WHAT'S LOOKING EXOTIC IN 2017

Ok, Ok, Lol

Just because mine can't be bothered to flower after 15 years. Just had another 3 leaves come out .

 

Pete I only just found that out today. I could smell something and remembering what you said, I found out it was the Hoya.

 

If I remember correctly it was the garden room that caught fire. The heat that would have generated would soon have dried nearby foliage (some of which was fairly tropical and oily) out and whoosh, there goes a Eucalyptus (for example).

Edit;
I've found the blog and it started in the next door garden before spreading to their garden room. It was four years ago

Garden fire blog post

 

I bought this Anigozanthos a couple of years ago but it did nothing last year apart from grow some more fans. This spring a load of flower stems emerged but I think that I took it out of the greenhouse too early as about half of them blasted. The rest just sat there until this week when they started to open............
Unknown Anigozanthos by longk48, on Flickr

 

They're worth a punt. Larger ones in a hanging pot were £3.99 in Lidl a few weeks ago.

 

Yes absolutely John. I have chatted to nursery people who grow them, and get the impression that they are all hybrids. I also understand that they will all grow to about the same size - or at least become big. I specifically asked them if there were short versions, and if I should look out for a particular type if I wanted it to climb, and the answer was no.

I suspect there is very little difference between named cultivars and unnamed ones. I would tend to go on price. You can pay a lot for large ones - but what is the point when you can buy a smaller one for less.

I have lost some over past winters. I don't think they need to be kept that hot, but I believe the key is in watering. They must have almost nothing. One the the growers said no more than one cupful of water per month. All mine survived last winter, and I am sure that I had been over-watered them previously.

 

Keith, what a lovely dark colour. My single example is a really pale colour, which I believe is pretty normal. Only recently I noticed some tiny flowers like yours. It took me by surprise as I didn't know that the did anything more than just produce the paws.

Sadly, I think my paws will be waving goodbye. As they come from sandy areas in south west Australia, I think they are not going to like my new found humidity.

Reading about them I gather that they also, like so many other tropical plants, need very little water over the winter; and that the biggest danger is over-watering.

 

The flowers on this one are not so small at about 4cm. I think that these bought ones are hybrids of one description or another which is why they're quite variable. I have a couple of species coming along from seed too.

 

Not a plant that I have had much success with, so I'd be interested to see how you get on John.
Interesting that Tesco consider them to be outdoor plants.