Yes! and you've come to the right place!

We're all here with the exact same addictions you are exhibiting. Pretty soon you will become an enabler.

And look at you - how good you've gotten at posting eye candy . . .

Absolutely ALWAYS on the look out for plants I don't have! I keep a shovel and clippers, paper towels and baggies, gloves and bug spray in my vehicles - you just never know WHAT or WHERE an opportunity to increase your inventory will arise. If the property is vacant, I just go and 'do it', but otherwise, I ask - never been told 'no'.

Being someone who has been living with back pain since 2001, I feel your pain. Literally. I'm glad that surgery has worked for you, I'm supposed to be seeing my neurosurgeon in a couple of weeks to go over surgical options of my own...

Now... to the topic at hand, while I don't look for cutting chances while out and about, I do tend to look while walking around my neighborhood. I have collected Pindo and Sabal palm seeds doing this as well as getting a few cuttings of Crape Myrtles and a 'weed' Firebush that was growing in a vacant lot. I asked the owner of the lot if I could transplant the entire thing, but he said he'd like to keep in there for now, so I just got a cutting of it. I'm trying to get a small cuttings farm going in my backyard so that I can offer some of my own to people who live in my neighborhood for chances of getting other cuttings from their gardens. For example, I only have white pentas at the moment, but there are at least two other people who have pentas in their yards, red and pink varieties. Which seems silly, since pentas are generally fairly cheap at the Big Box stores. But: 1) I have to pinch every penny until it bleeds and many things tend to take priority over my desire for a plant. And 2) It's just fun trying to get things to grow from cuttings.

While out walking the dog last year I snagged the pruned-off 5' top of a yucca that had been put out for yard waste collection day.

Carried that thing home on my shoulder for 2 miles and planted it...

well worth the funny looks :-)

Alrighty then I fit in here quite nicely! I currently have large and small clippers, pot with soil, baggies, marker and sometimes.......long handle saw all in the back of my SUV!

So far I've collected 3 types of palm seeds in my travels and two types of cuttings, both passiflora.

Susie, I'm glad you like that photo. I took it with my phone and really didn't think it was gonna look that good.

Kay, I do always ask and have had a few refusals but alas I'm probably considered a threat to some. I saw the neighbor eying me and so I approached him to let him know my intent. I don't like to make people feel uneasy. He was like, go ahead dig up some if you like, I don't think anyone will miss it. I took some cuttings that were actually in the public street, no harm, no foul right?

Leekle, you are on the right track. I used a neurosurgeon too! I healed quickly and had only one complication, the incision wasn't healing inside/out, which caused more pain than the "fix" itself! I wish you all the best, I probably wouldn't be walking had I not had it. The search for new plants and plants/seeds/cuttings people are looking for is really the best part. I was looking for an elusive "purple" crape myrtle today but only saw lavender, red and white.

Alys, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. I could easily do that, however I probably would hide it until I got my car to pick it up, haha.

I started off by buying about 20 azaleas to spruce up my yard and it just took off from there. I started spending too much and through searching the web knew there had to be a better way than forking over all that dough for plants. So glad I found this very active forum.

hi
Only advice I'd give is to research what you're collecting. and come up with a landscape plan. There are sooo many plants that are very invasive . particulrly important are trees and vines . There are a BUNCH of things I wish I'd never planted though after 30 years I have arrived at a plan ,not a good plan but at least I can walk through the yard lol I'm like you a hopeless collector lol Good luck gary

I believe there might be a purple one in my neighborhood. There is definitely white and pink, as those are across the street from me. We have a blood red one and there are a few lavender ones, but I think there's an actual purple one too. I'll keep a look out next time I'm out walking.

I love the passion vines too, but they do sucker. It's worth it to me to keep them so I just weed out the suckers. I have a yellow one with a bit different flower.

I grew my royal poincinanna from seed that I knocked on someones door for permission to pick a pod off their tree. A teen age boy answered the door and thought I was crazy. Probaly thought I was as high as he was. lol

I didn't know passion-flower came in different colors! Neat.

