Category Archives: Bromeliads

Six on Saturday – Prelude to Summer

I am joining Jim and the gang yet again for a Saturday garden update. South Florida is slowly working its way to summer and some plants are a little early this year. This makes me worry a bit about what the weather gods are planning for the rainy season. For a world tour of gardens on Saturday, follow this link to Jim’s blog. htpp://gardenrumininations.uk.co

Torch Bromeliad (Billbergia pyramidalis) blooming very early. These are sometimes called Hurricane Lilies as they usually flower at the peak of hurricane season, the first week of September.

Mangoes are mostly a summer fruit. These are Nam Doc Mai, Thai dessert mangoes. I bought the tree in 2016 because it can produce up to four crops a year and is coconut flavored with no fiber. This is the most fruit I have had and it has always been this time of year. They are almost ready, turning a solid apricot color when ripe.

This is a Red Jaboticaba. A tropical fruit from Brazil. This one is a shrub, reported to grow five feet tall. These are usually trees that take forever to produce fruit. Interesting fruit. The flowers are borne on the trunk and the fruit is like a Muscadine grape on the trunk. The tree looks like the trunk is covered in swirls of purple grapes. Tasty. It took a long time for this to establish, four or five years. Maybe some fruit, someday. The Red Jaboticaba is supposed to set fruit earlier than the trees. There is some cold damage I need to prune out.

Jaboticaba – A Fruit Worth the Wait

The Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) blooming its heart out. This smells wonderful and is bouncing back from a severe prune.

Tree spinach (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) flowering for the first time this year. This is a subsistence vegetable for tropical climates, growing without supplemental water and providing nutrition to those who know how to cook it. Poisonous to those who don’t. I don’t eat the stuff and planted this for its flowers – they provide a nectar source for many tropical butterflies.

Frightened frog hiding from Fiona. I walked out with Fiona the greyhound the other night and found this native tree frog sitting on an ottoman on the porch. Fiona started barking and the startled frog hopped under a pillow.

That is all from SoFla. Happy Spring to everyone further north.

Six on Saturday – Stormy Benefits

SOS time again! Six items of interest to share with fellow gardeners from all over. To see other SOS posts, follow this link http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Warm and cold weather fronts crashing together from the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere caused some mad weather in my South Florida garden this week. Neighbors were saying a mini hurricane hit our area, evidenced by 85 mph wind gusts and flying lawn furniture. The rain brought about some welcome changes to the garden.

Schomburgkia Orchids burst into flower and managed to stay attached to the Gumbo Limbo tree.

Blue Daze Evolvulus finally in full flower. These have been in the garden for years and rarely look like this. I have been wondering what to do with them and I am thinking lots of water is the answer.

Native Purslane popping up in the flower border. A weed I like, I am told it is edible – but haven’t tried it.

‘Bossa Nova’ Neoregelia enjoys the sunshine following the storms. I recently discovered these are supposed to grow in full sun. I moved them and we will see. I am not sure why it just seems odd to grow bromeliads in full sun. To me, anyway.

Another bromeliad basking in the sunshine. ‘Fireball’ Neoregeli; usually grown as groundcover for their foliage colors – varying from green to red depending on light conditions. These are in a container with Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers.

‘White Flame’ Salvia with a Red Cypress Vine growing up the side. I suppose I should separate these two. Black and Bloom Salvia in the background. The butterflies are starting to enjoy all of these flowers.

That is it for this week. Next week’s weather is looking good for gardening. I am hoping the dragonflies show up soon to eat the mosquitoes that came along with the rain.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Turkey Tangle Frogfruit

I am joining the SOS gang this week with my latest garden adventure. Weather in South Florida is transitioning from Not Summer into Summer, rain showers have started back up, the humidity is up and a platoon of mosquitoes showed up this morning to interrupt my walk. I slathered myself in mosquito spray and braved the onslaught long enough to pot up the Frogfruit cuttings. Hoping for the dragonfly crew to show up soon and dispatch the mosquitoes.

To see more SOS posts, visit Jim at www.gardenruminations.co.uk.

