Insomnia Thread...

[Jananas Bananas]

That's a womans prerogative. I do it all the time myself!

Those dragon fruit get really big too. I have mine in a hanging basket and it looks like an octopus. Mine was slow growing the first year then took off the second year. I am anxious to see if I can get mine to fruit. I bought one at the Asian market and really liked it and wanted to try the other colors. They are supposed to all have a different flavor. It's another of those drapey things.

I need to find something chocolate. Have the sweet tooth munchies! ~J

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Would it be possible to put all of your kinds in one big hanging basket and let them all grow together, Janan?


Can they be kept pruned? Now I'm too curious so you best just send what you were planning and I'm sorry now that I opened my big mouth!


I might take a shot or two of some more ornaments for my Christmas thread. Hope you saw my recent ones Janan...they're hangers and quite cute. I posted them in the thread.


Feel free to post any Christmas images there too...I'd love to see all your ornaments and lights this year...


I normally love xmas but it's just not super happy this year with everything we're involved in. Of course we're trying to make the best of it regardless.


Guess Tbaleno didn't like my new nickname "T"!!! Where'd he disappear to so fast? Must be surfing that net again.




Rae girl...


Where ya been?! I miss you lots. Noticed you thank our posts, but please feel free to stop in and say 'hi'. We'd love to chat with you too.


How are things? Are you getting ready for Christmas? Any special plans?


Chat soon, gang...


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

I actually have all my colors in the same basket. If I get a chance I will take a picture for you, before I cut yours off. Just keep in mind I will mark yours the same way mine were labeled. I bought them off eBay from California and that guy brought his from Thailand his homeland. He didn't know the name like "American Beauty" to his. So if they come out something other than I say, you can't blame me! HA! HA! :h

He was up in the chat room a while ago. Can't see it while I am in the reply box so I am not sure if he is still there or not.

Yes, Rae please join us. The girls as so much more chatty than the boys! ~J

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Yeah, the boys are total snobs!


I want those dragon fruit cuttings now more than ever Janan! They really sound kinda cool and when you said they could be put in one basket this made them even more appealing to me.


If you can get a shot that'd be cool but no pressure at all.


Yes Rae, and don't worry if we keep posting while you're replying...it's ok. It would just be nice to hear from you and no need to be silent.


I think most people read but don't post.


At least us girls are friendly and know how to carry on a conversation, unlike some people. Not mentioning any names though...


JACK!!!


Too funny.


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

OK here a couple of quick pictures. Sorry I didn't really have time to pose them like I usually do!





You can see he just wrote on the stalks with a sharpie, which is the same thing I will do with yours. The have been outside Spring, Summer, and Fall for two years now and you can still read it. I couldn't get all the arms in the picture.


~JaNan

[The Hollyberry Lady]

I like them, Janan! They're kinda cool looking.


Could you keep bringing the ends back up into the pot and burying them until they root, then snip? Would this make the pot more full looking?


I think it's a naturally kind of spindly plant isn't it? I'd like to experiment with it a bit. I want mine to be full looking like my thanksgiving cactus.


Do you fertilize yours?


My cutting from Bob is really doing well here and growing another...leaf? Is that what they're called? I don't even know...arm or branch? I just know it's growing!


Have you ever harvested some fruits or know people that have? Can't remember if Patty did on hers yet...


That's where my plant originally came from was Patty. Bob then shared it with me too.


Are the fruits really tasty? Is there meat to them or just many juicy seeds?


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

I think you can cut the segments up into several pieces to make several plants. I don't know what they are called, they look like octopus arms so I just call them arms (I'm so technical).

The one I ate was a brilliant pink on the outside and white on the inside. They are filled with tiny black seeds but you just eat it seed and all. I saved a few seeds and they sprouted for me very easily, but they withered and died really quick. It was about the size of a good size grapefruit but oval in shape. Kinda tasted like a melon to me and about that texture.

All the wider ones coming right out of the pot are the original pieces. The ends calloused over and they all seemed to branch out from the sides.

