If I remember right, this is an amaranthus that RJ gave me this summer. I think it's love lies bleeding, but it's not "hanging down" yet for me to confirm that. This bloom is only a couple of weeks old.
The Bittersweet blooms of Fall Part II
Sunrise at 6:35 am this morning.
Janet
Well I see now that I posted the wrong photo of the sage. Here is the full plant. It's come back from last year. I planted lantana and 4 o'clocks around it.
Janet
Wow Janet! That last shot of sage is gorgeous... in fact I love all your flowers...
I am so amazed at October rose. I can't visualize a Hibiscus having thorns. Grrrr! and such a pretty bloom. Your plant is loaded with buds and blooms. It must like the treatment received.
You mentioned cutting down your cannas. I had read somewhere that cannas and butterfly ginger bloom stalks should be cut down to the ground after blooming. That will make them bloom again. Have you ever? I have done the cannas but the last few years have not been normal in the garden due to weather. Whatever normal is ~ 8 )
Each morning I wake up and fine about 10 blooms opened on the October Rose. It's almost funny because I looked and looked for a photo of the bloom when I planted the seeds. I couldn't find a photo anywhere! After I planted mine in the ground (not knowing what they were) my youngest Hillary planted a 6 pack of them. She's 19 and was thrilled when all 6 started coming up. Of course she only watered them that FIRST time after planting the seeds. I planted those 6 into a medium pot along with some small cuttings of coleus. The coleus dwarfed the hibiscus... at first. Then those things began to grow. Boy did they grow. They are about 4 1/2 - 5 ft tall now. I left them in the pot thinking she'd take them with her when she moved. She didn't. I don't want to disturb them now that they are blooming, so I guess they will stay in that pot. When the first bloom opened up, she was in San Antonio visiting her new hubby's relatives. I took a photo and emailed it to her.
As for the cannas and BF gingers. I have both. I bought the ginger last year at the end of the season. It died off and came back this year. It has just bloomed in the past month or so. The cannas have been cut back many times this year. They are thugs in the yard and in a weeks time after cutting them, they are 2 ft. tall.
When I put my plants away for the winter (HAHAHAHA - you know those 3 days of freezing we get???) We are planning on really pruning back the yard. It will look miserable out there, I know. We have a problem with a vine that grows all over our fences. If the dern thing bloomed, I'd be happy. But it is just "there" taking over any pretty vines that I've planted. We're going to really attack them this year and hope like heck that it doesn't come back again. It's not a kudzu vine, but has the same "take over the world" characteristics.
I'm wondering about the sage. Can I cut the stalks after the blooms are done and freeze it so I'll be able to use it for Thanksgiving??? I didn't do that last year, but just let it go naturally. I had it in a big pond that I converted to a planter. I pulled it up and put it into it's own pot, along with some basil. This spring it came back big time. It bloomed then. The basil grew really bushy, bloomed (which I plucked mercilessly daily) and then it just croaked. I really enjoyed cooking with the basil. I've got another pot of purple ruffle basil so I didn't really worry about the one I lost. The PR Basil is flowering right now.
Janet ~ I may be wrong (here I go again) but that looks like a salvia and not one of the eating sages. Do you have a cultivar name for it?
As I said, I got it last year. I think it was mexican sage. Or russian sage? I know I bought both last year. I don't remember using it for Thanksgiving last year. If it's not the eating kind, then I guess I'm lucky that I didn't think to use it! HAHAHAHA The 4-5" blooms are fuzzy and have been like they are now for several weeks if not longer. The leaves are long and skinny and slightly fuzzy also.
It is pretty but some one better versed in sages needs to weigh in. I have only grown the tricolor sage in the past. The leaves favor my lemon verbena, do they have any odor?
And should you have just a few too many seed from your love lies bleeding, perhaps I could tempt you with something in exchange... It is a favorite color.
I had the love lies bleeding earlier in the year and it bit the dust. This is a new plant. Oh by the way, I found a little seedling of it coming up in a pot that the old plant was sitting close to. I would be happy to scoop it up and mail it to you. It's already got some roots. The plant is only about 3-4 inches tall and already has a tiny bloom on it's little head.
Tell me what to look for seedwise on the LLB and I'll be happy to share them. I love that deep fuschia color also. I have the other amaranthus (Can't think of it's name) that I got from RJ also. I saw that you posted some of it in the other thread.
Just cuz it's so pretty, I'll add a sprig here too since mine is still blooming.
The leaves of the sage do have a scent. But I'm not remembering at this moment in time if it's the same scent that I know from Thanksgiving! I'll check that out.
Here's a photo of the leaves on my sage. It doesn't have a smell like I thought it did. hmmmmmmmmmm
Here's the little bitty amaranthus. That is a very small pot that the succulents are in, so it's going to have to come outta there anyway.
This is the one I posted earlier. That pot is huge! It wasn't much bigger than that one in July when I put it here. As you can see, there's no way the little one can stay in that little bitty pot.
The hated vine that I mentioned earlier that takes over my fence.
