Growing

It's what we're all about, we gardeners, plant people. Growing plants. It's a rare gardener indeed who wants things to stay exactly the same in the garden, and for the great majority of us any sign of growth means excitement!

Even when it's not technically growing season -- or maybe I should say especially when it's not growing season -- any traces of life are more than welcomed, possibly even celebrated. We're even happy about watching grass grow, well, to some extent. Like my purple fountain grass overwintering under the lights. I need to trim it every week or so because it hogs all of the light. (I mow more grass in the winter than I do in the summer!)

***

It's no surprise to me that the grass grows so vigorously even in winter under lights. Similarly the sunflower sprouts are doing exactly what I expected:

But when some other plants push out new growth, well, it's a nice surprise. For instance the Euphorbia tirucalli (firesticks)...

...whose bright yellow new growth is tinged with red. In this case the growth is extra-exciting because it means that the several divisions that I made are doing well!

(Interesting technical note: this vintage macro lens adds a little bit of yellow to each photo which normally isn't visible. When photographing certain plants though -- like this one -- the yellows get over-emphasized. I suppose I should create a custom color profile for this lens to help with that...)

The only surprise about the Amaryllis is how quickly it grows:

The bloom is just days away -- will it be a Valentine's Day treat?

A big surprise though is the plumeria, which recently got a drink of water because it was looking a bit shriveled. It responded by waking up and growing!

I was right about it branching -- so exciting to see this plant turn into more than just a stick!

As the plumeria adds small leaves to its smooth stems, upstairs the Pachypodium has reached an equilibrium point, deciding that six or so leaves are all that are necessary:

The other stems are either leafless or have a single leaf left. I suppose this one does better because it's directly under the recessed light -- even though I don't turn it on too often.

Another prickly plant that responded under the lights to a little water is the Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (Christmas cholla):

The main plant is outdoors in the ground, but I keep potted cuttings around just in case it doesn't survive the winter. A little warmth, a dribble of water, fluorescent light, and these guys wake up and start growing. Nice!

Most of my inherited begonias are hanging in there:

I cut them all back quite severely and have been giving them a minimal amount of water. Looks like they're eager to get growing again, looking forward to Spring.


With all of this growing going on, who needs Spring?


(I do of course!)


.