Musa ‘Ice Cream’ Blue Java tree
I bought this plant a couple months ago from a small grower in Florida. It arrived in the mail as this little thing, and over the next couple months each leaf was larger and more glorious than the last. Here’s the latest.
Someday, when he’s larger, he’s going in the garden!
Just because I’m an avid gardener doesn’t mean I’m any good at it. Case in point: my Plumeria.
On the right, you can see it in happier days. On the left, today. What happened? Spider mites and a moment of terrible frustration.
Heather and I went to Kauai for our 10-year anniversary of meeting, and I brought home several plants (bought for export in the airport). One of the gingers never came up at all. Two others came up but I put them outside before they were ready and nearly killed them. They’re now inside and rebounding.
But the biggest success by far was the Plumeria. I rooted it in perlite, then transferred it to a pot, and it grew like crazy. It thrived. It bloomed. It was awesome. Then it got spider mites.
I tried misting, I tried washing, I tried hippie oils and murderous thoughts, but they kept coming back. They taunted me with their little webs, crawling up and down the leaves like tiny middle fingers. I finally lost it.
I brought the plant outside and sprayed it head to toe with houseplant insecticide. I let it sit for a minute and then rinsed off the plant. Take that, mites!
The good news is I haven’t seen any spider mites since. The bad news is the poor Plumeria dropped all its leaves over the next few days. I’m not sure if I killed it or just shocked it into dormancy. Either way, I won’t be seeing any flowers from this plant for a while.
Lesson learned: Plumerias do not like insecticide and murderous thoughts.
I once had a photography teacher that said it was simple to never take a bad photo again: just stop shooting. If you’re gonna make photos, some will be awful. That’s just how it is.
Being a gardener is like that. You will make mistakes. You will kill beloved plants. So, in my process of getting better at it, I want to make sure I document the failures, too. They’re the lessons I need to remember.
You made it to the bottom! You must be very good looking. Wanna go back to the top now?
Hi, I’m Derek. I used to make websites. Now I grow flowers and know things. I’m mostly harmless. More.
© Copyright Derek Powazek, all rights reserved. If you like something here, link to it, don’t copy it.
