I have a few bougainvillea that I would treat almost the same way. I would buy them marked down in the fall, trim them way back, and put them in the GH with very little water over the winter. My only problem is that they do not bloom at the same time, some will wait until it was time to go back in the GH.
this one is almost 10 yrs. old
mexican sage still blooming
still blooming
coral nymph salvia
shrimp plant
NOID
mealy cup sage, silver white
blooming in the GH
These Camellias and a few struggling perennials are all I have blooming right now.
This bush is covered with blooms in November and I have another bush with large red and white varigated flowers that blooms later this month.
I never can remember...is it called Mexican Marigold Mint or Mexican Mint Marigold? And Placenciarita's NOID might be Mexican Honeysuckle.
htop, Do I understand you to say that bouganvillea will not freeze in the ground in zone 8b? I live in central east Texas and I have two bogies. One is about three years old and one I have had for one year. They are both in pots, but if I could plant them that would be nice.
I thought I had lost my old bogie last winter. I ignored the stick in the planter, didn't water or anything. Just when I was ready to pull it out to reuse the pot I saw new growth coming from the dirt. Yea! It has grown so big. Had to cut once. Blooms grow on new wood so I have lots of blooms now. I love this plant.
I took a cutting of my daughter's camellia. It is doing well. It is a beautiful flower. I didn't know there were fall bloomers until she had one bloom in her yard. Always learning something.
I think Placenciaritas NOID is Dicliptera suberecta also known as a hummingbird plant or Uruguayan firecracker. I have one of them. It limped thru the summer with darn few blooms. Now that the hummers have abandoned me, it begins to bloom. Pretty plant tho... edited to add the DG link http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1274/
I love the Camellias, anything that will bloom in the shorter days of fall and winter is a welcome sight!
This message was edited Nov 2, 2008 5:31 PM
podster, thank you.
Texasgrower, there are bougainvillea growing in the ground in San Antonio. Because there have been no extraordinarily cold winters lately, they all come back each spring. But, they do freeze to the ground during a hard, prolonged freeze. I know that years ago when the temperatures fell to about 10 degrees lots of them died.
placenciarita, your Noid is not Uruguayan firecracker plant which I have too.. It may be firecracker Plant, Mexican honeysuckle, orange plume flower (Justicia spicigera). See if it looks like this one. If it isn't this one let me know. There is another plant with similar blooms; however, the leaves are much smaller.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1335/
podster, my Uruguayan firecracker has struggled each year in the sun when it gets really hot. I had it part shade; however, it did not bloom much. I have potted it now and am moving it around to see where it will be happy. I have a feeling that it does not enjoy rich soil. I added compost that had turkey manure in it in the fall last year and I think that it was burning this plant up. What has been your experience with fertilizing it?
My red firespike is going crazy. I ahve a lot of them and I always anxiously await their blooms.
bobyrd, your camelia is lovely. I wish I could be successful growing them here. The soil is not acid enough for them to do well.
This 'Sierra Starr™' (Calliandra) has been in the ground now for a little over 3 years, has grown rather quickly and blooms profusely. Besides the open blooms, there are 100s of bloom buds on it. The photo does not do it justice.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/105834/
This message was edited Nov 4, 2008 5:34 AM
It even blooms in the winter. Here's a photo of a branches coated with ice during the 2007 ice storm. The bloom is encased in ice.
A closer view of the bloom ...
Brrrr! Don't even want to think about ice! LOL
Oh, oh.... I was wrong on that ID? I may have the wrong plant myself. It was sent to me as Dicliptera suberecta. The blooms on both are similar. Which ever one I have, it is definitely not in rich soil. It is in full sun and I am afraid it is in rather austere conditions. This has been a really dry summer and watering doesn't have the same effect as rain will. It has not grown or bloomed much.
I love the willing firespikes. Took cuttings yesterday just in case the plant in ground doesn't overwinter. Next year, I will add a purple one. Like I need another hole in my head! LLOL
podster, I dread the first freeze. I will probably lose a lot of container plants because the sun damaged the plastic on my cheapy greenhouse. All of the plastic in the tiny squares has fallen out ... just holes now. Dicliptera suberecta.has soft, velvety leaves. firecracker Plant, Mexican honeysuckle, orange plume flower (Justicia spicigera) has smoother leaves. I wish I could find a purple blooming firespike. I always take cuttings of mine too just in case we have an extra cold winter.
here's a ground-hugging (after Ike) tropical hibiscus 'Electric Blue'--kinda strange color and never shows the color well unless it is cool
That's a neat color!
Htop ~ thanks for that info. Mine has soft and fuzzy leaves so my plant is IDd correctly. So sorry to hear about your GH plastic. I have a small plant shelter and was replacing sheet plastic annually. Last year, I bought UV rated greenhouse plastic. It was worth the effort. The summer sun can be devastating and this fall I only had to repair a small amount of IKE damage. Perhaps you can pull your potted plants into a more protected area and cover when freezes threaten...
