My 2-year old key lime suddenly went nuts and put on about a foot of growth during the last month, even though I stopped watering it. It's almost 4 feet tall and I hope it hardens off in time!

Most of my other small trees are doing the same thing -- they think it's spring. I'm withholding water but it doesn't seem to help. Why didn't they look this good a few months ago? lol

Yesterday, I found that one of my Rajapur bananas is putting out a bud. Never had a banana do that, pretty darned cool. {{gwi:424040}}

Also, earlier in the year, I got some Morenga seeds, and got one started in a small pot, left it in too long, but was able to find a good spot to plant it. I planted it in late April, it was about 5 inches high. It is over 10 feet high now, and I have cut over a foot from the top at least 3 times in the last 2 months. You can eat all the leaves, they are incredibly nutritious. Grows amazingly fast, needs little water.

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awesome! I can't wait for mine to give me fruit. I hope we get a relatively warm winter like last year so it won't set back my bananas.

Fun updates all. Congrats on your key lime growth spurt, juttah, how fun. I grew 'Key' in my last Scottsdale garden and loved it. Currently I've only got 'Bearss' which has been an amazing producer, but you're giving me a craving now, hah, thanks!

Neat flower bud on the banana, keep us posted!

Wow, your Moringa has made a ton of growth. How nice! I was Singh Farms a few weekends ago and really enjoyed their nice blooming and fruiting specimens on the drive in. So neat.

Just for fun, here's a quick pic of an Indian snake gourd, variety 'Naga' in bloom this morning. The blooms are so delicate and SO wonderfully fragrant! I planted it early summer and it sort of languished in the heat, but over the last 6 weeks or so it's exploded into growth and bloom. We'll see if it makes any fruit before the days are too short/cool, but for now I'm definitely enjoying the beautiful flowers. This particular flower is on a stem that grew up/in to my 'Parfianka' pomegranate, so that's pomegranate foliage in the background, LOL

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Happy gardening all, keep the updates coming!
Grant

Just for fun, a couple of quick pics from this morning of my Bauhinia galpinii making a fun flower. I really like these scrambling, rangy shrubs and their hot-pink/orange flowers. Mine gets a ton of sun, water twice a week, and an occasional dose of acidifier. I hope you'll take a quick look and enjoy. Happy gardening!

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My B.galipiniis are still pretty small, and no blooms yet. What acidifier do you use?

Hi Raimeiken and all,

I just use Miracid from Miracle-Gro. I dissolve it in water in a watering can with a "rose" on the end of the spout and then water the plant well and cover the leaves and foliage with the fertilizer water too. I just do it once or twice a month in summer. Mine seems to just get a touch of chlorosis in summer and when I give it the acidifier it greens up again. Keep us posted on your youngster. Protect it from frost if it threatens as the young ones seems sensitive.

Here's my Eremophila carnosa just starting its very very long bloom season. Such a great plant and less likely to suddenly melt than a lot of other emu bushes.

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Some simple, pretty lobelia in a blue and white section of a multi colored talavera pot. Such easy plants, but hey, blue is hard to find and if lobelia was hard to grow, people would value it more, LOL. I love it.

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Keep the fun pics, comments and updates coming everyone.
Happy gardening!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, November 2014

had SEVERAL lovely New Guinea impatiens from Berridge Nursery - we have a shady yard and usually grow these and begonias as typical annuals do NOT do well in my shade.

WELL all of these damn plants are getting the same typical impatien wilting as I have had to deal with with other varieties - planted in ground and in various pots (old and new) all are doing this for me.

So very annoying after having wasted my money at the local nursery who does not offer refunds . . . I think I will do NO annuals in the future years and just replace all with cactus instead :-( argh!

Sorry to hear about your impatiens, Kevin, that's no fun at all. I've never been able to keep impatiens happy here long term spring/summer/autumn/OR winter, LOL. I've tried and given up on them locally.

I DO have great luck with geraniums, alyssum, petunias, pansies and snapdragons. Pansies, violas and calendars are bulletproof even if we have a hard freeze, although they want lots of sun of course. Let us know if you find a good alternative for your shade. Annual winter color in shade is a challenge here. Hopefully folks will have suggestions. I mostly rely on succulents in winter shade and hope for the occasional flower from my Aloe maculata plants, LOL. Here's one, right on the north side of the house.

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I've got a bumper crop of 'Meyer' and 'Lisbon' lemons. I'm harvesting them a bit early so I don't get overwhelmed by lemons in late winter, hah!

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My 'Raspberry ice' bougainvillea is blooming its head off. Such a fun, super dwarf, variegated variety. This one sits in full hot sun all day every day of the year, and gets watered maybe once every ten days at this time of year. When I'm away, even in summer, it gets nothing and is fine. It's been in this pot several years and really should be repotted, LOL.

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"Pretty Much Picasso' petunias are really putting on a show in that huge Day of The Dead talavera pot I bought this summer. You'd think having the funky green edge would make them weak and inbred or something, but they're really very durable and excellent bloomers for me.

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Happy gardening all, see you in the December thread tomorrow, LOL.