tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24817060681052466952026-05-30T17:50:34.866-07:00PATSP is a long-winded, intermittently humorous blog which is mostly about houseplants, particularly <i>Anthurium</i>s and <i>Schlumbergera</i>s.mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comBlogger2795125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-20437015652855028412019-06-01T03:00:00.000-07:002019-06-01T03:00:07.104-07:00

One: the article I mentioned writing last year for the Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Guide is out; print copies have been available on their website for a few months. I've also heard of print copies being available in actual stores, though I have yet to witness this in the wild. Two: you've probably figured this out already, but I think I'm done writing the blog. Or at least I'm going to stop

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-91580568036258338902019-02-05T03:00:00.000-08:002019-02-05T03:00:16.667-08:00

Jayyvon isn't doing anything bizarre that needs explanation like 1332 Alexis Gabrielle Sherrington or 1715 Tyler Linoleum; I'm giving him a post anyway because he's so pretty. Seed parent is 0108 Deena Sequins, who herself was descended from the NOID purple, so that might explain the color. 'Krypton' could be in the mix somewhere as well: Jayyvon looks a lot like 'Krypton.' The leaves are

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-34243152742553559532019-01-19T03:00:00.000-08:002019-01-19T03:00:02.543-08:00

And then I caught a cold, so there went another week. This year I seem to be catching every single illness that's going around: cross your fingers for me that the flu shot works this year.1 So. Alexis. Alexis is mostly notable for being a color combination that I wouldn't have guessed possible and have never seen before: green and orange. Which more or less speaks for itself, I think. I mean,

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-80453226871621278512019-01-05T03:00:00.000-08:002019-01-05T03:00:04.974-08:00

From time to time, a seedling will do a little fake-out, making me think that I'm getting one kind of bloom and then actually delivering another. 0330 Faye Quinette was one of the first of these, producing a brown bud that became an orange spathe, and 1731 Robyn Millyonz was another (green bud became a beigey spathe), and now we have Ramona. This was the bud: And here's what I got: (And just

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-14299878593510728192018-12-30T03:00:00.000-08:002018-12-30T03:00:01.400-08:00

So now I'm faced with a sort of problem. It's a completely optional problem, but it's still a problem. The thing is that there's a completely unreasonable number of unblogged Anthurium seedlings,1 and most of them are not interesting on their own, at all. I could possibly make them interesting by talking about some other, barely related thing and ignoring the seedlings entirely, but that's kind

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-3537851113336690702018-12-19T06:59:00.006-08:002018-12-19T06:59:58.547-08:00

Intended to be posting Anthurium photos by now, but I got sick, then my computer monitor died and had to be replaced, then I got sick with something else that was worse than the first thing, then the computer's power supply blew up and the computer was dead and had to be replaced, and so on. So posts are coming, but I'm going to have to get my life back to normal first; it's unclear how long

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-91410508062631240092018-12-12T03:00:00.000-08:002018-12-12T03:00:05.895-08:00

At long last. . . . Most Floriferous New Seedling (2017-18) Most Floriferous is a straightforward category: either the plant produces lots of flowers or it doesn't. Not a lot of ambiguity to it. Granted, I don't count them, so it's possible the seedling that produced the most flowers has never actually won, but in principle there's objectivity. In any case, this year it was pretty easy to guess

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-31095774333976069252018-12-03T03:00:00.000-08:002018-12-03T03:00:01.526-08:00

At long last, about six months too late, we have the 2017-18 Schlummies. This post will cover the awards for seedlings that bloomed in previous years, and then the next post will deal with 2017-18's seedlings. Sound good?1 Most Improved Returning Seedling (2014-15 Season) "Most Improved" has turned out to be a rougher category than I initially anticipated; I'm never sure whether to choose

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-80412584093750010932018-11-26T06:17:00.000-08:002018-11-26T06:17:01.928-08:00

Last four to name: 172A Proverbs 22:16 Seed parent: NOID magenta Explanation: There's a lot in Proverbs that I'm not all that crazy about, like for example the verse just before this one,1 but 22:16 ("One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich — both come to poverty."2) seems pretty darn timely, and has I think been historically demonstrated as well

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-38578647135869024692018-11-19T03:00:00.000-08:002018-11-19T03:00:06.706-08:00

Had kind of an odd week, so I didn't make much progress on the seedling names,1 but we can deal with half of the ones that are left, at least. Perhaps I can make up for the low number of seedlings by showing you more photos than usual? 157A Kapow Seed parent: NOID peach Explanation: The NOID peach's offspring have been almost entirely disappointing: many died early, the ones that didn't die

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-41652588620971919632018-11-12T03:00:00.000-08:002018-11-12T03:00:08.571-08:00

Ready to knock down another eight seedling names in hopes of eventually maybe being able to start on the 2018-19 season? Of course you are. 374A Hi Hungry I'm Dad Seed parent: NOID yellow (batch #1) Explanation: Another non-yellow seedling of the NOID yellow, another comedy-adjacent name.1 Also considered: Idée Fixe, Lawful Neutral, Undefined Expectations 252A Don't Call Me Surly Seed

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-76302996669166973762018-11-05T03:00:00.000-08:002018-11-05T03:00:09.430-08:00

It's become clear that I'm not going to catch up on the Schlumbergera seedlings if I keep doing things the way I've been doing them. We're already five seedlings deep into the 2018-19 season,1 and twenty-eight of the seedlings from 2017-18 are still waiting on names. So for this post, I'm going to settle as many of that twenty-eight as I can, with less explanation than usual. 375A Who's On

