Not sure what you are asking?

They way your stems criss cross. I also see these grown with stems that are curved and look like the tree from Dr. Suess. How is that achieved?

It must be a trick of the angle of the pic. There's a shorter stem, then the taller stem splits into 2 but they're not crossing. DH went somewhere with our camera. If he comes back while I can still edit this, I'll add a pic from a diff angle.

The curved/bent Dr. Seuss plants manifest from leaning one way for a while (usually toward brighter light,) then leaning another way for a while. I do that to them on purpose often, to the progeny from taking cuttings from the last-pictured plant, but that one is kept as an upright specimen. Sometimes leaning is from top-heaviness combined with weaker stems (from always being inside without any wind to force stems to become stronger.)

So if I want my stem to eventually curve then I basically just need to keep if facing in the same direction? I think the curved stems look so cool.

Your plant looks so healthy and now that I look more I see the shorter stem.

Yes, or do something more forcibly manipulative. Here's a shot from the left side.

And a closer view of the top. Ignore the Spanish moss that I didn't mist enough to keep alive this winter.

I'll take some pics of funky, manipulated trunks tomorrow.

Please take pics so I can see!!!

What can I do "more forcibly manipulative"?

DH still asleep so I don't want to open the door yet, but forcibly manipulate could be anything you do to artificially alter a plants' shape. Plants can be tied, wired, forced to lean by not being turned, planted sideways so they turn upward, wrapped around a pole. I'm sure most of the ideas come from bonsai, with a little Axel Erlandson (arborsculpture,) thrown in for good measure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_shaping

http://www.arborsmith.com/

The biggest step forward you could take in your quest to be a manipulative person ;-) would be to gain a good understanding of pruning and why plants react to pruning as they do. The habit of the aeonium in the picture below is to grow a rosette at the end of a long stem and branch occasionally. http://img02.elicriso.it/es/como_cultivar/aeonium/a-zwartkop.jpg By 'chopping' the plant back to very near the soil line and rubbing off buds that occurred subsequent to the chop in places I didn't want them, I came up with this:

So, the top of the plant was chopped off and buds rubbed off where they weren't wanted. That's pretty forceful.

I've posted these pics several times, but a bonsai practitioner uses wire in several ways to bring about an image (s)he sees in the plant. This tree has been grafted, defoliated, wired, chopped back, and guy wires applied to bring about something that in a few years will be a composition very appealing to the eye. The tree below was completely defoliated only minutes before the photo

Then, it was pruned hard and wired.

F benjamina ^^

Pinching is a form of manipulation that changes the way plants normally grow. Removing apices (growing branch tips) activates latent buds behind the pinch. These coleus are a trailing/cascading variety with long internodes, but pinching can make them very tight. Examples of 'pinched' plants:

4 kinds of mint ^^

one of the duckfoot coleus ^^

Streptocarpella ^^ is a pendulous plant, normally

Pilea ^^

Not everyone interacts with their plants on the same plane, and learning how to manipulate your plants so they are more attractive or even quirky, and in some cases healthier, is a step toward greater potential for personal rewards from the growing experience. For many of us, just 'growing something' doesn't offer the challenge or fulfillment we're looking for from the growing experience, so we look for something more.

Al

Thanks Al. Ive got a Schefflera I've been dying to prune I just wasn't sure how to go about it. I've got the watering, light, and soil down so now pruning is next up on my list!!!

I know what you mean by looking for something more!!! I get very picky about how my plants look!!!

Very interesting article Tiffany! I would love to try "bending" on my Draceana. Now I'll be spending my day reading up on pruning and manipulation!!!! You guys rock!!!

This bend was created by planting this trunk sideways last summer. The tip wanted to grow upright, and created this turn.

These bends were created by not turning the pot for long periods of time. I've manipulated them to cross in places.

Same with these trunks, from leaning toward the light for long periods.

Lucky bamboo (D. sanderiana) being wound around another trunk. This may end up being pointless. From what I can tell, D. sanderiana never lignifies.

I love it. I don't think my Draceana is big enough yet though. Im gonna start by not turning it for a while.

That should get it started leaning!

I keep taking cuttings from this pot to put in ground for summer & it keeps growing more...! Tradescantia cerinthoides, Tripogandra, Swedish ivy (Plectranthus verticillatus,) Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Coleus.

I showed this pot when the TC was blooming, the EC just bloomed.
5/1:

5/11:

Coleus & Tahitian bridal veil (Gibasis geniculata.)

I've probably showed this before, so an update on succulents in wire pot lined with landscape fabric:
Parlor palms with Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Begonias, variegated lucky bamboo (Dracaena braunii,) Ficus.

