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| I know almost all of us grow other things besides Passifloras. In many parts of the country it's also too early for most Passifloras to bloom. So I thought it would be fun if we posted pictures of some of the other things in bloom, especially those that are unusual, spectacular, or people are unlikely to have seen before.
My first is actually done blooming, but it's very cool, so I'll post it anyway--Isopogon formosus (source UC Santa Cruz Arboretum). It's a Protea family plant from Australia.
The second is still going strong,although this photo is a week or two old. Echium wildpretii (seed source J.L. Hudson). I was surprised how this plant got 6 feet tall after starting relatively small. Still, they can get almost twice this tall. The photo doesn't accurately capture the colors--this is an amazing plant.
The colors are a little better closeup. Each individual flower (I estimated the plant must open about 10,000) is about half an inch.
Calandrina spectabilis. I had never heard of this until I saw it growing in front of Flora Grubb in San Francisco. I had to have it. Flowers open successively on each spike. This is from a couple weeks ago; a few days ago 8 flowers were open.
Fuchsia boliviana Alba is not even open, but it's still cool. The peduncle (if that's the correct term here) is about 5 inches to give you and idea of the scale:
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Great pics!! I know what you mean about about the Calandrina spectabilis... now that I have seen it, I have to have it! I'll try to get pics on soon... Eric |
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- Posted by karyn1 MD 7 (bhkalen@aol.com) on Sun, May 16, 10 at 9:27
| I love the echium. I wish I could grow one besides Blue Bedder here. I've tried but they never reach blooming size. Here's a few of the plants that are in bloom. Some stuff is in the greenhouse, others outside.  Garden Treasure, Raspberry Sorbet, Festiva Maxima peonies and a couple others that I forgot the names        Golden Flame honeysuckle (aphid magnet as you can see!) and Amethyst Falls wisteria   An adenium that's been in bloom since Jan. It's not the nicest but I have a soft spot for it because I started it from seed a few years ago.  Gartenmeister fuchsia  |
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- Posted by passionflow 8b (My Page) on Sun, May 16, 10 at 14:43
| Not Passiflora but remarkable and fascinating plants. Love the Echium wildpreti. I wish we had your climate. We have had our worst winter for 30 years in UK and most of the rest of Europe and a lot of plants have been lost. I only have a Yucca to offer -but the fact that it flowered after 27 years made me start asking a lot of questions.... Thank you. Myles |
Here is a link that might be useful: Yucca plant.
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| Where did Eric go? A few more pictures, all taken today. The first one is actually a plant from Eric and Crystal--the first bloom on a Cuphea cyanea that they gave me cuttings of:
I really like this plant, so when I saw a bigger one for sale at Flora Grubb in SF (for $6, I think), I had to get it. It is also doing well (except for the part I stepped on):
The Fuchsia boliviana Alba I showed in bud earlier has started blooming:
(to get an idea of the size of these guys, an individual flower starting at the top of the tiny fruit down to the bottom is about 3.5 inches long). These are just young buds of Aristolochia trilobata (also called A. macroura). The tails get a foot long. I've heard some varieties have tails up to 3 feet long (and I love to get one of those).
Sometimes I like the small, simple ones. This is Physalis peruviana, a plant not grown for its flowers, but its fruit. It is also known as Cape Gooseberry and is closely related to the Tomatillo. From the Andes, but I don't remember exactly where.
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| Karyn was curious what Aristolochia trilobata/macroura looks like when open. The most mature bud just opened. The "tail" is about 10.5 inches:
Here's a closeup of the flower:
You'll notice inward/downward facing hairs that keep insects trapped inside the flower. The friend I got this plant from dissects flowers like this sometimes (see link at bottom). I've had better luck than he has blooming the plant while small. A lot of people wonder if the plant is carnivorous, given its Nepenthes-like appearance and ability to trap insects. However the flower just traps the insect for a day or two--so it can immediately pollinate a flower if it is covered with pollen, yet hang around until the pollen of that particular flower is ripe. The flower smells bad (to attract flies), and while I mostly had to get close to smell it I did occasionally get whiffs of the smell of decay when a few feet away. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Albert's dissection of A. trilobata (scroll down)
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- Posted by karyn1 MD 7 (bhkalen@aol.com) on Fri, Jun 4, 10 at 13:59
One of my favorite plants is just beginning to bloom again. Strophanthus preussii  Here's one of the first brugs of the season. I love the way the blooms change color and can't wait for some of my doubles to start blooming.     |
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| That is a gorgeous Brug Karyn! What variety is it? |
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