Tropical Garden #113

Elaine,
I grow alot Japanese Morning Glories here...Ipomoea nil in particular is not one to come back easily, you might get a plant here and there. Ipomoea purpurea however will...but not a problem.

beautiful, Martha..
okay I am really excited, my cape honey suckle is about to bust out in bloom, all the hibs will be flushed tommorrow, and the blue butter fly clero is finally budding again...
and it is now snowing outside after three inches of rain in the past two days. ugh.
Oh! My stictocardia is now budding.. YAY!

I want to come live in your basement.

thanks everyone for your kind words. i am off today to put together some grow boxes for tomatoes. my first time using them. i am using everglades tomatoes so i can t mess it up, every seed that touches the ground will grow.

Beautiful pictures. I have a question about the Brugmansia. I really admire the plants and would like to try one, was looking at some at the Mt. Dora plant show last weekend. They were pretty expensive and the woman selling them told me I could put it in the ground and it would freeze but come back. She was from S. FL and I'm not sure about it coming back in Central FL. There was one on the bike trail where I walk and for years that I admired, the last two winters it froze to the ground and it did come back, but not this past summer.
I see it says zone 10a-11. I'm wondering if anyone in Central FL has these in the ground...or should I keep one in a large pot and drag it in on the freezing nights?

By the way mjsponies that is a very pretty color morning glory, I've never seen before.

My garden is looking so wonderful right now with the temperatures we've been having...I'm finding it hard to come inside and do housework. ;-)

Mexican sunflower blooming now...

Sunkissed, love those Mex. sunflowers. Mine are just about to burst into bloom, too.

I've grown Brugmansia here for years, both in pots and in the ground. Although I'm a bit warmer than you, my one old pink brug did suffer badly the last two winters. But I gave it no protection at all. From now on, it's getting a sheet thrown over it on any nights that fall into the 30's. It has recovered nicely now, although I was ready to give up on it and replace it this spring it looked so bad. Mjsponies is closer to you, as to winter conditions and she has some I think are in the ground. I'm sure she will chime in.

Some important things - brugs are very easy to start from cuttings and grow VERY fast. You don't need to buy a big, expensive plant. If you know anyone who has one, just ask them for a cutting (about 1ft. with a rosette of leaves) and let it root in some water then pot it up. If you can't find somebody locally to get a start from, one of us will certainly send you a cutting or two, for postage. I have two shades of pink, a white and a yellow-orange hybrid (it's not nearly as robust as the pink and white ones, though). See the pale pink one in the pic.

I started two this spring - mid-April - from cuttings I traded for on DG, and both plants are over 6ft. tall and have bloomed practically non-stop since June. One is already in the ground, the other really should be. I'll post a pic of it in a few days when its flowers open.

They're pretty hard to keep in pots after the first year, just because they get so big. So by all means keep it in the pot for a year, if you're willing to drag it indoors on the cold nights, but once it gets too unwieldy, plant it out, take a couple of cuttings, then just throw something over it to protect it on the cold nights. If you lose it, you have insurance with the cuttings to start a new bush the next spring.

They are very heavy feeders, and like lots of water. The more sun it's growing in, the more water it will need of course. I've seen people grow them in full sun here, or in partial shade, but they do need some sun to bloom really well.

Elaine

Thanks Elaine for the information. They were about 20-25 bucks at the Mt. Dora plant show...but then everything was pretty high there. I actually walked away from a plant show with only one four dollar plant. I did get a cute birdhouse though...lol.
I do like the pink one you pictured, and that peach color. I'll see if I can find someone close that I can get a clipping from. I need to get some trades posted on my trade list...but every time I start to do so, I get interrupted...I have lots of seeds and some plants.

