Tropical Garden #91 - February 2011

Gordon, I got 'Stuttgart' cannas from Van Bourgondien. Twice! I e-mailed them after the first set didn't develop variegated foliage. Debbie VB wrote me back to say that the variegation is caused by something called a "chimera" which is a rogue gene of some sort. It can lurk, then suddenly turn up - but I waited 4 years.They sent me more at no charge, but they didn't work either. As you say, they could have crossed somewhere . . . who knows. If I keep them in pots, my others don't cross, but in the bed, they do seem to come back in spring with different color combos of reds and yellows. Maybe I'll try 'Stuttgart' again some time, but I just ordered 'Durban' for my vairiegated foliage fix. My daughter grew it last year and it has wild red, pink and green striped leaves plus a great orange bloom. We'll see if I can keep it under control!

HollyAnn, I am a diver, too! We like Grand Cayman 'cause it's only 90 min. on the plane from Tampa. They have a cool botanical garden there, too! It took a lot of damage from Hurricane Ivan the year before we went last, but we are going back this May, so I hope it will have recovered.

This photo of me (in the blue jacket) was taken at Selby Gardens a couple of years ago.

Oh, the pretty ones just keep commin'! Thank you for sharing with us, Dyzz!

So, here's a dumb question but . . I'm a newbie so I'm allowed.

What's a "noid" ?

dyzzy, that is a beautiful looking iris there..
All of you look so beautiful and I wish I could say I have been diving or to some island but , I can say I have been out in the snow all winter! LOL
"noid" means... there is not a tag that says it is what it is so it is a NOID>
that was what I was told any way, and like you, I am a newbie. You are a little newer than me right now, but if ya keep asking questions, the newbie part of ya will change to OHHHHH GOT IT and things like that. ;D
This is just the bestest bunches of people here, I sure miss Rita, and hope she is okay.

Shoveled snow all day today.

NO IDentity

I was wondering about Rita too, actually we have a few MIA's...I'm sure the weather.....and not much new to show blooming.grrrrr,.
It is 33º here right now. Both weather websites I checked didn't show anything below 39 here.
I had to run out and cover a bunch of stuff at 5:00 this morning. Good thing cause we got a frost, but I have potted stuff out under the trees I hope is going to be ok.
Here's a pretty JMG blooming inside under the lights.

Dyzzy, How great diving is. Such a wonderland down there. I have not gotten to Grand Cayman, yet. I don't dive often but I do love diving. Wish it was so easy as a 90 min hop over to a tropical island for me. I was a volunteer diver at Adventure Aquarium for several years. It was great fun and a good way to get me in the water and practice my skills but even that was a 2-3 hr one way drive.
How about a pic of my Red Castor Bean from last summer. I got so many comments on this plant and I saved a lot of seeds from it. If anyone would like some?

A closer look.

That is beautiful! well, the morning glory and the castor bean both.

mj: Wow, that Morning Glory bloom is stunning! You had frost last night? You're only @ 25 miles northwest of me but just that little distance does make a difference. Our lowest temp was 40ºF. The weather reports stated it was going to be 39º here and I was concerned because I didn't move or cover any plants. I'm glad it didn't drop any lower than it did. I just checked and it's up to 58º now. A nice thing at this time of year, it warms up quickly once the sun is up. I guess we are supposed to have a few cooler days/nights before spring actually arrives. The weather is so weird lately. It was 80º Monday and yesterday our high was only 59º ... what a difference! I know we could still have some cold nights until early March. I remember one year we had company in town from Michigan for the Daytona 500 and it was rainy and cold ... they were shocked saying they never thought it would be so cold down here in late February.

HollyAnn: That Castor Bean is a beautiful plant! I've "thought" about trying that one over the years because I love the looks of the foliage but I've held off because it's a Category II non-native invasive here in Florida and I'd be afraid of it taking over the yard.

My Cordyline that's in a container on the south side of the house came through the cold winter with flying colors:

Dracaena, the tag is long gone but I think this one is "Lemon Lime"?:

Your castor bean is really gorgeous. I've never seen the flower before - the seed catalogs sell it as a foliage plant.They're pretty humungous, though, aren't they?

I've got a few nasturtiums in bloom - seeded them in November in hopes of the mild winter the weather gurus forecast. Well, it's been better than last year . . here!