Some are larger than others and some grow faster than others. Those root thingys are the grabbers, which I think are roots also.

I think even the growers trim them, so I'm going to say yes you can cut them back and maintain the size. I have just let mine go wild, which is probably not the best way to do it. ~J

[The Hollyberry Lady]

I just wondered if pruning them would make them more full...


Do they ever grow more than one octopus arm from one end?


Like two at a time?


Or do they just grow one single arm right after the other? I mean do they branch out? It sounds like they might by what you described.


I think the fruit sounds delicious, Janan...


When do these plants produce fruit and is there usually a lot of them at one time?


: )

[tbaleno]

Sherry,
Thanks for pointing out I never gave my name. It is Tom. I updated my profile. You can call me anything you want though.

All this talk of Dragon fruit makes me jealous. There is a place online that I was tempted to order some plants from but they have a minimum charge of $25.00 and my order I wanted to place was $24.99. So I have yet to order from them.

I'm sorry I don't post a lot. You are right. I surf a lot and just don't get back to the thread too often. Plus I tend not to say much unless I feel I have something to contribute.

[Jananas Bananas]

I just took four segments off for you and you can't even tell I did it. The one kind is slimmer and more gangly than the others, but it has 5 separate arms coming of the original stump and those each have two or three segments to them.

Gosh Sherry, I really don't know. I think Richard and Tony both grow them and they would be better to ask than I (I'm sure a lot of others as well). I know Tony has posted pictures of his fruit several times and I think they are in the harvest thread if you want to check them out. If I recall Patty's only had one fruit on it after several years - but by golly she did it! I just like growing things that are edible, or I can cook with them, or steep them for tea. I have eaten poke salit and drank dandelion tea - and those are weeds! Not that that's all I have by any means.

I am in the process of wrapping your plants now. I wish I could see your face when you open it. hee hee hee

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Thanks Tom...I wondered about your name. It's nice to know after all this time.


No problem about posting but please don't be shy to interject even when us women are gabbing about
plants!


You should just trade with other gardeners like me, to get a dragon fruit. I hate seeing people have to fork out big money on something they want real bad.


Only thing is, it may take awhile for mine to grow before I can share it. Here it is as of five minutes ago...





As you can see, it's only just beginning to grow it's first octopus arm!


Thanks again Tom, for replying.




Gosh Janan, you're really getting me excited about this little package of yours.


I'll be like a kid in a candy store. I'll be sure to show shots of all of it when I get it potted up after it arrives.


The dragon fruit sounds too nice and now I'm kinda looking forward to having a few different kinds. You're welcome to mine too Janan...it's a Roger Meyer cutting.


Yes, I thought Patty's fruit was way cool, now that I remember. She has one huge plant and warned me about letting mine grow wild!


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

Tom I know you weren't really talking to me, but I got one of mine from SuperMario here on the org. You might see if he has any right now. He was very very reasonable!

Sherry, you will be getting a piece of that one too. It is American beauty. You can google it and see what the fruit looks like.

I will take a picture of it all spread out on the floor before I pack it in the package. You won't be able to tell what it is of course!

Yes, I remember seeing Patty moving a banana of hers with a fork lift. I laughed so hard! You guys just don't know the pleasure I get out of reading on this forum and looking at everyone's pictures. ~J

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Oh I'm so excited Janan!


That one sounds kinda cool. I think I need to water my little dragon fruit cutting. It's kind of dry and looks like it could use some moisture...


Do these plants like a lot of water or no? Are they a cactus? I really don't know much about them...maybe that's why I wasn't so interested in growing them.


Thanks so much for thinking of me Janan, and for being so generous with your stuff. You can expect me to be the same.


Looking forward to seeing your shot later...


I do like the look of the cutting Bob sent. It's so thick and strong looking.


It was only one piece he sent so obviously that's all that's needed to grow into another plant. I gotta transplant mine soon.


Be right back. Gonna water and shower my dry little dragon fruit plant...


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

I hope it will get to you quickly!

Here's a little sneak peek!

