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What's outside of your picture window today?
Just Want to Talk | Last Active: Nov 9 8:02am | Replies (2396)Comment receiving replies
Good morning Elizabeth - What a lovely display of "rescues" - when I move to Texas, I have to leave mine behind in the tender care of the young woman next door. She comes weekly to water, trim and take pictures of anything unfamiliar to her.
The flowering plant is either dipladenia or mandevilla - at most garden centers the term is used interchangeably. Both vine, the flowers look the same, but mandevilla tend to have smaller leaves when young and are much more aggressive in sending long tendrils tat wind around everything. Dipladenia are much more polite and can be maintained in quite a bushy form.
I'm trying and experiment this year - when I trimmed the tropical hibiscus to bring them indoors, I dipped the cuttings in rooting hormone and put into pots of starter soil. I brought them to Texas, where we will plant them out in February (because January nights can be a bit too cold for them.)
Another experiment - I saved the seeds at home from all the tall perennials that will grow here - last year I set up gro-lights in the living room - will start the seeds in January & we will plant them out around the fences in the park to replace some of the volunteer trees that were sprouting (they damage the fences as they grow).
When I am not up to my elbows in side dishes for dinner, I will try to get pictures of the blue mistflower that our butterflies love. It survived the first summer thanks to my neighbor, and should be good to grow on its own by next summer. Also a tropical red salvia...
Have a great day - I am so glad you are back on the patio and tending your babies.
Sue
Replies to "Good morning Elizabeth - What a lovely display of "rescues" - when I move to Texas,..."
@sueinmn, @johnbishp,@francis007, and all...
Well, my dear friends, Jackso ville, Florida is getting a 2nd year with a hard chill in November!!! Last year caught me and many off guard and I lost several plants I truly loved....as I mentioned last note. We've been enjoying nice, soft rainy days for a couple weeks, but this week tonight will go into the 40s and tomorrow night, Tuesday, into the 30s.!!! That's cold for us...usually we see those ##in January, February...never November!
So. Yesterday I pretty much guarantee I'd be in a bunch more pain all night...yes!...and a repeat tonight. Yesterday, after bringing upstairs my heavy ta le for my tree, I brought upstairs to my BR the succulents I had at the front door. They'd never make it through tbe night, so I brought it upstairs...mandevilla- a tropical flowering vine, 2 varieties of snake plant, a very productive spider plant. It is ready for repotting and is very heavy.
I also, Sue, realized why my Christmas cactus, it is a Christmas one, isn't budding yet. Last year it was full of buds by now. I have growing lights in the den on 24/7, so she never had a chance to enjoy lower light! Well, it's in my BR now, getting long evenings and nights, SO...I'll soon see flowering, hopefully. No more in my BR now. It's full with just enough plants.
Here are pictures...yes, you can laugh at .y antics. Give you permission!
Blessings. Elizabeth
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@sueinmn, @johnbishop, and all...Hello, Sue! I've missed your fun plant posts! I've been a bit offline for a while but as you see with my rescues, my body is up and a bit more active. I didn't work with my plants for far too long...indication of health, eh?
Mandevilla!!!! Yes! I love that crazy vine, I've wanted one for my back fence, may transplant this baby from the hanging basket it's in now in the Spring. This basket has 2 different and unusual snake plants that drew me to it as well...and it was so sad when I bought it half price. I was pleased to find it and get the grouping that I really like! Good additions to my collection.
How do your hibiscus do wintering inside? I actually lost 2 lovely hibiscus early last winter in an unusually early frost for us. In November! We never have frost until January. Maybe late December. And never a hard cold or freeze then but last winter caught us by surprise. I wasn't well and all my babies had to survive on their own. Hibiscus didn't, nor a few other tropicals. Lost my 10year old Vanda orchid! Cried for her. Had planted a hibiscus at the side of my building, in ground, and while it was hurt, it survived. Potted ones died. My large ginger was damaged but came back nicely with trimming, water and love...in ground under my live oak tree.
My Crown of Thorns, I've had since a ba y about 25+ years ago, was touched but is thriving and spreading now. Same with my pony tail PM, about same age...both on patio in large pots...love them and can't stand thought of hurting them. They are truly my babies!!!!
Have a night blooming cactus that's taking off...saved from a neighbors yard after her death. It's taken 2 years for it to like its new home, but think I'll have opening in the summer. I need advice re my Christmas?? Cactus...beautiful and healthy, but no buds. Why?
I hope the rootings will do well. Bet they love Arizona. ❤️
Sounds like you're having fun in the sun. Have a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends. My son and I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at my church for the 1st celebration for us in 20 years! Wow...that tells you how much help we're finally getting after all these years of battling the system to find proper help. Well, Mayo came through. I'm having iv iron infusions next week that will make me a new woman! His hematologist is searching to find answers to wonky bloodwork...so we're getting great help!
Be well, my friend. Blessings. Elizabeth