Brad's Tropical Paradise

Petunias do great in Phoenix. The best planting time is late October or November, but you can plant them all winter. In fact, the only time you shouldn't plant them is in spring. If you're from back east, that may sound strange, but things are different here in the desert. This year I decided to plant one in a pot, a nice big one. It's October 27th as I write this, and with regular watering, it will look great until the heat starts to set in, which here is in the spring. So I will get about five months of enjoyment from this plant. It's an annual, after all, and if I were planting it back in Minneapolis, where I grew up, I wouldn't get that much time between spring and the cold of winter. Normally I plant them in the ground, usually from six-packs, but this year I have a puppy who still hasn't learned not to dig in the garden, and freshly-planted flowers would just be too much of a temptation for her. Even this pot will get her interest, but it's on t...

If you've had a sago palm (actually it's a cycas revoluta ) for a long time, there's a good chance that it will create seeds. It's fascinating to see a plant in this condition, and of course there's no guarantee that the seeds will be viable. But, what the heck, time will pass, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get a seedling. I'm doing this just for fun, and I'm following along how it's done by cycad collectors who are doing it with rare species. There's really no reason to do with a common cycas revoluta (sago palm), other than it makes you feel like a little kid. Anyway, the first thing you need to do is to soak the seed for two to three days, changing the water daily. As a kid, I know that this would have been a deal-breaker for me, as the thought of waiting two to three days would seems an eternity. Let's see if I have more patience now that I'm no longer a kid! It's Thursday, and I'd like to plant it in its pot this wee...