Tropical Plants #105

Good Morning Everyone!! Had plans to work out in the yard today and the smoke is so bad today, I can hardly breathe outside. The weather 'liars' (as per Ardesia, LOL) said the wind was changing direction and all the smoke would be gone. HA! worse today than ever. I guess that means I am going to have to go shopping in Douglas (hour away).

Here are two beauties I got yesterday!! I love the curcuma, reminded me of peppermint so I got it. I want to start a garden with the theme of peppermint/candy in the name. That's what we do for a living make peppermint and have a distribution business. So if anyone has any plants with that in the name, I would love to trade/buy a cutting/plant from you.

and a beautiful caladium....anyone know the name?

I was worried about you, the smoke here is horrible today too, my eyes are watering, so I knew it had to be worse by you. For weeks we have had air quality warnings and today, when it is so bad, there were no warnings. Yesterday's paper mentioned that over 75% of the Okeefenoee had burned and that trees were falling down because the peat had burned out from under them. At this rate there is not much left to burn and maybe we will be free of this yucky smoke soon. Kinda sad for the park though.

Your picture reminded me that I have peppermint curcuma somewhere in this jungle of mine. I hope they start blooming soon so I can figure out where they are. I'll keep an eye out for peppermint names plants for you. What a cool business to be in.

I just remembered I had one of these once but it must have succumbed to the cold because I can't remember the last time I saw it.
http://www.xericgrowers.com/store/index.php?target=categories&category_id=234


This message was edited Jul 9, 2011 8:07 AM

Ga... your curcuma is so uique.

My, my the choices of plants when one lives in the tropics....

Sorry to hear about your Okeefenoee and the loss of trees, but nature being what it is, will send out new growth in no time.

Several years back (long time folks) we were on a trip out west and went through Yellowstone and the new growth out there was going crazy as it finally had light on them so they could sprout. As bad as it will look for a short time it will come back.

Jan

Hello Everyone!!

ardesia, I have to compliment you on your photography, that Lotus Emeald Daybreak is a prize winning shot. The Musa velutina are nice looking plants as well, mine did not make an appearance this year.

Franco24, Great choice on your Psychopsis! It is a beauty.

With no new plants to show, I will post pictures of a few of my old reliable Philos.

Joeswife, I hope the tree cutting episode will not be as stressful as the last one, and that the squirrels don't find a new home in your attic or under the hood of your car. lol (happened to me)
Those were very nice pictures of your garden, everything seems to be thriving.

plantladylin, that is such a inviting picture, it is so clean and clear. In every shot I take, I have to move the buckets water hoses, ladders etc. to get a decent picture.
I miss your bird pictures.

trackinsand, your frog picture was just a teaser, can you please share a few more pictures of your garden with us.

dyzzy, I know that I am going to enjoy the baby doll lotus that you shared with me, I read that they can have as many as a dozen blossoms at one time.
I guess you are enjoying another rainy day in Paradise.

Not very photogenic but a cool,easy growing Philo.

RachelF, I just can't hide it I am jealous of your handsome Anthurium chiapensis, mine has a lot of catching up to do. I keep going back for a second look. lol

GAgirl1066, sorry to hear that the pesky smoke is back. Those were two very nice plants you bought yesterday. What did you find today?

This message was edited Jul 9, 2011 3:15 PM

Rita, I like your "cool, easy growing Philo" and really like the plant that's behind it in the picture, with the white blazes on the leaves. What's that??

I'm enjoying the little lotus, but I must admit it's not a generous bloomer for me. Only because of the site of my pond, where it doesn't get more than about 3 hours of sun a day, which isn't really enough for the lotus to bloom well. We also often get clouds in the afternoons here, which further reduces Baby Doll's sun time. I'm going to grow some in a mobile tub next summer, so I can move it around to get sun all day. I'll still keep some in my pond, as I love the leaves, too.

The flowers keep their crisp cup-shape and last for several days, too.

