Kay's Rainbow

This lovely one belongs to Kay. Being the lovely woman that she is, she sent this to me last year, and it not only grew a huge amount of branches, but it is a beautiful rainbow. We aren't postive which one this is, so I am calling it an unknown. Close matches are Vera Cruz Rose, Kimo, JL Pink and White Rainbow, and Vanda Ruffles. It has a faint perfumed fragrance, which may be a rose fragrance. It is yellow and white with a strong pink band and a faint red star in the middle. The leaves have a red lining to them. Thanks, Kay!

Here's another picture:

This one shows all the branching:

Pretty pictures, Clare! Is that blue ginger in the background?

Hi Nat and thanks! Yes, that's Kay's too! She is all over my garden:-)

Clare,

Here are some pics for you to compare of Vera Cruz Rose. The fragrance is pretty strong and smells just like an old fashioned rose---like something in grandmother's garden. I am attaching a series of pics for you.

Brad

and another...

and another one,,,

And...one last one....

Clare--one more thing---this was taken at Florida Colors back in June on Luc's back patio. The flower was not by any means small. This one was close to 4 inches--probably 3.5 or a tad bigger. I had been carrying it around for about an hour, smelling it, before I finally, as an afterthought, decided to photograph it. LOL

Brad, thanks so much for your help and your pictures. They really helped me to determine that this is not Vera Cruz Rose. My flower is much smaller. I haven't measured it, but I would guess it is two inches. It certainly is not 3.5 or 4.0 inches. I think my petals are more rounded also, and mine has a mild fragrance, possibly rose. It's pretty though, and it will have to be content with being my unknown rainbow. Thanks again.

Here's Kay's flower today. It's about two inches:

The flower petals have quite a bit of curl to them, which I love:

Here's another shot. It seems to have a rose fragrance.

Here's another shot today:

This one is Key West Pink, still blooming away:

My ACW is about to bloom, and I'll post pictures of that when it does. Here is Pacific Pearl:

Hey, Kay, if you see this, I think your unknown Rainbow is Vanda Ruffles after all. Remember Milton Pierson identified yours as Vanda Ruffles? Well, I think this one is too. I was looking for the ruffles, but it may be that the ruffles are virus-related and don't show up on healthy plants. All the other characteristics seem to match such as flower size and fragrance, leaf characteristics, and growth habit. I'll put a question mark on the name tag just in case I'm wrong, but I do believe it is Vanda Ruffles. This is the one that we originally thought might be Hilo Beauty. I just love it!

Hey Nat, Clare's footprints are all over my garden, too! What a wonderful person and what a wonderful trader! (And what a wonderful friend!)

Kay

Awe, tanks, buddy! Right back at ya!

I've got a few started, sure do hope they bloom next summer. Any tips for making them bloom?

Linda, a regular fertilizer program from spring to fall will make them bloom!

Clare, for someone that has a limited amount of space, you sure manage to have a wide selection of beauties.

Thanks, Nat! It's very crowded here! LOL!

Thanks Clare, will do. What do you recommend? 20-20-20, or one with a higher middle number. I think my problem is lack of sun, I have many large trees.

Hi Nat

Clare I know they do not get as much water as the brugs but do they get the same kind of fertilizer. The real high center nunber? Joan

Hi Linda, if you can give them at least six hours of full sun, they should be happy, but some can get buy with less sun. A regular fertilizing program is the key to good blooms in my opinion. Many large trees? Cool! Yes, start out in spring with a high middle number, and then when you see inflo's forming, you can switch to a balanced fertilizer like MiracleGro or 20-20-20 or whatever you have on hand.

Joan, yes, that high middle number like Bloombooster and Bloombuilder formulas have is good for initiating inflo's. I find that my brugs bloom just fine with the balanced fertilizer and don't seem to need the high middle number as much. Perhaps some brugs are more free flowering, and that could be true of plumerias as well.