No. 4 More nostalgia, a 'Rock', & another DoorDash caper

Hey hey good people! I hope it's another chill Sunday for yall  I'm fooling with these plants per usual and watching YouTube videos of other folks with their plants!  That's why I be quiet when the kids are watching other kiddos unboxing and playing with toys! I got hella new plants and this post will feature one of my most recent DoorDash plant capers!

This go 'round I'm not sure what I needed from the grocery store; although I am NOT above just ordering a plant I promise you!  I just feel like I got groceries too.  Ohhhhh wait y'all; this order WAS for plants and plant supplies afterall.  One day last week I decided I wanted to continue my Mom's African Violet tradition and finally add a few to my collection. I only wanted to start with one though because from what I can remember they were a little finicky~shit, a lot finicky.  My Mom used to grow such pretty ones with such vibrant colors anyway though; she was magical like that.  My window sill would've been super pretty AND nostalgic.  The plantiverse said yeahhh, not today--It was like you gone get something AND you gone like it but it ain't gone be no African Violet!  

Fast forward about 30 minutes and the Dasher shows up.  He was such a cool ass dude; reminded me so much of Uzi (Lil' Uzi Vert)! The night before I decided to carry on with another one of my Mom's plant-y traditions I remembered her China Doll too.  I went online to browse around and I saw one for sale y'all!  Into the cart MY China Doll went.  When I was a little girl my Mom and her plant friends had been anticipating the China Doll coming to the big box stores; don't ask me how they got the scoop on the drop way back then; but somehow they knew!  Once they got the word the China Doll plants were at the stores they all got in their cars, met each other there, and bought one.  Now it's important to mention that none of these ladies were novices in the plant game so they weren't afraid to bring their new plant home like at all. Yall that damn China Doll irritated the hell outta my Mom and her friends okay?! It was one of those notorious leaf droppers and I mean it dropped ever single leaf; well except for about two or three.  And it did that at ALL of their houses.  Y'all shoulda' heard them conversations about that plant omgggg they were so damn funny!  A couple of the ladies were mad as hell while the others were laughing so hard at the pot of leafless sticks they had left.  As I mentioned earlier none of the ladies were new to the plant game so those who wanted to nurse the plants back to health did that.  The ladies kept growing them long after the hissy fit the plants threw!

My China Doll is doing well and hasn't dropped one leaf!  My Mom would be amazed and proud at the same time!  But this post isn't about my China Doll although that's all I've been rambling about. Now Dasher Uzi  ended up finding my China Doll but apparently free-styled on the other plant I ordered!  I asked for an Episcia; which is actually a cousin to the African Violet.  I wanted to put my own spin on my Mom's tradition.  Well he sent me a message and said that the African Violets were out of stock (that was hard for me to believe but I digress). I messaged him back telling him to just choose one for me.  When I tell the dashers to pick plants for me I always love their choices. Such a cool little sneak peek into their personalities!  Dasher Uzi didn't disappoint!  When I opened the door I instantly fell in love with the plant but I also instantly KNEW it wasn't an Episcia.  Soon as I noticed the hairy legs I knew it was a BEGONIA!  Slight panic started to set in but then I remembered I didn't redrum my last begonias; they went on to plant glory because of the heat during delivery.  I did try to keep my Little Miss Sherri and my Geometry begonias alive but the heat had just been too much for them.  They were my first introduction to the genus in terms of growing them but it was so bittersweet.  When I lost them I immediately wrote notes down in my plant journals to add them back into my collection ASAP.  While I didn't un-alive my last begonias I didn't get to learn much about them that I didn't already know.  So this time around I inspected my new Begonia really well.  I noticed it was in a peat-y, perlite soil mix.  The plant had a few dead leaves, a couple others had leaf spot, and several others had cosmetic damage.  Y'all know I removed the dead leaves AND the ones with leaf spot.  The cosmetically damaged leaves got hella Wabi Sabi so I left them on!

(Just FYI: Sometimes when leaves are damaged its best to leave them attached to the plant until new leaves unfurl so it can photosynthesize and continue to grow!)

Knowing Begonias have delicate root systems I decided NOT to re-pot my new plant immediately like I usually do.  As I mentioned earlier the soil was perfectly fine and the plant didn't seem to be having any problems besides the ones from handling by the nurseries. My new plant was also in a self-watering pot.  Now this time I was actually happy asf my plant was in a self-watering pot because that finding told me a whole lot about how my begonia likes to live.  My new guy likes consistent moisture but not soggy soil; hence the self-watering pot.  My plant is also growing in one of the darkest areas in my home. No natural sun hits the corner at all.  Plantiverse to the rescue again via a cool Black goth DoorDasher!  Begonias are sensitive to heat and sun; yes they show lots of bright colors they don't really enjoy hella sunshine or heat at all.  My corner has a lamp that my begonia absolutely LOVES.  All the petioles/stems were growing one way and now they're all perked up and standing up straight! That guy gets secondhand sunlight and the rest from my lamp. This guy is actually happy with the light from my lamp! Literal perfection. 

Okay lemme show y'all the new guy and tell me whatchall' think about how fine he is?  He is so perfect. I ended up naming him after his cultivar name; 'Rock'; so naturally his name is Rocky! 

Be sweet,

Christy