Brugmansias in winter 2014

Time to post a few photos before the frosty winter nights kill off the blooms. We've had unseasonably warm nights for the past six weeks (except for a blast of unseasonable cold in early May), but we're now getting near-frosty nights so these blooms aren't going to last much longer.

Here's that Color Point x Apricot Queen seedling again. Now the single bloom has taken on a definite orange hue.

Comparison shots:
1. Single bloom with orange hues.
2. With Musketeer--you can see that the seedling is very similar in colour to Musketeer.
3. With Old Apricot--once again, the seedling is definitely more orange than apricot.
4. With Elfin Pink.
5. With Phanomenal x Superspot, Elfin Pink, OA.

So it will be interesting to see what this seedling looks like when it settles down, as in only two flushes it's had single, semi-recessed and double blooms, as well as blooms ranging from white to apricot and now to orange.

1.,2. Here's Phanomenal x Superspot, showing two types of skirts on the same plant.
3. With Joli x Bergk. I put these two in a vase last night and could smell them as I passed the room in the evening. Have to say, PhxSS has the best fragrance--could really smell the sherbet/lemon perfume.
4. Joli x Bergk also has variable blooms: look at this beauty from last week.

Finally, an apricot-pink bouquet :-)

Hi cestrum, what a lovely surprise to see all your blooms !

Mine are finished for this Winter now, though I expect a real show in the next growing Season.
If you have been popping into BGI (in the public areas-Gallery/ seedlings etc) you would be thrilled at the lovely Plants coming in from Australia.
It's a day I once dreamed of.

Because you can't see FB you are missing quite a few, but never mind.I see you are having a lot of fun with your own which is lovely to see.

So you have a favourite ?

chrissy

Brrr, another 2 degree night. Fortunately, the canopy of all those trees I mass planted is protecting a lot of my plants. (Unlike the first few years, when my brugs were burnt by frost and I lost most of my tender tropicals.) A lot of people don't realise that there are subtropical areas that get frosty winters (I think I remember Liz Fichtl over in the BGI forums mentioning the same conditions in her Florida garden) ... but then how many people know that there are mountains in Hawaii that get snow in winter?

Favourites? Depends on when you ask me! But I've been thinking a lot about scent recently, and have a renewed appreciation for Phan x SS because of that lovely sherbet perfume. It really stands out among other brugs.

The one I'm really taken with recently though is the superbly scented white seedling (photo attached to this message; it's the one with big blooms--not Squatty Bottom! the other one--and cut petals). The fragrance is so strong but it's also intensely sweet, yet somehow more ... refined? than my white suaveolens, plus it's citrusy in nature (not sherbet lemon, though; this one is sweeter). My brain does a little joyful somersault when it smells it! Ironically, it's a seedling that has ended up with two labels, one showing the pod parent as my white Old Apricot seedling, the other as My Seuss (pollen donors unknown in both cases). Anyway, it's a keeper.

Then there's your own FFA. A pretty bloom that ranges from cream to apricot to yellow in my conditions. But the smell: heavenly vanilla. There's nothing else like it in my garden!

Finally there's ButterBomb, which was another cutting from you (many thanks!). I've had so few flowers on it because it ended up being overtaken by the champaca and surrounding shrubs, but I recently moved it to a new bed and it had a few blooms on it then: heavenly. It has to be the best aurea fragrance in my garden.And of course, there's that beautiful large bloom. I think it's a vastly underappreciated brug.

In terms of flower form, I'm most taken with my recent apricot/orange bloom because while I have a lot of apricot and orange singles, I have none in this shape and no doubles in these colours at all--except for your own FFA ... perhaps this will be my FFA? Alas, no: FFA has a unique fragrance and this one sadly seems to have only a mild perfume. But the variation in colour and skirts is intriguing and I'm curious to see how it settles down.

This message was edited Jun 18, 2014 9:40 AM

Been clearing stuff bit by bit, the Jungle needs so much taming now the cooler weather is here (don't need to be afraid of snakes or wasps) ...Brugs need more Sun than I first thought. Butter Bomb loves the Sun and I certainly agree on it's beauty and fragrance, you know I have always loved it.
I am so glad you are enjoying yours again.
The different fragrances are so interesting aren't they.

Good luck with your special one ... looking forward to seeing it progress.

