Me Plantz

[floppybootstomp]

Thought I'd share a few pix of my plant collection which is still quite small but growing.

It is so nice after six years without a garden to have some outdoor space to myself and be able to have plants, even though they have to be in pots and containers.

Makes me feel good

The three big plants were taken from a friend's neighbour's patio after his neighbours moved out, left the plants behind and said to him 'Help yourself'. So he called me and I took them home. The Yukka has been re-potted, the other two have not been.

All the other plants and most of the pots came from IKEA.

The green wooden plant pot holder I made myself, all from scrap wood, all I've bought are some galvanised nails, some wood glue and a pot of green wood preserver.

I collect all abandoned pallets (B & Q car park is a good place to find them) and any clean wooden package frames from skips and the communal bin strage cupboard where I live. The base of the pot holder in the picture was from a baby buggy package.

And I covered it with some Wickes' green wood preserver, I have a huge pot of the stuff.

The pix:

With these last two, the first was taken with natural light and in the second one I used the camera's flash.

I don't know if it will be apparent in these reduced size pix but using the flash gives the subject an almost surreal quality.

I have a few more small plants round the side, I may post pix of those later.

Have been thinking about growing some veg or herbs but haven't really got a clue how to go about it, will have to investigate...

If you want to post pix of your plants, please do

 

[crazylegs]

Superduper pix Flopp's..

I like plants too..

 

[muckshifter]

I like the dapple shaded rocks, they will do good if only watered 3 times a year, rain permitting.

 

[psd99]

wow nice plants and nice place!!!

where is that mate? Greenwich?

 

[guest_9323wk]

Great pics,

 

[Ian]

Very snazzy balcony you've got there Looks idea for BBQs too!

Growing herbs is a good idea, and really easy to do. If you like cooking you'll find you use them all the time and it makes a big difference Mint is also a good one - it's almost impossible to kill and can make mojitos

 

[Abarbarian]

Dwarf french beans or runner beans , carrots, them small tomatoes, radishes, chives are all great to grow in large plant pots or 25 ltr plastic paint containers.
Nice job with the wooden container by the way.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Bit of an update 14 months on, had a couple die on me, added some more and have had some leaves munched by a mystery predator.

I'm not sure if this yukka plant is dying but the lower leaves are in poor condition:

However, there's a fresh green healthy looking shoot at the top of the plant, albeit crooked, but I don't know if the plant has had it's day or not. Should I remove the lower leaves?

And here's the plant which something has been making a meal of, I think this plant is actually a tree, it's one I was given. I can't find any trace at all of a likely insect culprit and the eating seems to have stopped now.

I'm wondering if it's because several of these have set up home in the vicinity:

And finally, we have a pigeon infestation problem locally it seems so a couple of thse model birds, which I think are meant to be gulls, have been put in place. I first noticed one in the dark of night and wondered just what I was looking at, this dim grey shape seemingly hovering in mid-air, quite spooky.

Hawks have also been let loose a few times a week for the last month or so in a bid to scare off the pigeons. I can tell when the hawks are flying as there's a terrible cacophony coming from the assorted bird population outside. Now, the pigeons don't seem to be in the least bit bothered by the hawks, they just stand there and do nothing, but the gulls go quite berserk. Strange.

 

[Taffycat]

Lovely pics Flopps, your plants are looking good and I see you have my absolute favourite, lavender!!! Mmm, the smell is wonderful, I've always loved it.

I wonder if your plant-nibblers could be birds...? Some years ago, they took a liking to something we were trying to grow here (can't remember what it was) but they made a right old feast of it.

Regarding your Yucca, you might like to take a look at this:
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/font]

[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]The top of my Yucca looks fabulous but almost every time I get new leaves on top one of the bottom leaves turns yellow.
A Yucca is a stalk plant. It's very natural for the bottom leaves to die back as the plant gets new leaves.[/font]

http://www.houseplantconsult.com/yucca.html

Your balcony-garden looks sooo tranquil.

