My New Plants for Spring!

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)

9 years ago

I have some new plants this spring! After going to the St. Augustine Flower & Plant Expo and the Mandarin Garden Club Plant Sale the past couple of weekends, I have some fun new plants! Some of these were actually on my Want List. I will be spending this afternoon walking around, pots in hand, trying to decide how to arrange the "furniture", LOL! If you have/had any of these, I would appreciate any care suggestions. Here's what's new:

Pagoda plant - not sure which one I have - it is very small and there are several plants that go by this name, so I'll try to identify it after it blooms. Been on my want list for a long time.

(False) Blue Ginger (Dichorisandra thyrsiflora) - Had a tiny, tiny piece of this in the past and it did not survive. So excited to have it again. I potted this up so that I can bring it inside to protect in the winter.

Red Buckeye Tree - also called Firecracker Plant (Aesculus pavia) - fast growing, very early bloomer and great for hummingbirds, deciduous, good canopy tree. Already have this one in the ground.

Night-Blooming Jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum)- had this in the past - lost it to a freeze - will try to take better care of this one.

Mock Orange - also called English Dogwood - (Philadelphus) - not sure which variety I have. They come in singles, semi-doubles and doubles; scented and unscented. Keeping my fingers crossed that mine is scented. Supposed to be dense twiggy, tall shrub, not particularly attractive, but gorgeous white blooms in spring and a wonderful scent, if you have the right one.

Philippine Violet - blue (Barleria cristata)

Philippine Violet - white (also Barleria cristata? Not sure)

Eranthemum Blue sage (Eranthemum pulchellum) - been wanting this for a long time.

Fringe tree - also called Old Man's Beard, Grancy Graybeard - not sure which one this is - there is both a Chinese and virginicus variety - and comes in either male or female. Hope mine is a male Chionanthus virginicus. Extreeeeeeeeemly slow growing, so I may not know for years and years, LOL!

Do you have any of these? How do they do for you? Give me any advice, please!

Carol in Jacksonville

Featured Answer

sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)

9 years ago

Cestrum nocturnum is super easy to root when you want new plants. I just cut off stems and stick them in the ground in the fall. By spring they are rooted even if the stems freeze back they come up from the roots. They can get 10 ft tall here and freeze back and return to the same size by late Nov-Dec. whenever we freeze here lol. Mine are completely covered in blooms by mid summer through frost and hummingbird/hawk moths show up in the late summer/fall. They like full sun, lots of water, and I fertilize mine whenever I fertilize my other tropicals and brugs so they get heavy doses of fertilizer.

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Comments (6)

Rhonda
9 years ago
Hi Carol,
Sounds like you had a great time shopping for "furniture" LOL My hubby hates when I buy new furniture :)

I bought the pagoda plant "clerodendrum paniculatum" last year after seeing a beautiful 4 foot tall one covered in butterflies at a local garden. They were gorgeous last year and did attract the butterflies. Mine died back this winter to the ground after two hard frosts. They are now about 8 inches tall and look very healthy. I planted them on the East side of the house as they like moister soil and there was no way I can keep my sandy soil moist if it gets afternoon sun. BTW, I was at that local garden last week and their pagodas are no taller than mine, so they must be extremely fast growers.

Being from Ohio and having huge Ohio buckeyes up there, I bought 2 red buckeye trees as 2 foot tall plants 4 or 5 years ago. I planted them under the longleaf pines. They are still 2 feet tall! They're nice and healthy but don't seem to grow. I just moved them to another site to see if I can get them growing. I'm afraid that I may be on their southernmost growing area and that no how much I do or don't amend my soil they just aren't happy. Please let me know how yours do.

I planted 2 small fringe trees (virginicus) 2 years ago. They are just getting old enough to flower and have grown a little taller but much broader. They seem to love the sun and well draining soil in my yard.

Have fun with your new babies and keep us updated.

Rhonda

9a Williston
foreverlad
9 years ago
Congratulations Carol, great collection... Especially the Blue Ginger. I know you'd wanted to grow that one for quite awhile.

I started growing the Pagoda Flower a couple years ago (Clerodendrum Paniculatum). It has self-seeded itself across probably 8-10 feet of my back fence bed, and I love it when it's in bloom. The one down-side, for me, is that the plant goes bare in the winter. I don't know if it's a temp thing or just the nature of the beast, but for 6-12 weeks they look horrible. Fortunately they come back with a vengeance. Mine haven't started flowering yet, but I'll throw up a few photos when I get a chance.

My Night-Blooming Jasmine was planted in pretty strong shade, so I haven't seen it flower. I planted mine for some background green, and Its working out. I'm not sure the best way to promote growth. I cut mine at about 4 or 5 ft, and it added branches, which reach to the gutters of the garage now, but I haven't gotten it to explode all over the place like some folk.

Mike
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PRO
Breay Design
8 years ago
Yes, it is my understanding that both white and blue Philippean Violet go by the same botanical name.
PRO
Breay Design
8 years ago
by the way--I do NOT consider myself a "pro" when it comes to Florida gardening. I'm an avid gardener, not a nursery. I AM a professional designer, which is not the same as a nurseryman.
Tom
8 years ago
Hey, Carol, you really got a bunch of good plants there.

I have some experience with one of them--the "pagoda" plant. It is a clerodendrum of some kind. I have three different ones, two of which were called "pagoda." One is for sure the paniculatum and the others are, I think, the splendens and the ugandense. They all bloom very well and all the time as long as there isn't a freeze. A freeze won't kill them where I live (9 B), they will come back from their roots. They are decent butterfly plants, and at times the splendens and the paniculatum will get visits from hummingbirds. They all spread very easily and will take over parts of your yard if you let them.

There are many types of buckeye trees. It seems that the one that you have does well in Florida. I think I have the same one that Rhonda mentions above. It grows very slowly, blooms well in the spring and then drops all of its flowers and leafs out. It doesn't take up much room, or I would dig it up. It flowers for about three weeks and then it doesn't do anything. The tree or small bush that I have isn't very attractive unless it is blooming. I think that yours only blooms once a year also, but I'm not sure.

My New Plants for Spring!

sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)

Comments (6)

Rhonda

foreverlad

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