Woo hoo! Can't wait to see pictures of your tropical garden in PA, Ben and your indigenous insano voracious rabbits, too of course. LoL
There's another gorgeous hosta if you're needing Big Tropical-looking foliage - Empress Wu is truly magnificent.
I think you should be begging a pup or two of that Musa basjoo from your neighbor, too.
Tropical Plants and Gardens #120
Ben, you might be interested in the Southeastern Palm Society. They cover all sorts of trops,not just palms, and there are at least 3 members from the NJ/PA area. Everybody in the group seems to be trying to push the zone window on some plant.
http://www.sepalms.org/
It's been rainy and gloomy here for days, and these cute little stripey costus I got from Rita have been blooming and getting smushed by the rain. It's a terrible pic, but the best I could do in the little dry window we have right now. More rain expected this afternoon to wipe out our sailing day.
White variegated liriope blooming in the big basket with the begonia and caladium. Alice I'm now sure that B. Odorata Alba is scented in the mornings. It was heavenly this morning - a huge umbel of flowers starting to drop but still smelling lovely. Several more coming.
Milkweeds are on their second go of the spring, and the monarchs are coming around again, too.
pretty, Elaine. Would you please save me some seeds from your C. Pulch ?
someone brought me a nice fig tree with 6 figs on it.. sometimes my customers surprise me...
my sticto is blooming, will get a pic tommorrow
this unknown blue is really a big flower, I love it. all the yard is busting with color now.. finally!
I undid the huge passion vines from downstairs, they were trying to get out the basement window, so tommorrow they will go to the shade for a week and then to the arbor..
Hi Ben! if u can get tropicals to grow where u are at outside, then I shoud be able to do so here, right?
Sure, Deb. If I can get any before the birds eat them, that is! Once the pods turn brown they disappear very quickly. Doesn't help that the plant is outside the back gate so I don't see it all the time.
Better pic of my stripey costus this morning and my purple Achimines are finally blooming. I have some more coming that are supposed to be "blue with a white eye". We shall see what comes of that. Also planted white ones but none came up =-(
Squirrels seem to LOVE achemines.
Elaine i love your mango disco and owl! i will ahve to try that.
joeswife looks like you had a great trip. it is nice to be able to put face to your names. lovely picture of you guys.
this mornings finds. the first 3 are stapelia, then a bud on the blue ginger! and last is crinum flower and some sort of sanchezia?
nice costus.
1.the caterpillars devoured the aristalochia, i kinda like the stem it looks like cork. 2.dragon fruit and 3.cherry jubilee allamanda 4. a couple of broms popping up.5.no id begonia(i though was dead)
Cool flowers, Cassie. That stapelia looks like one of those things that smells, y'know, not nice? I think the mango-disco thing is working to keep the squirrels at bay. The raccoon isn't the least bit fazed by them, though.
Alice, thanks for the tip on squirrels, my achimenes are inside the pool cage at the moment. Guess they should stay.
My first ever Dendrobium, Judith Nakayama
This message was edited Jun 10, 2012 11:11 AM
Elaine it does stink but that's why it is outside. That looks like a huge dendrobium almost as big as a catalaya.
Hm, not quite that big. They're maybe 3in. across.
There are two flowers in the picture. Here's a better shot with them both open.
they are so beautiful!
I sure hope my stapelia blooms this year.. i don't care how they smell they are so cool looking!
Yes they are Debra!
drew, that shot is awsome!
Thanks!
KayJones, are you OK? Looks like your area is getting a bit too much rain.
Alice, sweet lady, I am fine - I've been out picking up huge limbs - the rain weighed the weak limbs of the Sycamore down and of course, they fell. I've picked up about 4 cart loads in the last two days. More rain is headed our way, along with high winds. The sea is furious - 3 drownings in the last week - dumb people, imho - I don't go into the ocean when the flags are GREEN, let alone when they are RED, and I even have sense enough to not go to the beach AT ALL when RED flags are flying - can't imagine anyone disregarding the warning flags and thinking they can handle a rip current! The waves are 6' high and the surf is roiling - how DUMB can some folks be? I guess my question has been answered - 3 dumb people = 3 dead people!
Dzzypxxy: I didn't know that Milkweeds of any kind grew in Florida... The one you have in your pic looks a lot like the local "Butterfly Weed" species... Three out of the four types of local milkweed grow at the place I'm living at now: Dogbane (a.k.a. White Milkweed), Common Milkweed and Swamp Milkweed.... They usually play host to multiple Monarch Butterfly caterpillars, some kind of Milkweed moth larva, Milkweed Bugs and Milkweed beetles.