The Frogfruit:

These don’t look like much right now. I want to get rid of the St. Augustine lawn in my garden. It needs too much of everything, water, sun, fertilizer and I refuse to put weed killers – especially Atrazine on my lawn. Florida, as a state, has mostly ruined their local waterways with lawn chemicals and sewage. And people wonder what happened to all the sea grass that the Manatees eat, duh. Put enough grassy weed killers on the zillions of acres of turf grass on sand and it’s going into the watershed to kill other things, especially the animals that rely on sea grass. The Manatees rely on sea grass and are starving, so the state is feeding them Romaine lettuce. I am so disgusted with these people. So, in my garden the lawn is mostly gone. And really ugly.

Rant is complete.

Turkey Tangle Frog Fruit (Phyla nodiflora) is an evergreen, low growing native wildflower – or weed, depending on who you ask. It is recommended as a lawn replacement in places other than Florida (Texas and California). It is also a host and nectar plant for many butterflies. For some reason, it is extremely difficult to source. I ordered cuttings in January and they just showed up in my mailbox. Now I have potted the rooted cuttings after several days of rehydration. Fingers crossed they grow. Who knew it would be so hard to grow weeds, uh, wildflowers.

The “lawn” as it is. Ugly!

On to prettier things.

Three miniature pineapples and a lizard on a favorite bromeliad. The minature ones are more reliable about fruiting than the big ones, but you can’t really eat them. I have read they can be juiced, but how much juice could really be in there? I like to cut these and let them dry, they are fun additions to flower arrangements.

Another oddity, Coral Plant (Jatropha multifida) The leaves look like marijuana, though the whole plant is very toxic.

A plant combination I like. On the left, the foliage, Golden Duranta (Duranta erecta); grey foliage with yellow ball flowers ‘Golf Beauty’ Craspedia; ‘Mystic Blue’ Salvia and the small yellow flowering plant is a native purslane, I am not sure which one.

Flowers on a Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbiifolia). The leaves on this begonia are easily 18 by 18 inches. It is a great coarse texture accent in the garden – considered a roadside weed in South America, where it inhabits ditches.

That is all from lawnless land in Florida. Thanks to Jim for hosting and..

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – The Jesus Lizard

It’s Saturday again and time to share garden happenings. I suppose it is very appropriate to find a Jesus Lizard in the garden during Easter week. I had been seeing a fast moving animal in the garden for a couple of weeks, it appeared to be running on its back legs like a little T Rex dinosaur. I am beginning to think I am seeing things. Things that aren’t there. Finally, it stopped and I was close enough to get a picture.

Here is the lizard. Google was able to identify this as a Brown Basilisk or Jesus Lizard. It does run on its back legs and has paddle shaped feet that make it appear to walk on water if it runs into a lake at high speed, hence the name. These are not native to Florida and considered invasive. Mental health crisis averted. Additional information, if you need it. loridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2023/02/22/jesus-lizard-florida-what-to-know-brown-basilisks/69902695007/

I was thrilled to get my second Ranunculus flower.

I am looking forward to eating this pepper. Tonight. My first successful red pepper.

I have been moving bromeliads around this week. A new container of Neoregelia bromeliads was assembled for the porch from random plants in the back garden.

‘Purple Haze’ Billbergia bromeliad added to the front garden. A ring cut from a nursery container supports the plant as it roots into its new space.

I planted three Papayas grown from seed in the back garden. Hopefully a male and female plant emerge from the trees and I get some fruit. These are Mexican Papayas. I have them amongst the pineapples that were gnawed by something. Maybe the Jesus Lizard.

Happy Easter and Happy Gardening!!

To see more SOS posts visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Six on Saturday – Tropical Fun

I am joining the SOS gang once again at Jim’s blog – http://gardenruminations.co.uk Follow the link to see more garden fun. This Saturday I am looking at the more tropical side of my South Florida garden.

Nothing says tropical like a big, tasty mango. These are Glenn Mangoes ripening on the tree. I am looking forward to a June day when I can eat one.

Spring brings bromeliad pups and these unusual rick rack shaped pups are growing up from a Macwilliamsii Neoregelia. These bromeliads are mottled green in summer and develop red coloration in winter, the red at the base of the pups is fading.

Shooting out some pups, Fireball Neoregelia are a famously tough groundcover bromeliad. Deep burgundy red in full sun and green in shade, these are underplanting a Brown Eyed Girl sunflower in a container.

Hippeastrum can stay outside year round in my garden. These are Red Lion inherited from my Father in Law years ago.

