First Leaves

The first leaves of my lotus are opening up.

American Lotus

My Lotus has already started to sprout. I planted them last week. Yesterday I checked on them and they were showing no signs of life. Today they have sprouted and one is about a quarter of an inch tall, and the other is about an inch. The three I planted in the other pot are not showing yet but I will be looking forward to seeing them.

Yesterday I started cutting down all the grape vine along the back fence. When I first bought the house There was a ton of vine on the fence but it did not grow any grapes so the following year I got rid of it and planted 2 grape vines. one was a concord and the other a Thompson red. They grew the entire length of the fence in no time and I cut them way back every year. I never do anything with the grapes and the birds do not eat them so I have decided to replace them. I have a bunch of trumpet vine already planted along the fence and I want to let it take over the fence. It should really draw in the hummingbirds. I do not use humming bird feeders but my plants bring humming birds. I might even get a few other colors of trumpet vine. Right now I have the typical orange color of trumpet. I was thinking of getting some yellow or dark red.

Madame Galen Trumpet Vine.

Fence before removing grape vine.

 Half of the grape vine has been removed.

The other half will get removed today or tomorrow.

Marchantia polymorpha

Nelumbo lutea American Lotus

I ordered seeds for American Lotus Nelumbo lutea on E-Bay and they arrived yesterday. The instructions for planting said to nick the seeds outer shell. I tried to cut through it with a utility knife but it was impossible to cut into. I tried to crack it with pliers, and still nothing. I figured the Native American Indians used to grow these for food so there had to be a way to do it. I thought about it and decided to try scraping it across a rough rock. After grinding it across a stone for a while I got through. I did all 5 seeds like this and planted them in pots. The pots are sitting in water next to the pond. I will be watching them to see if I am successful in doing this.

I also think I might get some Nelumbo nucifera also called Indian Lotus or Sacred Lotus. They have pink flowers but the same type of leasves and flower shape. They are not native to the United States so I would put them over on the other side of my house in a stock tank away from my wildlife habitat.

Hardy Orange / Poncirus trifolate

This is a plant that my friend Etta Daher had in her yard. When she moved the tree was to large for me to try to transplant to my yard so I gathered a few fruits from the ground. These were fruits from the previous year so I was not even sure they were still any good. I opened the fruits that had large white seeds in them. I planted the seeds and forgot all about them. Yesterday I was weeding and found out that they are growing. I was told they were not edible but have discovered that they can bee eaten. They can be used in a marmalade and  they can be juiced. The flavor is supposed to be bitter and sour. Cooking the fruits and adding sugar  is supposed to change the taste to be like a cross between a lemon and a grapefruit. The trees are supposed to grow from about 6 to 20 feet tall and are covered with long sharp thorns. The thorns are actually hard enough to puncture a tire. It can take up to 12 years for the trees to produce fruit. They are not native but have naturalized in Pennsylvania south to Florida. I will have to move them to an area outside of my wildlife habitat, but look forward to seeing them eventually fruit. Maybe one day I will even attempt to make some of the marmalade. This is also supposed to be a good plant for bonsai.