※日本語は後半にあります
【English】
My Green Companions at Home
Hello, everyone in the Hive Garden community! Today I wanted to introduce the plants on my balcony, so I'm posting here in this community🌳☺️
Before I knew it, plants had multiplied on my balcony. I currently have four potted plants!I’m not particularly good at growing plants. In the past, I let a Ficus benjamina (nicknamed Ben-chan) from IKEA wither away, and I failed at repotting a Concinna, causing it to die as well… just one failure after another.
I felt so sorry for the plants that I resolved to stop buying them, but whenever I spot an attractive plant in town, I can’t help but be drawn to it and end up bringing it home.I may not be skilled at growing them, but I think I truly love plants. Today, let me introduce the residents of my balcony. They are a Pachira, a Dracaena, an Amanatsu, and an Albuca.
Albuca - A Curious Bulb Plant with Twirly Leaves
The oldest resident is the Albuca. I bought it in Yurakucho on our wedding anniversary in May 2023, and it’s a bulb plant from the Liliaceae family.
Its standout feature is its unique, twirly leaves. Over the past two years of observation, I’ve noticed the leaves grow twice a year. In early spring, they curl into spirals, but in summer, they seem to stretch out straight, as shown in the photo. They’ll likely wither soon to rest through winter, and I expect to see those twirly leaves again in spring. Hidden in the soil is a large bulb resembling a turnip.
Since it’s a plant bought for our wedding anniversary, I absolutely can’t let it die 😂
Pachira - A Houseplant from a 100-Yen Shop
Next up is the Pachira. I impulsively bought it around July this year at Daiso (a popular Japanese 100-yen shop). It looked cramped in its tiny pot, so I repotted it into a larger one, and it’s been growing vigorously ever since.
However, I’m troubled by fungus gnats in the soil. I’ve tried using plant-friendly insecticides and gnat traps, but lately, the leaves look pale and less lively, which worries me. Please… please recover!
The balcony might be too hot, so once the gnat issue settles, I’d like to bring it indoors.
Dracaena - Hoping for Good Luck
The Dracaena is another houseplant I bought at Daiso.
I read somewhere that plants with pointed leaves are good for feng shui, so I couldn’t resist getting it. I repotted it into a larger pot right after buying it, but it’s growing so fast that the pot already feels too small. Its large leaves reaching upward give me energy just by looking at them.
Amanatsu - A Gift from My Sister-in-Law
The story of how the Amanatsu came to my balcony is a bit special. When I was born, my father planted an Amanatsu and a Natsumikan tree in our family home’s garden. In recent years, they produce so much fruit that when we visit, my siblings and I eat or take home loads of Amanatsu.
One day, my brother brought some fruit home, and my sister-in-law ate it and saved the seeds. When she planted them in a pot, they sprouted. Yes, she is really good at growing plants.
In May this year, she messaged me, “There’s an Amanatsu seedling. Want to grow it in Tokyo?” I initially declined, saying, “I’d probably kill it right away.” But before my summer visit home, my brother texted, “Want the Amanatsu seedling?”. I felt bad declining twice, and since I was already growing the Pachira and Dracaena, I thought, “One more pot should be fine.”
Passed down like a baton relay from my father’s tree to my sister-in-law’s seedling, I’m a bit nervous about whether I can grow this Amanatsu properly.
Future Plans
These four plants came to our home at different times, so they feel a bit mismatched. The plastic pots of various shapes and sizes might be part of it… so, one goal is to repot them into ceramic pots.
That said, I’ll likely wait until next spring or summer, when the plants enter their growth period.
I plan to post updates occasionally to the Hive Garden community, so I’d be thrilled if you’d keep an eye on me to make sure I don’t let them die.
While the Albuca, Pachira, and Dracaena can be grown in pots, the Amanatsu will eventually need to be planted in the ground.
