My purple firespike is annoying too, the buds are still good and I have one or two individual flowers that have opened but in general it does not knock my socks off like the red ones do. The only redeeming quality I can see is that the hummers (those that spent the winter) are nosing around looking for nectar and it will likely be a good source for the rest of the scouts that will arrive shortly.
A new brom arrived from tropiflora yesterday, aechmea rubrolilacina. Their picture of the flowers caught my eye and I hit buy before I did my homework. This is a large plant the leaves are long, all green and the edges are covered with evil thorns. The flower better be as pretty as the one in their picture. I can't believe I didn't check into that, I never buy things with thorns. It must be that spring is here and I caught the fever already. :-(
Tropical Plants and Gardens #117
ut ohhhh ... LOL
You're all just taking too good care of that Purple Firespike. Me, I lost it, ignored it, neglected it, left it uncovered through the cold nights in an 8in. pot until it was over 3ft. tall, and then let my garden helper plant it in the border on Thursday. We'll see how it does, huh?
Looks a bit pink-ish in these pics, just because at the critical moment the sun came out. Third pic is the Brazilian Red Cloak - both were cuttings from Rita last April. Still blooming, putting out new branches. I didn't quite neglect it as much as the Firespike, but almost!
Hello Everyone!
candelia, I forgot to say how much I enjoyed seeing your Philo's on the last thread.
Texasgal77,It is good to see you! please visit often. Not Brazil but Belize, the smallest and poorest country in Central America.
I am very pleased with the new multi picture feature, It would be nice if we did not have to go back to the post repeatedly to view the next picture.
GAgirl1066, thanks, I can say the same about your green arm lol.
The fuzzy plant is a Cardoon, it is a fun plant with beautiful blue flowers.
RachelLF, thanks, I promise to D-mail for your wish list.
mjsponies,What a beauty! I thought the Dancing bones plant was cool looking even without the blooms, thanks for sharing with me. I can't wait for mine to bloom.
Dyzzy, your garden is so nice and tidy, I enjoy seeing what you have done with the plants, there are several colors of firespikes, here is the purple one just starting to show a little color.
ardesia, I hope that your impulse purchase turns out to be one of your favorite bromeliads. I always place my thorny plants where I don't want traffic in my garden. lol. I googled the aechmea and loved it as well.
I have a few Broms in these fibre/wicker baskets, which enables the babies to eventually cover the entire basket.
Gorgeous, Rita!
What a great idea to use baskets like you have used for your broms Rita. I always say I want to live in Debra's basement but I think it would be pretty nice to live in your GH too. You have such awesome plants. My bashful to bloom purple firespike seems different, I will take a picture in the morning. It is probably because mine is still in bud.
I would live in either, too, Alice!
Alice, I think that may very well be the difference. Our's are in the ground AND we are in just the right zone that it is a CRAP shoot...( ok Admin may edit that ...LOL) but ever since I've had the Purple Fire spike, it's just about been ready to bloom when we get a GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Freeze. I can't keep everything in a pot...nor do I want to. So at this point I have some winter bloomer's that I'm kinda thinking they can sit there, and IF it stay's nice and they bloom AND I get to see them then it is a Bonus...if not......Oh well, I have enough to stress about with the horse's, I really REALLY don't need something else to stress about.
The plants are supposed to be to help me RELAX............(ok this coming from a super hyper gotta be doing something alway's person). My Family say's SIT DOWN AND DON'T DO ONE MORE THING... REALLY?????????????????
I hope you know , Alice, things with thorns just say"HAY!" "LOok at me!" ;D I looked at my things with thorns and I have babies..
Just love all the pictures , you guys.. I had to turn away from the most beauteus birds nest Anthurium at the Womans Show I have been working the past three days.. It was drop dead gorgeous..
Martha, the calico vine is everywhere down in the jungle.. between it and the passion flower, the catsclaw vine, stictocardia, and the I plantesis, it amost feels as if they are out to hang someone if you walk in..
My firespike from Rita thinks it is going to be a shrub in the basement, too bad for it I have to cut it back before I take it outside.. as with everything else down in the basement gardens.. I just came up from there after a long day working, and was thrilled to see the datura black current swirl blooming again ,
Kaitlyn on her second bloom, and the Philo Giganteum making yet another huge new leaf..
