Week sixteen

Contrary to expectations at the end of May, the florets did make it to the very top of the inflorescence. As they did on BH's lupins, at least those which did not succumb to some combination of white fly, slugs and snails. Forget to check the foxgloves of reference 2 when we were there, but inspection of the original snaps suggests that their florets also make it to open all the way to the top.

Presumably there is some kind of chemical feedback mechanism which tells the bit of the plant responsible for pumping the grub up the inflorescence when to stop.

And talking of slugs, both the vigorous sunflowers in the corner at the back of the garage (7 of them) and the feeble sunflowers in the shade by the micro-ponds (3 of them) are now under serious slug or snail attack, and one of the latter was decapitated overnight Friday-Saturday. Replaced by the last spare, the one in the original yellow bucket, snapped at reference 3, also not thriving. Possibly because of a small worm, possibly eating the roots. Hopefully it will do better in its new home.

And while this engraving by Monica Poole is suggestive more than photographic, it does suggest opening all the way to the top. This snap turned up by Google Images and we will know later today whether my telephone can to better with the real thing.

As it turned out, not later that day, nearly a week later. Also, as it turned out, print No.1. A much better job than the earlier snap, despite the wrinkles in the paper, despite the curious damage done by image processing to some of the delicate hatching. Particularly that top right on this laptop, not so visible here. So this digital does not beat the hand press, possibly an Albion, that my print came off. Great heavy thing with lots of iron.

And while we are at it, a rather different version of foxgloves from Poole's friend and colleague, George Mackley. Where the background hatching on my laptop has been badly damaged by digitisation. That said, enough survives for it to be unclear whether the florets will open all the way up or not. Not enough information. Not a typical Mackley engraving either, and, unusually, a run of only 15. Perhaps he was not too happy with it.

I thought it best, for present purposes, not to crop these two images to a more arty shape. One less layer of image processing.

PS: weeks thirteen thru fifteen missing from the record.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/05/week-twelve.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/06/wellingtonia-31.html. For foxgloves.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/03/midwifery.html.

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Week twelve

Looks like the florets at the top of the inflorescence are not going to make it. Must check the lupin already noticed, perhaps the foxgloves at Polesden Lacey to see if they to the same thing.

Notice the green food waste bins on top of the regular green bins, a custom which has spread along the road over the past couple of weeks, the foxes having learned how to open these bins, advertised as fox-proof. And having opened them, they scatter the contents all over the road, presumably picking out the odd morsel of meat or fat which interests them.

BH does not put out our food waste bin, on the odd occasion when she has something to put in it, until first thing Monday morning, more or less eliminating the risk - but most people prefer to put all their bins out on Sunday evening. The odd occasion being when we have some meat or fish bones - not allowed on the compost heap, where they are apt to attract foxes, rats or both. We understand that there is an ongoing debate on the road social media site (which my Microsoft telephone cannot reach). Perhaps there is talk of sanctioning the fox feeders. Or, more usefully, of hiring a pest controller to kill some foxes.

More serious, talk of pests escaping from the virology research institute at Wuhan has resurfaced. See, for example, reference 2. In ITV3 murder mysteries, the line would be that improbable as it may seen, the institute should be looked at with a view to eliminating it from our enquiries. But given the Chinese taste for secrecy in these matters, this seems unlikely to happen, which is a pity. While I do have some sympathy for them, in that if the plague did turn out to have been caused by a leak from one of their laboratories, the reaction of the rest of the world might be crude and vindictive. With the rest of the world forgetting that quite a few countries have research institutes of this sort, often with links to the military, and an accident could happen in any one of them. Appendix I at reference 3 at reference 3 lists quite a number of such accidents with foot and mouth viruses, mostly, but not all, quite a long time ago. Perhaps we have got better of this sort of thing. On the other hand, what about all the other accidents, excluded from this particular list?

If such a thing were to happen in the UK - which it might well, given the story at reference 3 - I can just see flocks of lawyers, with the media in full attendance, coming in for a juicy and lucrative kill. Or would the government of the day try to bury the matter under our own official secrets acts? Not in the public interest to stir it all up?

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/05/week-eleven.html.

Reference 2: https://2017-2021.state.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology/index.html. From the office of the 'spokesperson' no less! Back in January.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/biosecurity-in-uk.html.

Reference 4: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6543/694.1. Another view.

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Week eleven

Starting to look a bit long in the tooth now. Not helped by Cortana not managing to get the top and the bottom in focus at the same time. Maybe if I moved the pot to the west facing kitchen, the light would be better, but that, somehow, seems to be cheating.

Following the thoughts at reference 1, wondering about seeds again. Maybe next time the aloe flowers, assuming this to be in at least mild weather, I will put the thing outside and give the insects a go. Or does it depend on insects which only thrive in the Mexican highlands, awash with aloes? Do I need to get a fine paintbrush out and do it that way, as if it were a pumpkin?

The orchid is doing well behind, with a new, rather obscene looking shoot having appeared between two leaves, between it and the aloe. Maybe two inches long now.

