Begonias.

Aglaonema commutatum & Begonia 'Withlacoochee.'

Aglaonema modestum & Ag. 'Black Cherry.'

Ag. commutatum, Begonia 'Castaway,' Peperomia dolabriformis.

Ag. 'Silver Bay,' more Begonias, 'Snow White' waffle plant (Hemigraphis.) That may have gotten a bit sunburned. Impatience waiting for the tree behind to make its' leaves.

Oops, forgot a "before" pic from the beginning. This got planted today, but no pic of it in ground yet. Lavender scallops (Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi,) Snake plants, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana.

Tiffany, I read some of the previous posts. When I first saw the photos, I thought, she doesn't really dig them up and bring them back in. Lol So how long does that take?

I have to give you credit- that's a good workout!

You're the QUEEN of mixing plants!!! You've inspired me!!! I wanna be just like you when I grow up LOL

Interesting! I was thinking about putting some of my houseplants in the ground for the summer... What do you find to be the benefits of doing so?

Tiffany, you are one hard worker maintaining all these plants. Your plant interests are like mine, they run far and wide. I love all the cane begonias you have, one of my favorite group of plants. If you have some cuttings to trade this spring or summer I'd sure be interested.

Regarding the Silver Bay aglaonema in your 2nd to last pic here, is it the same one or same variety with a silver center that was in your 2015 pics? I have Silver Bay but always looking for an ag I don't have.

Thanks for posting all the beautiful pics.

Russ

Sara, thanks! I really do do that. It doesn't take any more effort than when I used to buy annuals and put them in the ground. By the time summer is over, I've spent WAY less time on plants since most of them don't need extra watering once they get going. How long does it take? A minute or two per plant to put in ground. About the same to pot them back up. I spent a few hours last weekend & part of the day yesterday unpotting & putting plants in ground. And totally agree - gardening is always a good workout. I no longer do some of the things I did when I was younger, but I'm not a senior citizen yet!

Jamila, thanks & sorry to have infected you! LOL! I can't wait to see what you do!

Gardenfanatic, thanks! I find a few benefits. Unless it doesn't rain for a while, there's no time spent watering. I get to spend all of my "plant time" over summer looking at them, taking pics - the fun stuff (and pulling weeds.) Plants get to reach their full vigor for a while. I get to pretend I live in a tropical place and I spend very little $ on "annuals." My garden is completely different every year, none of the decisions are permanent. The wind can't blow the grounded plants around. Putting in ground is also the only thing I've found to get that awful peat off of roots that so many plants come in, in their store pots.

Russ, thanks! I might be up for a trade later in the fall, when I start dismantling things to come back inside. I'm sure you have some things I'd like too! Yes that Ag is the same. Do you think mine is something other than 'Silver Bay?'

Love, Love all of them and I'm green with envy, we are having winter temps up here, my container hosta's started to come up and then the freezing temps killed off some of the leaves. Great job as always Tiffany !!!!

Tiffany, I'll look forward to a possible trade in the fall, thanks.

Your Silver Bay ag isn't typical for that hybrid. I discounted the light green color since yours is in the ground and might be getting a lot more light than it prefers. But in Silver Bay the division between the silver interior color and the wide green margin should be much more feathered together rather than the rippled but unfeathered edge on your plant.

Your ag is Diamond Bay. It's actually a sport of Silver Bay and much less common to find in stores than Silver Bay. If you look at these two in Google Images you'll see the difference in how the interior edges blend together.

The A. commutatum in your 3rd from bottom pic is Maria, sometimes called Emerald Beauty.

Russ

My husband is gonna work on our yard soon. Our grass is mostly weeds so he's gonna plant new grass and leave an area for me a garden!!! I think I'll plant some houseplants outside too!!!

TY, Russ. Several people have said, "that's 'Silver Bay' so I started calling it that. Mistake, I should know better. I'm not really into Ag. names, IDK why.

Jamila, that rocks!

These plants are under a mini garden. The sun shines under there for a short time in the morning, and a short time in the late afternoon. Rhipsalis, an Easter cactus, the suspected Billbergia pyramidalis from the 1st pic of this discussion.

Rubber plant (Ficus elastica,) Kalanchoe blossfeldiana at the base.

Variegated prickly pear (Opuntia monacantha,) Jade cultivar (Crassula ovata.)

Crassula arborescens, variegated & non lavender scallops (Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi,) K. gastonis-bonnieri, K. luciae, pencil plant, K. longiflora, (Euphorbia tirucalli.)

Echeveria set-oliver, K. longiflora, other things are so small today, but they will grow quickly.

Ledebouria socialis bulbs, L. kirkii, Senecio crassissimus, Kalanchoe luciae, Graptosedum.

An unknown palm a neighbor gave me about 5-6 yrs ago, Dracaena 'Ricky/Rikki," Tradescantia zebrina and fluminensis in the background with some elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta.)

