Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
tropicalzone7_gw

Mid October 2012 Pics of My Yard (and some comparison pics

tropicalzone7
11 years ago

Mid October is here meaning that some plants are dying down while others are looking their best. Here are a few pics around the yard.

Pool area in mid Spring (around May)



Here is that area in June..



Same area this past weekend...



Pool area at one angle in the 3rd week of June



Pool area in September



Pool area this weekend



Allamanda (doing well, but no longer in bloom)



Hibiscus are still blooming strong.



Mandevillas are a lot more tolerant of cooler weather than Allamandas



Madagascar palm was hit by a light frost last spring and it didnt start growing again until nearly July. It has grown really well since though, putting out over half a foot of new trunk.



A look at the Saba and ginger in May of this year...



Here they are now. The ginger has taken off (both the spiral ginger and the alphina, the saba has been a disappointment, but still managed to throw 8 leaves out this year, it did not gain much height though)



Dragon wing begonias are one of my favorite annuals, they dont stop looking great until a frost knocks them down.



This was the front yard in mid February



Here is the front yard in the 3rd week of June



This is the front yard now...



Butia and Frostproof gardenia in March 2012...



Here they are as of this weekend (butia is getting really confined in it's spot so I will take care of that in the spring)...



Knockout roses and lantanas are reliable bloomers this time of the year...



Oleander and Mediterranean fan palm have grown well this summer and are ready for winter



I dont post pics of my queen palm too often since it is pretty neglected, but here it is...



I moved my gigantic plumeria to get it ready to go indoors. I don't know how I will manage to fit it inside. I struggled to get it in the garage for one night.



Surprisingly, the plumeria still has blooms on 2 inflorescences!



My Philodendron Xandu is my favorite plant in this pic. The rubber plant got a pruning so it wont look full again until next year



Majesty palm doing surprisingly well in a dry and sunny spot



The brugmansia didnt even start growing until early July, but it took off after that and is now much larger than ever with plenty of blooms opening up (this is probably its third strong flush of blooms of the year)



Here's one of the brugmansia blooms I caught while it is in between flushes (brugmansias seem to bloom a lot at certain times and then take breaks before blooming again).



Still some crape myrtle blooms hanging on! Tuscarora seems to be a really long lasting bloomer, unlike my other Crape Myrtle, Zuni, which starts blooming late and ends early.



The Livistona is getting more sun now that the elephant ear is starting to get yellow leaves from the cooler weather (and probably from age too).



The solandra maxima grew really poorly last year, I repotted it this spring and it took off. Right now it has an extremely long root that is growing out of the pot and into the ground which is probably part of the reason why it is growing so well right now (it has put over 3 feet of growth in the past month, it's a great plant that makes awesome blooms indoors during the winter if your lucky)



Here's a idea of how things look when they go indoors. This room will be completely filled with plants in a few more weeks, this pic was taken the night that we got near to frost conditions, the plants are back outside again for now.



Anyone know the ID to this tillandsia? It has been making this bloom for the past month now.



And here are just a few pics throughout the year that I liked from the yard...

























Thanks for looking!

Comments (6)

  • LagoMar
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very nice! what are those tall thin plants along your walkway with a pink flower in them?

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

    Thanks LagoMar! That's a plumeria. They are beautiful tropical trees that do great in pots also. The one in that pic was only a foot tall in March 2009, but it has been an extremely fast grower and is now about 14 feet tall (including the pot). It has outgrown my banana plants! The blooms on plumerias are great and some stay smaller too so you can enjoy them at eye level. The scent is even nicer than the actual blooms though!
    -Alex

  • ericthehurdler
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    WOAAOAOOA! That is a growth explosion of atomic proportions. Great stuff as always Alex. Is that a sun room your keeping the plants in?

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

    Thanks Eric! Some plants grew really well this year, Im very happy about it! Yip, that is basically a sun room that I am keeping my plants in. Not all of them will fit in there, but Im hoping to at least get 25-30 nice sized plants in there this winter.
    -Alex

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OMG ALEX!!

    Looking great!!

    I can't believe the size of everything!!

    Your yard has really taken off. Since i have seen pictures of you yard last. The plumies look great. You need to check the forum to see the stripping of mine here in VB. I have had a great year with mine.

    My palms are all doing well and growing like crazy.. I dont climb on the ladders anymore especially the big 16 footers now. I leave that to the son.

    My daughter just had her little one.., so i have been busy with that. all is well tho.

    I miss you at the other forum.. Hope to see you soon!

    I still check in here every so often.

    Seems like my palm pictures are the same, so it seems like i dont have anything new to offer... sigh. They are all so big. They don't change anymore!!

    Thanks for the beautiful pics!!

    Take care,

    Laura

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

    Thanks Laura! Glad to hear that you and your plants are doing well! The plumerias have been slow this year only my huge NO ID and my Plumeria "pretty princess" bloomed so I havent had much to talk about on the other forum, but I still like my plumerias as much as I always did and plan on increasing the collection big time next spring!
    The scott pratt cutting that you gave me has taken off this year adding a good foot of growth, its one of my most vigorous plumerias! The California sunset is doing good too, its a slower grower, but it should bloom eventually! I will definitely check out the plumeria forum for your post and if I have some time, I'll make a post with my plumerias on there this weekend!

    Thanks again!
    -Alex