New Seedlings

Here we go with a new set of seedlings. My mom has two trees next to one another and after how many years, she got a seed pod. Maybe one day I'll get to see what this produces.

I started this on 8/16 and they plumped up nicely. Hopefully they'll get their tap root tomorrow or Saturday so I have the weekend to plant them all. It's gonna be a scorcher (100+ degree temps).



I also bought the HydroFarm Hot House to make things easier for me and the fact that I don't have all the empty bins like I did last time.

I decided to go with the baggie method since I was successful last time. The paper towels were wet with a Spanish water mixture (1c water to 1.5 tsp h2o2) and a drop of SuperThrive.

For now, I'm naming this PCU (my mom's initials), so I can keep track of them. I'll post a 2 year update on my previous babies. I can't say they are thriving here in Oregon, but at least they're still alive.

Happy Birthday Seedlings!!!

Well, almost. I'm about 10 days early. But alas, I'm home, so I took some photos.

I repotted all the babies. 6 are in smaller pots and the other 11 are in larger pots. The 6 smaller ones are the ones that have always grown a bit slower. It seems like they're growing VERY slowly. Probably not enough sun nor heat.

I just moved so there are some pros and cons.

First the cons....all my trees won't really see any sunlight. My backyard looks like a forest (not really, just some very very tall trees) and it blocks the sun. So if they see sun, it's for about 30 mins in the late afternoon. Boo! At my last apartment, they had some awesome direct sunlight. I'm afraid of what will happen to them. The 6 small ones are outside, but under my lamp, so they're getting some "sun".

The pros? Well, my apartment is overall warmer. So fingers crossed that I won't have to keep them on a heating mat, because now that they're in their new pots, I don't have enough space. They'll probably go dormant anyways, but I'm hoping not. At least they're outside, in the heat. It's been dang hot this summer. Mostly in the mid-80's all the way up to 100.

And sadly, they'll probably have to come in soon. It's already dropping down to the mid-50's overnight.

Here's some pictures of all of them (even the adult plant) in their new pots.

10 Months: Outdoors

As of July 11, I moved them outside. The weather is predicting to be in the 80's for the rest of the month so I think they'll do great. I really need to transplant them into larger containers, but since I'm moving in early August, I don't want to do it right now.

I thought I found a spot that doesn't get direct sunlight, as I read you're supposed to introduce them to it slowly otherwise they can burn, but I can't seem to find a spot that doesn't get direct sunlight at some point in the day. Ugh.

Also, they don't look so good. They haven't since I haven't been able to put the lid on anymore. I keep watering them, but I wonder if I'm over doing it. I also fertilized them, and it looks like I overdid that. I really need to just leave them alone.

Here they are outside. They look kind of sad.

On the upside, because of this hot weather (that I hate btw), my adult Aztec Gold has been blooming like crazy now that the weather is stable. It tried to bloom in June, but it kept getting too cold.

I'm hoping my babies will survive!!! I've worked so hard to keep them happy and healthy, I'd hate to see them die now.

Catching Up: 10 Weeks to 7 Months

Since I failed to blog the journey, so sad, I'm catching up with photos I've had.

This is from December 15, 2013. Approximately 3 months old.

These photos shows them at about 4 months old and the tallest is about 4.5". As you can see, some are going strong and others are barely making it. Slow, but still growing.

This is from March 27, 2014 - approximately 6 months old. As you can see, I had to start taking some out of the container, they were getting too tall.

April 19 - 7 months old. Going strong and getting big!!

Week 10 Photos

It's been 3 weeks since my last update. I figured I'd wait as long as I could so you could actually see some progress. Wow! My seedlings are getting leafy. The tallest one is about 3.5" now. Soon,  its not going to fit in the container, no clue what I'll do with it then. I suppose I'll have to leave the lid off. I like having the lid on though, because I rarely need to water it. It waters itself and keeps the soil moist, but not wet.

The slow growers are doing well too. I'm happy to see the leaves getting bigger on them. They are definitely survivors.

These photos were taken on November 18, 2013

I'm sad to say that the inflow from the adult tree didn't make it. It fell off and I have no clue why. It was almost 2" long and was probably about to bloom. But instead, it fell off. Boo. I wanted another flower!

Day 48 - End of Week 7

Well, it's been almost 8 weeks since I first planted my little seedlings. They are doing so well. I'm not sure if they should be any taller, more leafy, but as long as they're alive and growing, I'm happy. Here are some updated photos (taken 10/27 - 2 days ago).

It's been about two weeks since my last update and as you can see, the ones on the right, the strongest of the bunch, have gotten big and leafy. The little ones in the center and bottom left, are doing well. They seem to be growing and enjoying their new pots.

Side view of everything. Granted, you can't see much in the back (left side) and they're small anyways, but you can see how tall the ones on the right are getting. I decided to measure it, since how can you really tell how tall it is with photos? The tallest ones measures 2.5" to the top of the stalk (not the leaves). Hmmm....I'd say they're very small. According to The Plumeria Society of America, it says, "On an average, you can expect a seedling to reach 6 inches in height in about 8 weeks." 

And a surprise. This is my potted adult plant. I brought it in, in September. Looks like I have an inflo that may bloom. Crazy! I guess it's loving the bottom heat and light. 

Day 34 - All Are Potted

I decided to pot the rest of the seedlings into their larger homes (cluster of 7 in the lower left/middle). As you can see in the photo below, the ones on the right are the newest ones. They're the slower growing seedlings. I mean, look how great the ones on the right are doing. Yay. If you noticed that the perlite is yellow on the ones on the right, I think it's the SuperThrive. I spray them in the morning with a mixture of SP in it. Otherwise, I have no clue why it's yellowing. The seedlings are still healthy.

My final count is: 4 Thai Mango Blush and 12 Kaleinani

2 Thai Mango Blush's are doing well, the other two are growing really slowly (the TMB are the 3 on the extreme left and top row, second from the left).

6 Kaleinani's are the strongest. The rest, are still very small. Not sure what the difference was or if it's just strong seeds versus not so strong ones? Well, we'll see.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with all of these once they outgrow this container. So far, they're still in a plastic container to keep the humidity up and on the heat pad to keep them warm. It looks like the plant in the lower left corner isn't sitting on the heat mat (no space), so we'll see what happens. I'm debating on buying another mat, but then I'd have to buy another thermostat. Yikes. Maybe next year if it's needed.

In the photo below, this is a side view of all of the plants. They don't look much taller, but if you look at previous photos, you can tell in this one just how much the leaves have grown. Growth has definitely slowed down, but still going.

My babies are getting round the clock heat and about 12 hours of light. It's been sunny outside, so I've been opening up the blinds so they get some real sun. I keep the lid on the container though (it's clear) to keep the humidity levels up.

I'll post another update in a week.