mexican petunia AKA ruellia won't bloom
frida999
11 years ago
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Comments (8)
natal
11 years agolou_texas
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Who has Mexican Petunia close to my zone?
Comments (9)Hi River!! Great pic & looks like how they look next door when first coming up (where I got them from ). But never paid attention to WHEN they come up...so stupid me...hadn't thought to just walk over there (it's just across the driveway next door) to see what hers are doing NOW....duhhh. Thanks for the thunk on the head...LOL. And really appreciate the suggestion about checking out coneflowers. She has some on the other side of house so I need to check them out as well. Don't think they've bloomed yet. I keep saying "she" -- it is my landlord's house whom I became friends with and she became my garden 'guru' but she moved and rented out the house and no one since has taken care of her flowers. I "can" go over there and look -- and DO wander around periodically, but don't feel that comfortable since someone else lives there now. However, she WANTS me to keep an eye on things. An odd situation for me, ya know? But I'm so glad you suggested comparing both. That makes great sense!! PS - didn't check out link yet about invasive. Can tell they really spread where she has them so thanks for the reminder....See MoreFlorida Friendly Label - Ruellia (Mexican Petunia)
Comments (29)I haven't tried the white ones, gatormom, but I have tried the lavender dwarf ones (Katie, I think it is) and that one popped up all around my yard. I don't think it spread beyond my back yard boundaries, though, unlike the "typical" taller one. That's why I was so happy to find the sterile tall ones. I'm really sorry if I sounded snippy before, but I have tried to share this wonderful news about a truly carefree plant on numerous occasions, not just this one post, and those who have tried it know what I mean, and those who have had trouble with the invasive one don't believe me. What can I say. Their loss, I think, because it is such a beautiful, tough, carefree, drought-resistant and totally non-invasive plant. I'm sure happy I have it. Florah, I have mine planted with various things, including yellow lantana (Gold Mound is pretty bright), bush daisies, red pentas, coreopsis, lavender trailing lantana, and coneflowers. They look really good with coleus, too. Actually, I think they are pretty with almost everything. Marcia...See MoreRuby throat and Tall Mexican Petunia
Comments (19)Regarding the 4:1 sugar solution: the four to one mix (20%) is the standard but Marcia's three to one (25%) is used by some, especially in winter when freezing is a possibility. The higher concentration of solids lowers the freezing temperature of the liquid so it will remain liquid in colder temperatures. Refractometer testing of nectar from various "hummingbird plants" indicates that the sugar percentage of naturally occurring nectar ranges from 15% to greater than 32% (32% is the highest accurate measure for the refractometer used). The percentages vary by season as well as time of day. Although birds may feed on the flowers measuring 32%, many the blooms fed on will likely be of a lesser concentration, averaging in the range of our homemade solutions. The recipe for sugar water has always been 4:1 then boil for 2 minutes to kill any bacteria. Boiling isn't really necessary for sanitizing the solution. I boil the water before adding the sugar just to dissolve the sugar easier. If you keep extra solution in the refrigerator, boiling may extend its shelflife. The boiling free powders are just finely ground sugar that dissolves easily. I recommend against using any of the solutions or powders that have added ingredients. There is no evidence that any of these ingredients are necessary and the fact that there are many cases of birds feeding almost exclusively at feeders with no health issues indicates that there is not a long term problem with our feeder solutions. The female Rufous that has visited my yard for the past seven years migrates to the north Pacific coast for the summer and then returns to my yard for seven month of the year (August - March). My issue with the solutions without additives is mainly a case of money. How much sugar can you buy for the cost of one bottle of solution. It's like coffee at a restaurant. At a dollar plus a cup of coffee, you could buy a pound of coffee for the cost of 5-6 cups. How many cups of coffee can you make with that pound. Regarding Sarasota hummingbirds: If you first saw them in August in the past, that's what I'd expect this year as well. Areas near breeding birds are beginning to see the local young dispersing. If you don't have any local breeding, you can expect birds when migration of young birds and adult males begins in late July/early August. Migration lasts through September/October. It sounds like you were seeing migrating birds last year. It may have seemed as though they were the same birds but you likely saw a regular turnover of birds. The "experts" like to suggest that these birds don't stay longer than 2-3 days but I believe some of these birds stay much longer. I would like to see fall banding of hummingbirds to confirm the timeframe that they stay but it is almost impossible to get them in the cage with the abundance of flowers around. Regarding summering birds south of Tampa: I received a report of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest on the Big Cypress Bend boardwalk (Collier County) a few weeks ago. The observer documented it with photos and video. Steve Steve Backes Valrico, FL backes1@verizon.net http://mysite.verizon.net/resu64md/yardhummers/ http://floridahummingbirds.net/ http://floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Hummingbirds Forum...See MoreMexican Petunias
Comments (14)Sunny - Were your petunias up against your house? Those two that wintered over will be more established and MIGHT have a chance at getting through next winter too. It doesn't hurt to try. Someone in another forum in zone 6 reported that their Tropical Milkweed returned. If I'd known we were going to have such a warm winter, I would have left mine in the ground and mulched it and my lantana as well. I tried keeping both of those in my basement and they died. I don't think it ever got down into the single digits last winter here. That would be closer to zone 8 than 7. Not likely to happen again unless global warming is moving faster than they thought. Sounds like you'd be happy with Purple Showers even if you have to grow it as an annual every year. I'm going to watch for it....See Moretx_ag_95
11 years agocastro_gardener
11 years agoShannah Knight
6 years agoHU-88696275
2 years agoHU-664272797
2 years ago
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frida999Original Author