That darned Frost had better not do too much damage this Winter or ...

chrissy

Ooops I forgot ...just in case anyone is following this,
The Autumn Brug thread was http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1357436/

Hang in there it's only weeks until Spring. ^_^

chrissy

Not looking forward to spring. It turns hot and humid so quickly. Even today I got bitten by a mosquito outside. In the sun. In the middle of the day. In winter. So 2.5 months to go in which to finish the heavy gardening jobs before the steam bath returns and I have to escape inside by 8am!

A new abutilon flowered for the first time today (photos 1 and 2). It's hard to capture the colour but the more saturated orange photo (pic 2) is closer to reality. It looks like some named abutilons I've seen but it's a seedling. I wonder if one of the parents could be the blooms in pic 3?

I'm especially fond of the lantern style bloom.

Actually, I'm wondering if these are the parents.
The bottom bloom is the same orange shown in photo 3 above. (It is a more saturated orange as shown here.) The top bloom is the from the abutilon labelled as the parent plant of my seedling. Hmmm ...

Time to finish with the many faces of Pink Velvet x Dalai Lama. This plant has had so many incarnations (types of skirt and shades of pink) that I have no idea what it is really supposed to look like! Here's a comparison of the current bloom with ones over the seasons and years.
1. This week.
2. Autumn.
3. June--but it must have been a much colder month then.
4. Summer.
Edited to add that once it started setting doubles, it seems to have continued.
But for the first few years all the blooms were single.

This message was edited Jun 18, 2014 3:49 PM

Here's today's shot of that orange abutilon seedling. This is a good representation of the vibrant colour. I've seen photos of Abuliton picton and this looks like it, but it can't be as it's a seedling. I'm very fond of it, obviously :-) Ten months to flower from seed, but that time could have been cut in half (if not more) had I potted it up sooner and given it some more attention.

The second photo is another seedling with a dwarf Bella as a parent. It's inherited the Bella's large open hibiscus-type face with the (unknown) pod parent's large leaves. The colour truly is luminous. I've had a few abutilon seedlings that seem almost luminescent.

Back to brugs, here are two blooms from my Joli x Bergk#2 seedling, showing how the colour darkens as the bloom matures. The older bloom has more of that rich red-pink of its parents. Given that it took my PV x DL seedling several years to set its first double bloom, I wonder if this seedling might eventually transform into a double?

that PVxDL seedling is very interesting with all it's many faces.
Love the colour of it in the last pic - summer.

Yes, that stuffed deep-pink corolla is pretty. I had to do a double-take when I saw it because I assumed at first it was my Peanut x R&F, but no, it was PVxDL.
I quite like the swirls in its current shape, though. Reminds me of my (Phanomenal x Superspot) x unk seedling (seen here in summer).

This message was edited Jun 20, 2014 7:50 AM

It's very much like the one I have here from you ...it's lovely.

I am sorry I forgot to say your lanterns are very cute, I love them too.

chrissy

My Phanomenal x Superspot is currently setting dropped skirts. This is as large and as dark as it gets in my garden--the result of the six weeks of unseasonably warm night temps, some rain, and proximity to a new garden bed. I'm sure the plant has spread its roots out and is drawing up nutrients from that bed.

Yet its largest bloom is still quite small--just about the same size as Elfin Pink (on right).
A passing bee flew onto the bloom as I was photographing it and then crawled inside :-)

Elfin Pink, light and dark blooms from the same plant. (Another cutting of yours, Chrissy!)
The blooms start off light and then darken and the tendrils recurve as the blooms mature.

Elfin Pink has been flushing like mad for the past few weeks. It's also drawing nutrients from the nearby new bed. That + the weather ...

Finally, some more abutilons--blooms from two of my seedlings. I love these colours, esp. the two-tone bloom on the left.

Elfin Pink is a true Winter Brug, I love it, but can no longer see it because the canopy is way up above the tops of the many jungle things I have growing. Time for a bit of hacking :-)

I miss all my tall ones in the jungle. Can't see them only for some of the tips from the top balcony. I have taken some cuttings of Phanomenal x Superspot (back ups), I think it may do better with a bit more Sun (colour), going to try both more Sun and more shade ...I think it's lovely.

Your abutilons are really pretty.

It's getting quite cold at night but our days are wonderful, I hope yours are too, you sound happy with the garden.
The days will grow longer now ...have fun.

chrissy

Great to see all your brugs Cestrum, shame you haven't gone over to FB , it's really happening over there once you get through the rubbish advertising....my FB addy is below...I use the same password as I do for daves and many other forums....you can still have your privacy protected by just setting up a gardening FB like I have done and just invite your gardening buddies. Be great to see what you have flowering or what you have collected. Wayne , chrissy, Judy, Ann ,Diane are a few that are on FB.

