California Plants

Growing Euphorbia Plants

admin — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:08:50 +0000

There are just over 2000 species of Euphorbia plants, mostly found naturally in the Americas and Africa. Many varieties of Euphorbia are very beautiful to grow and drought tolerant. Euphorbia plants are part of the genus Euphorbiaceae, from the greek botanical name Euphorbus. Euphorbia shrubs and trees generally have milky poisonous latex sap which developed over time to deter animals from eating the leaves. The poisonous sap from a Euphorbia plant will irritate the nose, mouth, or eyes of animals or humans, and upon touching skin should be washed off right away. Euphorbia plants have succulent or xerophytic leaves depending on the variety.

Yellow Euphorbia Plants

Tips for growing Euphorbia plants:

Euphorbia plants prefer full sun
It is useful to use pruners to cut stems from the previous year
Euphorbia plants are best planted when there are new leaves and buds growing
Euphorbia plants like well drained soil
If possible mulch Euphorbia plants

The AeroGarden is the Perfect Indoor Garden to Grow to grow Herbs, Flowers, and Vegetables

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:44:53 +0000

The AeroGarden is an original portable garden which includes everything needed to grow herbs, flowers, and vegetables all year indoors with ease. No pesticides are needed and it requires no soil or green thumb. The AeroGarden leverages cutting edge aeroponic technology to grow plants in air and water. It includes grow lights, pods, a microprocessor, and more. Plants can even be transplanted outdoors after growing!

See an example of plant growth in this video, and three AeroGardens we recommend at the bottom of this post:

Here are three popular AeroGardens we recommend:

Growing Vanda Orchids

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:39:40 +0000

Purple Vanda Orchids are some of the most showy orchids to grow. Vanda orchids like lots of light, humidity, and air movement. As you can see this Vanda has flowers that are 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Vandas can grow in a large fir bark mix or with very little mix around the roots, provided that humidity is high. Humidity can be attained with misting, trays of rocks with water in them, etc.

See the photo below, a beautiful large purple Vanda Orchid.

An Orchid to Grow Outside on Some Areas

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:18:36 +0000

In the San Francisco Bay Area and many other areas in California (also Hawaii) Epidendrum Speciosus can be grown outdoors or indoors. As you can see in the photo below, this Orchid gets to 2 or 3 feet in height. It blooms for a long time and is hardy. Epidendrum Speciosus can be grown in a fine for bark or other loose mix. This Epidendrum likes a lot of sun, warm temperatures, humidity, and air movement. You can find Epidendrum Orchids in many colors, including orange, red, pink, yellow, and more.

Tips on Growing Succulents

admin — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:53:33 +0000

Some succulents grow faster than others. When growing succulents, it is important to ensure they have enough room to expand. Some will grow tall while others will spread quite a bit horizontally. When planting succulents, look up photos or a picture on the plant tag to understand what they look like when mature.