Candela, your ginger's looking good. ;)
Anyways, I apologize for not posting the pics I've promised yet, but I've been busy spending quality time with my fiance. ;)
So, without further ado, here they are:
First is the Musa basjoo I got at my favorite local nursery last year (Snavley's Garden Corner), and re-potted. I was hoping to have a place purchased and moved into LAST summer, but that didn't happen, so I ended up overwintering it inside my computer room.
Second pic is two of my Rhodea japonica, a.k.a. Sacred Lilies. The leaf damage you see is NOT due to cold or insects, but rather rabbits munching on them during the worst part of winter. As you can see, they've managed just fine for the past 4-6 years outside around here (two of them are even starting to bloom).
Third pic is my one surviving Windmill palm (I thought I had two, but it looks like this is it). As you can see, it is getting entirely too much shade, yet it's trucking along nonetheless. If I can ever get it to set seed, I have a feeling people will pay good money for it since this particular plant is cast-iron tough to survive growing in this kind of climate with the level of neglect it's been subjected to over the past three years. I'll be potting it up soon, in anticipation of moving it to its new home.
Fourthly is a pic of the Yucca recurvifolia that I overwintered outside in a 3-gallon pot. The Y. Recurvifolia is on the Left... The Yucca on the right is some kind of weird, unidentified hybrid that I got from Brian Williams (if anyone remembers him around here) back in 2007. His father got it from some guy in Italy, and he thinks that it is a hybrid between Y. gloriosa and Y. Filamentosa or maybe Y. Aloifolia and Y. filamentosa... It definitely has attributes of both (i.e. stiff leaves with sharp points, but thready leaf margins, like Y. gloriosa, but it flowers in June, like Y. filamentosa)... Anyways, both those plants were in severe decline due to too much shade where I had them planted, but a soon as I dug them up and moved them to the pots and put them in the sun, they started growing like gangbusters.
Finally, here's a pic of my first Trifoliate Orange, which, again, you can see is growing in entirely too much shade. When I planted it in 2005, it was along the edge of a sunny clearing in the woods behind the house, but over the past 7 years, all the trees around the clearing have arched their branches over it, shutting out most of the sunlight. The Trifoliate Orange, however, has managed to soldier on, but it's not growing nearly as fast as it should be. Again, I'm going to be putting it in a pot sometime over the next week or two (along with my other three Trifoliate Oranges and some other plants) in preparation of moving to the house that I'm in the process of purchasing.
Will I have to do this all summer!? Anther 3-5'' of rain is probable through Wednesday!
Push it Ben!
Drew, I may be doing that too...we have had over 4 in. in the last couple of days and it is still raining. We can hardly get down our road and part of my back yard is under water. Everything is saturated and it has no where to go. UGH!! At least we are not on fire!
Man, I feel you guys' pain: Up to about a week ago, we were having one severe thunderstorm/tornado watch after another! One of the storms knocked down two half-grown culms in my bamboo grove (which I whacked back to the ground level), and we've had intermittent flooding of some creeks....
Now it looks like we're going to be going through a bit of a dry spell.
And thanks Homer, I plan to push the zones as much as I can... To quote Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery, who is a personal hero of mine, "I consider all plants hardy until I've killed them myself at least 3 times." ;)
We finally got a bit over 2" last night, things have been so dry here I was getting worried. There was rain all around us and we had flood warnings almost every day, just nothing wet here. All the plants are smiling this morning - and I won't have to water today!
I pushed the zone thing, my chiltaba tree made it thru the winter.
Hello Everyone!!
Here I am late to the party. I am very happy to see everyone's pictures. It seems as if I was absent for most of spring and missed out on a lot of my blooms.
I was trying to make it home to post pictures of the plants from Rj for his birthday but as usual, I am late.
Here are a few of his plants.
A few old favorites of mine.
A few more
I made a mistake and posted the same pictures twice, these are the intended shots.
Rita!!!!! Hi! Deb and I were just talking about you and Randy today - so nice to 'see' you again!!!!!
Hey Rita, Welcome back, we've missed you!
It's raining again...I think the 5-6 day straight. We can barely get down our road.
Hi, Rita! Those are some impressive and pretty plants you have! I especially like your Heliconia... My grandfather in Florida used to have some, and he gave me a couple when I went down to visit once, but I ended up overwatering them and killing them. :(
I just made a trip to the local cool plant nursery (called Snavley's Garden Corner), despite telling myself that I'd wait until the house purchase was finialized. I ended up getting a "Sapphire Skies" Yucca rostrata and two "Tricolor" common sage (Salvia officianallis) plants. I'm thinking about re-potting the sages.
Rita, we have missed you!!! Glad you posted those beauties, was that an AeAe of Randy's?
Paula we have had less than 3" this month, while everyone around us is floating away. I was in Charleston today and everything was flooded.
