What's looking Exotic 2024

Keep up....

 

That Pink Diamond is lovely! My gardnerium hasn't grown much at all this year. And though Luna Moth is growing well, still no sign of flowers.

 

H. gardnerianum.

 

Gorgeous @pete - I'm so jealous!

 

My Plumbago is still going strong (since June) ... (with Tecoma stans in the background) ..

 

Strange you mentioned Tecoma stans, I grew two plants from seed last year and both died in the autumn, leaves suddenly turned brown and when I checked they were dead.
I thought I may have contaminated them with weedkiller as that was what it looked like.
Any way managed to get a new plant from last years seed, it was looking really good and healthy, but noticed the leaves are now getting brown patches the same as last year.
I think it was the really cold wet spell a couple of weeks ago.
If it can't handle autumn it won't survive winter.

 

That always was the problem in UK..a lot of otherwise quite hardy plants simply didn't have a long enough growing season to flower well. Mind you, this year we're only just scraping in by the skin of our teeth here. Cestrum nocturnum just about to flower

 

Ditto.

Lagerstroemia has been badly set back by the cold and rain a couple of weeks ago, unlikely to to come out fully this late.

 

Oh what a shame! Ah well...there's always next year...and the next..and....

 

This was a surprise! My Stephanotis has set seed. It's not done that before.....

 

Did you have a good summer @noisette47 ? I would have assumed it would be quite slow to mature

 

Not really, Caroline. Just like UK it was a cold, wet spring so summer didn't really get going until July. No noticeable heatwaves this year. What we have had for the last couple of summers are big humming bird hawk moths. There are two sizes now and they both love the scented climbers on the terrace I wonder whether the bigger ones are responsible for successful pollination?

 

That's possible - what a lovely thought! I rarely see hawk moth here, though I did once find a magnificent elephant hawk moth caterpillar here. I carefully relocated him to some of my weeds (not hard to find!)

 

Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle) really coming into bloom, now ...

 

That drop of rain is probably helping lots of things I would have thought. @Victoria