Potted Up Or Out.

 One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven.
 Eight.
 Nine, Ten.  I was admiring the four-hundred some pots at Alternative Eden.  "How do they take such good care of so many pots?" I wondered. 
 Eleven, Twelve...Thirty Five, Thirty Six.  "I must have only fifty plants in pots, and I can't take care of them nearly as well.  How many do I have, anyway?", I thought.  "I'll count them."  
That was a mistake. 
 Thirty Seven, Thirty Eight....Ninety Two.  Ninety two!?!
 Ninety Three...One Hundred Three.  Where am I going to put 'Mr Ripple?'  Can it take full sun out on the front slope? 
 One Oh Four, Oh Five...Ten.
 Hundred Eleven .  No wonder they call Epiphyllums Orchid Cactus.  They are just like Orchids:  ugly as sin out of bloom. 
 112...115.  Water those guys, they are dry. 
 116...121.  Golly I love that variegated Agave attenuata.  The poor thing is still in the pot I bought it in.  I adore it every day.  Please don't ever bloom.  The Agave pumila looks great in that pot.  Some plants belong in pots.  Not as many as I have in pots. 
122, 123.  Those need to be redone.  What a mess.
 124 - 134.  Those Aloes will go in the ground as soon as they get a little larger. 
135.  That little Clematis needs to be repotted.  The sludge it is growing in hasn't been potting mix for years. 

136.  That Aloe has been growing and happy mixed in with the Geranium 'Rozanne'.  Needs to go in the ground, though.  Soon, soon. 
137-140.  I only see three, you say.  There's a mint behind the Alluadia dumosa.  It has been in the same pot for 14 years.  There is no potting soil in the pot--just mint roots.  It grows happily anyway.  It's not fussy.  I gave the Bursera on the left fertilizer this year for the first time since I bought it back about 2010.  It's amazing how much better plants in pots look when I actually take care of them. 
 141.  The Aloe dorotheae is happy.  This is one Aloe that seems better off in a pot than in the ground--though I think I'll try it in the ground.  I have so many plants in pots. 
 142.  This Lagerstroemia will go in the ground.  I just got it a few days ago.
143.  Why do I have that?  Throw it out.  But it's healthy...
 144:  a much better place for an out-of-bloom Epiphyllum:  where I can't see it. 
 This poor Kalanchoe belongs in the ground.  145.
 146-147.  Stunted. 
 148.  No comment.  Boy is that embarrassing.  I could at least cut off the roots coming out of the drainage hole, so the pot stands straight.  Maybe tomorrow. 
 Aeonium 'Mardi Gras' is under a rose until summer's over.  It's a bit dormant right now.  #149.
 150-151.  Ah, finally pots in an appropriate spot, decorating alcoves by the front door, containing plants that belong in a pot.  The black Aeoniums are actually there to catch the water that drains out of the Sedum trough.
 Should put a black Aeonim pot under the Sedum trough on the other side of the door, #152.  Pots I'm actually happy with. 
 I bought this Hesperaloe because it was a good price.  I don't know where to put it.  #153
 That Echinopsis hybrid, #154, stabbed me when I bought it.  I moved it to shade, because we're going to have a heat wave for the next four days. 
 #155, Bay tree has been in that pot for 14 years also, in sludge that used to be potting soil.  It grows on.  #156, Dracaena draco, a big box impluse buy, I've been trying to give away for a long time.  Too big, eventually.  It haunts me.  Does anyone need a Dracaena draco?  It's yours. 
 #157 Epidendrum.  This pot falls over whenever it's windy. 
 #158, a trio of potted Iris is guilt-free--a garden buddy wants a pale blue Iris, and I will give her these soon.  It's August and therefore it's time to plant Iris. 
 #159-160.  I should throw those out.  The tall stems are cool, though.  More examples of pots that fall over when it's windy.   
 There's last year's novelty, Lotus jacobeus, which needs a good amount of moisture, so I put it under the Japanese maple where it will get some.  I'm not sure how to make the plant more attractive--can I cut it back, or will it die?  It's rather lanky.  #161
 Bromeliads, three of them.  #162-164
Agave parrasana 'Fireball', which is going on the front slope.  It has some pups.  I'll have to pot those.  #165.  That's way less than 400 pots, but I missed photographing a few.  There's a couple of cymbidiums hidden behind a hydrangea, a begonia or two, and oh, there's some on the deck upstairs, and about five in the house...oh, stop, stop!  I'm potted out.   How many plants in pots do you have?  Maybe you shouldn't go count them. 

