The end of the autumn almost.

Winter is almost here and there are so many buds and pods still on the plants....we may not see the buds turn into flowers in most cases, but with a little luck, those pods will hold on and there will be some surprises in store in a couple of years, as a result of these pods.
Thanks for all the pics and posts, discussions that we had on various Brugmansia subjects, all were informative and interesting.
Alistairs book is out there now and will be the topic of many a new discussion. I'm sure.

The Dancer didn't drop the 3rd skirt so hopefully she will stay in this lovely form....

We came from here.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1255281/

Stephen Ryan is talking about Huanduj right now on 3CR.....he is calling the book magnificent....
He is up to page 90, he said....he's reading it in bed....but finds it rather dangerous as it could fall on him while he sleeps...Lol.
The yellow and red Sanguineas are growing and flowering in his garden at the moment at Mt Macedon.

Alistair, Stephen wants to interview you......he is very fond of Brugmansias and he has his invitation to the launch.....



This message was edited May 13, 2012 9:37 AM

I'm now in Bali,
Legian area about 10 min from kuta just on the
Beach 3rd floor looking over beach to much foliage
To take pics
Heading to a nursery this morning and seeing
If there are any seed of interest there are many
Plumeria (frangipani) in the hotel gardens but
Also every where
Scooting around on motorbike and enjoying

Just a quick hello and
Happy Mothers Day to all our Mums and Grandmothers (Mother Figures ) today,
thanks for starting this next thread Dianne ...The Dancer is a lovely way to celebrate today.
Great news re the review on The Book (Brug Bible) Huanduj ^_^
How did he pronounce it ?

Shaun you be a good boy over there ok ? bring back lots of lovely pictures.
Enjoy.

We have a very cold wind blowing here 13C at 11 am brrrr.

Back later ...have a lovely day everyone

chrissy

Shaun, enjoy yourself among all those lovely plants.
Your DP&G is finally opening here. hooray...

Dianne, The Dancer is looking beautiful even if she wants to keep that 3rd skirt hidden.

Jean.



This message was edited May 13, 2012 1:26 PM

Hoo AN dew.....Chrissy, he wasn't sure though....The j is usually silent so it sounds right.
It's about time Jean, that would be the laziest flower ever...lol
Pics please, when you can....
I will collect The Dancer's pollen and save it for spring...
Shaun, have a great time in Bali...you chose the right time it's 10C here.

Dropped to 3C here boo hoo, wind feels more like zero.
That's the end of that ...sigh, oh well.
Hope everyone enjoyed their special day.
Extra Doona goes on the bed. brrrrrrrrrr !

The Dancer looks great!

Have fun Shaun :)

Alistair how do we pronounce Huanduj ?

Jean I don't know what your temperatures were overnight so hopefully your lazy little bloom was not frozen.
We haven't had frost luckily but it has been very very cold, the wind chill making it seem even worse.
hopefully it has killed off most of the bugs out there, I don't think the buds will continue now, hopefully the pods will be ok (some of them at least.
Stay warm everyone.

I forgot to say that one lot of my seed pods (the Earth Angel cross pods) are prickly, this is a first for me ...does anyone else have pods with little sharp thingies on them ?
I see a picture in the book of one. Does it mean anything ? or is it just a curiosity ?
I have so many different pods but that is the only plant with the sharp little bits.

One-dookh :)

One like the english number [the H is silent]; in dookh the oo is short as in book [not long as in balloon] and the k [kh] is soft [there is no equivalent to the spanish j in english - it is kind of midway between the sounds of K and H.]

I haven't seen spikes on the fruits, only on the flower stalk sometimes [fig. 3.70]. Can you show a pic please Chrissy? It sounds interesting :-)

yes I will take a picture and post it a bit later :) Looks like the picture on page 181 ...little dots that feel sharp when you touch them.
I have to go do some things for hubby until after lunch.
Thankyou for the One- dookh :)

I've been practising (one-dookh) Huanduj.....I slipped into the (wan-doo) pronunciation...now I take off the oo and add the ookh..
Thanks Chrissy for asking.....thanks Alistair for explaining.......

