Current blooms 2019 part 2
Comments (69)
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore MassachusettsRelated Discussions
What is Blooming in Your Garden - June 2011 - Photos Part 2
Comments (43)I'm so envious of all these beautiful blooms! I'm sort of in a dead season now that the daffodils and alliums are long gone, and the Iris too is past. Only a few early daylilies are staring to open, but it will be a month before they and the tall phlox are in full bloom. Annual marigolds and geraniums and gerbera daisies in pots are my only flowers until then. I'll just have to get vicarious enjoyment from everyone else's photos until late July when I can post my own. Gardenweed, I love the golden Chinese globeflower and the dark purple (almost black) sweet William and the beautiful pink mountain laurel. Digging, that bright pink peony is simply gorgeous. I really need to figure out where to plant some peonies. I love them, esp the more intense pinks, and I believe peonies do well in colder climates so they should thrive here. Wispfox, such amazing foliage!! I guess I would share your concerns about the weight on the garage roof, but I would also hate to see that greenery, and the privacy it must afford, go. Pixie, I love your pot with the sunflower motif. It really makes your front step setting. Lschibley, your peaceful little nook with the garden bench beside the brick walkway leading to your porch is wonderful with or without anything blooming....See MoreCurrent Blooms 2019
Comments (81)Ooh, ooh, ooh, Anja! My eyes are absolutely delighted. I think that you vastly improved H554 and WOW six flowers on her maiden flowering. My sincere compliments to you! I apologize for overwhelming you with ideas regarding your lovely (Pink Rascal x Emerald). My mind was spinning with possibilities. I haven’t ever been successful in obtaining seed from ‘Sweet Lilian.’ However, I do have one or two seedlings with SL as the pollen parent. An eBay seller in the UK listed (Sweet Lilian x La Paz) seeds and specified “crosses guaranteed correct.” On a Russian forum, there was a photo of seedlings that were represented as (Sweet Lilian x Red Pearl) and (Sweet Lilian x Red Lion), but this is anecdotal information. Although giant flowers are not my personal preference, one of the goals of Hippeastrum breeding is to produce larger, thicker petaled, longer lasting flowers. As diploids are crossed with tetraploid cultivars, we are seeing more and more sterile triploids. Some hypothesize that sterile plants may make more flowers because they aren’t using their resources for seed production....See MoreApril 2019, Week 2, Spring and Not Winter, Right?
Comments (45)Nancy, I expect it will take a while for the house to feel normal again. We had gotten used to the screeching of the tropical birds, the sounds of a lot more feet going up and down the staircase, etc. Yesterday I came into the living room and automatically turned the TV on to Nickelodeon just out of habit because I'm so used to having it on for the kids to watch the cartoons. It was on for a minute or two before I realized there were no children here and switched it to The Weather Channel to see what was going on weatherwise. lol. We had a lot of rain considering it rarely rained hard but was mostly just a steady light to moderate rain that came in waves as the storm rotated around the low pressure center. We're back to being a colossal mud pit again, but I have high hopes that maybe it will dry up fairly quickly in the drier, warmer weather we're expected to have for the next few days. I believe rain and the chance of severe weather return mid-week. Centaureas in general don't like our clay, especially when it is wet, so I don't grow them much. I think I've grown Sweet Sultan only once, and it was in a very wet and cold Spring and didn't do well here. Mullein does fine but tends to be invasive when happy so, believe it or not, I avoid it because I do not want for every single plant in my garden to be an invasive one, and I have too many of those types already. I have no issues with tropical milkweeds and think it mostly is just a pawn in some sort of power struggle between different factions in the gardening-for-monarchs segment of the gardening world. When I have grown it, the monarchs seem to ignore it for the most part---perhaps because we have fields and fields around us with wall-to-wall (or maybe I should say fence-to-fence) native milkweeds in season. The monarchs always seem to prefer the natives, so those are the ones I try to grow for them. I do love the colors of the tropical milkweeds as they seem to blend nicely with a lot of the hot-colored flowers we have in bloom in our garden in summer, including Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis), Texas lantana (Lantana horrida, a name that always makes me laugh), miscellaneous other forms of lantana, and Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans). Because of our heat, our summer plants tend towards flowers in hot summer colors of