A friends teacup alocasia and my Big Red Neo is getting ready to bloom.
okAY, I can drool, please just dab my chin before it gets on the keyboard..
Rita, so glad you're back and such a pleasure to see your beautiful plants! Is the blue flower with white eye and purple stems the blue ginger, by any chance? The peachy canna is a winner too. Here's a shot of the wonderful spiral ginger you sent me last fall. It's a beauty.
Alice, I just LOVE that Teacup Alocasia! The black stems are amazing. Was going to put one of my A. Stingrays into the big urn on the patio but I think I'm going to search for a Teacup now, instead. I feel your pain with the uneven distribution of rain. We've had some but everyone else around us got LOTS.
Ben, you will love that Tricolor sage. If you have two, put one in the ground at the new place, somewhere really sunny and dry. It will make a nice small shrub, low and spreading. I can't grow it here, but have it in my daughter's garden in Salt Lake City. It's beautiful and tasty, too. Oh, and quite hardy but not as stout as the plainer colors. It roots itself where the branches touch the ground, too. Spread the joy.
Elaine, when you look for the teacup, ask for the Colocasia esculenta teacup. Fairly sure there are two types.
Bout time you got back here Rita!!! This is the latest leaf on the v. Monstera Deliciosa cutting you sent me around Thanksgiving.
Drew, I think you are right, it is a colocasia rather than an alocasia. Two of my friends bought them at the same time and place, they thought they were alocasias. I don't know how or if they were labeled. Interestingly, the one I pictured has grown and stayed in a tight clump while the one my other friend got tends to run like a C. esculenta and it seems to stay shorter. She gave me a baby but I am keeping it in a pot as I am still yanking out esculentas from one I planted (and promptly removed) over 10 years ago.
Yes Alice, those bad boys will spread like the plague as you know! it's good to see everyones plants are growing so well.
Musella lasiocarpa flag leaf.
This message was edited Jun 13, 2012 5:40 AM
That is so cool. I have been watching my edible bananas forever it seems and no flag leaves yet. It is killing me, they did not die back this past winter and I have been watering and fertilizing heavily, I should have had something by now. These plants take up too much real estate, if they don't produce this year they are history.
Will keep that C. teacup in the pot, then! Thanks you two. Lord knows I don't need another big, spreading thing around here. The house is disappearing like Sleeping Beauty's castle already. Hm, maybe if I go to sleep for the summer . . .
The giants are looking wonderful, Drew. Has it stopped raining yet?
Here's a mystery, these broms were all rescued from the Y of one of my big oaks. They all looked the same when I planted them, but now we have 3 versions of the same plant! Ain't nature weird and wonderful?
Rita's Plumeria Pudica opening a bloom today - it bloomed last fall, too. Plant is over 5ft. tall now, from a cutting a year ago!
Invasive woes in my pond again, I think I have a huge marine toad in residence. Got a look at him last night and he's about 6in. across! Big enough to eat my fish if he puts his mind to it. He's fast and wary so I don't know how the heck I'm going to catch him.
good morning everyone. welcome back ben and rita!
the madagascar palm is flowering! it is so tall it is hard to take a photo. i also have a allamanda that i am not sure if it is a cherries jubillee or chocolate swirl? i had cuttings of both not sure which survived.
1. madagascar flower 2. madagascar palm 3. gingers 4. noid orchid 5. allamanda
Dzzypxxy: Thanks! My plan is to most use the Tricolor sage as an ornamental shrub along the driveway or sidewalk (along with some English Lavender), with cooking/potpourri/other uses being secondary. Oh, and you got some nice Spiral Gingers too... I'm a sucker for some good Gingers...
BTW, did you see in the Plant Files where this one guy in New Jersey is growing Zingiber officinale (Common ginger) in his backyard as a perennial?! I might have to see about ordering some from somewhere and give it a try... Definitely going to try Z. mioga, since I found a nursery in Flint, Michigan that was selling Z. mioga that they grew outside and left out all year with no protection... I really like the variegated varieties (Dancing Crane, Silver Arrow, etc)...
About the "Teacups" Colocasia... I seem to remember Brian Williams growing them at his nursery in Louisville, Kentucky.... He grows all his cannas and colocasias outdoors, where he just mulches them over the winter and they keep coming back... I haven't had as much luck with them, but it's probably because I planted the plants in the woods and they just got too much shade..... That and I forgot to mulch them.
Drew: That's awesome that your Yellow Banana is going to bloom. I tried a M. lasiocarpa back in 2006, and while it survived the winter, apparently where I had it planted was a bit too wet and it ended up catching some kind of root rot and died the next spring before it could fully leaf out... I MAY try it again in a raised bed, but considering that my Uncle in Walhalla, SC ended up losing his in zone 7b, I'll probably pass. :(