I've lost quite a few of my tropicals but that hasn't stopped me collecting more...the ylang, ylang vine you gave me is doing fantastic, still caged (for its own protection) your orange shrimp plants are no more I really think they never quite took off have tried to source more seeds but none around at present. Last picture of your ylang ylang vine hasn't flowered yet, maybe I've got it too much shade.
Hey keep in touch.

Ok so for cestrum and anyone who has not found us on FB yet here are a few snapshots for you.
Not terribly good since I had to take pics on my puter screen.

More from the Australian FB group album :

More

More:

So that is just a few, I hope I didn't mix any up and post twice.
^_^

Lovely to hear from you, Mya! That 'ylang ylang' must actually be the Artabotrys hexapetalus that Brendon gave me? It nearly died after three or so winters in my sunroom, so it's good to see it's survived.

No time to look at your detailed FB pics, Chrissy, but I think I saw Judy's name on one of them. Can it be so ...?

Yes it can be so ^_^, I was so happy to find her there, Judy mainly does wonderful succulents and beautiful Oleanders (these are easier under her conditions), though she kept Twilight Time (very touched that she did).

So many Brugs piling up now, it's almost too hard to keep up, they aren't quite so rare any more.
Well the cold group still is to a certain extent, but that will change too next year and forward. Of course you can find them all on the BGI Gallery, the Registry and the Seedling/Data Bank if you still want to.
Soon Australia have a really large number of Brugs to choose from. Almost everyone is selling them now on FB and in blogs. I am still only a home gardener, that is the way I like it. It's fantastic to see what is on offer and the great prices compared to when we first started.

Wayne has moved to the North Coast to be near his parents, the people that purchased their beloved Flora razed the precious garden ...heart ripping stuff, painful stuff.
Meanwhile they will make a new garden ...a different one.

So many things have changed, life is moving very fast these days ...
Thought you might like to know that FIFI is in our current Herald so she is Official.
It is chockas full of Aussie Brugs ...lovely ! even a Culebra Cross.

I hope you are enjoying a respite from the heat, I am, but I miss my Brug blooms, it was not a good year for them here. Looking forward to Spring but not Summer, I am going into more exotic herbs and veggies next year ...what are your plans ?

Might try some more Gingers too, the one you sent me is so very fragrant ...I love it, the Turmeric is thriving here which was a big and lovely surprise.

Planning a large sweet potato patch, I love the white ones more than the orange but they are both great. Oops Blah Blah blah sorry ...back to the Brugs.
This is Fifi ...in my Herald just received.

chrissy

That is amazing Chrissy seeing my name in print , you must have so many registered now. Gosh Chrissy you have so much going on wonder where you find the time. The weather is divine for gardening here also and this is the time to plant whatever I want to flower over the summer. We've had some temps overnight as low as 12ºC but I think that should be the last of them, well I'm hoping anyways, otherwise I'm moving to Darwin . I look at all your gardens with envy and crave to plant whatever I want without the dread that the wallabies will eat them , maybe one day I'll be able to have a garden with a huge fence to keep the wildlife out.




Cestrum yes it is Artabotrys h which Brendon sent you, whatever happened to him, didn't he move to Perth?
Judy is still collecting but has diversified like all of us as has Wayne, now that he lives on the coast he'll have to plant lots of coastal plants however he could grow anything really, he has such green thumbs and toes.
There are some truely knowledgable fellow gardeners on FB and that's aIl I use my Mya On Magnetic for just gardening hope to see you there

I've started collecting Desert Roses, below is a few of my more special ones, I know they aren't Brugs so I may get deleted, hope not.

No-one's ever had a photo removed for being off topic, Mya--attached photo point in case! Your desert roses look terrific. There's something rather marvellous about growing plants that do well in your own climate, instead of struggling with those that ... struggle. (You're right BTW: Brendon moved to tropical WA.)

Are you breeding the desert roses? Just wondering how long from seed to flower.

12 degrees overnight? Anywhere from 5 to minus 2 degrees here! But the days are glorious. You can keep the NT: the cockroaches and cane toads here are more than enough for me!

