candela, that is a Phlo. Warscewiczii, they are really fast growers.
The colors that you picked for the house will fit pefectely with the tropical look of your landscape.
Kay Jones, in the five years that I have been on Dave's, I bet that I have shown every plant in my garden. lol
homer1958, not having a sprinkler system, I too, have to lug the water hose over a acre starting at 4:30 ( best water pressure and cooler then) every other day (I'm not complaining though).
How is your A. Sarian doing after repotting?
Plantladylin, Good to see you!! Please visit often.
ardesia, thanks, I blew my montly plant allowance on that one plant but it was worth it.
Your Willies Gold is looking mighty fine!! That one is my favorite. I will be happy if mine looks half as good as your's by October.
Rita,
Yes, Put the Alsobia in a hanging basket, "Momma" and "Aunt" are 4-5 feet long respectively.
Well, I still get to whine a bit about rain, although we did get a taste this morning. It rained moderately for about 10 minutes. My cisterns gained about 3in. of water, and the rain barrels are all maybe 1/3 full. But at least the whole yard got a decent drink. Looking at the radar, there is more coming towards us, but will we get it??
Rita, your red plumeria is gorgeous. I lost one like that to the two bad winters. The little plumeria pudica you sent me is doing great as are the costus starts, and firespikes. Little Maya cutting is still struggling but putting out new roots now.
Debra, your cannas will take all the sun you can give them. Get some tall ones and they'll make some shade for you, too!
Rita's little orphans flourishing - thanks again!
Or Debra, just start one (or a row?) of these brugs near that sunny fence. You'll have shade in a month! (the bamboo pole is 5 ft. high)
I am clearing acreage for this baby in the front yard. Took out 4 old palm stumps . . . maybe it won't outgrow that space until next year.
White Monster is not as tall, but just as wide - big lush leaves!
I got a good buy on some 'ground orchids' yesterday. The label on them says Epidendrum Fulgens "Full Sun". That can't be right, can it? I was hoping to add them to my new shady border area.
I am so impressed with how fast everyone's brugs grow. I have a neighbor with a tremendous one but all mine just sit and sulk. Maybe they are hungry.
This little syngonium always surprises me each year. I thought I lost it last year and it came back and I was sure it was gone after this past winter but, once again, it popped up to make me smile. The picture is kind of pale, I spilled iced tea on my camera the other day and it is not doing too well.
A young Begonia 'Irene Nuss'. That is a 6" pot it is growing in, the leaves are tremendous as are the flowers.
Ardesia, it seems some brugs are a lot more vigorous than others. About the same time Debra sent me the starts of the ones above, I got a 3in. start of 'Charles Grimaldi' as a gift from my kids. It's had exactly the same treatment as the other two, but is now only a foot tall and has one rosette of leaves about 10in. across. So don't beat yourself up, just get a cutting of your neighbor's big one, and go fir it! I like to start my cuttings in water, and don't pot them up until they've got lots of roots, especially at this time of year.
That being said, mine are getting lots of water and fish fert when the weather's hot and sunny.
if anyone wants some large brugs, I will send them in a mailing triangle ... Maya and kaitlyn have buds again, but triple digits and high winds don't make them too happy.. the hedge behind them used to give them some wind break.. I like the idea of cannas, and hubby says plant the bamboo that is creeping where it shouldn't all along that fence, he has given his blessings on the bamboo fence cover, so that is what I will try. caNNAS ARE ON THE NORTH oops.. he made me some range jello to help me CHILL today.
Love that white and green arrowhead, ardesia. and I hope my Alsobias do something. moving the special tropicals to the front was a good idea to start with this spring. I am glad those babies are out there.
So, Maya takes full sun? I have so many brugs, can tell which ones like sun and which don't. None of them like the wind. I have a nice sized Frosty pink, ardesia, that blooms alot.. if you want one. dmail me.
I'm not sure I'd plant a runner bamboo there, Debra. Considering all the wonderful care you give your garden, the bamboo will be constantly popping up in your flower/tropicals border. Unless you put in a concrete barrier, it 'runs' towards the water and fertilizer every time. Maybe put it in some pots along the fence as a temporary screen? Tie the pots to the fence so they won't topple over, and it will make a pretty windbreak, and give you shade fairly quickly, too.
We could wish it would head over and invade the neighbor's space, but that area where they took out all the trees and overgrown shrubs is probably pretty depleted, not to mention full of tree roots etc.
