Tag Archives: quesnelia bromeliads

Six on Saturday – Fruits and Broms

Spring is in full force in South Florida. It takes some keen observation to detect it, but it is here. The Live Oaks are spewing pollen and putting out new growth. Palms are as well. Palm pollen is an odd thing, it seems to travel in splatters. My car is not enjoying the spatters landing on the windshield and body. Sigh. Such is life in the garden.

I’m joining the SOS gang to share my garden’s spring bounty. Visit Jim at GardenRuminations to visit more gardens.

This is a fruit and a brom. The beginnings of a pineapple. A member of the bromeliad family. Homegrown pineapple is amazingly good. This was grown from the top of a grocery store pineapple.

Quesnelia testudo, a bromeliad sometimes referred to as the tulip of South Florida. These have very sharp foliage. I like them but don’t want any more. I remember picking them up after someone threw them out. Now I know why. Ouch!

The low bromeliad bed in full color. These change to deeper greens in summer. Taller burgundy plants in back are Aechmea ‘Burgundy’ (very original name!) lighter green with red centers are Neoregelia carolinae, smaller burgundy plants are ‘Superfireball’ Neoregelia – a very original name. One of my favorites, not sharp and grows nearly anywhere.

What’s this? It looks like a green pecan to me. However, this is Brad’s Atomic Grape Tomato. I am still having some difficulty discerning when they are ripe. I think my mind may be playing tricks on me. They seem to taste nutty.

Nam Doc Mai mangoes coming along..

A tropical ending for SOS. This is a Shell Ginger peeking out from under its lush foliage. Alpinia zerumbet.

That is all from my South Florida garden. Happy Spring!!

In a Vase on Monday – Bromo-Seltzer

If there was ever a cure for winter garden blahs, it’s finding a few bromeliads in bloom. Bromo-Seltzer was actually widely considered a hangover cure and was sold in the US until the mid 70s, when it was determined to be poisonous (sort of). I have this feeling my father took it and then moved over to Alka-Seltzer.

It has been grey, overcast and rainy for most of the past week. We have had to wear pants (gasp!), long sleeves and the occasional sweatshirt. The true native Floridians have broken out down jackets (it’s 65F). I finally got out in the garden to do some pruning this morning and stumbled over these beauties. The rain has given many plants a growth spurt and they are growing when they usually don’t, requiring more pruning.

The cast of the cure:

Some call these the tulips of South Florida. They usually bloom a bit later, similar to early tulips. These seem more like fruity drumstick candy for Barbie to me. They are Quesnelia testudo bromeliads, the foliage has such sharp tips I would be hesitant to plant any more.

Purple flowers are Portea ‘Candy’ bromeliads; the foliage behind them is Aechmea blanchetiana, showing winter coloration (foliage is usually chartreuse). Green foliage is from Asparagus Fern (Asparagus aethiopicus). This is considered invasive here and I find them once in a blue moon. The vase was a gift from my brother. It is heavy enough to hold these weighty flowers.

Hoping for blue skies and fair weather.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly meme. Visit her at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for links to vases from other gardeners around the world.

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 – 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!

A Week in Flowers – Day One

I have been inivted to share flowers from my garden daily for a week by Cathy at Words and Herbs on WordPress. The idea is to brighten winter days and add some color to our cyberworld. Follow this link to see more flowers from around the world. https://wp.me/p1RJ1n-5Ya

I have chosen winter tropicals from my South Florida garden for today. Above is Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) a favorite of mine that can flower three times a year if in the mood.

This is a winter flowering Bromeliad, Quesnelia testudo. I think of these as tulips for the tropical garden. They flower in February and March and are reliable for returning and increasing in mass over time. The downside? One very sharp thorn on the end of every leaf.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. Happy Gardening or flower watching this week.

In A Vase on Monday – Tropical Blues

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It’s Sunday afternoon in South Florida and we are having a rare rainy day with temperatures in the 40s (F). It’s damp and dreary and my greyhounds are grumpy because they have been cooped up in the house all day. Alan (the greyhound, not my husband) went into the backyard, jumped into the air put both paws over his head and threw his collar off and onto the ground burying it in the sand in disgust.

We have the tropical blues. No sun and no blue skies today. Some Kissy Fish and a new Bromeliad in a blue vase will cheer things up.

I was pleased to find the small Pink Bromeliads (Quesnelia testudo) I planted last fall starting to flower this week. Another one of my mystery plants, bought nameless (3 for five bucks!) at a Botanical Garden sale, I thought these were something else entirely, but the Quesnelia have worked out quite well and flower in mid winter here. Someday I will have a drift of Pink Bromeliads under my Shell Gingers.

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Not wishing to venture out in the rain again, I cut the rest of this vase from containers on my front porch. Joining the Quesnelia are: in pink and chartreuse foliage, Alabama Sunset Coleus; chartreuse flowers from Culinary Dill, the darker fine textured foliage is Copper Fennel from the herb containers and a bit of grey Flapjack Kalanchoe flowers and Asian Sword Fern foliage. The blue glass footed vase is a family heirloom.

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The Kissy Fish are part of my husband’s collection of unusual ceramics. The artist is Steven Smeltzer of Maui.

Speaking of my husband – he has been in the kitchen this afternoon seeking to cure our case of the Tropical Blues. Baking a Blueberry Pie:

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I am sure to feel better after dessert.