Janet your last picture is a wheat Celosia. Yours is pretty and different from the two I have. I have a pink ~ called pink candles. And I was given seeds for this purple celosia with purple tinted foliage from Corgimom on MSG forum. No idea of an ID. Being a purple fan, it snagged me! The celosia when they age (the lighter part of the bloom) will develop seed. You can hold it over a cookie sheet and shake and tiny round shiny black seeds will rain down.
I am not sure how one would harvest seed from the Amaranthus ~ love lies bleeding ~ perhaps someone else can help us with that. In your photo, does yours have a purple vein on the leaves or was that a nearby plant?
This is something else that's blooming right now. The little buds are pink. When I bought this plant last year, I was told it's a lipstick plant.
It's funny you should ask about those purple veins. They are actually more of a reddish color. I took a shot of the back sides of the leaves this morning because I thought they looked so pretty with the barely there sun shining through them. And yes, that is on the love lies bleeding plant.
Interesting the leaves and the blooms on your lipstick plant favor a Hibiscus. Hmmmmmm You always have the most unusual collection of plants!
The amaranthus leaves are pretty ~ I agree.
Does your "hated vine have a bloom or a name?
The blooms look just like my Turk's cap except mine are bright red.
Pod, I wish I did know the name. Then maybe I could get some help in eradicating it from the face of the earth. At least in my own backyard. The roots on those vines are very strong and deep. They sneak up along another plant and try to camoflauge themselves to look like other things that I do like. They get "Bzzzzzgjjtt's" and curl themselves around anything in site and hang on for dear life.
Christi, that does look like the turks cap. I have a small red one also. Let me see if I can find the Plant File ID on it. I remember looking once before. Yep you are right. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/114736/ Mexican Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. mexicanus 'Rosea'
I didn't know Turk's cap was anything but red. Learn something new everyday.
There's a whole bunch of 'em Christi!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=Turk%27s+Cap&Search=Search+PlantFiles
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus
This one is a pass around......everybody in our neighborhood has it. I have so many butterfly/hummer plants this year that I no longer mess with the feeders. The pink is beautiful.
It really is pretty Christi. It's a mellow pink in the mornings and then very pale pink in the afternoons. It's really hard to capture the color with the camera.
Connie and I did a residential tint job one time for a lady that had the red ones all the way around her yard. We asked if we could dig one up. She said sure. The roots on that rascal were so deep, we like to have never got it out of the ground. It didn't like being moved. A neighbor of mine moved and she had one in her dilapidated greenhouse. Just before the house sold, I dug it up, along with some really big leaf ivy. So far, both are doing very well.
I can't remember who it was that was going to collect seeds from Oct rose. I need to warn you about that. I haven't tried it, but Htop, Josephine and Kipper have and they all said be very careful and don't leave any skin unprotected. That plant has millions of very tiny stickers. Wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves, hat, scarf, and glasses when you're working around it, especially when you're collecting seeds.
Thanks silverfluter. I appreciate that warning. They are right about the stickers on the plant, though I've only really noticed them on the stalks or stems. I haven't inspected much of the rest of it yet. I may have some of the seeds leftover from last year. If so, I won't worry about trying to collect any from these. Seems like if I remember right, I had 2 little bags full of seeds and only planted one of the bags of them. I've never collected seeds from any of my hibiscus, but would like to try and do so this year. Especially my RumRunner and Sun Showers.
Janet
The October rose discussion made me look ~ http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/59791/
I believe the thorn part has discouraged me. I have a definite aversion to thorns.
This bittersweet bloom of Fall is a Salvia. It is a wild one which has grown for quite a few years along the edge of the woods on our driveway. The patch is getting larger and the bright blue blooms sparkle even on a frosty morning. This Salvia blooms from Sept thru a killing freeze. I believe it is S. azurea?
Oh, I forgot Sylvia, I rooted those asters in dirt. You cut one of the branches that are nice and green and soft, right at the end of the branch. You need to leave 2 - 3 sets of leaves on it and then take off the last 2 or 3 sets of leaves. Make a hole in some good rooting mix with a pencil or something and stick the cutting in there, firm the soil around the cutting and water gently. I think I started mine in a gh, but I don't know that you need to. They probably will need lots of sun though. You'll probably be more successful if you try this is spring. I'm not sure there is enough sunlight at this time of year. But it can't hurt to try.
This butterfly was charmed by the bachelor buttons on Sunday ~ Gomphrena globosa
Janet to have that much color blooming at one time is amazing! I guess I need to learn what all blooms at the same time. I had the Amaranth at one time, it was spewing seeds everywhere. I have been looking for the red amaranth called Love lies bleeding for a long time for a long time. I just want it for its name. :) My Granny use to grow that years ago. I did not appreciate it then, now that I am a gardener ... I want it . lol
I could be wrong, but it seems like someone has Love Lies Bleeding for the plant swap. Did you check all the lists?
