Cool cactus bloom and surreal Stapelias Grant.

The Antigonon leptopus vine is blooming on the Acacia aneura tree. {{gwi:421175}}
Queen butterflies on Conoclinium greggii. {{gwi:398928}}
Giant milkweed (Calotropis procera), milkweed bug for scale. {{gwi:421176}}
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My October garden:

Salvia Greggi
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Shamrocks in front of Sago Palm
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Philodendron and Snake Plant under Ficus
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I don't have anything now nearly as pretty as all those.

Grant, does the stapelia gigantea transplant well? You've given me an idea.

Jon, I love the butterfly's. What conditions does the Conoclinium greggii like? Will it take full sun?

marymcp,

Conoclinium greggii (also known as Eupatorium greggii) likes some shade, but it would probably survive in full sun. The 'Boothill' variety originates from the Tombstone, AZ area.
I water mine once a week. In moist soil it will spread readily by the roots. It is an absolute magnet for Queen butterflies. If you plant it they will come.

I have a couple of bare spots in the front yard but that's going to be full, all day sun until the neighbor's mesquite fills in. I was thinking to bury a large terra cotta pot and plant in that to contain the roots. I've done that with mint and 'walking' onions and it works well. I don't want to be a slave to pulling unwanted tubers. My home-office window faces one of the bare spots and I'm looking for something the birds and bees will like so I have some entertainment while working my poor poor fingers to the bone. :-))

I can plant this in the backyard under my own mesquite if you think it won't take full sun next summer. Any other suggestions for bird attractant in full sun? Thanks Jon.

The Baja red fairy duster (Calliandra californica)is a full sun shrub that attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

Dlg421 , how do you overwinter your Philodendron and Snake Plant?

jacarandaa4321, I don't do anything with them. They are by the house and partially sheltered by the ficus tree so they usually handle the frost/freeze ok. Last winter was especially bad, as I lost most of my lemons and oranges, but the philodendron and snake plant were fine.

Great new pics and posts everyone, thanks for always sharing such fun updates and information. Love yours pics Jon and dlg, do keep them coming!

I love fairy dusters too. This year I'm testing driving a fun hybrid, 'Maricopa Red'. It's a cross between the wonderful Baja fairy duster and our native (more drought tolerant but not as colorful) fairy duster. So far I really like them, although I think good ol' Baja will still always be my favorite.

Yes, Stapelia plants transplant very, very easily! Just let them dry out for a day or three if they have a lot of root or stem damage. Otherwise they're super easy to move around. I do it all the time (guilt guilt guilt).

Here's a pic of my Baja fairy duster, plus one of my "Turk's cap mallow" (Malvaviscus drummondii) and a quick pic of a self sown cypress vine too (Ipomea quamoclit). Gotta love this time of year! Now that I see the pics I'm posting, I noticed they're all red, so today must be Red Day in my little garden, LOL. Happy gardening all!

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Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden October 2013

My Turk's Cap does not look that good, maybe it needs more sun. It's in a sheltered spot. Thanks for the info on stapelia transferability, how about turk's cap? Will it move without dying? Pagancat came by yesterday to dig up an huge bunch of agave's she wants for her yard and she brought me *more* stapeliea, so I'll use those. When my relocated/redesigned cactus and succulent garden is presentable, I'll get a picture. I've had them along the north facing house wall but they don't do so well through winter with zero sun so Pagancat convinced me to move them to dappled shade under a mesquite.

I have a huge cypress vine that comes back every year. Love that feathery bright red vine.

Great pictures everyone. Jon - where did you get the giant milkweed? I haven't seen them in nurseries in my area. Grant - I am just completing my first year comparison of the Maricopa Red Dairy Duster vs.the standard Baja one. I planted one of each last October. So far no conclusive results.

Christmas Carol Aloe - a new hybrid from Monrovia Nursery

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Snowball Mammillaria Cactus
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Pincushion Mammillaria Cactus
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Torch Glow Bougainvillea
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I got my giant milkweed from Baker nursery two years ago. I was there a couple weeks ago and they had about ten of them for sale.

Thanks Jon.

