Zone 10b question about gladiolus and amaryllis

I have a house in zone 10b in Florida. We are only here for the most part from now until March. I have a built in planter box near my pool that would look good with something tall growing in it, since it has a blank wall behind it. If I plant a bunch of amaryllis bulbs now that they are selling for Christmas forcing, will they bloom soon, or wait until summer? Or my other thought was gladiolus, I read that they are typically planted in nov in Florida. If I can find the corms, and plant them by dec 1, does anyone know when they would bloom?

Any other suggestions for this planter? When I first bought the house 2 years ago I bought a bunch of bromeliads that were blooming and put them in there. It looked good for a while, but it takes too long for the pups to bloom again and it was looking pretty ratty, so I just ripped those out. It faces east, so gets afternoon shade.

It's lovely - I'd quickly turn that into a fountain!!!

Glads will bloom the first year, but we normally don't get enough cold hours for them to bloom a second time. I guess you could dig them, store them in the fridge crisper drawer and replant them. Amaryllis come up and bloom reliably, year after year in my yard.

Actually a fountain is a great idea, I never thought about that

You cold try Mexican Petunias if you still wanted to have flowers in there. They get 3-4 ft tall, bloom all year, come in purple, pink and white and are a butterfly attractor. . They will spread throughout that planter area pretty quickly.

First thing I thought of course was fish pond. Got a new PC and its much smarter than me so please excuse any errors.
Esperanza is beautiful also and grows tall. So does yellow cestrum and it blooms almost all the time. Both are quite care free.

Bonnie, my experience is different with Cestrum aka night blooming jasmine. I had a very large shrub of yellow, also white - neither performed well for me, so I took them out. They sprawled something awful!

I have a purple that blooms sporadically, so it will come out when I expand my greenhouse next year. They were planted in full sun, so I have no idea why they weren't what I expected them to be - frequent bloomers.

Since you are only in residence part of the year I would think something that takes care of itself would be important unless you are just thinking of these plants as short term annuals. Gladiolas get pretty ratty looking after they bloom so I would rule them out. Shrubs and perennials need to be chosen based on their maintenance (deadheading, pruning, etc.) needs. Your idea of amaryllis is a good one I think, they are evergreen, will fill up the box quickly and they should bloom during the period you are in FL. In your climate the ones available in the stores now may well bloom right away for you. If you are thinking of these long term, how about water while you are gone for the remaining part of the year? Do you have that covered?

Kay, my yellow cestrum is great but the others have been iffy for me, just not worth the water and fertilizer.

My night blooming is nothing like my yellow cestrum. Both has spread some but not that much.
The jasmine smell is very strong but cestrum has very little smell if any.
Happy gardening all.

No scent on mine either.

Yes, that planter has drip irrigation, so water is not a problem. I've been looking at amaryllis, but all I can find are the kits with the pots and all, and they are pretty expensive to buy multiples that way. I'd need at least 20 to make any kind of statement. Does anyone know of any mail orders that sell just the bulbs?

Saw some bulbs on sale at Walmart 2 days ago.
Should be some on line if you google them. Good luck as they re beautiful.

I saw some at a garden center this past week. They were loose and they had about 2 dozen different varieties. The prices were determined by the variety. Some, like the ones you get in the big box stores were inexpensive others, like the newest cultivars, were pricey. Many were already in bloom, those are the bulbs you can ask for a discount on as they will be past their prime by the holidays.

The folks on the amaryllis forum here on DG might have more ideas for you.

I just had to say that when I looked at your photo, I saw heliconias in that planter, the smaller kind, psittacorum I believe...I love the yellow and red bract variety... or maybe African iris

Heliconia is pretty, will it be flowering in Dec, Jan, Feb? That's when I need something flowering

I think it would flower year round for you. Here it only seems to stop when there is a freeze.

I have a planter similar to that and I just plant annuals in it every year. Many that like the planter and will re-seed, such as African Daisies (early spring), Marigolds (summer/fall), Mums (spring/fall). In the hot summer I put portulaca/purslane in them, and they will sometimes come back also. In the winter (right now) I put petunias in there, they do good in the hot/cold back and forth temps we get. Mine doesn't have irrigation and depends on hand watering.

I've never found just one plant that does well all year long in mine. But it makes a wonderful annual planter that changes with all seasons.

My red heliconia is blooming still. It has really spread. It is a tropical plant so can't feature it blooming now in Mass. but who knows.

Sherri, do you have enough room for plumbago in your planter? Mine blooms year round. Maybe Ilex schilling would hold up all winter also. Can't remember if they bloom all the time tho.

Sorry Cindyeo, just re-read your post and you want something to bloom in Fl. That should be easier. Shauna said Mexican Petunias and they sure do spread and bloom often. I have had to pull many from taking over my yard. Plumbago comes in white, blue, red and they are a reliable bloomer and easy grower. That's why you see them planted all along our roads.
Dwarf tibochina is also an easy care blooming plant. Regular tibochina might grow too tall for your planter. There is also a variety of holly that gets its berries now but probably would need pruning to maintain good form for your planter. My Chinese hat plant is full of blooms now but it also is quite tall.
We are not having a normal winter so lots of plants are blooming that don't usually at this time of year. You may want to talk to your local extension agent who may have suggestions for that area. Plants in garden centers that are blooming just came from greenhouse growth usually so can't tell by them. They are grown under controlled circumstances in order to sell.
Good luck

Hey Bonnie, don't think it is deep enough for plumbago roots.

I re-read this post and sounds like Cindy is only admiring the planter in the winter months and needs a blooming plant. I thought about it and if irrigation, pentas would do well and constantly bloom, can take heat and pretty cool temperatures.

Pentas or verbena would probably be a good choice.

Just got the list and pics of new plants for 2014 in Garden Gate mag. Rose and Shine petunia is really beautiful. Introduced by Ball Horticultural Co. Source says local garden centers. That's a joke. They won't be the local gardens for a couple of years at best. What a tease. Every year when I look at new plants I could just flip out. One called jungle cloak acalypha is also attractive for foliage.

All the seed catalogues are coming in now too.

How low did your temps go last night? Supposed to warm back up by this weekend.

It was 40° at 3:30AM when I got up to pee. I got up at 6:30 and it was down to 38° then, by sunrise it dropped to 36° and continued to drop all the way to 34.1 before it started going back up again, but still at 11AM it is only 39°. But it didn't get down to below freezing like they predicted...I'm so glad. All my azaleas are starting to bloom and hope the buds didn't get zapped.

I agree on pentas, and acalyphas are beautiful, but I've noticed they're pretty tender.

Looks like we made it! It was down to 36 here in St Cloud until sunrise, not sure if it got lower than that. Everything is still in the garage because of how cold it is out there still with the sun, I'll probably put them out around 1 for some light. Tonight I will probably bring them in again just in case.

I haven't seen any flowers recently on my azaleas. Sad to see the hibiscuses stopped so abruptly.