banksia robur

  • Tea-ing Off for the Hot Stuff

    Yesterday gave me an absolutely delightful surprise that I am now hoping will be a tee off toward better things as our tea tree bloomed as we hit the heat of early summer, long after I had given up hope of it doing so this year. I was thrilled to see the tiny white flowers appear. As I’ve mentioned often previously, this year had a darker than normal winter, which is usually bright and sunny in Tokyo, and even though it has been warmer, it has had an impact on blossoming. But our tea tree has clearly joined the party now. The next few days should provide even greater enjoyment…

  • Rooted!

    Having experimented with growing Aussie plants from seed last year, this year’s efforts have focused more on growing from cuttings and finally, from this morning, replicating the seed propagation experiment. Turns out that things are rooted, but not the way I had hoped. I started trying to grow cuttings from our extremely successful grevillea about two months ago. Following instructions online and from veterans, I took over a dozen cuttings from branches, added a growth-stimulating hormone powder to the ends, stuck them in pots filled with kanumatsuchi, watered them and covered the pots with plastic. I basically left the two pots I set up alone, only occasionally checking to see…