Every Cloud Has a Sliver of Whining

An unseasonably warm and dry late winter and early spring has given way to more customary wet, with really lousy weather since rain began early yesterday morning.

Wet weather makes me whine, but I really shouldn’t because it was supposed to pour all day today, but I woke to warm sunshine and got to ride (and see the cherry blossoms!)

It was a bit of a mixed bag, because I ended up getting a puncture….my fourth in the past week, added to which I destroyed my pump because the tip of the tire valve got caught inside and can’t be removed without breaking the pump head.

So you can imagine how I felt when I went out on a lunchtime ride. And got another puncture. (Finally found the tiny stone in the tire causing the problem and will change tires later. Yet another pain caused by ever-dimming eyesight.) Still, I had to take the entire afternoon off work because I was unable to make it home by the end of lunchtime.

Despite the title, the time off work did provide an opportunity to update the Aussie seed situation.

There’s a fair degree of excitement, to be honest.

That’s because I’ve got a good, steady stock of kangaroo paw propagating.

These are the plants I really want to work out, but they’re apparently pretty hard to grow. I stuffed up last year by overwatering them in summer, and they died because they don’t like the humidity. Unfortunately, I discovered this post facto, instead of studying beforehand like most people would.

It’s really delightful to see these seeds sprouting. I’ve got more kangaroo paw planted than anything else, and the results have been mixed so far. The photos here are the best examples. Other places in the humidity pods have yet to germinate. The seeds planted outside, one tray in dirt alone and the other using seed planter pods, have yet to sprout. More monitoring is required. The instructions say germination takes 21-42 days and the seeds were planted either February 19 or February 26-7, so there’s plenty of time left.

Also promising are the dwarf wattle.

They have a whole humidity pod to themselves (and part of another).

All 12 pods in the exclusively dwarf wattle planter have sprouted. They’ll be ready for transplanting into bigger pots soon.

And so will another top performer, the desert peas.

There are only three of these little fellers. I thought I might struggle with these seeds, so this is a good result. These seeds should have been burned before planting, or at least doused in smoke water. I did soak the seeds in ear-boiling water overnight, and of the 12 seeds, only three cracked open, which I suspect are those in the pod. Lovely flowers, so I hope they keep growing.

Native wisteria are also putting in an appearance. I love wisteria and am really interested to see how the Aussie version will grow, especially as we have a potted Japanese wisteria, too.

Undoubtedly the most thriving of the podded plants at the moment are the golden everlastings. I’m waiting to transplant them for a little longer, as I transplanted the ordinary everlastings too early, then killed half of them by keeping them in a hothouse on a stifling day.

I can’t wait for the seeds to sprout. I’ve still got banksia, waratah, red cap gum and Western Australia christmas trees planted, but none of them are showing signs of propagating. They are under constant light and warmth, which might be the wrong way to grow them, actually. I read that waratah don’t like too much sunlight, but figured that was after they’d sprouted.

Anyway, I’ve got to be patient and keep nurturing the plants. Neither patience or nurturing are a forte, but it’s a good chance to learn.