Go catch your ferry ... plant will still be here when you get back :-)
(I am evil, yes I am ...)
What PLANT did you buy?????
Chrissy, you partner in crime ... building it up like that :-)
It does not have the spectacular flowers of Mya's latest crush, but it is famous for its fragrance. Which is why I have coveted it for, what, four years? Something like that.
Edited to add: No, more than four years ... I lusted after it before starting my garden here. Must be close to seven years!
This message was edited Jul 29, 2009 10:22 AM
... hanging around my PO box, waiting for me to turn up and follow me home? Did I mention the guard dog LOL
Sorry Chrissy,I should have said they are my Yellow Jade Vine - Mucuna sloanei....I have no germination notes on these seeds and can't find anything on google,so it's hit and miss...........
You're warm, Mya, in terms of common name.
To find germination instructions on your mucuna, google 'sea bean'. The site I've looked at in the past seems to be unavailable at the moment, but there are others that should help you.
Added: I can't get to the main site (with pics) at seabean.com, but I can access the cached version:
http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:vq2bP_mOCBcJ:www.seabean.com/grow/index.htm+growing+sea+bean&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk
This message was edited Jul 30, 2009 7:31 AM
Thanks Cestrum that site helped ....I used my new dremel to drill the littlest hole imaginable....seeds soaking now.....will watch these new babies like a mama hawk..........
What a great read cestrum ...mya if I were you I would be walking around the waters edge every day to look for floaties ...wow you could find so many things. I would have used sandpaper then soaked in hot water with a bit of vinegar in it ...or put in a few inches of old manure in a plastic bag and place in warmth. It will be exciting to see what happens.
I'm always wary about using *hot* water once a seed hull has been breached in some way (eg. by rubbing with sandpaper or drilling a hole or snipping off a bit of it) because I'm afraid that the vulnerable kernel inside might be killed. So I prefer cold or lukewarm water, and use hot water only when the seedhull is intact.
But Mya the seeds should germinate readily in your climate. And grow like mad :-)
I agree with your comment cestrum ...I didn't mean rub right through just rub a little to thin the wall, once penetrated I would use warm water and no manure ...I agree mya should have no trouble sprouting it because that is where they are mean't to grow ...I still want to know what washes up on the shore ...I grew up ten minutes walk to Botany Bay (Brighton beach) and it was one of my favourite things to do ...I used to find so many interesting things ...including false teeth (shiver) ...and loved to play with the seaweed and shells ...I often found old coins ...these days I am too far from the sea.
So, yes, I've been back and bought the wretched Saritaea magnifica (aka Bignonia magnifica) :-) Also picked up a small pot of the Persian mint, which has an aroma very similar to the common mint but more subtle/less coarse/more depth. Just more pleasing to the nose. Very small leaves too.
Almost forgot--also bought one bulb of the white Eucomis (pineapple lily) which is described as being 'highly perfumed'. I've never even heard of it. Has anyone grown it? How would you describe the scent?
My aunty had one when I was little ...I only remember being fascinated, sorry ...sounds wonderful though ... look
http://www.tytyga.com/category/Pineapple+Lily+Bulbs
Very handsome gardeners, Chrissy :-)
There was a pineapple lily on the page? Ahem *I* didn't notice LOL
Here are a few things I bought at the Glebe Garden Club Festival: the purple cestrum. Not scented, but it's one more to add to my collection.
Hmmm, an internet search shows that this is a synonym for C. elegans, which I already have. But if the picture on the label is to be believed (huh!), the colour of this plant is definitely more purple than the pale pink of my plant labelled as C. elegans. I guess I'll just have to wait until it flowers to check.
I remember now that a sprig of the purple cestrum was passed around at a cottage-garden talk at the expo. The flowers on it were purple, not the pale pink on my C. elegans, so this is a different colour--perhaps a cultivar of C. elegans rather than a new species, but definitely different.
This message was edited Aug 29, 2010 10:39 AM
Native hibiscus 'Abbey's Tangerine'. I wonder if this is the same native hibiscus I bought from the local council nursery earlier this year? If so, at least I'm consistent!
Ah, yes: it's the same plant! Oh well, I really liked the colour of the blooms so I'm not too disappointed.
This message was edited Aug 28, 2010 3:33 PM
I also bought what used to be called Justicia nodosa, now renamed Dianthera nodosa. I have no label or flowers on the plant, but you can see a photo of it at http://floreznursery.blogspot.com/2008/11/dianthera-nodosa-syn-justicia-nodosa.html
Finally, one for the shrimp plant lovers: variegated Justicia brandegeana. Only a small cutting but I'm hoping to build it up with a little TLC and spring warmth.
Nice☺
So is the Dianthera......good buys cestrum.
Don't see those plants here.
This message was edited Aug 29, 2010 8:34 AM
Well, the Dianthera was a splurge purchase--more so than the others, I mean :-) as I'd never even heard of it before. That variegated shrimp plant is so tiny I'm going to treat it like my precious seedlings, putting it outside during the day and bringing it into the garage at night. I hope it doesn't die!
The yellow shrimp plant cuttings you sent sprouted roots in water cestrum and I have a small bloom forming on this one ...that means it grew through the Winter ♪♫ la la!!!!
So did the butterfly bush cuttings. One of them is full of buds and is as tall as me now ...the yellow/purple one.
Here is the little Yellow Shrimp bloom forming ^_^
Theyre' amazing plants--they'll flower on very small cuttings and, so long as they don't get cut back by frost, they'll flower throughout winter. Hopefully I'll have some of the russet-brown cuttings to share next year, maybe the variegated one too if I can get it to grow enough. I think that once you have one shrimp plant growing, you'll be able to propagate an army from them :-) Plus, they self seed. I'm wondering if they'll cross-pollinate if I grow the different colours together--how wonderful would that be :-)
The Spring Promise buddlejas are still scenting the backyard, and I'll be sharing unrooted cuttings when I cut them back within the next few weeks or so.
I want to learn all about growing tomatoes, potatoes and garlic as well as why we should grow your vegetable garden organically instead of using pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
That's a great haul Sammut. Colleen
I felt I done good only spent $20 the kangaroo paws was $12 the rest were mark downs .----elaine.