Ears

Octo𝘣𝘦𝘳 1, 2020

This has really been the year for the front bed by the driveway to take off.  I have mentioned how the Pampas Grass had bloomed for the first time in memory.  When Melissa was checking on the succulents today, she noticed they were also flourishing.  This is especially true of the Kalanchoe donkey ears (Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri).  The plant is about a foot across and everywhere one of the leaves had touched the group it had taken root and begun to propagate.  It had also sent out a shoot that had fallen over and rooted.  This guy was going to make it!

When I looked online it said the donkey ears is a fast-growing succulent with waxy coated, maroon-splotched leaves that extend up to 20″ long.  It is named after the long donkey ear shaped leaves.   Like many other kalanchoe the donkey ears propagate very easily and require little care.  Plantlets develop at tip of leaves which will either drop to the ground or weigh the main leaf down.  The plantlets then take root when they touch the soil.  The plantlets will even fall off and root themselves in the soil.  The one problem is they do not like the cold.

Melissa has been exploring options for taking care of the succulents during winter.  We had thought of putting them in the shed but that means a large transfer and we would need to find a way to water and get sunlight.    What we finally arrived at was to wrap the screened porch where they are now in a 10-mil greenhouse covering.  This should be cool enough to let the plants go dormant but keep them from the cold nights that might kill them.  The outside plants were selected for the ground as they are hardier.  Even here we will need to cover them to protect them from the cold.  I hope her succulents do better than my garden.

𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:  The coming fall has already begun to bring cooler temperatures.  Some of the deciduous trees on our drive north have changed colors and it will not be too long before they will all change and drop.  Fall has also brought schools and football.  We were told the virus would go away when it got warm, but this did not happen.  Now we are putting large groups in proximity and requiring physical exercise.  Several of our local schools have canceled or rescheduled games and been forced to move to online learning due to outbreaks.  The first professional game is “postponed” this Sunday and it will not be the last.  Through it all some refuse to follow the CDC guidelines.  We our covering our plants to keep them safe.  I am not sure why we cannot do the same for people.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.