Wow, it’s been almost a week. In that week I’ve settled (for now) on a feeding and watering schedule, she has gone from 11" x 12" x 5.5" high to 14" x 16" x 11" high, and she’s thrown out seven and nine lobed leaves. I’m not sure I’ve heard of nine lobes, but she has little “legs” on the stem end of the leaves, parallel with the stems.
She’s had several days confined to the house due to weather, and several days of good sun. I’ve also done the reflector trick twice, giving her a few days off between “supercharged sun” days. The reflector is also a decent windbreak. Even if you can’t get the plant in the lee while maintaining good sun, it forces much of the wind up and over the plant.
We readjusted the lighting, so now the artificial lighting where she sleeps st night comes on at 6AM and off at 8 so I can move her after the sun comes fully up, and back on at sundown until midnight. It also looks much more like normal activity with the light leaks.
Feedings are in a three day rotation. All mixtures and waterings are with reverse osmosis (RO) water.
Day one is urine mixed at ten to one, about six ounces total. Sprayed/sprinkled on the plant and soil, followed by a bottle of water.
Day two is aloe mixture sprayed/sprinkled as on day one above.
Day three has a new item in rotation, one pump of Miracle Grow foaming succulent food. 0.5-1-1, she seems to like it. While not exactly homemade, it is leftovers from her succulent gardens.
My sprayer got clogged with aloe that I didn’t dilute hard enough, so we made a sprinkler with a “large drink” big plastic Jack in the Box cup. My wife tried a safety pin until it hurt too much, then took the dab pointer and punched about a zillion tiny holes in the bottom. Hold the cup over the plant to be watered, and pour in your fertilizer mixture, wait for it to drain onto your plant, then just pour your water in on top. The flow slows a bit as the water gets nearer the bottom of the cup, so the water helps rinse the cup as it rinses the plant.
She’s had three underwatered (wilted) days, when she stays outside for the whole day. She drinks a 16 ounce bottle of water daily, inside or out. That water is right after her feeding in the morning. I’m running into a timing issue for the second bottle, that she needs when outside, as she won’t usually take two bottles of water in the morning, so needs water later, maybe at five, maybe at three, but if too late then she’s wet all night. I might have pot size issues, but her pot looks about the same as many I see here, and, I don’t want to carry too much dirt around the house. She comes into the house every night, and will for the duration, so a huge pot isn’t going to be possible since her bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from her safe sun location.
Lol, update as I’ve been writing this, I overwatered (one bottle) and my urine mixture ran out onto the patio. That’s part of my water problem, loss of materials and stains on the patio.
I had to nip a few things. The leaf that grew into the CFL (three inches in a night) turned brown and crispy at the end so became asceticly displeasing; I took the brown crispy part off. The original “one” leaves were dipping into the soil as she followed the sun so they came off, too. One of the “three” leaves then came off; the other “three” and then the “fives” will likely be next. The leaves/branches that came off the trunk directly above each of those leaves have shot out, and will soon shade cover the leaves closest to the soil anyway.
She remains symmetrical. Leaves (which are becoming branches) coming off the trunk are two, directly opposed to each other, and the next set are ninety degrees off the ones below, alternating directions so it resembles a green four-lobed pinwheel from above. The trunk is sturdy, roughly the diameter of a felt pen, like Flair. Easy to see how Manila line is so strong. The leaves take “rainwater” and route it to the drip line of the plant. This makes me think that my watering should just be at the drip line, but that’s now past the edge of the pot. The pot is 9.5" high and 14" diameter.
We still don’t know what her sex is, but either way the experience has been fun. In a world of random plantings, she looks computer generated.
Lots of great advice on here.
@Oldstoner @Countryboyjvd1971 @garrigan62 @bob31 @Matthew420
. I then added enough RO to allow the aolein somewhere to leach, so I’ve got half a jam jar full now. It never separates out, so the mixture seems complete.
