, they had three baskets of them and I wanted the one that was really full and healthy but it didn't have a tag, actually only one of the three baskets had a tag, so I grabbed the tag off of the one and stuck it on my basket (I collect my plant tags cause its hard to remember all of the names when you own over 100 plants)...But I do wonder what happened to the other two tags...maybe an garden gnome steals them LOL...

Greybird-

I've heard that Ricrac (cryptocereus anthonyanus)plants are VERY hard to get to bloom, well atleast from the research I've done on it... some people claim to have really large ones that they've owned for years and have never gotten a bloom...kinda disappointing in a way, but I really do like the plant itself, so that works for me.

But I do noticed that some of the leaves do look different from each other but they are growing from the same cuttings, so they are all the same plant...

-FPT

Yeah, just because EA grows something doesn't mean you'll ever see it at WM or L's. I'm just glad they sell assortments to these stores so the plants sell fast enough for them to bother handling them at all.

That would be an awesome trade, or I'd be happy to send for postage. When it's warm enough, we'll see where we're at on this & go from there.

Now that I know of one to visit, it won't be another 7-8 years until I visit a real nursery again. Sorry I keep talking about WM, it's all I've had since moving here, besides the little seasonal mom'n'pop store here in town. That's not a bad place, just small and very narrowly focused, but did make a special order for me once, and always willing to haggle when I go there. WM can't do that for ya'!

Nancy, beautiful Cal.
Google, calathea ornata roseo..there are so may roseo varieties, sometimes it's difficult distinguishing one from the other.

FPT...yep, too many grey, dry, icy days, that's for sure!

One bonus with Cals, they really don't need much light. Humidity and fresh, circulating air is more important.
My Cals/Stromanthes/Ctantanths/Marantas are putting out more growth now than they did in summer... Colorful, too..Well, except Maranta that has seen better days.

Happy to hear all your new plants are doing well considering our crazy, winter weather.

Purple, regarding labels. When I worked at Home Depot, most plants were from EA. I can't stress the number of times tags were wrong.
One plant I liked and ended buying, labeled Lipstick Plant, was actually a mini Hoya. lol.

Another tag problem: Customers! They remove tags, then place in a different plant. I witnessed customers actions often.

IMO, when tags are mislabelled upon shipment arrival, I doubt EA can ID the plant. The tag usually reads, Tropical. lol.

Recently, EA's been 'wee bit' more accurate than they were in the late 90's-early 2000. Toni

So Toni,

I can't resist -- what pls is a 'mini Hoya'? My nosy self needs to know ;>)

Hi Karen... I worked at HD in the 90's so it was some time ago. It was either a mini, mini H.Lacunosa or H Lanceolata. Leaves were about 1/4". White flowers w/red centers, Although I normally can't detect Hoya blooms, this plant WAS fragrant! Toni

hopeful- I bought a maranta a while back, the one with red lines, the plant was nice and full but got scales and died down to one stem, which is still going...sometimes it throws out a new leaf, but usually when that happens, another one dies...it's kinda depressing...I'm not sure what to do with it...it just sits above my kitchen sink still in it's same pot and dirt it came in with just 5-6 leaves...I'm kinda scared to repot it, afraid it might just give up...oh well...I've seen the variegated ones for sale recently and thought about buying one, but I'm not sure they like me LOL. I try to stay away from plants that I know that I make unhappy, like crotons...

Purple-

I also buy most of my plants at Walmart...my lowes and home depots dont have much in the plant selection (they only carry basic house plants, and even those are usually half dead at full price)...I know of one nursery I visit often that has house plants and sometimes I buy them, but their prices are on the high side, so I only buy plants that I can't find anywhere else that I really want. I also visit a few other places with a houseplant section, but it's pretty limited here...We do have another small nursery here that's really sad in the houseplant selections, they're full of white flies....I'm very thankful for the very few times I get to order online.

-FPT

This post was edited by FlowerPotTipper on Sat, Jan 26, 13 at 5:09

FPT. It's too bad your marginata had/s Scale.
Unless your other plants have bugs, scale/eggs were probably on the plant when purchased.

BTW, did you isolate your marginata?

I don't know if you want to spend time ridding scale, return or replace with variegated marginata. ????