yellow, orange, red, coral, etc. I might feel differently about tropical milkweed if I lived in a coastal area where it undoubtedly is overplanted and probably in bloom far too late in the season. I can understand why it probably should be cut back near the end of their migratory period so the monarchs will keep on heading towards their overwintering grounds in Mexico. If disease builds up on it, then obviously that is an issue we don't see as much with the native milkweeds that are not as long-lasting each season. Jennifer, Oh those cages and sheets sound like a mess! I would imagine the trees would have been fine uncovered. Our cats finally have calmed down and stopped nibbling plants so much, but to some extent, it always has been a problem. It is just as they get older, the prefer sleeping in the sunroom to devouring my plants. When they are outdoors it is not such a big deal, maybe because there's a large area to roam and they don't focus overly much on the garden, other than coming in there meowing to find me when they need to be petted or to have their tummy rubbed or whatever. After they get a little loving attention, they run off to play again. It might help that we grow catnip, catmint and catgrass in the garden for them. I don't know. One thing they've never outgrown is nipping the bean sprouts and eating them, so when beans are sprouting I try to keep the cats away from them until they've leafed out a bit more and no longer are so appealing as cat snacks. Our chickens lack the sense to come in out of the rain too. We combat that somewhat by only opening their door to go out into their chicken run instead of letting them free-range. They'll get bored if they aren't free-ranging and often decide to just go back into the coop after a while, thereby staying dry more of the time. Yesterday while we were covering up plants, the winds rose into the 40s and the trees were waving and the wind was sort of roaring and it scared the rooster. He started having a big fit...the sort of loud screaming he'll do when there's a coyote, a hawk or some other perceived danger. We couldn't find any reason for his distress, other than the loud wind, so Tim just herded the chickens into their coop and closed the door leading out to the chicken run so they would feel safe and sound. It was only a couple of hours earlier than they usually would put themselves up, and it probably was good for them to get inside out of the moisture. I think the most frustrating thing yesterday was that we are so used to being outdoors and being busy on the weekends. It was really hard to stay indoors. We rarely have days like that where it literally rains all day, and I'm glad. The weather news is just so dismal this morning. The Franklin TX tornado and the others that hit about 100 miles from Franklin killed several people and the one near Alto tore up the Caddoan Mounds museum there during some sort of festival. Then there were more tornadoes last night and this morning, all of them destructive and some of them deadly. I hate severe thunderstorm and tornado season. It doesn't even take a tornado to do massive damage---large hail stones and strong winds do a lot of damage too. The propensity for severe weather makes April and May less enjoyable, weather-wise, than they otherwise would be. Last night's weather was odd. We were down to 40 degrees by around 9 p.m. with an overnight forecast low of 39. Then, before midnight the temperatures begin rising again and didn't drop again, so the time we spent covering plants was in essence wasted time. Oh well, that probably was it for this year and I'm glad. We just as easily could have gone colder than forecast, so it probably always is better to be safe than sorry. Last night a cardinal was perched on a little ledge up underneath the roof of the back porch when the dogs went outdoors one last time before bedtime. Poor thing. I think it was just trying to stay warm and dry. I imagine all the songbirds would like for the cold to back off a bit too. It just seems so bizarre (yet it happens every Spring) to have highs in the upper 80s or lower 90s and lows in the 30s all in the same week. Maybe the new week's weather will be kinder, but I do see possible severe weather in our forecast for mid-week so maybe it won't be. Dawn...See MoreOctober 2019, Week 2