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-85037293385156127082018-10-29T03:00:00.000-07:002018-10-29T03:00:04.335-07:00

No promises, but I might be back again for a bit. We'll see how it goes. Seedling 196A isn't that exciting to look at. Orange / light pink, a bit less orange than usual but otherwise pretty typical. It mostly distinguishes itself in the number and timing of the blooms: like 025A Clownfish, it appears to be unusually insensitive to day length and temperature, and is willing to set buds much more

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-81326449105525981112018-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:002018-10-20T03:00:03.324-07:00

Everything was going fine, and then it was time to dig up the Cannas and bring them in for the winter. And you've seen the Cannas.1 As of 18 October, direct-weighing on a bathroom scale has given us the approximate figure of 787 lb. (357 kg) of Canna rhizomes brought inside for the winter, and we haven't even dug them all up yet.2 My best guess is that another 200-300 lb. (91-136 kg) remain to

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-3458365770799729012018-09-30T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-30T03:00:08.582-07:00

Okay, well. There was never any danger of getting through all of the 2017-18 Schlumbergeras before the 2018-19 ones started to bloom, but as of a few days ago I'm officially a season behind: the first blooms from 423A and 437A have happened, with substantial buds on two more seedlings (469A and 472A). I can't catch up, but I can at least try not to fall further behind, so we have four seedlings

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-37854350452634027102018-09-14T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-14T03:00:06.586-07:00

Queen Bee Luscious is unusually difficult to photograph, because her spathes have a very pronounced saddle shape to them. Or at least usually they do: the first bloom looked more or less normal. Except for the missing spadix. As mentioned in the post for 1323 Kayla Stratus, QBL also has a lot of thrips damage, which is really disappointing. On the positive side, she's produced a lot of

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-52877675803080964892018-09-12T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-12T03:00:09.254-07:00

337A is the other exciting new thing from the 2017-18 seedlings, along with 392A Subjunctive. It's similar to Subjunctive but not quite the same: Basically the same coloration, but where Subjunctive is magenta, 377A is light pink. I personally like this one slightly better, on the grounds that I think the yellow and pink harmonize a little better with one another than the yellow and magenta,

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-1839911011813784162018-09-10T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-10T03:00:03.348-07:00

The Schlumbergeras in the house are already budding up in anticipation of the 2018-19 season; I still have way too many seedlings to show you before those posts can happen. Though the saving grace could be that most of the seedlings that can produce blooms already have: I haven't potted up any new seedlings or moved any seedlings from the basement to the plant room. So maybe I'll make up for the

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-63164399833958511822018-09-08T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-08T03:00:01.768-07:00

I've been teasing a green flower for a few posts now, and it's finally here. This is Mado: 26 November 2017. Personally I think this is very pretty, though I suppose your feelings about green flowers may vary. Less attractively, the color changes over time, with the spathe getting lighter and lighter and the spadix getting darker and then abruptly changing to white. 29 November 2017. This

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-23859820008209015622018-09-06T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-06T03:00:05.385-07:00

Seedling 227A was the second 'Exotic Dancer' seedling to bloom; the first was 226A Be Not Afraid. I'm not sure how I feel about 227A. The coloration is very similar to the magenta / red / orange / white group of seedlings, like 106A Jaws Of Elmo or 079A Yayoi Kusama, but the "red" is a softer, pinker red. It's possible that this is a fluke; I only got two flowers, both kind of . . . rustic,1 so

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-60586342570406311432018-09-04T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-04T03:00:00.527-07:00

Another five seedlings today; I really like a couple of them even though they're not doing anything new. Anthurium no. 1304 "Chanaile Solitaire" Except for not knowing how to pronounce the name,1 this one is great. The spathes are large and lie more or less flat, and although the spathe color isn't unusual, the spadices are sort of orange when the spathe first opens. Which is a little bit new,

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-48012349423626044762018-09-02T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-02T03:00:07.771-07:00

Back in 2015, I was considering the idea that "Amber" was just inherently an unlucky name for Anthurium seedlings, following the disappointing 0558 Amber Waves and 0532 Amber Alert, but apparently when it comes to Ambers, third time's the charm. Not that she doesn't have problems. That's quite a bit of thrips damage. And also it's extremely visible thrips damage. But. Purple spathes are

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-51253024110513332522018-08-31T03:00:00.000-07:002018-09-01T09:47:01.243-07:00

Four seedlings to name today, even though I don't like cramming so many together into a single post. Kinda feel like I have to, if I want to get caught up before the 2018-19 Schlumbergeras get going. Seedling 010B is interesting more for what it is than for what it looks like. When the first blooms appeared in pot 010, I wavered on the question of whether there were two distinct plants in the

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-78204810331292482018-08-30T03:00:00.000-07:002018-08-30T03:00:02.343-07:00

I got some hummingbird photos I was proud of a few days ago and wanted to show them to you. This one was the best: But something about this pleased me too (you may not actually be able to see the bird without enlarging the image): And this felt particularly Iowan: So there's that. I'm identifying the bird as a ruby-throated hummingbird because it's statistically the most likely: my

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-62636438221814575322018-08-29T03:00:00.000-07:002018-08-29T03:00:00.948-07:00

Well, there are a couple sort of interesting seedlings here, I guess. Nothing to get too excited about. Anthurium no. 1741 "Charlie Hides" Charlie's first bloom appears to have sort of forgotten how to build a spadix in the middle of the process: I think what's actually going on there is some kind of bacterial or fungal thing -- I feel like I read something about spadix-eating pathogens at

mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.com0