Hey Jen!!

EVERYTHING looks so healthy.. Love how you have all of your trees in your beds. You have a nice collection and im sure you will have lots of inflos this summer. I cant believe the size of all of your trees..especially the new seedlings. Great job!!

I see the cute little DR too! : ) The play area looks like it could handle a few more trees! LOL.. Im sure your little one loves to help you and enjoys looking with you for inflos... I remember when you took him to the nursery looking for mix ingredients and he seemed to love going places with mom. How sweet is that!!!

Great job... They are all so green...

The one with the screen.. WHat is chewing on the leaves? Squirrels? Those darn buggers....

Thanks for the pics. Love the quality in the pics as well..

Nice job!!

Love Gladys ONeil. SHe is quite lovely and i just love ETLD. She stops you in your tracks everytime!!! : )

Take care,

Laura

Jandy. We have the same fences up here. Mine is quite ugly too. I love your landscape. I would do the same if I was in your zone. When I get some doubles im going to try and put a few inground since really our growing season is getting to be almost 9 1/2 months long.

Mike

Backyard looks great. I bet things will be blooming like crazy once the landscape plants process all this great rain. That is too funny...lets burn the grass so I can put in another Plumeria bed. Its a good plan.

I think Jandy has a problem with deer in her front yard.

Thank you for the nice comments! Looking back over those photos I see I have one crazy collection of pots.

Laura, that would be the (damn) deer eating the leaves. The squirrels just dig up the soil under the plumies, especially newly planted seeds. That Maui Sweetheart looked great one day, beautifully filled out, then ravaged the next by the four-hooved nibblers. They really are a pestilence in the front yard. And that's with some of that expensive Swedish "repellent" sprayed on the leaves!

Mike, your average last frost is probably only a couple days after mine. Next year I'll leave the ones I plan to put in-ground in their pots until the days are consistently hot, like late May. The in-ground ones are really lagging behind the ones above ground, and the plunged ones were somewhere in the middle. I think because the roots didn't warm as quickly in the spring as the ones in black pots, they took longer to get going. Of course, once it got to scorching the ones in-ground needed a lot less water and seem to be quite happy.

K, that's my problem side of the yard anyway, a real pain to keep looking decent, so what else could I do with it? Veggies are an aggravation to grow since I now have rabbits on top of everything else that steals or nibbles my vegetables and fruit.

Hi Jen! All your trees look magnificent! Gladys O'Neal is a beautiful flower. Love it! And love the ETLD. Every time someone posts a pretty photo, I want it! But I really do want a LD! LOL

Hi Jen,
Wow I love your lanscaping! I here about the squirrels. There terrible here! I have them really bad in my yard but I also heard that the house next door actually has squirrels that have built nests in there basement.

I really am opposed to killing any animal unless it is really a necessity and it looks like it really is coming down to that. I planted 50 strawberries in my back flower bed, and when the fruits were at the stage of being half ripe, the darn squirrels were feasting on them!

What amazes me is that I can be watering or just checking a particular plumeria, and they will be standing 2ft away from me knawing on a strawberry or something else that they have found they can eat in my flower beds! Between them and the japanese beetles, I feel like I ma going crazy with trying to keep them all out!

I FINALLY got my E.T.L.D. when I was at Florida Colors. I had been wanting this since last year and now I finally got one! I bought it in a 1 gal so it will probobly be a while before I see blooms but it is a nice little tree with 2 tips.

So far this summer I only have a handfull of bloomers. Apricot, Thai Super Round is budded along with Sariah Curly Pink, and Taj Mahol. Right now the best bloomer is my Dwarf Singapore Pink. IT has 4 inflos, only 2 of which are blooming right now, but the inflos are about 5 in wide, and the fragrance is really nice.

Take care,
Andrew

I hear ya...naturalized landscape with native plants is the way to go over grass any day of the week.

Swedish Deer Repellent? Are you sure you didn't confuse the stuff you buy from Sky Mall to spray on your car tires in cold weather? or worse...swedish massage oil?

Thank you Jen for the lovely tour of your plumerias! I love your adeniums too:) Really beautiful!

Nicole

I love your yard! Beautiful and so peaceful. Thank you for posting the pictures... You gave me some great ideas. And I don't think your fence is ugly at all. On the contrary I think it looks beautiful. :)

Jen,

Your yard and your plumerias look great. Those are some happy plants. When you see those leaves raised up to the Sun God, you know they are happy :)

I know what you mean about the squirrels. We have a few pecan trees and it is a battle between my husband and them in the fall. He's tried putting a radio in the tree with a loooong extension cord, a fake owl, fake snakes and so far it is squirrels (and crows) - 1; husband - 0. I know, I know, you are suppose to share but at the time that was our only producing tree and it was squirrels/birds - 100 nuts, us - 2. The balance was NOT good. Those poor little sweethearts didn't get anything with the drought we had last year (heh, heh, heh) but they are back this year snoping around!

