What is going on in N Flrida #5

Time for a new thread.

Let's hear what is going on in your yard.

We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1080161/

Didnt think I would be saying this so soon. Boy is it hot out today. Ive got alot of stuff left to do for summer blooms and I actually had to go in and get the frangrance spritz and hit myself up a few times so I could keep working. ;-o

I went to the Zoo today and saw this small tree with flowers that look just like Loropetelum. Really pretty. Does Loropetelum get that big?

I'm so excited!!! My Lady Banks roses are getting ready to bloom!!
Had moved them from their original home on the gazebo when we were getting ready to tear it down & thought I was going to loose them. Didn't bloom at all last year & barely had any leaves. Much nursing & care must have worked, was weaving them back into the arbor yesterday & see they are loaded with buds!!!

Grub_Worm, I wish I had known you were going to the zoo yesterday! -- I was there also from about 11 AM - 2 PM with my brother and SIL, visiting from Kansas. I wore them out with all the walking and we didn't even go through the Australia or Wild Florida exhibits, and we took the zoo train to avoid the long walk back to the entrance. I was wearing my Dave's Garden T-shirt, but the logo was covered up with my jacket. I can't quite determine what area of the zoo your photo was taken, so I'm not sure of the plant, but, yes, some Lorapetalum do get to be tree size of about 20 ft tall or so. There are some tall Lorapetalums at the zoo in the donor's plaza to the right when you first step out from under the overhang at the admissions area of the zoo. Some of the Lorapetalums have been bred to be dwarf, but the standard green-leaved Lorapetalum can make a tree. They are relatives of Witch Hazel plants. It was strange to see the zoo so devoid of plants after the freezes -- lots of botanical signs remaining where plants once where located. But I was glad to see a few of my favorites were still growing, including the Fatshedera vine -- one of the few instances of a cross-genera plant that occurred in nature in a garden in France. It is a weird combination of Fatsia japonica and Hedera helix ivy http://www.floridata.com/ref/F/fats_liz.cfm . I got to see some of my former cohorts in the zoo horticulture department and asked for a cutting of the Fatshedera (which I'm scheduled to receive soon!). It's a plant you wouldn't know is at the zoo if you didn't know where to look because it is located off the usual trek on a service path in front of a gate to the behind the scenes, "employees only" areas.

My yellow Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksiae 'lutea') is also in flower. I inter-planted it with my Cherokee Rose (Rosa laevigata) and it is a bit overwhelmed by the massive Cherokee Rose, but it does manage to send out a flowering branch here and there. I bought another Lady Banks Rose about 5 ft high when Pulaski Road Nursery had their going out of business sale last year. The zoo has the difficult to find white-flowering form of Lady Banks (R. banksiae 'alba plena'), but it is not in an area where it can be seen by the public, but forms a huge hedge at the edge of the zoo employees' parking area adjacent to the zoo animal commissary. You may be able to catch a glimpse of the 'alba plena' when riding on the zoo train. KayJones is coming to visit the zoo in April and I will be serving again as zoo tour guide, so I'm hoping to see my former cohorts again and get some cuttings of the 'alba plena'. I tried some cuttings before, but they didn't root -- odd, because this type of rose is usually easy to root, so maybe I got them at the wrong time of year?

Jeremy

Jeremy I was there at the same time frame as ya'll. Too funny. Way too many loud children to really enjoy it much. Yes that pic is from the donor garden area up front near the rest rooms. I had no idea loropetelums would get that big. They were just really showy with all those bright flowers. Need to get one and try training it into a tree soon........Thanks for the confirmation

Haven't been to the zoo in forever! Been about 8 years & from what I understand, has changed a lot!

Hubby did some work out there a few years back when they were building all of the cypress walkways for some of the newer exibits, but haven't been there since. Think you were still there at the time, Jeremy. It may even have been you he talked to about the gardens.

Can see where the Cherokee would choke out the Lady Banks, the Cherokee is such a strong plant.

Would love to get a cutting of the white, if possible. Know it's hard to find.

Found my yellow ones, about 10ft. tall at Home Depot about three or four years ago. Still young & didn't help that I almost killed them, but going strong now!

Jeremy...about that Cherokee Rose (I read your post here about it http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55764/) - do you suppose you'd have some to share? I think it would be good on my chainlink fence...slow down any jumpers from either side.

Is it on any FL invasive lists? haven't checked. Have many Lowe's plants (from a sad plant rack a few weeks back) that I will have to dig up and feed to my worms...including a flat of begonia, already to the worms. I didn't realize....