I just broke this new "Y" off to start another Kailtyn.. hope it makes it.. bloom and all.
Please don't look at this ugly wall in there, I wanted someone to see the confederate rose they sent me, and the lantana is everywhere too..
Jaimie lynn morning glory is so pretty, I always get her to bloom in winter for me..
Red Tai caladium has popped up all awake now..
Those wicker baskets are really cool for the broms, today I saw these clear globes hanging in the air holding all kinds of little dangly plants nestled in them in moss and jewel rocks.. a few T's there too..
Got a lot of ideas for ways to display inside plants.. can't wait to put some to reality for my office now..
Rita, What did you use for your Totem for the Monstera?
How large are your P. Giganteum leaves now Debra?
Hope everyone is ok after this bad storm front passing through. We just had the weather man say there was a tornado watch up for Waycross, GA. That's where Paula is!
On the up side, most of Florida sure needs the rain.
WOW, Deb - everything looks GREAT!
Hi everyone......yes we do need the rain! Getting it right now. We were actually at the coast and still are, so I don't know how bad the weather was at home. Pouring off and on here. I hope I don't have to load the car in the rain.
I went flower shopping yesterday, my favorite pastime. I found several things marked down at lowes I can use in the landscape. My biggest find was a philodendron with pink vines, I had never seen it before. It was on the markdown table in a container with an orchid and two bromeliads. It was $25, but really wanted the philo and the others were just a bonus. I will post a pic when I get home and maybe Rita or Rachel can ID it. Also found a philo the lady said was green emerald and I think a type of lipstick vine ( at least in the family) that I will post also to see if anyone knows its name. It really irritates me to go to a NICE nursery and they don't know the names of their plants.
I have a philo limelight/moonlight here at the coast and I think it about to bloom. I have taken a pic and will post that when I get home. Funny thing is....its pink.
Oh my so much to catch up on. I don't think we are going to get any of that rain, sure looked bad on the radar last night up in the southeast.
Canna lilies already in bloom, that is so great! Mine froze to the ground and are now about a half foot tall, the last freeze I covered them and they didn't get any burn. But they have a ways to go before flowers.
mjsponies, My firespikes got tip damage the two nights recently that dipped to 32. Stinks! I really like the dancing bones plant.
My Indian Ginger Alpinia calcarata didn't get any damage so hopefully I'll have some nice blooms, I only got one bloom last spring since they froze down pretty good.
Well at least my Lantana is just standing out in the garden with tons of blooms, they look great with the azaleas behind them. The other photo is a bird of paradise we saw in Memorial Gardens Park in Ormond Beach while camping there last week.
Pouring up here too, it is supposed to get into the low 40's tonight with 30 mph wind, Brrrr but at least it is not freezing. I am not going to bring anything inside. All the stuff in pots is just loving this rain.
This is one of the purple odontonema spikes this morning, I ran out between storms to get the pic. It has essentially looked like this since the fall, guess I should be appreciative of the color it has provided through the winter.
What are you southeasterners doing about the red firespike? Mine look fine but I think I will chop them back or they will be too big this growing season.
Paula, is your moonlight phil indoors or out at the coast? The phils I have in the ground did really well this year. I had sprayed them with Freeze Pruf back in December and it never got too cold so it worked well.
Alice that is beautiful!
I never heard of that plant, so I am going to look itup.
Homer, leaves on P Gig. are huge, one is a foot or more long by gosh I didn't measure it, may do that later.
Thanks KayJones.. did u recognise anything?
just got another 15 water bottle planters started of all kinds of tropical vine seeds up in the window sills, already had to transplant first batch.
Going to make mailing easy when they are rady to send out.
( is that a beach in the back ground , Alice?) *sigh*
Paula, I can't wait to see your plants.. that Philo sounds interesting.
I love the BOP, thinking about growing one from seed.. started a travelers palm last night.. we will see how that does.
Someone sent me this teeny tiny twig last winter of this pin and green stuff.. it is getting huge..
My naner that Rita sent me three years ago is putting out a leaf, I think it is going to be just huge this year as the base is bigger than a baseball now.
Elaine, I lost the alpiana, sorry.. I think I over watered it. All the peppers from last year are blooming.. just picked another tomato off one of my vines.. yay!
Debra. remarkable always comes to mind when I see what you accomplish with your plants in their winter digs.
