One last hoya from me, the luscious smelling H Verticillata getting ready to go another round
~Brenda
OT - September Outside Beauties
I wish I could say that I grew this beautiful Hollyhock but I just took the picture at a local garden here. It reminded me very much of a Hibiscus bloom. Is it just me or does this Hollyhock remind anyone else of a hibiscus??
~Brenda
The biggest winner you have is that Verticilltia! and it has a fragrance to boot!!!! wonderful looking flower.
Now I am getting excited..........my Hoya Kerri doesn't get as much sun as the others. She is sitting on a table on the front porch but she is covered literally with peduncles. I can't decide whether to move her in the sun with our 106 heat index or just leave her where she is with morning sun and just pray she goes on and blooms.
Can you believe that everyday we have hit over the 100 mark in degrees .........add the humidity factor and everyday it is over 105 degrees............I am ready to either move back to the mountains of New Mexico or hit one of the cooler states.........September is our usual hottest month of the year.
No, I can't believe those temps!! Our high the past two days was 55 degrees with lows at 29! Today it has warmed up and is 64 outside after a low of 34 this morning!! Fall is rushing at us full blast! I am hoping for a bit of Indian Summer ......
These are the days every year that I say, "Now , why did my great grandmother and great grandfather think this was such a hot place to move to"...............They came at the turn of the century and no one has left. At least I left for 40 years before I came back (LOL)
I can't take the heat with the shingles so I don't get out very often. Today all I did was run to town to the bank, pharmacy and post office. I was drenching wet when I got home and put my pajamas back on.
Oh, Gail - I know what you mean about those days each year. All I have to do is go outside for not even 5 minutes, and I feel like a melting candle! I can't imagine what it must be like with shingles - you're a brave person, that is for certain!
Amy: That vine with the red box doesn't look like krinkle 8 to me but I didn't know there were clones. I remember (I think) reading that the krinkle 8 was a cross between carnosa and compacta, and my first thought was there was a carnosa mixed in with the krinkle 8 in that basket. It sure is pretty! I keep forgetting that depending on light conditions the flowers can be lighter/darker in color too. Mine is pretty washed out because it is in bright sunlight. I had the H. rubra "krimson princess" in too much sun and the foliage got burnt and the flowers were a lot lighter than normal.
Does your krinkle 8 have any fragrance? I've read a few places that they smell sorta like chocolate but I have never detected any fragrance whatsoever on mine.
It sure is understandable why they are called porcelain flower or wax plant! The foliage on a lot of them look like wax as do the blooms!
Lin, can you tell (or Brenda)........if my Hoya Kerri is getting ready to bloom? Here are a few pictures.
They don't really look like peduncles because the strings are longer???????
You can see I didn't have much to plant to begin with........but she will grow and I can take cuttings this winter to add to her..........
Gail: I think I might be seeing a couple of peduncles on your Kerri but those stringy things look like roots to me, possibly aerial roots ... maybe she wants to climb?
I have a Kerri that you sent me last year ... I am going to go look at it right now to see if it has any peduncles forming.
Lin, that is how little I know about hoyas........you are right! Those long roots are hanging down to the ground because they have no where to climb. I need to hang that basket up and get her climbing as she wants to do! Thanks so much.......report your findings on yours. Thanks
Ok, I went out and brought my little H. kerri in to take a couple of pic's.
Here's the whole plant.
oops ... computer glitch! Let me try again.
Here she is:
Well, either my computer is acting up or DG is acting up ... I'm gonna try again.
Oh good ... finally!
Now, here is a close up - I'm doing a happy dance because I think she has two peduncles ... can't wait for buds and blooms!
I'm not sure if the growth at the top is a new stem or peduncle but the grey looking thing in the middle is definitely a peduncle.
OK, LIn. This weekend I am going to find something for her to climb on. I sure was stingy in sending only one plant. Maybe that is why mine is kinda empty looking. I want to see how many plants are growing and if I can start some cuttings for us. We both need them.
Oh, my computer shut down at about 9:45 ... no cable, no t.v., no computer access! Arrgh! I was panicking there for a bit! LOL. Almost thought I would have to turn the radio on for distraction! Amazing how accustomed we get to having stuff like that, huh?
Oh Gail, you are so sweet! You sent me the solid green Hoya kerri and also a cutting of variegated kerri that didn't survive. I am so pleased with this kerri even though it is a slow grower. I know it would probably do better if I fed it more often! I gave everyone a dose of VF-11 today and now it's pouring down rain! After all the rain from Tropical Storm Fay they don't need this much water right now! I use a very chunky mix that drains well thank goodness!
Hoya's like to climb? Well, that would explain why mine is sending it's new branches up thru the curtains!
Nichole, I don't know as much as Lin does but I think (just from watching mine) that some will climb and others are happy to cascade over the basket. Lin and Brenda can give us some tips tomorrow.
