Bloom Day Preview

Last night I realized how long it had been since I made a blog post. Spring sprang and then summer followed right behind.

We'll have a Brugmansia bloom in another night or two, maybe. I failed to mention before that when they first put out new growth, two of the stems fainted and fell over. I never knew why. I cut them off at ground level. The stems looked fine, there was no insect damage nor evidence of disease.

I got the Okra bed dug and seeds planted alphabetically before an inch of rain fell this afternoon. The electricity went off for 2 hours during which I had a nice nap which I needed after all that digging in the sun.

I bought Ferry-Morse seeds: Clear Clemson Superb and Louisiana Green Velvet.




In the Greenhouse, blooming:

My new Pelargonium, which we call zonal geranium.

Pentas cuttings needing planting out for butterflies.

Look closely behind; there is a green tomato.

My tomato plants have green tomatoes and lots of

blossoms on new plants and the old one. 

Just outside the greenhouse:

   
Calla Lilies, so far only in yellow.

 

Agapanthus bloom about to pop open. This is a seedling from seeds 'borrowed' off plants in a parking lot in Florida. 

The REAL Bloom Day post with more flowers is here: Bloom Day in the Hot and Humid Coastal South.

Indoor Plants Prepare for the Out of Doors

TThe first bud on Brugmansia cuttings appeared this week. Those who made it over the winter outside  had foliage emerge early only to be bitten back to the ground by frost; more foliage is visible now.

These inside seem to know it is time. I read that they have to have a side shoot before they bloom. This is one of the few without a second shoot. Maybe cuttings are different.

Kalanchoe cuttings are in bigger pots. Looking forward to next Christmas, I expect to have pots of white Kalanchoe and Schlumbergera in five colors. Christmas Cactus cuttings had filled their little six-pack, so now there's a good-sized pot and a little pot. There is another six-pack of small cuttings of each color that I plan to use in filling grapevine balls. I might be getting carried away with Christmas Cactus.

These and Epiphyllums will summer under shade outside.

Easter Cactus has a few buds but I don't think they'll open for Easter. Rhipsalidopsis species is a natural forest cactus, unlike the Schlumbergeras which are tropical forest cacti. The primary difference between the various 'Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving' cactuses is their time of bloom. The leaf shape varies as well.

Ike thinks everything in the greenhouse belongs to him. He supervised sorting/soaking Cycad seeds.

 

 

We hope that failure to float means the bigger seeds are viable. When the seed coat that inhibits growth softens and is scraped away, we'll plant seeds.

This is the last bloom on 'Nymph' amaryllis. Amaryllis outside have buds.