Tag Archives: Flaming Torch Bromeliad

Six on Saturday – Rainy Season Up!

The rainy season in South Florida officially starts June 1. And it has! One day early. Which is a good thing, because the garden was getting parched. I toured the garden before the rain started to fall and the typically clear blue skies were overcast – one look at radar confirmed it, water would be falling from the sky shortly. Rain Dance successful. My six images today reflect typical garden sights that start the season. To see more tours with six items of interest from the garden the world over, visit Jim at GardenRuminations

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A sure sign of a quenching rain. New growth on Mango trees. This happens when the fruit is nearly ripe. It reminds me of fall color, a rare sight in South Florida.

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Rangpur limes coming along. I fertilized all the fruit trees ahead of the rain. They are very happy.

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Wildflowers are making their presence known. This is a White mouth Day flower (Commelina erecta) I have no idea where it came from, but I enjoy these every summer.

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This is Vitex trifolia, a Chastetree that grows this far South. I planted this for butterflies. They like it. I have mixed feelings, it is difficult to prune into anything attractive. I am considering a round bush concept.

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The great indestructible Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana).

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Another harbinger of the rainy season. These are either called Flaming Torch or Hurricane Bromeliads (Billbergia pyramidalis). I prefer Flaming Torch, if the light hits them just right – that is exactly what they look like.

SOS mission complete! Happy Summer!

In a Vase on Monday – Flaming Torch Parfait

More tropical madness from my garden. I know the peak of hurricane season is upon us when I see the Flaming Torch Bromeliads in bloom. September 10 is peak day. The Five Day Tropical Outlook looks good for now, so life is good. The parfait glass is a perfect container for the heavy flowers. I inherited this glass from my mother-in-law, who collected Colony pattern Fostoria glass. This is a juice or parfait glass, my husband’s fond memory of these glasses is they were filled with butterscotch pudding.

A closer view:

There is a good reason to call this Flaming Torch. It is also called Hurricane Bromeliad, due to its flowering time. These are not quite open and elongate a bit as they open. The latin name is Billbergia pyramidalis.

The support staff of the Torch…I decided to accent the purple tones in the flower with ‘Purple Prince’ Alternanthera foliage and a sprig of Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana). The white flowers are Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica), added for fragrance.

I mentioned hearing the return of the Sand Hill Cranes for winter (I use that term loosely) a couple of vases ago. Here is a photo of the birds, they were walking through a neighboring yard. They are probably three feet tall.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. To see more vases, visit http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Raindrop Close ups

I am joining the SOS crowd this morning, celebrating a very recent rain shower in my garden. The weather guessers predicted a much wetter September (usually our rainiest month). On this third day of the month, they are right.

I have been attempting to watch the Artemis 1 rocket launch this week; depending on weather the launches are visible from my backyard. If we see them my husband is usually squealing “this is so cool!!!!” This is NASA’s run up to another manned trip to the moon in a couple of years. The first attempt was scrubbed on Tuesday and the second is scheduled for this afternoon. Currently it is overcast, so time will tell. If the weather clears and the launch happens I may see a rocket fly by this afternoon.

On to plants:

Esperanza (Tecoma stans). Sometimes called Yellow Elder. This plant amazes me. It had virtually no water and a very dry summer and it just keeps going.

The base of Travelers Palm (Ravenala madagascarensis). Another survivor with very little watering. I love the base of these. This is a member of the Strelitzia family related to Bird of Paradise.

Aechmea rubens in the final stages of flowering. I have never heard a common name for this. This bromeliad started flowering at the end of May, lasting all summer. I am wondering if the black tips are seeds?

These bromeliads are just starting to flower. They are Billbergia pyramidalis and have many common names – Flaming Torch, Hurricane, Foolproof Plant, Summer Torch. They are foolproof if planted in the right spot. I enjoy these every fall.

A mystery bromeliad in full bloom. This has lasted most of the summer.

Dancing Ladies Ginger (Globba winitii). My garden is too dry to support these, so I grow them in a pot. The plant is dormant during the dry season, then pops up mid June and flowers late summer. A neighbor gave me this plant. I think I will upsize the pot to see the plant will spread.

That’s it from South Florida. To see more SOS posts, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!!

