TROPICAL PLANTS AND GARDENS #131

My ensete banana is really growing

Brug about to open

justicia is blooming away

pretoria is blooming but I can't keep the worms off of it!!

Clerodendron beginning to bloom

one more and then I'll post the others later

Begonias....

This is my absolute favorite...I think its orange rubra but not sure. the color is beautiful!!

Here's one of my Musa ENSETE VENTRICOSUM MAURELLI - it's well over 10 feet tall and growing fast:

Kay, that is one gorgeous banana!

Paula, your garden must be a riot of color now. Everything looks good.

The color is off on this echinacea picture, guess it was too bright when I took the photo but it is actually fire engine red. The name is Salsa something or other and the best part is that it came back from last year. They can be tricky here, you never know if they will make it or not. I don't think they like salt.

Here's some other things.....

caladiums
#2&3 are fancy ones, but I don't know their name. This is the third year they have come back

Bromeliad bloom

more caladiums

A few of my beauties....

The banana is gorgeous, Kay so glossy, healthy and happy. Those echinaceas are ablaze, Alice.

Pretty caladiums, Paula. I have that one in the middle picture, we think it might be 'White Queen'. The begonias above that are wonderful, too. That orange, wow!

Welcome, flowerjunkie! I love the shot of your pinstripe gingers against that brick wall, so beautiful. Texture on the leaves in the last picture is amazing, too.

We've had a lot of rain and wind the last few days, and I've been busy tidying up and weeding the garden. Hope it will be picture-worthy by tomorrow.

Dizzypyxxy.

Photo of plants left to right are is of Kalanchoe Thysiflora Variegata, Zingiber Yu Hwa, Ligularia Lunar Landing and Curcuma Giant Plume. Glad to share photos.....will come back with more as soon....

You are so lucky to have Heliconias blooming in your yard!

Hey, anybody home?
- pale mauve Spathoglottis putting out some new blooms
- Achimenes are usually sort of demure, hiding in the foliage but not lately!
- colors on my variegated Ti are rocking, now that the shade plants over them have leafed out again
- Thai caladium 'The Pearl' is messing around with 'Black Thai' in the same pot and making . .
- really neat looking 'stained glass effect' leaves

Hello, I'm new to this thread but have to say you guy are making me so jealous! Love Love all your plants.

I just move to Texas in Feb and I'm trying to turn this new yard into a tropical jungle.. (Well with one spot for some desert plants).

I love all your pictures. And it gives me great Ideas for my yard.

Jokenna, welcome to DG and our forum of tropical plant folks!

I would venture to say you probably won't get any landscaping ideas from any of our yards - we grow a mishmash of plants, in no particular genre or order. We just fit what we like wherever we can, because we are all tropical plant addicts. It's a horrid disease that I wouldn't wish on anyone. If you are OCD in any measure, don't follow our plans - none of us have one! LOL

Do show us pictures of your plants!!!!

Oh I will fit right in. No method to my madness...Just ask my DH. I'm just finding that I have a huge yard here and little to fill it. When I lived in OR I had no yard everything was in pots at one time I had 99 pots outside and 49 inside....lol I tried to bring them all with me, but my DH would not rent a uhaul just for plants..I just don't get him. We pulled our Toyota pickup with a camper shell on the back.... Yup I packed the darn thing with every pot I could get into it...lol

Well, I guess you will fit in then LOL! Welcome....I just moved also last year, and I dug up every plant I could (excluding shrubs) and brought to the new house.

everyones plants are gorgeous as usual.. wish I could show you some things, but really not ready to go out and play yet. I brought home my sisters dog, Sadie, and we need to establish some house and yard rules if I am to stay married for much longer..

Take your time Deb! We'll see you then...

Deb, I'm glad you brought Sadie home with you - Sherry would have liked that.

{{{Hugs}}} to you Deb and to Sadie too.

Broms are starting to show off.

Look what I found at Walmart of all places...$12.

Varigated desert rose

I'm calling "FOUL"!!!!! It's just NOT FAIR! LOL! Congrats - it's gorgeous!!!!

LOL.. believe me, I looked the place over for other ones, but that was the only one. There were 3 regular ones. I can;t wait to see what color it will be.

Happy Fourth everyone!

I found two surprises today. The first is a small lily like pink flower. It must be in the amaryllis family but this flower is only about 3" across. The strap like leaves are narrow. I used to be so good with my plant inventory then it got away from me.

The other surprise (more like shock) is a flower bud on my Musa Sweetheart, it has not started to open yet. I also found a flag leaf on another stalk on the same plant. It seems appropriate that I found a "flag" leaf today. I am doubtful that fruit set this late in the summer will mature before cold weather sets in but I have been waiting years to see any edible fruit at all. My non edible musas fruit all the time - go figure.

This message was edited Jul 4, 2013 8:18 PM

Might be a rain lily, Alice. I have lots of them, but I went out to try for a picture and they've all gone to seed at the moment. Zephyranthes, I think.

New begonias with some crazy leaves - 4in pots with a lot of plants in them. I divided the right hand one yesterday and got 11 starts from one pot! Cool rainy weather is helping them get rooted.

I think you are correct on the Zephranthes ID, I do remember getting Z seeds at a propagation workshop at PDN.
That was at least 2 years ago and I had forgotten about them.