People here have different methods ridding insects. Some work, some do not.

There are two things I do to prevent/kill insects. I dislike chemicals, avoid using as much as possible. Therefore, my plants are sprayed w/a home-made insecticide.

Since your plant has scale, I'll explain what I do to rid and avoid those brats! lol

Did you ever hear of Fish Emulsion? FE is an organic fertilizer, high in N.
It also works, as an insecticide, by spraying foliage. Kills Scale, big time.

The owner of a Citrus Nursery in FL once told me they spray their trees w/FE as a Scale preventative.

Because my plants never had scale, I half-listened. lol. Then, in 1999, I ordered an Olive Tree. On Day 2 while misting plants, I noticed a brown bump on an olive leaf. I approached the Olive, and discovered, not one, but hundreds of brown bumps.
That's when it hit me...SCALE!

I immediately phoned the Citrus nursery owner, asking the proper dossage of FE and water. (BTW, olive was purchased elsewhere.)
She said, one capful of FE to approximately 16oz water.

I mixed FE and water in a 16oz spray bottle, shook thoroughly and sprayed away.

1-2 days later, all signs of scale were gone. A week or two later, 'can't recall,' I applied a second application.

FPT, I swear to God, since that day, my plants never contrated scale again. Ever.

2. Every 2-wks during winter, my plants are sprayed w/natural ingredients such as garlic, hot pepper, citrus rind and a few other things.

Once a month FE is added to other ingredients, then sprayed.

Works like a charm.

Forgot to mention. The Olive tree sat between two Citrus trees. Citrus closest branches were loaded w/scale.
The morning I sprayed olive tree, neighboring plants were entirely sprayed, too.

Can't hurt, right? And, while spraying leaves to rid insects, the plant is also foliar fertilized.

The only con about FE is an odor. It has a fishy smell that lasts 2-3 days indoors.
There is an odor-less type, but I've never used it so can't comment.

Fish Emulsion cost is about 7.99 for a 32oz bottle.

Good luck, Toni

In plant'ese, LOL should stand for lots of light. Is there some direct sun at kitchen sink window (for the Maranta?) This one is doing well inside with the first few hours of sun per day. It made some flowers not long ago and has grown a lot of new leaves inside, only lost a few.

I always thought these folded up at night, but either that's wrong or I have a backwards plant. It looks like it's wilted every morning, then after it gets dark everything stands upright for a while until sometime in the wee hours... And who decided that faux wilt was praying? (Prayer plant?)

hopefulauthor-

I cut off the parts with the scale on the plant and sprayed it and isolated it, they where discovered right after buying it and have never seen it on other plants, this was also about a year ago (but the pieces that where cut still died off)...but I never knew you could do that with FE...I don't have any right now but have thought about buying it, I was also wondering about the smell...I hate fish smells, I even refuse to eat anything fish/sea related (all fish, shrimp, lobster, clams, oysters, even tuna), have been like that my WHOLE life...so I'm gonna look into the unscented kind know that I know that some FE do smell...But thank you alot for letting me know this!! I keep a small notebook about things like this, and i'm defiently gonna write down what you wrote for future reference.

Does FE also work on mealies too? I havent had any of them in a while, but when I do get an insect outbreak, it's usually those nasty guys.

I've only been using poison from bayer cause that stuff really works, I haven't seen any bad effects on the plants yet, but it still worries me using it around my kids and pets. I use it outside and leave the plants for the recommended amout of time, but it still worries me...

The only bugs I've found recently are aphids, but I find them easy to rid of with just wiping them off, I havent seen any after I did...but those guys are sometimes tricky to spot, so I go around my plants with a very bright flashlight and a magnifying glass LOL...kids think I'm crazy, but they think that anyways.

I might just go ahead and get the variegated one if I See it again, and after a very good inspection, which I've gotten pretty good at doing lately..

Purple-

I've never seen my 'prayer plant' pray...it just sits there like any other plant, doing nothing...I do notice that the new leaves are rolled up, but after they open, they stay open.

My kitchen is pretty bright during most of the day, so my plants not near my kitchen window (which is not above my sink) get bright indirect light.

Also my poor maranta has yellow spots on the leaves right now, it got accidentally sprayed by the sink hose with cold water...poor plant just cant catch a break...