Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Jack & the Beanstalk



I kid you not, these four enormous vines/stalks were not there 4 days ago - before the 4 days of rain.



There's two in the foreground and two right along the fenceline.



What in the world? They have big leaves, big thorns, and they're about a thumb-width or larger! Good grief!

When it stops raining these things are coming out!!!

Oh, and all the potted plants? Minus the one on the far right that you can't see (the Fijian Hibiscus from previous pictures) are my mother's. She's away for 5 months, and it's my job not to kill them. I kept them alive last year when she was gone. It's a glorious wonder. Neither of us have a particular skill - but I'll try my very best.

Anyone have a suggestion for the spiny looking one? After the leaves die, they turn brown, and point down. Can I cut them off? Should I leave them alone. It's a palm tree type stalk/trunk. I think it's ugly as is - but will I kill it by cutting off those brown bits?
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6 comments:

  1. Hi Suzie,

    Its called a Uka (you-(hard)k-(short)u). If you are able to kill it you deserve a medal. They are one of the hardiest plants around. You can cut off the brown leaves you can even cut the stem in half and plant it directly in the ground and it will grow another one from the stem that has no leaves and you can stick the bit with the leaves back in the ground and it will continue growing!!

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  2. Oh my! Those vines are frightening looking. I would get rid of them too and I would be wearing garden gloves! Whoa!!!

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  3. Wow..... Susie,

    Strep throat! Ouch. I wouldn't have thought of that one. Try to get some rest. Hope your feeling better soon.

    The jack and the beanstalk thing is strange. LOLOL Don't know what to tell you about that.

    As far as the spiney looking thing that the leaves turn brown, I checked with my green thumb mom and she said, take the brown leaves off. You should just be able to pull them straight down and them come off without cutting them. Goodluck!

    Me particularly, well I kill most plants, thats why I don't get any house plants anymore. LOLOLOL

    Happy Belated Birthday Oceana. You did get alot of cool princess things for your birthday. Grandma's always know just the right thing to buy. By the way, good luck on the potty training. We are working on that a bit ourselves with my great-niece. She is 2 1/2 years old. I too look forward to no diaper days. :)

    Take care, God Bless

    Sonja

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  4. These photo's are pretty amazing. They are Grreeeeeen. Something you don't see much of in the desert, esp. when the temp rise over 105 degrees...then everything dies and the color you see... brown!
    toodles, Sheila, NV

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  5. Scary vines to be sure! Did you ever find out what they were?
    And to echo Sonja, take the leaves from the bottom first, pull straight down towards the dirt and they should pull right off. Very hardy plant, it'll be fine.

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