Comments

  1. Oh my. I'd probably guess that I have 50 pots -- less than that even -- but I now want to go count them! Colder climates mean more pot moving (at least twice a year) so that helps to keep the number down. What plant is in the ground next to the bromeliads? It's beautiful! (Worth growing in a pot and bringing in every year here!)

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    1. I dare you to count them! Warning: it might be alarming.

      That is Philodendron 'Golden Xanadu'. If it was getting a little more light, it would be chartreuse. Slower growing than the regular 'Xanadu' and just right in that spot. Happy as a house plant, too.

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  2. The variegated agave attenuata is stunning. And 165 pots is very respectable, especially as the vast majority are bigger not little starter pots.

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    1. One of my very favorite plants, that striped attenuata. 165--sigh.

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  3. hahaha, I cant believe Im the first to comment, I always look, but hardly comment, because usually it has all already been said before me, & this time I still dont have much to say, except I love your blog, your garden, even your pots, but I really would like my Kalanchoe in a pot to look like yours! This post shows me how much love you have for plants! awesome work!!

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    1. Very kind of you, Bec, thank you. I love my plants, but I need to care for them better

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  4. The Aloe dorotheae (#141) doesn't just look good -- in that pot it looks Inter-City Cactus & Succulent Show-worthy! But it's such a great color that it would add a lot to a planted area.

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    1. The color is eye-catching. It deserved a pretty pot, yes? I thought about entering something--just for fun. Maybe next year...

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  5. Oh, I'm not even going to start. I probably have as many as you, if I don't count the ones in the pot ghetto that are going to be planted in the fall.

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    1. You have winter temperatures, which is a great reason to keep tender things in pots. I don't get that excuse!

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  6. Your count surprised me as I recall you saying you didn't like watering pots but then I was surprised by how many I have too. I counted mine recently in response to Loree's post on plantlust- I have more than 90 potted plants outside and another 20 inside (not counting those patiently waiting to be planted out from their nursery pots).

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    1. I sincerely vowed to put almost EVERYTHING into the ground a couple of years ago. No more pots breaking in the wind storms. I meant it.

      I failed.

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  7. This post made me smile because I saw myself in it many times over.

    You've got attractive plants AND attractive pots so I wouldn't worry too much. Tackle one pot at a time when you have a spare moment, and soon they'll all look good. I'm saying this as much to you as to myself, LOL.

    Love your new Agave parrasana 'Fireball'. I have a small pup somebody gave me and it hasn't decided yet if it wants to live or die.

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  8. Haha! I'm guilty too! I don't have nearly as many as you have in your collection but sometimes it's hard not to pick up a cool plant when out and about. I did do a whole day of planting a lot of the succulents /cactus into the ground this Spring. Would love to take some off your hands but that would put me in the same position you have now. And I'm tired of hand watering the small pots.
    Love this post though!

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    1. Sometimes it's hard not to pick up a cool plant...

      Sometimes?!? ;^)

      Good for you getting some plants into the ground! Oh how I need to do that.

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  9. Nope, not going to count pots, don't want to know. I have as many pots as I need -- how's that? That lotus is bonsai'ing itself here, very floriferous canopy on a lengthening trunk. I stuck another rooted cutting in the pot to fill it out at the base again.

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    1. It's better not knowing. Wise.

      Rooted cutting?!? Do tell how, please!

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  10. Haha, I loved every minute of this post. I'm at 247, up one from the official count: http://plantlust.com/blog/2015/07/contained-a-summer-recount/

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    1. Missed that post, thanks. At least you have a reason: cold hardiness. My "because I wanted it" doesn't really measure up.

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  11. It's reassuring to see that other people have the same proclivity for collecting plants, with intention to put them in the ground, and scattered around. I love it. It looks amazing, and if the plant is happy and healthy....

    This is a great idea, I'll have to count up mine. A few dozen I think here.

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    1. Probably more than you think. I thought I only had a few dozen!

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  12. No way am I going to take up the challenge and count my pots. I will go on telling myself that I am immune to the frenzy that seems to be sweeping through the blogosphere. I don't have very many pots...really, I don't!

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