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Question and Answer

Photo from Muppet Wikia
I was told the tone of this blog could be a bit patronizing, intimidating and obnoxious. 

Well. Yes. Touchy-feely is two doors down the hall to the right, next to the Campaign Against Dihydrogen Oxide. 

Be that as it may, this sucks if it discourages readers (all 37 of you) who need more details, want to ask questions or even to just make random comments on the general puffiness of the Jovian atmosphere. 

So here we go. In the spirit of the great Marjory the Trash Heap, ask here.  Home is where the trash is.


7 comments:

  1. What's the best pesticide for mealy bugs?

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    1. Alcohol! Your everyday, store-bought alcohol, mixed with an equivalent amount of water. Using a hand-sprayer, just spray the plant with it---all over, especially the hard-to-reach parts, the underside of the leaves. Then park the plant in the shade until it dries out.

      This alcohol solution is much gentler, especially on delicate succulents. But, because it evaporates quickly, it does not last long. You will have to spray again after two days, for at least a week.

      You can also mix a solution of half a gallon of water with a teaspoon of soap and half a teaspool of oil. Mix thoroughly and then spray. Repeat three more times every three to four days and keep the plant in the shade.

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  2. Enjoying your blog! I grow Adeniums, need to give them tags, need to buy at least 1,000 tags. Harvested over 300 seeds yesterday, single red and double 'purple', Purple Rain one of the parents. Apologies for the anonymous, it's just the easiest. My name is Melissa. I live in the Caribbean, from where do you write?

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    1. You hand-pollinated them, Melissa? Very well done. I'm in the US and my sister is writing from SE Asia.

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    2. Hello my name Samantha and am from Mauritius..a small tropical Island in the Indian Ocean. I have been experimenting with Adenium since last year. I hand pollinated my adenium plants and obtained hundreds of seedlings. I have various varieties and did pollination among most of them but am not quite sure of the hybrids I made. Will their flowers be like their mother plant? Do you have any idea?

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    3. Hi Samantha!

      There is an anecdotal number that adenium growers often quote---only about 20 percent of seeds will bloom true to parentage. Most will bloom the default pink.

      I have no personal experience with this and I have not seen any systematic study of it that I can quote with confidence. I can only say that considering how the growers I know are often disappointed when their seed-grown plants bloom, I'd have to admit it's kind of iffy.

      It's a lot of factors too---most people who hand-pollinate do not quarantine their plants before and after they pollinate to make sure other bugs do not intervene when they are not looking. It's also a matter of how the related gene mutations are passed down--I don't think anyone has mapped that out with Mendelian dedication.

      That's a long way of saying I don't know shit lol And that your odds are low. I would really appreciate if you keep us posted about what you eventually get.

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    4. Yes will keep u informed. Ur blog has been of great help. Specially the pinching thing. I have tried it on adult plants bt never on my seedlings..fearing they would be able to overcome this. Thanks buddy. Keep it up.

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