60, 63 and 67!

60. Do you have a composter?

I want/need a composter*

63. Biggest plant you own?

We’re gonna just use houseplants for this one. The Dracaena used to be the biggest (it’s on its way out if I continue to be unable to do anything to help it), but now the Clivia minata and the Hoya carnosas are the biggest beasts I own. Vines so long that I need to consider a new and sturdier trellis set up in the pots.

67. Smallest plant you own?

I had a Haworthia species for a while that was the size of a dollar coin but I think it’s dead now. I guess my baby Schlumbergeras at this point? Small plant species don’t last long for me

80, 78 (I want to send so many of these, ive wanted to pick your brain for ages >o> )

LMAO O RLY NOW? XD

80. Favourite common plant name?

I guess…. Wakerobin (Trillium) and Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens)? The former is such a vague romanticized name, whereas the latter makes Impatiens sound like THESE TERRIFYING POISONOUS PLANTs when all they are named this for is cause their seedpods go pop like a green spring.

78. Where do you get your plant knowledge from?

Lots and lots of books. I used to borrow more books than I could carry from the library to browse and browse back in my high school days every week. I’ve also hoarded plant books in my own personal collection, and I used to watch a lot of gardening/plant vids too. I have also browsed info through the internet albeit with a more critical eye than I do with books. A lot of other knowledge has come with experience, though that’s a bit of a more slower learning process for certain details.

23 ooohh

23. What are some of your favourite plantblrs?

I don’t like picking favourites aaaahhh;A; ~~this is why I could never bring myself to answer that one ask that asked the same thing lmao.~~

Some that come to mind though are @plantyhamchuk, @geopsych (they remind me of my home landscape… even if their land is not as flat lol), @omgplants (one of the first plantblrs I had followed back in the day), @continent-of-wild-endeavor, @indefenseofplants, @botanyshitposts, @5-and-a-half-acres, @cactguy and soooo many others (I CAN ONLY REMEMBER SO MANY OF YOU AT ONCE BUT YOU’RE AWESOME YO!!).

@milos-garden used to be a huge favourite of mine too, but they haven’t been active since at least 3 years ago. Miss ya dude. I miss a lot of old now-inactive plantblrs.

89?

89. What’s one thing that irritates you about the plant community?

~~Trying to dig up some gossip/dirt huh?~~

This one is hard to pin cause it really depends on the person, I have yet to personally get any serious issues overall in any plant group but I’ve heard enough stories. I’d say, those who shut down other folk or overassume in a mean mater-of-fact way. Shutting people down for not knowing or having contradictory information is no good. Horticulture can have a lot of weird exceptions to usual rules in growing plants, and one has to remember that.

I also don’t like when people encourage stealing plant/plant-material from the stores, gardens, or from the wild without huge warnings/disclaimers for newbies reading said material. It’s a big gray area which can have a lot of technicalities that can go from white to black very quickly. Have many people taken plant material in such a context? yes (even me* *though when it was from a store I was encouraged to take cuttings by the owners of the place so it wasn’t really stealing), should it be encouraged though? Not really, you have to be really careful on that sector of horticulture, irresponsibility is a slippery slope.

That being said for the most part I’m not really gonna fight anyone about opinions/views of these kinds of things which they’re often set on (except plant poaching cause I can definitely prove the damage that has been done through that). I am far too tired™ to be debating/arguing about these things. It may not be great to “agree to disagree” but it’s the only way I can keep sane in my favourite hobby.

91, 94!

91. Favourite leaf shape?

Cordate (heart shaped) leaves and fear-like leaves. I can’t say as to why for the former but for the latter I like the primeval/tropical/prehistoric appeal from the leaf form.

94. Favourite leaf texture?

Fuzzy leaves and coarse/rugose leaves. Fuzzy feel nice and therapeutic whereas coarse leaves are both visually appeal and to a degree practical (most insects prefer to eat smooth leaves over coarse leaves).

2, 6 and 14!