The nasties just gave up pouting about the cold weather last week. Then I had to cover them again last night so they'll keep blooming!

Luckily we only went down to 43deg. We moved here from Utah 9 years ago so my sympathies to the snow shovelers! Debra, the iris is Louisiana Iris "Black Gamecock" and it is even darker purple than the photo shows. They bloom in April here. Probably would bloom soon in your greenhouse, too.They're on my "haves" list if you'd like to try some.

I have several plastic salad bowls - $2.99 from Target - with the iris in them. No need for drainage as they love wet feet. I keep them in the shade on the north side of the house, and rotate them out to the sunny step by my water garden, so I have a succession of blooms instead of just a week or two. That's a hazard of blooming bulbs down here - once it warms up in spring they are so fleeting!

This picture taken 20 min. ago.

Lin,
My mailing address is Deland, but I'm really closer to Deleon Springs, about 7 miles north of Deland. I always use my Deleon Springs when I am checking temps. We also are 1 1/2 miles off the paved road. NO concrete anywhere around to hold heat.
Google satellite shows the property...it's a really old ( about 8 yrs ago image) I wonder how often they update those images.

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=com.yahoo:en-US:official&client=firefox&q=google+map+4311+McCorvey+Rd+deland+fl&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=4311+McCorvey+Rd,+DeLand,+FL+32724&gl=us&ei=L8VSTY6tLIK78gal-7iMCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQ8gEwAA

Lynn, That lemon-lime Dracaena sure is pretty.
The Castor Bean is a beautiful plant mine was over 6ft and I have seen them taller in more southern climes. I am going to try and start mine earlier this year see if it gets bigger for me. The flower spikes are beautiful. It is highly poisonous, all parts of the plant are poisonous so you must give that some consideration if you are planting it as well as the size. Up here invasive isn't a problem. I have a large rock pile at the edge of the yard. Last year I planted two of them in the rock pile this year I am going to plant a few more in there looked very nice. This is before the Castors were high enough to be seen.

And here is another

No I sure wouldnt Ive got tons from mine last year.............lol

mj: Oh, I understand now ... Deleon Springs is a bit farther north so I guess you would be a tad cooler out that way. Sounds heavenly ... no concrete nearby!! I'd love to live in the country!

I forgot about Google Earth! We've used it to look at our house and friends and relatives places.

HollyAnn: I'd love a rock pile like that!! Those Castor Bean plants look great there. Yes, that plant (every part of it including seeds) is highly toxic ... anyone who has children and pets should steer clear of that one.

Osteospermum that I planted in the garden recently, can't remember which one it is:

This Osteospermum is 'Serenity Lemonade':

Close up of the sunny yellow bloom:

We get a lot of comments on our rock pile. Have had a few people visit that thought it was such a nice landscaping feature. Really just a large pile that I hope someday will be used when we put in the pond. I weed around it and mulched planted a few plants around it and Wala a landscaping feature. LOL

I love landscape features like that one ... very natural, looks like it's meant to be there!

They came from the neighbors land. The house and pool you see in the background. When they put the house in they piled up the rocks at the edge of their property and I went over and marked what I wanted and their landscaper moved over what ever I wanted. They really are huge and if we never do use them for the pond I think they look pretty good where they are. LOL

Very nice photos, lifts the spirits here in the 16 high temps for the day today.
I sure do love castor plants, I have seen them get 20 ft tall in another dgrs yard. Mine have never gotten that tall.


Eye candy from 2007.. my star gazers asiatic. They sure have multiplied. I can't wait to see them in July. They always pop open on the 4th of july.

Lin, this osteopurnum here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8363066
is one of my favorites, and I have a name of it somewhere..
I just love those things. Mine bloomed all winter last year down here, and then when I put it outside in the spring, I lost it somehow.
This is an alba moonvine, inside. It is waking up again in this room..

here it is outside yesterday afternoon, it snowed overnight so is alot deeper, but you can see the black beaded purse here on the table..

I keep all five of my i batatas going every winter, they go dormant, then they wake up.. here is blackie waking up.. he doesn't look very black right now.

I love that rock pile, it would look good out here somewhere.. I would be digging a large hole and having some water trickle down it somehow, like at the wichita garden show.. There in the corner, in front of the porch rail,
is a very large rock.. which can't be seen easily right now.