Your begonias are looking good. This cool wet weather has been great for growing everything, especially weeds.

Even though I have a little pond, I rarely see dragon flies around here. This guy was must have been blown off course somehow.

dyzzypyxxy Love your begonias. And what a lovely dragon fly!.

Hey guys! Hope you all had an enjoyable 4th!

Well, the Mystery Arum (tm) finally decided to bloom, and it's not so mysterious anymore: They are two different types of Calla lilies, one pink and the other one yellow... Still don't know how they managed to survive two winters around here... I'm at least half a zone out of range for the most hardy varieties....

They are lovely!

Getting enough rain, Kay? We had another nearly 2in. yesterday!

I have a big NOID cattleya in bloom, and it's right outside my patio door (first pic) so I can see it all the time. It's also under the roof overhang so it's not getting drowned!

I LOVE rain, so it's ok with me!!!

Phew, hot and sunny today, and this is the first afternoon we haven't been seeing any thunder clouds looming by this time in the afternoon. I had a swim, now am taking refuge at the computer.
- Peacock ginger, first pic I've had that shows the flower color properly
- Heliconia 'Lady Di' loves all the water.
- same Heli, this one had a dark royal blue shiny seed pod, never seen them make seeds before!
- Gloriosas starting their second flush of bloom
- Colocasia 'Blue Hawaii' has small leaves this year because there are about a dozen plants in that one pot.

Hikaro_ Takayama, Zantedeschia aethiopica plants are cold hardy in your zone of 6B. I grew them in that zone for years with out any Winter protection;)

Rachel: Really? I was thinking they might be varieties of Z. aethiopica, but everything I've seen, including Plant Files and Plant Delights Nursery's listings for the ones they sell says they're only hardy to 7a, at most...

I'll take your word for it, though. I always liked Calla Lilies, but never bothered with them, because I don't like growing plants that I have to dig up and store every winter.

Nice Gingers and Heliconias, Dyzzypyxxy! My hardy gingers have been growing well, needing only occasional watering, even with as hot as its been lately. Unfortunately, when mowing the yard Thursday, I accidentally rand over one of my Z mioga "Dancing Crane" plants.... Thankfully it had another small shoot coming up, so it should recover, but it still ticks me off... I need to see about just breaking down and ordering half a ton of mulch from the local garden center and just mulch all the flower beds, so I don't have to weed or mow them.

Sounds like a plan! You can never have too much mulch, jmho! It looks good, keeps the soil cool and moist, supresses weeds and breaks down to enrich as well, where's the down side? Shoveling it into place, I guess.

Pictures man! We need pictures - that's what keeps these threads interesting. What are your hardy gingers? Mine want as much water as I can give them.
- Hedychium 'Dr. Moy' is my favorite garden plant, lovely scent, pretty flowers, fabulous foliage, blooms non-stop from now until cold weather.
- they do have quite a few stink bugs on them right now though. Have to investigate that.
- wild petunias growing along our back driveway
- volunteer salvia 'Coral Nymph' seeds itself generously

Now if only that mulch would keep the weeds down in this climate. I think I could put 2 1/2 tons down and the weeds would still love it. Especially those wild petunias you have Elaine, they are Ruellia caroliniana, a sweet but prolific little native, they self sow everywhere, especially in nice clean mulch. aggghhhhh

I think this amaryllis seed head looks like ET

This message was edited Jul 8, 2013 5:45 AM

Alice, you spoke a mouthful there re the mulch - doesn't work for us. I use 6-8 mil clear plastic and carpeting - keeps the weeds at bay for me.

Yes, it does look like E.T.!!!

New blooms I happened to catch after last night thunderstorms...

In order: Variegated Poke Weed, variegated ruella, some hard to kill begonia growing in my flower bed, mini blooming Dutchman pipe vine.

This message was edited Jul 9, 2013 2:08 PM

Opps something happened, photos didn't attach

My first edible bananas ever, Musa 'Sweetheart'. This is exciting, I understand these will take 4 months to mature. A new "hand" of fruit should develop each day for week or two. Banana splits, bananas foster, banana bread banana pudding, etc.............

Hikaro_Takayama-- are you near any of the mushroom farms in PA? Great mulch is available from them.
My landscaper gets me a load of horse manure from one of the local stables every so often--that's wonderful also.
Debi

Lol, re the manure - just make sure it's well composted before you put it around your plants! My dad - frugal Scot that he was - got a 'deal' on a truckload of too-fresh manure from somebody who even delivered it for him. He was a doctor, and people used to offer him stuff like that. They dumped it in the front driveway where it smelled rather badly. My mother was fit to be tied. Dad gleefully shoveled and wheelbarrowed it to his rose garden where it burned the you-know-what out of his whole rose bed. Took several rainy days for the smell and all that nitrogen to wash away. I think he had to replace most of his rose bushes that year, too.

Couple of gingers blooming today Hedychium Greenii with red flowers, and the variegated spiral ginger with funny little funnels. The foliage on that one is the real star of the show.

C'mon folks!! This thread is dying for lack of pictures. Go out one time, take a bunch of pictures, then post a few each time you visit. I know all of you have nice things in your garden to show off. Pictures keep it interesting and give us stuff to chat about.

I can't take any because it keeps raining. I'll try to get a few...