Hardy Tropicals UK

First rain of 2019. Light showers early evening. Knew it was unwise to take the car to a car wash this morning!!

Been a while since I twittered like a Canary. Thought I'd post an update on my Cyperus alternifolius.

At the end iof last year I detached a few if the plantlets from the top and stood them in water to root About a month later I potted them up with very uneven results. Growth struggled thereafter as my 'salty' water puts too much saline in the compost. Got better growth when I used the low sodium drinking water (equivalent to 70 pence for an 8 litre container).

Oops! Amazing how I keep the water from flowing out of the bottle.

Update on my Cyperus alternifolius.

The plantlet placed in the ramekin was transferred next to the original cyperus that still stubbornly refused to divide but was still growing new plantlets from the top. These were detached and rooted in water.

GREVILLEAJ wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2019 11:32 pm Been a while since I twittered like a Canary. Thought I'd post an update on my Cyperus alternifolius.

At the end iof last year I detached a few if the plantlets from the top and stood them in water to root About a month later I potted them up with very uneven results. Growth struggled thereafter as my 'salty' water puts too much saline in the compost. Got better growth when I used the low sodium drinking water (equivalent to 70 pence for an 8 litre container).

Lets face it Grevill you are just a lousy plantsman.

Haven't earned the title of the Canary Twit for nothing, you know

Bumped this up again as I've returned to the Canaries after an unintended absence of nearly eight months apart from a week here in July. Good to see the plants on the balcony looking as though I'd never left them. Thanks to friend who popped in to water them.

What did he water them with, sea water? I thought they had desalination plants! Plants look good by the way, your friend did a good job.

My friend had to use the salty tap water. As you see from the pictures of the pots in earlier posts the white crust on the top of the compost, the buildup of salty deposits on the inside rim and the stains on the outside of the pot where the plants are sitting in a reserve of water, often necessary when I leave for the UK for a couple of weeks, highlight my watering difficulties!

Some desalination plants don't take all the salt out which is why it's not recommended to drink the tap water. Plants grown in pots with their roots confined get a greater concentration of saline to deal with. My front garden plants get irrigated with this water but don't suffer in the same way because the roots can spread.

Many succulents don't mind it especially when they are more mature as can be seen from the picture. But when they are started off as cuttings the water tends to hamper the formation of new roots and even immature succulents can struggle.

Does Grand Canary not have the water coming out of the hillsides like Tenerife and La Palma? I know they are busily replanting the pines on both these to increase that supply, not sure if the tap water was slightly salty or not as I tend to stick to wine!

Water outlets always vary, Charlie. Some mountain water is perfectly drinkable but the pipework to feed it further afield is so suspect that this becomes another reason not to drink from the tap. Some sources contain a number of mineral salts which are good for plants but again there can be a build up of these salts in potted plants.

I know that the South West coastal areas of Gran Canaria have the highest sodium content in their water supply compared to anywhere else on the island.

Worst sandstorm I've seen here in fifteen years. Described the strange transformation from idyllic holiday venue to scene from a disaster/horror movie on the Canaries Weather blog

Hurricane force winds brought in exceptionally large quantities of sandblasting Sahara dust. A lot of damage to plants and palms, debris everywhere, plastic tables and chairs have taken flight from people's balconies.

Stayed inside all day to avoid stinging dust under my contact lenses and to prevent choking every time I breathed in. Glad I took some some tender foliage plants inside before the storm hit Sandstorm often changed colour. Ripped a valuable windbreak to shreds.

Hi Grev,

If you think you have problems you should live were I do, Wales! Day after day of heavy winds and rain. Its even snapped a main branch of my favourite tree, an in flower Acacia! You have reminded me when I was in the Canaries nearly 50 years ago on my honeymoon. We went for a walk one evening, (I had on my white wedding suite), when a sand storm blew in from the Africa. I came back to the hotel with a light sandy suite and ended up having to have it dry cleaned! Let that be a lesson to you never but a white suite.

Recall the story of "The Man in the White Suit", Alec Guinness, sorry, Jas Chainsaw! You've shared that before Being battered by incessant wind and rain is bad enough, but I'd take that anytime rather than the three awful days of sandblasting, choking and blindness experienced here

Many trees down, debris everywhere, outdoor furniture etc. and now the wind has gone there is still a thick haze of lingering dust. Everything is coated in red sand.

Spent two days trapped inside cleaning and dusting! Sand (yes, that's my wife's pet name!) has been honing my housekeeping skills to new levels! Even shutting all the doors and windows still didn't stop everything being coated!

My balcony plants have been trashed but today salvaging is taking shape..

Sorry to hear of your predicament, how often do you have these storms from Africa? You know the old saying " It's an ill wind that blows no one any good. At least you have honed your housekeeping skills!!!!!!