I know very little about Hoyas but have learned from others on the hoya forum that yes, some like to climb while others like to hang down. I have a few climbers on those little bamboo orchid trellises and some in hanging baskets that I just wind the vines around each other and around the basket hangers. Only thing about that is trying to untwine/unwind them if they need repotting.
That is a giant problem for me as I have to bring all baskets in the winter to the front porch........the plants just get cut.......and then I can root whatever has to be cut..........
Gail, you have such happy plants, they grow so fast and so beautifully under your care! You have your own little Tropical paradise right there in Texas!
Just saw on the news that "Ike" is now a Catagory 4 Hurricane!! Within a couple of hours it went from a 3 to a 4 and is tracking towards South Florida! Scary! Winds predicted at 170 mph when it nears the southern tip of the state. That's a major, major storm!
Took this photo this morning.
Lovely photo .... pentas, vinca and that cute cherub!
Beautiful picture everyone! I have noid achimenes blooming outside.
Lin, that is horrible about Ike...........that is another Katrina coming............oh I hope not for all of Florida.....................
How beautiful jannich! Amy sent me a pot of achimenes but I am afraid to put her outside........look at yours blooming. Mine aren't blooming yet.
Please let me know when you get Gary's box.................dying to know what he sent..........
Simply Gorgeous Pics Everyone!! What a Great Way To Start My Day..Keep Them Coming....
Great pictures, everyone. I love looking at all the flowers and then I want them all. ^_^ . I've been lurking because I've had my eyes on the weather channel since last week. These storms are a pain in the neck. I'm flying to NY on the 12th for my granddaughter's bridal shower. She's our first grandchild getting married. We're very excited. I sure hope I make the shower. Between Ike and Josephine, I've been glued to TV. We are planning on driving up in December for the wedding. At least we won't have to worry about hurricaines here. Just snow up there. ^_^.
Not a flower but I was out in the backyard this morning and found this pretty mushroom/fungus thingy and thought it was kinda neat looking.
I will put these in the right place
Rose of Sharon baby plant from av-ocd-girl
Hoya cinnamon ( not the botanical name) is starting to take off blooming again
This is the fruit on a cactus I am growing that has a white bloom about a foot across............just magnificent. I don't have a picture of her bloom because as she started to open, we had storms for 3 days and I missed it!
Gail, that is one really pretty Hibiscus I have never seen the double blooming ones. Love the color too.
I just had to go to Plant Files to look at some of the gorgeous ones listed: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=hibiscus&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&offset=0 There are so many!
Forgot to say how much I like that Hoya too! Of course, I am a hoya fanatic ... don't have many and all of mine are the common ones. Is that H. cinnamomifolia? I was looking at it in PF and it doesn't say it's fragrant. And, it's weird but Rob's Violets says that H. lacunosa has a cinnamon scent. Confusing but as long as they smell really good I love them. I had one EA plant that was H. nummularioides that smelled sooo wonderful and it died on me. The vines just started drying up ... I would cut off the dead part, tried rooting some in water, some in perlite and some in my regular mix to no avail. I hope to find that one again some day, it was a small leaf hoya but the little flowers were so cute and so fragrant!
Love your Epiphyllum too! Wow! Look at that fruit! I'm curious ... are you going to harvest the seeds?? Uh Oh ... another propagating addiction? Aren't Epi's just wonderful? Is that one a night bloomer? I found more buds on my E. hookeri when I was outside this morning! I am bound and determined to see the darn flowers opened! I have had this plant since @1976 and since it's a night bloomer and sits out in a corner of the backyard I have yet to see it bloom! Last month it had 2 buds and I would watch every day and swore I was going to keep checking with the flashlight every night so I didn't miss the blooms ... wouldn't you know it, I missed checking a couple of nights and went out one morning and they were flopped and wilted ... done! I just made a note and stuck it on the kitchen table so hopefully I will remember this time and be able to get some pic's!
You are going to love those Rose of Sharons Gail..we have a huge one in the backyard and they are so great!
Lin..That is one humongous epi!!..Love it!!...I love that fungus pic too..I agree some of them really look neat..amazing how they form!
Lin, that is a Rose of Sharon that av-ocd-girl sent me..........isn't she a beauty..........
Gail, It sure is a beauty and "All in The Family". Malvaceae (sp) family I think.
Genus is Hibiscus, common name Rose of Sharon: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/788/
edited to say: Unless this is an entirely different plant and I'm thinking of another one called Rose of Sharon ... so many have the same common names.
This message was edited Sep 9, 2008 3:00 PM
Gail, that's a Dragon Fruit you have growing there. When it is soft to touch, it is ready to eat. It is similar to kiwi fruit. Tastes better at room temp. Enjoy. I love that blue Rose of Sharon. Awesome bloom.
Lin, that mushroom is 'something else'. (no words to describe it)
Gail, if your Epi is actually the Dragon Fruit, here's the link to Plant Files for it: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54131/
My Epiphyllum hookeri gets fruits that look just like that but I don't think I'd want to take a chance on tasting them, not sure if they are edible like the Dragon Fruit ... if I ever get fruit on it again I will try to salvage the seeds.