I think you are both angels! I'm glad you are both members of the site, and I think it's so cool that you live so close to one another that you can spend time together often! 

Kym, enjoy growing that papyrus!  

Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator

SKBeal's Snazzy Tr

wanna party s'more ?????? LOL I have been thinking of some of the plants we saw and I passed up... and I still need to go back to the local nursery...wanna come ??

"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"

Why do I hear such sarcasm in your writing ?? and I am sorry, Susan, I am more of an ANGEL then T is....she is one of those quiet ones you have to watch out for...oh, wait..did I just say T is quiet ??? NOT !!

Giving you plants doesnt mean I am well behaved, or not behaved....and I am not the one that fell asleep the other night and didnt get back online...ha ha

"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"

Really, Tatyana? I thought Kym ALWAYS behaved well! She has to behave nicely! If she didn't, wouldn't she be setting a HORRIBLE example for her kids? 

Kym, Tatyana is trying to rat you out! Are there some secrets you two are harboring that I should be filled in on? 

Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator

SKBeal's Snazzy Tr

Tatyana, King Tut is taller than I thought it would be! It will grow to 4 to 6 feet. The giant one (the seeds I sent you is extremely tall. The link you posted said that one gets as tall as 120 - 180 inches. 120 inches would be 10 ft. I would love to try the other two award winners. The dwarf one that only grows to 1 1/2 to 2 feet looks like it would be a lot of fun.

Although the site mentions that these are annuals except in zones 10 and 11, I honestly think (and I've had experience doing this,) that you can grow it as an evergreen (or perennial) if you grow it as a houseplant.

In all seriousness, I would love to try the others. I wonder where I could find them. If I manage to get the others, we should root cuttings for one another to swap of all the different varieties, don't you think? I'd share with you, too, Kym! 

Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator

SKBeal's Snazzy Tr

Tatyana, if I am not mistaken, Cyperus Papyrus is the actual one that Egyptian papyrus scrolls are made from, and that's what I was told the seeds that I sent you were! 

I still say, as Kym did, you ought to buy all of them. I have so little room around here that I'm sure my husband would wrap any papyrus around me to tie me up if I started bringing MORE plants in the house. I have always had a profound interest in ancient history, so the thought of being able to make a papyrus scroll really intrigued and continues to intrigue me.

I've made paper before out of cotton and flax. I've made Japanese paper using Kozo which is a Japanese mulberry tree. The Japanese method for making paper is still very old fashioned. They don't use machines because apparently a machine couldn't break down the fiber the way heavy mallets do.

Kym, after you get the cutting from Tatyana, keep the cutting in water until it starts to sprout more stems. You'll want to grow it in a swampy like environment. When I had mine in Iowa, I grew it in a container that had feet at the bottom. You want one that doesn't drain because the papyrus will need lots of water. Keep it in a bright location. I don't know whether it's like other tropical stuff that doesn't like the intesity of direct sun in the summer time. I grew it in zone 5 as a houseplant, and had a friend who did the same with amazing success. He kept it in a window that faced east, but his window was shaded by the black walnut tree where I got the nuts to make my ink. 

Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator

SKBeal's Snazzy Tr

I want it, since I was with you when we bought it..then we can both grow more and share !! LMBO !!

 Susan, there were THREE different kinds at the nursery...I think Tatyana NEEDS to get the other ones, dont you ?? Since I bought more plants then her today SHE needs to even it up, right ???? Ha ha

"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"

Okay, I confess, Tatyana! I DO want some Cyperus Papyrus badly! If you give that to Kym, I certainly expect her to raise it so she can make papyrus scrolls from it! Are you okay with that Kym? I'll come up with something so you can write on it! It's the coolest plant ever! I used to have some in Iowa! I grew it in a small amount of dirt and a lot of water -- kind of like a swamp! It was really fun to grow! I never knew that you could take cuttings and turn them upside down to root them! 

By the way, it's not the leaves that make the paper; it's the stalks. They are sliced open and there is a gelatinous material inside. You use that as the glue to hold the pieces of the papyrus scroll together.  

Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator

SKBeal's Snazzy Tr