Carol, I will keep my eyes out (neighbors). The "false fresia" seeds you sent me 2 (?) years ago started coming up again in December. "You" are in my garden!

Thanks, Irma and TimeTraveler. I think I lost a few plants in the December 26-27 hard freeze here in Jacksonville. It had been three years since we had a hard freeze. I need to go out back and take a good look at my plumeria now that a week has gone by and see what's left - if they survived. I have been so busy with year-end things that I haven't done any gardening.

Irma, those False Freesia and their seeds are so reliable. Watch, because they will slowly spread. If you already have all you want, pull the seed pods while they are still green (before they turn tan and crack open).

The False Freesia flowers should be blooming soon. And I always find it so interesting that by mid-summer, there is no sign of the plants at all. The leaves and everything go dormant until the following winter.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Carol in Jacksonville

None of my plumeria made seed pods this year. Its really strange, because I usually find a couple. I havent been fertilizing as much as I should this past year either, though. My garden just all went kinda wild and had to tough it out on its own last year. Good thing we had a wet summer and fall or everything prob would have been dead lol. I finally got my greenhouse up after we had a few freezes so I will have to see what comes back.

Funny how some things didnt freeze..like the Monsteras..even though there was a layer of ice on the goats' & chickens' water dishes haha. I think these monsteras and other things are a little more cold hardy than thought.

I had some very good luck with things for which I was uncertain and bad luck with a few others. I covered almost nothing the two nights of the freeze. It was December 25-26 and even though COVID and no family get-together, I just did not take the time to move plants.

Surprisingly and happily, my Dombeya Seminole did fantastic. It has turned from a small plant to a small tree and I'm thrilled that it went through the freeze.

Most of my Neo bromeliads that were in protected areas did fine. The ones that were in open air with no tree branches got some frost burn. The ones that had any tree branch coverage - even bare tree branch from deciduous trees like crape myrtles and the green ash tree - did just fine. Life has been very busy with year-end stuff and I still haven't taken a really good, detailed look around.

Hi Carol!

One of my Plumerias made a seed pod this winter....but I think they take months to get ripe. If you still want some, I will definitely let ya know when they are ready. I have the plant labeled WHITE, but I'm not sure if it's my white-with-yellow eye or my yellow-with-white eye. I just didn't pay attention when it bloomed this summer.

I'm sure you know to not be too hasty to remove the plants that you think died in the freeze. I made that mistake a couple of years ago when my dark pink one looked like it croaked. I waited and waited in hopes it would come back, but the trunk had split and was oozing. It killed me to dig it out since it was one I had grown from seed while I lived in Chokoloskee and I dragged it to every new place we moved to. As I was hacking away at the roots and had it almost out - it was huge - I discovered that it still had life in the base of its trunk. I'm pretty sure it would have kept on growing from that living part because a neighbor of mine left his in the ground and now, three years later, it is back just as big and full of vigor, even though it sure looked dead.

Oh well, I got a cutting and stuck it in the old one's spot and it is going good with almost the same open habit. I loved that my old one grew into a tree that I could walk under the branches without bending my head. I would put my tomato plants under that plumeria and they would scramble up and hang on the branches in the early spring while it had no leaves or flowers yet. I'll be able to do that this year since the new one is big enough.

I really love my plummies!

Oh nice! I have wondered how Dombeya Seminole would do this far north. Sometimes we never know till we try..

Susie, I love plumerias and would love to have a tree like yours, but I don't think they are destined to be trees in north Florida. Mine never get more than about 3-4 feet tall before freeze or something changes that. Thank you for the offer, but do not save seeds for me... life is pulling me in another direction and I don't have as much time for gardening as I did when I posted that request, even just four months ago.

SJN, I bought that Dombeya as a small plant for around $20-25. It was about 1-foot tall. It has just gotten bigger and bigger. I moved it to a new bed last spring where it is the centerpiece. It just continued to grow and bloom beautifully since around Nov 1. The frost/freeze took care of the blooms that were on it - brown, now - but I think it is going to push out new ones. The folks in south Florida say that it blooms all winter/spring long until June.

Carol

Wishing you all the best in your new direction and hope you'll keep popping in with updates and any garden news you might have to share with all your friends!

~Susie