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Six on Saturday: Impressive Roses

It will make more sense at the end.

1. Pelargonium citrosum, citronella, like the scented geranium that I featured last week, is one of three scented geraniums here that technically remains unidentified. This name is merely a guess. It is most aromatic, but its bloom is not as pretty as that of the others.

2. Amaryllis belladonna, naked lady is not so cliche or mundane with white bloom. I am so fond of these that I separated their bulbs for relocation to a distinct colony, as well as my home garden. There are not many, so it will be a while before there are any to share.

3. Passiflora edulis, passion fruit vine blooms nicely, but with perpetually shabby foliage and clingy tendrils. Its flowers are really more purplish than this one seems to be in this picture. I have no idea what cultivar this is or even if I like it, but I want to see if it fruits.

4. Anemone hupehensis, Japanese anemone does not bloom quite as white as it seems to be in this picture. It is not exactly blushed with pink either. It is just dingy. I know that a few happier pups in more favorable conditions will eventually bloom more impressively.

5. Rosa spp., rose might not look like much to brag about, but is blooming like this after getting hacked back and removed from its original garden during the middle of summer. Its survival alone is impressive. Its bloom is even more impressive. It is not the only one.

6. Rosa spp., rose is one of the others. A third has floral buds that will likely bloom prior to next Saturday. There are four altogether, so only one is not trying to bloom yet. One is ‘Sheer Magic’, perhaps the pink one above. The other three lack identification otherwise.

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/

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Naked Lady

Naked lady is only rarely white.

From scarcely exposed tops of seemingly dead bulbs, floral stalks unexpectedly appear. Foliage only appears after bloom finishes. This is why Amaryllis belladonna is known as naked lady. It blooms unfoliated. Various varieties of the same species bloom with about the same vivid pink color. White variants are very rare. Floral fragrance is mild but sweet.

Naked lady flowers are about two feet tall on simple brown or green stalks. Fleshy seeds that develop after bloom are viable only while fresh and plump. Foliage begins to appear by later summer, and grows more with autumn rain. It resembles foliage of lily of the Nile, but is more fragile, and shrivels by late spring. Then, bulbs lay dormant through summer.

Naked lady bulbs are impressively resilient, but also quite sensitive. If possible, the best time to relocate them is supposedly between bloom and foliation. However, relocation is likely easiest during complete summer dormancy. Unfortunately, though, such relocation can interfere with subsequent bloom. Naked lady needs full sun exposure to bloom well, but requires no water.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 3 Comments

White Flowers Attract Pollinators Also

Phlox happens to excel at white.

Floral color attracts pollinators. Hummingbirds mostly prefer bright red, pink and orange. Butterflies mostly prefer bright orange and yellow. Bees prefer bright blue and purple, but are less discriminating than other pollinators. Of course, these are mere generalizations. Otherwise, the majority of pollinators might ignore species that bloom with white flowers.

Realistically, most flowers do not rely on pollinators for pollination. They rely exclusively on wind, so are just green or brown, and not visually prominent. These include flowers of grasses and conifers. Otherwise, small but prominently prolific white flowers are the next best option. They rely on either or both wind and pollinators for very effective pollination.

For example, firethorn bloom is very appealing to bees and other pollinators. It is also so prolific that some of its pollen disperses into the wind. Its tiny but abundant white flowers can not avoid pollination by one means or the other. Most orchard trees, such as apricot, plum, apple and pear, use the same technique. So do viburnum, photinia and elderberry.

This should not imply that white is a substandard color, though. After all, white flowers do attract pollinators. Several pollinators, such as nocturnal moths, prefer luminescent white flowers. More importantly, many pollinators see more than white. Several types of Insects see ultraviolet. What seems to be white to us can actually be elaborately colorful to them.

Furthermore, white needs no justification. It happens to be the best color option for some garden applications. It brightens visually dark situations, and mingles well with almost all other colors. A few types of flowers, particularly those with distinctive form, excel at white. Calla, camellia, lily of the valley and various lilies are only a few of numerous examples.

Cool season annuals for autumn and winter will soon replace old warm season annuals. White busy Lizzie, petunia, cosmos, alyssum, snapdragon and zinnia are finishing soon. White pansy, viola, dianthus and wax begonia may replace them. Later in autumn, white cyclamen will become seasonal. There are always enough white flowers to choose from.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 8 Comments

Six on Saturday: Major, Minor & Unidentified

Two of my six for this week were purchased, which is rare in my garden. Two were gifts. Two were acquired by other questionable means.

1. Sorbus americana, American mountain ash does not conform to my theme. It is about average and identifiable. I merely wanted to show it off because it is the only seedling to grow from several seed. It can be reasonably productive without another pollinator tree.

