Long overdue update

Filed under: Perennials on December 14, 2007

Things have been hectic with work lately, hence the lack of updates. I was also discouraged with the fungus gnat invasion. I don’t even know if anything is under control at the moment since I only got back a couple of days ago from yet another trip to America.

My dad was kind enough to take care of my plants again. Bless him.

So… from what I can tell, the gardenias are not doing well. Four of the six plants are leafless and it’s summer! I blame the painters for throwing over those heavy canvas blankets over them and depriving them of sun completely for who knows how long. It could also be over fertilising, I may have been giving too much “love” to my beloved gardenias. Now they look sick.

I got a couple of surprises when I walked out onto my balcony. Firstly, it was a mess! That’s what happens when it gets neglected for a month. Seriously though, a big surprise was the frangipani giving me new leaves! I was seriously worried it wasn’t going to sprout because I somehow neglected it or something, but it’s looking very nice.

Another surprise is one of my succulents giving me some kinda flowers! The firesticks are certainly looking very fire-stickish!

Firesticks

There is a third surprise, but I’m not sure if this is a good one or not! On the soil surface of the frangipani and the moses in a cradle (which is now looking very awesome and thriving! Pics to come…) is some strange yellow growth. I’m guessing is fungus growth of some sort.

Yellow soil fungus 1

Yellow soil fungus 2

Not sure what to do with it. It doesn’t look like it’s hurting the plants, but it’s creeping me out at the same time. I read that fungus doesn’t like a sudden change in pH and that mixing in some coffee grounds into the top layer of soil may get rid of it.

3 Comments »

  1. Hi - have just found your blog and have enjoyed reading it. It´s great to find another balcony gardener.
    You don´t say what the flowering succulent is, but it looks much like my mesembrantheu, except that yours seems to have “furry” stems. Any idea what it is?

    Comment by Sue Swift on December 31, 2007

  2. The label said they were “Fire sticks”, I don’t know the botanical name though, I’ll look it up tonight to see if it’s mentioned on the plant tag.

    Glad to see another balcony gardener who blogs!

    Comment by Sue on January 2, 2008

  3. I have not seen such succulent plants here in Germany. Germany is to cold to have a lot of different succulents. Also in the garden centers they do not sell such plants.

    Wolf
    A garden friend from Germany
    http://www.garten-anders.de
    http://www.garten-anders.blogspot.com

    Comment by Wolf on May 5, 2009

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