Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Tropical Garden #86, 1 by plantladylin

plantladylin wrote:
mj: I'd love to get together sometime in the spring when the weather warms up! You are only about 20 miles from me and it isn't a bad drive out International Speedway Blvd. at all ... so it sounds like a plan!

Wow, It looks like your barn is full of plants ... that Brug is beautiful! I've never had much luck with growing them, and yet I know they do really well here in Florida. I've had two in the ground for a few years now and they've never grown much. One actually got fairly large and bloomed about 5 years ago but suffered greatly in last winters freezes, I'm surprised its still alive at all, and one that I received in a trade a few years ago has never gotten more than 2 1/2' tall and has never bloomed. Of course it might be different if I was more attentive ... they stay in the ground and right now don't look too happy. Because of family illnesses/deaths I've been away a lot the last 2 1/2 years and our yard has suffered from lack of care. Last winter really did a number on everything and many plants didn't survive the freezes. This year weeds have seemed to take over the entire front and back yard so I have a lot of landscape renewing to begin in the spring.

Brr, we sure have had some cold temp's early this year ! It was predicted to drop to 25º here last night but I never saw it get below 32 and I checked the thermometer a few times during the night and early morning hours. I saw a photo in our paper this morning of a Fernery over your way, a field of tree ferns with a thick layer of ice covering them. I feel so bad for people whose livelihood depends on crops. I read a few years ago that Central Florida is the "Fern Capital of the World", and something like 85% of the ferns that supply florists in the U.S. are grown here in this area. Citrus growers are probably worried about the weather too ... I'm sure the crops have been affected somewhat and depending on what the remaining winter weather brings, the cost of citrus will skyrocket in spring. It's always a strange winter sight here in Florida, seeing crops frozen under layers of ice from the irrigation systems running overnight to protect the plants from getting below 32º.

Well I guess I better get off this computer and get busy. We have 3 December Birthday's, an Anniversary and Christmas. I still have a little shopping to do so I'm heading out again into the 45º cold! LOL, I'm not really complaining ... and I know this isn't really winter compared to the blizzards some are experiencing! I really don't know how y'all handle all the snow, and especially the ice! I hope everyone has a great day ... stay warm!

Lin

This is Hoya australis ssp. tenuipes out on the deck. The flowers of this plant have such a wonderful fragrance in the evening and at night! The deck is completely covered in tarps, and the plants are all covered in blankets so I lifted the blanket and used the flash to get the picture. The fragrance is overpowering if the plant is inside the house. Last winter I had one small plant in the bedroom, one little bloom and it was so strong I had to move the plant out of the room to be able to breathe at night.