2. Cerinthe major, honeywort grew from seed from Tangly Cottage Gardening. This is its first bloom here. Because I did not sow all the seed this year, I could sow more next year. If it self sows here, it will likely only do so within gardens which are generously irrigated.

3. Vinca minor ‘Alba Variegata’, small white variegated periwinkle was another gift from Tangly Cottage Gardening. Although white is my favorite color, these little white flowers do not look very impressive against the background of their yellowish variegated foliage.

4. Pelargonium graveolens, scented geranium, like two other scented geraniums here, is unidentified. I think that the other two are lemon and rose scented geraniums. This one has a less distinct or identifiable foliar aroma, but has prettier and more colorful bloom.

5. Dahlia is also unidentified. I know what it is not, though. It is most definitely not any type of assorted dinnerplate dahlia, which I purchased it as. Although pretty, its flowers are only about three inches wide. Foliage stands about as tall as that of a bedding dahlia.

6. Canna is the third unidentified subject of these six; but it is one of the most important of the many Canna here. It is a souvenir from the funeral of an old friend two years ago. It did not bloom last year, so this is the first time that I confirmed that it blooms yellow.

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/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Sneezeweed

Sneezeweed typically blooms for late summer.

Contrary to its silly name, sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale, does not cause sneezing. Its flowers produce heavy pollen that relies more on pollinators for dispersion than wind. Its vibrant yellow, orange or red floral color attracts all sorts of bees, butterflies and such. Bloom may begin as early as the middle of summer, or continue as late as early autumn.

Sneezeweed is a perennial like black eyed Susan, but with a somewhat shrubbier form. It can grow three or four feet tall without growing any wider than two or three feet. Foliage has a rather fine texture with lanceolate and somewhat serrate leaves. Individual flowers are about two or three inches wide, and delightfully abundant. They are nice cut flowers.

Sneezeweed may self sow, but some cultivars are not true to type. For them, division is a more reliable method of propagation. ‘Pumilum Magnificum’ provides vivid yellow bloom. ‘Chippersfield Orange’ provides vivid orange and yellow flowers. ‘Kupfersprudel’ blooms with a bit more yellow than orange. ‘Bruno’ blooms with deeply rich ruddy brown flowers. ‘Butterpat’ provides rich golden bloom. Several cultivars are compact.

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Late Summer Flowers Bloom Now

Pot marigold is an autumn annual.

Spring is the season with the most flowers. Winter is generally the season with the least. That is, of course, a generalization. There are plenty of flowers that bloom exclusively for winter color. Plenty more bloom randomly throughout the year, regardless of season. For now, late summer flowers are the most prominently colorful. Autumn flowers will be next.

Realistically, no bloom is random. Even flowers that bloom randomly throughout the year do so only because they can. Such flowers are mostly from mild climates where they can disperse seed at any time. Any pollinators that they rely on are also active throughout the year. Many randomly blooming flowers can effectively conform to more distinct seasons.

Most flowers bloom within a distinct season because it is most convenient for them. Most bloom for spring to maximize the time for their seed to develop before winter. Many of the earliest are tiny but abundant because they rely on wind for pollination. Later flowers can be bigger and more colorful to attract pollinators. Late summer flowers are no exception.

Different flowers have different priorities. Some of the earliest spring bloom needs time to produce seed after bloom. Several late summer flowers conversely need time to develop their blooms. Then, they produce seed relatively quickly before winter. This is why some late summer flowers are bolder but less abundant than spring flowers. They require time.

For example, sunflowers with relatively small blooms may bloom as early as late spring. However, those with bigger and bolder blooms are more familiar as late summer flowers. Such big blooms do not grow quickly, but are ready for their late pollinators nonetheless. They compensate for their lack of abundance with spectacularly grand individual bloom.

Many late summer flowers happen to be related to sunflowers. They include coneflower, dahlia, zinnia, sneezeweed, aster, and cosmos. Dahlias with larger flowers are later than those with smaller flowers. Marigold and chrysanthemum will become more seasonable later and into autumn. Unrelated canna and various sages are blooming well about now.

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Feral Flowers Are Not Wildflowers

Most nasturtium varieties will eventually revert.

Feral flowers are technically not the same as wildflowers. As their designation suggests, wildflowers grow wild. They always have, without intervention. They are naturally native. Their native ranges can fluctuate, but do so naturally as associated ecosystems change. Their status as wildflowers does not change within home gardens or refined landscapes.

Feral flowers are progeny of cultivated flowers. Almost all are exotic, or nonnative. Some are true to type, which means that they are indistinguishable from the originals. However, because of extensive breeding, many revert to a more genetically stable state. Some can naturalize, or perpetuate without intervention. Then, they seem to behave as wildflowers.