Chrissy, I have had pods with those little sharp spots....I must admit that they didn't bother me, I just thought of them as vegetation warts....lol

What crosses you you have them on Dianne ? I must be a bit slow, what is a vegetable wart ? (never mind I will Google-it isn't anything serious is it -eek). I only have them on one plant, that is why I asked ...I usually pat and feel the lovely fuzz on them and felt aggrieved when it felt like it would bite.
Off to take a picture ...back a bit later, must have lunch and feed Hubby (I had to fill in for someone this morning).

Lol, Chrissy.......I don't imagine that there is such a thing as a vegetation wart......It's just that they remind me of tiny warts, because they are pale and hard on a usually smooth green skin...
I've had them on PP, but they could have been on others too...

Well finally I got outside ...it's cold !

Here they are, pictures don't really convey the almost sandpaper feel with the whitish dots (these look a bit like pre root white bumps) feeling a little sharpish to the touch. Is it a disease ? false pregnancy ? critter bites ? it looks like it is a trait because they are all the same on this tree (about 12 or so at least. 8" ish in length). It grows almost intertwined with a few others also sporting pods that are quite unlike these ones. These are the first pods that feel a little unpleasant to touch (almost defensive "stay away"feel ).
Here are the pics look at the little white ish dots ...
Last is Melissa Amy trying to bloom for dear life ...go sweetie go ! (I love this one very much).

It's a cucumber...
Sorry Chrissy, couldn't help myself....

Hope you get the Melissa Amy's to flower for you.

This message was edited May 14, 2012 5:29 PM

have your pods got these sharp little nubby things imbedded in sandpaper ? Dianne.
Edited to say awww you will hurt her feelings calling her pods Cucumbers (but yes LOL)

This message was edited May 14, 2012 5:22 PM

No, those sharp little nubbies are on an otherwise smooth skin....

Oh well I guess I will find out in the end, I love the Earth Angel x Sam crosses, I just hope I may get some seeds out of them, actually they feel more like Zucchini with prickles.. Just very different to the rest.
I was quite surprised how well some look after so much cold wind overnight, The pods are looking fairly good, the buds still seem to be there, I think we are waiting for Jean's little cutie to say hello right now, it does take ages for the plants to bloom when it is cold and they sit there very green for ages. At least they are still there.
I hope your Brugs are ok everyone.

She's opening at last...
Heres a pic of Dwarf Pink 'n ' Green this morning.
I will get a better one later but at long last I can see her cute little face.
She is so much like GHA except for the color.
She sits underneath his branches so they will be firm friends now she has lost her shyness.
I love her.

Jean.

isn't it cute jean, you just wait until the pretty colour comes in ...just look at that cheeky little tongue poking out of it, so cheeky.

My hubby and I have had a heart to heart talk about moving, and we have decided to stay here until he can't cope with things any longer. Then move into the place we were going to sell. It is more realistic, it was designed for retirement, no stairs etc.Being a generous duplex which we will modify and merge them to suit our needs, it's safe, it's high up (in case of floods lol), a short walk to shops and Warragamba gardens and Parks around the Dam. It's only ten mins from here. The only thing is we would only have just under 1000 sq mtrs. So That would mean no chooks or hundreds of Angels ...I guess hopefully by then I will have grown out my special double white and be able to choose about 30 of the best ones to take with me. I can still grow a limited amount of veg.
Meanwhile ...I estimate about 5/6 years before we take the plunge to retirement living in the true sense. Hubby promises me a plowed area here come Spring to plant the Brugs, so as to cut down the work and allow me to grow veggies here like I once used to when the grandchildren were small. The stairs here are still a problem but in life we can't have everything can we.
The Villas are paid for and tenants are on monthly leases so if anything happens we can go there. I would rather no need to until we do a few things first, but they are very comfortable as is (I just do not like carpet and want tiles or polished wood instead,) and it's just a walk to everything you need, Warragamba is a little self sufficient village. It does not get frost but does get cold in Winter.
The anxiety is now gone ...a weight lifted off my shoulders, I will get one day's help from him a week while we are here. His first job was market gardening, so that will be our compromise, to living the dream, right now ! :)

Sorry for the ramble but I just wanted to tell you why I have been a bit quiet ...a lot of anxious moments going on as I searched around, now it is ok. We have a real plan and the mind is at ease.