A Week in Flowers – Day Four – More Broms.

Joining Cathy at http://www.wordsandherbs.wordpress.com for Day Four of AWIF. Follow the link to see more floral loveliness. I am featuring more Bromeliad madness from my garden. Above is Aechmea miniata, a favorite of mine as it is a reliable summer bloomer and really funky. A closer view:

Another summer favorite the Torch or Hurricane Bromeliad, it flowers at the peak of hurricane season and looks like a torch.

Happy Saturday from South Florida.

In a Vase on Monday – Torched

When September starts winding down and the Fall Equinox approaches there is an ever so subtle change in the weather and South Floridians feel less torched. Or maybe less scorched. The daily high temperatures are less than 90 degrees F/32 C. Eighty eight degrees with less humidity is refreshingly cooler. Sort of.

While searching for vase contents, I was happy to see a new bough of flowers on the Tropical Gardenias, then decided to cut the Flaming Torch Bromeliads as the centerpiece of the arrangement. The flowers are most likely courtesy of many late afternoon thundershowers in the past weeks.

A closer view:

The pink flowers are Flaming Torch Bromeliads (Billbergia pyramidalis), AKA Hurricane Bromeliads as they typically flower during peak Atlantic hurricane season. These are sort of a passalong plant in South Florida. I cannot recall ever seeing one for sale, these were shared with me.The white flowers are Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana diviricata) – I am wondering how long these will flower, it seems I have had them most of the summer off and on. Green dreadlocks and varigated foliage belong to the ‘Java White’ Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana). I am not sure it the dreadlocks are buds or seeds or flowers, so I took a close up.

Any thoughts? I have three groups of Java White in the garden and this is the only one with dreadlocks. The mystery continues.

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly meme. To see more, probably cooler vases, follow the link.

Happy Gardening!!

A Week of Flowers – Sunday

Cathy, who blogs at Words and Herbs, challenged us to post a flower image every day for a week to disperse some of the gloom and doom we are facing this winter. Flowers are a wonderful thing..

This is the flower of the Flaming Torch Bromeliad (Billbergia pyramidalis) Locals call this Hurricane Bromeliad as it flowers during the hurricane season. Mine bloomed twice this summer, the last time a couple of weeks ago. Hurricane season runs until November 30.

Six on Saturday. Summer Tropicals

I decided to join the Six on Saturday meme at The Propagator’s blog this week. I live and blog in South Florida. Having been down here a while, I still think a lot of the flora is weird but cool. Here are six tropicals blooming in my garden this week:

Flaming Torch Bromeliad. A common and colorful addition to our late summer gardens.

Billbergia pyramidalis.

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Beautyberry, a native shrub with magnificent fruit.

Calliocarpa americana. 00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BUbeautyberry

One of my very favorite Bromeliads, reliable and so funky. And a great cut flower.

Aechmea miniata.

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Late summer brings Cattleya Orchids to the garden, the next ones will be huge, white and fragrant. These grow in my neighbor’s Hong Kong Orchid (Bauhinia) tree.00100lportrait_00100_burst20190710131119708_cover

Another common summer flowering Bromeliad. Little Harv.

Aechmea ‘Little Harv’

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More Florida funkness, this is a Jatropha – called Coral Plant usually and considered a novelty, flowering off and on all summer.

Jatropha multifida.

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Happy Gardening Saturday and thanks to The Propagator for hosting.

Funky Florida Flora – Flaming Torch Bromeliad

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Right about the time the Hurricane season begins to peak, as in today! The Flaming Torch Bromeliads start to flower. Some people call these Hurricane Bromeliads for that reason. Most people call them Torch or Flaming Torch Bromeliads, the botanists call them Billbergia pyramidalis.

These are common passalong plants in Florida and possibly the most common Bromeliad in the landscape. Hardy to 20 degrees, reliable flowering and blooming in groups lasting for a couple of weeks in late summer makes this a good plant to gift a friend.

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Foliage is on the yellow side of light green, making a good contrast with the bright flowers. This plant is best sited in well-drained partial shade and will happily climb trees, converting from a terrestrial to an epiphytic plant.00100lportrait_00100_burst20190820135843791_cover.