Little late season surprises

I've started bringing some potted plants indoors, and since I haven't really looked closely at some of these for a month or two (or all summer really), there are some surprises.

The first hasn't been outdoors at all yet but since it's already on the overwintering table (where I can baby it) this is a good time to show it to you: it's the Tetrapanax that Loree sent me earlier this summer!

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It was the tiniest thing when I received it in August, just one small leaf on a little root:

Now it's big enough to hold its own and I don't need to worry about it too much.

It even has the indumentum (fuzz) now!

Probably still considered "tiny" when compared to an adult plant, but it's huge in my opinion!


Going from something that was tiny at first and now is bigger to something that was once bigger and is now tiny:

My yucca nana did not do well outdoors after two seasons (or three?) -- the soil wasn't amended correctly for sharp drainage -- so I potted it up and hoped for the best this summer.

It died...

...or at least appeared to. Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw this little guy emerge recently! Hooray for the toughness of yucca roots!

I'll overwinter indoors and see if I can get this guy a bit bigger before planting outdoors again (in soil that is correctly amended this time).


Another surprise: Is my bumpy Aloe...

...growing in a fiber of some kind, or are those exposed roots? I know I've left it in the pot too long, but surely those can't be roots!

Okay, it's just a fiber mulch of some sort (I think)...

...and the plant is doing fine. It should be happy under lights this winter. Maybe I'll pot up some pups too.


Another surprise: the little 'Gollum' jade plant divisions that looked like this in January:

Now look like this:

The surprise though is that some of the leaves are partially reverting to their flatter form:

Is this usual? My mother's 'Gollum' hasn't done this -- although it probably doesn't get enough light to really thrive.



My final surprise today:

I was able to find chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata) locally!

Since it was a 1/2 off sale I bought two -- I want to ensure that this one is growing in my garden next year, adding its chocolate perfume to the air! (I grew it a few years ago and have missed it.)


Any surprises in your gardens as autumn kicks into gear?

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