I installed some Cattleya Orchids in the Pygmy Date Palms (Phoenix roebellini) in my front garden this week. The orchids are wedged into the pruned part of the crown and secured with jute twine. The orchids are already putting out roots and should flower late summer, these are purple Cattleyas.

Schomburgkia orchids were mounted in the Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba) tree last year. They have multiplied and are sending up buds (the brown stem looking like a bamboo shoot). These orchids are native to mangrove forests on the Gulf coast of Mexico; how they ended up here is anyone’s guess.

That’s all from my garden this week. I am breaking rules next week. Bromeliads are supposed to be divided and moved by March 31. Guess what I am still doing? I am enjoying the Lost Marbles tomatoes so much I am considering planting another batch – pushing the tomato envelope here. The last tomatoes should be planted in March. Oh, the dilemmas…

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – New Things.

I am joining SOS this Saturday with six new things from my South Florida garden. Below is a new addition to the ecosystem on my porch. This is a tree frog that has been sleeping inside a Billbergia bromeliad for the past several days. I am hopeful he or she is eating mosquitoes. Fiona the greyhound noticed the frog first. Fortunately, she dislikes amphibians, a squirrel would have been an entirely different story.

I have finally eaten a tomato! And there are more ripening, at long last. And yes, it was worth the wait. Delicious.

I cut the last of my Sunspot Sunflowers this week and have been enjoying them in a vase by the kitchen sink.

The sunny, warm weather inspired the Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) to flower. It caused me to realize I should thin the branches.

The red Desert Rose is budding and in desperate need of pruning. Maybe next week, I have been told to treat the pruning wounds with cinnamon to help them heal? Both of these plants were damaged by the cold in December and are bouncing back nicely.

This is Craspedia ‘Golf Beauty’, a new addition to the cutting garden. I kept waiting for the flower to open, but this is it! I will say it looks great in flower arrangements and lasts for weeks.

That’s it from my garden this week. To see more SOS posts visit Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Bromance

I am joining Jim and the SOS gang this sunny Saturday morning from my South Florida garden. Anyone who reads my blog eventually notices my love for Bromeliads. This Saturday I am focusing on the winter color in my garden from these super tough tropical plants. Visit Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/

Bromeliads are native to the tropics and many of them hail from the Americas. Most that I grow are from Brazil. There are native Bromeliads in Florida, though many were collected to near extinction and are now protected. Tillandsias (Spanish moss and friends are the most common native to Florida) I see these native Bromeliads from time to time in state parks and relish sighting one. Native orchids met a similar fate.

I am not quite to the northern limit of growing Bromeliads in the garden, though most I grow here will not take any frost. When I first started gardening here the idea of having what I considered house plants in the garden seemed very odd. Now, not so much. My average low temperature is 40 F (4 C)

Jill Neoregelia climbing a palm trunk. Some Bromeliads will climb trees and some won’t. This one was planted at the base of a Christmas Palm and started up the trunk with no encouragement from me.

Martin Neoregelia started the change from winter to summer color. These are yellow and green striped in winter deepening to red in summer. The pink coloration lasts for a couple of months.

Silvery foliage of the Silver Urn Bromeliad. Aechmea fasciata. These are well known for their pink flowers. They bloom every other year in my garden.

I am very likely to buy unnamed Bromeliads at garage sales or garden shows as they are usually expensive elsewher and it is rare to find good directions on where to site the plants. This is a unnamed Neoregelia I have enjoyed, it is probably three feet wide.

Another garage sale find. I have no idea what this is – it flowers every winter. The flower is about four feet tall.

The very reliable February (Valentine’s!) bloomer. The flower of the Guzmania Bromeliad is starting to peek through.

The time to move Bromeliads in the garden ends in March. I am plotting relocations now to add some more of these tough beauties in new places…

Thanks to Jim for hosting and Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Modern Bromeliad

Modern was the first word that popped into my head after I put this vase together. Sometimes I wonder where these things come from. I suppose, in my mind, this is just really not an old fashioned vase of plonked wildflowers. Except in South America where some of these plants probably are wildflowers. Food for thought.

After a little online searching, I found a long trip would be necessary to gather this particular group of plants as wildflowers – from Southeast Asia to the Gulf Coast of Mexico then down to Southern Brazil. A trip around my gardens seems much simpler.

Close up, please!

