Viewing comments posted by lovesblooms

63 found:

[ Hybrid Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus 'Blue River II') | Posted on September 3, 2015 ]

The main thing I don't like about hibiscus flowers is the red eye. It's not that it's ugly, it's just so commonplace with lighter colored hibiscuses--and it reminds me of Rose of Sharon, which are even more common here.

I winter sowed three of these last year from open-pollinated seed I was fast enough to grab in a group swap, and they all sprouted. Although they attempted to grow, I wasn't attentive enough to keeping away the groundhogs and deer, and they kept being chewed back. This year, though, I was much more protective--and also anxious to discover whether they would come true from seed. I was very excited when the first bloom opened pure white! I got a beautiful show from June to July. I may have gotten a longer bloom if I watered more regularly when we hit a dry spell through July, but I was happy with what I got. I did not spray these but had no rust, although some Lady Baltimore offspring (didn't come true to color) nearby did rust somewhat, in shadier conditions, and I worried it could spread.

They're still out there, getting watered more regularly, although I don't really expect more blooms. Can't wait till next year!

[ Honeywort (Cerinthe major subsp. purpurascens) | Posted on June 11, 2015 ]

i grew this plant years ago. Although I liked its flowers a lot, I didn't cotton to its habit. I've considered growing it again, perhaps behind something that it can grow through. The stems are gangly and very separated from each other, so their effect was a bit odd for me in the front of the bed where I planted it.

[ Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena haageana 'Strawberry Fields') | Posted on May 1, 2015 ]

I love this plant, too. I planted it at the base of a lightpost and it grew four feet high and harmonized very nicely with the gloriosa lilies twining above it. The flowers, and the name gomphrena, remind me of gumdrops. The papery blooms last pretty much forever and there's no need to deadhead: It's always sending up more blooms.

[ Passionflower (Passiflora sanguinolenta) | Posted on March 5, 2015 ]

I truly enjoyed this plant, which I received as rooted and unrooted cuttings from a plant trade last year. I grew two outdoors, and each plant branched nicely and filled a 10" hanging basket that got blazing afternoon sun from around 3:00 to sunset all summer. I watered when it wilted, which wasn't every five minutes. Surprisingly. it liked to use its tendrils to climb up, but I just detached them to let it hang.

The foliage was lush and beautifully shaped, like small green butterflies. The exotic-looking pink flowers didn't smother the plant by any means, but the ones that showed were delightful.

I let the plants dry out when I brought them in for the winter and I'm afraid I've lost them, but I recently decided to soak them and see if anything happens. I'd taken cuttings when I brought them in, but allowed those to dry out, too (sigh).

[ Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus) | Posted on February 24, 2015 ]

Rooted in water this winter from store-bought stalks in about two weeks. Excited!

[ Trumpet Vine (Campsis Summer Jazz™ Fire) | Posted on February 16, 2015 ]

I'm overwintering this plant. It lost all its leaves and I was sure I'd lost it. I let it go completely dry, and in a grow bag that happens pretty easily. Then I noticed new leaves sprouted and regrowing. I've been barely watering it to support the new growth and it's looking as healthy as it did outside in the yard, just with fewer leaves.

[ Sweet-leaved Geranium (Pelargonium fragrans 'Old Spice') | Posted on February 16, 2015 ]

I received this plant in trade this past summer. It's overwintering indoors, and although it doesn't seem very happy under lights and on a heat mat with enough water to keep the roses nearby happy, it's dealing with it without dropping leaves. I've yet to see blooms, but don't mind their absence. The fragrance of the leaves is sweet and spicy--for me it doesn't bring to mind Old Spice, and that's a good thing to my nose!

[ Rose-Scented Geranium (Pelargonium capitatum) | Posted on February 16, 2015 ]

I'm overwintering this plant in the basement right now, having received it in trade this summer. It's raised off the cold floor and under a plant light, but it's probably not much warmer than 50 degrees in the basement, often closer to 40.

When I brought it in, it had grown so much I'd had to cut it back just to make it easier to handle. It has since regrown to the size it was in the ground without being watered more than twice all winter.

Although I've not seen any blooms I literally don't care whether I ever do. Its velvety, ruffled leaves smell just like a citrusy rose to me.

[ Rose (Rosa 'Madame Lombard') | Posted on February 16, 2015 ]

I received this rose as a rooted cutting over the summer and am now overwintering it (it's still small) indoors under lights on a heat mat, with six other similar-sized roses. Aphids have enjoyed nearly every other rose except this one, and it has not lost its foliage, yellowed, or spotted.

[ Toothache Plant (Spilanthes oleracea) | Posted on February 13, 2015 ]

The kids liked taking a tiny nibble off a leaf last season--and so did I. I'm sowing a few more in case it doesn't come back this year. It grew fine in almost complete shade, too.

