Gma's indoor gardening thread, winter #3 (Sulcata)

Oxalis

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Excellent job! @Odin's Gma, you are a gardening queen! :D Love the hibiscus; they're beautiful! Odin is a very lucky little dude. :<3:
I will be bringing lots of stuff inside during the next week or so, too; it's dipping into the 40s here in MO.

I can't seem to get Tropical Hibiscus to live year to year. The one I tried last year made it all through the winter, then died shortly after putting it out in the spring(I tried to gradually reintroduce it outside a few hours a day).
If you're in Missouri, you'll want the Hibiscus syriacus variety. It should do great there. The stem will be woody so it can survive the winter, down to zone 5 hardiness, in fact. We have one in our backyard here in Michigan. It's commonly called "rose of Sharon," "althea," or "rose mallow." FYI, it can grow up to 12 feet so make sure you have room for it. ;)

Another option is the Hibiscus moscheutos species. It's often called "rose mallow" as well. It dies back in the winter but returns in the spring. It has bigger flowers than H. syriacus but won't get as big. It may be more difficult to find at nurseries. I might try to grow this one inside. I have one in my tort's outdoor enclosure.
 

Robber

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Excellent job! @Odin's Gma, you are a gardening queen! :D Love the hibiscus; they're beautiful! Odin is a very lucky little dude. :<3:

If you're in Missouri, you'll want the Hibiscus syriacus variety. It should do great there. The stem will be woody so it can survive the winter, down to zone 5 hardiness, in fact. We have one in our backyard here in Michigan. It's commonly called "rose of Sharon," "althea," or "rose mallow." FYI, it can grow up to 12 feet so make sure you have room for it. ;)

Another option is the Hibiscus moscheutos species. It's often called "rose mallow" as well. It dies back in the winter but returns in the spring. It has bigger flowers than H. syriacus but won't get as big. It may be more difficult to find at nurseries. I might try to grow this one inside. I have one in my tort's outdoor enclosure.

I have several syriacus planted outside, just like to have a tropical variety I can move around on the porch and occasionally feed some leaves off of during the winter months while it's inside. The one I have this year is actually growing some new leaves the past few weeks, so hopefully it makes it. I don't think I've ever seen the moscheutos variety available locally.
 

Oxalis

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I have several syriacus planted outside, just like to have a tropical variety I can move around on the porch and occasionally feed some leaves off of during the winter months while it's inside. The one I have this year is actually growing some new leaves the past few weeks, so hopefully it makes it. I don't think I've ever seen the moscheutos variety available locally.
That's awesome! :D So glad to hear it. We don't have much more room left inside to keep plants over the winter, but maybe someday I'll try the tropical hibiscus. Right now I have a lime tree that has grown a lot of branches and foliage but has trouble producing limes. We only got one lime this year (and it was delicious!); my thinking is that our house may not be humid enough and/or he's not getting enough sun. He has a ton of blossoms right now though!
 

Robber

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That's awesome! :D So glad to hear it. We don't have much more room left inside to keep plants over the winter, but maybe someday I'll try the tropical hibiscus. Right now I have a lime tree that has grown a lot of branches and foliage but has trouble producing limes. We only got one lime this year (and it was delicious!); my thinking is that our house may not be humid enough and/or he's not getting enough sun. He has a ton of blossoms right now though!

You have to really water the heck out of some plants in the winter; you don't realize how dry it is in our houses. The majestic palms, plecanthrus, and hibiscus really dry out quickly inside. The opuntia and aloe do great inside in the winter; my opuntia is actually growing new pads inside this year.
 

Oxalis

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You have to really water the heck out of some plants in the winter; you don't realize how dry it is in our houses. The majestic palms, plecanthrus, and hibiscus really dry out quickly inside. The opuntia and aloe do great inside in the winter; my opuntia is actually growing new pads inside this year.
Way to go on the Opuntia! ;) Ours is thriving in the backyard but no flowers yet. Maybe next year!
 

Robber

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Way to go on the Opuntia! ;) Ours is thriving in the backyard but no flowers yet. Maybe next year!
I've only had one ever flower, I think it was in May of last year(I put them outside sometime in April). Of course, mine are not very mature yet...I think biggest ones are only 4 or 5 'tiers', or whatever you want to call them.
 

Odin's Gma

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Hi tortoise loving friends, long time no speak! It's been a crazy busy couple of months at home and work, but I wanted to jump on quick and share something exciting in Odin's greenhouse:

See these?
023.JPG 024.JPG

It looks as though my parlor palm is going to flower!!!!! I could not be more excited!

Behind it you can see that the one banana plant I put in there is also doing well! It seems if is large enough around the base that he can't easily destroy it like he did the smaller ones in the past. :D026.JPG

I haven't done a weight or measurement for quite some time, but he is still growing like crazy!027.JPG

I asked him if he wanted to smile for the camera but it was dinner time, so he just snorted and kept chomping028.JPG

The dining room is still crammed full and very green032.JPG

And my ice cream banana is quickly outgrowing the dining room. I think we're gonna need a bigger house.....033.JPG

Still loads of opuntia too!034.JPG
 

Oxalis

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Hi tortoise loving friends, long time no speak! It's been a crazy busy couple of months at home and work, but I wanted to jump on quick and share something exciting in Odin's greenhouse:

See these?
View attachment 198004 View attachment 198005

It looks as though my parlor palm is going to flower!!!!! I could not be more excited!

Behind it you can see that the one banana plant I put in there is also doing well! It seems if is large enough around the base that he can't easily destroy it like he did the smaller ones in the past. :DView attachment 198006

I haven't done a weight or measurement for quite some time, but he is still growing like crazy!View attachment 198007

I asked him if he wanted to smile for the camera but it was dinner time, so he just snorted and kept chompingView attachment 198008

The dining room is still crammed full and very greenView attachment 198009

And my ice cream banana is quickly outgrowing the dining room. I think we're gonna need a bigger house.....View attachment 198010

Still loads of opuntia too!View attachment 198011
Amazing plants! Everything looks great! Must be nice to have so much green in the winter. :D No wonder Odin's growing so fast!
 

Pearly

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Hi tortoise loving friends, long time no speak! It's been a crazy busy couple of months at home and work, but I wanted to jump on quick and share something exciting in Odin's greenhouse:

See these?
View attachment 198004 View attachment 198005

It looks as though my parlor palm is going to flower!!!!! I could not be more excited!

Behind it you can see that the one banana plant I put in there is also doing well! It seems if is large enough around the base that he can't easily destroy it like he did the smaller ones in the past. :DView attachment 198006

I haven't done a weight or measurement for quite some time, but he is still growing like crazy!View attachment 198007

I asked him if he wanted to smile for the camera but it was dinner time, so he just snorted and kept chompingView attachment 198008

The dining room is still crammed full and very greenView attachment 198009

And my ice cream banana is quickly outgrowing the dining room. I think we're gonna need a bigger house.....View attachment 198010

Still loads of opuntia too!View attachment 198011
Nice collection there! Odin is such handsome dude! It's great to see you post here, just today earlier I was referring one of our new members to your enclosure build thread for ideas. I was actually wondering how you guys were doing. Good to see you here!
 

Oxalis

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Nice collection there! Odin is such handsome dude! It's great to see you post here, just today earlier I was referring one of our new members to your enclosure build thread for ideas. I was actually wondering how you guys were doing. Good to see you here!
It's an impressive enclosure indeed. I think my Russian is quite jealous!
 

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