My oleander seedlings from Judy are still growing, maybe half have flowered. They find it quite tough in my garden--too dry, can you believe it? The day isn't long enough for me to water everything.

Shocked to hear about Flora being demolished, a wonderland of a garden. Yet it happens time and time again. Houses with beautiful gardens are bought by people *despite* those gardens. All we can do is enjoy our gardens while we have them. Makes you realise how transient everything in life is ...

good reason to keep coming to DG as well as FB... on here you can go off topic & enjoy more personal chat :)
Had to smile Mya - we are lucky to reach 12C as our high during the depths of winter... no brugs for me until I win lotto & build a massive greenhouse.

Teresa, if only you could go and live in the sub/tropics for a full year or two.
I reckon you'd be thrilled to be back in NZ's cool, wet climate!

nope - I still miss living in Brisbane!
Love going back for holidays & thawing out properly :)

Brugs, broms & frangipani would fill my garden ... I'd miss the peonies & daffs in spring, but not that much.

I misunderstood, Theresa--I didn't realise you had actually *lived* there. (You did live there, right? Not just visited. Because there's a world of difference between visiting on holidays and living somewhere ...) In that case, it's homesickness, which is something else altogether ... Having lived in the subtropics, I've no desire to ever visit the tropics. Had enough already!

This is the pink shrimp plant that Mya sent me--it has set seed. The green pod splits open to reveal the black seeds inside.

I am loving the Winter except for missing my Brug blooms.

Maybe next month it will be time to turn this thread into Tropical flowers of Australia or something similar, I miss seeing all the other plants.

The Brugs can go in there amongst other lovelies.
Wayne will have his more Tropical garden going and you all have lovely things to show, come on and show them off ! ^_^

cestrum I certainly understand your comments. Do you think you will have a freeze up there, like you all had a few years ago ?
I read today we might suffer a freeze ...I hope not.
Cheers ladies (and any gents looking in).

chrissy

Cestrum, I have now flowered your Dr Seuss x
I find it a little interesting but I will not keep it for the spring I need the room for other seedling that have not bloomed in my garden
I really appreciate growing your plants and seed out

Do you think the title of this thread is a little misleading, Chrissy ;-)
There are a few brug blooms left, but nothing worth photographing. We've had a string of below zero nights (almost minus 3C last night, apparently). It's stopped the brugs from flowering but I haven't seen any frost damage on them, presumably because of the canopy protection.
The abutilons,however, are still flowering away despite the frosty nights; here's one of the seedlings. It seems that so long as you keep the actual frost off them, they will continue to bloom despite the frigid night temps.
Shaun, no need to tell me when you plan to turf out a plant: none of us has the space/time/water needed to grow everything! I've been tempted to throw that one out myself. It needs a lot of water and food to flower well, but I've kept it because it's one of my early brugs when I had only a few, and I do like the flower and toothed leaves ... but your real Dr Seuss is better!

Lol ...cestrum, I mean that our Brugs can now take their rightful place in the tropical garden now.
No longer so rare that they must be cosseted and fretted over. Yet still rare in their own right, due to their being unique in our own gardens.

It's a bit pitiful out there today -2 C has made it's mark (worse yet to come they say).
Keep those pretty things coming ...we need cheering up down South, poor little crispy leaves and tiny buds gone here, in the exposed areas, the jungle looks ok from above, as you say, the canopy protects a lot of things.

chrissy

hi Cestrum - I lived in Sydney for a year, then 4 years in Brisbane.
Just loved it there & wouldn't have moved away except for some major family issues...
I spent the first few years living in ChCh planning & saving to go back to Brissy.
Life has a way of sending you off in other directions and I now consider chilly ChCh to be home, despite the earthquakes!

Cestrum , I can remember when you first started collecting Abutlions sounds like you have a great collection now....did a quick research on them and they seem that they'll grow here as well, however I need to keep them out of the wallabies way...would they be OK in a hanging basket ?

I don't know if you know this plant but it's my pride and joy...it's a shrub that I have growing in a hanging basket and considering it grows quite large, it does me proud with it's beautiful parrot beak flowers all squashed in a hanging basket, I guess it will have a limited time in there but I have a good strike rate with cuttings....... I've also got my Stictocardia b set seeds, so beautiful, also the burgandy flowers is my Ipomoea Horseflae .

Also tonights temp at 8.30pm...must admit to you all I do have my winter jarmies on now and my ugg boots so couldn't imagine a temp below 10ºC