 

[Anon_F]

Nice pics.

 

[nivrip]

Plants are looking good, Flops. Good idea to have them in containers as it stops them spreading all over the place. I've got a couple of border plants that look nice in flower but they spread like mad and are difficult to eradicate once they get really established.


As to the thing eating your leaves, I don't think it will be the spiders. There is only one species of spider (out of 40,000 species in total) that eats vegetation and that is only found in Central America. Mind you, one might have come over on a banana boat.

Usually ants or caterpillars.

 

[crazylegs]

Right Mr Flopp's

Your Yucca is fine mate pull a few of the lower leaves away as they are dying off and will be stopping the good stuff getting to the new growth up top....And don't worry!!

The plant being eaten looks like a castor oil plant or a variant, you can bet your bottom dollar its larvae or caterpillars doing the damage, turn a leaf upside down Tony and take a look see if theres anything hiding under there...Mr spider won't touch it as he likes his meat too much, flies, moths, gnats whatever he can catch in that there web of his!

Love the red Cordyline by the way, make sure you mist spray the Cordylines leaves in this hot weather, or they will go brown at the ends of there leaves..

same goes for the Yucca too they like there leaves mist sprayed in the hot weather, they take water in you see through the leaves aswell as bottom of the pot through the soil..

Hope your giving them a good soaking in this hot weather Mr Flopp's..

 

[floppybootstomp]

Thanks for feedback all.

Niv, I didn't think the spider was leaf munching, I meant maybe the spider had eaten the leaf-munchers but as crazylegs said, spiders only eat what their webs catch so a bit silly of me really.

Some more munching has occurred since yesterday

All I can find anywhere on the plant are black ants. Would they take that much leaf to nest build? I'm fairly sure the ants came with the plant as I'm six storeys high and there was no sign of ants before that plant arrived. Last year they invaded my kitchen for about a week.

So, do I try and eradicate the ants? Poison? That would be a shame really as I've nothing against ants in general but if it's my plant or them then the ants have to go. And if that doesn't stop the leaves being attacked I suppose some kind of insect spray?

I have pulled off lots of the yucca's lower leaves now, thanks for advice youse two. I also water the plants regularly with a watering can with sprinkler attached. Not knowing each plant's specific requirements when it comes to feeding, I feed them all about every 6 weeks.

But this week I let the watering slip for one day and the pink hyacinth is now a brown hyacinth because of all that sunshine Bugger. Oh well, it'll probably flower again later in the year.

Which one is the red cordyline then? The only red one? I don't know many of their names unfortunately. I just buy what I like the look of at the time. And the shrubs need a trim, I know.

 

[Abarbarian]

Great thread mate. Looks luverly.

If times are hard you could always go agricultural and dump the flowers and turn the pots over to food production

 

[Alf]

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/flower/caring-for-and-landscaping-with-yuccas-outdoors.htm

Heres some tips.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Thankee Alf

 

[muckshifter]

FYI floppy, some black ants keep "herds" of other insects, like aphids, cottony scales, mealybugs, soft-type scales, and whiteflies, to milk honeydew from. yum yum

It's probably these that a eating your plant.

The honeydew that is secreted by the insects favors the growth of sooty mold. This is a very destructive black fungus that spreads on plant leaves.

Find & kill the queen ant.

 

[Urmas]

Find & kill the queen ant.

Vive la République!

 

[floppybootstomp]

Vive la République!

Sacre Bleu!

Off with their heads...

The munching seems to have stopped.

The ant population is getting bigger, they is all over the show.

But now munching has stopped, harmless, I am loathe to carry out genocide on ants.

But, but - they step over the line one more time and...

repotted a couple of plants today, couldn't find me trowel. Have a horrible suspicion when I last did some weeding I threw the trowel away with the weeds. Bugger

 

[nivrip]

couldn't find me trowel.

Sure the ants haven't eaten it?