For whatever reason I tend to stick to 1 plant / 1 pot but I really enjoy your combinations Tiffany, year after year. Thank you for continuing to share with us!

Daniel

New hanging pot I put together last weekend, all from cuttings. Still
needs more stuff in the side holes, waiting for some mama plants to grow
more to lend cuttings to fill them. The ornamental purslane (Portulaca
umbraticola) and wax Begonias didn't stop blooming.

Beautiful

Al

A couple diff Philodendrons, a little Syngonium (arrowhead vine,) Begonia, Tradescantia zebrina (WJ,) Plectranthus verticillata (Swedish ivy,) Callisia repens (inch plant/turtle vine.)

I repotted this Dracaena 'Janet Craig Compacta' a few months ago (only the trunk is visible behind the other plants) & had put its' potmates elsewhere at that time. The other things at the base have been added as cuttings in the past few months, Schefflera arboricola (dwarf umbrella tree,) Begonia 'Castaway,' Hoya 'Chelsea," Alternanthera ficoidea.

Begonias, Swedish ivy (Plectranthus verticillatus,) A few pieces of Hoya. What I envision for the future is the Plec dangling down a couple feet, with the Hoya & Begonias coming up. I also added some Portulaca umbraticola (ornamental purslane) cuttings in side-holes under these plants, but they aren't big enough to stick out well yet. This is the sunny side, turned around for the pic.

Hoya, Coleus, Peperomia cuttings, put together about 2 mos ago.

This 1" pot has a Sempervivum or Jovibarba, sprig of watch chain platn (Crassula muscosa,) leaf babies of Sedum rubrotinctum, 2 tiny bits of mariner's Kalanchoe (K. marnieriana also sold as K. panamensis,) and I've lost track of who's in the back.

Here is a pic... I dont like to see soil...I follow Tiffany for design ideas. This palm is 7 yrs old and very healty.

Hen and chicks....A very cold and heat tolerant plant. Does well in this west window and for outdoor containers. Any standard potting soil is ok with

good watering skills.

A few different Philodendrons and a Pothos (Epipremnum aureum.) It's time for a BIG trellis.

More stuff added, more blooms on this one:

Porch tree combos as a group.

The whole thing of pot shown partially on July 2, 2016 at 11:48AM

So beautiful

TYVM! Here are a couple pots I put together yesterday.

Strawberry pot with various succulents. I've been wanting one of these for a long time & DH showed up with the pot! The top has Kalanchoe longiflora & 'Fang,' a Jade, Graptosedum, trailing Jade (Kleinia petrea.)

Various smaller stuff in the side-holes. This was put together from existing, already-rooted plants.

Kalanchoes & more ornamental purslane (Portulaca umbraticola.) I think this thing was for trapping & observing insects. Much better as a planter, IMVHO. The mesh isn't quite big enough to insert stems, but easy to snip where I want to put them. I'm going to do the sides much more solidly from the top-down, but got too hot to keep at it yesterday. Some of the top plants already had roots, some are cuttings. The Portulaca on the side is all cuttings. I love how they keep blooming while taking root. Also needs a more attractive mode of hanging than the piece of rusty chain... a work in progress.

Starting to look more like it did in my imagination when I started the last pot.

An update on this pot (from 6/10 & 7/23.)

I love your pots. How did you make them?

You have a great imagination btw.

TYVM! I'm not sure how to answer the question?

An update on pot put together on 11/15/15

A new pot put together this past weekend. It has trailing Jade (Kleinia petrea,) starfish cactus (Stapelia,) and Gasteraloe that already had roots, with cuttings of Plectranthus and Euphorbia tithymaloides (which pouts dramatically before taking root.) Also needs a more attractive hanging apparatus.

Your pots look like you made them. Like you used something that wasnt a pot.

Mostly purplish-red:

Looks 'bland' without more flowers - the variegated leaved morning glory has usually pale pink flowers pictured below:

Jamila, IDK what that metal/wire basket was created for...? It's 10-12" across the top, 12-14" tall, and the top is wider than the bottom. Stainless steel, I think? I'm wondering if it came out of some kind of freezer. I put a piece of landscape fabric on the bottom and window screen around the sides, on the inside. I snipped holes on 2 sides and stuck smaller plants & cuttings through.

The green basket thing is a plastic storage caddy. It has the handle & 3 sections, each with a hole in the bottom - obviously meant to be a planter, IMO, IDK why they were calling it storage caddy. LOL! I haven't had time to stick anything through holes snipped in the side of that one yet, also lined with landscape fabric.