Rita,
What is the 'cool, easy growing philo'? LOVE it! Did you get it on ebay?
Can you tell me how you may your burlap post? What do you put in the middle?
How many different philos do you ?

I didn't really find anything today, just some mark downs at Lowes.

Rita, I second everyone's opinions, that is really cool, easy growing philodendron!

Dyzzy, are you feeding that sweet lotus? I started used the Highland Rim tabs this years and my lotuses are blooming their heads off. You can easily divide your Baby Doll next winter and put a tuber in a small tub, all of mine are in containers.

An Amorphophallus Konjac flower this past late winter. With a seed packet for size reference. Not sure why the photo is showing sideways.

Alice, lotus gets tablets once a month, along with the water lilies. Mine are Lily-Gro - as I had the Highland Rim ones last year and found they crumbled up too easily. They've got to stay together until I can shove them into the pot, or they cause a big algae bloom in the pond when all that fert is released at once. I'm pretty sure it's a case of not long enough in the sun, because the foliage is a good color. Think maybe I should feed it more often in the warm weather?

Do you have a trick for keeping your tub water from getting swampy? Change it often? Mosquito dunks? Fish? I rely pretty heavily on the balance of the pond that keeps the water clear. Fish eat insects and mosquito larvae, plants use the fish waste and make oxygen in the water etc.

LOL, I shove those tabs quickly before the disintegrate. I do not let a lot of water show, I have always kept at least 75% of the surface covered with lily pads or other plants and that has kept my water clear. I do not use filters, just a small aerator. Same thing when I used to have a huge pond. When I was a small child, about 100 years ago, I remember my daddy telling my brother how important it was to keep his fish tank "balanced". Right amount of light, right number of fish and right number of plants, it has worked well for me.

Algae needs light to flourish, when your lotus first come up the leaves float and that covers the water surface preventing sun from hitting the water and growing an algae bloom. Afterwards the standing leaves provide the needed shade for the surface. I have not had any algae issues. I do keep a few feeder fish to keep the mosquitoes down. Unfortunately, the raccoons know they are in there and help themselves so I keep a supply of dunks on hand until I can get more fish.

Another positive to keeping the surface well covered is that the herons do not seem to notice the fish. Living on the marsh, we often see dozens at at time and they sometimes roost in a nearby tree but they have yet to discover the pond right under their beaks.

Hey everybody; Thanks for the support for my brother and family! I am back from B'Ham now, as my brother is in a room and feeling much better! I think I can get some restful sleep now that I am back in my own bed!!!

I see that the usual awesome plant pictures are being shown. I will have some pictures in the next day or two. Right now it's "HORIZONTAL" time.

Again; much thanks!

Good news on your brother, rest up now. Stress brought on by worrying, not to mention the traveling, can really exhaust a person.

Anybody have an IDea what this pretty little blue flower is?

Jan (meadowyck) and I spent the morning at Selby Gardens and I took lots of pictures, but this little fellow fascinated us both and didn't have an ID tag.

They are growing in small clumps. Leaves are only 6 or 7 inches high. Flower stalks are maybe 10in. tall and the flowers look like an agapanthus, only much smaller. Individual flowers are about an inch across.

Is it a variety of Hosta?

I am thinking it is a hosta lookalike but I cannot seem to remember the name. If it is what I think it is, it's often used as a substitute for hostas in the south.

Another clump nearby - flowers are more blue than I remember Hostas being. Leaves are not really variegated, in fact I didn't notice the spots on them until I saw the photo.

It was growing in a fairly shady location under a high canopy of oak trees.

Hello Everyone!!
Thanks for the comments on the cool easy growing Philo. So far, it is a noid. I found it at Miller's Tropicals in Dripping Springs Texas.

GAgirl1066, those post are made from discarded 2"X4"s or 4"X4"s depending on the size of the plant. Wrapped in burlap from Walmart and secured with staples or twine.

tommyr2006, Good growing on your A. Konjac!! I had a bloom once and did not notice the smell, just the beauty of the blooms. What other interesting plants are you growing?