More later...

Tiffany your plants survive out in the heat pretty good? Like when it gets 90-100 degrees?

Your opuntia is 'Maverick' It is also a monstrose form. It is one of my favorite opuntias, but unfortunately I don't have any opuntias anymore.

TY, Russ. Gorgeous pics, BTW!!

Jamila, they must survive the heat or die. That's the "conditions" I have to offer during summer. Delicate divas don't last long here.

Stapelia that was a clump until this past weekend. I separated the stems some to plant more individually.

More snake plants.

'Whitney' with Kalanchoe 'Fang.'

Peperomia 'Jellie/Jelly.'

More of those:

I had the same question as Jamila about the heat. I am from Alabama originally, not as far south as you, and it can get unbearably hot. Hey, I guess whatever survives can really help you narrow down what you decide to keep! : )

I put a group of Ti plants (Cordyline terminalis “Red Sister”) in the ground next to my front porch every year. I also sink several pots of bromeliads, a Ponytail tree, and a croton.

I lived in SoFla for a very long time and am a sentimental wuss- overwintering them is a pain but I'm still doing it. It's a happy day when they can finally go outside for good each year, and I think I can start hardening them off tomorrow.

I'm in Texas and we have hot dry summers!!!

cearbhaill, do you know which variety of croton you have?

If you're a croton lover maybe you got out of south Fla just in time, I understand there's some kind of Asian scale that is decimating crotons by the thousands there. My brother lives in Homestead, and said it's a losing battle. I'm in central Fla just above Orlando and have no problem here... yet.

Tiffany, which stapelia is it that you broke up and planted? My favorite is S. leendertziae with the black balloon flowers.

Russ

Russ, it's Stapelia grandiflora. Do you have a pic of the black flowers? Sounds interesting!

Kalanchoe 'Chocolate Soldier' and jelly bean plant (Sedum rubrotinctum.)

Tiffany, below is a link to Stapelia leendertziae. I remember mine being much darker than these blooms. I have the plant but it hasn't bloomed in the past few years for some reason.

I love the K. tomentosa group, Chocolate Soldier is a favorite. There's a light-colored variety that I don't have, lighter than the standard gray-felted type. I used to have a variegated one many years ago. In cooler weather it had some light yellowish stripes.

Russ

http://www.bustaniplantfarm.com/store/item/stapelia-leendertziae-9

TY! Hopefully everybody will bloom & reveal themselves! Did you take a pic of the yellowish stripes on that variegated Kal? That sounds cool!

Shown 4/10, now blooming! Easter cactus (Hatiora/Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri.)

Tiffany, I had the variegated kal some decades ago, never did take a pic unfortunately. I've had mixed luck with Rhipsalidopsis and Epiphyllums, they either rot or don't bloom. But the flowers are always very nice when I see them. I have what I think is the species epiphyllum (oxycardium?) right now and no problems.

Russ

Tiffany, always a joy "strolling through" your garden! LOL!

TYVM! I agree, Russ, I love even the tiniest of blooms!

Purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis)

Purple scimitars (Tripogandra serrulata)

Variegated zigzag/devil's backbone plant stem cut & stuck in ground about 6 weeks ago.

More WJ, 'Beefsteak' Begonia, Begonia 'Castaway' cutting, basket plant (Callisia fragrans.)

Great pics Tiffany, as usual. I don't think I've ever seen the Purple Scimitars, and not much gets by me. If you ever want to trade it and maybe some of your begonias, let me know.

Thanks for the pretty pics.

Russ

Russ, TYVM! I'll probably be offering some Tripogandra for postage in the fall. Begonias had a hard winter, but if it's a good summer, happy to discuss those too!

Some pics from this morning. Area of mostly succulents.

Leafy tropicals in the shade. The elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) and WJ (Tradescantia zebrina) are hardy but most of the plants toward the front of the pic must come inside for winter where I am. Once I convince the chainsawed mimosa tree to die, we'll do something interesting with the stump. IDK why that rusty pole is there but it's enmeshed in a big root of the tree. We had plans to get it out of there but after seeing a gorgeous cardinal perched there so many mornings, scouting the most bug-filled spot to start his breakfast in the yard, I want to leave it there. He's welcome to eat any seeds, snails, beetles, and grasshoppers. Thank you, sir!

Another mostly shady spot where I put a lot of snake plants (Sansevieria.) It's kind of bare in the front because after trimming a tree, the shade lovers I'd put there were burning up. Last weekend I moved them & put a bunch of cuttings of ornamental purslane (Portulaca umbraticola) that should start to show up well in a few weeks. This area still needs a lot of work but it's so much better than the sparse grass from when I started, IMVHO!

Thanks for the heads up on the tripogandra Tiffany, I'll watch for your offer. How big do your colocasia esculenta's get by the end of summer?