Suitcase on the left having been recovered from the roof, contents awaiting inspection prior to dispatch to the tip, as noted in the previous post. Perfectly decent suitcase of shell construction, in working order, if a little shabby. But a sign of the wasteful times we live in that it is without value. Only good for the bulky household waste container at the tip.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/05/week-ten.html.

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Week ten

Failed to get remote snapping working, so week nine missing. So some of the lower florets are now waning, while the top florets continue to wax.

I don't recall ever getting anything in the way of seeds, which might be due to needing two plants for successful fertilization or to needing appropriate insects for facilitation of same - insects which are apt to be in short supply indoors, in the wrong country.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/05/week-eight.html.

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Week eight

Yesterday being overcast (and windy later on) meant that the aloe appears in a much better light this week. I have also been watering it, without much idea about how much water is a good thing. Two or three florets have shrivelled and expired, but the flower head looks healthy enough otherwise - so perhaps I got the watering about right.

The slug damaged sunflowers right continue to take their time about recovery. Perhaps the slugs ate through the tap roots while they were at it. Which would mean, I imagine, that these sunflowers will never come to much. With the same being true of the seedlings whose tap roots got damaged during separation during transplanting?

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/week-seven.html.

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Week seven

Florets on the way now. Still no sign of any second inflorescence.

While on the right, the sunflowers are starting to pull apart, with the largest one a good deal larger than the smallest. Vegetarian slug pellets have arrested the damage to two of the seedlings, although it is taking them a while to recover.

While in the kitchen, the toy bucket presently has five seedlings, so we still have some spares.

Reference 1: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/week-six.html.

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Week six

Steaming ahead now, with the flower buds starting to separate out. Even if I have yet to work out how best to take its picture in the morning light. Is the answer simply to wait until the afternoon, when the sun has gone off this east facing window?

Sunflowers right coming along, with much variation of size and vigor and not without incident. Since the last report at reference 2, the seedling of the near-death experience has expired, with its main root rotted or eaten through about half an inch below the surface. Replaced with one of the seedlings popping up in the kitchen windowsill bucket - and just to be on the safe side, in a clean pot and with new compost. The half dozen or so extra seedlings reported last time have now been snipped off. A second mushroom has been removed. And I am now wondering what to do about the two seedlings which appear to be being eaten. A small slug coming up at night? Slug pellets?

And to deal with growing towards the sun, their table is being rotated 90° clockwise first thing each morning. Which I hope will straighten them out.

Reference 1: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/week-five.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/potting-on.html.

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Week five

Flower shoot now in clear view. The orchid behind, just visible right, is also doing well, with plenty of flowers, as is the poinsettia below. I will get to the sunflower seedlings to the left, also last noticed at reference 1, shortly.

Plant itself a bit pale, although the soil seems OK. And no other flower shoots to be seen. And not have we ever had more than one on the go. Unlike a picture I came across once of one of these aloes with a dozen or more flower shoots. Maybe the trick would be an even big, flatter pot, which enabled the plant to spread out a bit. Rather than periodically cutting in down to size.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/week-four.html.

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Week four

Flower shoot now climbing strongly, although a bit lost middle right in this snap. Things will probably improve next week when I expect it will clear the surrounding leaves.

While to the left we have the potted-on sunflowers. Seventeen of them there and one left in the bucket in the kitchen. With this last being just the two pseudo-leaves and a long white strand by way of root. Maybe it will take a while to get going again, given that it has been disturbed. Discussions about final destination continue, although I think we are clear that we are talking pots rather than the open ground.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/03/week-three.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/04/planting-out.html. The last mention of sunflowers.

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Week three

The flower shoot is now a couple of inches long, with the flower bud in clear view. A flower bud from which, if all goes well, we will get lots of florets in due course.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/03/week-two.html.

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Week two

Following the tentative report at reference 1, the flower shoot of the front room aloe is now getting on for an inch long.

Reference 1: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/03/week-one.html.

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Week one

Our front room aloe last flowered just over two years ago. A flowering which included the aloe falling over, being re-potted and then cut down to size, as can be seen from references 1 and 2. We have also had new curtains since then. Domestically minded readers can play spot the difference.

It looks as if it may be about to spring into florid life again, with the small bud, visible in the middle of the snap above if you click to enlarge, being in the wrong place for another leaf. The next few days will settle the matter, one way or another.

In any event, more or less back to its old size, more or less ready for another topple. But, should a flower be imminent, we will take our chances, rather than disturb it at this delicate time.

Orchid looking as if it is about to enter its quiet phase, having been in flower for what seems like years.

PS: oddly, the telephone declined to focus when it was a few inches closer to the aloe. Hopefully just a quirk, rather than the camera in the telephone being on the way out. There was focus trouble with it a few years ago - the outcome of which was that O2 replaced the telephone, having agreed to mend it for £20 (as I recall), despite its no longer being available to buy. Good of them to honour their agreement. Don't suppose they are good for a second time around that buoy!

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/week-nine-b.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/04/orchid.html.

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