What Is This Plant?
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:58 amBack in March (I think), my grandma received a young desert plant of unknown species/origin as a gift from a former co-worker. She had a cat at the time, and couldn't have live plants around, so she offered it to me after I'd recently expressed a desire for more plants in my apartment. This occurred about a month after I accidently froze the cactus mom gave me, at a point where I accepted that it definitely wouldn't recover, but I was determined not to be a green-thumb-less hippy, so I accepted it. The care instructions were vague at best, and with no clue as to what it was, I couldn't really check, so I gave it my best shot.
When I received this plant, it had only one small leaf, and stood about a foot high. It now has over a half-dozen huge leaves with a 16" stalk, so I must've done something right. Thing is, I still have no clue what it is, and I'd rather like to. When someone comes in and says "Wow, cool plant, what is it?", I'd like to have a more intelligent answer than "I dunno, some desert thing".
So, here are some photos.
( Click for photos )
The only care instructions I received consisted of "don't over-water it". That's not exactly helpful to someone whose only plant experience is a cactus that lasted all of three months (if that), but with the knowledge that it's a desert plant, I figured it needed lots of sunlight, warm climate, and heavy-but-rare waterings. So, here's how I've been taking care of it:
-It lives in my "plant window", which faces due east and is never covered (in the photos, it sits on that box under the window sill, I moved it for pics). This is also the warmest spot in the room in summer, but to compensate for winter coldness, I rotated it so the leaves lean in toward the room. That window killed my cactus last winter, I'd rather it not claim this plant too.
-I water it monthly, about 10-12oz, enough to thoroughly soak the soil. There are occasions when I give it a little more, but not often. And, I always use room-temperature filtered water, especially now that it's wintertime and our tap water is cold enough to induce frostbite.
-When it started to droop, I was feeling exceptionally cheap, so I stuck an old HAM antenna mast in the soil and tied it with a zip-tie. I've been meaning to replace this with a proper wood stake, but, well, it works, and the black antenna has less visual impact than a wood stake.
Like I said, this plant has flourished pretty impressively using these care habits, but considering that this regimine was based entirely on vague knowledge of what I think is the native climate for it, I'd like to know for sure. Also, I was told that it's supposed to bloom, but I haven't seen it do so, nor have I seen evidence of flowering (allegedly, it blooms just once per season, at midnight), just lots of new leaves.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help put a name on my first successful plant! :-)
When I received this plant, it had only one small leaf, and stood about a foot high. It now has over a half-dozen huge leaves with a 16" stalk, so I must've done something right. Thing is, I still have no clue what it is, and I'd rather like to. When someone comes in and says "Wow, cool plant, what is it?", I'd like to have a more intelligent answer than "I dunno, some desert thing".
So, here are some photos.
( Click for photos )
The only care instructions I received consisted of "don't over-water it". That's not exactly helpful to someone whose only plant experience is a cactus that lasted all of three months (if that), but with the knowledge that it's a desert plant, I figured it needed lots of sunlight, warm climate, and heavy-but-rare waterings. So, here's how I've been taking care of it:
-It lives in my "plant window", which faces due east and is never covered (in the photos, it sits on that box under the window sill, I moved it for pics). This is also the warmest spot in the room in summer, but to compensate for winter coldness, I rotated it so the leaves lean in toward the room. That window killed my cactus last winter, I'd rather it not claim this plant too.
-I water it monthly, about 10-12oz, enough to thoroughly soak the soil. There are occasions when I give it a little more, but not often. And, I always use room-temperature filtered water, especially now that it's wintertime and our tap water is cold enough to induce frostbite.
-When it started to droop, I was feeling exceptionally cheap, so I stuck an old HAM antenna mast in the soil and tied it with a zip-tie. I've been meaning to replace this with a proper wood stake, but, well, it works, and the black antenna has less visual impact than a wood stake.
Like I said, this plant has flourished pretty impressively using these care habits, but considering that this regimine was based entirely on vague knowledge of what I think is the native climate for it, I'd like to know for sure. Also, I was told that it's supposed to bloom, but I haven't seen it do so, nor have I seen evidence of flowering (allegedly, it blooms just once per season, at midnight), just lots of new leaves.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help put a name on my first successful plant! :-)