Friday, September 30, 2016

Favorite plants for the end of September

If you know me  or have read this blog for any length of time  you know I love summer and have a hard time leaving it behind. If life could continue on in perpetual summer I would be a very happy camper. However since the writing is on the wall, I'm trying to come to terms with reality. Trying.

Thinking about which plants to feature today I'm struck by a few that are forging ahead, winter be damned. Like the ever optimistic Tetrapanax papyrifer, once again it's starting to push out bud clusters and begin the race against Mother Nature to get those flowers open before a freeze zaps them limp.

Will this be the year?

And check out the Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana)...that I wrote about on Tuesday.

After blooming earlier in the summer it's finally forming fruit (at least I think that is what's going on here, there is another plant, which also bloomed, just a few feet away).

They look to have a long way to go before they're edible, kinda risky in late September. Ticktock ticktock...

This Euphorbia was an unrooted cutting when given to me. Now it's putting out new growth...

If you know what it is I'd love an ID...

The point where the older, blue/grey, growth meets the new bright green growth is terribly cool. I've enjoyed watching this develop.

There is even a little side nubbin!

My Stapelia has two huge buds...

Problem is I had to move it from where it was hanging on the front of garage and in the course of doing so there was an accident. This whole section, now tucked into the to of another container, was broken off the mother plant.

This bud was prematurely popped open in the fall.

Two sections of plant were snapped off. This large piece and another smaller one, which I'll be giving to a friend.

I hope there's enough energy stored up in there to open the buds as they would have done if still attached. We shall see.

In "non-blooming" favorites I really liked the way the Passiflora 'Sunburst' has worked it's way around the wire loops I hung in the Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ — so much so I'm (almost) forgiving it for not sending out any of those fabulous orange flowers.

Lots a leaves...

Some of them quite large.

Hey! Maybe I'll get a few flowers after all...

After finding those little buds I searched this tropical Passiflora — P. rovirosa'Purple Tiger' — for any signs of pending bloom. I got nothin! Since I have to dig it to overwinter indoors, it better hurry up and do something, or else it risks getting left out to freeze...

Below the Passiflora is Echium candicans 'Death Star', also not hardy and there will be no attempt to overwinter it...

I enjoyed that fabulous foliage for the summer and something else will take its place next year.

Only a couple of branches revered to solid green. If it was going to live I would have removed them.

This is fun! My Nolina Microcarpa bloomed last spring (photos here) and the first few leaves that emerged post bloom ended up squiggled.

Imagine if the whole plant was squiggly! Okay that might be a bit much.

These are very cool though...

Wrapping up this rambling post is a pair of Tillandsia I picked up at the Farwest Show in August. If my photos/memory are correct that's a Straminea thickleaf on the left and Capitata guzmanioides n the right.

I've enjoyed the bit of Lotusland they've brought to Clifford (the Magnolia macrophylla in which they're hanging out)...it's nearing time to take them indoors though...

Okay so this hasn't been much of a "favorites" post, more of a "what's going on in the garden" kinda thing. I guess my mood is showing. After all my favorite is still summer.

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

26 comments:

  1. It may not look like summer in your garden to you, but it sure does to me. The piles of leaves that are suddenly blowing around the garden and driveway are a sure sign here that fall is really here. To say nothing of the fading plants.

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    1. For the most part it's still looking summery here, there are just telltale signs...like the piles of leaves in the front garden from the neighbor's dogwood...(that the camera avoided...).

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  2. Your garden is beautiful, so many plants, trees and glorious shades of green, they all look wonderful in the sunlight and shaded areas.
    Happy gardening!
    xoxoxo. ♡

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting Dianne!

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  3. I'm sorry you have to worry about frost this early in the fall but your garden seems oblivious - everything looks very, very happy. I love the leaves on that 'Sunburst' passionflower and I'm going to have to look for that 'Death Star' Echium during my fall plant shopping expeditions.

    While your post celebrates your summer stars, mine could be described as a celebration of my summer survivors. Fall has been temporarily side-lined here but I'm looking forward to those cooler temps and the possibility of rain. Here's my favorites post: http://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2016/09/september-plant-favorites.html

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    1. Oh no frost yet, not until late November (hopefully). The rains come long before any fear of frost so that starts me down the path of fall thinking, you know...getting all the succulents under cover out of the rain. And those Tetrapanax blooms are just so so so slow to get pushed out and open.

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  4. It's hard to see summer coming to a close. Ticktock tetrapanax at my place too. Maybe we'll get a really mild season that starts with a "W" this year. Come on little passiflora buds, get busy!

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    1. Everyone seems to be feeling this winter is going to be the real deal...we shall see!

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  5. Still going strong, Danger. Summer will be with us for a while yet, right? Let us hope.

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    1. Hope indeed. It's another sunny (chilly) day out there!

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  6. All this talk about bringing things indoors is getting me down. It's more fun to stretch the summer out as long as possible and panic for a day or two getting things in, isn't it? ;)

    Love the little dots on the passiflora leaves...

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    1. There are many phases to my "winterization" and one of them is put off until the last minute. That's when I finally look at the non-hardy things I put in the ground and decided if anything needs to be dug. There's no way I could wait until the last minute for everything. Just wouldn't work.

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  7. Great stuff. Thanks for lending a hand to the 'Sunburst' leaves. I think you've done it before, but it still shocks me to see how large those cool leaves become. Scale is so hard to figure out in photos. I've considered dropping a marble in every photo I take of the garden as a scale marker. Considered......
    The Nolina squiggles are just groovy. A whole plant like that? Yes, please. Just the tips or the entire leaf? I'm ok with either and am ready to purchase if someone had a cultivar like that! Cheers.

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    1. Hopefully some talented breeder will see this post and start working on squiggles!

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  8. I have a bunch of faves all lined up waiting to post but Wordpress is giving me fits right now. Maybe I'll catch up with you later. Your September roundup is very tasty.

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    1. Ah darn Wordpress! Maybe you should come over to the "Blogger" side...

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  9. And my favorite is not-summer!

    Nolina 'Squiggles': that would be a must-have.

    For a So-Cal-er, the virtues of the pineapple guava in your climate is that they mostly don't fruit. Here they produce buckets of fruit that fall, rot, and attract flies and rodents. They would make a beautiful patio tree, but for the fruit. Waiting/hoping for a fruitless version...

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    1. A Facebook commenter in New Zealand shared that the fruit is very popular there. What do you think of the taste?

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  10. I really hope this is the year for your Tetrapanax to successfully bloom, because in that case it will also likely be the year for mine. Mine has buds that look to be about 2 weeks further along in the process, and I have high hopes. But not too high, because I've seen your hopes dashed in the past. Crossing fingers for both of us!

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  11. Oh I'm sad your P. 'Sunburst' is lacking flowers this year, but those are great leaves in any case.May Euphorbia grandicornis for your mystery plant ?

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    1. Well maybe those little buds will quickly develop into flowers? Fingers crossed although when I checked on it yesterday they hadn't grown a bit. As for the Euphorbia, thanks! I think you're right.

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  12. Love the squiggles on the Nolina! How cool is THAT???

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  13. And now I have the Little Shop of Horrors song earworm after looking at the Stapelia bud photos.

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