Category Archives: foliage

South Florida Garden Gems – Crotons

Easy, Year Round Color for Your Garden

Seeking an addition to your garden that provides constant color? Look no further than the Croton (Codiaem variegatum). Crotons are accent shrubs, featuring foliage wildly varigated in splashes of red, green, yellow and orange. They can be so colorful it becomes overwhelming to plant more than a few of them together. These shrubs are available in an array of sizes and colors to suit your taste and your space. Here are a few of my favorites.

Above is a Mammey Croton. These are great for smaller spaces, staying 3-4 feet tall.

Meet the Pie Crust Croton, planted in honor of my husband, the pie baker. The one in my garden is 5-6 feet tall. The name for this shrub was inspired by the edge of the leaves – like pie crust!

Below is a favorite Croton of Treasure Coast gardeners. Petra Croton. Petras get big, about 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide. They need some room.

Placing and Growing Crotons

Crotons are originally from the South Pacific and not considered cold hardy. This means they will suffer cold damage from freezing temperatures. Mine dropped their foliage at 38 degrees last year, but came back. North of Ft. Pierce and inland these shrubs need to be protected if cold weather threatens. Plants can be grown in a container, covered or placed out of the wind.  These shrubs should be placed in a part sun to shade location, dappled light is ideal. The foliage on some varieties can burn if placed in full sun (Mammy Croton and some others will tolerate full sun). Also worthy of noting, the Croton is somewhat toxic if eaten, so if anyone (pet or human) has plant eating tendencies place the Croton out of reach.

Plant combinations to consider with Crotons

Given their cool, colorful vibe I like to use these with other tropical looking plants – Boston Ferns, Split Leaf Philodendrons, Bromeliads and Ground Orchids are good companions and like the same type of growing conditions.

Crotons are easy to grow if placed properly, watered and fertilized regularly. The only problem I have encountered growing these is scale insects and sometimes aphids find them really tasty. The solution to this is insecticidal soap and diligence.

Add a few Crotons to your garden for a dollop of tropical fun. I am currently searching for a Sloppy Painter Croton to add to my collection.

Six on Saturday – Winter Interest & Green Bees

Well, it is time for another garden tour. We are having the rainiest El Nino winter I have ever experienced in Florida. I was in the garden for an hour or so this morning and now it is pouring down rain yet again. We are molding slowly. To join the worldwide tour visit Jim at gardenruminations.co.uk and follow the links posted in the comments section to other gardens.

The green bee! This is a green orchid bee, they arrived in Florida about 20 years ago from Central America. I don’t think these are especially bad in terms of non native insects and enjoy seeing them around the garden. This one is enjoying a sip of Mystic Spires Salvia nectar. This was a lucky shot. These bees are difficult to photograph.

This is a nice surprise. I think it is Senecio vitalis. I did not think this succulent would grow out in the garden due to too much moisture from rain. They have been in a pot on a covered porch for a few years and have gotten too big. I rooted a few cuttings over the summer and planted them in the garden a few months ago. They are thriving and getting a lot of moisture, I suppose the sugar sand is so well drained they like it. Time will tell.

A white oxalis in flower. A friend’s grandmother filched this from a garden in Ireland in the 1950s. It must grow everywhere.

Lotusleaf Begonias (Begonia nelumbiifolia) are enjoying the abundant moisture. I am not sure what is eating the leaves. I have never seen a slug here but we do have snails.

Ti Plant (Cordyline fruticosa) It has taken a few years for this plant to develop the hot pink coloration. It was solid green for a long time. I thought I had a cheesy cultivar. Maybe not. Patience rewards the gardener.

Foliage detail on a Pie Crust Croton (Codieum variegatum) leaf. One of my favorites and a real splash of color in the garden.

That’s all from my garden this Saturday. Wishing everyone Happy Gardening or Happy Seed Catalog Reading. It is a good afternoon for that here.