And yeah, git those cannas out in that blazing sun, girl!
there was a posting on craigslist of someone with some old concrete fish tanks/ponds very large and long which would be ideal for running bamboo, of course the boo wouldn't grow as tall or spread out as much but it sure would make a great container for running boo. Now I'm starting to wish we were in our final home so I could start collecting again.... DH is glad we aren't...LOL
Jan
Running bamboo can really wear you out running after it. There are beautiful clumping bamboos but they do take a few years to really get going strong. I have one that is now 12' tall and very full but it took 5 years to get there.
For a quick fix, how about some string or bird netting tied between some tall poles with some vines that grow rapidly like MG's or something.
I am going to feed my brugs some fish emulsion today and see what happens.
Help! This is the pot of 'ground orchids' I got yesterday. Went to look them up in Plant Files, and the pictures of Epidendrum Fulgens there doesn't look like what I have here. These leaves are dark green, with vertical pleats - they look a lot like aspidestra foliage, only smaller. Can anybody ID this?
If they are what they say, I think I'm heading back to the nursery to see if there are any more. I have a great spot for them.
They might be Bletilla's, but there are several that look close.
http://www.orchids.org/species/genera/B/Bletilla/striata/
Thanks, ardesia. That looks more like what these are, not what's on the label.
ardesia,
Joeswife swears by Tomato fertilizer for the brugs. I give mine that, just probably not enough. Tho I really think
Brugs just hate me. I can NEVER get them to bloom like every one else does.
I have a friend who does nothing, and I mean nothing for her's and they bloom like crazy.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
On the up side, we got RAIN TODAY, and good rain ! ... I'm a happy girl...Oh yeah....doin the happy dance...
LOL, we obviously have the same issues with brugs.
Lucky you on the rain, we keep hoping and it rains all around us but it is still so dry here. Thankfully the fires seem to be under control, we have gone 3 days without smoke now.
ardesia,
Really, this had been the pits...I've been so over the top with the rain issue. My pastures look like crap. Normally, we are spending 6-8 hrs per week just mowing. I haven't even pulled the big mower out this year. Now that's scarey.
I really really hope that this dry streak is over. Having lived here since 1978, I cannot remember it ever being so dry, even in 1998 when we had even more terrible fires. I may regret this later, but I'd not be unhappy with a Tropical Storm right now. Our well, which has Never had that awful sulfer smell, is smelling pretty bad right now. That is really unheard of for us. It's always been crystal clear, drink it right out of the hose good.
we were blessed fri, sat, sun, and even tonight with rain..... hurrrrraaaaayyyyyyyyy.
I'm so thrilled and it has really changed the temps now.... I don't really mean that it was so hot that I felt like I was going to melt... it was warm, but this now is perfect for me... as I'm always getting cold (thanks to my thyroid issues).
Jan
mj and ardesia, I have found that there are a few brugs that will perform immediately, and a few that do not. The fast performers for me here are Kaitlyn, Frosty, Cherub, Dola, and flamenco.. They love their foilage sprayed at night, and it keeps the bugs off.. If you have sprouts up the stems, pull them off by snapping them up and then down, stick those in some rooting soil, ( take the large leaves off) .. I learned these things from a DG'r who no longer is a member, but when she comes to visit me, she shows me what to do. If your brugs are covered with leaves up the trunk, strip them off by pulling up and then down to snap them. do not cut them off. Energy is needed for the blooms, and if they are putting out new growth every where but the top, you won't get many blooms. This is Betty Marshall from last summer, she was a bare stick the first year, then she grew alot of growth, and then she got stripped, and then she Y'd, and then she bloomed 4 times in one summer. I fed her tomato food with every watering, and ken's mix for the foiliar spray. Hope this helps.
dyzzy, that is a great looking "ground orchid" I hope mine gets like that soon..
today I moved some vines to the south fence, we will show them who likes to see the pretty stuff..I also moved some tall growing prennials over there.. soon it will be all fluffy, just have to be patient now..
My sarian is getting really big, it is in the bottom tub of a new half barrell tri planter .. I keep finding caladiums and little EE's popping up again this year, I pulled one from a hanging mg planter, I really think these things grow from one piece of root if left in the soil.. LOL
This is Bonnie's Monster white brug..
Debra, I am always so impressed with your energy level. Taking special care of all your plants has got to take more hours than there are in a day. :-)
I have been using the joe's mix spray but I am so afraid of using anything stronger with the soil so dry. If we get any significant rain my hungry plants will get fed. The irrigation system is just not doing what we need right now, I'll run it for an hour and maybe the soil will be damp for 1/4". Worst part is I am running it everyday ($$$$$) just to keep the soil from crusting over. If we ever get enough rain the soil should be able to absorb it. Even sadder, they are getting rain all around us, it is just these pockets of drought and that is where I am planted. lol
I am with mjs, just a small tropical storm would be nice right about now.
