I'm a plant enthusiast and have been growing a variety of plants for many years. My interests are broad.... from native wild orchids to exotic vines to Hibiscus and everything in-between. This year I'm conducting winter hardiness experiments on nearly a dozen vines including some never before grown in my Zone 8. One that I’m very excited about is Lapageria rosea, the national flower of Chile. I've grown this one for about 3 years now and so far it has proved winter hardy. The real test will be if the plant will bloom this season.
I have most of the Laps growing in containers including some 1-year-old seedlings. I have posted a photo of the one plant that bloomed last year.
http://davesgarden.com/t/378210/
In my greenhouse I have planted seeds from various hardy Hibicus crosses from last summer. My first attemped at crossing two Hibs was about 2 years ago with the cross of H. coccineus X H. 'Lord Baltimore'. It bloomed for the first time last July. Wonderful deep red flowers.
For those wild orchid lovers check my webpage. It has a few of the over 50 species that call NC home.
http://www.ncgarden.com/wildorchids.html
I will be adding my garden pics on my site in the next few weeks. I look forward to learning and sharing with the folks here @ DG. . It's a wealth of information. And remember… Spring is just around the corner!
Botanically yours,
Ray
~~Green & Growing!~~
This message was edited Feb 4, 2004 9:15 PM