For example, most home garden nasturtiums begin as garden varieties. They bloom with particular colors because of their breeding and selection. Their progeny, however, bloom with more natural floral color. After a few generations, they may bloom only basic orange and yellow. Such feral flowers can naturalize within riparian ecosystems like wildflowers.

Because they are not native, naturalized nasturtium are technically not wildflowers. They are merely naturalized feral flowers. Although they are rarely aggressively invasive, they can interfere with natural ecology. They might compete with native species for resources and space. They can sustain organisms that are pathogens to native vegetation species.

California poppy is a genuinely native wildflower. However, a few home garden varieties developed from selection and breeding. Initially, such varieties bloom with unusual floral colors like white, lavender, pink or red. After a few generations, though, their colors revert to their more natural orange. Although wildflowers, they are also technically feral flowers.

Many of the most noxious weeds here escaped from home gardens and naturalized. For example, common pink pampas grass became popular during the Victorian Period. Now, it is quite naturalized and compromising ecosystems throughout the West Coast. Its feral flowers are appealing, but perpetuate infestation. They are surely not native wildflowers. Water hyacinth and yellow flag are other examples.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 4 Comments

Six on Saturday: 4:00

Four o’clock has been unusually pretty in bloom. It self sows almost enough to become a weed, but I am fond of it.

1. Mirabilis jalapa, four o’clock blooms in various shades of pink, including one that can be fragrant about 4:00 and into evening. It alternatively can bloom white, red, magenta, yellow, or with striped combinations of colors. Different colors may bloom on one plant.

2. Mirabilis jalapa, four o’clock does not exhibit very much variation of floral color here, though. This yellow bloom is one of only three variations. I thought that I noticed simple red bloom through previous summers, but can find none now. I would like to find white.

3. Mirabilis jalapa, four o’clock demonstrates what can occur when the two other colors here combine. It is the third of only three variations that I am aware of. From a distance, it seems to be peachy orange. Some of its flowers are just like the first two pictures here.

4. Nerium oleander, oleander that blooms pink mingles with the oleander which blooms white that I posted a picture of three weeks ago. Oleander is so cheap and common here that, even with oleander scorch, it is still the primary shrubbery for freeway landscapes.

5. Fuchsia magellanica, fuchsia is easy to miss where it is wedged between healthier and prettier hydrangea and canna. I should grow copies of it elsewhere. It would probably be bigger with fuller foliage where it gets more water than the four o’clock and oleander get.

6. Rosa spp., rose is in a rose garden that is nowhere near the four o’clock, oleander and fuchsia, but is too pretty to omit. I believe that it is ‘Double Delight’. It is nicely fragrant. Flowers bloom white with red edges, but fade to mostly pinkish red, just as they should.

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/

Posted on by tonytomeo

 Passion Vine

Passion vine has the weirdest flowers.

My niece knows the weird flowers of passion vine as ‘flying saucers’ because they look like something from another planet. The most common species, Passiflora X alatocaerulea, has fragrant, four inch wide flowers with slightly pinkish or lavender shaded white outer petals (and sepals) around deep blue or purple halos that surround the alien looking central flower parts. The three inch long leaves have three blunt lobes, and can sometimes be rather yellowish. The rampant vines can climb more than twenty feet, and become shabby and invasive, but may die to the ground when winter gets cold. Other specie have different flower colors. Some produce interesting fruit. Passiflora edule is actually grown more for its small but richly sweet fruit than for flowers.

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Six on Saturday: Purple?

Purple is not as easy as white. White is either white or not white. Purple can be bluish or reddish. I am not totally certain if all Six of these are purple or lavender, which is merely pastel purple.

1. Lavandula angustifolia, English lavender blooms, as its name suggests, with lavender floral color, which is really just pastel purple. It looks blue to me, though. I do not know what cultivar this is, but it has survived here longer than lavender should be expected to.

2. Phlox paniculata, garden phlox also blooms lavender, although it looks pink to me. It is a feral progeny of the already feral garden phox with pure white bloom that I posted a picture of last Saturday. Although white is my favorite, I find this odd variant appealing.

3. Lobularia maritima, sweet alyssum also resembles its white counterpart that I posted a picture of last week, but is not a progeny of it. It is a common garden variety, although I do not remember its name. It survived through last winter for another summer season.

4. Lantana montevidensis, trailing lantana survives within a badly neglected landscape. It really is worthy of consideration for other sunny and warm landscapes here. Lantana camara also performs well in an adjacent landscape, and was recently added to another.

5. Penstemon gloxinioides, beard tongue blooms sparsely for now only because it is new in this particular situation. It grew from several rooted bits that were separated from old specimens as they were cut back last winter. These might produce similar bits next year.

6. Petunia X hybrida, petunia is always reliable for bright color through summer. These have been growing somewhat slowly this year only because the weather has been so mild and even weirdly cool sometimes. Gophers consumed quite a few in a landscape nearby.

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/