Geez...my back yard looks like a big ole puddle...can't wait for that sunshine they're calling for soon!!!
Edit to say - although I do like the way my Plumeria blooms look with rain drops decorating her blooms!
This message was edited Sep 5, 2006 2:31 PM
Boy, is that ever pretty, Chantell! I'll bet it smells heavenly too.
Oh Diane...can I tell you - I LOVE the scent. She's one of 5 that I have...my first year with them. She's the only one that's bloomed but she's been with flowers non-stop last couple of months. Looks plus scent...makes me happy!! How are you?!!
I love plants with a nice scent. Have you ever grown heliotrope?
I'm doing okay. Working on making one of those concrete paths with a form that looks like stones in between the rainstorms.
No I've never grown heliotrope - what does it smell/look like?
Oh...that pathway sounds like it's going to be nice...love the "stone look!"
Vanilla! Some people think it smells like cherry pie. I think it smells more like vanilla. It's very easy to grow from seeds and has beautiful purple flowers.
http://www.nga.gov/feature/sculpturegarden/plantings/summer/heliotrope-fs.shtm
WOW!! What a beautiful color!!!!
Heliotropes have nice foliage too. They are annuals though and you have to replant them every spring. I used to grow them every year. The ones I grew were tall - maybe 3 to 3.5 feet tall, most of the seeds I see nowadays are the shorter ones. They would scent the entire backyard.
Chantell, that is pretty! The rain drops really make the picture come alive.
I really like Heliotrope too, I want to try starting some from seed next spring. Any advice, Diane. Buying the plants are pricy so I only get one, but would like to have more.
Chris
They're really easy from seed, Chris. I used to start mine in the garden. Just scratched the seeds into the soil and covered with up ended mayonnaise jars. LOL It would be better to start them indoors so you'll get earlier blooms, though.
I got my seeds from Thompson and Morgan. Don't know if that makes any difference but they always sprouted.
The bed I grew them in got some late afternoon shade and was fairly moist but I don't think that's required. They do want a fair amount of sun. They're called heliotrope because the plant follows the sun.
"They're called heliotrope because the plant follows the sun." I didn't know that. Thanks. I have ordered from T & M before, never had any problems.
I use to plant H in a pot but the leaves use to dry up and fall off, I think it was from uneven watering. This year I planted it in the ground and didn't have any problems.
Growing more plants from seed in the basement will give me the chance to try different spots in the yard.
Did you pinch back to get a fuller plant ?
Chris
Yes, I pinched them some early. You know, I don't think these are hybrids. You might want to ask in the seed trading forum if anyone has seeds.
Another flower I used to grow from T&M seeds and I found the seeds again in the Select Seeds catalog is tassel flower (emilia.) Not very tall but very pretty and unusual flowers. You can never have enough purple or bright red in the garden as far as I'm concerned. LOL
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/658/index.html
This message was edited Sep 6, 2006 12:14 AM
I just wish these beautiful flowers liked my shady backyard!
I think the heliotrope would do okay as long as it got some sun, Happy. It wouldn't hurt to try. They're so easy to grow. You could also grow the shorter ones in pots.
When I try to grow plants that crave sun in a partly-sunny area, they topple over and look awful. So I need to be disciplined.
But you read my mind -- part of my patio is in the sun so I could do a nice container garden. But large containers are so expensive, and so many just crack if you leave them out all winter. I wish there was a good cheap source for containers. . . .
I use the regular ugly black nursery pots - many folks suggest filling the very bottom w/heavy rocks so they don't topple over...another thought would be builders sand. I got my pots off of ebay but I know over in the Plumeria forum they have links for other sites - very cheap
I just saw a garden show that talked about why glazed pots crack over the winter. Most of them are made I forget where but it's a tropical country. They aren't fired to withstand cold temps.
The show recommended regular unglazed clay pots in cold areas. You can get pretty large ones cheap at WalMart and someone posted somewhere here one of the big chain crafts stores sells them cheap too. It wasn't Michaels. Perhaps someone here will know.
I got a pretty large clay pot at WalMart a couple of weeks ago for under $4. They have the small ones for 50 cents.
They also have some plastic ones for a very low price too. I've gotten some of those that have the drainage dish built in - huge ones for under $5.
Costco often has some very nice decorative resin or plastic pots for reasonable prices too and this time of year might have them on clearance. At Costco, if the price ends in 7, it's a clearance price.
Like Chantell, I reuse the black plastic ones too. If you want to spruce them up, Krylon makes a spray paint called Fusion for painting plastic. Lots of pretty colors and it's only about $3.50 a can.
