Hello Everyone!
plantladylin, you know that I am enjoying your pictures, I too, love Crotons. I have a couple of them and find Andrew to be a slow grower, which is good for a small garden. I love the copper leaf plants as well but have to cut them back quite often.
This is a Dombeya
Joeswife, I love that MG and the Hibiscus, unusual colors.
This is from seeds that you sent me, I know that it is something unusual, and am very excited to see it taking off. What is it?
HollyAnnS, I love that potting bench. Your dh did a great Job, it looks real sturdy. You have your work (fun) cut out for you with all those seedlings.
My marigold and zinnias usually reseed for me, but I might have to buy new seed this year, so far I have not seen any of them.
dyz, that is a beautiful coleus, I hope that you find inky fingers soon. I am happy to say that my Lotus came back, and my waterlilies are blooming. How are yours doing?
This is Caiathea Zebrina, the man that I bought it from said that they grow wild in Florida. If anyone spots them, send me a d-mail, I will be on the plane with my shovel. lol
slsharris, Welcome! I found most of my abutilon at Home Depot.
bloom
Homer1958, She is a beauty!! I am keeping my fingers crossed that your warm weather continues.
Are there any pups as yet?
GAgir1066, sorry I missed your Begonia Orange Ruba, that is special!
Don't forget to show your new Medinilla bloom, I cannot get them to live, after trying for 3 or 4 times, they are expensive to boot.
Ginger
RachelLF, this is my Philo. Verrucosum, small but healthy!
First bloom of my 'peach' plumeria opened today. The red bleeds into the yellow as the blossoms age, so they do look more peachy.
Smells so great!
Not a tropical, but I think they look a lot like orchids.
Nasturtium 'Black Velvet'
Here's the last of my Callas, with a calendula keeping it company. They usually bloom through the winter for me, but this year . . . the frosts in December really set them back. Now the bed they are in is shaded in the afternoon by the big clump of bamboo, but still they only last a few days. The calendulas really went to town, though. They don't mind cold weather.
This is the only begonia I've been able to keep going in the garden - 'Dragon's wing' or 'Dragon's blood' In any case this poor dragon is in the full blazing afternoon sun these days! Hence the little leaves and many blooms, I guess. The big brug used to shade him nicely until evening, and he was happier then. Hopefully the brug will leaf out and return to a semblance of its former glory.
Well, I don't know what happened to my post.....
Rita, LOVE the Caiathea...beautiful purple color!
dyzzy...love your plumeria too!!
Well, I don't know what happened to my post.....
Rita, LOVE the Caiathea...beautiful purple color!
dyzzy...love your plumeria too!!
Rita: That Dombeya is beautiful ... as are the other blooms pictured with it! That's a nice shot of your Calathea, wish I could keep them happy. I've been in Florida almost 45 years and I've never seen any Calathea growing wild here but I guess it's possible in the southern part of the state where so many tropicals are weeds to folks down there. Love that Philo Verrucosum ... very nice!!
dyzzy: That is a most beautiful Plumie ... I can almost smell the fragrance over on the east coast! I had about a dozen plumeria and gave them all to my neighbor last year except one. It's just now sprouting new leaves on the bare branches and I saw what looked to be an inflorescence forming. I think the one I kept is a white/yellow color bloom and it smells wonderful as most Frangipani do! I've never tried Nasturtiums but that one in your photo makes me think I might want to try, LOL ... nice color! Your Begonia looks great and it looks to be the Cane/Angel Wing Begonia 'Torch': http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/98012/
My Ric Rac Orchid Cactus buds are getting close ... I can't wait for the blooms to open!
White Oleander:
Caladiums are popping up here and there ... this one is in with my variegated Schefflera ... same pot the Oxalis is growing in.
Spider Plant and Tradescantia growing under a tree amongst the weeds in a corner of the backyard. I've never been able to keep spider plants looking decent in hanging baskets but when in the ground they seem to do real well.
My Easter Lilies are finally beginning to bloom ... seems later and later every year.
Lin,
I'm the same way, had a bunch of 'babies' so I just planted them in the ground and they have been there for 3 years now. Survived the last two 'cold' years we have had, so they are pretty hardy. I thought they had been wiped out this year, but I noticed last week that they are coming back again. It makes a very pretty border!
Our friends who lives about a mile from us have many huge Live Oak trees in their yard and they used to have Chlorophytum/Spider Plants as borders around the oak trees. A lot of folks here in the south use variegated Liriope/Mondo grass as edging, but the spider plants do make nice borders too. The few I have in the ground came from a hanging basket that was in the tree ... same with the tradescantia stuff ... fell to the ground and took root. My yard is such a mess, so many weeds. The area where the Spider Plants are growing is being taken over by Cherry Laurel seedlings ... thousands of those little trees are everywhere along our fence line and now taking root in the yard ... I think I'm going to have to dig up plants I want to keep and mow in that area.
Rita, Joeswife..could the caudex be either Ipomea albivenia or plantensis
Hoya compacta variegata soon to bloom...........
Rita, love your P. verrucosum. Mine came from a very special friend so it's my favorite Philodendron of all. I think I also see a Philodendron black cardinal in that photo as well?
dyzzy, nice Calla lily and Lin, I am still looking forward to seeing those blooms from your Ric Rac.