Rina, gorgeous!! I love the top pot soooo much!

Thank you Tiffany...

Here is just a close up of one plant - pops up everywhere it likes to :) - Talinum paniculatum - Jewels of Opar ( this one is growing with Suromatum venosum; the large leaf belongs to another plant). Very tiny flowers, hard to get a photo:

This coleus is very red in lots of sun, with a Senecio cineraria (dusty miller), Oxalis 'Iron cross' and another volunteer Jewels of Opar (green leaves, not blooming yet):

Tiffany, very thrifty and creative!!!

Rina, I have & love jewels of Opar too! The Coleus & dusty miller combo rocks! The Coleus nearest the screen in the last pic looks like 'Henna.'

Here are a couple pots I put together this past weekend with plants that were in the ground where I want to move my greenhouse. I've been clearing that area.

Ledebouria socialis and kirkii bulbs with Senecio crassissimus and Kalanchoe rosei.

Pencil plant (Euphorbia tirucalli,) donkey ears (Kalanchoe
gastonis-bonnieri,) flapjacks/paddle plant (K. luciae,) K. crenata, K.
blossfeldiana.

The other side of the caddy pot.

Put this group in a bigger pot.

It's been raining so much lately, I decided this guys might prefer to get back into a pot. Jade, Kalanchoe, an Echeveria cutting that needed a home.

I put this together yesterday. The wrought iron wine rack thing had just been hanging around in the shed waiting to do something. I found a pot that fit down in there & added various already-rooted plants and cuttings. I'd like to get it hanging eventually, so the danglers can dangle. The Begonia cutting is staked because it wants to wilt.

Schlumbergera truncata with Begonia 'Medora' cutting added a couple months ago.

I knew this needed to be repotted because of the leaf tips and knowing how long since the last repot. After sitting on the ground for a while, I went to move it and realized the roots were really getting comfortable there. Will be doing that very soon.

Some porch pots. If separated, we'd be looking at around 20 pots instead of 4, going by type of plant. If going by number of individuals, IDK, one would be counting for a while, and getting a whole lot more soil. The pot at the right end was repotted 3 mos ago and left under trees in the back. Picked it up to bring out front and add trellis yesterday & realized some Pothos were MUCH longer & taking root in the ground.

From the other side.

Tiffany, I would love to just sit on your porch and enjoy a sunset with your beautiful plants!!!
Do you ever do that???

TYVM! I don't do that as much at this house, too many mosquitoes. Someday porch should be screened...

Yea those pesky mosquitos will run you off. Is it very humid where you live? I sit in my front yard in my lawn chairs. Its a few mosquitos but not too bad in our dry Texas heat. Its the flies that run me off!!!

Yes, humidity is usually 75%+, near FL border.

Put this pot together this weekend. It has Aglaonemas, Neoregelia, Callisia congesta & elegans, Plectranthus amboinicus, Rhipsalis teres, Peperomia verticillata & dolabriformis, and Begonia 'Castaway.'

An update on this pot.

I wish i could steal some of your humidity LOL

Your Begonias are so beautiful. I always kill them!!!

Purchased pot of Peperomia prostrata about 3 mos ago, and about 2 mos ago added stems of variegated zigzag (Euphorbia tithymaloides) and lucky bamboo (Dracaena braunii.)

Dracaena marginata & red Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) trees
with a big air plant wedged between their trunks, sticking straight
toward the pic. It has grown a lot of new leaves over the few months
I've had it. These trees need repotted so badly. You can see some compromised "indicator" tips in the upper L corner of above pic, a sure sign the roots need attention.

This crazy pot has creeping Charlie/Swedish ivy blooming (bottom R corner) and ornamental purslane (Portulaca umbraticola.)

Being potted on 8/12 didn't bother these plants at all. Ledebouria bulb is putting up a new bloom stalk.

Combo pots put together from plants that were in ground for summer. They were where new GH is going to sit, so they came up a bit early for here.Various succulents, sun-lovers:

These were getting sticky stuff dripped on them from the trees they were under, so they're potted already too.

Palm & Dracaena 'Rikki/Ricky' with some Begonia cuttings, an Aloe that's about to bloom, a little Gasteraloe.

Various Chinese evergreens (Aglaonemas,) Callisia congesta & variegated C. fragrans.

I kove seeing your combo pots!!! Simply beautiful!!!

Combo pot with orchid, Rhipsalis, a rhizomatous & some wax Begonias is doing well.

Plants that needed to get out of the way of my greenhouse being moved.