Simple Life Matters

 Look: Caterpillar ate my Rare Plants worth 100k.  Oh no! The Caterpillar eaten my rare Monstera Borsigiana Aurea, Monstera Albo and Thai Constellation. The price of this plant when I bought it in 2021 is about P100,000 pesos. It has given me two new leaves but look at what happened when I woke up in the morning I realized that almost all the leaves vanished as it was eaten by a caterpillar. So, I bought a ready-to-use neem oil in Lazada and sprayed it on all of my plants to get rid of the pests in my garden. Neem oil can be used to keep pests away and to get rid of pests that are already there in an existing infestation. Use neem oil in the morning and evening. Don't use neem oil in the middle of the day, because the direct sunlight and neem oil together can burn the plants. However, do not use neem oil on recent transplants or otherwise stressed plants. Though plants must be completely covered with neem oil for the pesticide to be effective, it is a good idea to test the product

Florida Beauty is one of the most "Wish Plants" for rare plant collectors. The design of its leaves is unique and rare compared to other Philodendron plants. I bought my Florida Beauty with three medium-sized leaves for P35,000 in 2021. I have propagated it and sold some for a good price at the last quarter of 2021 for P10,000 per leaf.   The price of Florida Beauty drops in 2022 to P2,000 per medium-sized leaf and as of this writing, you can already buy Florida Beauty for P800.00 to P1200 for a big leaf.  Care Tips and Propagation: You can use a mixture of coco peat, coco cubes, pumice, and loam soil in propagation. It is good if you will let aerial roots climb a plant pole to activate their roots before cutting and transplanting. Put the propagation on a shaded area for 7 to 10 days before moving to a spot with bright indirect sunlight. Use Osmocote 14-14-14 as fertilizer to enhance its variegation. Water the plant twice or three times during summer. The leaves of Florida b

 The price of Variegated Philodendron Domesticum in 2021 is a whooping P35,000 to P40,000 per leaf. I remember a seller from market place told me that a matured Domesticum with 3 to 4 leaves cost about P100,000. So I waited for another year and bought my medium size Domesticum imported from Thailand with three leaves for P22,000.  The plant was imported from Thailand and the seller from Batangas sent me the plant straight from the airport and it looks unhealthy. Good enough that the seller is a legitimate pant importer and replaced the plant. When you buy an imported plant make sure not to report and water it the moment it arrives on your place. Let the plant adjust to its new environment and water it the next day.  I have propagated my Domesticum in the last quarter of 2022 and the price already drops to P2,000 per leaf. As of this writing, you can already buy at a lower price of P600 to P800 per leaf. My forecast is that the cost of one leaf at the end of the year will be about P100

Where can you buy the cheapest Variegated Billitiae? In 2021 the price of variegated Philodendron Billitiae is P200.000 per leaf for a medium size. One big leaf approximately 17 inches long will cost around P250,000 to P300,000 and P400,000 per leaf for premium variegation. It means a variegated billitiae with three medium size leaves cost around P850,000 which is more expensive than a Toyota Vios car. In 2022 since exporting plants from Thailand becomes more viable, more supply has entered the Philippine market. Some local plant collectors also managed to propagate their collections. The price of one leaf of variegated Billtiae drops to P50,000 per leaf and in 2023 you can buy one leaf for only P15,000. Unlike Monstera Borsigiana Albo which can only be propagated via cuttings, variegated Billitiae can be grown through tissue cultured which means more supply will hit the market and the price will go into its lowest price range since the pandemic.  I can forecast the price of one leaf

Here's the tutorial on how you can propagate your rubber tree easily. I have a multi-branch rubber tree mother plant (black prince) imported from Thailand which I bought from a local seller in Manila. I bought it in 2021 for five thousand eight hundred pesos, quite expensive at that time. This time you can buy the same size with multiple branches for around three to four thousand five hundred as I've seen from Cubao plant sellers. There are many ways to propagate rubber plants, you can just cut about 10 inches from its branch (top cut) and put it in a bottle with water, and much better if there's a rooting hormone. You can buy rooting hormones online for only five to ten pesos for a sachet. You can also use aloe vera stem as a rooting hormone. After cutting you can also directly plant it on the soil. But for a more rate of success, air layering or marcotting is the best way to propagate rubber plant. See below images of the actual propagation I have made thru marcotting. I

Backyard farming becomes popular during the COVID pandemic. People have learned to plant fruit-bearing trees and crops even in small spaces. Urban Gardening has been a fad in the Metro since there is limited space for gardening. Vertical gardening using pet bottles is one of the methods you can apply when residing in an apartment or condominium. You can have a DIY self-watering pot out of plastic bottles from empty Soft drink bottles. Okra just like eggplant is easy to grow whether on pots or planted directly in the soil. Since I have ample space in my backyard, I plant my Okra seedlings direct into the soil as you can see in the actual photo of my grown-up Okra plant below. The plant needs direct sunlight to grow faster and produce crops faster. You need to water the plant twice daily and you can use "Abono", Urea as a fertilizer or an organic fertilizer such as vermicast is much better if the vegetable is for personal consumption.

Growing Cucumber in our backyard is very easy. You can buy from Pant Garden which also sells vegetable seedlings for only four to five pesos depending on the size of the seedlings. You can also grow cucumber from seeds which you can buy from Puregold and SM Groceries. Preparing the soil:  Cultivate the soil to get it ready for the seedlings. Mostly, the existing backyard soil in the Philippines is almost ready to receive seedlings. If the soil is composed mostly of clay components, you can put garden soil and put on the toppings before planting the seedlings. Water and Sunlight: You need to water the seedling twice a day, before sunrise and after sunrise. The seedling needs enough sunlight to thrive faster. Trellis for Crawling: After two weeks from planting, you will need a trellis for the plant to crawl. After only one and a half months, we have already harvested the actual cucumber fruits. We used an improvised trellis made from bamboo and plastic straw. Please see the actual pictur

One of the most iconic leaf patterns in the family of Philodendrons, Florida Beauty Variegata is a sure pick for rare plant collectors. Like Monstera Borsiana Albo and Aurea, Florida Beauty needs bright indirect sunlight to maintain its leaf variegation. Watering: When summer you can water it twice or three times a week. But during the rainy season better check and wait for its topsoil to dry up before watering.  Soil Mixture: Best to thrive with a mixture of loam soil, pumice, coco peat, coco cubes and vermicast. Propagation: Wait for its aerial roots to get activated by navigating the roots toward the soil before cutting.