Homer1958, glad to hear that all is well with your brother.

dyzzy, I am interested in making a mobile tub pond as well, and have been following the advice and tips. My big pond is in far back yard and will enjoy something a little closer to my patio.
Your plant from Selby Gardens might be a H. Griffinia liboniana, how about some more pictures from your visit?
http://www.gardinonursery.com/product_info.php?products_id=971


This is a Caricature plant or Jamaican Croton

This message was edited Jul 11, 2011 3:00 AM

Rita, we purchased 350 gallon horse trough from Tractor Supply in Waxahachie. Meets all our needs. I don't how in the world you are keeping everything so beautiful. Water dept stopped by last week to see if we had leak. Had gone 400% over last months usage. Wish it showed.

For those of you that don't know....I live about 10 miles or less from Rita. Am always amazed at her success. and proud for her.

Ha, Rita! I took lots of pictures because, like yours, my garden is in a blooming lull right now. Everything is growing foliage like crazy, after the rain, especially the weeds!

I was thinking to dole out my Selby pictures slowly, as needed when I have a post with another question or ID. But here's another plant that was in the orchid greenhouse, a mass of roots and small leaves hanging up in the air, with these elegant little white flowers. Ideas, anybody?

I told Jan it sure looked like something that would grow on my fence or one of the branches of my big oak tree. Need to know if it's hardy, though.

Close-up of the flower

Speaking of things growing on the branches of oak trees! This is a bromeliad tree with orchids and Spanish moss, oh, and a few oak branches sticking out here and there . . . .

Gorgeous big clumps of broms on there. I wonder if they get blown off in a storm??

Close-up of one branch. In the upper right quadrant you can see a spray of lovely little spidery pink orchids. Look like dendrobiums, maybe?

LouC, I agree, I don't know how Rita keeps all her plants looking so tremendous all the time but she sure has it figured out.

Rita, thanks and I loved all those Philos you showed and I would not rule out the noid being the rare one called holtonianum. Has your mexicanum bloomed yet? Mine did but it pooped out on me before it opened.

Here is my atabapoense. I think it's prettier from behind;)

Drew, it is good to read that all went well with your brother.

Tommyr, good picture. I got a konjac a while back and I am looking forward to seeing a flower. I had quite a few from my Typhonium venosums this past Spring but they multiply like crazy. Do the A. konjacs as well?

dyzzy, keep those photos coming from your trip to Selby. The plant with the white flowers looks like a type of Crinum.

dyzzy: Your Orchid photo from Selby looks like Brassavola nodosa:

http://www.google.com/search?q=brassavola+nodosa&hl=en&biw=1436&bih=786&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=G1caTvS2K8a30AHl1e2WBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QsAQ

My B. nodosa orchid always blooms in the December/January time frame:

Lin, thanks for checking in here. I would not have guessed that Dyzzys' plant was an Orchid.

Drew: So sorry to hear about the scare with your brother ... so glad he is doing better and I hope his recuperation is speedy!

Sure am enjoying everyone's beeeeutiful plants!

I was out in the yard today before the afternoon thunderstorms hit and noticed this hybrid Bicolor Rose in bloom:

A Tree Fern and Blechnum Fern that weren't doing so well a few months ago so I sat out in a corner of the backyard ... where they actually survived. I went to move the pots and found they had put out roots into the ground. This is a corner of the yard where I used to have a bench and a bunch of plants sitting around ... I moved the bench to clean and teak oil it and never moved it back there .. the area is taken over with weeds.

Glorious Gloriosa Lily:

Begonia:

Pandorea jasminoides ("Pandora Vine"):

Callisia fragrans ("Basket Plant") amidst a bunch of weeds!

Thunbergia battiscombei ("Blue Glory Bower Vine"):

I bought Caladium bulbs in co-ops here on DG a few years ago ... lost my files when my laptop crashed and I can't remember the names of any of them.

I don't really consider this Tropical but thought I'd throw it in the mix. Crape Myrtle trees are common here in the south and this is a bloom from a tree in the yard: