Re:happy henna plants
Posted by Natasha Papousek on November 29, 1999 at 17:13:12:
In Reply to: Lawsonia inermis posted by Dave on November 25, 1999 at 16:27:19:
OK. I live in sunny, warm and HUMID Austin, Texas and my 3 henna
plants are thriving. Even though it's been getting down to 40F at
night and only up to 70F during the day (sorry to bring that up,
Northerners...)
They prefer the really hot weather and put on their major growth
spurts over the summer when it was insufferable for humans -- 105F w/
100% humidity. And they like to be kept evenly moist or even soggy.
I would guess that their original habitat is near springs or rivers or
other places that have reliable moisture, probably within the coastal
plain of the Mediterranean.
I've tried limited experiments with the leaves. It's true that leaves
crushed in a blender with a little lemon juice will create a lovely
red stain, but I haven't been able to get the pieces small enough to
create lacy designs. And I've tried making henna vinegar -- a jar of
henna leaves and cloves with red wine vinegar and left in a sunny
place for about 2 months. That really boosts the color, but isn't
acidic enough to use w/o lemon juice and it smells like vinegar.
Maybe in the spring I'll try more experiments. When they really truly
will need pruning. Right now I can't bear to snip my babies...
PS. I got 2 plants from Companion plants (http://www.frognet.net/
companion_plants/) and 2 from Richters (http://www.richters.com). All
have thrived here. I gave one plant away to a henna teacher.