Acidanthera a.k.a. "Peacock Orchid" & Sunflower Update

"Hen and Chick" Succulents in a ceramic Mediterranean blue planter

Back on that day when I visited my grandmother last week, I also took a trip to Big Lots with her and was surprised to see some of the very same bulbs that I found at the dollar store! Except, these bulbs had a slightly different pamphlet design and cost $3.00! HA! Anyway, I didn't buy them of course, but I rifled through the box like a nature crazed weirdo reading all of the flower names and admiring the pictures! Hehehehe... Well, it's a good thing I did because I found my Acidanthera bulbs, however they weren't called Acidanthera they were called Peacock Orchids! Whoa! I suppose that's their nickname because after a quick Google image search on Peacock Orchid oodles of matches turned up! I really like that nickname because I think Peacocks are oh so beautiful!

I'm starting to think perhaps I jumped the gun with the bulbs, I should have planted more than four (as suggested on the card - mass planting for more visual appeal and fullness) and in a deeper pot ... Oh well, we will see how they look when they bloom, this is my first experiment with bulbs, I'm learning as I go....

So yes, here are some update photos for those Acidanthera Peacock Orchids, the "jumbo" Sunflowers (in the making) that I've grown from seeds and a few other members of the nature gang on my balcony, HA! :)

They're gettin' all fuzzy!!....

Little babies!!!... I love it... succulent babies poppin' out on top.......

and from underneath!....

The array of succulents I planted together int his big ceramic planter are really starting to regain their succulence (hehehe..) and color... they're thriving, yay!....

This is just a quick snapshot of all my little indoor cacti, it's a collection as you can see. Also in there is one hen and chick leaf that I've propagated into a new plant...

That pretty little pink flower will probably open up while I'm away in Europe.... I hope Ivan notices and takes a picture for me!! ;)

Update: Acidanthera Bulbs and Sunflower Sprouts

Well, as of this morning this is what the sprouts look like for my jumbo Sunflower seeds and my Acidanthera flower bulbs..... Can't wait for the bloom!!!

Green Thumb INDEED! My bulbs sprouted!

About a week and a half ago I was walking through the dollar store with the eye of a hawk, roaming the isles looking for things to support my gardening addiction.... Well, fortunately for me, the Dollar Tree has a nice little garden section and it has been stocked to the heavens now that Spring has arrived! Among the many goodies I found were some flower bulbs from Holland (four per pack), there were several kinds and I was oh so tempted to get one of each (like I do with almost everything I like at the dollar store), but I decided to be sensible. I decided to buy one and plant the four bulbs to see if they would grow at all, and if so, how they did... Well, I got my answer, FAST! Bulbs are amazing!! A few days after planting those bulbs I was back at the dollar store buying the other bulbs I had left behind!! Haha.... Yes indeed, I had to, just the sight of those first bulbs sprouting and growing rapidly in such a short time span really gave me a feeling of accomplishment! Here they are, see for yourself....

Name of plant: Acidanthera
According to the back of the card it's ideal for patio planters, loves full sun and lots of water and attracts butterflies... whee...

Here are the bulbs on day 5 after planting!.........

Here are the bulbs on day 7 after planting.....

And here they are on day 9 after planting (yesterday)... WOW!!!!....


This is where I'm growing them... two of the other three pots contain jumbo Sunflower seeds that my mom gave me and the other has two different flower bulbs mixed together (I will post progress pictures and their flower cards in future posts).....

The bulbs haven't been my only success in propagating nature, oh no! Succulents and cacti, as I mentioned in my previous posts are extremely easy to clone/propagate/reproduce/etc... All one needs to do is snap off a petal and sit it in some soil, the parent leaf/petal will wither away once the roots of the new baby plant mature and take hold of the soil, at which point you can snap it off and toss it and plant your new succulent! See below for images of my succulent propagation, hehe....