We have dipped as low as upper 20's past two winters...cold enough and long enough to even freeze our pipes that are in our attic. I have lost some of my long time tropicals these past couple winters. So now I am out there covering things.
Sherri

Sunkissed, They will come back from a freeze. I've got several different kinds...all but one, Milk N Honey, are in the ground, and come back. 3 are blooming right now, 2 of the others aren't but I think they are not getting enough sun/shade, which for me is a catch 22, if I put them where they are getting enough sun, it's hard to get them watered...( I have a large piece of property and do not have in ground irrigation, meaning I have to drag a hose around if we don't get rain and I have other commitments which make that impractical in the heat of summer. )...That being said if you can put them where you can water/fertilize often, you'll get blooms sooner. I won't overwinter these in my greenhouse as they are spider mite magnets and anything that attracts spider mites has to go the tough road here. I HATE THEM. And won't jeopardize my other plants because of them and don't have the time to dedicate to keeping them under control. That being said they are beautiful, but for me they are treated like a perennial, let em freeze back and come back. Just mulch well, and your good to go.

Sherri, if you're willing to cover plants on the cold nights, you might even keep the tops of your brugs going through winter if it's not TOO cold. This winter is forecast to be more back to 'normal' which hopefully means only a few nights of rushing around covering stuff. Let's hope!!

My back yard looks like a tent city on cold nights these past two winters, but I've kept tomatoes and peppers in Earth Boxes, plus my papayas going right through the cold with frost cloth and being diligent. Only thing we lost were Adonidia palms, the winter before last. They were old, and out front away from the house, really exposed. I replaced them with pygmy dates.

I save milk jugs and other plastic containers, fill them with water and use them as heat sinks in winter, too. Just let them heat up in the sun near your tender plants, and then at night they release their warmth slowly to help keep the area under the cloth warmer. Free and pretty easy. White milk jugs need to be painted a dark color to get warm. Spray paint works fine.

Sunkissed,
Go ahead and plant them in the ground....I am in the lower part of GA and I have 5 planted in the ground and they have come back every year. This year they were a little stunted, don't know if it was because of the exceptionally cold winter or lack of care on my part. Last year they were about 10 ft tall.

Here are mine a year or so ago...

This is the one I meant to post...these are in the ground

Speaking of covering up plants, I found some frost cloth bags at Tuesday Morning this week. They had them in various sizes and a flat sheet. The ones I got are 4' by 4.5' and they tie around the plant. They came 3 to a bag for around $17. Best part is that they have a green background with a green leaf print, they blend in better than the white ones.

I just heard there are frost warnings for inland GA and SC this weekend. Way too soon........

Oh, brrr! I got frost cloth by the foot last year from FarmTek. Just had a look and it's 62cents per foot for the 6ft. wide cloth. I like to 'tent' rather than wrap the plants because then the warmth from the ground helps more to keep the plants warm under the cloth.

I also have frost cloth that let's lots of light through, so I can leave it on if I'm going away for a week. Got that 2 years ago from Gardeners.com Just found it again, 6ft. by 20ft. for $9.95 and they have a 12ft. by 20ft. for $16.95 which is big enough to cover my whole raised bed with one piece.
http://www.gardeners.com/All-Purpose-Garden-Fabric/VegetableGardening_SeasonExtending,11747,default,cp.html

Planted this for my bro's condo lanai. Oughta cheer them up when they arrive from Canada next week.

Great price! You obviously do not have an HOA, if I left a white cloth on for days I would get a letter for sure.

Yep, we're surrounded by gated communities, but we're a little slice of the 'wild west' in here, without even street lights! That was No.1 requirement when we went looking for our house this last time - no deed restrictions. We can park boats and trucks in the driveway, plant what we want wherever we want, build the Garage Mahal out back and yes, cover our plants as needed. Neighbor over the back fence keeps chickens, too!

Truth is, my back yard (where all the tenting goes on) is not visible from the street on either side - we're on a corner but have high fences and a big hedge. But my neighbors wouldn't complain anyway. I ply them with the bounty of my garden. Mangoes in summer and veggies in winter.

Surely your neighbors would rather look at frost cloth for a few days than dead plants? Or no plants? Just my humble opinion here, but I think HOA boards attract people who are frustrated politicians. They like to make rules and boss people around. (ohh, sorry if any of you are on those boards . . . ) But . . it's one thing to prevent homeowners from painting their houses like a psychedelic minivan, but it's entirely another to prevent them from growing beautiful plantings and protecting them as needed.