Dianthus/pinks are blooming everywhere. I know they aren't native...Wisteria, too...in woods, like kudzu.

What a coincidence to be at the zoo at the same time. Just read Water for Elephants,set in a circus and my vet, who we visited yesterday, was the vet for the zoo here.

O how I wish I could get a whiff of wisteria. At least the osmanthus are just blooming like fools.

Even the yesterday today tomorrow plant has flowers that are frangrant. That was a nice surprise.

Does anyone have luck getting native anise to bloom. Either the red or white.

I now have 3 Dianthus that returned from last year. I wonder if it is because I am growing them in large pots?

Have not tried growing the native anise . I am looking for a American wisteria.

Sandy

4Paws - I'll be glad to root some cuttings of my Cherokee Rose. From my past experience, it roots very easily. If you could make it up to the get-together at Creative Concrete on Saturday, May 8, that would be a good opportunity for me to give you the potted cuttings.

Cherokee Rose (Rosa laevigata) is not on the invasive plants list for Florida. To make the list, a plant has to have the potential to displace native plants or already be disrupting the native ecosystem. Though Cherokee Rose has escaped to the environment all over the eastern seaboard and beyond, it doesn't seem to be able to displace any populations of native plants. Heck, the legislature in Georgia assumed it was a native and made it their State Flower, so it can't be that bad. LOL

Sandy, I have (or possibly, had - depending on whether it survived the freezes) native Wisteria fructicosa 'amethyst falls'. I will root you some of it if it is still alive or try to get a root division for you. It is occasionally sold at Lowe's. I got my two plants from the bargain table at Lowe's a couple of years ago. I may have it in too much sun. I think it wants more shade than the Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis, which is on the Category II invasive list with a potential to displace native plants but not yet demonstrated to be actually doing so). I'm growing both the purple and white-flowering varieties of Chinese Wisteria. I think they are very effective and far less invasive if they are grown away from anything on which they can climb and kept pruned short to be a sort of bonsai in situ.

My Florida Anise (Illicium floridanum http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1533/ ) has never bloomed, but the plants are still small (the tallest is now about 3 ft). I don't know how big they have to be before they bloom or if something needs to be done to them to encourage them to flower.

Jeremy

I planted a couple of Florida Anise (red) a few years ago at another home. They were growing in mostly shade under some tall pines and did very well there. The soil was dry and sandy and if I remember correctly, the late afternoon sun hit them for a couple of hours every day. (The flowers have a funny odor which some people don't like, but it didn't bother me.)

ohhhh...so maybe what I'm seeing is the native wisteria? Looks like the other...

I'd very much appreciate the CR starts, Jeremy. I almost 90% sure I'll be able to make it on the 8th, too.

Does anyone vegetable garden?

ooooo...FL anise is lovely!

If anyone happens to be shopping at Wal-Mart and you find yourself irresistibly drawn to the garden center (as I do on every trip there and every other store LOL), please check to see if they have a bluish-pink, very fragrant Floribunda rose, cultivar name 'angel face' for $7.50 for a 3 gal pot. The Plant Files photos tend to show the flower as more pink rather than having the blue undertones. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/258752/ They were in stock at the Wal-Mart at the airport mall about a week ago, but we were really strapped for cash and I somehow tore myself away without buying one. Now, they are all gone at that store. The fragrance is wonderful, like old-time roses, and very strong. A rose fancier friend of mine has told me that the "bluer" the rose, the more fragrant it will be, and I've also noticed that to be true. I've had 'blue boy' and 'blue girl' roses in the past. I thought I had bought some of these at Big Lots a few months ago, but I somehow laid them aside by mistake after digging through a few hundred roses in plastic bags to find the one or two blue roses. My income tax refund hit the bank last night, so I now have the cash to reimburse for the rose purchase if anyone happens to find it at Wal-Mart.

Jeremy

ooooo, I had blue girl too and the fragrance was lovely. I notice the other day that I think I have lost her. I will be on the look out for one.

I have Angel Face - my favorite rose - I got it at Lowe's in January. Had it years ago, too - it is heavenly. It's the only rose I have now.
:-)
I'll keep my eyes peeled. Always visit every garden center as well.

Jeremy if my ankle gets straighten out I plan on a trip next month to Tallahassee Nursery, they have a large collection of roses.

