What's Looking Exotic in September 2014

Kristen - that's very kind. But I will say no thank you. I do have three more small ones growing that I bought from Jungle Plants, a year ago, in their half price sale. Another Gardnerianum, 'Kinkaku' and 'Assam Orange'. Currently they are small but I am going to be pushed for space if I decide to keep them growing over the winter.

Peter - my flower is definately orange - so I should have never called it gardenarium. But its only with my first flower that I am looking more closely at them. I hadn't realised they were so tall. All my three year old ones are now 8 feet.

 

Not sure if this shows this ok, last pic is a bit blurred.
But the first is a strong stem, one flower open from a bud and another forming.


The second is on the same plant, but a weaker stem,

 

@PeterS , I think they are so tall as you are growing them under glass, this clump of Gardnerianum never gets taller than this, but flowers every year.
Its 30inches at most. Only just starting to flower though.

 

Pete - even the Hedychiums that have spent spring and summer outside are about 8 feet tall. However I did keep them growing inside over the winter in the warm. And I think the tallest stems were carried over from last year. That's a fabulous picture, but it doesn't bear any resemblance to mine.

My flowering plant is in my garden room set in the middle of other things and I can't get close enough to it to see the flowers clearly. The whole appearance is a bit messy.

I assumed 8 feet was normal, because when I Google them most sites say about 8 feet. But the sites probably refer to warmer areas where they don't die back over the winter.

 

Peter S, I think your other Bromeliad is Guzmania Sprucei.

 

Peter, I always cut non flowered stems down after the summer, and the ones outside get the frost.
Mine has got high in large pots but never anywhere near 8 ft.

My plants originally came from Hawaii, via Sanfrancisco, I never saw the Hawaiian version but the ones in S Francisco were no higher than mine, they regularly survive the winter there without getting frosted.
I'm not saying it cant reach 8 ft, just suggesting it doesn't have to in order to flower.

 

Strongy - you are my hero - thank you - that's brilliant.

It explains why I couldn't find it even after looking through photos of at least 100 different Tillandsia species. I have looked through one or two pages of Guzmania images - but clearly didn't look far enough. The ordinary Guzmania lingulata I find a bit coarse, but I love sprucei and I have just seen another that I like.


Guzmania conifera

 

Looks like H. gardnerianum horizontalis Mine is much more upright, and taller - probably 5' - 6' (in part shade, so might be taller in full sun perhaps)

 

Or it may have been that you probably had about 400 more species to look at!!!!!!!!

 

With the mild winter, last year, several of my Musa Sikkimensis kept their pseudo stem and are very tall this year:





And my T. Rex "Monster"

 

It tends to grow outward as its against the house wall, and its got a massive Campsis growing just above.
I always think things in the shade grow taller as a rule looking for the light, plants in full sun tend to be shorter and stockier, but I know that might not apply to all plants.
The one in the ground is always shorter than the well fed pot grown plants.

 

These are my two outside gingers. 'Tara' on the left and Gardenarium on the right. They have both been outside for months so aren't etiolated. They are both about 8 feet, and the left hand one has much thinner leaves than the right one.

I will cut down the stems this year Pete. I was wary about doing it on a plant that wasn't going into dormancy over the winter. But I am sure they will cope.


Fuschia arborescens has been very late this year and not very profuse.

 

The pots look to be on the small side to me ??

 

Quite right Kristen - the 'Tara' rhizome has made the pot bulge alarmingly. But I will be lifting and splitting them soon. I did re-pot another one that was 7 or 8 feet high, and ended up breaking the tops (and flowering potential) off some of the shoots.

 

I thought this was as pretty as any flower. The seed pods on Asclepias curassavica have unzipped themselves.