Well, I thought it was Monarch’s, but…
Ah, a Painted Lady!
Doesn’t matter, had cake got butterfly.
Indeed, my flame confirmed:
Monarchs will be the next batch…
Amazing! When hatched do they fly around a greenhouse and act as pollinators, or is the hobby more about breading different varieties?
She’s blooming
Also, the starfish sansevieria sprouted a baby. I think I should detach it and pot it up separately.
humidity is rising here in the islands. i find it brutal and sometimes unbearable. but, the orchids love this shit and their flowers make me happy.
Repotted the lemongrass this morning. Just a little root-bound lol.
I divided it (with a saw), and now I have two to find inside space for come winter. (Assuming they survive the rather brutal treatment.)
What does one do with lemongrass? Is it purely ornamental?
Oh, sorry…you said “lemongrass” not “lemongrab”!
I grow it mostly as an ornamental. It’s tropical, so I’ve schlepped it inside for the past two years after cutting it back hard, but mine doesn’t go dormant, which is a hassle. Some of the garden centers here label it as a mosquito repelling plant, but that’s nonsense.
It’s used in Southeast (corrected) Asian cuisines as a seasoning for soups, broths, sauces, etc, and I’ve read it’s used as a soothing tea as well. There are a bunch of different species, some better suited for cooking than others. I think mine is probably one of the tougher ones, though I will sometimes throw a stalk of it into chicken broth for its subtle-but-there, hint-of-something-citrusy flavor.
(The essential oil crowd claims various medicinal uses, but that’s not my scene.)
(Edit to correct directional typo)
If lemongrass behaves the same as ornamental grass, it should be fine. I have a couple of stands of it in my yard, and every couple of years, in the early spring, I have to dig them up and divide them. I usually use a sawzall and cut each one in quarters. They don’t seem to mind, but it does stress the plant so I make sure it’s well watered for the first season after dividing. I’ve run out of places to put all of the divisions. I guess I’ll have to resort to giving them away on NextDoor next time.
I had a tour of a serious herb farm last week that sends fresh herbs and Asian greens (bok choy, choy sum etc) to the major Australian supermarket chains, and was given a box of goodies to take away.
The lemongrass and basil went straight into a Thai green curry that night. One of the guys there told me mint, lemongrass and chives are among the easiest ones to grow and harvest*, compared to basil and Thai basil that are apparently a PITFA. I can’t confirm that, but the mint greenhouse did smell amazing.
*that’s growing on a massive scale in SE Australia climate. YMMV
I was thinking about getting a bonsai starter kit? Anyone done that? Any suggestions if you have?
If you get one, be sure to post your progress over the next hundred years!
ETA appropriate funny image