This is Bougainvillea "Alabama Sunset'. The blooms change to apricot then pink as they age.
Fall Blooms & Color, Part 2
My black-eyed Susan vines are amazing this time of year with blooms all over them.
Here in the torrid zone Verbena is a fall thru spring ground cover>
Brunfelsia starts flowering in late Oct. and continues until March>
Here in FL & TX and all across the South violas are the best fall/winter/spring color!
Salvia farinacea is a favorite thru the cool months. We treat it as an annual. It is a TX native, if I remember correctly. These are hybrids>
Impatiens are planted in Oct and they grow until the humidity of summer gets them.
Impatiens again>
Impatiens again, in a container>
More Impatiens at Disney, what a surprise>
Fall to spring - geraniums (pelargoniums) Disney again.
Dale ~ I envy your torrid zone! What can you tell me about the Brunfelsia? Do you know what cultivar that one is? I have two different ones. One only blooms for about a month in springtime. The other resembles your photo and is tempermental at best. Any thoughts or assistance you can offer? I do love those plants.
Lovely, photos, Dale. Thanks for sharing them. Verbenas in my zone start to decline now. I need to plant my cool weather plants like violas and pansies. My geraniums are perky up now that it has cooled off. They looked a little sick for awhile in the heat. Yes, Salvia farinacea is a Texas native plant. WMine have started to decline with the cool temperatures. ow, those impatiens are magnificent. My impatiens are in the greenhouse right now so that they don't freeze. I need to take cuttings for next year.
The photo above is Brunfelsia latifolia. They other one your referring to is probably Brunfelsia pauciflora. Their are others, but, they are uncommon (very rare).
I haven't much interest in pauciflora because it needs cool temps to bloom. In SF Golden Park at Strybing Aboretum they have pauciflora and it blooms for months in the summer. Of course in SF a warm summer day is 75.
Here in FL B. latifolia blooms all winter, puts on a good show. I think we are a bit warmer than you are in E. TX, especially at night. We are surrounded by water that helps keep our temps up.
I think E TX is probably the northern edge of Brunfelsia's range.
Bauhinia galpinii puts on a good show as the days get shorter>
Probably northern edge is correct. I have found it will do outside. One is potted the other in ground. Thanks for the input. Pretty B. galpinii!
Bauhinia galpinii is a beautiful plant. This is the only one that I have seen here.
Bauhinia galpinii closer up ...
I would guess that is a draw for the hummers and butterflies?
I just saw this thread and will admit that I've only skimmed it, but WOW! What great bloomers y'all have!
My bougainvillea was planted in the ground and out of control. After Ike, I took it out completely and it's like a huge weight has been lifted. I got it pruned down to the trunk and then had to have help to get the rest of it out. The guys had to use an ax.
I took this pic yesterday b/c I was so excited to discover it. These are blooms on my toothache plant. I put the little pot in the pond last spring and forgot about it. The pot is laying on its side but the plant has compensated, so I'm just going to leave it as is.
I like that one. Had been thinking about starting it from seed. Very cute!
Elphaba, bougainvillea sure can grow large and become a pain in the neck at times. I bet it was a real task to pruning it and then disposing of the branches with all of the thorns ... ouch! I call the toothache plant the "eyeball plant". The blooms are so neat. Mine died and did not return this spring. It usually reseeds itself. I did not know that they would grow in a pond.
My firecracker plant is still going strong. I am wondering if the roots will freeze as its in a container. It is so heavy, I really don't want to move it into a protected area.
Firecracker plant is a lazy old thing.
They really look great in those planters.
(edited for typo)
This message was edited Nov 20, 2008 8:06 PM
I suspect from the size of the pot you have the firecracker plant in, it will be o.k. with the freezes we see. If really bad weather is forecast, I would insulate the pot with bubble wrap or pull leaves or pinestraw over it all. Does it drop seeds? It drapes so prettily.
Podster,
Firecracker reseeds itself here, but, not often - it is not a pest.
That is the "good" kind of bloomer. Pretty blues & whites... just need red to be patriotic!
podster, thanks for the suggestion to bubble wrap the pot. I know that it will not be killed in a hard freeze on the south side of San Antonio; however, it gets several degrees colder her because I live on the edge og the Hill Country. I have never noticed it dropping any seeds - thanks, Dale for informing us that it does seed itself. Does anyone know if foxtail fern freezes in Zone 8b? I have 2 very old, large plants that belonged to my Mother. I have been hesitant to plant them in the ground and I lug them in and out of my greenhouse.
Yes, I have lost a foxtail fern. It was smaller and potted. Unlike the asparagus fern, this one did not come back from its' roots. I hate to say I would keep moving them. Sorry.
podster, it sure would be better to be safe than sorry! Thanks.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31438/ The folks who made comments in PlantsPiles say the are a deciduous perennial in your zone. I would think a good layer of compost would help jump start them in the spring and add a layer of protection for the roots if they get planted in an exposed location.
We grown them around here, but, I think they don't do very well. I would describe them as thin. I suspect they need extra nitrogen to keep them plump. They always look their best when they are fresh from the grower.
My favorite fern - Stenochlaena, tough as nails, spreads by rhizomes, it's not frost tolerant. I wonder if it would come back after a hard freeze (it does grow on the ground)
Stenochlaena tenuifolia, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/140734/ >
Well, I guess I should post one or two pictures.
White Heath Aster, Purple Aster and Autumn Sage, in the wildflower area.
This one is mainly Heath Aster, it looks like it is covered with snow, I love it.
Another view of the same plants.
The foxtails have been in the same smallish containers for 20 or 30 years and they look wonderful. Perhaps they like to be rootbound. That Stenochlaena tenuifolia is great fern. Does it take over an area?
Josephine, your White Heath Aster is gorgeous - so delicate looking. A long time ago, I didn't like white blooming plants; however, I changed my mind. They instill a feeling of purity in the landscape and sure set off the colors of the other blooms. Your slope is beautiful as always! :o)
Thank you Hazel, they did very well this Fall.
You're welcome, Josephine.
podster, I did not read your post of Oct. 28th so did not see your question about the coral vine to the right of my mountain sage in my photo. I feel so rude ... Yes, there are 2 pink blooming coral vines that I tie to two 6 foot bean poles that are on either side of the telephone pole. They then climb up the telephone pole. I am the only person in my neighborhood with a telephone pole in their yard. I try to hide it with the vines.
Plant camoflage! I like that, it works well for me sometimes too. Not to worry on skipping that, I had forgotten it having slept since then! LOL
Scanning back to that post, I am impressed with all the beautiful fall blooms that have been posted here. Amazing how intense the fall colors are.
I was the same way about not liking white blooming plants, but a friend bought me a white cat whiskers and I planted it in my front bed and I love it and have decided I need to add more white to set everything off.
I have two foxtail ferns in the ground and they have never suffered a bit in winter, but I'm in a bit warmer zone. I don't recall them ever freezing and I hope I haven't just jinxed myself saying that especially since it looks like it will be a colder winter season this year.
htop--mailing the purple fire spike is on my list; I will let you know when it's in the mail--I have not forgotten.
Pretty photos frostweed; thanks for sharing.
Thank you Phughes, I love native plants.