Saturday, June 15, 2013

Congratulations

I hope you are happy with the plants you have picked as new members to your garden or house hold !!
Ill help you get started with some tips , tricks and information I'v posted to help my fellow gardeners ;
kind of to  get an overview of the plant itself. So scroll down and read along as we help restore nature !

Musa Basjoo

Propagation:

Banana plants propagate through pups (offsets) that grow off the corm( base ) of the banana plant you can cut them off once a fair size and transplant them to your next desired location.

Maintenance:

Banana trees are "heavy feeders" 2-4 table spoons of plant food around the trunk 2-3 times a week will have your banana tree happier than ever! once you apply the plant food around the trunk wash all that into the soil 
with a deep hosing. During growing seasons the plants need a deep daily watering , they love water but not to much  ( don't flood them ,even though its really hard to ). 

Growth: 

Banana Plants grow very fast when well kept and regulated especially during the growing seasons they grow about a foot a week !! 

Tips:

If your pups aren't shooting up as fast as you want them to tie the top of the trunk about 6 inches away from the leaves with a small rope. its supposed to help produce more energy in the bottom and make the offsets come out faster iv tryed it myself works like a charm and doesn't harm your banana plant at all 

Hardiness:

Musa basjoo is a very hardy plant many people mistake that idea. The corm (bulb)of the plant will survive but the stalk will decompose and the plant will go dormant for the cold seasons. during the growing seasons the corm(bulb) will produce various offsets off that one corm! 

Four Offsets growing off the center (mother corm) in mid spring (march-may)

Hens And Chicks Plants

Propagation:

Hens and chicks plants propagate through offsets and seed although they put out seeds. It is 
always better to propagate through the offsets. The reason is the, seeds will grow plain green hens and chicks plants (hybrids) the offsets keep the same color pattern as the parents as long as you propagate them through their offsets .


Maintenance: 

Hens and chicks as well as many other succulents and cacti require very little amounts of maintenance.
although not necessary cacti food(found in your local Lowes or Home depot) is recommended to keep your plants getting that sharp and domestic appearance( apply during growing seasons to take max effect).




Eastern Prickly Pear

Propagation:

The Prickly pear can be easily propagated by removing a Mature medium sized pad off the plant 
, digging it into the ground and let nature do the rest. The rooting process takes about 2-4 weeks
but it will root and in no time it will be blooming beautiful flowers.


Maintenance: 

The Eastern Prickly Pear requiers very little care. It likes to be maintained at a full sun area
with fairly good draining soil. In growing seasons water the plant 2-3 times a week  .Although its not necessary  Cacti food (found at your local hardware stores. ) is recommended to give your cactus a well maintained domestic look.

(Eastern prickly pear blooming
its rich yellow accented flowers
in mid June)

Hardiness: 

The prickly pear is cold resistant it can be planted outside up to zone 5.
When Mature it tolerates medium snow falls .