InnerPathsToOuterSpace

This is pretty much what I thought but one can dream. Still a win though, it'd suck to have even more plants stripped from our rights. Banning nature is beyond dumb...

Good stuff Torsten, you're a legend. It'll be interesting to see how all this pans out. That's what I was thinking also but I'm not too great with the ins and outs of import law and knowing where the lawful ends and the unlawful begins. Either way, a definite win and step in the right direction!

Hi fellow corroborites, I am having a few problems in my little outdoor ethnobotanical garden. First off, my caapi that was initially growing quite fast when I first put her outside in a shady spot has started to show stalled growth and hasn't seemed to grow at all in the last few weeks or so. She was chucking out a new pair of leaves or two at least every week when I first got her... One thing I have noticed is that when I have been checking her pot for moisture in the soil with my trusty old bunnings moisture meter, the top layers dry up quick but the bottom of the pot seems to always be wet. Could this be the cause of her woes, should I repot her up in a shallower pot? Also, my p.viridis is starting to drop some of her old growth and get blackened tips on new shoots that haven't separated from each other. She hasn't seemed to have the same soil problems as the caapi but she is in a smaller pot. I always try to keep her soil moist but not wet as I know she likes it moist. Maybe she isn't used to the new humidity (she was from SAB in the greenhouse which I'm guessing has higher humidity than her new home) and is acclimatising at the moment? I am still a plant newb and my green thumb is not there yet so any advice from experienced plant heads would be appreciated

Damn you and your temperate climate! I'm starting to struggle to keep some of my more temperate friendly plants from wilting big time. Sub tropical is annoying once summer starts peaking her nasty head around the corner.

Yes, I have my fingers crossed. The caapi was difficult to get out of the pot without messing with the root system, I tried to keep the soil/rootball system as intact as possible but a little chunk of root section did break off, but only a small part compared to the main root system... lesson learnt and green thumb still developing Now I know what not to do next time, learn by my mistakes and all that jazz. Cheers for the helping hand mate!

Here's a pic of my girls all mulched up: I also took both of them out of there pots as my moisture meter showed completely wet bottom soil. I took the soil out and mixed it all up with the dryer top layers so that it all was nice and moist throughout but not wet then topped with an inch or two of washed river stones. Hopefully I didn't disturb the root system on either plant too much... Time will tell. Thanks again gtarman for the advice!

Okay gtarman, I shall go with your advice. I might take her out of the pot just to get rid of the wet soil at the bottom and maybe put some extra river stones in there and make sure the bottom soil hasn't gone bad but I'll keep her in the same pot with the added mulch on the top. Thanks again for the advice champ!

Cheers gtarman, thanks for the great advice. I will get some river rock ASAP to mulch with and keep the moisture up in the soil. I think I'm going to still try and find a shallower pot for the caapi that hopefully still has a similar diameter to the one she is in, she will be okay with a repot yeah? I remember reading that the caapi root system is pretty tough when it comes to repotting, etc. Yes, these plants are really rewarding to grow, I'll keep adding to the collection as money allows and I do want to get a second caapi to put in the ground. And Wandjina Gardens is a half hour or so drive from mine so no excuses! Thanks again gtarman! P.S. I already had some rocks/gravel in the bottom of the pots of both plants too.

Here are some photos. P.Viridis blackened tips on new growth: P.Viridis currently: B.Caapi currently:

Cheers Alice, I will take some photos when I get a chance and put them up. It's been getting hot the last few weeks, early summer by the looks of it. Temps getting close to and sometimes hitting 30 degrees celsius. I'm going to try and find a shallower pot for her as it seems the extra soil at the bottom is not doing the root system any favours. (I'd put her in the ground but I have my wifes grandmother who likes to come and tinker in the garden sometimes and I'm afraid she'll think it's a weed and might pull it out). As for the viridis, she is in organic compost/perlite mix and I fertilise with a seasol/powerfeed combo.

No, I didn't actually. But I will be visiting again in a month or so and will probably pick one up then. I was stoked to get a nice sized, established psychotria for an awesome price and it's doing well next to my caapi in my little outdoor garden in the shade. I saw so much stuff that I would've loved to have bought but funds were tight. Amazing nursery and spot though, even if I didn't buy anything it would've been worth the visit and interbeing was super friendly and you could tell he is passionate about what he does there. A good friend of mine lives nearby in the Koonyum Range so I'll probably pop my head in on a semi regular basis whenever I'm visiting him.

I visited Wandjina Gardens for the first time today and brought home a nice size P.Viridis and a baby San Pedro to add to the family. I must say, Wandjina Gardens is a beautiful nursery in a beautiful spot and an awesome selection of ethnobotanicals at great prices. The staff member that was on site was super helpful and friendly too. I'll definitely be doing many more repeat visits in the future, I can't believe I didn't visit sooner, seeing as it's only a 30-45 minute drive from home.

This doesn't surprise me. The whole area operates on a different energetic level. Every time I visit the area I feel energised for days after I get home. Here is a pic from the outskirts of the Joshua Tree National Park when I visited in 09: The American (well, Californian) desert is a beautiful place.

Thanks gtarman, I shall organise a visit to Wandjina gardens real soon! The caapi is in the shady spot outside now up against a fence so she can use the pickets to climb against. New budlet shoots of leaves are growing as we speak and she survived a windy arvo/evening unscathed in her little alcove yesterday. Realised that the seasol I have is already enhanced with powerfeed so will give her a feed within the next week or so.

