What's looking exotic in 2016

Hi @CarolineL the Protea is growing against my conservatory wall, along with the Strelitzia, its facing south, and I do cover it during frosty winter winter nights.
It does however get all the rain the winter, and summer, can throw at it.

The soil is pretty clayey at depth, but the top soil has builders ballast mixed in with it,it not particularly acidic, probably neutral.
Have given it a dose of iron chelate occasionally, but not this year.

 

@Anthony Rogers regarding Strelitzia, I'm guessing its pot grown?

What are you feeding it on? and does it get direct sunlight?

 

Hi @longk

Hi @pete

It's in a 12" pot. He spends the Summer in my living room, roughly south/south west facing, gets sun from about 11 till 1 and then from about 2-30 till 7 ish ( the time-gap is when he goes behind the next block of flats ) ( the sun that is, not me plant ). He gets plenty of fresh air as the windows always open on a tilt ( if not fully open ).

He just gets fed tomato food.

In the Winter he goes into the bedroom where it's kept cold , with the window open just enough to let fresh air in but not enough that it goes freezing cold. The bedroom window faces west.

 

I think it might be a "house thing" Anthony.
I've never grown one as a houseplant, only greenhouse or outside.

I know yours is getting all the light you can give it, but I cant help thinking its not enough.

One good thing, the more leaves it has, the more flowering potential, as the flowers form in the leaf axials of leaves at least two years old.

 

Thanks Pete,

I've just done a quick count and there are around 30 leaves and i think some of the lower ones have been on at least 3/4 years.

 

Never knew that Pete - thanks.

They do say that they can flower at any time of the year they want, but mine has only flowered in the spring.

 

They tend to flower in the spring in the greenhouse, mine, outside flowers end of June beginning of July.

But I think if grown in different conditions its possible to get them to flower at anytime of the year, obviously warmth and light levels are likely to make the difference.

 

Perhaps after flowering in my conservatory in the spring, I should rush it outside and wait for it to flower again.

 

This Solanum laciniatum has survived its first winter outdoors in a sheltered spot...............


Zantedeschia elliottiana..............

 

I would never have even tried to overwinter one of those outside - well done.


I showed my Asparagus sprengeri a few days ago. Today I noticed for the first time that it had flowered. But even after 20 minutes I couldn't manage to get my camera to properly focus on them - so apologies.


I went into my shed tonight - but I am told by friends I mustn't call it a shed but should refer to it as my crystal palace. There was a beautiful scent coming from this Brugmansia. Being in a confined space the scent, which you might not notice outside, can be really quite strong.


Its always nice when the Spanish Moss comes into flower. (Tillandsia ridiculosa)


I have finally summoned up the courage to get one of these Anthurium andreanum. I have always understood that it likes more heat over the winter that I can provide, but our guide in Madeira recently suggested that it would survive at 10C.

I have just been reading up on it. It comes from tropical America, which streatches from Mexico down to northern Argentina. It like a lot of warmth and humidity, but the humidity requirement makes it not so suitable as a houseplant. There are apparently about 1000 different species but only two are likely to be found for sale. A. andreanum (above) has a straight spadix (the vertical part within the spathe), and A. scherzianum hybrids which tend to have twisted spadixes.

 

I had never even considered that it blooms let alone seen a flower!

Crikey - I had no idea.

 

You have seen the variety - its only this one that flowers like that.

 

When mine flowered they were yellow and tiny.
Obviously I should have gone for T.ridiculosa.

 

Peter I understand that this can happen if you don't feed them properly. To get the large red flowers you need a lot of male cow manure.

 

Echinopsis subdenudata...............