I was never so happy as when Florida passed a Senate bill in 2009 banning HOA's from preventing homeowners from using Florida Friendly Landscaping. (it does have specific definitions, but still even people with deed restrictions can get rid of a lot of lawn and high-maintenance landscaping without fear now).

(sigh) ya got me started there, Alice!

did I hear someone say they wanted a BRUG? Heloooo.. LOL ... sunkissed, don't buy a brug, please.. let us get you going ..

Good to see you really don"t feel to strongly either way about the HOA there Elaine! ;^)


I am stuck in one now; This to shall pass!

LOL, I hear 'ya too. We lived peacfully in a gated community in Columbia SC for years with no issues but down here on the coast, where everyone has moved from someplace far away, it is different. They all want to be the boss. We can't even re-paint our homes the existing color or put on a new roof without approval. The way my home is situated, no one can see the back yard except from a boat several hundred yards away but I still got caught leaving my kayaks back there.

Here is Sasanqua Leslie Anne this morning.

dyzzypyxxy...thanks for the idea of the milk jugs...I've never heard of that. I hope you're right about the winter being back to normal...but with everyone getting these early frost...I'm not so sure. Yesterday I was out working in the yard and the sun felt so good and I thought...I hope it just stays like this...I get so tired of going out and covering and uncovering everything.

Okay I'll put them in the ground when I find some...and I won't buy..I'll find someone to get clippings from...if not I'll be back asking ya all for some. Too bad that one on the Cross trail is gone. I've taken seeds from many plants there...it is where my Cherokee bean came from and Carolina Jessamine. Yes...I am a seed snatcher. ☺

Sherri, if you get a brug start this winter, I'd keep it in a pot until spring then plant it out. A small plant will be a lot more vulnerable to cold than a big, established one. So while it's getting going, I'd be kind to it and schlep it inside on the cold nights. It will be ready to take off once the weather warms up.

Yeah, the jug idea came from my dad who drank cheap red wine that came in green glass gallon jugs. His garden looked like a winery, but his tomato plants kept going a long time after everyone else's had given up.

Drew, the HOA thing comes from the complaints of so many friends who garden, but live in deed restricted communities. Creative people like gardeners need so much more, ah, shall we say 'latitude' than most HOA's allow.

I need a little longitude also. Actually; a lot of longitude, with the height of some of these bad boys!

I feel the gardeners pain!

No, no! that pain you feel is from lugging those huge, humungous plants of yours around. LOL

I'm thinkin your longitude is fine, but you need to be a LOT further south as far as latitude goes. Somewhere those fabulous plants of yours can stay outside all year. Then you'd just get to rush around with frost cloth covering them up on cold nights . . . last time we sailed a regatta in Key West, they had a 40-yr. record low temp one night, in the 40's and the high the next day never got above 60! Happens even at the 'southernmost point' sometimes.

I've still got fragrant hedychium Butterfly gingers coming into bloom, anywhere the sun still gets to them. I found this one by following the scent.

Elaine If I had my plants "downsouth" they would need clearance from the control tower in Miami!

And ain't THAT the bloomin truth!

Love those broms! I just picked this clump up when I was dividing them, and plonked it in a shallow grave . . . but here it is blooming and sending up pups.

Elaine the one you sent me is blooming!!

Alice, I had no idea about the HOA thing. My town is small and we have 'communities' but not sure about all that. They would run me out the next day.

Got my GH moved today (actually last 3 days), they finished today. $1400 later it is moved....blah! Oh well had way more than that invested in it and that doesn't even include the plants. The guy said he didn't want to try moving the glass one, so it may stay. We shall see.....