Comments (54)Jacob, Welcome to OK. Hope your brief stay is/was enjoyable. October weather is usually almost perfect---this year it stayed too hot in early Oct and then went straight to last night's freezing and near-freezing temperatures, so I guess we had our 3 or 4 days of autumn, then a winter-like day/night, and now hopefully we'll have a few more weeks of autumn before it gets cold and frosty again. I'm not even a little bit jealous of all you guys who grow your own rocks and watch them multiply every year. We're in the creek hollow beneath the nearest rocky ridge, and it is much easier to garden down here in our low-lying area than to try to garden on higher ground with rocks everywhere. Larry, I'm not surprised you had a frost. We dropped to 27 degrees and had a hard, heavy frost, so my plants experienced the sort of temperatures that lead to a killing freeze if they lost long enough, and also frost damage. It is unusual to get that cold this far south in zone 7b in October, but that's what happened. I am not too upset by it---the ground was really warm from the previous hot days and that may have helped save some of my plants. Most of the plants in the garden have severely freeze-damaged and freeze-killed foliage and flowers, but some plants, including lantana show only the most minor damage. The roselles and tomato plants have the most damage---the pepper plants and pineapple sage are barely damaged at all. Oddly, one of the most tropical plants I have in the ground, the candletrees (Senna alata, formerly Cassia alata) are among the least damaged. I'll wait and see how things look tomorrow though, because sometimes the plants don't seem too badly damaged for the first few hours after sunrise, but then as time goes on throughout the day, more and more damage becomes obvious. At this point I'd say at least half the garden plants have major freeze and frost damage, but mostly I'm just surprised it isn't 100% of them. We were already down to 33 degrees at midnight, so the garden spent a great deal of time at and below freezing. I think we hit 32 around 2 a.m. here and stayed at or below freezing for slightly over 6.5 hours. The amusing thing that made me laugh? The Johnson Grass in the bar ditch has worse freeze damage than my candletrees and roselles. Jennifer, Most of my basil looks fine this morning, but only because it was planted beneath the roselle plants and they shielded it from the cold. I had lots of shorter plants planted underneath and between the roselle plants, and all of them look pretty good today since the monster roselle plants pretty much buried them underneath all the roselle foliage. In this case, it worked out well for the plants since it protected them. If all your hatched chicks are pullets, that is simply amazing. Good for you---more eggs to feed and not so many rooster fights as young cockerels try to assert themselves and prove their superiority. Nancy, How odd is it that y'all stayed a dozen degrees warmer than we did? I expected the upper 20s here though, as we're in a low-lying creek hollow in the already low-lying Red River Valley, which is the perfect setup for early freezes and early frosts. It is sad that the cold microclimate doesn't help us at all in summer, but that's because there is no cold air in the summer. I need to get busy processing roselles. They are piled up in buckets and bowls everywhere just like tomatoes normally are in summer. By the time I get all the roselles processed and preserved in one way or another, I'm going to be sick of looking at them and handling them. Dawn...See More
Fred Biasella
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoAfter a rather blustery and rainy day, these cuties are re-blooming on a very nice and sunny morning.
Napoli
A slightly wider group shot.
And finally, Baby Face. This one hasn't bloomed again since I got her in 2014.
jstropic (10a) thanked Fred Biasellajstropic (10a)
5 years ago
jstropic (10a) thanked teakocatsandhippies
5 years agoDonna, I love (Pyjama) Party! And you have two scapes, congratulations!
Fred, your Napoli looks like a perfect small red flower! I did not know this one.
Thank you for sharing your Chico, Teako! I have to get one someday, it looks really special.
Here's what is blooming at my house right now:
Mocca is as gorgeous as always
Exotic Star is reblooming with only two blooms:
Rosario and her two children (xEmanuelle) are reblooming together. Debütantin looks much wilder this year...A close up of Debütantin:
jstropic (10a) thanked catsandhippiesdondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsdondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agoHere is my Shoka no Kagayaki that I purchased in 2013!! Nearly 6 years for me to bring this small bulb to bloom but better late than never I guess. If there were 4 flowers it would be much nicer but I don't think I've ever seen any pictures of Shoka no Kagayaki with more than 2 flowers.
This is a good sized flower at a full 6" across.
Donnajstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore MassachusettsFred Biasella
5 years ago
frank_hoehnel
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
First flowers on my blossfeldiae hybrid. The female parent is a cultivar of the Colibri series. The wild species blossfeldiae is very dominant in this cross. Six flowers per scape (this is inherited from blossfeldiae too). I have pollinated two flowers with Hippeastrelia Durga Pradhan pollen.Frank
jstropic (10a) thanked frank_hoehneldondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agoThanks Fred,
Mine is still a very small bulb but I was happy to see after 6 years that she could bloom! She got prettier the longer she was out. Here she is again
with Glee.
