Rhody is again absent from my Six on Saturday for this week. Within such an odd mix of six unrelated pictures, I suppose that I should have added at least one picture of Rhody. After all, Rhody is who you are here to see. Well, I thought that some of these, especially #5, are interesting. Both #1 and #2 are Canna, so they are actually not totally unrelated. There might be more of Brent’s pointless pictures for next week; but perhaps one picture will be of Rhody.
1. ‘Wyoming’ canna provided this foliar picture that was too artsy to discard unused, but not compliant enough for my Six on Saturday of last week. All of those six were closeups.
2. ‘Australia’ canna likewise provided this picture that is interesting, but not compatible with the earlier Six on Saturday. It lives in a pond. That is duckweed in the background.
3. Blue elderberry is native here. Unfortunately, some of the most productive specimens are in awkward situations. I canned a few wild seedlings to install into better situations.
4. Poinciana has a complicated explanation. I told Brent that ‘Crazy Green Thumbs’ sent me seed of poinciana and esperanza. What I consider to be poinciana is actually pride of Barbados. After remembering the difference from what Brent considers to be poinciana, I still felt obligated to grow a poinciana tree for Brent, so actually purchased seed online!
5. Esperanza is real! It is not easy to grow though. Only a few seed germinated, and only a few seedlings survive. At this rate, they will still be dinky and need shelter for autumn.
6. Memorial Tree in Felton Covered Bridge Park seems to be happy, but has grown a bit slower than it did by July 12 last year. I have not posted an update for it since December.
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/
Tony Tomeo 
The tree looks good. It seems to me that I can see an increase in the trunk’s diameter, as well as the increased height. I like your artsy first photo, too. The translucence is pretty.
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Yes; although growth seems to be a bit slower this year, it is more dispersed throughout a larger canopy. Growth seemed to be more profuse last year, partly because it was confined to a smaller and denser canopy. The trunk and main limbs are developing well. The top of the canopy is almost as high as that of the smallest of the other four original trees that have been there for many years. Incidentally, I may need to elevate the other four trees this winter, and perform some major renovation and structural pruning for the smallest of the four, which has always been disfigured. The gardeners are understaffed, so it might be more efficient to show them how to perform the necessary procedures than to explain how to do them. I believe that they understand how to prune for clearance, but those procedures are relatively minor. Renovation and major structural pruning can be significantly more complicated.
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I have an Esperanza and it has never made a new plant. The canna reproduces like crazy and I try to cut the seedheads off.
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Bignoniaceae, which is the family of esperanza, tends to produce copious seed, but few of those seed germinate. I put many seed in a flat, but expected a minor ratio of them to germinate. Although I hoped for more than I got, I can not complain.
Most of my canna are hybrids that do not generate many viable seed. Do yours reproduce by seed, or merely by migrating rhizomes?
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I was given seeds for one of them and I find the plants all over the yard. Now I am not sure about the other, but it does migrate.
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Well, if you are finding it all over the yard, and they are not connected, they are growing from seed. It would be obvious if they were migrating by rhizomes. Yours must not be overly hybridized. The various Canna musifolia can do that.
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One is definitely reproducing by seed. I’ll have to study the other.
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Most literature explains that Canna seed must be scarified to germinate. As you can see, that is not true. I believe that scarification only accelerates germination, and enhances uniformity of germination rates.
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Interesting six as usual Tony, thanks.
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Thank you, and you are welcome.
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I miss Rhody! I like the canna pictures. Florida has just declared Esperanza invasive! I think it is difficult to grow from seed as well and not one has germinated around the tree here. Go figure.
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It does not take many to be invasive. Invasive species can migrate into an area, and dominate it while no one is watching, even if it takes many years. Some of those invasive species are sneaky. Are you familiar with the Canna flaccida that is native there? That is one of two canna that I want. Even if mine (from the Six on Saturday for last week) is Canna flaccida, I may procure some from Wakulla County just to be certain.
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yes, I know that Canna. Look up http://www.fann.org – it is the Florida native nurseries website, they probably have a listing on there.
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Yes, it links to eighteen nurseries that have it available. However, when I get it, I will grow it from seed. I can get many for the price of one rhizome.
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I don’t think we have Blue elderberry here, if the berries stay a soft pastel blue colour. It is certainly not common. I like the foliage too.
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The two varieties of blue elderberry live only in the West. Some sources describe them as separate species. Others describe them all as varieties of American black elderberry. Heck, some even describe them as the same as the European elderberry. I have never seen a black elderberry, although they have been available in nurseries for the past few years. I may grow one (or two if blue elderberries will not pollinate them) just to see what they are like. So far, I have been very pleased with the more common of the blue elderberries. The tree form generates rather small berries that are not very juicy.
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