Bloom 2016 - Final Year Dump Post

Being that it's 2017, this post is pretty overdue but I'm doing it to keep things as sequential and complete as possible. I rounded up all the photo's I could find from 2016 that I never got a chance to upload on here.

 Last year I had a chance to replant some moon-flowers and take photos. The first time I planted them back in 2014, I lost the pictures I took unfortunately. It was disappointing being that they were some of my favorite blooms but here they are again in all its glory. 

In addition to the moonflowers there are some orange and yellow marigolds too. These last practically through the fall which is nice

I also grew pink and blue cornflowers I think I had leftover from the previous year

 I grew some cilantro too making it the second edible plant I've harvested next to tomatoes. Oh man fresh home-grown cilantro was some of the best I've ever eaten. I had it in my soups and omelets daily. I plucked stems, gave it a quick rinse, and just ate it just to taste it too.There was a point I had to slow down since the poor plant was basically being munched on faster than it could grow. So good though... 

Pink and Yellow Zinnia's. These are early bloom photo's, the petals haven't unrolled completely yet

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 6 Yellow Woodsorrel/Yellow Oxalis (Oxalis Stricta)

The yellow flower of this clover species has 3 heart-shaped leaves 

Wow I keep coming across a new species of flower I previously missed every new trip to the park. Common Yellow Woodsorrel is known by many other names including common yellow oxalis, sour grass, shamrock, sleeping beauty, sour trefoil, and sheep's clover. This woodsorrel is unique because tends to grow in a more upright fashion than other wood sorrels (stricta means "upright"). Other varieties include white, pink, blue, and purple

The vivid yellow flower has 5 petals. All its parts are perpendicular to the stem nearly horizontal to the ground 

Far out shot of the lemon grass bunch, which also happen to be edible.

Bloom 2014 - Common Zinnia: Green Envy Zinnia (Zinnia Elegans)

Life Cycle: Annual
Uses: Beds, Borders, Cut Flowers
Sun: Full Sun
Soil: Acidic
Water: Moderately
Spread: 12-14 Inches
Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks
Height: 30 Inches

Although last years Red Carousel Zinnia came close, disappointingly they failed to bloom. Well the good news is this year, I've finally managed to grow my first indoor Zinnia to maturity and shes a beauty! I guess you can say every who sees her is green with envy...sorry I had to. Anyway, as happy as I am about the bloom, it was pretty measly  which was probably due to the small container space and multiple flowering heads.

8/22/2014
I was pretty surprised to find that my Zinnia had branched out and was growing three flowering heads. Actually 5, because the bottom of the stem branched out as well, but I clipped those two in an attempt at larger blooms. I'm actually trying to propagate one of the cuttings I saved and am currently growing the roots in a jar of water and plan to transfer it to soil.

8/8/14
The container is pretty small, but does the job I have to say. Its pretty amazing that such a large flowering plant can thrive in a peanut can container, although I'm sure its a bit cramped.

8/22/2014
A look at the bud opening up

8/8/14
Close-up at the flower-head forming

8/9/14
The florets are opening up and stacking it seems

8/9/14
Another picture of my Zinny. Really makes me want to retry and grow a Red Carousel Zinnia.

I've Over-watered my Alyssum! Oh no, poor Ally :(

Proxy image of an over-watered plant. Signs are curled leaves, light green color, and droopy stem.

My Alyssum, Ally, is showing signs of over-watering and is not looking good. Basically the symptoms are light green leaves, droopy stems, curled-up leaves, and moist soil. Seeing that Alyssums prefer dry soil and how much I water my plants, its no wonder this occurred. The general green rule of thumb is to water plants whenever the topsoil is dry to the touch. I'll hold back on the daily watering and pay more attention to the moisture in the container before adding more water from now on.

In an attempt to save the plant, I've transplanted the plant into a different container with a drainage hole, trimmed it to focus the root growth, and am keeping it away from direct sunlight to avoid transplant shock. I just hope its not too late and the roots haven't rotted away. I've planted some more seeds in case it doesn't survive the transplant.

* The Alyssum was actually able to bounce back and now looking pretty good. It was sagging because it was pretty top heavy so I decided to trim it back down and avoid over watering.

Bloom 2013 - Moonflower (Proxy Images)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Trellis or Lattice

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Slightly Acidic

Water: Lightly to moderately

Spread: 8-10 feet

Bloom Duration: 14 Weeks

Height: 8 weeks

I couldn't stop looking at the bloom and awaited each of the following ones anxiously.  The Moonflower is one heck of a sight to behold.

This was by far my favorite blooms of last year and an instant all-time favorite. I received the seed as a wedding gift from an good friend of mine. When I received it, there was no mention of what type of seed it was so I had no idea what I was planting. I was in for a surprise because I soon noticed it was a fast-growing vine plant and going by the big kernel-like seed and images that I found online, I had a hunch it was a Moonflower. The wedding gift actually came paired with another Morning Glory seed but unfortunately it stopped growing after a few weeks after I planted it; I'm guessing because of the small container it was in. This Spring, I bought some more seeds and am growing another one indoors near my windowsill, so I'm hoping this is the year I get to see it bloom. As for the Moonflower it grew rapidly and easily climbed up the bars of my balcony which are about 5 ft high before blooming one night. It was at this time I realized the meaning behind the name - it only blooms at night and will wither by the next morning or so. Later that summer the plant blossomed about three times and each was as stunning as the last. There's a certain elegance and grace this flower has and seeing it was an unforgettable experience.

When I grew my first Moonflower last year, it stayed like this for about a week, the anticipation to see it bloom was terrible. This pod will fall off once it does bloom and if you let it dry up for a few days you can open it afterwards and reuse the seeds it contains. 

Those ace of spade leaves mean its a vine

Moonflower sprouts - the seed will hang onto the sprout until the sepal breaks it off 

Bloom 2013 - Dwarf Tomato Plant (Proxy Images)

Proxy image of a fully grown dwarf tomato plant. Mine wasn't nearly as plentiful and I soon discovered that growing tomatoes require that you give them enough room to grow and lots of sun & water)

Me and my girlfriend both picked up a tomato kit for sale at K-Mart last year complete that came with a few seeds and ceramic pot. After adding the soil to the pot, I planted several  of the seeds although the instructions stated to plant only one. My girl Ironellys on the other hand planted a tomato forest and sprinkled more seeds in the pot than I can count. I soon learned found out that tomatoes need their root space to grow well and so to promote growth, I ended up cutting down a few of the extra tomato plants. My mini tomato plant started to bear green tomatoes and it took about a week for them to redden. I successfully mustered up the courage and ate some of my harvest without any ill effects which I'm still proud of. Its pretty amazing how I basically grew my own food which is why I'm looking to grow some more veggies this winter.

Yellow Tomato Flower

Tomato seedlings. At this stage they already smell like tomatoes, which I found intriguing.