Monday, January 24, 2011

To get my plant fix today, I went trolling in the warm greenhouses


It was 11F when I got up this morning....not so much going on plantwise outside. I ran into Brad in Polyhouse 7 while I was watering the few plants we have in there. He showed me some of his plants annd told me some stories. Apparently the 2'+ Joshua Trees he's been growing from seed these past 5? years (I remember when they were germinating in a seed flat) aren't Yuccca brevifolia. The good news is that the species he's now identified them as is likely hardy here. That would be cool.

He showed me the seeds from Scott's, Kevin's, and GrayC's collecting trip in the propagation house. They are germinating nicely. The cuttings of Buddleia colvillei I stuck late last fall have rooted so I'll pot them up this week. Nathan, Amanda, and I are going to work outside tomorrow and, I hope, Wednesday; at least we will if it doesn't snow too much Tuesday night.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Sunrise January 23, 2011 in Adelphi Maryland

It was cold this morning, 16F, when I took this picture at 7:30. Officially the sun rose at 7:21 which, though a marginal improvement at best over 7:27, nevertheless represents a gain of day length. Any gain is better than slippage. Today will be 39 minutes longer than December 21 and tonight 39 minutes shorter. Starting Monday next we'll be adding two full minutes of daylight every day. That's a good thing.