Tropical Plants and Gardens #116

I'm still borderline 8b/9a....which is something I've been saying for years...and yes, our 8-9-10 is very different from CA..
I've read somewhere also about "sunset zone" but haven't investigated it yet...anybody here know about those ?

I have, I subscribe to Sunset magazine, I find it refreshing and edgy with cool garden ideas and, of course, recipes. They are really into fresh, fresh, fresh food out west. The Sunset Zones are not unlike the regular ones but rather than just the cold tolerance, they seem to take the heat and humidity into consideration.

http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/climate-zones-intro-us-map-00400000036421/

Alice, that would be great info as some things really don't like the heat / humidity here but would do great in CA for example...
I will go check that out...thanks !!
mj

Yea, under the USDA map, we are the same zone as the Pacific Northwest - BIG difference though. They have cool nights and much more rain than we do here.

FYI. Sunset is now a part of Southern Living umbrella. I love them both. I am signed for newsletters on-line for both of them. Have stopped all magazine subscriptions on paper. Also, stopped the newspaper and we read everything on-line.
Newspaper and most magazines require a small amount to subscribe. No more stacks and stacks and stacks of magazines that I could never seem to throw away.

Rhipsalis pilocarpa blooming and a lot more buds...I just love it's soft furry stems.

Christie, after getting Southern Living since the 70's I finally said enough is enough and read it online but when I had some time to waste in the Houston airport once I saw Sunset and was taken with their fresh approach which was unusual considering they are "cousins" with SL. I read some newspapers online too but find I miss out a lot so I go back and forth. Same with mags, I miss the ease of reading an article, I have a small laptop and you can't always see the whole page on my small screen.

Well shoot I forgot the photo.

Marths, those petals are sort of transparent. LOL

My experiment..... Back in the fall of '09 a new product came on the market called Freeze Pruf. It was supposed to provide, depending on the plant, 2 to 7 degrees extra cold protection. It does this by changing the cellular structure of the plant material sort of like blueberries do naturally. It seemed like a no brainer for me, just a few degrees can make a huge difference to those of us on the cusp but the winters of 09/10 and 10/11 were the coldest on record and we needed a lot more than a few degrees extra, I did not see any effect at all. This year however was perfect for testing it. Carefully following the directions I sprayed a number of tropicals that have shown little or no damage from the cold but in order to really test the theory, I purposely only sprayed one of these two Furcraea foetida 'Medio-pictas'. They were identical in size and the pots were in the same conditions as to esposure and protection. The plant on the right was heavily sprayed the one on the left was left to it's own. We never had a hard freeze but it did get cold enough to do some real damage. I am true believer now, at least the unsprayed plant is still alive but it will have some catching up to do.

My Rhipsalis just finished blooming in the greenhouse. Martha, you are right - it is soft and furry and the blooms remind me of twinkling stars.

That sure is a pretty bloom Mj. Looks like it's made of glass.

Alice, great job on the experiment! I might invest in a supply of that stuff now, too. Wonder if it would work on my Brugs?

Charles Grimaldi just will not give up. Four new blooms open this evening. He's making up for being so late starting to bloom this summer.

ok i am really out of control. i went walking the dog this morning and i saw 6 huge bags of leaves oak and bouganvilla, so of course i go and get my wheelbarrow and take them home to use as mulch. sure i have taken orchids, heliconia, bromeliads from peoples garbage but leaves? i think i have sunk to a new low. is anyone else that crazy or is it just me?

but they are so pretty with the bouganvilla

those passion fruit look nice. a girl i work with brings them to work and just scoops out all the inside into a blender fills it with water and blends it then strains it. so good. and of course all the seeds settle to the bottom so you can dry them and plant.

this is kind of like a sanchezia

one little brunfelsia

osmanthus not much compares to this smell.

i forget the name of this rhapsalis?

Of course I raid all the leaf piles in my neighborhood! I get some really nice plants that people don't want anymore. I live in an area where a landscaper lives in just about every other house, so on my walks with my dogs, I pick up goodies!

alice, kinda like ethylene glycol for plants!

They should have named it Planti-freeze?

Elaine you so funny! Dat gurl, she ...funny!

Cassie, it's Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa, the cutting you sent me is doing awesome !! Grown like a weed.

Mj did you notice the curly epiphylum in the pot to the right. I think you sent that. That psuedorhipsalis gets a real nice red in the sun.

Cassie, Yup...it's Epiphyllum guatemalense monstrosa ( Curley Orchid Cactus)

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/130578/

if you save the seed pod after it blooms they sprout really easily, but need to be sown quickly. I did mine on straight sphagnum moss

Here's a pic of it blooming last summer.

That is gorgeous. I need to get it to flower first. I hope it gets enough sun. Does it smell?

New (to us in FL) groundcover at the State Botanical Garden in Largo, near St Pete. One of the volunteers called it Mumba. She didn't have a spelling or any other information.

A web search turned up nothing.

Nice gray color, no extra water once established and I took a couple small rooted runners. It has done well for me and was not effected by our light frosts this winter. Two 2 inch runners is now an 8 inch circle in 3 months.

Brunfelsia grandiflora is blooming now.

Potted hydrangea

Desert Rose is hanging on....

Elaine, I like the Planti Freeze name, they should have spoken with you before they named it. :-)

Here is an article by LariAnn that better explains how it works.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2332/

Dale, be careful with that new ground cover, it looks like it really moves quickly.

That's the balancing act with groundcovers, isn't it. If they're not vigorous enough it's a nightmare trying to keep them weeded until they fill in.

If they are vigorous, you have to contain them so they don't cover everything the first time you turn your back. Just when you get them established and contained, somebody puts them on the 'invasives' list . . . can't win.

Keep us posted on how it's doing for you, Dale? I sure hope we can find out exactly what it is, I like the color.

I don't think this one is going to be a problem - it only grows an inch or so tall. It grows out, not up (at all).

Here it is again, in my yard>

Butterfly weed is still going strong>

This is the season for perfect Impatiens in this neck of the woods.

I bought a cutting of this impatien from Kartuz in CA. It is a naturally occuring cross between I. oliveri (now called Impatiens sodenii http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56556/ ) and I. sultana (now called Impatiens walleriana http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/296001/ ).

I keep it in pots. When I need a new one I just break off some stems and pot them up. It gets leggy in summer and is a shy bloomer in the heat.

Lunch time is over...back to work.

Brom of some kind...

My newest leaf on one of my A. veitchii. It is about double the size of the last!

Dale, as always your garden shots always inspire me..
Homer, your A. veitchii is beautiful!
Poor pepperomia has been seized by passion flower, i plantesis and wandering jew.. *sigh*

i have a few things blooming in the basement gardens..

i love these things

i love all these plants... almost as much as my children..