There are two Bromeliads in the arrangement, both from Southern Brazil. The flowers are Quesnelia testudo, they have been flowering for about two months and are nearing their end. They don’t last long in the house, so I decided to enjoy them while they last in a vase. The foliage on the Quesnelia is needle sharp and bright yellow green; I try to stay away from it and use loppers to cut the flowers. The green foliage with pink tips is from Painted Fingernail Neoregelia Bromeliads. This is one of my favorites and a stalwart in South Florida gardens. The flowers aren’t very showy, but the olive green foliage with fuchsia tips is worthwhile year round in the garden.

Other foliage in the vase: in purple, hailing from Mexico, Purple Queen (Transcandentia pallida ‘Purpurea’) I like this name so much better than what I learned in school – Setcresea, what is that? Once again, my favorite sidekick with flowers is Asian Sword Ferns.

We had a very rainy Sunday morning here and I am looking forward to clear skies next week. I am happy all the plants got a good long drenching and hopefully the wind stays away long enough for the water to soak in.

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – January Teasers

I am joining the SOS gang this morning with Six items of interest from my garden; focusing on the unusual for January and things I am looking forward to seeing again. Or for the first time. To see more SOS posts visit Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk

January can be a wonderful gardening month in South Florida. Like everywhere in the world, we have our trials. This year it has been cold weather. I believe it is possible to grow Zinnias year round here, but haven’t worked out the seed planting schedule. Above is my first bud, on an ‘Envy’ Zinnia.

Ranunculus sprouting. I have never lived anywhere these would grow. Somewhere I read they can be grown as cut flowers in the winter here – then I ran across a really cheap bag of bulbs at an end of summer sale. Then the bulbs sat in my living room for months along with an end of season bag of Dahlias. Then I forgot about them. Upon discovering the extraordinarily desiccated bulbs; I debated throwing them away or just throwing them in a pot. Two out of three of the Dahlias had turned to dust. The bulbs were thrown into a pot and watered – a lot. And here they are. I am hoping to see some Ranunculus flowers. The Dahlia that hadn’t turned to dust remains incognito.

Alcanterea odorata Bromeliad grown from grass pups. These are big (3 feet across), very showy, grey bromeliads that are grown in full sun. A friend sent me five grass pups a couple of years ago. Four were lost to squirrels and this one took and is just starting to show grey coloration.

Florida Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divericata) in January? This is strange, even in South Florida. This is usually a deciduous, winter dormant Gardenia that blooms all summer.

Dragonfruit cactus is finally making its presence known. This has been in the garden for years. Probably 7. I planted a lot of fruit in 2016. These tend to grow up for a while and then horizontal like this to produce fruit. I would be happy to see a flower. And happier to eat a Pitaya.

More cruel Zinnias teasing me. These are Apricot Profusion. Very happy in the heat and very unhappy in the cold. I am hoping to plant these out next week and coax them into happiness.

That is all from my garden this week.

Happy Gardening!!!

Six on Saturday – Cool Exotics

It’s another cool Saturday morning in South Florida. A bit windy and the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees F (4 C). I finally got the nerve to go out and check on my tomatoes and pepper plants, left uncovered overnight. They look shivery. A few of the less cold tolerant plants were invited indoors last night. I have found basil and zinnia seedlings do not enjoy being too cool. I am joining Jim and the SOS gang to share what cool exotics are currently in color in my garden. To see more SOS posts, visit http://www.gardenruminations.uk.co.

The flower of the Candy Portea Bromeliad. This is a medium sized Bromeliad with very sharp foliage that reliably flowers every winter in nearly full shade. I think it started showing color in late November.

Another Bromeliad – McWilliamsii Neoregelia, also called Blushing Bromeliad. These show red coloration during the winter and have green mottled foliage during warm weather. They are 2 – 3 feet wide and are quite showy. Below is the flower, reminiscent of a rosebud.

The China Hat (Holmskioldia sanguinea) continues to flower. I like the coloration going towards chartreuse as the flower ages.

Another winter stalwart, the Quesnelia testudo Bromeliad. I have heard native Floridians call these the tulips of South Florida. I think these are a bit burned from the holiday cold weather. They are usually more purple at the tips.

Number Six today is a flowering tree. This is a White Geiger flower. Cordia boissieri is a medium sized evergreen tree with an odd branching habit that I have been puzzling over how to prune for quite a while. Tropical trees have weird twisting habits and need to be sorted. This one remains an unsorted blob. Sigh.

Here’s to warmer days in the garden!