I just love the osteopurnum you know in my garden they are one of the last plants still looking good in the fall. Some of them even outlast my Chrysanthemum. Hate the $4-5 price on them though I only ever get a few and place them in my Lamppost bed where I see them all the time.
Here they are last summer with some nasturtiums, snap dragons and variegated sedum

Holly that looks so pretty ! Snaps down last long down here in the heat, I sowed some osteopurnum African moon, in the greenhouse. I'm going to try them down at the front where it's No man's land, since I've heard they are good for hard to grow in spots.
It's raining here today, we so need this rain we've been getting lately to make up for what we did not get last year. Maybe this is a good sign for spring !

Lovely little bed, Holly. That's a really pretty peachy nasturtium - do you remember the variety?

As with a lot of temperate perennials, here in FL they get too wet in the summer, I think. I've had a bit of success keeping snapdragons and nasturtiums going when I started them in pots and let them bloom through the spring in the sunny area, then move them to a shaded spot in the middle of the day and stays pretty dry - on the south side of my huge bamboo clump has been great. I sheared them back and didn't water them at all last summer, and they survived and bloomed again in the fall. Then the frost in December got them! Arg.

I started more seeds in November, though. They are worth it just for the spring flowers. Things that say "full sun" like some shade here in the hot, humid summer. It's a greenhouse out there!

Thanks dyzzy, That bed is right beside my front walk. No just that it had variegated leaves.

Holly: That is really pretty, love the Osteospermums! I've had a few that grew as perennials, coming back each spring, but last spring only a couple came back and they were kinda spindly. I guess our historically frigid winter all but did them in and I doubt if I will see any older ones re-sprouting again after this cold winter. I bought the Serenity Lemonade and the white one a few weeks ago and got them in the ground right away. I was out in the yard yesterday and a mole or something is uprooting them, and they are raggedy looking, grrr! I wanted to buy more to plant but need to take care of whatever is tearing them up first, I hate spending good money on a plant to have critters eat it or dig it up.

Gee, I check out bloom of the day almost every day here on DG and I don't think it will take much to get me hooked on Daylilies!! http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/botd.php?date=2011-02-09

I had a neighbor tell me they wouldn't do well here but I've found out that isn't the case at all ... I may be in big trouble! I've been lurking on some websites and was stunned at the price of some of these beauties ($100, $200 and up, Yikes!) I can't imagine anyone paying that kind of money for any plant, but I guess some folks are collectors! There are some Daylilies that are fairly reasonable @ $10 and $20 each and that is more reasonable if they are perennial.

This is one of my favorite Osteospermum from a couple of years ago. I love the colors in these blooms ... just like a sunset, and the name is Osteospermum 'Astra Sunset Purple':

Another Osteospermum from a few years back ...

And, this one I had in the garden planted with the white ones a few years ago. This is the photo I'm using as the screen saver on my laptop ...

Lin, I could easily send you some day lilies this summer. I have several varieties but I couldn't name them now.

Lin, I really like the yellow with purple center Osteospermum

I might try and grow some from seed this year. They are considered a premium annual up here and go for $4-5 dollars apiece.
Just a few pics I have more.

I grow several Daylily's...what I think is important to make sure you get varieties that do well in southern zones. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow.

mj: I've never grown a Daylily and don't know anything about them but someone mentioned that I should make sure I get evergreen or semi-evergreen types that will do better here in the central Florida climate.

Lin, I've had no luck with the osteospermums either in pots or in the ground. Do you have them in the shade or sun? Special potting mix?

And don't those nurseries charge a bundle for daylily starts, too! I've had sporadic luck with a some daylilies even this far south. They seem to like being on the north side of the house where they are in the shade all winter, so get a little more chilling until the sun comes back and hits them. Had a few bloom all the way from late March through July last year. Maybe if we keep having these cold winters they will continue to increase.

I can't offer divisions yet, as I'm still filling up my daughter's garden (my "summer" garden) in Salt Lake. They bought a brand- new house on a bare lot of baked clay, and we have shaped a perennial garden - started with a pickax to dig holes, and 22 loads of compost from the dump. But it still has some gaps that a daylily can always fill. When it's just too hot to work in my garden here, it's a relief to migrate there and be able to work outside comfortably for most of the day.

I think this one is "Lady Lucille"