Gout SEED -- another rare occurrence

Here's a photo of my gout plant, with two seed pods evident. It's had seed pods before, but they've never lasted this long. I don't know what's happened to them in the past, but they've appeared, lived for a little while, and disappeared. Once, on some plant forum, somebody asked about propogating a gout plant, and the answer was something to the effect that, "The seeds are so evident that you can't miss them." Well, I've missed them -- until now -- maybe. I'm keeping a close eye on these babies ... The matchbox is there just to show you the size of the things.

Aloe BLOOM!

Okay, this is just too weird. A few nights ago I was at a friend's house and I happened to admire her big ol' aloe plant that she had in her kitchen window. She and I were standing there looking at it and talking about it when I noticed that it was sportin' a weird stalk -- and lo and behold, we soon realized that the stalk was part of a bloom! I had never in my life seen a bloom on an aloe! My jades bloomed once, years ago, these tiny little bright white stars all over those dark-green, fleshy jade leaves, but I had never seen an aloe bloom. So, I complimented my friend on her aloe-growing skills, we went on with the evening ... THEN, next day ... I'm on my back deck trying to figure out what to do with the plants I don't have room inside the house for, and I happen to look at the big ol' chunk of aloe that I'd recently removed from a pot, and lo and behold AGAIN, there was a bloom! But this time on MY aloe, way across town from my friend's aloe. Here are a couple of photos:

Fall 2009

Here's just a few photos of my plants the day I moved them inside and placed them for the winter.
This bad boy (above) grew about six inches taller over the summer.


My photo doesn't do this beautiful plant justice. I don't know the name of it. My Buena Vista neighbor Jeannette Sales gave me a start of it. I miss plant swapping with Jeannette.


My trusty ol' aloe, of course, with a couple of jade cuttings on either side of her.


That is my beloved gout plant on the left. She is in serious need of re-potting, but I really want to wait till Spring to do that.

My Jay Lowe Bromeliad.

My daughter-in-law Kristin tells me that these "alligator tooth cacti" are some of the most poisonous plants around, so I'm thinking of letting the cold get 'em. I don't have room for them in the house, anyway. I do like 'em, though -- and they're so hardy and fun to grow, with all their little babies sproutin' up everywhere.

Bromeliad

This is the first bromeliad I've ever had. My neighbor The Original Jay Lowe divided his last year and gave me several plants. I stuck them into the pot you see here, kept them in my sunroom over the winter, and started to water and feed vigorously several weeks ago.

The Morning After

11:00 PM

The reason the top petals look ragged is that the bud was "nibbled on" by something -- insect? bird? squirrel? In my eleven years of growing epiphyllums, this is the first time I have had anything eat into a bud.

9:00 PM today