Now back to your dear little Brug Jean, don't forget to have a sniff it smells delicious ! it smells almost identical to FFA.
I hope everyone is enjoying their day, it's cold but the sun is out.

chrissy

Worth the wait. Jean......can't wait for the colour to come in, though it might be too cold....how wide is she?

Mine was smaller than GHA but seemed to enlarge slightly the next day, it really is a dear little thing.

That sounds like a very good idea, Chrissy....you obviously like the town and you can make your villas into whatever you want......I certainly wouldn't advise you to move if you were going to move again....too much stress....
You'll have the Brugs you want by then and if you aren't satisfied still, which I bet you won't be, my block is only 650 mtrs and I am enjoying them, the same way you will, even if space is at a premium.....
Altogether a much better idea, staying put for a while....

^_^ thanks Dianne, I think by then it should be plenty for us to cope with, the place was beautifully planted out while I lived there for a while, I had to take my ailing sister in law somewhere without stairs (she couldn't walk at the time), and so I planted beautiful things around the place because it had nothing except the dreaded 4 coconut palms out front, the earth there is very sandy, but the passionfruit grew to the size of tennis balls, the grapefruit and lemon trees flourished, (I had a truckload of cow manure worked into it ). Then when I had my sister in law walking again we moved back here. So I know the conditions and the village very well, the villas are right behind the Bakery, the Chinese , the supermarket, butcher etc, if we walk through the church car park across the road we are at the shops literally less than 50/60 steps away. The down side ? besides less land ...the smells from all the eateries ...scared we might get fat ! we will have to walk a lot, no but seriously it was chosen for retiring but time has flown so quickly it has come as a rude surprise, that it is almost here !
I guess at least I will have a proper garden up there, instead of a Brug factory like I have here. ^_^

Back to the Brugs ...I am really happy because I was lucky enough to get hold of some more nice seeds on evil ebay.
That's it though now.
For a while anyway,
I want to pursue the Creamsickle crosses as I said before, it's just the type I like best. So far anyway. I think I only got this lot because Shaun was busy though (I think he has cornered the Market on imported Brug seeds :) ...we should have some great different varieties to look forward to in the next couple of years here in Australia.

Chrissy, you & hubby have made a really sensible compromise. It will be so much less stress because you know the area. Moving to any new place is a large commitment but even more so as we age.

I am doing a lot of things here to minimise the work too. We cant move but I can make life easier .
Whatever else has to go, my brugs stay. I have grown very attached to them all.
I can live without the epis, irises etc but I love all my individual brugs, even if I do swear at them sometimes.

Dianne, DP&G is such a cutie. She is the same size as GHA and I did get a little whiff of scent. I will sniff later tonight.
Today was warmer than it has been so may encourage a bit of color in her.

My second flower on Super Pink x Apricot Queen which looked so nice this morning ( even with the split ) has gone all limp just like the first.
No color at all but the sniff of scent i got this morning was lovely. As its in the ground, it will stay regardless, so may improve as it grows.

My brugs are going to get a shock soon when a frost hits them. They have been putting on lots more buds which are most likely going to all fall off when the real cold hits them.

My coldies are looking so much better now. I have been spraying with the saccharin spray mentioned on BGI.
Whether this is doing good or they just like the cold.
I hope to see a flower on the sangs one of these days.

Better go and close the greenhouse before all the little darlings think I have forgotten them,
Jean.

Your future home/garden sounds lovely, Chrissy. Esp. being able to walk to just about everything--I do miss that.
The Big Floppy Apricots are in flower again. This is #2, looking a little less floppy in this cooler weather. The calyx have dried up yet the flowers, which survived a 0.5 deg. C night, are untouched. Odd ...

oh aren't they pretty now cestrum ...must like it a bit cooler now, yes your Apricots here are full of buds, the one that bloomed has pods, the pods don't look Versicolor, they look similar to the Old Apricot pods, what a puzzle these plants are. Thanks re our future, I do feel more settled in my mind now. I get to live with my trees and garden a few more years hopefully before we go, but it's there just in case. Hubby will continue to be run off his feet here, but he thrives on it and the truth is he needs it to be happy, so a bit of give and take here and there and we will have what we want in the end, just one move, instead of a possible two.