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures of your plumerias. You definitely have something to be proud of.

Joan

You've got those plumies spread out all over, don't you? Great!!
About the fence - I reckon it's much better than bob wire. LOL. Paint it forest green. It'll look great.

Forgot to tell you - I think that Gladys O'Neal looks great.

Yard looks great! This year is certainly an improvement over the drought of last year isn't it?
We have the ugly hurricane fence ourselves. A Gulf Coast staple. Luckily no deer here, I did not know they would eat plumeria, you would think the latex sap would discourage them.
Tally HO!

looks great

that fuzzy inflo is weird ;/

A word of encouragement to the newbies: Even with the fifty-something plumies I have of varying ages, my only inflo on a plant I already owned was the not-inflo on the mystery. The others--Gladys, Lemon Drop, Pu'u--were on plants I acquired this year. Kinda depressing after putting in so much work for the last few years. You can see they're healthy plants, so I guess what I'm saying is that these guys take patience to reach their blooming potential. Heaven help us all. ;)

Thank you all again for the lovely compliments. Makes it all worthwhile!

K, that spray is Plantskyyd, and I quote:
"Plantskydd is a Swedish word that translates as "plant protection". Plantskydd was initially developed in Sweden in 1991 in response to its commercial forest plantations being decimated by deer, rabbits and moose."

It also stinks to high heaven. Pee-yew! I use it only in extreme circumstances.

Nicole, thanks! My one big adenium croaked and my mom gave me one of hers, so I take no credit for the big one. Seeds, on the other hand, seem to do well for me. Elucas is also responsible for some of the seedlings you see. Thanks, Laura and Emily!

Ugh, Joan, those squirrels drive me nuts! No matter how much yoga I do seeking inner peace, when I see the mess they make of some of my pots when they go digging, I get livid. I also have a young pecan tree and have yet to get a single nut off it. Sometimes I come outside and eight squirrels will come zooming out of that one poor little tree. I keep thinking I need to get a small, angry dog. Hm.

JP, I don't know. At least bobwire would disappear into the background!

Tally, it's incredible to see the plants lift after a heavy rain! I expect like K said that the plants will burst into flower in the next couple weeks.

Houston, I suspect that weird fuzzy not-inflo will actually just turn into a branch. At least the cutting is now branching beneath it instead of turning into a single 5-foot-tall stick.

Jen - I shouldn't even be telling you this because I don't want to be known as the crazy cat lady, but........ we had so many problems with moles, bunnies and squirrels that it was maddening.

Then, the cats started coming. Seems like every year another 1 or 2 shows up and my husband can't help but feed something that's hungry.

So we have 6 outdoor cats and the moles, bunnies and squirrels are gone. Bad thing, I can't feed the birds any more because I feel like I'm leading them to slaughter. And on occasion, we find cat poop in the flower beds.

All in all, the cats are less problem than the varmints. But expensive. We have had to have all of them spayed/neutered and shots.

I'll keep the cats as long as they keep away the critters, including the mice that -used- to be over in the woods.

Maybe you could grow the cats big to deal with the deer. :)

You sure have alot of Plumi's there. I miss mine. I used to have four beautiful 6 foot trees. I had to give them because I was moving. I do have some pics of them from the past.

Click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/area53/
then click on one of the sets to the right and click on the slide show to see them all.

Jen,

The "fuzzy info" is what I call a "false info" and I've read where they call it nubbing. We had a few do that for us this year - mainly on the seedlings that we thought were going to bloom for the first time and all they did was "nub" and then split into 2 or 3 branches. But there is always next year and I hope they bloom on the new branches.

Joan

Jen,

It's a pleasure to see your lovely backyard! Everything looks happy and healthy. I'm sure the blooms will come more and more as the years pass...I'm not patient either.

My Aztec Gold does that "nubbing" thing too. Drives me crazy.

Great job, congrats on all of the beauty you've created!

Greg

Andrew, I forgot to say how happy I am to hear that you found your LD. Did you pack it and take it on the plane?

Mona, I do love cats. However, I love my songbirds more. It's like the Audubon Society out back, birds galore, and it would crush me to see the cats killing them. Now, if we could get more foxes to deal with the deer out front, that would be sweet!

Tommy, I try not to think how big they'll be one day, hehe.

Joan, false inflo makes perfect sense. I thought there was one tiny bud but it fell off at about 1mm. Guess I'll have to wait another couple years to see the flower.

Greg, thank you. Hope your big event goes well for you!