So, my goal is to someday live in a house with a garden for the Amanatsu 😂
【Japanese】
我が家の緑の仲間たち
いつの間にか、ベランダに植物が増えていました。現在、鉢は4つ（も）あります！
私は植物を育てるのがあまり得意ではありません。過去には、IKEAで買ったフィカス・ベンジャミナ（愛称：ベンちゃん）を枯らしたり、コンシンネの植え替えに失敗して枯らしたりと、失敗続き・・・。
植物が気の毒に思えて、「もう買うのはやめよう」と決意したのですが、街で素敵な植物を見かけると、つい心惹かれて買ってしまいます。
育てるのは上手じゃないけど、植物は好きなんだと思います。今日は、我が家のベランダの住人たちを紹介させてください。それぞれ、パキラ、ドラセナ、甘夏、アルブカです。
アルブカ - クルクル葉の不思議な球根植物
一番の古株はアルブカ。2023年5月の結婚記念日に有楽町で買ったもので、ユリ科の球根植物です。
特徴は、クルクルと巻くユニークな葉っぱ。この2年間観察したところ、葉が伸びるのは年に2回。春先はクルクルとした葉がカールし、夏には写真のように真っ直ぐ伸びるようです。これから一旦枯れて冬を越し、また春にクルクルの葉が見られるはず。土の中には、カブのような大きな球根が潜んでいます。
結婚記念日に買った植物ということもあり、枯らすわけにはいきません😅
パキラ - 百円で買った観葉植物
お次はパキラ。今年の7月頃、ダイソーで見つけて衝動買いしてしまったものです。
小さなポットに入っていたのが見るからに窮屈そうで、大きめの鉢に植え替えたところ、グングン成長しています。
ただ、土にコバエが沸いてしまったのが悩みの種。「植物に優しい」と言われる殺虫剤を試したり、小バエキャッチャーを置いたりしていますが、最近、葉の色が薄く、元気がないように見えるのが気になります。どうか・・・どうか元気を取り戻してくれ！
ベランダが暑すぎる可能性もあるので、コバエ問題が落ち着いたら室内に戻したいです。
ドラセナ - 運気UPを期待して
ドラセナも、パキラと同じくダイソーで購入した観葉植物です。葉先の尖った植物は風水的に良いとどこかで読んで、つい買ってしまったのでした。
購入後すぐに大きめの鉢に植え替えたつもりでしたが、成長が早く、すでに鉢が小さく感じます。大きな葉が上に向かう様子は、見ているだけで元気が湧いてきます。
甘夏 - 義妹からの贈り物
甘夏の木がここにたどり着いた経緯はちょっと特別です。
私が生まれたとき、父が実家の庭に甘夏と夏ミカンを植えました。近年では毎年大量に実をつけ、実家に帰ると兄弟みんなで甘夏を食べたり、持ち帰ったりします。
ある日、弟が持ち帰ったミカンを義妹が食べ、種を採りました。そして彼女がそれを鉢に植えたところ、芽が出たのです。義妹は植物を育てるのが上手な人なんですよね。
今年5月、義妹から「甘夏の苗があるんですけど、東京で育てますか？」とのメッセージが届きました。一度は「すぐ枯らしちゃうからやめとく」と断りましたが、夏の帰省前に今度は弟から「甘夏の苗、要る？」と再び連絡が。
2度も断るのは気が引けて、もらうことにしました。その時には既にパキラとドラセナが育っていたので、「もう1鉢増えても大丈夫だろ」と思ったのもあります。
バトンリレーのようにして引き継いだ甘夏、ちゃんと育てられるかちょっとドキドキしています。
これからやりたいこと
これら4つの植物はそれぞれバラバラにこの家にやってきたこともあり、ややチグハグな感じがしています。形や大きさの違う、プラスチック製の鉢のせいかもしれません・・・ということで、陶器の鉢を買って植え替えをすることがひとつの目標です。
といっても、植物が成長期を迎える来年の春から夏にかけてになると思います。
時々Hive Gardenコミュニティにレポートを投稿させてもらうので、私が枯らさないように見守ってもらえたら嬉しいです。
そしてアルブカ、パキラ、ドラセナは鉢植えで育てられますが、甘夏はいつか地植えが必要になるでしょう。
甘夏のために、いつか庭のある家に住むのが目標です😂
Cute! 🪴
Thanks!
I'll do my best not to let them die!💪💪
You are doing great taking care of Albuca, the oldest one. I want to see them twirl though and can they still grow, like taller? This is pretty to have at home. Simple, small and pretty. And that Pachira looks like the money tree's Mama has in her garden. They are really tall now. And good luck to your goal, you should ask ask helo to your sister-in-law if you want them in your garden. ♪┌|∵|┘♪
Pachira plants grow big too! So does that mean I really need a garden after all... 😂😂
I'm worried about the leaves looking pale lately—maybe it's the insecticide, or maybe it's the gnats. I really want to get them back to a deep green somehow.
Hahaha, you really need a big one.
Look, here's ours. Really taller now.
Maybe they will go back to that color if you leave it, or maybe not? You need to research how to do that just to make sure
Wow! It grows this big, huh? Your mom must be really good at growing plants👏
パキラにミカン、いいですねぇ～🎵 !wine
せっかく義妹が発芽させてくれたので、頑張って育てたいです！
食べられるとしても10年後だそうですが😂
10年！ でも、楽しみですね！
私もホームセンターで買った柚子の苗を今年植えて、少しずつ大きくなってるのを楽しみにしてます。柑橘類って果実するのって時間がかかりますね😅😇 !BEER !HUG
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BEERfrom @mizuosemla for you. Enjoy it!Did you know that <a href='https://dcity.io/cityyou can use BEER at dCity game to buy cards to rule the world.
Hello @go-kyo, you have some very pretty green friends. I really like the Dracaena. I hope your dream of a house with a garden comes true. I look forward to reading more about your plants.
Best regards.
I tried to choose relatively hardy plants when I bought them!
Based on past experience, I've often failed to get them through the winter and ended up killing them, so now is the real test🥶🥶
I see you seem to be doing very well growing those plants, they are growing very well.
Thank you!
“Being bad at growing plants” might just be a self-image from the past. I'll do my best to get better at it 😊😊