Cardinals are beautiful, I have a pair that are always in my yard. They nested in my Ficus benjamina 'Midnight' this spring, a single little fledgling. I wanted to take some cuttings to propagate but had to delay when I discovered the nest.

As usual, gorgeous pics! Thank you!

Russ

TYVM! The EE's get bigger if they get more water. If it rains often, they'll get much bigger!

This pic is an update from a spot shown 6/10, Peperomia, dragon wing Begonia, Coleus, WJ (Tradescantia zebrina,) gold T. spathacea cultivar, Kalanchoe houghtonii.

Thanks for the pic Tiffany! I don't see the tradescantia spathacea. I do like that particular variety of pep, and while I don't have a single coleus I've always liked them. Your soil looks very sandy, like mine.

Russ

TYVM, Russ! That T. spath. hasn't grown as quickly as the other plants. It's at the R edge, just R of the DW Begonia. None of the plants there are thriving, just stayin' alive. It's terrible dirt & for about 5 weeks, it didn't rain at all, just brutal 93-98 temps everyday with no relief.

You're right, the soil is sand with just enough clay to be concrete. A maddock is needed for digging a hole in these bare spots, the ground is as hard as a rock. The places I've covered with organic matter are SO different. It's hard to find enough material to improve large areas though, not enough trees and kitchen scraps don't add up very quickly. Eventually the non-lawn areas will have black gold, it just takes time. I'm still missing the incredible soil I spent 8 yrs making at the last house. That yard had tons of trees and shrubs & there was a constant supply of plenty of OM from raking & trimming - oh, and 2-3x year the bank across the street had its' shrubs shaped & that would yield a pickup truck bed full of tiny twigs with leaves still attached. No such windfall has shown up where we live now, yet.

I used to pick up bags of leaves people put out at the street after raking yards, but I have 40+ big oak trees on my 1.5 acres here. But I don't plant in the ground because of the nematodes, maybe if I picked some spots to improve the soil with organics the nematodes wouldn't be so plentiful in those areas and plants would last longer.

Yesterday I repotted a plant I think is Plectranthus neochilus (thick leaves with strong medicinal smell when rubbed) which I got from a neighbor who potted it in dirt from her yard. The roots were full of swollen, little bulb-like galls that I assume were damage from root-knot nematodes, and which I've seen before on tomatoes. Maybe these are normal on P. neochilus, perhaps moisture storage things like Asparagus sprengeri produces, but I cut the roots off and am rerooting it and some tip cuttings out of an abundance of caution.

Russ

I think I'm too far north to have that issue. If I did, I would investigate predators of nematodes and try to make/find/relocate some new friends, and their preferred conditions so I could alter the conditions to be less inviting.

I would have done the same thing with the Plec. Nice gift! I don't think I have that kind. I've not investigated the roots of the Plecs I do have much because I put the root balls in the ground at spring & take new cuttings to save inside for winter, just like I do with Coleus. I don't bother keeping the roots of anything that can re-root so easily - and desperately need that OM in the soil. Good luck with it!

Tiffany, the plectranthus was basically a rescue. The lady was moving and couldn't take any of her plants with her, so not wanting them to go in the trash I took them all. Quite a few I didn't want like 2 Norfolk Island Pines, a big gray-leaved agave and some others. The plec was in poor shape being in the dirt, but looks like a tough plant.

Rotating crops helps with root-knot nematodes, solarizing by laying plastic sheeting on the soil kills them in the top portion of soil but they come back in a year or two. They don't like soil with lots of organic matter, so adding compost helps too. I just figured it was easier to grow in pots. You might be exactly right about being too far north for these critters, they're devastating for many plants down here.

The plectranthus should look better in a couple of weeks, I'd be glad to send you a cutting or two if it's something you want.

Russ

How frustrating! Good luck with your nematode battle! I did a little investigating and I'm NOT too far north for them.

You're as addicted as anyone, "rescuing" plants you didn't really want. That makes me chuckle! Maybe you'll find someone who loves them very much nearby?

I think we had kicked around the idea of a trade before but I probably dropped the ball & nothing came of it. Let's try to work up a trade when it cools off a bit?

Oh tell me about it Tiffany! I've been 'addicted' for over 40 years, love growing and propagating almost anything. Over the years I've had many collections, last couple of decades I've settled on mostly aroids and sansevierias. Of aroids, I'm most partial to aglaonemas and philodendrons but have dieffs, monsteras, syngoniums, etc.

Sure, a trade is always welcomed. I'd be glad to send my lists of ags, philos, hoyas and sans if you'd like to see them sometime. Also have smaller collections of crotons and succulents but no lists right now. I don't know if you're too far north for crotons.

Russ

bluesea14808@yahoo.com

Various succulents

Begonia propagations

Kalanchoe longiflora