Here's that J105 that sealed off, well on its way to four good-sized branches:

I guess this is white star hibiscus. Looks just like Laura's without the pigment:

And a surprise double purple angel's (devil's?) trumpet:

And I'm too embarrassed to post any more photos of additional plumies that clog up my deck. Yes, there are more. I have a serious problem. :)

That White Star Hibiscus is quite similar to my Scarlet Hibiscus, AKA Texas Star. It's a beauty.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Star

Jen, there's one of those ugly cedar fences hiding behind that Texas Star and foliage. Probably moseyed over this way from Texas. Still beats bobwire and chain link.

Hi Jen,
Yeah, I went to Florida colors and hada great time! I bare rooted and packed up Chompoo Jack, E.T.L.D. and Jeannie and Kimi M.

I too am in the same boat as you. Not too many blooms but I am ok with what I have. At least I got to enjoy some! My D.S.P. is a reliable bloomer, then my Thai Super Round and Sariah Curly Pink will be blooming soon. My new Taj Mahol should be blooming soon, and my new Apricot started blooming when I got it(maybe a month ago?) now, the inflo is starting to fall apart and drop which is fine. I don't see any signs of new tips yet, but hopefully they will soon.

Andrew

you can buy predator urine and put it out to keep the deer away. I have friends who swear it works.

That is the white Texas star hibiscus.
Devils trumpet cause the flowers point up from hell, angel trumpets hang down from heaven LOL! Our is about 10' tall. It has grown above all the angel trumpets.

I have one of those portable automatic fertilizer dispensers at home, she's a cutie and would probably eat the plants if she could escape. The unnamed bunny.
Tally HO!

Hey Jen
Your yard is amazing, I actually like your fence. I would love to have one. Then my neighbors couldnt see why I carry those sticks in pots back n forth. lol That Gladys is beautiful. As well as the others. I know about deer. They eat everything. Right now the main problem here is beetles. OMG they are chewing on everything. Keep up the good work!

Jackie

I feel your pain with the furry and feathered terrorists Jen & others!
Earlier this season the deer snapped off one of the branches on a Celadine while happily chomping leaves. Thankfully it's putting out two new tips at that spot.
Between the deer, wild turkeys, gophers, moles, ground squirrels, tree squirrels, chickens, cats, Killer Golden Retriever Tail, stupid horse owners ("Oh, I thought it was okay for my horse to eat those plants in the pot!" Really?!? Morons...) its a miracle I can grow anything!
It isn't feasible for me to fence my 4.5 acres, so I have resorted to some... strange... tactics.
For Deer: Save the hair clumps from my hair brush (I have long hair, this is easy), ball it up with coarsely chopped cloves of garlic, wrap in colorful mesh, tie with colorful ribbon, and hang from the branches of trees, stakes, etc.
This keeps the deer away for several weeks, and when they start coming around again I add more garlic.
Sweetheart says they look tacky. I get VERY strange looks when I divulge what is contained in these festive ornaments, but IT WORKS, so I don't care if all my friends think I've lost my mind :)

Rachel

Hi Jen, I love the way you have tucked your babies in all over. Everything looks great.
If Rachel idea works as a deer repellant, you can ask for hair at the beauty shop. I'm sure they have plenty to give. Peg

Hey Jen,

Beautiful pics!!!

Has your Red Texas Star bloomed for you again this season?

Here is a pic from the parents of your babies!!!

{{gwi:36550}}

Rachel.. I have heard of this before. Hair in the trees.. if it works!! I say do it!!!

Good thinking ..

Keep all of those critters away...

Take care,

Laura

The scourge of my small potted seedlings (oaks and other small shrubs from cuttings) are the chipmunks. Aren't they cute? NOT!

I have to layer large rocks on top of the soil and place the plants up, up where the 'munks don't want to be exposed to predators like hawks.

Dave,
I know what you mean. I rooted some cuttings from my matchstick mums, potted them & then put them outside. Munks thought it was a buffet & left me sticks instead of the plants I had worked so hard on. They had really good roots, so there still may be hope.....
Kathy

I have had an ongoing war with squirrels, they gnawed their way thru my house and come down the chimney. I have most of those places sealed up but they wouldn't stop digging up my newly planted flower beds. Finally when all else failed I resorted to sprinkling my cats litter (urine) around the beds and it seems to keep them away. Also I keep my seedlings in cages that they can't get into. Clara

JP, your photo is stunning. What a great color and shape! Do you just keep yours in-ground over winter?

I rescued seeds of that white hibiscus from a park, only to find the mother plant never came back from our bad freeze a couple years ago. I'm glad I was able to germinate a couple plants. Now I'm just waiting for the seedlings from Laura's red to reach blooming age.

