Geranium Blog

Green On Green

Let's just say the villain was dealt with. The pepper plant will recover.

Miracle Eggplants Grow From Brazilian Aji Pepper Seeds

One batch of new peppers I started from seed this year don't look very pepper-y. I think they are eggplants. Very disappointing: I was expecting Brazilian Aji hot peppers.

No Shortage of Sweet Banana Peppers

Canna Seeds

I've decided to collect some canna seeds. The fertile pods become enlarged. When a pod is dry it is ready to pick. The seeds are dark round spheres. To grow them, notch the seeds with a file and soak them for 48 hours. Plant about 1/2" deep.

Introducing Grack - Avian Ambassador

Grack is a juvenile Great-tailed Grackle. Grack fell from his nest into my front yard. Cats would have surely killed him, so we brought him in. He eats puppy kibble soaked in water, hardboiled eggs, cooked rice, bits of fruit and vegetables. I've been feeding him every few hours during the day.

In the last few days he has become increasingly playful at feeding time. He plays with his food: dropping it, looking at it with one eye and then the other, retrieving it and dropping it again. He struts around with it and flips it around in his beak. This evening my husband handed him a twig, which he dipped in his water bowl repeatedly.

Also, Grack is starting to fly. He loves me very much for feeding him, so he flies to me and then to the top of his cage.

I keep calling Grack a "he", but the fact is that all young grackles have the same drab appearance, grey-brown with darker wings and tail. Not until adult feathers come in will we find out if it is a male or a female. Stay tuned.

More Glitter

White Glitter is usually speckled with random red spots. With the hot weather the flowers now show a wash of pink.

Tricolor Exotic

"Where is the third color?" you might ask. The lovely brown ring has gone away for the summer. I especially like the way Tricolor lifts up its flowers on extra long stems.

Pelargonium englarianum

Englarianum is so obviously a desert dweller. It seems quite at home here in Las Vegas! It is a very active bloomer. The bright pink flowers are about a half inch across. It is an upright bush with woody stems and very stiff crinkled leaves similar to the crispums. This is a rose-camphor scented geranium.