[ Beardtongue (Penstemon Pike's Peak Purple®) | Posted on February 13, 2015 ]

Sowed seeds from a white version of this plant given to me in trade.

[ Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Ideal Lion Lemon') | Posted on February 5, 2015 ]

Cute little pansy in a clear, fresh lemon yellow, not brash at all. It was blooming in mid-July, in full sun, from winter-sown pelleted seed.

[ Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) | Posted on February 5, 2015 ]

I received a very large potted specimen in a trade. I kept it in a pot in the basement in winter, under one of the windows where it would get some natural light on top of the fluorescents that remain on down there. It decided to begin blooming a few weeks before it was warm enough for it to go outside, and the entire basement smelled wonderful! To bad I didn't have space for it upstairs because by the time I could bring it outdoors it was almost done blooming. But the foliage was pretty anyway.

I can also attest that this is definitely a drought- and shade-tolerant plant. I constantly forgot to water it, and it sat in the corner near our front door where its plastic pot got blasted by blazing hot afternoon sun for a few hours every day and was otherwise shaded. Its leathery, glossy leaves never seemed to wilt, so I didn't usually pay it much attention because it didn't look bad. It's in the basement again this winter, and I wonder if we'll have a jasmine-scented basement this spring.

[ Sage (Salvia 'Ultra Violet') | Posted on February 5, 2015 ]

An interesting story about Ultra Violet: I actually bought six: the first from Park Seed, and five more from High Country Gardens a month or so later, since Park Seed went out of stock.

The one from Park Seed was The Salvia That Launched My Love Affair With Salvias. It was the most exquisite thing I'd ever had in my garden, from the tiny greggii leaves on gently waving stems to this unbelievable jewel tone, constantly shifting shades between velvety violet and satiny-near-blue in the sun. I would just stare at it, enchanted, and eventually realized I had to have more of this plant, right now.

Park Seed's Ultra Violets were out of stock (not two weeks after I'd placed my order), so I ordered five from High Country Gardens instead. I patiently pinched for branching as they grew to match the size of my original one, but when they bloomed I was disappointed. HCG's Ultra Violets were not the same mesmerizing purple as Park Seed's. They were more of a flat violet with pinky tones. Pretty, but not nearly as captivating as my first one, which--judging by color alone--looked like an entirely different salvia among them.

I blame the vast differences in location and plant culture between the two companies, not the companies themselves. But I hope I find the Ultra Violet I lost three years ago, since either they didn't come back the next year or I forgot they were there when digging that spring. Park Seed no longer has it in inventory.

[ Clivia Lily (Clivia miniata 'Belgian Hybrid') | Posted on February 5, 2015 ]

Our clivia was received in a trade and grew indoors. The strappy, glossy deep-green foliage was welcome, but the real treat was when it bloomed. The only other time that happened with a plant we had indoors was with a confederate jasmine that was supposed to be asleep in the basement.

Our clivia sits with the rest of our plants near the front window that only gets direct sunlight in late afternoon. In winter, we've noticed the slow but steady emergence of new leaves. We just water when it's dry.

[ Petunia 'Pop Rocks Yellow' | Posted on February 5, 2015 ]

A cute little petunia with lemony-centered white blooms--the first yellow petunia I'd ever seen. It wasn't as vigorous as I'd hoped. After winter sowing pelleted seeds, I found that it reached its peak bloom in August. But since our spring was so long and mild last year, most things were late. It spread about 8 inches on one side of the basket it was in with portulacas.

[ Coontie (Zamia pumila) | Posted on February 3, 2015 ]

I had to look it up because I was thinking of tying up raccoons when I saw the name. Coontie is a Creek word for "white root/white bread." People from the South probably know this.

[ Clary Sage (Salvia viridis 'Blue Denim') | Posted on February 3, 2015 ]

The bracts on these were just as color-saturated as any other indigo-blue salvia's flowers would be. I enjoyed them planted with S. viridis Pink Sunday in early summer. I didn't think to deadhead because the colored bracts lasted longer than flowers would have, but if I had, I may have gotten another bloom in fall. I believe you can get them both in a seed mix called Marble Arch.

[ Summer Squash-Crookneck (Cucurbita pepo 'Summer Crookneck') | Posted on February 3, 2015 ]

These grew very fast, but were weakened by wilt from cucumber beetles earlier than I expected. These are a bush type, though, so it may be a simple matter of using row covers early on to keep them from falling victim to wilt. It was delicious, though, sauteed or roasted, and quite beautiful. I'll find a pic of it at harvest size shortly.

Although there was always a new squash waiting after we picked one, the wait for them to grow to a reasonable size was longer than for Bennings Green Tint.

[ Oriental Lily (Lilium 'Casa Blanca') | Posted on February 3, 2015 ]

Pure white, immaculate form, up to 6 blooms per stem. A dainty vision with pink roses.

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