Funky Florida Flora – Bossa Nova Bromeliad

Meet “Bossa Nova” Bromeliad. Bossa nova means new music in Portuguese and is a style of music that originated in Brazil in the late 1950s, a mixture of jazz and samba. “The Girl from Ipanema” is probably the most famous bossa nova tune, and a prodigious ear worm producer.

True Brazilians, these plants were brought to America from Brazil in 1988. This one does make me dance, just a little. It will grow in a full sun southern exposure in an area with great amounts of reflected light and no irrigation, a bit of a miracle in my world. I had not realized until last year these would grow in full sun, they had been sulking for a few years in full shade and were moved into the light during the proper season – fast approaching, November through March is bromeliad relocation time!

Botanically speaking these are Neoregelia “Bossa Nova”. A stoloniferous groundcover, they reach 12-18″ height and 24″ spread. Neoregelia bromeliads typically flower inside the cup and are planted for their foliage as the flowers are not particularly showy. It is reported to turn red around the cup before flowering. I have not noted this in my garden. Maybe this winter I will see some red coloration.

Sulking in the shade below:

Much happier in a sunnier place:

More funkiness to come! Happy Friday!

Six on Saturday – Broms and Bunnies

It’s time for the weekly visit with other SOS gardeners. My South Florida garden received plentiful rain this week, the plants enjoyed it and are starting to show their summer colors. Bromeliads in the garden change colors with the seasons. Some in the winter and others in summer. The color change I notice most is from green to red (and back). Markings on the foliage that change vary from spots to streaks to bands of color.

For the SOS garden tour follow this link to visit Jim: http://gardenruminations.co.uk

‘Jill’ Neoregelia climbing a palm trunk. The foliage tips and cups on this one deepen in color in the summer.

‘Hallelujah’ Billbergia. These tend to go a bit green in the summer. The purple color deepens in winter.

Aechmea ‘fasciata’. The bands of grey coloration sharpen with warm weather, these produce big pink flowers every other summer. Also known as the Silver Urn Bromeliad.

‘Luca’ Neoregelia, one of my favorites, is almost too dark but the chartreuse spots lighten things up.

An unknown Neoregelia in flower. This one has pink stripes in sunny areas and white in shady areas.

The bunny, we have had a banner year for bunnies. Fortunately, they like weeds and are eating something in the so called lawn while tormenting Fiona the Greyhound. This is a Marsh Rabbit. I am impressed with the camouflage, I could not see the rabbit as I was taking a picture of it.

That is my Six for this Memorial Day weekend Saturday. Thanks to Jim for hosting.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Whatizzit?

I like plants that are a bit off the beaten path. Something that make you wonder “what on earth is that?” It occurred to me as I was arranging this vase I had most likely never seen any of these plants prior to moving to Florida almost 10 years ago. I would have said “Whatizzit?” about this one.

The vase is a thrift store find I have enjoyed for years, simple enough to set off a group of mad tropical flowers and foliage. Here are some closer views of the flowers:

The white flowers are ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea; red flowers are Nodding or Sleeping or Turks Cap Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus) – so many names, I am not sure which one is right. Red and black foliage is from Piecrust Croton (Codiuem varigatum)

Here is the other side. The Lobsterclaws and the big gold leat are from, yes, the Lobsterclaw Bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana). These are a very common landscape Bromeliad around here. I cut some stems of the lower part of the flower. The flowers are a bit difficult to imagine and about four feet tall.

Here they are in the garden:

Happy Monday from South Florida.

To see more vases from around the world, visit our intrepid hostess, Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.

Six on Saturday – Fruit, Flowers and Foliage

The heat and humidity have gone into hyperdrive here. Highs over 90 (F) / 32 (C) for the next few days. The dog days of summer are here and my dogs have the right idea, reclining in air conditioned comfort. Not a good time to be in the garden, though I am thankful for the shade trees.