Fall butterflies love what's left of the salvia.
Thanks Hazel--this ones blooming now too (and ground-hugging, my new catch word for all the hibiscus slips I planted this spring after Ike) but not nearly so cool.
That's a pretty one too. I am sorry Ike "got" them.
I have 2 really dwarf azaleas that my husband bought for me in the spring for a dollar each. They are both blooming right now for the second time. They had no tags. I do not know how hardy they are. Does anyone know their IDs?
This one is weird reddish color and has 1 inch blooms (there are 2 blooms together in the photo) ...
Pretty color on the Azalea bloom. I think you will find they are hardy. They overwinter in this area just fine. Are yours potted or established in ground? Sorry, I don't know the A. cultivars...
They are in pots now because I was afarid to plant them in the ground without knowing what kind they are.
Another NOID azalea (same container has another type that has salmon and white blooms) ...
The plants in my raised bed on the corner are still going strong. Plants (which you are able to see) in this bed include cosmos (had to cut back twice because they grew so tall), bat-face cuphea, scarlet sage (salvia) 'Forest Fire', red fairy duster hybrid 'Sierra Starr' (Calliandra), blackfoot daisy, Laura Bush petunia, firecracker plant in container (Russelia equisetiformis), mealy cup sage (Duelberg Sage, 'Henry Duelberg'), blue daze, Japanese barberry, dwarf redleaf barberry 'Crimson Pygmy',yellow lantan, butterfly weed, damianita daisy (Chrysactinia mexicana) which is not blooming right now and hybrid portulaca. Large trees are shrubs include red crepe myrtle which have lost their leaves already, golden thyrallis and mountain sage. The Texas star hibiscus has gone dormant. There is a pink queen's crown (coral vine) vine on the telephone pole. I will be planting cool weather plants along the edges here this week after pulling up the cosmos, vinca and other summer annuals. For some reason the colors are not as bright (not true) as they should be when I upload the photo.
Very lovely Hazel.
Thanks. I am slowly adding native plants here. I have 3 types of Gomphrena haageana planted there too, but you can't see them well.
That raised bed must be a popular spot to stop by.I know I would enjoy seeing all those beautiful combos.
Very nice blend of plants Htop! I am not very camera literate but have found certain lighting during the day will make the colors look more washed out. Might be what happened with your photo.
May I ask why your Russelia equisetiformis is contained?
Love the colors htop! I am sure the photo doesn't do it justice, but since we can't be there....looks pretty from where I sit.
I am sure it is a popular stop for hummers and butterflies!
bananna18, because it is on a corner, it is highly visible. I have seating under a crepe myrtle behind it and a small table. Neighbors often stop by and sit a "spell".here sometimes when I am not even home. Thanks for your comment.
podster, thanks. Yes, I have found that certain lighting can cause colors to be washed out too. But, some photos that have a lot of bright reds, yellows and oranges look good on my screen; however, when I upload them to DG, the colors are "muted" when they are uploaded. The edges of the bright colors sort of smear together. I have never been able to determine why this occurs. The Russelia equisetiformis is in a container because when I had it in the ground the neighbors' free roaming cats would hide in it as they waited for birds and butterflies to catch. So, its long fronds were being stomped to the ground. So, I dug it up and potted it. Thanks for your comments.
Sheila_FW, the plants look especially colorful as the sunrises and as the sun sets when they are backlit. I call this my "butterfly bed" although hummers stop by a lot too. My brother and sister-in-law gave me small "butterfly houses" that are situated on one side of it. You can see a white one in the photo to the right of the certified wildlife habitat sign. Frogs love it here too so I have a toad abode there too with a glass pie pan always filled with water near by. We haven't had as many butterflies visit this year as in the past. There are more now as they migrate. Thanks for your comments.
I love the Russelia plant and wondered if it was potted to offer winter protection but apparently not. How large a pot?
I believe it will freeze to the ground in north San Antonio if we have a hard, prolonged freeze which we haven't had for a couple of winters. It will come back from the roots. The container I placed it in is 20 inches wide (measured on the inside of the rim) by 20 inches tall. Also by being in a container, the branches cascade without touching the ground. This one is a fairly young plant.
Hazel, beautiful habitat garden! I'm glad you mentioned the Gomphrena haageana. I have one and didn't even know it was native! Wonderful surprise! Right now all the bees and butterflies are coming to my large White Mistflower.
Linda., thanks. What a great photo! My white mistflower is attracting lots of butterflies too. So is my purple one. I need to dig my white one up and move it to a more sunny area. It tends to be a bit gangly.
