Plants blooming today (Continued)

Did someone say red? Some of my favorites... 1. Mexican petunia Ruellia 2. Kohleria 3. Crepe myrtle 4. Abutilon or flowering maple 5. Trailing abutilon 'Little Imp'
:) M~

I love those flowers.They are very pretty..

I've never seen such a Red Crepe myrtle or flowering maple. Both are lovely.
That last is a unique flower.

I'm (not so) patiently waiting for my UI hibiscus to start blooming. Got most at a $1 clearance sale last Fall & none were tagged. Now I have some beautiful bushes full of buds.

I love the red crepe myrtles, but Ive never see a two tone one like that I dont think.

Ive got too many of the lavender ones, I cant get them to bloom like the pink and red. The weather really put the wafooee on them this year, they did not bloom near as good or as long as usual.

Hi all I'm here in Sanibel and we do have Interent, however just basic, no downloading so no pictures until I get home.

Melanie what a great catch of the hummer, they sure are fast and hard to get a good picture, so it must have been really engrossed in that nectar, neat flower too.

Locoluna (Melanie) very pretty pictures, I can't believe how well that phone takes pictures. My maple flower you gave me was blooming when I left, such a pretty color flower, Bonnie's is more of an orange coloring.

I went bike riding around the island yesterday and just loving all the tropical landscaping here, saw an orchid cactus plant that was climbing something, probably a dead palm tree that was a good 10-15 foot tall and three foot wide, just covered with huge buds, but no blooms yet. I've never seen such a huge orchid plant anywhere and hoping some of the flowers open in the next two weeks before I leave here...wouldn't that be so awesome? People have tons of free mangoes here sitting out in front of there houses, so we've been making lots of mango salsa.

-Sherri

Wow, locoluna those blooms are awesome. That crape myrtle is the bomb! Never, ever seen one like that. Are the little imp's hard to grow here? I think my little one got hit by cold, planted too early from cutting. I've had a ton of Gulf Frits and they won't leave my little passifloras alone. I also have had some swallowtail, skippers and plenty of cloudless sulphur.

Darren

I bought two kinds of coreopsis in the last two weeks and one has finally opened its buds. Also, my firebush is blooming and attracting Zebra Longwings. It's one of their favorite plants besides jatropha and porterweed.

Melanie

Hola! I am going to try to catch up..here goes.. Gorgous pictures everyone! The crape myrtle...it is peppermint or something like that. They were planted by the previous home owner. He set me up with some "good bones", so to speak. That would be one of them. My other favorite is a red one... REAL DEEP RICH RED...it is the last one to bloom. Are they blooming early this year, or am I really behind?
The red Abutilon is currently next to my pond on front porch. Therefore I have no idea what it attracts. I assume it would be a "hit" further out in the yard.
Sherri, sounds like you are having fun..enjoy your vacation! Everyday is a vacation in our garden...right? Well...that is what I tell myself anyway...because, No one in there right mind is ever gonna care for my garden and my pets for me to take a vacation.
Darren, I have little Imp in a hanging planter. I put it out in a tree to get some rain. Well, it did not get enough water in it's pot. Plus, I left it exposed to the sun. Toast! (kicking myself) I hope it comes back. Peace M~

I've got a couple of dwarf firebush that are red to yellow on the bloom and see relatively few critter visit them? Locoluna, wow you inherited those plants, so lucky. Crape Myrtles have been blooming here for a couple of weeks, can't say what is normal I don't grow one. Sorry Locoluna, I'm afraid once it goes it doesn't come back. Mine was real healthy but got too much sun before establish good roots and faded quickly, before I could save it. My new plant is in shade for most of the day, not letting that happen again, LOL.

I notice a bunch of buds on my passiflora amethyst just the other day and knew I'd be getting my first blooms from this plant. Went out a short time ago to find my first bloom was x2! Love the looks of this plant. My passiflora Lady Margaret bloomed again. What a hardy plant, it has been attacked by gulf fritillary almost non stop and still puts out new growth and blooms.