Sandy

I am looking for a pretty climbing rose for an arbor. Something that is fast growing, fragrant and has nice size blooms. Not fussy on color but would like something possibly salmon/pink/yellow/red? Any suggestions?

The honeysuckle is starting out well this year

I have extras...
Peppers-cubanelle, hot banana, tabasco, cowhorn-just transplanted into quart pots, so they're set for a couple of weeks. I bought these in multi-packs and planted what I needed, so these are left. I read that peppers can live up to two years if kept from frosting.

Tomatoes - a couple each of Mortgage Lifter and Brandywine; I've read they don't do well here for this season, better for fall, but I'm trying a couple of each anyway, planning to shade them with tall okra from seeds I got from 9kitty and/or shade cloth. I have a couple of cherries, too - Black Cherry and Wild Cherry; then there are a couple that lost their names - Rutgers, Early Girl or Roma and a few volunteers that came from my worm castings. They're very vigorous. The tomatoes are mostly in gallons, just transplanted today or a couple of days ago. All are from seed, most from trades.

I also have Lavender 'Ellegance' - bought 24 babies off ebay and have them in six packs now. I would trade up to 6 of them.

I'm looking for lots of things I didn't/couldn't bring with - mints, catnip, thyme, lemon grass, sage; I'll probably have extra basil plants, too.

Oh, two Iciban (sp?) Japanese Eggplants, too...I can take care of everything until the RU, I think...even transplant to bigger, perhaps.

I'll post this on the ru thread too, but for the veggies, I thought there might be someone near here who could use the veggie plants sooner than later. If so, I also have lettuce in pots. Planted too much and haven't the heart to kill it. (some spinach and argula, too). It's about ready to start eating from. Those won't make it to the RU.

Wren, I'm wishing to go to Just Fruits someday, too, but I don't see it in the near future.

I am no longer getting Dave's Garden Newsletter - does anyone know if they have discontinued it?

The selection to receive the newsletter is still within the "Preferences" selections, but I don't recall receiving a newsletter either for the past few Mondays.

4Paws - your energy in starting seedlings is astounding. I still have a box of ornamental plant seeds waiting to get tossed into some potting soil. I haven't done much with vegetables the past few years, other than tomatoes and some asparagus roots. I will probably just buy some tomato plant seedlings, but will enjoy whatever you have to share.

Jeremy

Florida panhandle: My President Clay azalea is in glorious bloom. It's six feet tall and the same wide, a perfect unpruned globe, deep pink. The Gumpos (white) got smashed by the timber company last spring, but are struggling to bloom.The Black Beauty mulberries that I planted last month (dormant) are budding out already, and all the roses I whacked down last fall are leafing out. The new woods are filling up and need some discretionary selection. Lots of black cherry, red, live, water, and Chapman's oak. Plum, sweetgum, even a couple of tupelo, a sassafras thicket, almost none of which are over three feet tall--about an acre and a half. Oh, and three camphor trees. Where did they come from?

Birds

Good night everyone

Sandy

Isn't spring glorious?
I have daffodils, blueberries, azaleas (most are not yet, though), mandarin orange,a bush my neighbor calls Baby's Breath, and snow peas blooming. This is my first spring here. Exciting, very exciting.

and little things around the yard that I'm not familiar with, like little white star shaped flowers about 2" tall...

posting some pictures of some of my plants we have been discussing---will get cuttings of them & bring them to the gathering on May 8th. , if anyone would like some.

First---Cherokee Rose, may have some young off-shoots.

My Chinese Wisteria.

And last---my Bridal Wreath Bush.

My Lady Banks Rose's are now in bloom! Nice to see them again!!

Finally got all of my new bulbs in the ground ( over 150 ), took 2 1/2 days to do it & I'm exausted, but it will be well worth the effort when they all bloom!!




This message was edited Apr 5, 2010 8:10 AM

Welcome, TDream! Sounds like you have my kind of garden with a bit of everything and plenty of natives! I'm familiar with your area. My former wife is from Monticello, so I spent quite a bit of time in your environs when in graduate school at Florida State back in the mid-1970s. A beautiful part of the state!

4Paws - The "baby's breath" plant from your neighbor is probably Spirea (a/k/a Spiraea, according to the way the genus name is spelled http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1437/ ) It also has a common name of "Bridal Wreath." I stuck a pruned branch of my Spiraea in a pot of dirt last year and it rooted and is blooming now. Anyone that wants to claim it can pick it up at the May 8 get-together.