My first image today is a tree planted to shade my driveway about seven years ago, starting to really take over now. This is the fruit and foliage of Gumbo Limbo (Bursea simaruba)

The Gumbo Limbo has a hard cane Dendrobium orchid growing on its trunk. My neighbor brought this to me and it is just starting to root into the trunk. It should bloom in the winter with 4 or 5 foot long sprays of flowers. I am really looking forward to seeing this! The tree is sometimes called the Tourist Tree – because the bark looks like peeling, sunburned skin. I tied in onto the tree with pantyhose, you can see these on the right side of the image.

Duranta “Sapphire Showers” is a reliable summer bloomer. I planted this for butterflies, they love the nectar.

A new plant in the garden. Meet Aerva ‘Red Velvet’. I like a bit of burgundy foliage in the garden and it is a difficult plant to find that will grow in frying sugar sand. This is a ‘native’ of gravelly sand from India and a medicinal herb there. I am not going to eat any, but have taken several cuttings to propagate and spread throughout the garden.

This is Allamanda, creeping over from my neighbor. These are pretty – and very hard to get rid of. The sap from the vine is supposedly used by tribes in the rainforest for poison darts.

Interesting foliage today is the new growth on a Piecrust Croton (Codiaeum variegatum) The older foliage eventually is black with green, yellow and red varigation.

That’s it! Six plants and one dog image. From South Florida. To see more Six on Saturday posts visit Jon the Propagator at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com

Happy Gardening and stay cool!

Six on Saturday – Florida Foliage Fun

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There is some marvelously funky foliage that can be grown in Florida. I have succumbed to more that one plant for its foliage alone. The flowers, for the most part, are less than inspiring. Above is a Mammey Croton (Codieaum varigegatum ‘Mammey’). These are dwarf and grow to about 3 feet. They are a foundation planting next to my peach painted house. It’s  tropical fun.

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The leaves of a Louisiana Red Copperleaf (Acalphya wilkesiana ‘Louisiana Red’) These are new to my garden, six feet is the mature height, I hope. They are at the back of the butterfly garden.

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This is a ‘Raggedy Ann’ Copperleaf, it wasn’t big enough as a mass of color and not being able to find another I put the Louisiana Red beside it. I think this will work out.

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Six on Saturday would not be complete without including a Bromeliad. This is a unnamed Neoregelia I enjoy for its  color and size, it is about 2 feet wide.

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Another Croton, the Piecrust Croton. Planted in honor of my husband, the piemaker. The leaf edges are crimped like a piecrust.

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The groundcover in my Rainforest garden is Zebrina Wandering Jew (Transcandentia zebrina) a common interior hanging basket plant. This is nearly indestructible and thrives in sugar sand.

That’s my six for this Saturday. To see more SOS posts from the world over, visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Seasonal Shift

I am joining The Propagator today in posting six items of interest from my garden. This Saturday I am noting the season shifting from dry to rainy. We have had inches of rain in the past couple of days provided by thunderstorms. The mosquitoes came out with a vengence as did the humidity and some flowers I haven’t seen in a while.

The first flowers on the Frangipani (Plumeria spp). These are planted near my back porch and the fragrance drifts by when the door is opened.

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Dayflowers  (Commelina erecta) starting the season. I like these, a native wildflower that just pops up here and there in my garden. The pink foliage is from a nearby native Darrowi Blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii)

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Flowers and new foliage on the Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera) Eventually these flowers form long hanging bunches of small grapes. They taste like figs, I leave them for the birds as the seeds are huge.

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Another scented flower on the other side of my porch. The Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata), a lovely flower and great butterfly nectar plant.

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The Desert Roses (Adenium obesum) were repotted a few weeks ago and are showing their approval of my work. I will prune them in a couple of weeks.

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Some new foliage color I added to the garden. This is a Java White Copperleaf (Acalphya wilkesiana ‘Java White’). I am not usually a fan of varigated plants, but I like this one.