First two photos of passiflora amethyst aka Lavender Lady and the 3rd is passiflora Lady Margaret.
Darren

This message was edited Jun 19, 2013 9:10 PM

I need to find some of the bright colores PassionFLowers. I have 2 plain, white & purple but could sure use some of the BRIGHT ones.

Define "bright" (I'm curious what you mean). And for those of you who grow them for the butterflies, be aware that the red ones won't support the caterpillars. I think it has something to do with the hybridization causing them to lose nutrients that are in the purple and blue varieties. I just know the caterpillars die on the red ones; I think in some cases the butterflies might not even lay eggs on them. So good news for those of you who don't want caterpillars eating your vines. Me, I'm biased. I love caterpillars and the color purple so I stick to the natives mostly. I also have P. lutea and P. suberosa which have very small blooms but which the caterpillars love to munch on.

Melanie

Darren,love the dark two tone flowers you have.

Cody

Your Passifloras are beautiful and your pictures are spectacular Darren. They are Plant Files perfect!...

David

Bright - like the ones in that pic. The ones Ihave are light colored.

I too, have the "Lavender Lady" passiflora. It's a good one if you like bright. It bloomed a lot early this spring and then managed to bloom some more despite being devoured by caterpillars. I need to get mine up on a trellis though; right now it's covering my poor firebushes! It grows pretty vigorously but Dad cut it back and it did just fine. He said when it came around the side of the house and started poking in the garage that was just too much, LOL!

Melanie

Melanie, I have had Gulf Frit. caterpillars on every single passiflora I have. They devoured my red Lady Margaret and I don't think it caused any problems for them. I've also taken them off my p.vitifolia but they haven't hit that plant hard at all, so that one might not sit well with them. I haven't had them very long, so I haven't had "too" much growth, LOL, but I am sure it will happen. I'm hoping the butterflies will handle most of it.

Sherri and Cody thank you.

Thanks David, I guess I should go upload some, eh?

I'm thinking Qwilter must have some p.incarnata which is a soft purple and of course any white one will look pale compared to my blooms above. I just received 3 different white blooming passiflora in trades, looking forward to seeing them bloom.

Darren

Yes Darren. Someday one of them will be a Bloom of the Day photo.

Darren, how odd. I've always heard the red ones were bad for the caterpillars. I hope they're not too much of a pest for you.

Melanie

A fact is Melanie,...

...that the Scarlet Passifloras (for one red variety), do not kill caterpillars firstly;...Many egg laying Butterflies simply are not drawn to them.

For some that is fine. I am one of those.

I love Butterflies and Dragonflies, and many Moths (my favorite moth is the Luna, which I have been blessed to see many times). My gardens abound with all of the above and everyone (Plants and bugs) seem well balanced. I am not bragging; it is just a fact.

When my enormous areas of Monarda Punctata start blooming soon, every type Bee, and Butterfly seemingly imaginable for that season seem to be making their presence known on any given day!

I will photo that event this season when it happens...and they will be shared on my Seasons thread.

David

This message was edited Jun 19, 2013 5:46 PM

Here's an interesting article about growing Passiflora "Lady Margaret" where she talks about red passion vines. See #5 in the article: http://voices.yahoo.com/lady-margaret-passion-vine-attracts-butterflies-6655746.html?cat=32

I guess the word is still out. It makes me wonder if any tropical butterflies use the red passifloras of South America? At least I know if I want to add a "Lady Margaret" to the landscape the butterflies won't be harmed. Though I, like the butterflies, tend to prefer natives. : )

Melanie

Passiflora coccinea is not a hybrid and is from South America.

Monarda Punctata is a native you might want to add to your Butterfly garden if you don't have it! {:-)

I'm running out of room, David! Might be time to encroach on the neighbors...
Melanie

HaHaHaHaHa! That feeling is one I know well!

Pleasant dreams, and may a special butterfly visit you soon...