GREAT new pics, dlg! Thanks for posting them. I love all of them. Funny you're comparing 'Maricopa Red' to the species type of Baja fairy duster too, lol. So far my species one is winning by a wide margin as it's currently covered with flowers and the Maricopa Reds are growing but not blooming. We'll see how they compare long term. Maybe MR will win in summer? Let us know if you come to a firm conclusion.

Mary my turk's cap mallows are in full hot sun, and I think that helps them look their best. They transplant pretty easily (AND are easy to propagate from stem cuttings too). If I were to dig one up and move it, I'd cut it back pretty hard and keep it well watered. They'll wilt of course, but they'll almost always come back. And cuttings are a good way to either make a back up plant or a small one to relocate. I just got a variegated one in a plant trade and could wet my pants I'm so excited about it. It's tiny, and went in to shock coming to our low humidity from a humid climate, but I eased it in to life in our climate and slowly acclimated it to life outside so now it's planted, settled in and starting to grow a bit. We'll see how it does here compared to the all green form.

I bought a Calotropis from Baker about two years ago too. My jury is still out. It flowers now and then but doesn't make those fun inflated pods, plus the main stem suddenly croaked, although the side shoots have really taken off and look good. Great foliage though, and a nice plant. Not as nice as yours though, Jon, hah!

Out in the garden my crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii) are really starting to bloom. Here's a quick pic of a white flowered one that I've had for several years (this is the plant the quail always nest in, LOL).

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My Salvia greggii are also really perking up now that the weather has turned lovely again, and these dyckias at the foot of my 8 foot tall 'Hercules' tree aloe are looking good (although to be honest they look good every day of the year, there's no real reason to post them in October, hah!).

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Keep the pics and updates coming!
Happy gardening all,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden October 2013

I'd like to submit some photos to this thread but I can not seem to get the HTML codes correct. . .

Can someone quickly verify for me if I am using the correct code;

To display the image inside the posted message:

This doesn't seem to be working for me!

The following are mostly of my two patio plant stands - one is all cactus, agave and other succulents and the other is all tropical plants. I've lurked here for quite a long time now, so it's time to share some photos!
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Grant - great pictures as always. Kevin - you have an amazing variety of plants and your patio/yard are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

Thank you dlg421!

I am a bit of a "collector" for sure! haha

Awesome pics, Kevin! Thanks for taking the time and effort to share them. They're awesome! It's fun to see someone with possibly more patio containers than I do, hah! Keep the eye candy coming!

Here are some random pics from this week in my little garden.

Red Lycoris ("spider lily" "surprise lily" "naked ladies"), that just a week ago were barely above the surface. Great bulbs that make winter leaves, then hide for summer (smart, LOL), and then make surprise flower in autumn. Easy to grow just remember NO WATER in summer.

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A hummingbird this morning, taking a VERY quick rest on a single spine of my favorite opuntia, Opuntia quimilo in the garden. BTW, that's my now-huge pink flowered form of Caesalpinia pulcherrima in the background. No, it hasn't flowered yet, lol, but it's gone from a sad 4 inch seedling this spring to a nice 8 foot tall plant:

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And the promise of things to come, lol, nice fat juicy buds on my Hibiscus mutabilis ("confederate rose"):

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Keep the pics and posts coming all, thanks for sharing your gardens with us!
Happy gardening,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden, October 2013

Hi Grant,

I love the red lycoris, absolutely beautiful. Could you tell me a little more about growing these here in Phoenix. I would love to add these to my garden.

Thanks

Hiya Milos and all, sure! I love lycoris too. They're very easy to grow here. Just make sure to plant them in a spot that is very very sunny in winter and spring (full sun is best). They can get some shade in summer when they're dormant, but all of mine are in absolute full sun year round.

Water them twice a week when they have leaves or blooms, and not at all when they don't. That's it. The key is to NOT water them in summer when they're dormant. They're perfect for planting in the middle of a part of the garden that gets no attention in summer, so I do mine in big expanses of gravel where they can emerge, grown and disappear without me accidentally watering them in summer.

Bulbs are prettty widely available in autumn, so if you like them, grab and plant some now. Mine are all in 75% native soil mixed with 25% either compost or potting soil. I plant them so the tops of the bulbs are about 3 inches below the soil surface. The leaves and flowers have no problem pushing through even large gravel mulch like mine.