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Oh wow, I love that!


Gonna root that with a piece from your 'carnival purple' plant. Speaking of which...


Would you mind Janan, if I snagged two small pieces from your new plant...a piece each for Cam & I? I will be sending you the mother plant though.


This is so exciting...now you're getting me in the mood. I'm a huge seed mailer and plant trader so it doesn't take much to light a fire under my you know what!


I could also just mail you and Cam's seeds shortly but do the cuttings and plants that take more time & effort in the new year. Now that's an idea.


: )

[tbaleno]

Sherry, here's a question for you. With holly bushes, how tall do they get? Do you need to trim them all the time to keep them say under 4 feet? Also, they are evergreens right?

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Oh gawd...don't get me talking about Hollies!


Yes Tom, Hollies are evergreens. You need a male and female shrub to get berries on the female shrubs only. One male shrub however is capable of pollinating up to 8 females!


My favorite hybrid variety called "blue princess" is capable of reaching 15 feet high!!!


They can be kept pruned and shaped to however tall you would like them and I wouldn't say they have to be pruned anymore than any other shrub but Hollies are slow growing so during the growing season you could likely prune once every few weeks to once a month.


Here's the one I sent Bob in New Jersey...






They are a shrub that will never disappoint and they're well worth the investment.


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

That's a chunk with roots on it and a bud. I know the bud will fall off, but you should be able to get several starts on that if you take the segments apart! Or not, whatever you want to do with it.

You really have to ASK???? You bought it! I am just tickled that you thought of me when you did that.

Had a phone call.

I think dragon fruit are cactus family, though not the desert kind. They like more water like the holiday cactus and the night blooming cereus which looks all the world like a white dragon fruit blossom to me. That's another hanging down one. Check that one out!

Have to go get another batch of plants! ~J

[The Hollyberry Lady]

Just to be clear Tom...


The male Holly shrubs will never have fruits on them...only the females will. The female shrubs will never have berries however, if there is no male to pollinate them.


That's why holiday hollies that are sold under false pretenses are so lame, because the card tells you that you can plant it out in spring...which is true enough...but they fail to tell you that because you have no male shrub to go with your female, you'll never see even one berry the following season!

Furthemore, they don't even tell you which kind you have so that you may bother to find the matching male next season on your own! It's ridiculous, really.

I only buy the best quality shrubs from a nursery that's been around for over 40 years! They even come with a one year warranty and they'll replace it within one year if it doesn't thrive!!!

: o

Of course they do thrive though and they are the best shrubs you could ever have.


Don't buy blue girl if you can get the hybrid blue princess. You can see by this next shot of Bob's shrub I sent him that it is ladened with ripe berries...






Janan...


I'm nearly bursting for joy about your plants you're sharing with me. They all sound so great and fantastic. How did I get so lucky?!


I don't know how Blue Girl or Blue Princess Holly would fair in Texas because these ones like a frosty cold and snowy winter, but they may well adapt. I plan on rooting more cuttings next year but they are slow rooting and growing...

I have one blue princess cutting that rooted for me but hasn't grown much up top. It sits in my window though looking exactly as it looked the day I cut it...6 months ago!

I expect it to grow a bit in Spring but it has developed roots which is an excellent sign. They are tough cuttings to root and they take awhile too. My two kinds of Hollies grow more in the late summer early fall I find, so maybe the cutting won't take off until next late summer. We'll see...


"Blue Princess" is the most expensive to buy but well worth the money. You won't be disappointed Tom, and they are so cheerful in the wintertime. It's one of the few varieties that has berries on it all year round.


Janan...would you like some of my holly seeds to experiment with in the package I'll do up for you?


: )

[Jananas Bananas]

I have some beautiful bushes, and I know you love shrubbery. Would you like some cuttings of any of them? This is one of my favorites it is Loropetalum, it has glorious colors. This is it right now in the fall.



In the Spring it has pink spidery looking flowers and the leaves are dark purple and green mixed.

I don't know how well any of the bushes would root, but if anyone can do it I know you can! ~J