Chiranthodendron Pentadactylon (Devil's Hand Tree) - Seeds are now germinating, half are in soil only , half are sprinkled with vermiculite, I soaked them for 24 hours before planting. These are the plant I am most excited about at the moment, there is little or no data for growing them in this climate. I anticipate they will need some extra care and careful placement to simulate cloud forest rather than sub-tropics.
I have one growing indoors at the moment and it remains strong and healthy.
Puya Dyckioides - Salmon/Blue Puya (Argentina) - These are going to be plants everyone will want if I can get them going strong. They should start appearing above the soil in about 3-4 weeks.
Ruellia brittoniana - Mexican Petunia (Purple) - These are considered a pest in Florida as they do so well they force out native wetlands species. They grow easily in this area and look very nice as flower hedges when trimmed correctly. They will try to take over, so be careful! I planted some of them this morning to fill in an area around some of my other flowering hedge plants.
Tecoma stans - 'Gold Star Esperanza' - This variety of Tecoma Stans or "Yellow Elder" is growing in popularity here in zone 9, it begins flowering much earlier than than it's cousins so it is a favorite for, landscaping, & nursery trade. I have planted this in my back yard at the tree line to give it some color, from what I hear from others it tries very hard to take over and is not a good plant to have near the house for this reason. I believe the yellow bell like flowers will off set the natural tree line nicely. I have large area of natural pine woods behind my home, so I will have to control the Gold Star once it takes hold.
Sept 28th 2008
Puya Mirabillis - Lime-Green Dwarf Puya - Seeds are now in the ground, I chose to attempt outdoor germination after all with these. They are in a moderately moist part shade area. Details will follow in a few weeks.
Tacca Chantrieri - More Black Bat Flower seeds arrived today, I have one plant going strong on the lanai, I am careful not to mist it as this will cause it to dry out and die. It seems to enjoy the humid weather and afternoon rain we have been getting recently. I plan to grow many of the Tacca, using the same strategy most would use for orchids in this area.
Oct 4th 2008
I try to avoid paying retail prices for botanical items, nursery visits can be expensive. Unless a plant is unique, hard to find, or too large to ship I generally buy them at wholesale prices or grow them from seed. It was a rainy day and I talked myself into exploring one of our local garden centers. As usual I found a few new oddities for the collection.
I've been getting into Tillandsia (Air Plants)recently, they are interesting, easy to grow and attractive.
These are assorted Tillandsia I picked out today & mounted on a piece of sea shell encrusted limestone (The limestone is our natural bedrock in this area).
Euphorbia Lactea Cristata - I don't know much about these yet, other than it has been grafted, needs full sun, little water and is poisonous, it falls easily into the strange category. I will update once I understand more clearly. I've been calling my new poisonous pet "Audrey" after Seymour's plant in "Little Shop of Horrors."
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