Up on a cherry picker cutting off Washingtonia robusta leaves that were too high and jamming the blinds. Had to cut off growing tip also. After the butterfly event this will be chopped down and dug out. This is one of the first plants in here when the glasshouse started. Reluctantly tipped the flowers of a Furcrea longeava as well, also because it was too high. We cut these with loppers and a hand saw. We had to weather a safety harness which was attached to the cherry picker itself.
Washingtonia is the Hollywood skyline tree, they were planted as part of a municipal project for after 2nd world war.
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| Photo 1: Sandra bringing in the cherry picker. |
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| Photo 2: Pruning the Washingtonia robusta. I realised for the first time seeing this palm close up that it was characteristic of many palms to have sharp spines along the petioles. |
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| Photo 3: View from the cherry picker. |
Then cut off some of the leaves of a Sabal mexicana that was too obstructive and poked into other plants. We took off their flowered seedheads as well, so that they drop over all the other plants in the bed.
Stood in a pest and disease walk around with Nick Morgan, who looked at each service house to see what P & D was most troubling them and advising on solutions etc. In the arid house hanging baskets of Kalanchoe manginii 'Triploid' were riddled with mealy bug making the leaves extremely sticky. They were also invading the bulbs - Nick suggested hot water treatment.
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| Photo 4: The Kalanchoe infested with Glasshouse Mealy Bug. |
Feeding in Temperate:
(N:P:K)
1:1:1 - is a general feed (is blue coloured)
3:1:1 (high in Nitrogen) is for growing plants (it is green)
3:1:6 - (high in potassium) is for flowering and lush growth (it is orange). Sandra uses these on her Plectranthus collection too.
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| Photo 5: The feeds that Glass buys in. |