David

Darren,you are very welcome..Keep posting the pretties...

Cody

My Double Rose of Sharon bush is blooming!!! Last year it bloomed and then lost all its leaves & just sat there. I thought it was a gonner and then it got new leaves in the Spring. Now it is full of buds & looks very healthy.

My RoS trees are also full of buds. Guess it just took them awhile to acclimate.

Beautiful! Mine haven't done anything yet this year....I thought maybe they were dead, but now they've all just developed bright green leaves. Seems late to me, but at least they aren't dead! :)

Sooo pretty!

Very pretty!!!

Hoya cumingiana
A first timer

Very cool. Never seen something like that before.

That hoya is very different. I like the night pollinators it attracted, as well. USF Botanical Gardens is always selling lots of hoyas but I never really knew what they looked like when they bloomed.

Melanie

Nice Hoya Locoluna! Are they easy to grow? I picked up a couple at the USF plant sale. I have them in my shaded entryway and they seem to be doing ok.

Anybody ever propagated a poinciana from cuttings? Have a pretty one in my neighborhood I'd like to try starting.

Darren

Nice hoya bloom. Mu Hindu Rope bloomed frequently in MD but hasn't since we moved down here. It probably should be re-potted, but is so big, I'll need helpers.

Thanks everyone. It took that particular Hoya about five maybe six years to bloom. It started as a two inch cutting. In the past six months it has been moved to a sunnier location and had a nice trim. Since I trimmed it, I did not expect it to bloom. I think it likes the sun more than most Hoyas. Its growth is now more erect and compact. Plus it finally bloomed. I find hoyas pretty easy. Mine seem happiest hanging under a shady tree. I even have some of them mounted. I love the wax carved flowers. My hindu rope looks horrid...to much sun :( But she is a bloomin! It took three to five years to see blooms on my hoyas. A few STILL have not flowered.
Mellie-I bet you would love the flower. I have many pictures I can send you. As well as cuttings if you like. They do well inside too. A sunny window is good too. The night time pollinators were an accident. I forgot to capture the first bloom that day so I tried at night. A cool surprise.

My Hindu Rope is over 20 yo. My Mom started it with just a cutting. I've had ropes grow 5' long. I cut them off & stick them back in the pot.

Wow. I bet it is big. Mine is not very full. I should snip n stick a few cuttings.

You made me feel much better about my hoya. Been in a hanging pot for over 2 years and no blooms but who knows maybe one day it will. I like the waxy leaves anyhow.
Melanie, the heart shaped cutting you gave me is taking root, also that very dainty looking little leaved plant that I knoiw one day will hang down beautifully. I seem to have a thing for draping plants. The 3 little desert roses are doing fine.

Mittsy gave me a crown of thorns and it is blooming great. Also the fire spike is blooming and out in bed no. 3. The garzania are all living in a large pot. I'm still choosing a place for some of the other plants from RU. What a joy!!
Bonnie

Can someone give me an idea on the 1st one? looks sort-of like the Dwarf Poinceta but not quite.
2nd is the Rose of Sharon I moved down here from MD. THought it died last year but full of buds now

Hi Everyone!

Have not been on in a while, and when I log in...there is a whole new DG!

Update on the kitchen...the kitchen cabinets have been 99% installed and I am hoping to have the counter tops put back on by Friday. IF all goes well, I might have a fully functioning kitchen by the weekend!

This has been a great year so far in regards to the amount of rain we have been getting. The yard and plants are thriving. I have been getting blooms from many plants for the first time this year.

Posting some first time bloomers from my garden.

1. Coreopsis 'Coloropsis Jive'
2. Pandora's Box Daylily
3. Dutchman's Pipe

Hi Shauna, beautiful pics!
I can relate to your kitchen dilemma. We had ours redone several years back. What a mess…But how wonderful once it's done! I have a feeling you'll be spending all your waking hours over the weekend, in the kitchen! Have fun!

Love the Dutchman's Pipe! Is that a Podocarpus he's growing on?