A Blog About Some Plants That I Grow

[someplantsthatigrow]

Policies

First of all, an apology to my local buyers. I am apologizing in advance... It will be difficult to pick up items from me. I LOVE meeting other planty folks from around the way. Most all of you enrich my life in the short time vibing with ya for sure ❤️❤️❤️ however there have been enough hitches to make pick ups difficult. Laundry list of reasons to follow or feel free to skip, lol. Just accept my apology now. Anyway some things I have experienced are: things not for sale taken from porch on porch pick ups, folks wanting address then no show (then things mysteriously missing), folks disregarding agreed upon times and showing up whenever, folks wanting to cherry pick or argue about prices (!) So, ya, know that you probably won't be coming to my home for pick up, and porch pick ups are a no-go at this point =( Also note that I garden in several different spaces. Yes I have a problem and yes I am lucky that I have family who can humor me... But know that I need a heads up for pick up, I usually need to gather items from a few different places.

Any issues? Talk to me! I handle all issues individually on a case by case basis. But maybe I can save us both some time here: Damaged packages= talk to your local USPS, even better, here is the link to file a claim online, super easy! https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm you will need information from the shipping label so do not throw it away. You'll want to take photos of damage and a screenshot of your purchase with your address name amount paid, etc, to serve as your receipt. You'll need my email address which I can give you if you cannot find or don't have on your end. Lost Packages- see above. I have 0 control over the packages once they leave my hands. Know USPS won't let you open a case until package has been missing for 14 days from scan in date but sometimes if you call the USPS 800 number your package magically shows up. All Priority mail packages ship with insurance. Also know that I will not file claim for you.

Issues stemming from the above such as wilted or dried out plants, damaged, broken, etc- file a claim please. But know that I do have a pretty generous policy regarding replacement items if you agree to pay shipping costs, supply photos, and answer all of my questions lol. Also know that I've been selling and trading plants since I was a kid before the internet and stuff. Yup its been my hustle for a while. My point being that I've dealt with most type of scamminess, trickery, coercion, gaslighting, and threats (!) several times over. And lol its usually over those $10 items... you guys...

Please read listing throughly. Please know exactly what you will be receiving. Please know how to take care of this plant in your region. Its a bummer for both of us when you buy a cutting but a plant was expected, or when its too early in your region for a particular tropical that I grow year round but you cannot... And it really stinks when bad feedback is left with this type of situation =(

People looking to get something for nothing, pushy people and people who want to tell me how overpriced my stuff is compared to XYZ (shop with XYZ please, lol. But I promise my stuff is a better overall value for the price). If this is you, pls don't buy =( Also meanies in general need not shop please.

[someplantsthatigrow]

FAQ 2

The longer I sell plants, the more I hear certain questions and concerns... Here is a bit more rambling that I hope will help!

Help! My cutting is wilted/thirsty/a little yellow...

As living organisms the planties will more often than not show signs after a long trip in a dark, sometimes too hot or too cold box... I try to mitigate these scenarios somewhat but the best solution I find is to only sell mail order plants that ship well! 

In the instance of dragon fruit, apple cactus, and other succulent cuttings, they conveniently ship with their own water supply =) They will dry out somewhat en route, sometimes discolor (from going to a very sunny environ to a dark box!), or sometimes break or crack due to handling in shipment. Never fear! These things are practically bullet proof. They have an incredible capacity to self heal (within reason) and are actually more likely to quickly push out roots looking for a drink once it senses moisture. They will also green up rather quickly. 

Help! My dragon fruit cuttings are ugly!

Read: I am a hobbyist, not a nursery. You're also not shopping at etsy, no tea, thank you cards, or coordinating wrappings here. You also won't pay the overhead for these extras. When at all possible I utilize permaculture methods in my growing. I recycle packaging whenever at all possible. I do NOT use commercial pesticides in my garden AT ALL. 

As such, I guarantee some leaves will not be perfect. BUT they will be stronger and better quality than 99% of those I see on other online b/s/t forums!

In the case of scorched or yellowed areas: These are purely cosmetic. It gets hot in Southern California. Try as I might to shelter my DF they especially seek the sun. Certain (hottest) times of the year are going to show this more, message me if it is an issue for you.

Cut bottoms or tops: Never fear, if your cutting is from a center piece of a succulent it will nonetheless grow. Many times it will put out multiple shoots next to cut areas. Generally I top so any areas I deem too tender have time to scab also not cause you any undue distress if they break off en route. But really its no biggie, dragon fruit will put out roots from ANY point on the cutting!

Orange-ish spots or marks on cutting: usually appear when its hot and cuttings are being watered too much. I try to avoid this but when the temps hit 100F + someone will generally go out and hose *all* the plants down because most will suffer for any period of time in that type of heat. So, you may get a cutting with a few orange spots but I have never experienced any bad effects from this and it does not spread.