No I havent Patti. I am so far behind, I dont know where any information is. There has to be a thread going on somewhere. :) I am so lost. lol
Pretty butterfly Pod. I've been seeing more and more of them in the back yard these days. No cats yet though. I guess they KNOW that I still need to fix the top screen on my BF house where a (literal) cat fell through it.
There is quite a bit blooming out there, though nothing like it has been all summer long. I know... for everything there is a season.... I'm counting my blessings every day that I get to enjoy them all. We had a cool front blow in this afternoon. I'm such a wuss that I had to change from shorts to long pants and even put on a jacket! HAHAHAHA
It won't be long that I'll have to move all of my potted plants to the deck and cover them up with plastic. That worked well for me last year. Connie's going to take the coleus and put them in her greenhouse this year, so hopefully we'll have a bunch of those to start out with next spring. I've become a coleus fanatic this year and have now about 75 different coleu(i?) The folks here at Dave's just keep sending them and I am loving every one of them! Thank heaven's most are already potted up. I'll take cuttings of those that aren't and have to watch them go to coleus heaven. I am SO not looking forward to that. Having watered both front and back yards by hand (with hose) each and every day, I AM looking forward to not having that to deal with any more.
It was here on Dave's that I first saw the Love Lies Bleeding Sylvia. I wanted that plant so bad I was seeing red! HAHAHAHA One day Connie and I went to Betty's Bloomer's up in Silsbee and there it was! Pretty as could be. Little 4 inch pots for $1.00. I snagged a couple of them, to go along with the other goodies I had already picked out. I just can't go there without spending $50. But Man oh Man do I get a ton of plants for that $50. Anyhow, when I got them home, I planted one of them into my little topiary truck. And the other into a big pot of miscellaneous stuff. They did rather well in both places and every time I'd pass them I'd smile really big. They bloomed for a long time. Then when the weather got really hot, they just bit the dust. Evidently, a seed must have dropped into that little pot of succulents. I knew right away when I saw the red stem what it was. It's been slowly coming on up. It's about 4-5 inches tall now and has the cutest red hair! HAHAHAHA
I did pick up one from RJ in Houston in July that has gotten pretty big. The "love" isn't laying over though like the other one did. It could be a different variety. Or it might just not be big enough to hang yet.
I'll watch for seeds and collect them. I'll be happy to share them if I get them.
Here's my little truck with the love lies bleeding.
Sylvia here is the link to the headcount thread;
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/781812/
and the link to the last trade thread;
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/777934/
I hope that helps.
Josephine.
Wonderful pictures! Don't forget asters and more salvia greggii.
Janet you have a great collection of containers! At one time I did all my gardening in containers... I had almost 200 pots of Hostas. I moved here so I could plant them in the ground, but let me tell you Container gardening is a lot easier! lol
When grasses are backlit, they are especially beautiful.
Although the grass didn't grow well in this container, the silver bells and potato vine do a nice job.
Bananna ~ who says red and purple don't blend! Very pretty photo! Is that purple heart in the upper right corner? Lovely.
Janet ~ I love the variety and depth of plants in your "truck" photo. The Tahitian bridal veil looks like stars glittering in the background and I see Sansevieria, Aloe, Coleus, Schefflera, Arrowhead vine ~ sheese what else! That is a cool photo!
I have never done grasses but am being tempted sorely. Sylvia, I agree, container gardening for me is easier (read lazier).
Very pretty display ~ Silver bells ~ Dichondra? Apparently it does well in the heat?
I've really enjoyed that little truck. I found it at Ross and then a couple of weeks later I found the trailer at Goodwill. I lined the bottom of it with sphagnum moss and there is about 2-3 inches of potting soil in there. You named most of the plants in there. There is also gizzard plant and a ribbon plant in the "cab". The "engine" compartment has a couple of waybigo ruffles portulaca and some pink ice plant. The gizzard has bit the dust now, and the polkadot plant (or whatever that red splotchy thing is) went crazy and got really leggy. I finally cut it off. Everything else is still in there. The India Frills coleus trails over the bed of the truck. I'll have to get a new photo of it since Ive moved it to the front yard now.
The schefflera is in that big pot behind the truck. The aloe that you see is actually mother of millions growing up through the bricks. There are 5-6 stalks of it still there that is about 18 inches tall. Actually it's taller than that, but lays on the ground for about 6 inches before growing upwards. The Tahitian bridal veil is something that I bought a hanging basket of years ago. The basket is long gone, but each year, that center island gets taken over by it. It completely covered the whole island this year. I finally pulled most of it up and tossed it because I missed that space to park my big pots. There were so many pots on the patio that you could barely see the bricks any more. The arrowhead is also in the island and not in the truck. Gardengus sent me a variety box of little sedums that I planted into the trailer. They've all done well also.
The only bad thing is that the truck and trailer dry out completely, so need to be watered sometimes more than once a day.
Sylvia, I've never grown any hostas. I've seen them on here and they are beautiful. But doggone it, I don't need any more obsessive plants! HAHAHAHA
I love grasses too Bananna. They make such pretty containers. I think Ill try some of those silver bells next year. Every time I see them in a photo I tell myself that. :-)
