Print

[fideles-aru]

Hey all! I don't have a lot of experience, but I'm happy to see what's out there and eventually give back to the community.
I took a plant biology class in college which sparked my interest in plants and it's utterly fascinating how complex and varied these little (or not so little) guys are. Now I'm looking to start a garden of my own. I currently live in an apartment, so I don't have much outdoor space apart from a small balcony, but I'm hoping to make it the greenest balcony ever (+my bedroom)! I also like cooking and am hoping to cultivate a variety of herbs (fresh herbs are always wayyyy better than dried). Someday when I can afford a proper house I want to make a big garden and source most of my food from it. Apart from herbs, I'm looking to grow some or all of P. Viridis, Acacia Acuminata, B. Caapi, and some Phalaris strains. Speaking of Phalaris, I've read that there's a lot of variability in the strains; is it common on this site to share cuttings or full plants in order to preserve the genetics of a particular variety?

Other details, I live in USDA zone 9. Have a great day!

1 Like BubbleCat likes this.

[MadBotanist]

Hello and welcome.
Yes I'm pretty sure that sharing cuttings or divisions is permitted.
It's the only way to make sure a cultivar is true to type.
How much sun does your balcony get? You should look into trichocereus, they'd grow really
Well in zone 9.

[fideles-aru]

Hey, thanks for the reply! My balcony gets only afternoon sun. Honestly that's one of my main concerns with all of the plants I'm thinking of growing, since any plant out there would only get about half as much continuous sunlight as out in the open. The cactus is an interesting option though and I'll add it to my list. It's probably a good idea to try several plants to see what sticks and what doesn't given my lack of experience. I'm curious how well indoor growing with a light works for some of these plants if the balcony doesn't work out.

[TeacherCavo]

Hello fideles-aru!
Phalaris requires a lot of dedication and research. There are some clones around, but you can't be sure it's the right clone because morphologically they're difficult to distinguish. And if you get the wrong clone, there is a chance that it will be toxic to your rabbits because there are different chemotypes and there is a lot of variability. That being said, recently a few clones (Big Medicine, AQ1, Yugo Red...) from different sources were tested and they were all not what they were supposed to be.
As well there is some motion in this subject with a research group examinig Phalaris deeper.
Best regards,
TC