First three Dog Watering Stands have been completed. One sample has been sent out for customer approval. We will see where this leads but it has been a fun little project.  

Another Baby

Here is another Plant Daddy Baby. Its name is Aglaonema 'Silver Bay'. It is a fabulous indoor plant. It can be seen in several hotels and at the Orlando International Airport.

The Dog Days are Here.

Gosh, golly, good grief it is hot. Simlar to the drought a few years ago with temps in high 90’s and a dry 15-20 mph west wind in the pm. Everything is brown here and that is tough for a horticulturist but the good news is – no grass to mow. About noon it is really cooking and difficult to do much except in short bursts. Work 30 minutes and cool for 30 minutes – I guess that is the best we can do for the moment. Oh brother, only 4 more months of this. Can’t wait for the humidity…..
I water the few important plants in the early morning like citrus and the 10 plants in the garden. Also fill the bird bath which is really used a lot these days. Boy those thrushes, blue jays and cardinals can really get into a good long bath. It is really great a great show to watch.
The surf looks flat (due to west wind) and murky so not much hope of fishing unless the east breeze kicks in. A good east breeze can really drop the temps on the beach. I really cooked myself once sitting on the beach with a burning west wind bringing the hot air in off the mainland – almost to overheated to drive home and in fact left some of my gear in the parking lot. No more, now it is east breeze or stay at home.
In spite of the heat I have been working on making a few dog watering stands. Hurt my finger on a table saw years ago and won’t use that again. But this is fun using the router and a miter saw. Much less chance of injury but I am very careful. The work is tedious and hot but now I am getting the templates made and a system worked out so it is going a lot quite nicely. So far I have 3 done. Ok, ok, overproduction is not a problem. And did I say it was hot….. I am going to go get some photos of these dog things now and will post later – once it cools down.

Anthurium 'Red Hot'

Grows well and Flowers well in Florida.
My Baby...

Fabulous Florida Corn in 2-2-2.

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh the Florida corn. Good is not an adequate description. Fabulous does not do it justice either. This is the week to enjoy it. Here’s my way of cooing it – put 2 ears (with the husk on) in the microwave and heat on high for 2 minutes; turn the ears from top to botton and heat 2 more minutes on high. That’s it --- 2-2-2 (2 ears, 2 min. then rotate and 2 more min). Let the ears cool in the husks for about 10 minutes before eating. The husks and silk come off very easy after heating. Sure beats doing the boiling water thing…

I do not like cold weather as it brings me to a complete standstill. At 40 degrees I turn to stone – a heavily dressed stone. Of coures that is not a problem today. In fact, good grief it’s hot – 95 – feels like 120 in my greenhouse. Ahhhhhhhhhhh but these tropical plants are growing now for sure. One good thing about the summer in Florida, is the fabulous plant growth rate. I guess they are looking to get away. My hybrids begin to look quite different from week to week. With a 3 day weekend (maybe 4) it will be fun to come in on Tuesday and look for more changes.

Guess I will try my router some more this weekend and hope to finish 10 dog watering stands. Life goes in unplanned directions – 2 weeks ago I never would have imagined doing a woodworking project. Will post a photo of a completed stand next week. Only problem is that there is no welding involved. Maybe I can do a new steel sculpture also. – shoot for the moon since it will only be 110 in the shop. Then again those welding sparks can take on a life of their own when landing in the wrong spot.

This is the first week of my blog so you will see print only, but then it will be time to get cute with the photo stuff. Relax, the photos are coming……..

Another Day Another Discovery.

There can be no doubt that plants are a major interest in my life. I found another exciting mutant in my greenhouse today. It is a dwarf form of a vining plant (some names I have to keep secret). It may have commercial potential if it passes the next 2 years of testing that involves evaluating potential problems with watering, fertilizing, bugs and diseases.

That is why steel is good. No watering, weeding or insect problems – only rust. Rust is interesting stuff being kind of like an Oregon Tan. Wood is fun too except you cannot drop it or it dents. Ever try to use the “Ding King” on wood – I guess it is wood putty or nothing. My first use of wood putty was fun. It is not like bondo which sets up so fast and then is a real beast to sand. Wood putty seems to be very cooperative stuff. Of course that depends on how it looks under varnish. I should know in 3-4 days. Stay tuned.

testing this again

What is wrong?

testing it out

why won't the blogs show up?

Exciting Observations at Work Today.

Another busy day at work with two potentially exciting observations. The first is that my new mutant dieffenbachia liners (SM-M1) are branching at 3 inches in height. This is really great since the original plant did not branch well at all. If the growth rate turns out to be acceptable could be an exciting new cultivar.

The other is that Gynura (i.e. velvet plant) is displaying different growth rates under the new colored shade cloth that we are testing. They are shorter under the red and blue compared to the grey. This has implications for growth control of other plants ---- however this will take several data checks over the next 6 months to verify.

More later……..

You Just Never Know

Oh brother/good grief, you just never know what is coming next. Things have changed a lot in the past 7 years. I went from working only with plants for 30 years (breeding research, commercial nursery and gardening) to doing welding, car restoration, surf fishing, steel sculpture, and (as of yesterday) some degree of woodworking, and now a BLOG.

Of course none of this could happen without the support of my family (i.e. “Mosaic Mom” wife [Barbara] and “Mind Escape” daughter [Helen]). Their blogs are in “quotes”. Thank you both for your continued love and support. You guys are great and excellent writers –I love you both.

Well, I have a new tool called a router. Oh boy routers are really cool, sort of like a dremel on steroids. It can make $3 piece of 2 x 6 look like a million bucks in a minute or two. Of course the sawdust is incredible, the closest thing to snow I will ever see in Florida. Ahhhh, but that is where my giant compressed air hose comes in handy. A few quick bursts and the dust is out of the shop and into the field along with any misplaced matches, papers and any other tools that weigh less than a pound or two. I need to study this for awhile.

I will get to plants later but I am a router boy for the moment.

Hello from Plant Daddy

I've been coerced into starting a Blog.

For which I must say thank you to Mosaic Mom and Mindescape.