Dried out spots: are purely cosmetic. many mature cuttings will have spots where cutting had dried out from damage and healed over. Sometimes this will be from severe sun damage when developing or pest damage (remember, no pesticides, unless it will hurt the plant I generally let the bugs do their thing, which leads me to -> CRITTER chomp from hungry rodents, possums, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, coyotes... ok its usually the first 2 that will take a bite... but the others have been known to knock the plants around, climb, etc from time to time as well as the local cats. Go figure.

Woody nodes or notches on cutting: Are a good sign for you! This means the cutting has fruited before and more apt to quickly take root for you...

Aaaaand generally ugly cuttings, old looking, brown on parts, etc: Are signs of a mature cutting as well, see above =)

Help! I got cutting from XYZ and it didn't look like this! It was perfectly lovely and green! Again see above and note that perfect looking cuttings do not always equal a perfect plant. Most cuttings I see for sale are *tender, new growth cuttings* which will take a while to root well, if they root at all. If the exterior of an epiphytic cutting is easily punctured or damaged it is immature. IMO the only time this type of immature growth is OK is if its new growth from an already rooted plant or cutting.

Help! My cutting is so dusty/dirty: Believe it or not I clean each cutting myself... usually! If there is a promo running, or I otherwise have many orders to pack, I enlist my unpaid labor force (my kids). I tell them to clean them *good* because my customers will get mad but I guess they don't believe me. So you can feel free to take your anger out on them with a letter or something. But they will cry so you will owe them ice cream. Or you can just rinse them a bit yourself. Just sayin'

[someplantsthatigrow]

Dragon Fruit Cutting FAQs

WILL DRAGON FRUIT GROW IN MY REGION?

Dragon fruit are native to Mexico and thrive in warm, subtropical climates. With that said, I know of people from every region of the US growing this plant successfully. The question is, are you willing to replicate similar conditions for your Dragon Fruit? The most important factors to consider with these are freezes (are you willing to overwinter indoors if you have winters with temps under 40F regularly? ) and sunlight (do you have a sunny spot to plant them in?) Though note that they will tolerate various conditions and variations, these are the two points to be mindful of for your long term success. 

WILL MY DRAGON FRUIT PRODUCE FRUIT?

This is a topic that again hinges on the above question; How willing are you to replicate this plant’s ideal growing conditions? A happy plant will produce the most fruit, but there are many states in between. Some folks are happy to produce a few fruits in a small patio container for the novelty, but if you want to produce fruit in quantity you should live in a region suited to growing them or willing to somewhat “replicate” subtropical conditions.

HOW LONG UNTIL MY CUTTINGS PRODUCE FRUIT?

Under optimal conditions, a Dragon Fruit cutting can produce fruit in as soon as 18 months... It is one of the fastest fruit producing perennial plants. Again, broken record here, this will vary greatly depending on care. My example: I travel a lot. My DF plants were planted when I was out of the country. (Thanks dad!) and though they were cared for on a basic level, watered, sporadically fertilized, and planted mindful of sun exposure, etc, they didn't really start producing fruit in quantity until I got home and started fertilizing regularly. This took 3 years from the cuttings being planted. I live in Southern California.

SPEAKING OF FERTILIZER...

I use plain ol’ cow manure. I fertilize monthly from when temps start to rise in my region and night temps warm a bit, through the summer (for me this is about April- Sept). 

WHAT TYPE OF SOIL SHOULD I PLANT IN?

Anything well draining. Cactus mix is most widely available, but if you make your own sand or perlite based mixture that's fine too, as long as its well draining. In ground they will tolerate a wide variety of soil types and conditions, again, as long as you're mindful of keeping the roots from continually being wet.

HOW DO I ROOT?

If you cut base of cutting, allow to “scab” or dry out for a few days prior to planting, to allow rooting hormones and anti fungal protections to develop. When you’re ready, place cutting in growing media, deep enough to keep cutting upright. Scaffold or stake up if desired. Give soil a thorough drenching, then avoid watering until you see new growth on cutting. You can mist cutting above soil level if you are worried about cutting drying out, but they’re tough... an ugly dried out cutting will still root. See below. This is what happens to the smaller trimmings that get away from me and dry out. Still totally viable.

WHICH WAY IS UP??

A common question. I hope the images below illustrate better than I can explain =P

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[someplantsthatigrow]

Care and propagation of cuttings is very similar to DF, so feel free to see the Dragon Fruit FAQs or message any ??? 

One helpful tip with columnar cacti though: you can start these in perlite before re-potting into its “home pot” to assure rooting, since these do not give major or marked growth some times (You can do this with many types of succulents and cacti if at all in doubt). This is less of a worry if planting in-ground. Honestly not a worry either way, if you understand the nuances of cactus water requirements... No wet feet folks =) 

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