Alicia is happy to present her plants in her first fall festival at Acres of Grace Family Farm Sip and Shop Event held October 4, 2024 from 4-8pm at 9200 East Dewey Robbins Road, Howey-in-the-Hills. Come out and get a plant! If you are unable to make it, you can see if some are still available at Awinningway@gmail.com Below are the plants that Alicia is currently selling. She has personal experience with all of them. Alicia explains their personality and maintenance below.
4 UNIQUE PLANTS FOR SALE
The Cranberry Hibiscus has a refreshing fragrance and it has been shown to attract hummingbirds and butterflies when they are in my garden. I keep my cranberry hibiscus in full sun or close to full sun, which they seem to enjoy the most. I also set aside some cranberry hibiscus for tea and I keep those plants in my kitchen or in my screened in porch, so insects do not get on them. I water them weekly. I keep the soil moist. They are in organic acidic soil. They do best in acidic soil. I add coffee grounds and cracked egg shells to spur them on to grow and bloom flowers. I have noticed their flowers the most in fall through spring months.
I can take the dried out flowers and remove their seed pods and drop the seeds in soil and watch them grow new cranberry hibiscus. As you can see, it is a bit of a process. It took 24 days to get a lot of leaves – where they were about 6 inches in height. I only take the plants I grow from seeds and grow them in my kitchen, if I want to add the leaves to my salads. The leaves and flower contain antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamin B3, B2, A, and C. Since the leaves contain oxalates, I eat only a few small leaves at a time that I grow from the seeds. I add the small leaves to my salads. This can be an indoor/outdoor plant. If it is indoors, make sure it gets a lot of natural sunlight.
If you are looking to watch a bunch of butterflies and hummingbirds feeding, then you need a Pagoda Flower! A small pagoda flower (only 6 inches), could shoot up to 3 feet the following year if given the right amount of water and sunlight as shown here on the right. This pagoda flower attracted several hummingbirds this year in 2024 from May to August. I observed a male ruby throated hummingbird, black chinned hummingbirds, and Rufous hummingbird come to my pagoda flower. I spoke to others in my local area that have this same flower and they agreed with me that they have been observing a variety of hummingbirds and butterflies all the time.
I do have some full grown pagoda flowers that are 7-8 feet tall. They enjoy full sun the best and moist soil. They do appreciate a shower after a hot day when there is a heat index and no rain. You can watch them perk up and bloom more after a good watering. The more flowers they have, then the more hummingbirds and butterflies they can attract! They tend to have their flowers almost year round as long as you remove a dead flower or yellowing leaves when you see them, so they can grow more fresh green leaves and new flowers. They are easy to maintain and they come back year after year. I will add coffee grounds and cracked egg shells monthly to help them keep blooming. This is an outdoor plant.
The Pagoda Flowers attracting two types of hummingbirds on same day in short span of time.
The Prickly Pear Cactus requires no green thumb. It seems to grow easily and quickly. If I keep it in full sunlight in a pot, the new cactus seems to grow vertically. If I want it to grow in all directions, I can plant it in the ground. It is nice for foundation or in a garden. If I want to slow down the growth, then I do not give it full sunlight. I add the coffee grounds and cracked egg shells as a natural fertilizer occasionally. Since it seems to grow so easily and quickly, I feel I do not need to give it the natural fertilizer as often as my other plants. I have this plant for purposes of air purification and relaxation. Since they have the capacity to be large, they have a high capacity to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Bedrooms with higher oxygen levels, can improve sleep quality. They do not need a lot of water. I keep some indoors and also outdoors. I tend to just keep the soil moist and they do well. *It is recommended to have one plant per 100 square feet of house. This plant and the Mother of Thousand are easy plants to maintain indoors and help with air purification.
The Mother of Thousands is an exciting plant that starts from a small plantlet that I put in an egg shell with soil. I then put it in the ground or in a pot (shown above) and I can watch it grow and spread. The largest Mother of Thousand I have seen has been about 2 and half feet tall and a foot wide. They seem to stop growth at that height and length, but they continue to produce their offspring in plantlets. Just like the Prickly Pear Cactus, there is no green thumb required and if I want to slow their growth – I just take them away from full sunlight. I have this plant indoors and outdoors. They are low maintenance. It is a hardy succulent that requires minimal watering. I may water them at the most once week. They can do well in full sun or partial shade. If the plant leaves start to get yellow or fall off, then I am either overwatering or underwatering. Just like with my other plants, I will remove a dying or yellow leaf, which will allow it to focus on new growth. The plant releases water vapor during transpiration, which can make your home more comfortable. Research shows it can significantly reduce indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde and benzene. Studies have shown that succulents in a house can reduce stress and anxiety levels and even reduce one’s pain levels. I keep a handful of the Mother of Thousands in my house as they are so easy maintenance, slow growing, and they have wonderful health benefits.
If you wanted to buy a plant, but were not sure which one – I would recommend to start with a small Mother of Thousands. No green thumb needed and A LOT of air quality and health benefits!
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