What's looking Exotic in 2023

My variegated double Oleander is scented, I think it is like vanilla others say almond. Mine have minor damage but are growing again now.
I'll have to take some more cuttings.

 

Yes, @noisette47 , I ended up with 3 oleanders from your cuttings! One is now making my daughter's tiny back yard look a bit better, and the other 2 are still here. I didn't notice a perfume from the double, but as @pete says, temperature may play a part.

 

It will...they're indestructible...but by the time it's put on enough growth to flower, it'll be late summer, so hardly worth it. I used to grow one by the house wall in UK. Waited all summer for it to flower, then we'd get a frost in September I had to massacre my big, original shrubs to allow access onto the terrace this January. Just 1m stumps left but they're starting to sprout again now

 

Do you strike them in water? I've found it to be the most reliable method

 

The thing is that this has been doing pretty good for a few years until this winter, I've pretty much given up due to the black stem problems and I know of another front garden that has had different ones growing for years.

Are you saying that a variegated double only got minor damage with the temperatures we had in December?
That's amazing.

 

@pete, I did move this variegated Oleander into the greenhouse when we had extreme night temperatures ie -6/7c.


This original one along with a small red one I left outside all winter and suffered minor damage.


Kunzea baxteri and Hakea laurina, seed brought from Oz four years ago and the Banksia seedling from @CarolineL

 

My two variegated ollies had to take their chance in the borders. I pegged 'pop-up' bags over them during the -8Cs and they looked a bit sorry for a while, but are growing well now

 

Melaleuca virens, Lime Bottlebrush.

 

Did you leave the kunzea etc outside over winter @strongylodon ?

 

@CarolineL No I overwintered it in the greenhouse as I left the other one out the previous winter and lost it. This one looks healthy and hopefully will flower some time.

 

Yesterday I planted an Avocado stone in a small pot in the kitchen. Many years ago I remember having grown one when we lived in Spain. I don't remember now what happened to it but I don't think it can have lasted more than a year.

I did a search on the Internet out of curiosity & came across a RHS page about how to grow Avocados.

/ RHS Gardening

After reading the page it will be better to remove the stone from the pot & put it over a glass jar with some cocktail sticks pushed into it sides to maintain it touching the water but not submerged in it.
.

.

 

I tried that once but nothing happened. Good luck ! I hope you get a result.

 

J started ours with a stone in 2018 when I was in hospital ... last month ...

 

I took this picture last summer it's Nerium oleander and been there years.


I drove past yesterday and it's just a load of dead sticks.