What's blooming?

This was blooming this past weekend!

(Sorry about the lighting...it was above a very bright window...had to turn the flash off as it was too 'washed out' looking with the flash on!)

Anyone else have something 'floriferous' to show?

New Year's Day bonsai start. Chaenorrhinum minus (dwarf snapdragon) - before pruning.

... and after:

Very nice tapla! Never thought of making a snapdragon into a bonsai!

Right now I have av's blooming, Streptocarpus, cactus, orchids, Christmas cactus, and a passiflora. Everything is waking up, so more to come. The gardenia is heading up right now.

Only things blooming in my house are the hyacinths, and primroses I buy at the Safeway! Looks like one of my Schumbergia(this one is 'Thanksgiving') is going to bloom again in a couple of weeks.

(But I do plant them outside once the ground wamrs up).

Just my Spathiphyllum 'Domino' and Paphiopedilum(sp.?) orchid. I think my Nematanthus are gearing up for some bloom activity pretty soon!

GrowHappy- who is happy that Spring is imminent.

Nice, Al!
I'd never heard of the Snapdragon as Bonsai, either....although I'm not well-versed in Bonsai-ese! lol!

That reminds me, KayJones...I've an AV in bloom with gorgeous flowers, I'll have to try and get a photo of it. The blooms are pink and have a lavender picotee edge.
I killed yet another Gardenia this past year.
How do you treat yours indoors during the cold months?
Can you post a photo when it blooms? (Or photos of any of your bloomers?! - well....not your 'bloomers', but your blooming plants?!)

Growhappy....wish my 'Domino' would bloom.....not having good luck with it!

Beautiful, Nan! Tapla the bonsai snapdragon is a cutie! I never would have thought of using that plant. Now I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for a plant or seeds to try it.
:) Donna

Thanks, guys. I do Calibrachoa (million bells), Coleus, and Impatiens, too. ;o)

Al

Really??? Please post pictures!
:) Donna

I just started taking digital pics this year, so I don't have any of Impatiens or Calibrachoa yet, but here's a Coleus. I have some starts from cuttings I could post if any are interested in seeing how to start shaping a Coleus for a little bonsai.

Al

That is soooo cool! Yes, please do post pictures on how to start shaping a Coleus.
:) Donna

I'll need to find time to take the photos. Give me awhile. Besides, I don't want to hijack Nan's thread. ;o)

Al

She won't mind! Right, Nan!
:) Donna

Oh, I LOVE those bonsais - hurry and post how you do that!

Nan, when hubby comes home tonight, I will get him to take some pictures. I get mine to bloom almost non-stop by putting them in a south-facing or west-facing bay window, where they get tons of light, and I fertilize with EVERY watering.

As for the gardenia, I keep it in the basement under a 400 watt hallogen light, where it is surrounded by other plants, all sitting in a constant 60-degree, high humidity atmosphere. That's just cool/warm enough to keep them alive and as the days lengthen, most plants set bud, as they are now.

Nope...don't mind at all....hijack away, Al!!!

Here's a little coleus I started from a cutting from the plant I showed above. I would have likely started it around last March, so it's about a year old. I pruned it once, before I brought it in for the winter - mid-Sep, probably. It doesn't look like you could find a tree shape in there, judging by the pic, but some preliminary pruning has guaranteed there is a single trunk under the foliage.

Here is the same plant. I took both photos just a few minutes ago. You can see where the leader was cut, about 1-1/2 inch above the soil. From the lateral branches that always grow opposite, I used the one closest to vertical as the new top, and the one closest to horizontal as the first branch. I kept the branch pruned (so it didn't get as fat as the trunk & look funny) and let the new top grow free. I chopped it again, where the right branch emerges from the trunk & kept the more vertical as the top & the horizontal as the branch. The plant is too 1 dimensional & lacks a back branch for depth, so I will allow the right branch at the top to grow freely. I'll wait until a dormant bud begins growing under the point where the left top branch meets the trunk, then I will remove the near vertical left top branch in favor of the horizontal new branch that will appear. It sounds complicated at first, but it's not. Prune the stuff (except for the trunk) that grows upward & keep the stuff that grows horizontally. When what you kept doesn't look right - remove it.

