Becky's MGs and Other Plants Part 8

Hi Janet! Nice colors on your blooms. Your bloomer is an I. purpurea vine. I grow I. nils because of my zone. (I. purpureas get too aggressive in my garden, so I have to contain them in pots! LOL) Typically the I. nil blooms are larger 4-6" vs. 3" on I. purpureas.

My vines come from seeds mostly from trades here on this forum. Many of the I. nil vines have variegated leaves. I am kind of partial to those leaves, too! :-) Glad you like them as well.

I don't have seeds for sharing yet on these current vines, but will eventually. I do have seeds of other cultivars of I. nils. I would be more than glad to share some seeds with you for postage. Dmail me if you are interested.

Janet - Check out the sticky thread on this forum for information about seed collecting. There are thread links listed with photos to get a visual idea about seed collecting. :-)

Thanks so much Becky for the id and the seed collecting info.

Sending you a dmail.

Janet

Janet - The cultivar of your vine might be http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53280/ or http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/9743/ . I replied to your dmail. :-)

Hi Janet, welcome to the MG forum!

Joseph

Thanks Becky! I think I will stat a running tab for your seeds!! LOL ☺

This message was edited Jul 4, 2009 7:00 AM

Thanks Joseph, it is amazing that it only takes one MG to wrap its vine around ya and now I'm out there looking for more...LOL

Thanks again Becky for sharing you are a gem.

Janet

Wow. Incredible flowers. They are all just beautiful.

As usual Becky, your blooms are stunning!

Here are two different rodent species. A Squirrel and a Fruit Rat. The squirrel will only tolerate the rat at the dish for a few moments and then chases it off. But it will keep coming back. Cute, but NOT! Ha!

And here they are sharing the dish of seeds before the squirrel decided it was NOT going to share and attacked the rat. Didn't hurt it, just chased it away from the dish of food. The rat is why I have Hawks and Owls coming into my yard ...

Thanks everyone! You know if I get seeds from these vines ... so will YOU! :-)

All I have are leaves, leaves, leaves. So impatience. Where are the flowers???

I always use the Bloom Booster fertilizer that you just mix with water and then water around the base/roots of the plants. Usually within 2 weeks I see bloom buds. Are they getting enough sun?

becky:

so is that why you don't get blooms as they need some fertilizer? I have one blooming and the other just growing vine...LOL

Janet

MiracleGro Bloom fertilizer seems to do the trick for me. Just my little garden trick. :-) I know some folks don't like to use that stuff, but I grow MGs for the blooms and seeds and I've been pretty happy with the results. I use the fertilizer once every 2-3 weeks during the growing season after the vine is about 1 1/2 ft. tall. :-) I used to add fish emulsion too, but I can't find it here anymore. For some reason Wally World quit carrying it. :-(

Becky:

have you tried sweet peat (composted horse manure) or mushroom compost? Both are excellent especially sweet peat....

I've got some mushroom compost I think I'll top dress with it on the just vine MG...LOL


Janet

most of my MG's are in sun and I have a few in morning sun. They are wilted looking in the afternoon because of the sun and heat. I have been giving them bloom booster.

Becky this one: I would pay for...http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6774786

Debra - You have good taste! Happens to be one of my favorites and I've grown Keiryu or a Blue Blizzard that looks very similiar for the past 2 years. The foliage is variegated, light green and the blooms speak volumes for themselves. How any of these blooms came to be, is beyond my wildest imagination! But God surely had a hand in it all because who could ever dream up such a beautiful flower??? :-) I have started collecting seeds from that vine, so I hope to have lots to share with everyone - YOU especially! :-)

Incredible MG there and I'm a big blue fan (Kentucky Wildcat Basketball)...

Janet

Janet (and everyone) - My dream for next year is to see many of you growing the seeds from my MGs so that I can see how they either come true or what kind of cross they create ... with a little help from the bees ... and yours truly ! :-) That is the part where it gets REALLY FUN & EXCITING!!! :-D

Becky, I have your Blue Blizzard up, can't wait till it blooms. Hope mine
will be as lovely as yours.

I have several of yours planted, Becky, and everyone that sent me seeds, I have vines galore.. Jamie lynn was the first unusual vine bloom for me outside, I am sorta used to the blue, purple, pink of the I. Purpureas, and that is what has grown out of the seed pot so far out back, I am very excited to see Rebecca, SOH, PURE WHITE, KIKYO , and blue jishi X1010, as they are about to bloom now. Today I planted wedding bells, grey mist, or grey fog .. LOL , and some of Emmas' Yellows.. ( I have NEVER seen a yellow morning glory and I have three kinds so can't wait for that. Wonder what my pollinators will do to thses two( well three) that are growing up my north side of the back porch.. messina creeper, heavenly blue, and Xiongs chinese

look at this leaf

Jackie - Please do post a photo of your Blue Blizzard when it blooms! I want to see how it turns out. :-)

Debra - Sounds like you have some nice cultivars growing! You'll like the Jishi! It looks totally different (blooms) than the typical I. nil flowers. :-)

My official summer break starts today (though I am writing this at 1:30 am in the morning!). I fell asleep after work and just woke up. I was so disoriented and thought it was time to get up for work! LOL! Whew ... that was just a bad nightmare! LOL! Actually summer school wasn't bad at all this year. The kids are the cutest. Though one of my students (who is also from my school class) fell head first into the tile floor yesterday at home and was rushed by ambulance to Orlando (1 1/2 hours away). He was knocked unconscience and then was vomiting when he woke up. Sounds like a pretty bad concussion. I am going to call his dad tomorrow to see how his little boy is doing. His dad offered to bring cupcakes for our last day of school. Even with all that happened yesterday, he still came by with the promised cupcakes and to also let us know what was going on. Isn't that something! I am just praying that his child is okay. It just freaks me out thinking about him getting so seriously hurt. I would appreciate it if y'all would say a prayer for him. His birthday is coming up this week and he will be 5. His name is Ryan. Thanks for any prayers on his behalf!