Happy gardening all!
And, just do I don't feel guilty for posting without a pic, LOL, here's a quick pic of a Stapelia grandiflora (left) and a Stapelia gigantea (right) in bloom today, along with Wilson the tennis ball for size.

Take care,
Grant

Thanks Grant for the Lycoris info. I'm going to have to find a nice sunny spot for them, I have got to be the only person in Phoenix who has too much shade in their yard. We are south facing and have a huge mesquite out back where the canopy covers almost the entire yard plus the neighboring trees contribute as well.

I read they can be grown in large pots, I may try that if I can't find a space out front for them.

Again thank you for your help!
Michelle

Grant you sure do have some unique and interesting plants! Here are some more pictures of my yard. Some of these I just bought at the DBG plant sale others I have had for a while.

Ruellia brittoniana
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Poliomintha maderenis "Lavender Spice"
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Gaura lindheimeri "Mr. Liko"
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Blackfoot Daisy
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Lavender Petunia
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Texas Ranger- Leucophyllum "Lynn's Everblooming
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Snowdrop? Bulbs given to me - bloom Oct - Dec
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938_Salvia greggi "Hot Lips"
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Hi everyone!! Love all the plants. Here are some of mine, I love how the garden is turning green again after a brutal sumer. Thanks for looking
Ariana

One more

Ariana

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Ariana

And the last one. I apologize for the quality of the pictures. The plant to the right is a blue star fern, it stays outside under shade all sumer. It looses all it's leaves during the heat and comes back in the fall. Take care
Ariana

Very nice plants Ariana!

Great new pics, all, whether right side up or upside down, LOL. So great to see! Thanks for taking the time/effort to post them!

Dlg, your white flowered "snow drops" are also called rain lilies, Zephyranthes, and they're really great! Love all of your pics too, Ariana, keep the eye candy coming all!

Here's a quick pic of an Abelmoschus in the garden right now, nothing fancy, but fun pretty hibiscus relatives. Happy gardening all!

Grant

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Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden October 2013

Ariana - I was wondering how you keep the plants from falling off of the shelves, being upside down and all?

Grant - I do have rain lilies. Their green leaves are out year round and they bloom whenever it rains in the summer. These "snowdrops" dry up in the spring and remain dormant all summer. When the cooler weather arrives in the fall, they send up their leaves and shortly thereafter start to bloom pretty continuously from now to Dec or Jan.

Great stuff everyone! Grant (as always) and KevininPHX, your stuff caught my eye in particular. Click the link to get to my stuff, the pics are kind of hurried, but I was happy to have the opportunity some cloud cover provided today.

Here is a link that might be useful: Agaveville

Thank you grant and dig421 for your comments.

Dig421, my plants are on a 2x4 that lies on top of 2 pavers on each end. They are only about a few inches off the ground. The pots are also not big. They are in a corner of my covered patio and are protected from strong wind. I hope I've answered your question. -Ariana

Hi everyone, here are a few totally random pics from this morning in the garden. I hope you'll take a look and enjoy. Milos, lycoris are good in containers but BORING, lol, as they're dormant for most of the year, and you really can't plant anything else in there that needs water during the looooong dormancy period, but if you can tuck the pot somewhere inconspicuous it could work. It would drive me batty to have a pot that's mostly empty most of the time, LOL.

Anyway, here are some pics from this morning:

Zauschneria californica (recently moved back in to the genus Epilobium)

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Pseudolithos migiurtinus celebrating its two year anniversary in my garden this week, LOL. Very, very fussy, but so far so good, LOL.

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Dalea frutescens blooming away. I've really grown to love Dalea over the years, it's SO drought and heat tolerant, and blooms off and on for much of the year. I only water it every 10 days in summer and once a month in winter.

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Happy gardening everyone!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden October 2013

The Lynne's everblooming is nice, is that the same as Lynne's Legacy? Any one see desert milkweed at any of the west valley nurseries recently?

wanna_run_faster,

Yes I believe that Lynne's Legacy is the same as "Lynne's Everblooming".

Just noticed this, never saw it coming.....

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