Mjs, super nice Hoya var. compacta and I think I see a bloom already on it. You will have to show us a close up from it as it looks to be a beauty.
Hoya lacunosa 'Royal Flush', is a dependable and very fragrant bloomer. I can not capture a good photo of white flowering plants at all with my camera.
Rachel,
Does it come out of hiding in June and go dormant in August? I think that is a really cool looking plant.
prita -- the abuliton in Home Depot must be a regional thing -- haven't seen them up here. I should save my pennies and next spring do a road trip down south and get some interesting things at ordinary venues!
I have recently found some plants and lots of seed for them on eBay.
Sharon
MJ: Very nice variegated rope hoya! I have the solid green one and it has buds along with a couple of other Hoya's. I found open blooms on Hoya obovata this morning ... will have to go out and take a few pic's.
Rachel: I have a couple of Hoya lacunosa, one with the silver splashed leaves like yours but the tag is long gone ... the name Royal Flush does sound familiar though. I've only had one little lacunosa bloom in over a year! I've never heard of Pinellia cordata ... very interesting!
Buds on Hoya carnosa compacta:
Buds on Hoya wayettii:
Hoya obovata blooms have opened!
Looks like one bloom will be open tonight on the Ric Rac Orchid Cactus! This is the beginning stage, I will have to make sure to watch the progress and get some pictures tonight ... and also get a whiff of the fragrance.
Ok ... I gotta get busy around here and stop playing on the computer, LOL.
This is a tiny bloom on the purple Bromeliad:
Lin, that Ric Rac is fabulous! Do you hang it so that the rains don't soak it too much? Being a cactus, I'd think it doesn't like being too wet?
I grow the nasturtiums through fall/winter/spring as annuals. They usually give up during the summer. But this is the best time to get seeds, so I just save the seed packets and start them again in the fall. They're so easy, drought tolerant and flower generously. I just tuck a few seeds into pots of things that are dormant. They keep a lot of color going in the garden through winter as long as you can keep them from freezing, and give them a sunny spot. Winters have been pretty bleak the last couple of years even 'way down here in the Sunshine State. The nasties and calendulas carried me through - along with all the wonderful greenhouse shots on DG.
The color palette has really expanded from the old blazing orange, yellows and mahogany.
Do you ever use nasturtium blossoms and seed pods in salads? They are edible, and, as I recall, a bit peppery.
Sharon
dyzzy: The Ric Rac Orchid Cactus hangs out in the same spot on the pool deck year round but it's potted in a very fast draining, chunky mixture of probably 90% orchid bark mix. I don't water it very often at all so unless we have rain it stays pretty dry.
Love those Nasturtiums!
Sharon, I have tasted nasties in salads, and the flavor is sweet and peppery. They can be quite hot, in fact. My dh likes eating them but I prefer visual enjoyment.
They make great cut flowers, in fact there are a few in a vase on the kitchen counter now.
I had a start of the Ric Rac plant last fall, but I have lost it. It was laying in a pot - and making roots! - with something else that got moved. It will very likely turn up when I get poked by its thorns out in the garden somewhere!
I just found another cactus out in my jungle - Dragon fruit, climbing towards the top of the fence! That vertical stem is new since I saw it last. Hope it blooms this summer! Wonder if it is related to the Ric Rac? Flowers are similar in shape, and it has the same evenly spaced little thorns on the stem/leaves.
I never hear of Ric Rac's before last year and all of a sudden they have gotten easy to find around here. One local nurseryman brings 10" baskets of them back from FL and he can't keep them in stock. They are gorgeous plants.
This is Red Buttons hoya at Marie Selby Botanical Garden
dyzzy: The Dragon Fruit and Ric Rac are both in the same family - Cactus, just different Genus. Ric Rac is Selenicereus while the Dragon Fruit is Hylocereus, there are some in Plant Files with photo's:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/b/Cactaceae/Hylocereus/none/cultivar/0/
What color is the bloom on your plant, is it fragrant? Is Dragon Fruit a night bloomer like Ric Rac? I received a cutting of a Dragon Fruit Cactus in a trade once that I rooted but it disappeared ... don't know if it died or if a critter dug it out of it's pot.
ardisia: That Hoya pubicalyx 'Red Buttons' is gorgeous! I have a couple of H. pubicalyx. One I received as a cutting in a Hoya co-op from Australia in (I think) 2008. It's supposed to be Royal Hawaiian Purple but someone said it looked more like Red Buttons or Pink Silver. I still have it labeled as RHP because the new foliage is real purple like RHP is supposed to be. It has buds right now so I will be posting a picture of the bloom when it opens. I also have a very large pubicalyx that is probably Pink Silver that I received as a small plant in a trade a few years ago ... it's grown and grown but hasn't bloomed yet!
This is the bloom from my Royal Hawaiian Purple last year:
Homer, thanks, it makes it's debut in early April and is gone by the end of May.
Lin, keep on sharing those blooms from your Hoyas. I've became a little fond of these plants and I hope you get some more photos of the Ric Rac as well. My Royal Flush has been the best blooming Hoya I have.
Welcome, slsharris/Sharon.
My dragon fruit cactus hasn't bloomed at all yet. But I do believe they are night-bloomers, and the flowers are white.
beautiful, thank you for sharing your beautiful blooms everyone.