No beach, just marsh, lots and lots of tidal marsh, but it is what keeps my garden warm, far more so than if it was actually a beach. Low tide and high.
Oops, it did not give me the option to add more than one picture, what's up with that???
Here is the high tide pic.
Now I have the option of adding more photos, go figure.
This message was edited Feb 19, 2012 11:55 AM
Debra, I have lots more alpinia if you want to try again. Or, are you sure it wasn't the Hedychium 'Dr. Moy' that I sent you? It's a variegated ginger too.
Anybody else having problems downloading multiple pictures? I have tried 4 times in the past 20 minutes.
Hm, let's see . .
nope, worked fine here, Drew.
*AH_HEMM* *excuse me....SWOON * okay, I have had my high point for the day with the beauty posted today...
I'd love a Marsh....
Yes, sadly it was the good Doctor Moy.. I am so embarassed to tell any of you that I lost a plant. I think I am going to build a Dave's Garden Friends Plants Survivors Garden of sorts as a throne in behalf of the "lost" babies I have been sad over. This morning I discovered a small cactus given to me just laying in half.. it had been watered too much. Sometimes I feel like a mad scientist when I start designing things.
do you think my salvia bonfire makes a good bonsai? LOL I am just waiting for it to die.. There is not enough drainage in this one, think I will fill the bottom with a layer of coco noir to soak up. Any suggestions? I have 40 of these dang bowls if anyone wants one.
I have a need to put the green oxalis with the purple, and try to find the green with purple center to add to it. 'Twould be good in a Hat turned upside down..with maybe a couple small springs of potted Pansies.
Drew, I had trouble downloading more than one photo earlier then I didn't when I went to post again. Gremlins!
Debra, the downside of the marsh is sand gnats, aka no see ums. They are the worst, most evil insect ever. It is almost impossible to garden during the nicest weather, that is when they come out. When it is over 90 or under 50 they hide away. They get in your hair, your nose and your mouth if you talk a lot like me. They don't sting like a mosquito, they actually take a little tiny bite which itches like crazy. Between them and the chiggars, the second most evil insect, gardening here is a challenge. (and did I mention the snakes???) LOL
Alice, a person doesn't know about 'no-see-ums' until the move to Panama City Beach - these things are HORRID!
Deb,
Take your S. Bonfire out of the pot and wrap the rootball, soil and all in newspaper. It will absorb the excess moisture. You might have to do it several times.
mj
Also, maybe take it upstairs where it's not so humid as in the basement jungle. You need climatic zones in that basement, Deb! One room where it "rains" less often?
I like your idea about planting in a hat - Feeling the need for a St. Hattie's day - No, no! St. Patty's Day - arrangement with the oxalis and pansies? Spring is right on the doorstep.
Great idea about wrapping a too damp root ball in newspaper to absorb the extra moisture. Who among us hasn't had that problem at one time or another.
Martha, YOU are a genius!
Den. Chrysotoxum:
I've had this 4 years. Taken a few days ago.
LOL...Drew well I don't know about that.....I got the idea from someone else...don't remember where now but I was in the same predicament and someone told me to do the newspaper thing.
Tommy did you show us this plant last year with no blooms? By the way...IT IS SPECTACULAR!
I may have but I seem to recall it blooming last year. Or was that the year before?
Thanks for the comment!
Maybe in '10!
Real pretty Orchid Tommyr2006.
Rita, your verrucosum is growing very well and looking so healthy too. I emailed Millers tropicals and asked if he would send me a list of Philo's and Anthuriums. If he does not respond in a day or two I will call him. Thanks so much.
Paula please show the Philo. your unsure of and hopefully either Rita or I will know it's name and by the way, I still have some plants for you and will send them to you very soon. Let me know if you need me to mail them to your new address and if so, send me a d-mail.
Debra, do not ever feel bad about saying "you lost a plant" goodness knows I've lost or managed to kill a few myself and I'm sure most can say the same.
LOL, at my age I have lost far more than a "few."
the color of those orchids are to die for.. *sigh*
thanks, Rachel and Alice, but it still is sad for me.. I love all my plants wayyyy too much down here in Kansas..
these were from Rita.. I LOVE them almost more than my children... LOL
Rita That Anthurium at the top is A. pedatoradiatum Feb.11 6:47 AM, last of the three pictures.