Hi my fellow corroborites, I went on a day trip yesterday to Nimbin as I hadn't been there in ages despite the fact I live close by. It was a beautiful day and I came in over the ranges from Mullumbimby area which is a route I'd never taken over a windy narrow mountain that came out from behind Mount Burrell/Sphinx Rock, lovely scenic drive. I was browsing the colourful shops in the Nimbin township and came across a plant stall in front of one of the shops and thought I recognised a San Pedro cactus and what I thought looked like some Banisteriopsis Caapi also. Enquiring within confirmed that fact so I snapped up one of the Caapi plants for a good price. She was a little ragged from probably sitting out on the street for who knows how long but has quite a few shoots that have potential of new growth. Here she is: Currently she is in a 15cm diameter pot and is around 40cm tall above the soil line. I have a few plant newb questions: 1. How long will she be happy in this size pot if I put a trellis in for her to climb up, can she still have vigorous growth in the size pot she is in already? 2. How often should I fertilise her at the size she is at and is the seasol I have on hand a good fert for her? 3. As you can see in the photo, she has a secondary vine that to me looks like it doesn't have any new shoots or means for new growth, can I cut this back or does it serve a function to the plant or will start growing at a later date? Thanks for reading and I look forward to some friendly advice

Awesome gtarman, cheers! On the majority corroboree vote I think I shall make another visit to that colourful little nearby town very soon to grab another caapi to chuck in the ground so I have both bases covered. One in a large pot for if or when I move and another in the ground for the long haul and to unleash mother aya's true growing potential. On another note, can you still visit Wandjina Gardens by appointment, does Torsten sell bigger caapi plants etc on the premises? It's so close by, I'd love to see where the heart and soul of SAB really lies.

Cheers for the advice tarenna, much appreciated!

I'm almost of a mind to go back to Nimbin next week and grab another one as well as a San Pedro. I could put one caapi in the ground and another in a big pot and see how they both do and that way I'll always have one big one to take with me. I also have one from SAB but I didn't realise until recently that they need a much bigger pot than the one she came in so she's been healthy but root bound all winter and I only just put her in a bigger pot We could live where we're at for a long time as it is a beautiful house and spot, it depends as my mother in-law is living in NZ currently and is not sure how long she'll be settling over there. Could be a year, could be ten.

Cheers IndianDreaming, I was stoked to find her sitting out the front of a shop. I guess that's Nimbin for ya! I live on the coast in far north NSW. She is indoor at the moment but there is a perfect spot outside in a garden corner under a big old tree and some shrubs that gets plenty of shade all day and filtered sunlight under the canopy, maybe a bit of direct sun in the afternoon if at all. I'd imagine it'd go crazy climbing the trees trunk. I was thinking to put her in as big a pot as possible because we are renting, though it's my wifes mums place so there is a bit more freedom, but she isn't ethnobotanically minded so she might just think it is a weed like vine and pull it up if she is visiting as she likes her gardening (so does my wife's grandmother). If it's in a pot I can always take it with me if we move and it isn't likely to get messed with by anyone as it is purposefully in a pot. If I pull the plant out of the pot so soon to check on the roots will it shock her?

Great photo mate! Every time I've been out on the tip it's been infested with bloody flies. Beautiful and silent the whole way out along the neck and then you hit the end and it's peak hour in the fly CBD, ha ha. My aunty and uncle live near the base of The Pinnacle south of Tyalgum, I've always stared in awe at that great, hulking land mass since I was a wee lad so it was real special to find make my way up there last year... I had been wanting to my whole life. Only took me 30 odd years or so of living in the region. Interesting little side note: my aunty told me a story recently that there is a cave underneath the Pinnacle and she knows two separate people that went in sane and completely normal, encountered a screaming, hostile spirit inside and came out absolutely haunted and were never the same since. From what I can gather online, The Pinnacle (Wooroombin) is a powerful part of local aboriginal mythology and forms part of the sacred triangle with Mount Warning (Wollumbin) and Mount Burrell/Sphinx Rock (Njimbin Byorgin) to the south that sits on significant ley line/aboriginal song lines. My aunty also told me that they've seen lots of strange lights at night above the border ranges over the many years they have lived there. My aunty had a close encounter with a UFO a long time ago in the region also, scared the absolute shit out of her. It definitely has a real powerful vibe to it, even without all the scary stories attached. Easily one of, if not my favourite part of the rainbow region.

Absolute magic spot. I've climbed out to the tip of it two years in a row and plan to make it a yearly pilgrimage for myself from now on. Powerful vibes as you climb out along the neck of the Pinnacle and the view is amazing during the whole walk.

Great advice, thanks guys. On a side note, any personal recommendations for a good soil medium for these two? I usually go for a mix of standard potting mix, some cactus mix for quicker drying and aeration as well as a decent amount of perlite but these two species like the soil relatively moist right?

Hi all, sorry if this is an obvious question but the SAB webstore is down so I couldn't look up the information on there and a search on the corroboree forum didn't really give me any solid answers either. I just received two small plants from SAB this morning in the mail, a banisteriopsis caapi and psychotria viridis plant, both packaged well and in great condition. I'm just not sure how long I should wait to transplant them into bigger pots? I gave them a good mist of the top soil and leaves once I unpacked them and chucked them into my small indoor greenhouse which is reading at 26 degrees celsius and around 70-80% relative humidity on my digital humidity/temp gauge.

Thanks for the feedback newageshaman. I'll get onto repotting them in the next couple of days. I've got the flu at the moment, it sucks and I have no energy. I had to throw out my potting mixes I had because I forgot to close them off after potting up a cutting last week. When I came back to the open bags later in the day they were invaded by tonnes of fungus gnats so I had to turf them. Off to bunnings I go when i feel a bit better. I'm guessing a few days in the little pots they were sent in shouldn't harm them at all?

Cool migraineur, I'll have to try this if it happens again in the future, cheers.