Well this is whats in my FL garden, or at least a pot on my patio. It is, or course, a huge cuban tree frog. Biggest I have ever had. I usually freeze them, but this one is just to big for me to do that. What really got me, is the frog on its back. They are not mating...thats for the spring, this smaller frog ( the male) is just always on the bigger frogs back. Ive tried to catch them in the pool too.
Does anyone know anything about this piggy back behavior? I wish a snake would just eat it. If you enlarge either of the last two pictures, you can see the other frog.
I was reading that in the jungles, these frogs lay eggs in foam nest that hang over the river, when it rains, the foam gets soft and and the eggs fall to the river. Its really kinda interesting that this one is on a foam block in a planter. Im afraid it isnt going to melt tho.

Oh that's weird Pam. I've never heard anything about the piggy back thing. That looks like a toad on the cuban's back. Am I seeing that correctly? If so, maybe the toad is trying to kill the cuban?????

Not sure, Pam but it's possible they don't just mate in the spring. I find frog eggs in my pond all summer, but I don't know if they're Cuban Tree frog eggs. I do have several kinds of frogs. I'm pretty sure the Cubans lay eggs directly in water, as I've had baby Cubans in my pond area. Luckily my fish take care of most of the tadpoles before they mature.

If you can't catch this big one easily, spraying her/them with some Benzocaine spray (like Solarcaine or anything with 'caine' in the name) will make them go to sleep, then you can catch and freeze them easily.

The Silk Floss Trees generally bloom after 4+ years. Last year was its first flowering and I had ONE bloom. If DH hadn't been observant enough to take a picture when he came home one day, I might have missed it. And I had one tree before which turned out to be a Kapok tree, and I had to get rid of it (they get as big as a house here) so I was quite anxiously waiting for the blooms to show me I had the 'right' tree this time.

Traveled to Sarasota yesterday where I found the MG plant Sale & Elaine. Yes, it was a planned encounter. A FL Spinach followed me home. Beautiful day for a drive & wonderful seeing all the tropical down here that won't survive the winters in JAX area.

Nice. Good eating down there too. Someone mentioned a great quilt shop
Sounds like a plan!!!! Im blank on when that big plant sale in Tampa is. We could make it a trifecta of over doing it.

The grass and weeds have got to get mowed today, the heat wasnt working for me last week, not after the teasing of cool.

Great to meet you, Jean, and next time I'll hopefully have time to do garden tours with you. It was a busy day yesterday, as you saw! I came home with no new plants! By the end of the sale I was pooped, and there wasn't much of interest left anyway.

Forgot to mention, there is a big USF Fall Plant Festival going on this weekend at the USF Botanical gardens in Tampa, too.
http://gardens.usf.edu/data/fa...

My big Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi' is putting on a show. Surprising considering I recently found out it is suffering from Fusarium, as are all my big old brugs. They've been slowly declining, making smaller leaves and not growing for a while now, but bloom? Amazing. I was about to roust him out of the pot and send him to the great beyond when I noticed all the buds . . .

Alright...so Im a day late and dollar short. Whats new.

I think they have a spring sale as well.

Many plants will have a 'last gasp' blooming period when they are ailing.

I always thought it was to try to make as much seed as possible, because it knew it was almost dead.

I always heard that too. Bloom big to make seed to continue the species.

I believe it, too. Well, this surely may be the 'swan song' for this particular plant but I just can't bring myself to hack it up and throw it away when it is still able to bloom. Two things will happen - either it will bloom again in November if the weather stays warm enough, or if it gets cold, it will stop blooming which will allow its wimpy soft-hearted owner to give it the axe.

I have two more large white ones, and the humungous pink one just starting to break out into bloom, too . . .

Can you at least save a few cuttings?

Hetty, the moderator over on the Brug forum is JT Sessions, a brug breeder for many years. He says the infection is throughout the whole plant, so any cutting would also have it.

So, sadly I have ditched all the (many) cuttings I have sitting around in jars and vases with great balls of roots. I'm planning to start fresh next spring with healthy new plants and some new varieties, and might even treat myself to a double one.

Frankly, it will be a bit of a relief to not worry about covering these huge plants this winter.

That's a bummer!

Aw, that's too bad Elaine. I can however see both sides & I can imagine it would be nice to have a winter off from babysitting the brugs.

Today a big flush on the white brug 'Monster White' but you can see its small, pale leaves and how few there are.


Begonias really come into their own once the weather cools off, isn't it wonderful? !! First two are a cutting I just stuck in a pot after I broke it off the mother plant in August. Blooming already. Third is Begonia 'Looking Glass' which doesn't show up well in photos, but has the most amazing silver metallic leaves with deep green centers and red backs.

I love the looking glass begonias Elaine. They are so striking even when not in bloom.

I spent all morning at the Extension Office cutting back some dead & diseased Crepe Myrtles. There had been huge oaks growing up & over them. We had those removed earlier this year. Found the CMs were deformed & others had totally dead limbs. Today was the 1st day cool enough to get out there & work on them. Sure wish they would let us have a chain saw!!!! Did 6 today & about that many to get to next week (much smaller). We took 3 loads to the dump & prob 3 more out there.

Of course nothing got done in my yard today!!!!! Only have a couple hours before another appointment. Maybe I'll get some weeds pulled.

Sure is nice to work in the cooler temps.

You've been working hard Jean.

Isn't this weather gorgeous?

I thought it was someone on the Fl. forum, maybe you Jean, who said they collect the leaves in a big black garbage bag & just let them sit over the winter & then in spring it's compost??? I'd like some details about that if it was someone on here. Do you tie the bag closed? Leave it in sun or just anywhere?

I have a huge sycamore tree that's going to lose all it's leaves & I'd like to make use of them.