Starting to collect some smaller plants from local stores for the yard this year (even if most will only survive as annuals). But I have no idea what some of these are. Big Box stores are horrible about labeling them "assorted foliage." Yeah, that helps.
I'm sure some of you will know at first glance. Thanks guys.
-John
Another. I'm sure we'll have more over the next couple of weeks. I just usually stick to the big stuff; I'm clueless on these smaller guys. I really appreciate the help.
The second one is a croton. :)
That's all this newbie knows.
Well, I have the first one as well. Asst. foliage is the best I can do.
LouC
Some sort of striped dracaena???
Thanks for the ID on the Croton. PF says it's hardy to a 10, but folks in 7a?? have reported it in their yards in the comments.
I plan to use them as annuals anyway since they are fairly cheap. I guess I could just dig them up at the end of the year before the first frost.
My neighbor swears she's owned the first plant that seems to be hard to ID. She said they can get fairly tall and will spread out from the center producing smaller plants like pups on a canna (only not as invasive). No idea if that's true, but she thought so. Either way, I'm doubting it's hardy either - I'd just like to know what it is.
Thanks again for the ID on the Croton.
I sort of suspect the zone 7 people were either digging it up and bringing it in for the winter, or they had the wrong identification on their plant. I can't imagine something that's only hardy to zone 10 surviving in zone 7.
Forgot to add...your first one does look like a Dracaena, possibly D. reflexa 'Variegata' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2564/
Thanks ecrane, I think you got the ID spot on. That sure looks like it.
I thought it looked like a Warneckii (at least that's what I was told it was called)
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This message was edited Mar 22, 2008 12:42 AM
I did consider Dracaena fragrans as well (of which 'Warneckii is one cultivar) but the leaves looked a little different, the leaves on this plant are a bit wider and set closer to the main trunk, vs D. fragrans has leaves that are a little thinner and there seems to be a little more stalk between the leaf and the trunk. That's why I went with D. reflexa. Not saying I'm right necessarily, but that was the logic I used to decide between those two species.
The first one is without a doubt Dracaena reflexa. In fact, it is the culitvar 'Song of India.'
This plant D. reflexar or Song of India was just given to me by a fellow D. Garden member visiting my garden. I went to search for it's name and came up with the same conclusion as you folks here.
palmbob has a picture of this plant in Hawaii which looks like a giant bush 15 feet tall. It obviously likes full sun. I will make some cuttings for myself to get a few into the garden. I already have the unvarigated type but they are not as flashy as this one.
Fred
We have a reflexa (not song of India- maybe green or song of jamaica) at the nursery where I work that is 20' feet tall with a trunk like a tree.
So it can take full sun? Figures that Lowe's grows it in the shade as a "shade plant." We'll probably do it half and half under taller canopy - no sense burning it to a crisp while it's small. Will acclimate it over the years to full sun.
Well, take it from someone who has worked in an industry involving "shade acclimated plants" for many years.........its horticulturally a bit of a fabricated term, depending on the species. A. No, that plant would not be the predominate tree in its indigenous land. B. That being said, that particular species would go in the sun no problem. C. There is a distinct difference between truly shade bearing species and sun bearing species that has been acclimated to be houseplants, etc. Chain stores are not the be all and end all of the market, especially in terms of education- they just happen to dominate most of the industry financially. You can put that plant in full sun, it just isn't going to tolerate less than freezing temperatures.
Could I do the same with one of my monstera? I guess I would need to acclimate it though since I do keep it indoors most of the year. I just would love to have one of them out front. And I see them growing in HI in full sun all the time. I have cuttings (well they were once cuttings, now they are monsters) from all over... so I was thinking of using one that had come from a near full-sun environment. The one I tried last year (which got burned a bit) was a green house raised plant.
That one I would acclimate first. If you have a spot that gets morning sun, that is a great place to start its exposure and gradually increase it.
Thanks, I'll try that starting Wednesday when the temps are back up.
Fred- Glad you liked it! They had the Song of India in the sun at the nursery....
Yes Terry,
I made took some cuttings today and planted the rest in the sun.
I had asked earlier about my vanilla vine and found out it really was an orchid. Today I saw that my vine is about to bloom. I read that the one day flower needs to be polinated right away or it won't bear fruit in the form of vanilla nuts. I doubt that anyone will come around to polinate but I will try to catch a pictureof the flower. I had thought I'd have to wait several more years for this to happen but here it is.
Fred
my King Sago is spreading his wings.
I really wanted to ask about another flower or weed (anybody know the difference?)
Anybody ever see this plant before? It just showed up. This is a close up
Look's like 4'oclocks maybe???
and from a little farther away
kimarj,
just wondering where in Philly you live. It's really my other home except on the other side of the Delaware since the 70s.
Fred
Hey Fred!
I live in Mt. Airy. :)
I think some nice little bird has planted your first 4 o'clock. You can be assured it is not the last. Everyone of those black seeds will germinate and then they will bloom and they will have seeds that will germinate..you get the picture. They have a very lovely, soft aroma. Blooms everyday at approximately 4 o'clock. I have them everywhere and have had for years. Once you have them, you don't get rid of them. I pull them or leave them depending on whether I need to fill a vacancy or not. Really pretty fond of them.
Christi
Ok, everybod agrees it's a 4 O'Clock then? I'm still not so sure judging by the pictures in plant files. Mine don't seem to open up as far as those shown there.
Anyway, back to the subject of this thread. The D. reflexa aparently was already in my garden but in deep shade where I thought it belonged. One lives and learns but here is the contrast between what is growing in the shade and what the plant looks like when grown in the sun.
Fred
a little better contrast
Thank you for the ID. I purchased this at HD last year. Brought it in for the winter and just recently planted out again. I love varigated plants.
Christi
That's definitely a 4'Oclock you posted earlier - I'd recognize that anywhere. My grandmother had them everywhere when I was younger.
Fred, yours is definitely a 4 o'clock. If it's not open as much as some of the ones in PF, either you're looking at it at the wrong time of day before it's opened completely, or maybe it's not getting enough sun and doesn't open as fully as it would otherwise. But it's absolutely a 4 o'clock.
OK folks. I give up and believe you. It 3:59PM :-)
fred
LOL :)
