Tropicals & Tender Perennials: 'Phoenix' bird or paradise, 2 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Yup, I think they getcha one way or another on things like property tax and utilities.

Phil the term "dry lover" and also "drought tolerant" on plants is a relative term here in FL and sort of misleading. Our sandy soil drains and dries out extremely fast, so drought tolerant plants do great when it rains buckets. They will survive with little or no water, hence the word "tolerant" but they won't look beautiful. I've seen people bringing dessicated plants back to Lowe's, whining "but the label said drought tolerant!" so they had just thrown it in the ground and left it to its own devices. Those labels should read "drought tolerant once established". It's virtually a desert here in April-May and October-November when the sun's hot and it doesn't rain.

Now it's June, and when the sun's out it's a blast furnace, plus the days are long so the plants will grow inches per day with good water. They'll survive, but can't use all that heat and solar energy to grow unless they have enough water. You should think about increasing your irrigation times for the weeks ahead if it doesn't continue to rain. Your bougies would take this much water right through the summer and do fine mainly because they drain between the rains. If we had heavy soil it might be another matter.

Our "normal" summer pattern in years past was a downpour every afternoon, and all those dry lovers (really dry survivors) grow and bloom and thrive if it does that. Maybe we'll actually see that pattern a little more often this year . . . sure would be nice!