How much does this Alocasia’s new leaf look like a flower?
It was only when I came to water it and actually looked at it properly that I realised that it was a leaf.
Oh, and I also found a thrips. Turns out they’ve been hiding on my Monstera Dubia, which is fun. Cue a quick whiz round with castile soap. I find it works faster than neem oil, but the real reason I prefer it is that I can keep a spray bottle of diluted soap in my cupboard and I don’t have to worry about it separating. Neem oil spray really has to be made fresh to work properly, and I need to reduce barriers to pest prevention if I can.
I had to repot my variegated Alocasia amazonica last week. She has four plantlets and they’re growing fast so she needed the room. A bit bittersweet because she’ll probs go dormant in a couple of months, but its been HOT this weekend so we might get a couple more leaves before the season’s over.
I’m planning on writing an article on potted different plants together, so I grabbed a few likely friends from the terrarium and go to work. They’re all suffering a bit of slug damage so I think they’ll be glad to get out of there.
They’ve all perked up quite a bit, and the Calathea has actually started growing, so I’m confident they’ll do well together. The pot was £3.99 from Yorkshire trading. If you live in the north of Englad they are so good for pots.
Here’s a video on using normal LED lights as grow lights. It’s that time of year when some of us need to come up with a game plan with getting our houseplant collection (which may have expanded significantly over the last few months) through winter.
I also love this plant shop tour showing mini houseplants in Hong Kong. The orchid shop displays are so pleasing. Also, I had no idea you couldn’t get baby houseplants in the US – they’re pretty big (excuse the pun) in the UK, because they don’t take up much space and people love buying small, cheap plants.
What’s everyone up to this week? I was meant to be amagamating all my Golden Dragon cuttings into one super dragon, but I used one of my poles (he’ll need at least two) sorting out my Paraiso verde which got really top heavy and needed a stake.
I’m also renovating my office and need to get started plastering the walls, despite having done zero DIY in my life. The walls are textured and it’s awful and weirdly sharp. I’m also fitting a carpet and skirting boards. Maybe I’ll be a natural? It’s never happened before, but you never know!
Have an awesome week!