There has been a lot of plant-related excitment brewing around here lately.

The first copies of my book arrived from the publisher last week!! A site for the book can be found over here, including a news page where I will update on events or goings on related to the book. The first entry includes some photos of the book’s arrival. If you’re in the Toronto area mark your calendar for the evening of March 23rd. I’ll be having a launch party at The Gladstone (Queen & Dufferin). Details will be posted on the book site soon.

I’ve started a “Grow-A-Long” section in the forums. It’s sort of like a support group for seed starting. Everyone starts their seeds at the same time and documents the process as well as learning from each other. I started soaking my banana seeds on Friday night for the banana tree grow-a-long. You can watch the progress here although I warn you it can take months for banana seeds to germinate. It could get a little boring.

I’ve been doing lots of general maintenance on my indoor plants over the last few weeks. I gave all the bromeliads and tropical plants a good shower a few weekends ago. We have a dechlorinating filter on our shower head which has proven to be both good for my skin and the health of my plants. After the shower I did a bit of plant shifting. I find that during the winter months I am constantly shifting plants from one spot to another based on the needs that must be met at any given time and the chainging nature of light, drafts etc throughout the season. I’ve got to do another big shift soon to make room for the seeds I’ll be growing this year. I honestly haven’t put much thought into it yet but I’ve got a pile of catalogues begging for my attention.

I’ve been fighting a stubborn case of scale insect that has infested my variegated agave since the late summer. I think I’ve finally got it beat! I check the plant every single day and haven’t found a single scale insect of any size in weeks. Fingers crossed. Thankfully it did not spread to any other plants. The agave is putting out new leaves and seems to really be bouncing back.

The African violets I started from leaf cuttings back in August have been slowly turning into miniature plants. Ness’ Orange Pekoe is the largest and happiest of the lot. I recently repotted Sonoma Imapink and it’s turning out to be a bit of a mistake. The little plant has taken a turn for the worse. My eagerness got the best of me as it sometimes does. Live and learn.