Frank, Your blossfeldiae hybrid is gorgeous!! Six flowers, that's amazing!!dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agoHere is a seedling of Exotica x Mocca that I made in 2012!! It took seven years to bloom for me! I had given lots of these seeds away and several bloomed in 3 or 4 years for others but it took me seven!! Only two flowers but I know this can give me 4 flowers if I can just make her happy this summer. Not a prize winner for sure but her color is really vibrant as in the pictures with nice netting, and I'm happy!
She's 6 & 1/2 inches at her widest.
Make sure you click on all the pictures to view them at their larger size.
Donnafrank_hoehnel
5 years agoHippeastrelia Durga Pradhan is blooming again. As always only a few days from first visibility of the bud to the opening of the flowers.
And my blossfeldiae seedling has all 6 flowers open now:
jstropic (10a) thanked frank_hoehneljstropic (10a)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojstropic (10a)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoThis is a H. cardenasii ( neopardinum) hybrid. Looks a lot like pictures of the specie on line. Thought to put pollen on exotic star and the other cardenasii hybrids as well selfing What do you think? And yes, Donna, this was from Telos lol. Also first flowering and only 2 flowers.
jstropic (10a)
5 years agoH. Yungacense. This is the second flowering. I selfed the first flowers and seed pods are developing.
jstropic (10a)
5 years agoH. Cardenasii x psitticinum and one of them that I will try some cardenasii pollen on. This bulb just keeps on flowering.
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsjstropic (10a)
5 years agodondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsfrank_hoehnel
5 years agoThe flower stalk of this H. blossfeldiae is 1 full meter tall:
The flowers are simple but graceful:
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsjstropic (10a)
5 years agoRockdale (RI Z6)
5 years agoThis is the first re blooming amaryllis for me. Is it red lion? All my other bulbs are treated the same but only this one re-bloomed. This is the third year I have had them. What is the secret to get them re-bloom? They spend summer outside then move to basement around end of oct, move to living room around end of Feb. all the others only grow leaves. No flowers.
jstropic (10a)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoThis if from the selfing of junihitoe/red flash and is the first Alba type. All the others were vibrantly colored. It is a more compact flower with only 2 flowers, but since this is its maiden flowering that might change. I really like this one. The shape is different than anything else I have and it holds this shape. I also like the way the flower tips twirl and have a pink blush.
- jstropic (10a) thanked jana (z7b, Philadelphia, PA)
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsjstropic (10a)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoDonna, I'm so glad the bulbs are doing well under your care and can't wait to see them blooming! Jana, your Alfresco is gorgeous!
Here is the always dependable, beautiful and sweetly scented Blossom Peacock,
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsjstropic (10a)
5 years agocatsandhippies
5 years agoVery nice. My Jewel is blooming right now and I can go there and smell it whenever I want :-) Some other bulbs are flowering too:
Fledermaus and Machala
Emanuelle (right) and her daughter (a self that just happened 4 years ago and is now blooming for the first time) . I actually like Emanuelle jr. even a little more. The colors are more vibrant and the shape more elegant than her mothers. And she has two scapes on her maiden bloom...
Yellow Star and Sonatini #1807. If you are looking for a strong and reliable yellow variety I recommend Yellow Star:
Not really a bulb but he seems to like it in a pot too...
jstropic (10a) thanked catsandhippiesdondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettsdondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agojstropic (10a) thanked dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusettscatsandhippies
4 years ago
Still one of my favourites: Spotlight. Above is Daphne but I don't know how to capture her beauty in a picture. She looks much better in person.jstropic (10a) thanked catsandhippies
Luca B.
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
Hippeastrum "Sugar Candy" - small flower, with yellow and Pink nuancejstropic (10a) thanked Luca B.Luca B.
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
Hippeastrum papilio, from Doran Collection (more greenish)jstropic (10a) thanked Luca B.jstropic (10a)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts