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Late June 2012, First Day of Summer pics around the yard

tropicalzone7
11 years ago

Things are finally starting to grow well, but some plants have a little ways to go before they are nice.

My big problem is that we have had a lack of good growing weather. Today was very hot getting up to 101.2F in my yard with a 117F heat index, which I believe is too hot for most plants to grow well. Other days this month have been only in the 70s which I think is a little too cool for plants like Bananas to have a lot of good growth. Average temperatures would really be best for the tropicals this time of the year.

Here are some pics!

Hollyhocks may not be tropical, but it might be one of my favorite flowering plants in the yard. Someone gave me seeds last year and didn't know what the plant was so I had no idea what I was growing until I got an ID from you all last spring. First year it grows very very little, second year it grows fast and blooms (its a biennial). Right now its about as tall as I am.





Pool Plants





Philodendron

Spindle palm put out 2 fronds this year, 1 indoors, 1 outdoors.



Confederate Jasmine



Mediterranean fan palm and oleander

Young Trachy, butterfly ginger, and cannas

Front of the house

Madagascar Palm finally flushing!

Silver lady tree fern

Elephant ear getting big

Begonia survived the winter in the ground and is doing really well now!

Purple hearts underneath my banana and alocasia



This purple heart survived the winter

Coconut palms



Butia and Gardenia

Some oleander blooms. This is it's 4th summer in the ground

Some plants in a bed in the front yard. My kopper king hibiscus and Zuni crape myrtle are in this pic. Both should be blooming soon, the crape is usually a late bloomer compared to others locally (some are already in bloom locally).

This ice plant seems to bloom the most in early spring, but it has scattered blooms all summer long

Aireal view of the front yard plants including my Ensete, foxtail, sabal minor, palm, brugmansia, Musa Saba, and spiral ginger to name a few

Close up of the Med fan palm, looking pretty much the same

Sabal and ensete looking pretty much the same also.

Paparus in bloom, but not really growing tremendously fast.

My fig has a ton of fruit on it now, should be ready to eat soon, but the first full crop wont be ready until about late July/early August the earlilest I think.

Moon vine is about 5 weeks old now from germination. Its a pretty fast grower. It grew about 2 inches just today!

Mandevilla seed pods

Im not too crazy about flowering annuals, but I do usually add a few for a little color and the geraniums have done really well. I just gave them a little bit of blooming fertlizer and I think that they are also blooming well because of the lack of heat this month (excluding today).

Thats it for now! Nothing has grown too much since my last update, just a few things going in bloom.

Thanks for looking!

-Alex

Comments (18)

  • statenislandpalm7a
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Everything looks great. i really like the spindle palm and the orleander

  • chachacharlie
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Everything looks really nice! You have had that Spindle palm for some time now, right? It seems to be doing great in the same pot. Your yard looks lush and full, the way it should be.

  • chadec
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yard is looking nice. Can't believe it got that hot up there today. We are in the the 90's for a week but still.

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Dennis! The Spindle palm might be my favorite. It does really well indoors and the fronds are always healthy looking.

    Thanks panamajack! I got the spindle last year, but it has grown a lot! It used to be in a nice sized pot, but I think its time to repot it soon! It's grown 3 and a half fronds since I got it last year and the newest fronds have been huge. I replaced some of the soil this spring and it looks like it has some room still. I might have to repot it next year though! I definitely use up as much space as possible!

    Thanks Chadec! It was cool here all month, but this heat wave has really sent temperatures soaring! Temperatures might reach 100F tomorrow and then 90s on friday before getting back to average (mid 80s) for the weekend and then below average next week (upper 70s, probably low 80s though). Right now at 9:15PM its 87F with a heat index in the mid 90s. My Davis Vantage Pro has a heat warning in the display saying that the heat index is excessive. Looks like the south escaped this one!

    Thanks for looking everyone!
    -Alex

  • statenislandpalm7a
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just Curious, Did that blue med fan palm overwinter outside?

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not yet, but it's been very hardy. It was outside until after new years, I only brought it inside when nights went into the mid teens or colder and it was in a pot on my deck (possibly the most exposed spot to cold you can think of). It didnt have a dent on it so I figured it was time to give it a shot in the ground! They are very slow growing though. My green one is slow, but no where near as slow as this one!
    -Alex

  • statenislandpalm7a
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I also have a potted one and its slow growing. When its big enough ill try it outside

  • chicago_palm
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Alex, Your yard looks great. I really like the oleanders. Do you have to protect them in the winter? Keith

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I definitely would wait until its a little bit older, but definitely try it outside, they are definitely one of the hardiest palms but a big problem is too much moisture so I will probably put a plastic bowl over mine during the winter.

    Thanks Keith! I dont give my oleander any major protection. Last winter I just protected it about 4-5 nights when temperatures were below 20F, but the winter before I kept it protected much of the winter since it was plain cold outside. I protect it like my palms, some lights, a frost cloth, and a garbage bin. It worked well when it was younger, but last year I was only able to give it a frost cloth on cold nights since it was too big for the garbage bin. They are easy to protect since you can tie it up and make it very narrow, I think they are easier to protect than most palms. They look really messed up coming out of their protection, but all the leaves pop back up with a little sun.

    -Alex

  • andyandy
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lookes Awesome, you sure put a lot of work into it.

  • mastiffhoo
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lush, that is how I would describe it - very lush (and beautiful). Very well done!

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Andy and Mastiffhoo! It should be getting even more lush in a few months, the good thing about being in a temperate climate is that it keeps things from being overgrown since they have to be brought in mid Fall.
    Thanks for looking!
    -Alex

  • jacklord
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your spread always looks well-arranged and presentable. My grandmother would be proud and that is a compliment.

    How is the Gardenia doing? One of mine bloomed today.

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Jacklord! I appreciate the compliment!
    The gardenias are doing really well, they both have a lot of buds, but no opened blooms yet. Usually they are in bloom by now, but they are taking their time this year. I cant wait for the blooms though!
    -Alex

  • us_marine
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful plants tropicalzone7! Keep up the good work :) Wish I had that many different plants!

    - US_Marine

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks US Marine! One day I should probably count the differernt species of subtropicals and tropicals I have, since I dont even have an estimate. All I know it I get more and more every year, but this year I didnt get too many new plants yet so I think Im starting to reach the max that my yard can hold!

  • bradleyo_gw
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love those birds of paradise! Everything looks so big and healthy already.

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks a lot bradleyo! Which plant are you reffering to as birds of paradise? I have one, but it's still in recovery mode becuase it got a ton of scale indoors this winter. It should look good in a few weeks though!

    The weather the past few days definitely helped push many things in the right direction. Some of my plants did burn a little unfortuntately, but nothing noticable and nothing it wont grow out of.

    -Alex

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