Wishing All Gardeners a Happy New Year!

May 2015 be peaceful and blessed, green and blooming, for all of you:

What the Heck Is This??

A friend gave me some sprigs to "throw and grow" in my garden, and of course, I did that.
Now one of them is blooming and I have no idea what it is. Is it an Air Potato, a Morning Glory, or what? Sure has pretty flowers, grows soooo fast. Definitely a vine.

Growing well enough to bloom on a dune is not easy. Whatever this is, I admire it. It's message is clearly, "Hang Tough! You'll bloom one way or another...."

Happy Holidays!

From my garden to yours, have a wonderful holiday!

Plant Portrait: Tillandsia crocata

Tillandsia crocata is a rather humble Tillie when not in bloom. It's sort of a dull green-grey, somewhat fuzzy and out-of-focus looking, definitely not a diva. Until it blooms. No wallflower then!

Tillandsia crocata "Copper Penny", MR 2014

Only a few Tillandsias have scented blooms. And a saffron-colored bloom is very unusual for this genus. The perfume of T. crocata is rich and ebullient. It fills the room with its heady golden scent. It's not an easy Tillie to find, but if you find one, do give it a try.

Miniature African Violets in Winter

Miniature African Violets aren't that hard to grow. I've found that they need a location with several hours of medium indirect light. They like to be watered from the bottom every other day with just a teaspoon or two of water. They die if they sit in water for more than a few hours. They burn quickly in direct sun. They like occasional applications of dilute violet fertilizer. That's about it! They are only about 5-8cm in diameter, but really cheer up a room in winter; I call them Fairy Flowers:

Mini African Violets, MR, 2014

I'm particularly excited about the mini violet on the right. The buds are bright green, and the flowers are yellow-centered with white petals with green edges. Gorgeous! I have seen these new cultivars on web sites but they are even more captivating in real life.

Green-blooming mini African Violet, MR, 2014

I hope you'll be seeing them soon in your town!

Kitten Paw Plant: Cotyledon tomentosa

My regular readers know how much I love fuzzy plants. One of my favorites is the eminently cute Cotyledon tomentosa, also known as the Kitten Paw Plant, or Bear Paw Plant:

Cotyledon tomentosa, the Kitten Paw Plant, MR, 2014

This is a small, shrubby succulent from Africa. They like up to a half a day of full sun, and weekly waterings, or whenever their leaves begin to shrink and soften. They don't like soggy roots. They can tolerate brief periods of frost, but grow best in warmer climates. Adorable!

Bloomin' Babytoes Returns

It's been while since I posted a photo of one of my very prolific Babytoes (Fenestraria), so here goes:

Fenestraria in Bloom, MR, 2014

These cheerful mesembs never fail to make me smile....

Can This Phalaenopsis Be Saved? Yes!

A few months ago, I found a tiny, bedraggled, miniature Phalaenopsis orchid at a big box store. It was on the nursery "Death Cart" for a buck, or was it $3? I can't remember, but I wanted to practice orchid care, so I bought it. Its roots were a mess, with only 3 little ones left intact, but I potted it up anyway. And here it is now!

Not only does it have fresh new roots growing, it also has a flower stalk with five buds on the way. I was under the impression that a rescue orchid needs more time to recover than a month, but I don't want to cut off the buds. I'll keep watering daily and let it go about its business. In general, I don't recommend rescuing orchids with rotten roots, but in this case, things went better than planned.

Argyroderma Blooms!

Not much has been happening in the World of the Mesembs lately, but today is watering day, and look what I found!

Argyrodermas, or "silver skins", are lovely, utterly unique mesembs that I've been growing for several years. Some have gone through leaf regeneration, but this is the first one to bloom. Argy flowers can also be yellow or white. They mostly live in dry quartz fields of coastal Namaqualand in an area known as the Knersvlakte. They need 2-4 inches of winter rain per year, and fog. I will try growing some in crushed quartz someday perhaps. They proliferate well in their native habitat but are notoriously fussy here in the tropics and most people I know who grow them seem to have given up on them. If you grow Argies, what's your opinion?