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GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

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Sand and I took a favourite ride up to Fataga in the central mountains today and was so pleased with the timing. Fabulous visibility which is forecast to disappear tomorrow as Sahara dust invades. The largest and oldest native stands on the island of Phoenix canariensis are dwarfed at the bottom of the valley.
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

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Pink China has disappeared. Couldn't stop the plant from going dormant but there doesn't seem to be anything left. Another Colocasia failure here.

But all is not lost............
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

Last week on my trip up to the mountains at Fataga Sand and I came across a 'hotel' with open grounds that housed an old aqueduct and water mill in a very scenic setting. There was no actual hotel but lots of chalets nestled in coppices of Canary pines. You were free to walk around and through the grounds on a twisting and turning hiking track.

The place is called Molina de Agua and I recommend a visit here if you are on a driving tour or hiking whilst on your Canary hols.

For me, there was one special discovery about the place. After visiting and living here these past thirty years I have never seen a single colocasia growing anywhere on the island. All my attempts at trying these in a dry climate have failed so far, including my latest pink china failure. But in the centre of the grounds of Molina de Agua I stumbled across a little water feature that contained a number of aquatic plants and growing there was the first colocasia I have ever seen here.
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After seeing plenty of Alocasia here I was given proof that I should not give up in my quest to grow 'Canarian' Colocasia. I may have lost Pink China but..........
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

On my return to UK a few weeks ago to put to bed my exotics for the winter, I took some pups from a few pond grown colocasia that were being transferred to the greenhouse with the intention of trying to grow them on in the dry Canary climate.

They were well on their way to dormancy when I brought them back here but after potting them up, sitting them in a little water and exposing to the still humid and warm Canary sunshine they have all restarted. icon_cheers

This past week has seen them endure dry desert winds but so far so good........
Last edited by GREVILLEAJ on Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

The last two days has seen the drying winds subside and there has been fluctuating humidity as desert air is vying for Canary air space with a moister but still warm Mediterranean drift. My young colocasia sprouts have been sheltering in some thick foliage but now they are exposed to more subdued elements. [attachment=0]rps20181210_000800.jpg[/attachment

On the left is an offset of C.mammoth and to the right an unknown purple stemmed Colocasia that was bought as Xanthosoma violacaea both showing 5 days worth of encouraging growth.
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GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

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Have to say this example of Canarian sky painting on display at the humble local gallery this morning is an absolute stunner icon_sunny
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

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The Colocasia Black Magic that did so well in the UK hot summer was divided and brought here to restart as well. So far so good, too.
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

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Cleaned the compost away from the empty Colocasia pink china pot very carefully, just in case..

Glad I did, as attached to the remains of the last corm were two firm little rhizomes. Hopefully, I can restart these. They have probably been dormant a few weeks now. Any ideas? Should I start them off again now or wait a bit?
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

My cyperus alternifolius has decided to produce more foliage but not in the way I was expecting. Almost all the foliage heads are sending out new plantlets from the top.
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GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

Some exceptionally low humidity these days. Some days calm and others windy. A few foliage plants are not happy and some dessication of leaves has taken place. Cacti and succulents are thriving especially in the nonstop sunshine.

A little cloud this morning, a rare sight recently but so glad it showed itself at sunrise....
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chainsaw kid
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Post by chainsaw kid »

GREVILLEAJ wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:50 pm Pink China has disappeared. Couldn't stop the plant from going dormant but there doesn't seem to be anything left. Another Colocasia failure here.
A man of your age will undoubtedly remember Andy Cap? He had a saying *If at first you don't succeed, pack it in and don't be a Charlie"!!!!!!
Last edited by chainsaw kid on Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Don't Just sit there, plant something!

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tatter
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Post by tatter »

chainsaw kid wrote: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:56 pm A man of your age will undoubtedly remember Andy Cap? He had a saying *If at first you don't succeed, pack it in and don't be a Charlie)!!!!!!
Jase.. Andy Capp is still alive and well and appears in the Daily Paper .For the uninitiated Charlie was is long suffering neighbour and friend :lol:
Jim
I'm older than yesterday but younger than tomorrow
chainsaw kid
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Post by chainsaw kid »

Tatter excuse my ignorance regarding Andy Cap still going strong, I don't get much time to read the papers. :roll:
Don't Just sit there, plant something!

The Kid.
GREVILLEAJ
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Post by GREVILLEAJ »

chainsaw kid wrote: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:56 pm man of your age will undoubtedly remember Andy Cap? He had a saying *If at first you don't succeed, pack it in and don't be a Charlie)!!!!
😂😂😂

You're right on two counts, Jas! No.1 I used to read Andy Capp as a kid (As Chainsaw Kid you can still read it😉). No.2 My second name is Charlie.
My wife's name is not Flo and as you can see from subsequent Colocasia posts I'm not really a Charlie, more a stubborn ol' git😤😬😲
chainsaw kid
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Post by chainsaw kid »

GREVILLEAJ wrote: Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:11 pm You're right on two counts, Jas! No.1 I used to read Andy Capp as a kid (As Chainsaw Kid you can still read it). No.2 My second name is Charlie.
My wife's name is not Flo and as you can see from subsequent Colocasia posts I'm not really a Charlie, more a stubborn ol' git
I'm not sure about the ol' git. The heads at the end of your reply look more like 3 wise men, or am I being delusional in my old age. icon_joker :wink:
Don't Just sit there, plant something!

The Kid.
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