Now the worst part...moving all the plants, right now a 1/3 of them are in a huge delivery truck...LOL

Dzzy, that looks like the one you sent me...maybe I'll be seeing blooms too soon, I hope so ! Very cool.
I'm so anti HOA, I can't stand being told what color to paint my house, what I can and cannot plant, where to park my car....etc, etc etc.
and I don't miss looking out my family room window and seeing my neighbors bathroom window. Never Ever again. Give me a couple acres between me and the neighbors and I don't give a rat's pattotie what they do as long as they leave me alone to do what I want to do.

Martha, please tell us how you REALLY feel! LOL I'm right there with you - don't fence me in with rules, etal!

I am not offended.. and... I don't care what anyone says or thinks about my yard and Gardens, thank goodness no one cares, either LOL

Martha, you are adorable!

That begonia looks like it's made of satin, Deb. Beautiful!

I think maybe I got a start of that one from Alice. Do you know it's name? Mine is either Sophie Cecile or Lucerne.

The one I posted up there I have no clue.. I have several cane begonias from DG'rs, but some did not come with tags.. My Don Miller from Alice is so pretty and I am so thrilled to have a light leafed one ( silver) I have 7 begonias now. YaY!!
The first cane I ever recieved was from my dear deceased friend, Esther.. I call it Esthers Cane Begonia.. but I was told it was Angel Face or My angel or something like that.. I have sent several pieces of it out.. it gets really Tall..

That one up there is really pretty, Elaine.. is it shrubby?
I still have this one, I started from a seed four years ago.. now it is dormant in a hanging basket, but it sure seems to come alive after a rest period..it is just a little coctail gin , but since it was started from seed, I have to keep it as long as I can .. something about the proud parental aspect of growing something , I guess.. I gave my sister a huge pot of light green with pink and white wax begonias I have keot for ever, she seems to keep them going in winter like I do..

I have read this link, and wanted to tell you I really love using this as an anti fungal on my plants.. :
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/858/

My brother in law is the president of their HOA and we have some pretty interesting conversations about it. We are retired Air Force and lived in base housing for most of his military career, which is worse than an HOA although free, so when he retired I didn't want to live in a community at all. We bought a house in Feburary which has 5 acres. There are 4 acres between the neighbor across the street and us and about 1.5 between us and the neighbor next door. I love it. The only thing that would be even better is if the land was treed and more private. BTW, I wasn't complaining about military housing, it teaches people how to care for their houses, I'm just glad that we aren't living like that anymore.

OMG Debra, your basement must even smell good, like cookies.....LOL

That begonia you have looks like Sophie Cecile to me, she is a real winner in my book. The leaves on Lucerne, aka Corallina du Lucerna, have a more matte finish and the color is a lighter yellowish green.

Deb, my silvery begonia is 'Looking Glass' and I have a little start of it rooted if you'd like it. It's a tall, sprawling one that gets long canes. (see pic) The little silver/white that Alice sent us is 'Don Miller' and it stays a nice small, shrubby size.

I'm really having fun with the begonias, as they seem to do well in my shady side border area. I keep them in pots and sink the pots into the leafy mulch so they don't have to compete with the oak tree roots. Didn't do that with my Gryphons, and they are struggling now. But I have new cuttings of them started, too.

Thanks again, Alice, for the nice starts, and now I know which is which of Sophie Cecile and Corallina du Lucerna. They have just put out new leaves in the last couple of weeks, so I'm thinking the slips didn't make roots in the hot weather as well as the others. But they will be well on their way by next spring when I want to plant them out.

I can't grow a Begonia to save my life - too heavy-handed with the water, but all of yours are beautiful!

Hello All!

It was a real pleasure viewing everyone's pictures. I have been waiting on blooms, but they are few and far between.

Thanks to Drew for his advice on the Borneo Giant. I now have it on a two wheeler which will make it much easier to bring it outdoors on sunny days.

Thanks to mjsponies for the id on the Hoya, I will have blooms to show in a few weeks.

RachelLF, I am sorry that I was of no help regrding the Anthurium. I am still drawing a blank.

Welcome Sunkissed!!

Hi Tina, I hope that you have all your tropicals nice and warm.

Poison Arrow Vine, a real trooper. I thought that I would lose it after a transplant and a bad summer, it is now covered in buds.