Avocadocumentary: Week 22--Emergence

[ru]

HAL LIVES.


But first, Avobaby updates!



I was hoping to bring Friend Ruler to the photoshoot, but I couldn't locate it, so you're just going to have to imagine how big Avobaby's gotten. It's starting to get difficult to get all of Avobaby into a shot now. There's an island in the middle of the kitchen I lean against whilst taking pictures, and it's getting to the point where I have to lean backwards in order to get a full view. I think eventually I'm going to have to move to the other side of the island for the full shots. Actually, that may come rather soon. Avobaby's *already* making noise about another set of leaves at the apical bud. And I bet they'll be even bigger than the last ones.



Avobaby UP IN YO GRILL. While I didn't have Friend Ruler, I did manage to find something to do some measuring with. At this moment, Avobaby's biggest leaf measures about 12 inches long. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a damn big leaf. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Avobaby's gradually increasing leaves has something to do with Avobaby's gradually increasing pots. I keep convincing Avobaby that it has PLENTY of room, so it goes ahead and makes big leaves until it realizes that it's run out of pot space. But I don't mind. It keeps it humble.

Well, okay, I will mind if it results in Avobaby becoming top-heavy and snapping in two in the middle of the night. I think with Hal I'm going to try the pruning thing to see if I can't get him to be a little more stable.

SPEAKING OF WHICH.



GOOD MORNING RU.

I'm so excited! Hal is actually showing signs of real honest-to-goodness life! He also proved my mother wrong--she was convinced that the splitting Hal was doing was due to him becoming so waterlogged he was breaking apart and was subsequently dead, but NOT SO. Soon he'll be big enough to go into a pot of his own and join Avobaby and the other plants. <3 <3 <3 I think I'll give him Avobaby's pot from when it was just a weester.



And also, yay bonsai! A second one's come up, and I'm pretty sure it's a different species from the first one. 'course, I have no idea *what* they are beyond that they're conifers. Well, that's not entirely true. The seed packet provided a list of the species inside, but there's so many that I can't really tell what they could possibly be. Nevertheless, I'm happy to see that they're growing. Hopefully some more will show up soon. Then I can start trying to do the whole bonsai thing. Hooray!

Comments

[liich.livejournal.com]

those bonzai trees are rather amusing looking...and far too cute. ^_^

avobaby is HUGE and absolutely beautiful. i'm jealous. i think avobaby is going to need one of those huge ceramic pots that the italians around here grow Ficus (ie. fig trees....i just love saying ficus...) in. also, you need to try growing a fig tree...they're beautiful.

and YAY HAL!!! now you really can see which type of pruning (or lack of) methods would be best. now i'm extra jealous b/c i've never had an avocado sprout...but....i think that's b/c i never waited long enough.

[grant-p.livejournal.com]

Just don't make the mistake I did and try to use coat hanger wire instead of copper wire. WAY too inflexible to be useful.

Also, sometimes you can 'stock up' a plant without pinching it if you...um...shake it. Not too hard like the nannys on 60 minutes. Just jostle it once or twice a day. It encourages stem formation. Something to do with wind and responses to it.

[peppermintberry.livejournal.com]

Hm...I've never heard of doing that, but now that you mention it, it makes sense. Fun with thigmotropism!

I guess that means I should start bouncing Avobaby on my knee now. ^_^;

[peppermintberry.livejournal.com]

Mmm, figs. There are some fig varieties that can apparently grow outside here. I'd love to try one out. Growing one of those braided ficus trees would be nice too, but from what I hear, they're *very* finicky and love their schedules--they start dropping leaves if you miss watering by a day, or something insane like that.

I think in general, you need to wait a good several weeks before avocados will start showing signs of life. Don't give up! I think if you keep the water level high, it'll eventually start splitting, which I believe is the first sign that it's starting to come to life. ^_^