I also like those little plants with white star-shaped flowers. I think I posted a photo of them once in the I.D. Forum and got a name for them, but can't recall what their name is. When they flower in profusion in one spot, they put on a nice show as a wild groundcover.

Jeremy

Yep, that's it-thank you...I'll be starting some! It's lovely. Wish it were fragrant. I have very little that is fragrant.

Oh..in May the giant gardenia should be blooming. It was when I looked at the place last year -the blooms were incredible....mmmmm....might be why I bought the house. Nothing else was blooming, and it was raining and raining and raining (I brought it with me, ending the drought).

Jeremy, do you have regular access to barrels for rain barrels?

If you want a fragrant shrub for this time of year, Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1450/) is a great choice. I bought two last year and they are currently flowering. Heavenly aroma! The flowers last for a few weeks, also, rather than just being a fragrance for a day or two. Next to be in sequence to flower with a nice aroma is Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55230/ ) Give it a large arbor or chain link fence or something to vine on because it wants a lot of room and is green year-round.

I do have access to food grade 55 gal drums for rain barrels. They were $15 each last year (plus Duval County tax of 7.5%). They are available at Duval Container on Myrtle Avenue on the western edge of downtown Jacksonville. They provided free delivery last time because I bought about 15 barrels for the rain barrel workshop last year. I still have some left over 55 gal drums here (about 4, I think) from the rain barrel workshop. One may be spoken for by a lady from my church, and I plan to do 3-D sculpture/trompe l'oeil paintings for the others to blend in with landscape plantings, then sell them. (But I'm not sure in which millennium I will follow up on that project, so if you want one of the barrels, you are welcome to it! LOL)

Jeremy

Thanks for the information, Jeremy. Maybe I can get them directly and bring the trailer with us when we come, so you don't short yourself. I'd like 4, I think, if I can afford it. Sure wish I could have made it to the workshop - should have been here by then. Maybe I can find some somewhere here. I've seen drums on craigslist for $20, but they don't have lids; held horse honey or something like that...

To JaxFlaGardener (are you Jeremy?): the native area I'm developing is about an acre and a half left mutilated when I had the planted loblolly pines "thinned" (from nearly 500 to 50.) The azaleas are around the house, and the roses are in the "real garden", which has been sadly neglected. There's 11 acres total, but the back six are mixed hardwood sometime swamp. So many possibilities, so little daylight. Tea olive is one of the first shrubs I bought; it's right by the front deck. Mine blooms off and on all year. Confederate Jasmine has swallowed my water tank, but I love it. Thanks for the welcome!

TDream welcome. Sounds like a nice piece of property.

Sandy

Sure does! I'll be looking for a Tea Olive.

I noticed today that my native Chickasaw Plum ( Prunus angustifolius) has a light and very nice fragrance. -- now in full bloom with flowers all up and down every branch with white flowers about 3/8 inch in diameter I guess I've never noticed the aroma prior to this year because this is the first time it has bloomed profusely.

Jeremy

Altho they are not pricey if you want to get right on it. I have an extra I can bring to the round up if your still having it. I have tomato seedlings but I dont know what I was thinking, its going to be way to late to plant. Im rooting some lemon geraniums.
OO how im enjoying the Fresia and the Yesterday Today and Tomorrow filling the air with yumminess as well. Still cant compete with orange and osmoanthus blossoms tho.

After just asking about them, would you believe my native red anise opened. Yep...it for sure emits and odor. I got a picture if I can find it on the computer. Someone 'put' them someplace other than the only folder I know how to go to.

The hummers are enjoying my plants from the festival. I got them lots of red goodies, but its the lilac that really has them jazzed right now. I completly fried my tree fern in just one afternoon, no amount of water seems to green up those brown leaves. It is clearly a SHADE plant. And it isnt fooling around.

Gardenglory, Tea Olive for me? So far the RU is still happening, though not too many people have committed. Bivbiv said she's coming from Apopka.

I have tomatoes, too, but thought it would be late unless I put them in big pots, which I might if I can't find homes for them before then. I potted up baby lettuce and got them new homes - have so much (never grew lettuce before) and I just couldn't kill them! Sickness, eh?

A wonderful fragrance came into my yard yesterday evening, but I don't know from what ...maybe there are Chicksaw plums in the nearby wooded lots.

Could be Confederate Jasmine I keep smelling something yesterday and finally found that my neighbor has one. It is to early I think for four-o-clocks.

Sandy