2. A plant you always kill?

All Saxifragias (first plant that popped to memory that would not even survive the season they were planted in), Azaleas, and Blueberries, and many varieties of roses. Our garden soil tends to be too dry and not acidic enough for most of those plants. Any plant that NEEDS acidic soil is about toast on this farm guaranteed.

Bonus addition; All orchids for the houseplant category. Any that survive are still destined to die.

6. A plant you grew from seed/cutting?

At least one of my Hoya carnosas was grown from a cutting from a lady in London ON. I’ve also done impatiens, coleus, african violets, and jade plants before.

As for seed? I have grown so many species (especially recently) from seed; Cercis canadensis, Tulip tree, Buttonbush, Coleus, Impatiens, tomatoes, magnolia species (which I can never get past sapling), Alpine Strawberries, Prairie smoke, Catalpa, White spruce- I COULD GO ON-

14. A nostalgic plant

Hmm… Rugosa roses I suppose?

Their nasty thorns, their coarse leaves, their clove-scent flowers, the large juicy looking fruit hips.

They are not much to sneeze at as far as roses go (to most people anyways) but they have an unforgettable presence in my younger-gardener memory.

I could think of some plants I’ve never grown that give me a nostalgia but I think there’s another number ask more appropriate for those.

#92, please!

92. Favourite fruit and vegetable?

~~I’m having to think a bit as I am the pickiest of eaters lolol~~.

Strawberries come to mind first for fruit (since it’s one of the few I’ll eat raw and am not entirely bound by cultivar choices like I am with Apples).

For vegetable? For eating I can’t really think of anything I’d truly eat without cheating through unhealthy cooking BUT, I’d say Potato and Rhubarb; Potato wedge fries are fucking delish, and Rhubarb while I don’t like to eat it I love as a perennial vegetable which also is visually dramatic in the garden with its gargantuan leaves.

The bug hotel one!! I think 98 or 99?

98. Do you have an insect hotel in your garden?

I have considered getting a Mason Bee hotel before, but otherwise no. Closest we got is purely accidental ones like the woodpile which have become nesting grounds for the Leafcutter Bees.

Next would be the Swamp Milkweed I grow to attract Monach butterflies/caterpillars, and the tall stiff-stemmed plants for the Garden Spiders.

32, 64, 82 for the plant questions!

32. Do you spend lots of money on plants?

I have definitely spent a lot in the past. Probably about 2 years ago(?) I spent $80 on seeds. Surprise surprise not much of any of it germinated, severe regret ensued. I generally spend more if it is a plant sale or something quite rare (though I do have a price threshold). Icr my spending averages from my highschool days where I was much more spendy with my plant obsessions.

Nowadays I’m trying to spend on plants/seeds that I can enjoy while at the same time being stock plants to propagate to sell. It’s tricky since so many good varieties are patented nowadays (which I try to avoid like the plague with mixed results). Most of my money now goes for equipment (tools, soil, etc.) rather than actual plants.

64. Favourite roots?

Aesthetically? Taproots and Buttress roots, they’re the most dramatic imo. For practicality I’d say tubers (which technically are not roots but SHHH) like Hemerocallis tubers; easy to recognize in the garden and generally easy to transplant.

82. Do you give your plants names?

Not really no. I have referred to some plants by shortform pet names but not truly a name. Closest would be my transplanted Balloon flower which I keep referring to as KENNY!!! cause I thought it had died.

Hey remember that Lady Knight manga you posted about once? Shoujo Kishidan X Knight Tale? Well you managed to get me into it. Beyond a few panty shots it’s proving to be fucking awesome and very very cute(gay). Sadly though, it’s been canceled! The mangaka had to wrap everything up for the third volume and is asking fans to buy it on Amazon while he tries to find a studio that will allow him to make a sequel. I just ordered all three books myself! (They in Japanese though)

Seriously it got cancelled? Combining the ecchi forumla (which was.. eugh) with the armoured fight scenes (which was YUSHHHHH) I would’ve expected it to last longer. The ick Ecchi aside I hope it nonetheless gets funding so he can continues it!