Category Archives: Bromeliads

Six on Saturday – Hallelujah

Time for six pictures of what going on in my garden. I am joining in with gardeners from around the world on The Propagators blog, follow this link to see more posts THELINK

The Hallelujah Billbergia Bromeliad has finally bloomed. Flowers and foliage don’t get much crazier than this one:

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Here is another Bromeliad flower, I think of these as the tropical version of tulips. Meet Quesnelia testudo, this one has very sharp foliage and one of  the hardiest of  the Bromeliads, surviving 25 degrees (F).

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Another Bromeliad, an unnamed Guzmania in full flower.

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The seedling of a Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea) growing in my Tiki. I need  to take  this out soon.

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A bud of yet another Bromeliad, ‘Little Harv’ Aechmea. These are yellow and pink when in full flower.

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My Leonitis flower, I am very pleased about this one I started it from seed last year and it has straight stocky stems. The plants from last year were curved and languished on the ground when flowering.

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That’s my six this very windy day. The wind has been howling since yesterday morning. It is a north wind so gusty it blew the Papayas off the tree and the cushions off the chairs on the screen porch. No gardening today for me.

Six on Saturday – More Bromeliads and Caterpillars

I went to a plant sale today with only cash to stop myself, I came home with 13 cents and had lunch, all in all a pretty good day.

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This is one of the new Bromeliads, Vriesea ospinae gruberi, usually extremely expensive – I found this for $20, a third of the usual price. Grabbed it. Here it is in the garden, sitting in it’s pot. I may leave it here.

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My first ripe Passionfruit, much tarter than expected, frozen for future cocktails.

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Another new Bromeliad, Tillandsia ionantha. I am planting it a booted palm. These are flowering and new to me, I will be interested to see what happens next.

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A  Lotus Leaf Begonia, people usually stop when they see this, the leaves are about a foot wide. Flowers are white and less thrilling than the foliage.

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The latest butterfly in waiting in my garden, this is a Long Tailed Skipper caterpillar. I  did not know what it was and thought it was a pest, several have folded the leaves on pole beans. I posted it on Facebook, a fellow enthusiast identified the caterpillar so I left them alone. I had the butterflies all  summer and look forward to more.

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That is my Six for this Saturday. To see six gardening related photos from gardens around the world follow this Link to Propagator!!

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Winter Color

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This is a Blushing Bromeliad (Neoregelia carolinae); they only blush in winter the rest of the year the foliage is solid green.

Here is another Bromeliad – the Hallelujah Billbergia, it’s flowers  are red, white and blue later in the year and are quite a sight with the purple spotted foliage. The green coloration comes out in winter.

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The fruit of Candy Portea Bromeliad, it flowers in the fall, the fruit is purple at first and later turns white. The foliage is also purple, so this is a striking plant.

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Real fruit in the form of a pole bean. I love fresh green beans and am looking forward to this.

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Seedheads on a Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘Alba’). I like the seeds as well as the flowers and use them in arrangements.

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It has been a surprisingly rainy dry season and here is the proof – a Rain Lily.

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That is my Six for this Saturday, for more photos of six things from gardens around the world, go to host blog, here is the link.The Propagator

In a Vase on Monday – Bromeliad Cachepot

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I decided to do something different this week. This is a pot of Bromeliad cuttings from my garden. The cuttings are in a 1 gallon nursery container double potted inside the cachepot. These Bromeliads are so bulletproof they are planted in old dried out potting soil and sand, a very well drained mix that will serve them well for months to come.

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Here is one of the cuttings, a Super Fireball Neoreglia, wonderful groundcover and hard to kill. One of my favorites. It grows almost on a runner (actually a stolon), the mother plant (on the left) dies and generally makes two or three pups like this one. The mother plant is cut off and  thrown away, I always feel bad about this. The roots are left intact and placed inside the nursery container.

Super Fireball Neoregelia in the garden, cold weather makes the red and peach coloration come out, these are closer to green in summer.

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Another  view:

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The cachepot is Portmerion, bought years ago on an antiqueing mission with my mother. The pot is a favorite of mine, but I rarely have houseplants as I have a strong tendency to kill them. The Bromeliads should last for months and root into the pot.

From above:

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These are all Neoregelia Bromeliads, grown primarily for foliage. The flowers are not very exciting. I know two of the four varieties – there are 3500 types of Bromeliads and I lost track of some or never knew the name ( i.e. bought at a garage sale for 5 bucks) The bigger chartruese plant with the red center (the center turns red with cooler weather) is a Blushing Bromeliad (Neoregelia carolinae). The Burgundy with green center and no spots is Super Fireball, the spotted ones I have not a clue the species. The grey plant in the foreground is a succulent – a Graptosedum of some kind that a friend gave to me, they enjoy the same soil conditions and I have a few in containers with Bromeliads on the porches at my house. Spanish moss is used for fill in the edges (and hide the black plastic nursery pot) is also a Bromeliad (Tillandsia usneoides)

Happy Gardening!

For more vases from around the world, visit Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.

Six on Saturday – New Things

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I have some new things in my garden, flowers, foliage, fruit and non-toxic weedkiller. My Six for this Saturday.

Above, a  Texas Plume Vintage Rose Mix Celosia flower. I started these from seed last fall, the colors in the mix are Burgundy, Chartreuse and this – I suppose it is pink? I have not had Celosia in this garden, though it seems it is becoming popular. I will be interested to see how long it lasts.

The flower of a Guzmania Bromeliad just opening. I would love to know the variety of this one, it flowers every winter.

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Winter brings  color to Bromeliad foliage. These are aptly named Painted Fingernail Aechmea.

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Color on new growth of Southern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii). This is a native Florida blueberry, I doubt it will bear fruit as it struggles in my sandy soil.

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The fruit is setting on the Nam Doc Mai Mango. This is a Thai Dessert Mango and very tasty. Last year I did not have any as it was too windy for the flowers to pollinate.

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I discovered a non-toxic weedkiller that works like Glyphosate, which I refuse to use in my garden. My pathways will look a lot better now. This new weedkiller is EcoMIGHT http://ecomight.com/ and is peppermint oil based. Here is a lovely dead weed.

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That’s my Six for this Saturday. To see other gardeners take on Six on Saturday, follow  this link to  Visit the Propagator!!

Happy Gardening.

Six on Saturday – Too Windy

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I have a Florida Box Turtle family in my garden, this one was scurrying (as fast as a turtle can scurry) away from me as I snapped the picture.

I have planted some seeds for lettuces and root vegetables and wanted to plant more, but the wind has been blowing steadily about 20 mph seemingly for the last week. Here are some Arugula seedlings, they need a major thinning, I dropped the seed packet into the pot.

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Winter brings a new color to Bromeliad foliage. These are Super Fireball Neoregelias, they are green in summer and go to reds and greens during the winter.

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Winter also brings some new and different flowers, these are buds on a Dracaena reflexa.

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The New Zealand Flax Lily (Dianella) has finally started flowering. It suffered through the summer sitting on the ground without a pot. Amazing survivor.

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My one Passionfruit. I planted a Passiflora edulis vine for larval hosting of butterflies. I have seen very few butterflies on it, two flowers and one fruit. I am interested to taste the fruit; it has been ripening for at least a month and I am told you must wait until they fall off to eat them. I hope I see it before the turtle does.

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That is my Six on Saturday, for more posts go to thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com to see six items of interest from gardens all over the world.

Happy Gardening.