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Post by davx on Dec 24, 2012 22:53:26 GMT
Sorry, it seems that my previous posting was misleading. I only intended to say that it might be possible that in future people will feed petunia flowers... chances that it is suitable or not are 50%.
More clearly and in detail: At the moment my gut feeling says no, because in past I had the impression that it could be toxic. However I didn't do some literature study for verifying the usage of this plant nor is actually the correct time for me to try it out myself: I have no degus anymore and it doesn't look bright for the closer future.
For experienced owners I would say, try it out carefully. But I think here and at this moment - most of you have just started with trying out fresh flowers, herbs and so on and collect experiences in this new, exciting field - it is better to try out the plants first, we do know better and we know, that they are good for degus.
For dried flower/leave mixes, in fact I sold some occasionally, but only here in Switzerland. At the moment I only have some bulky shrub leaves, I probably make a gift for close friend chinchilla owner or I donate them to our guinea pigs.
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Post by lessthansign3 on Dec 26, 2012 21:39:26 GMT
Thanks for the advice That's interesting that you keep Impatiens wallerina there. I didn't know they could be grown indoors, but it makes sense. In the US, it's one of the most popular flowers to put in flower beds because they tolerate shade well and they're very colorful. Come spring and summer, you can buy them at any garden store. I plant them in a window box on my porch railing and I'm going to plant more of them in a flower bed under a tree that I can't get much else to grow well in. If I manage to have a good harvest by next fall, I can possibly sell some of the extra. I'll have to see how it goes, and it will largely depend on the weather - if we have a summer like the last one, I may not have anything left over after I've dried and stored things for my own degus for the winter. Minnesota didn't even get it as badly as the rest of the country (a little ways north of here, in Duluth, there was severe flooding, in fact) but it was still incredibly dry and I actually gave up on my garden partway through the summer last year for a number of reasons, one of them being the weather (the other being the stupid pumpkins that accidentally started growing out of my compost and taking over everything, then didn't even produce any decent sized fruit). So, we'll see how it goes, but I'd be more than happy to share the fruits of my labor if all goes well
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Post by ntg on Dec 27, 2012 16:09:21 GMT
I know it isn't exactly the right place to put this, but as you've been discussing the suitability of some plants, how about Christmas Cactus? Does anyone know if it's safe and, if so, well liked by them?
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Post by davx on Dec 27, 2012 16:43:34 GMT
lessthansign3I assume that many weeds growing in your garden or in nature making good houseplants for us here in Central Europe, UK and so on. I spend my holidays on the Canary Islands twice this year, once in spring and once in autumn and it was really exciting to see all this plants in wild and in the gardens I only knew as houseplants. In fact many of them do well and even grow better when we put them outdoors with pot during the summer. Winter is always a delicate season for me and my plants as I fear that they don't survive, grow too fast and too instable or dry out. You mean Schlumbergera? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SchlumbergeraIt isn't toxic, but as I know there isn't much known about this plant. I may ask other animal owners if they have experiences with this plant.
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Post by ntg on Dec 27, 2012 17:20:42 GMT
Yes, that's the one. I couldn't see anything about toxicity when I looked but it's one of those things I'd rather have another opinion on. If they proved to be quite good then they are very easy plants to grow and flower very well.
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Post by davx on Dec 27, 2012 17:39:37 GMT
Try to give them a flower or so and observe them. Flowers should be unproblematic. For the leaves I have more concerns, because there aren't any experiences and leaves in general contain more toxic or problematic substances. But it seems at least, that in one case where a rabbit gnawed the leaves. The rabbit did well.
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Post by ntg on Dec 27, 2012 18:32:34 GMT
The leaves have a distinctly waxy feel to them so it would probably be tough to digest for most animals.
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Post by davx on Dec 27, 2012 19:51:05 GMT
I know the plant but I never had the idea to feed it to the degus.
I did some additional research and it seems that free ranging rabbits nibble on this plants (stems), they are considered as possible pest species.
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Post by dyzired on Dec 29, 2012 0:58:10 GMT
I've never planted anything before.. But I saw a few plants at a local Walmart that the degus may like.. Question though...if I bought one.. How to I go about making sure its okay? Do i replant it in organic soil and then let it grow for a couple months? Or what? Thanks!
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Post by lessthansign3 on Jan 1, 2013 17:16:28 GMT
If you're buying a houseplant from Wal Mart, then you might want to replant it in organic soil and let it grow for a month before feeding it. If you're buying an actual edible plant, then you shouldn't have to worry I've been buying all of my houseplants from the co-op which does everything organic so I never worry. I'm going to try the Christmas Cactus flower and see how it goes. I think I read somewhere that tortoises like them. Also, all of my flowers are wilting now so it's a good time. I hope I can get some more blooms out of it!
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Post by davx on Jan 1, 2013 21:56:10 GMT
I'd prefer cuttings, especially for non organic plants. I think this should also work for christmas cactus.
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