I have been so busy with school that I haven't had much time for photos. But I did get a few this week and so will post them here. This is a photo of Calystegia hederacea bloom buds. Amazing! This is one of the plants that I "bleached". Seems no worse for that incident. (whew) I can NOT wait to see the blooms on this vine! I am so excited to have flower buds already! Whoo hoo! Thanks so much to Sally for sharing this vine with me! :-)

Hmmm ... I didn't take anymore MG photos this week. Ha!

Okay ...

But I did photograph some other plants that are blooming in my yard. This is a new seedling bloom. Isn't this white Passiflora bloom beautiful? I still can't believe that it bloomed at 5 months old! I don't know what the cultivar is off-hand. Too dark to go outside and check the label. Seed came from Kylie.

This message was edited Jul 11, 2009 1:57 AM

Here is my Tuberose and Crocosmia pot. The Crocosmia are blooming like crazy this year. And I've seen my little hummer at these blooms several times over the past few days! It must be a good nectar plant!

Once the Crocosmia stop blooming, the Tuberose will start sending up bloom stalks. And oh my goodness! do the Tuberose blooms smell divine. It is one of my favorite blooming scented plants! It smells like gardenia, only not so strong. Yummy scent!

Beautiful passi bloom.. Prayers out for Ryan...
Love those leaves on the Calystegia hederacea .
Looka like the bleach helped it LOL

This is my Clerodendrum ugandense finally blooming! Love this bush!

Cashmere Bouquet in bloom. I need to pot this baby into a large container. I can't cut it loose in my yard, but I really love the blooms on this bush!

Pink Blush rose bloom. :-)

THIS here is the exciting news in my garden this week ...

I had a successful go at pollinating a Caladium bloom!!!! And this is NO easy feat either! I am hoping this is a cross of Red Flash x Aaron. :-) I have 2 more seed pods on 2 other Caladiums that are ripening as well! Whoo hoo!

That is the pod/bloom to the right in the photo after the seeds fell off. Cool white seeds, huh?

Debra - I almost missed your post amid my photo posts!

Thanks for the prayers for Ryan. I am worried. He is such a sweet, little guy. That's a pretty bad tumble that he had.

The blooms on the Calystegia hederacea should look like small pink peony or rose blooms! I can't wait to see them for the first time! This is a perennial vine. I'm not sure if it produces seeds or tubers or what ... But I'll figure it out so that I can eventually share this plant. :-) It is a called False Japanese Bindweed. :-)

Becky, is that a Mexican Hydrangea? My neighbor has one and he was going to give me the babies but I hear it sends out runners. Forget that....

Nicole - Yes! That is another name which this bush goes by. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1253/ I love the blooms, but I am sooo afraid to plant it out in my yard. I have the perfect conditions for this one to "run wild" in my yard. I grow it in a pot and I need to transplant it into a larger pot. It has large leaves, too. I never thought of it as a Hydrangea, but yes it sure resembles one! Have you thought of planting one in a pot! It really is a lovely plant! I love mine. :-) I can't remember, but I think I got mine as a cutting or a young start. I think I might have gotten mine from Mittsy. (But don't remember for sure.)

I got a real surprise this morning. Y'all remember the vines I was growing in my window. Well, I have pretty much forgotten about them. I figured they were dying, so I was just watering and pulling off the ripe seed pods. Took a peek at them today figuring they were probably done ... finished. What a surprise I got. Look at this!

Fuji no Monet is blooming again ... AND ... can you see the new seedling in the front. Apparently one of the seeds fell into the pot as I was collecting them. :-) Every one of my indoor vines that bloomed have produced a nice amount of seeds. Much to my total surprise. I am convinced about growing these vines indoors!

Of the 4 pots in my window. 3 are blooming this morning! Ha!

This is Silky Blue from Karen. Notice the ripe seed pods! :-)

And last, Scarlett O'Hara (from Antoinette) is also blooming. :-)

No blooms on Youjiro Chachamaru, but look at all the buds. New leaves showing up at the base of the plant. Renewed life? I don't know. I haven't done anything to these vines except water them. I am rather amazed.

I have 10 seeds from Dany that he obtain on the Japanese ebay. I was planning to plant them outside. But now I think I might just grow them indoors in the window! What do y'all think? If they are cultivars that are really pretty, I might get lots of seeds from them if I grow them inside. I am also thinking of growing Diluted Fuji no Muraski indoors as well since I got so few seeds from that gorgeous vine. :-) Now I just need a bigger window! LOL!

Here are some outdoor blooms. I never get tired of seeing these blooms in the morning. Those vivid blue blooms are just so large and pretty!

Solid Blue Shibori. :-)