Coleus and some of the other woody perennials are a very good way to learn pruning techniques that apply not only to bonsai, but to your other woody garden and landscape plants, too.

Al

Here's a little 2 year old dwarf geranium that's kind of cute. It wants to bloom all the time, but I keep them cut off so it doesn't slow development. Blooms are expensive for a plant. ;o)

Al

And another Coleus. You can see four branches on this one already. The lower branch is called a sacrifice branch & is only being allowed to remain to fatten the trunk. I will remove it when I move the plant outdoors. The wound from its removal will heal (close) quicker if I wait until the plant is beginning a period of active growth. The weights are to bring the branch to a horizontal position. It will set in that position quickly & I will remove the weights. These plants always look scraggly after they are pruned, but a month from now, they'll be all filled out & almost unrecognizable from what you see today. Hope you enjoyed the bonsai lesson - I know I had fun. ;o)

Al

I have a streptocarpella blooming, and my passion flower is about to bloom again. It's been very floriferous this winter, and I was so worried I'd kill it. I just got it last May and my past experience with house plants has not been the best, but things are going well this winter, and my passion flower LOVES it in the south window.

tapla, WHERE did you get that pot that your geranium is in?? I LOVE it!!

Kylee

I bought that one at a bonsai show from a small vendor in either Cincinnati or St. Louis.

Al

Al - any recommendations for reading on bonsai - beginner stuff? I have several coleus cuttings downstairs underlights that I was propagating for regular outdoor planting. It might be neat to transform one.

Anita

The latest Sunset book is suprisingly informative and fairly inexpensive. You might even find a copy on e-bay. Find it here http://www.stonelantern.com/booksbonsai.html# -- or here for less -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0376030461/ref=sib_rdr_dp/102-6034858-8688167?%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&no=283155&st=books&n=283155
ISBN: 0376030461 is the recent edition by Susan Lang, so don't confuse it with a Sunset bonsai book published in 1976. It's head and shoulders above that edition.

Al

My cybister amaryllis 'La Paz' is blooming now:

Ohhhhhhhhh kbaumie, that amaryllis is gorgeous!

This Tillandsia turned a shade of 'yellow'in the center before it bloomed, and bloomed white.
(I'm not a good photographer...my skills and my camera leave a lot to be desired!)

I've got a better photo of this on the Bromeliad forum....if anyone is interested.

This message was edited Feb 22, 2006 5:03 PM

Opened today. The entire plant has performed beyond my wildest expectations this winter, after bringing it in from outside. I was sure I would kill it over the winter. LOL.

great pic KB

KB - Wow!!! Just beautiful!!!

Only thing even considering blooming in my house is my Hoya Bella...she's got about 6 groupings of those cute tiny star buds.

I have one bloom on a late Christmas cactus.
My kalanchoe has about four blooms on it.
I also have a violet that is blooming now.
That's all for now :)

And today I found another Christmas cactus with blooms forming... I'm really surprised!

This message was edited Feb 23, 2006 1:12 PM

My prayer Plant is blooming. John

Beautiful photo of a beautiful bloom, Kylee!
I was amazed that mine bloomed indoors, as I haven't taken it outdoors at all (it's twined around the curtain rod and *etc.*!!

John....cool! I have 2 of these and don't see blooms on them very often!

Nan - how much lite does your passion flower get?

It's right in front of a big south window, along with a myriad of other plants, and it has grown/twined up along the curtain rod (which has just a sheer valance on it).

I think the key to blooming indoors besides bright enough light is that they have something to twine on.

hmmm - I might have to give that a try..

Wow...I think I've actually learned how to grow Tillandsias correctly!
Strong light and good air circulation.....mist every day or two and add dilute liquid fertilizer every few 'mistings'....give a total soaking for a while (about 15-20 minutes) every couple of months.

I had lost several in the past.

Took photos this morning.

I am a houseplant addict , so have a wide variety of things in bloom right now. African violets, Kalanchoes, Orchids, Impatiens, an Amaryllis, a cane begonia, a beefsteak begonia, and still a few blooms on the xmas cactus's and the pelargoniums. The Penta is starting to open new blooms. There is always something in bloom.