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That’s my Six for Saturday. To see more visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

I hope everyone is holding up in their solo gardening pursuits. I have been weeding, actually clearing is a more accurate term, beds and planted almost all my spare parts (plants in pots waiting for a home). There is going to be a dilemma when I run out of spare parts.

In a Vase on Monday – Vibrant Colors

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The flowers I started the arrangement with seemed especially vivid today. Maybe it’s the overcast skies or the first flowers of the season make them feel more vibrant; but the Nodding Hibiscus (at the bottom of the arrangement) looks really red (to me). I added the big green leaf (White Bird of Paradise) to calm things down; then realized it was getting a little Christmasssy – that is probably not a word.

Back to the garden, I love a little grey-green in anything and spotted spiky seedheads forming on the Leonitis. Cut the biggest ones and they are sharp like a pinecone. Red, green, yellow and black varigated foliage should be celebrated, so I added a cutting of Mammey Croton and for more red, a sprig of Firecracker Plant. Four plants produce a lot of punch in one little crystal vase.

Closer views: My oldest  brother, who passed on several years ago, gave me the heavy crystal vase for Christmas. I have enjoyed it and think of him with each use.

The spikey ball is the going to seed flower of the annual Leonitis (Leonitis nepetifolia). I am a bit confused about this plant. There is another one, considered perennial in Florida called Leonitis leonurus. One or the other or perhaps both seem to be smoked by people in Africa for fun. Something called Dagga. I am not smoking it, like Bill Clinton, I was not meant to inhale. (American joke, sorry – Bill swore he never inhaled Marijuana, despite admitting to smoking it)

The multicolored foliage is from Mammey Croton (Codiaeum varigateum ‘Mammey); fine textured grassy foliage with red bell shaped flowers is Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformus); red flowers are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus penduliflorus) and the  big green leaf – White Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia nicolai).

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Greens, reds, golds and textures in a vase on Monday. To see more vases visit Cathy at  MORE VASES

Happy Gardening.

In a Vase on Monday – Winter Cheer

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Our air conditioner has been running today, this always seems odd to me given the month is February. This explains why I have Summer flowers to provide Winter cheer. It’s warm in South Florida!

Despite the black vase, the colors of the flowers are so bright and happy and the foliage is Pineapple Sage – It’s like a bowl of summer radiating an herbal fruity scent of the tropics in my foyer. During the completion of the arrangement I had to relocate two whitish green garden spiders  (with the long front legs) outside and suffer a proper foliage selection dither (chartreuse or deep green?) Pineapple Sage won based on color and scent.  I was cheered by this vase once I finished it.

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The vase is a thrift store find I have enjoyed tremendously, I hope whoever made it feels the happiness it generates for me. I placed a glass flower frog inside the vase to support my Zinnias; they are oddly short stemmed (day length not long enough?) A majority of the flowers were grown from seed by me. This is a first for me as I usually buy plants and not seeds. The seeds were a bit of work – the results have been fun to witness.

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There are two colors from the Texas Vintage Rose Celosia mix hanging over the edge, the  jury is still out on this series of seed. The plants are just not that attractive, and in my heart, I think Celosia is weird. Trying to keep an open mind as is does thrive in my sugar sand. So far, anyway, I will be interested to see what summer brings.

The Zinnias are a mystery – I  planted several kinds of seeds and these don’t really look like any of the pictures on the seed packets. Yellow and red Gallardia (Gallardia pulchella) and a seedhead are stalwarts in my garden and provide nectar  for many butterflies – the Tropical Red Salvia  (Salvia coccinea) in the background (in peachy mode) does as well. The thick stems with blue flowers are Blue Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicaensis) another amazing nectar plant for butterflies. The backdrop of fragrant chartreuse foliage is from Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) there is a red Pineapple Sage flower in there as well.

I have been having trouble commenting on blogspot blogs  – if anyone knows how to fix this please let me know! Thanks.

Happy Gardening!