I spent last night in one of my favorite places on Earth.
One of my “heavens” is Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.
It was especially blissful this weekend, because in addition to amazing sculpture and plants, they added MILLIONS of lights.
The event is called “Nights of a Thousand Candles.”
The thousands of burning candles were accompanied by millions of lights wrapped around shrubs, dangling from tree limbs and artfully highlighting the giant oaks and their mystical Spanish moss.
Candles were floating in glass orbs in the many water features.
Colorful glass sculptures were lit to make a magical glowing garden.
Just when I thought I had been dazzled to my heart’s content, I walked into the Brown Sculpture Court to be knocked over by the most lovely display of all.
The central canal contained Poinsettias surrounded by millions of floating cranberries. The color combination was magical.
My sister and I will be going back next year and taking our parents. This was a dream.
Not to mention the live music and tasty food. Did I mention model trains?
My favorite type of fern is the Autumn Fern, also known as the Japanese Shield Fern.
Autumn Ferns
It is my favorite because it is lovely in fall and winter, when most of my other plants are dead or depressingly dormant. It loves shade and moisture. It needs protection from wind to get this big without damage.
three-foot-long frond
The fronds are bipinnate/twice-cut, which means there are two divisions of leaflets on the frond stem divisions. They are also triangular.
triangular shaped frond
The sori are arranged in neat little rows along underside of the leaflets.
sori in rows
Its species name is Dryopteris erythrosora. In Latin that means tree/fern/red/sorus.
A sorus is a packet of spores that looks like a rust spot this time of year.
Here are three sori under a microscope. Each is a complicated system of catapults. The curled arms unfurl and sling the spores away from the parent plant.
empty sori “catapults”
Fresh sori are light colored or transparent. These still contain spores.
Spores are not seeds. They only have half the genetic material of the fern. These germinate into tiny “boy and girl” gametophytes, which then get together and make the big “baby” sporophytes that we call ferns.
This ancient and strange life cycle is called “alternation of generations.”
I look at my ferns and feel a connection with prehistoric life.
Uncle! Tio! Lo Zio!
You can stop twisting my arm.
I’ll tell you my Schlumbergera secrets.
multiple cacti
First secret:
They bloom from the ends. So if you want more blooms…
You need more ends. Three to five divisions off the main branch is best.
This means purging and pruning the leggy limbs.
They will branch out and produce more ends,
which means more blooms.
Less is more. Too many branches per stem means some don’t bloom. It’s like having too many children. The poor mama branch can’t give them all what they need to bloom.
Too many branches
I try to limit my branches to from three to five divisions and total branch length to about twelve segments. Leggy is ugly on a Schlumbergera. Think of a long Christmas cactus as a tall elf. That’s just wrong! The branches can’t support the blooms, which hang low and are harder to see.
It’s best to do this after they bloom, but I do it for folks who see it now and want it now.
Twist off the excess pieces at a joint. If this scares you, cut with sharp scissors, but tearing is best.
Twist off at the joint.
Purged segments should be shortened to root. About 3 links long is best. Leave the pieces out to harden off and callus over for several days. Do not put in water. The will rot, not root.
Ready for rooting
Then put the callused pieces in rooting medium. Label these by color/name/ date.
I take requests on facebook and put the future parent’s name on the label.
Second secret:
They need to be outside during the summer in indirect sunlight.
I put some in full sun this year.
They let me know this was a mistake by wrinkling up and turning red.
A green, smooth Schlumbergera is a happy Schlumbergera.
Third secret:
Feed them every few weeks with their water.
Do not over-water. They must be dry on top to get a drink.
But remember, this is a tropical plant not a desert plant.
The term “Cacti” is misleading.
That old saying about not watering them while they are blooming is nonsense.
Just don’t get carried away with water while they are blooming,
(Don’t argue. “Old wives tell lies”)
Not watering and feeding a blooming Schlumbergera is like not feeding a pregnant woman because she has gained weight …Don’t try that at home, men.
Fourth secret:
Give them indirect sunshine and warmth while blooming, but no air flow.
The buds and blooms drop off if they are near a vent or doorway.
It’s the shock of temperature changes.
Also, colors vary with temperatures. You may have two identical cacti in different temperatures and get different colors.
Clones of a different color.
Surprise..There may also be two colors on one plant. I have peach and white coming off the same branch.
Two colors on one branch.
Fifth secret:
Turn, turn, turn…
They get uneven if you leave’um.
Oops! I hate it when that happens.
FINAL secret: Remove blooms as they wither, especially if there is a new bud beside them.
These are planters hanging on her window shutters.
floweralley 