Finally !!! We got over 1 1/2 of rain yesterday. And it's cloudy today and we're supposed to get more...hopefully it doesn't go around me.
Ardesia you are right you just cannot water properly with the hose.
Debra...Brugs are "Strippers" ? LOL.....
I sat outside in my chair and watered almost 2 hours last night. The areas were; 50x10,30x5 and a quarter of a circle,(at the corner of the house) that is about 40' in dia. I have a fireman type sprayer on the hose that I set between a fan and straight stream. I point it up in the air and the water comes down on the plants like a medium rain. (A cat that adopted us sits the entire time with me). this is the best way I have found to duplicate the rain. It's boring, but at night,all the "nightlife" comes out and "talks" to me. Of course the water has a chance to soak in from about 11-on!
Very nice homer, which one is that? Will it get even bigger?
Ga Girl, I am hoping for 8-10'. It's one of my three Alocasia Borneo Giants. The leaf I am standing behind is 42''x 27''. They are throwing leaves about every eight days(right now), of course, the sun is heading toward fall and those days to new leaf will progressively get longer. Who knows though, it could hit 12'. It is in the spot for maximum sun through fall!
I am going to experiment with this huge 45 gallon pot with A. Portora. The soil is fertile, yet drains well. We placed it in the pot on Saturday this past week from a 22'' pot. The soil is drying out(little by little), and the Petioles are staying rigid with no yellowing of older leaves. Good signs for no rotting of roots! "IF" all goes well, I should see a 7- 8' foot Portora with huge leaves in the fall.
Those are fabulous, Drew. Did you have to get a forklift license? Holy cow that's a big pot! You installing a glass roof on the garage for winter,too? I don't think that pot's going into the guest bathroom.
The last week or so, I was doing the 'raining' technique you described, to get some water to my staghorn up in the big oak tree, and also make the tree fern happy. But . . . finally I've turned off all the micro-sprinklers and can put away the hose.
It is REALLY raining here, finally. Everything's getting a good wash down and it has lasted nearly an hour, now. Over the weekend we only had about 1/2" of rain, as the big showers seemed to skirt around us. Hopefully we are in the moisture stream now. My rain barrels are all overflowing, and I'll bet the cisterns are getting near the top, too. Phew!
I agree on the tropical storm, ardesia - although a small one would do. We need a good long soaking here to get out of the 'extreme' drought category.
Elaine I was hoping you would come up to Nawth Carelina and hep me get it up the stairs!
Drew, you are going to have a MONSTER Portora come Fall. Seriously, you won't be able to move it at all without powered help. The trunk could get about a foot in diameter and the leaves, well, you'll see! I've seen how big they can get in pots that size - that's why I refrain from potting my biggies in such large pots. I'd have no room to walk around! Imagine a Robudora or Imperial Giant in a pot like that - I don't have to, as I've seen how big they can get, even when restrained. Oil up your chainsaw . . .My Borneos in the ground can get up to 6 feet of clear trunk about 1 foot in diameter pretty quickly (not one season, though). Hope your fertilizer budget is ample.
Hey LariAnn,
What size do you think my Borneos could be (leaf and petiole)? I don't expect to have a trunk, however a small one would do! I can't imagine a Robudora or Imperial Giant in a pot like this... Definitely MONSTROUS! I would be watering all the time considering the drought we are in.
60% chance of rain tonight... We need it!
Google "tree dolly" and all sort of carts will come up. A friend has one and moves tremendous pots into her GH each year. I heard a talk some time ago on growing bananas in marginal zones and the speaker had a tree dolly himself. All his bananas, some 20" tall, were in 45 gal. pots and he moved them indoors to a tall GH each winter.
They are not cheap but straining your back isn't cheap either.
Hey Drew,
Bring it down here, I have a GH and would be glad to 'Keep' it for you.
Holy Smokes.......it's gonna need it's own "Personal Greenhouse" Hope you get rain !! We got a nice light rain again this afternoon.
I got a lotus seed pod from one of my favorite nurseries. (I did ask) What do I do now? Break it apart and let it germinate? Any one here have lotus? I posted it on the water garden forum.
X has had good success with lotus seeds.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1175312/
1/2'' of rain so far since 7:30 PM!
I love your plants, Drew. Mine are tiny compared to yours. I water rain style at night also. I love watching the bats and the big sphinx moths..
102 tommorrow, 104 thursday.. I need a swim!