Tally, thanks for clearing that angel/devil thing up. Neighbors here have tried the predator urine and it doesn't seem to work on our persistent deer. Maybe they have no sense of smell, lol.

Andrew, I'm still waiting to hear your assessment of the scents and growth habits of the big trees you saw at FC.

Thanks, Jackie and Peg!

Rachel, I've actually gotten my hair sweepings from the salon and tried them--no luck. Can't believe you have to deal with horse owners who don't know that a potted plant is a cherished plant. You take the prize for greatest number of threats to your plumies! At least the turkeys are edible, tho, haha!

Laura, the seedlings are still quite small. I kept them in the house all winter and they still died back--funny, huh? I think next year they should have some size and bloom, provided they survive outdoors in the ground.

Oh, Dave, I had no idea chipmunks are a pest, too! They really are so cute, but not if you're a gardener. The things we have to deal with in pursuit of our passion!

Jen, we had several of those planted out in the yard. Unfortunately, the year after or the year after that we had temperatures down around 18 degrees that lasted for about 10 hours, and that was the end of the Texas Stars.
It's strange how we can have fragile-looking wild flowers such as these http://www.pbase.com/jperilloux/image/32171645 that survive, droughts, floods and freezes, but my hibiscus can't survive even a light freeze.

Can I say the pictures of the hibiscus are making me drool! Gorgeous! I have to stay away from those I could see another potential addiction happening :)

If I lived in southern California, my yard would be full of plumerias and hibiscus. How can you resist planting something like this:

Here is a link that might be useful: Hawaiian Sunset

Jen, I love your yard, its beautiful! I hope my plants from Fc will start blooming soon, now that I know I have to wait 4 times to see the true blooms. We are having wonderful weather at the coast. My plants are loving the afternoon showers. I was hoping that K could come down just see my plants, they looked that good. Albert and Betty came over twice, so at least somone got to see them. I am definitely getting a decent camera so I can post pictures on this forum. I love the pictures you posted, thank you. Barbra

Hey Jen,

Those Texas Star can be planted outside and they will do fine in your zone. All of mine are planted on the side of my house that has the most sun exposure. They love the heat, sun and love to be watered. Every year, they die back and i will cut them to two to three inches from the bottom stalk in Feb. They quickly start growing again in the spring.. They keep on growing little ones everywhere. Try and plant some in your back fence line that gets lots of sunshine. They will do well and you dont have to bring them in. Plant them and let them go wild.. You should get blooms in one season outside.. Let me know if you need more seeds.. I promise, you dont have to baby these guys.. They are very hardy!!! You can see the shape of these leaves... My son (college age) has his friends over and they always say " hey Mike? Do you know what your mom is growing here?" LOLOLOL!!! He just rolls his eyes and says.. "They are not what you think..." : )

Even people that come to work on things... A/c etc.. look at them and think " Im in the business.." LOL!!!

Nicole.. if you want some seeds.. (yes, im enabeling!!) let me know and when the pods form, you can have all you want.

If anyone else wants seeds, let me know and you can have them.

Take care,

Laura

Laura- did you just offer seeds?! I might as well start weeping now! Please, please :). I've grown heliconia, bananas, ginger, orchids and everything in between ..but never hibiscus...SMITTEN! Looking at Jen's and yours has me wondering how I missed this. Let me know if you have seeds and I'll pay postage or maybe we can arrange a visit..LOL I'm so upset that we didnt get a chance to meet when you visited CA. I'm thinking vacation... Which coast? LOL. How about HI. We could leave the DH's on the beach and go plumie shopping:). Just a crazy thought!

Nicole, it looks like that white hibiscus may form a seed pod, too. Do you want some of those seeds if they make it? Email me if so.

Hibiscus are beautiful, but here in S. CA they are white fly MAGNETS! I spray the little buggers off with a strong stream of water; it keeps the plant alive, but usually blows off all the buds too! Sorry to say, when my landscaping project works its way around to it, that hibiscus is history.

Hey Nicole,

You can have as many as you would like!! : )

I also like the way you think!!! Hopefully, i will be on the west coast next season and we will have to arrange a visit. I would really enjoy meeting you!! : )

Once the seedpods form, i will let you all know. I have so many trees that i just have to cut them back and toss them..seeds and all.

If anyone else would like seeds from this Texas Star.. send me an email and you can have them.

Jen.. COngratulations on that beauty (White) I hope your red will bloom for you soon! Love your pics as always!!!

Take care everyone!!

Laura

Laura, from your mouth to my Texas Star's, um, ears! I just found some buds forming on them--yay! They're in morning sun only and seem to be tolerating the heat well there.

Has your cape lily/crinum ever bloomed for you? Mine put out three flushes of blooms over the summer this year.