They are never in flower when I am in florida, but we sowed passion flower up here in z7 MA a few years ago and it has become a beast now. I thought it would be cold enough to keep it well in check, or even prevent it from being perennial, but that's far from the case. It is now taking over bean-trellis, choking out a large apple-tree, and swamping all kinds of small ornamentals. Soon (maybe today?) I have to start ripping it out, hate to, because it's such a great draw for the bumble-bees.

Regarding the OP, last winter I gathered wild radish by the roadside in central fla and transplanted to my permaculture food plot, and also sowed some seed around. Won't know until winter if they were able to persist against summer weeds and my warm-weather legumes there.

Bumble in the flower:

{{gwi:86311}}

Thank you Gary. Yeah I kinda started out with a haphazard butterfly garden when the Mrs. told me she didn't want anymore plants in our front yard..... I've seen both the Canna and Passion Flowers and how they grow, so I'm trying to be careful with their placement. The nice thing is, so many of these plants are fairly hardy, so if I have to relocate them it shouldn't be a problem. A neighbor has a beautiful blooming tree that looks tropical, don't know the name but it seems to grow rapidly. I thought about getting some cuttings until I saw one yesterday and it was absolutely huge, probably 20 to 30 feet across and tall!

Leekle, thanks, keep looking. I can always make a day trip up that way for cuttings.....

Katkin, I'd love to get some of those suckers if possible. These vines are far from common place and so beautiful so I would love to start a collection of varieties. I live in Tarpon Springs. I bet that royal poinciana is a beauty. I think I've only seen one or two in my area, didn't know what the name was at the time.

Pnbrown, yeah I was pleasantly surprised to find a new color passion flower. I didn't know they existed but when I saw this flower, I just new it was one. The lady who gave me my first plants had hers growing across a pvc trellis over her driveway, forming a "plant garage" literally. Yeah my first warning was these vines love to climb but I was also told they won't choke out the host plant. I was also told the bees love them, don't plant them if you don't like bees.........not a problem.

The main reason I don't do roadside harvesting is because it is too easy to find a very attractive plant, get a cutting, get it rooted and THEN find out it is an invasive species that you're going to have to keep in check. I LOVE the look of the Mimosa trees growing on the side of the road, but after reading how aggressively invasive they are, I drive right by them.

That red passion flower is awesome! I want one!

If that red one gets well-established maybe you can send around some seed-pops of it. I don't know if passion flower breeds true by seed or not....

Ok, I will do my best to read up on what I need to do to collect seeds and can go back to the parent plant to get some. I took 5 cuttings but am new to making cuttings so I don't know if I'll have success. Will be glad to share. Off to read up....

I would guess that the red one is probably Lady Margaret, if it helps any.

Hi, just found this post and noticed RetiredFlorida lives in my town. I can share cuttings of some plants I have if you want to. Just let me know.

RetiredFlorida,

That red passion vine is to die for! I have natives growing on my property. They look really sad now, hundreds of Gulf Frit cats have eaten every last leaf, but that's why I grow them :)

I enjoy collecting clippings and seeds as well and love finding that bargain perennial on clearance just because it's not blooming!

Our neighbor planted a red passion vine next to our fence, now the whole 50 foot run of fence is completely covered, it has run up their crape Myrtles and often finds a way to attach to the side of their house. But actually, the worst part is the thatch.... the vines underneath eventually die and create a lot of thatch.

I suspect they could be kept in check as long as you keep up with it. Sort of like a bougainvillea... I've seen them take over but I've also seen them in formal, commerical landscaping being kept in check.

irunk5k I completely understand. The person who gave me my first passion vine had one that was growing all over her trees, thats how I spotted it in the first place. She had it growing as shade over her driveway. I have one planted on my corner of my house and will have to watch it closely. Maybe it needs to be cut back every year? Something to research.

Rvird,

Yes, one the caterfpillers find your bush I understand they will be very happy. I too would love to have em. My first set of cuttings were too long, wilted and dried out. Working on a 2nd set now. I'm new to alot of things including cuttings. I've read and read but until you do it....

Mocropot, I sent you an email.