I hope your little new pink has turned pink Jean, don't you love it ?

We haven't had rain for a while now, I can't believe it, it may have finally stopped for Winter, it was a worry re Brugs and cold soggy roots. Can't imagine the kind of fuel this area will have on the ground for possible fires next summer, though the Summers seem to be getting cooler here instead of warmer. Tomato crops failed in the Market gardens this year, the strawberries thrived though.
It's still fairly brisk but the sun is warming us up gently now, I hope everyone has a lovely day ^_^

chrissy

What a lovely day it is here.....when I look at all of those half grown buds, I could weep...
I have a double white that I am expecting/hoping to do well next spring and it has so many buds on it...
It's a Charleston x Apricot Queen......nothing like AQ it's all Charleston....
But it's all skirts and teeth...it's a lovely mess and I'm hoping it will sort itself out next flush...very nice perfume too.
So seeing all the buds up there against the bluest of blue skies is frustrating....

Did we have all these buds last year?....I don't remember having so many at this time of year.

Your BFA looks good, cestrum....I looked at my calyx and I don't have any shrivelled ones...I wonder why they do that?.....on pods yes, but on flowers?

Here are the 3 branches on the white double, all loaded.
Chrissie, this is the FFA x (Angel's Flight x Charleston) pod......it has been damaged like my other curly pod on the white double, but it should be ok, the other pod is about 10cm long now and looks like a crescent moon...



This message was edited May 18, 2012 8:39 AM

Looks like a good harvest there, Dianne.
I've got a few pods on Golden Butter#3, which is flowering again. The flowers have only a light aurea scent but I like the shape of them.

Oh I feel your pain Dianne same here buds everywhere, pods too. My crescent shaped one fell off because the stem withered off. Good luck with yours,can't wait to see your Charleston cross. I know you have had a nice couple of double whites so far.

cestrum that one is a very nice shape ...wonder what kind of babies you will get out of it ? yellows I hope. ^_^

chrissy

I think yellow is a good bet but this is one where a pink would be rather lovely, with its pretty shape, waxy texture and aurea perfume. Definitely will be planting a few seeds from each pod :-)

I found this flower hidden among all the foliage surrounding the brug, showing the longer inner skirt that it gets off and on throughout the year.
It's been, what, 2 seasons or so since it began flowering and the blooms are still variable throughout the flowering season, so I guess the variability of the length of the skirts is a permanent characteristic of this brug.

That last Brug looks very pretty cestrum, which cross is that? ......lovely long corolla teeth...

That Aurea type would look lovely in pink....

That's Phanomenal x Superspot; it's turned out to be the better of my first two double pinks. (The other one has distorted leaves--insect damage perhaps--and distorted flowers for a large portion of the growing season. Which is a shame because when it does have normal flowers, they are quiet lovely.)
Agree about having a Golden Butter#3 seedling in pink. Wouldn't be as pretty as Shaun's dwarf pink of course, but it would be all mine :-)

This message was edited May 18, 2012 3:04 PM

It's a very nice flower, cestrum.....does it have good flushes?...the Phanomenal x.
Annoying to have the other one not behave if it might be the best one....

Talking about dwarf, I saw about half a doz Brugmansias on eBay, referrred to as dwarf, because they were in pots and only small plants, another part of the blurb said to keep the plants trimmed to keep them small...
Dwarf?.....What a rip off.

I am expecting Lucas or Colleen, to tell us that their Sphaeros have Y's very soon.....their's were a couple of months older than mine and mine are bunching so it won't be long before we see the first one..can't wait....
I look at the ones on BGI and hope that we get some lovely colours like they have....

Here are the latest pics of little cutie Dwarf Pink 'n 'Green

pic 1 ...so cute
pic 2 ...another view.
The camera catches the slight tint of color that the eye doesnt see.
pic 3... closeup to show the bright green spots inside. They have been there since she opened and look quite pretty.

Jean.