WHAT'S LOOKING EXOTIC IN 2015

The only caveat being that it doesn't get frost where it is, and I live on the coast, so it gives it a winter mildness boost. That said, it is surprising how tolerant they are of prolonged cold. Whilst the temperature where it is may not go below 0C most winters, the maximum temperature is usually similar to outside... so it never gets that warm in winter, yet it's tolerant of that level of coolness, over a long period of time.

 

Does it have overhead protection as well (I wondered if the white post was for a car port)?

 

It is but its actually open overhead of where the plants are.. So it gets the rain and wind... Its quite a flimsy structure

 

Calamondin Orange

I have had for about 5 years , I bought from Ikea, does well with me in the greenhouse from October till about now and then out for a summer break on the patio table

 

So .... where's the photo of the puppy!!??

 

Spruce - that's a wonderful Colocasia, a while back. Is it a special big breed, or do the ones you can buy in a supermarket eventually get that size. I have to agree with you Calamondin is one of my favourites too - mine almost always has fruit on it.

Pete - that's fascinating to see Alocasia calidora flowering. Mine, just over a year old, has grown lots of huge leaves - and I thought that was all it ever did.

LongK - I love that Cantua. I have found mine but no sign of a flower - so very jealous. Your Canarina is lovely but seems out of phase. Mine has been flowering for months and is now dying back.

Anthony - that Space Shuttle is most striking and unusual - brilliant.

I have been away for a bit and just come back to see some plants starting to take off.

Alyogyne huegelii. This is an Australian member of the Hibiscus family.


Ornithogalum dubium - a bulb from South Africa


Bougainvillea


Asclepias curassavica. I do like this one as it has been very long flowered for me - 6 months or more last year.

 

Hi Pete

I bought the Colocasia from Anglian Bulbs , it was a the size of a huge turnip when I got it , it will be coming out the greenhouse this week as its really starting to get going now and I need the space , and clear nights and I will fleece it over.

Thanks
Spruce

 

All very lovely Peter!

I wonder if your garden room at 10°c (?) is too warm. Mine took -5°c when the garden electrics failed causing a lot of last years growth to die back but that that didn't bloomed. Without the leccy issue I dare to say that it would have been spectacular.

I suspect that it suffered in the same way that I think your Cantua does. It was in an unheated spare room but I think that at 15°c it was still way too warm. Buds formed when it went out during the day and over night in the shed.
Need a larger greenhouse (or polytunnel).

 

Some more.. Ive added a few plants in to work as a bedding scheme at least (maybe the dryness of the ground over winter will allow the Dracaena to get through winter).

Justicia rizzinii flowering - would have been a lot more flowers have the dog not savaged it last winter)


and the rest

 

First flowers on my seed grown Echium candicans...................


Not the most magnificent display but in its defence it was in a sheltered spot outdoors all winter.................


The one in the ground and the one in the shed both croaked so I'm rather pleased that I have any blooms at all on this one

 

That's better than mine. I couldn't keep mine in my conservatory over winter as they hate humidity, so I kept it in the house. It tried to flower, but had almost no light - so all the flowers frizzled.

And now for something completely different.

This is my Canarina canariensis tuber. It stopped flowering several weeks ago and the top growth had completely died back - so I dug it up today. Its a good size, which is very pleasing as I grew it from seed just over four years ago. For the first three years it did very little, then suddenly over the last winter it achieved maturity and had loads of flowers.

 

It is surprising just how quickly the tubers form. The size of a large peanut is achieved in just three or four months and is large enough to be viable after a summer of dormancy.

 

It will certainly grow from a very small tuber, but I found it didn't flower much till the tuber got quite a bit bigger. I would be interested to know how big the plants and tubers can get. I would have called my plant a reasonable size as it reached about 5 or 6 feet, but last autumn I saw some at Wentworth Castle and they were much bigger. The stems were as thick or thicker than my thumb.

Edit I have just been having a Google and see figures of 8, 10 and 12 feet quoted. Also it appears that the fruit is edible. It can't stand any frost, but doesn't like it hotter than about 24C. It also likes humidity of 40% or more.

 

What I really was getting at was that even very small tubers came back reliably after a dormant period which is something that I can struggle with when it comes to "exotic" bulbs and tubers. For example, I get pretty much 100% germination from Lachenalia seed but probably only 50% will regrow after the first dormant spell.

 

My white Clianthus puniceus is in bloom................


Frustrating