KyushuCalanthe
Just call me Tom
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
- Messages
- 8,188
- Reaction score
- 476
My first post in a long time due to my back being less than cooperative of late. I will try to be more frequent a visitor on the forum.
Early fall always means pleasant weather - sunny and warm - and quite a few things are flowering at this time. The downside is that the mosquitoes are abnormally active since they were nearly wiped out by the record summer heat and have come back with the dropping temperatures. Also, things always look a bit bitten by now. These pics were taken over the last few weeks and some are now out of flower.
A little Pleurothallis from Brazil's southern mountains, P. sonderana, seems to handle both the winter cold and summer heat of southern Japan just fine. It even endures my negligence, in fact rewarding me with flowers every year.
One I cannot grow outside is the tropical Habenaria medusa. It has proven to be fairly easy in cultivation however provided it is kept dry during its winter rest. It is very easy to lose the dormant tubers to rot if the growing medium is kept too moist and cool.
Here it is again with Pecteilis sagarikii, another SE Asian terrestrial that requires a long, dry winter rest.
Now some others in the garden. Tricyrtis macrantha was ravaged by late season rot and bugs, but still managed to push out these lovely flowers. This truly must be the most spectacular toad lily.
Continuing with the orange theme, Lycoris aurea is flowering as well. I have another clone that consistently flowers 3 weeks later, on the very eaves of true fall conditions - many cool rainy days and cold nights.
A tropical bromeliad that has managed to survive one season outdoors is this Neoregelia 'Fireball', though I can't recommend it for garden culture here. It sustained a lot of damage over last winter and is just starting to look pretty good. I'm sure it will take a big hit again this year.
A southern Japanese native perennial, Pollia japonica, gone to seed. It is a near weed and needs controlling on a yearly basis.
Alocasia macrorrhiza 'Okinawa Silver' certainly has interesting leaves. Not winter hardy here.
Early fall always means pleasant weather - sunny and warm - and quite a few things are flowering at this time. The downside is that the mosquitoes are abnormally active since they were nearly wiped out by the record summer heat and have come back with the dropping temperatures. Also, things always look a bit bitten by now. These pics were taken over the last few weeks and some are now out of flower.
A little Pleurothallis from Brazil's southern mountains, P. sonderana, seems to handle both the winter cold and summer heat of southern Japan just fine. It even endures my negligence, in fact rewarding me with flowers every year.
One I cannot grow outside is the tropical Habenaria medusa. It has proven to be fairly easy in cultivation however provided it is kept dry during its winter rest. It is very easy to lose the dormant tubers to rot if the growing medium is kept too moist and cool.
Here it is again with Pecteilis sagarikii, another SE Asian terrestrial that requires a long, dry winter rest.
Now some others in the garden. Tricyrtis macrantha was ravaged by late season rot and bugs, but still managed to push out these lovely flowers. This truly must be the most spectacular toad lily.
Continuing with the orange theme, Lycoris aurea is flowering as well. I have another clone that consistently flowers 3 weeks later, on the very eaves of true fall conditions - many cool rainy days and cold nights.
A tropical bromeliad that has managed to survive one season outdoors is this Neoregelia 'Fireball', though I can't recommend it for garden culture here. It sustained a lot of damage over last winter and is just starting to look pretty good. I'm sure it will take a big hit again this year.
A southern Japanese native perennial, Pollia japonica, gone to seed. It is a near weed and needs controlling on a yearly basis.
Alocasia macrorrhiza 'Okinawa Silver' certainly has interesting leaves. Not winter hardy here.