My Cordyline Australis has a GREAT year!

Two weeks ago you would not be able to find this plant in my yard as it was hidden behind a forest of castor beans and cannas. Now it's one of the centerpieces of my yard because while it was in that corner it was getting huge and beautiful! 

Cordyline Australis is a pretty hardy plant. Sold as "spikes" at local nurseries, they are possibly the most common annual to see year from year coming in green and purple. The green form is actually pretty cold tolerant and during mild winters they survive in their pots and are reused by people for another year or 2. Rarely do people make an effort to save these plants long term in NYC, but three years ago I had an unusually vigorous plant so I kept it in the garage when it got below 20F outside.

It was pretty big this past winter, here's a photo of it "enjoying" a very wet snow storm...

Now it's really massive! Here it is as of now, about 6 months after that previous photo. It has literally doubled in size! Hopefully the 8 foot tall light pole and the planter serves as a useful scale. 

Thanks for looking!

Blooming This Week: Brugmansia "Ember Yellow"

Angel Trumpets add beautiful color and interest to a tropical yard. The fragrance is out of this world especially in the evening. This cultivar smells exactly like laundry detergent! Unfortunately I'll be getting fewer blooms this year than usual because the plant is suffering from insect damage and recovering from rot in the garage last winter. My double flowering Brugmansia is so stubborn and is now working on it's 3rd summer without any blooms. Really frustrated with that one. It made a few buds but they all fell off!

If you have a brugmansia and you want to know if it's at blooming age, there's a really easy way to know! Look at the branches. If the branches naturally form a "Y" shape, it's blooming age and you should be getting buds soon! The more "Y"'s, the more blooms!

In Bloom This Week: Cannas

It seems like Late July/ Early August is the time of the year where cannas really take off. My banana cannas have no blooms yet but are reaching massive heights of 8 to 10 feet (I'll have to write up a post about those sometime soon!). My other cannas are all blooming non-stop. I unfortunately do not have the names of many of these cultivars, so all I can say is enjoy!

Some End of July Photos Around the Yard

My sitting area

A few steps back.

This coconut palm was just a sprout in June 2009. It's stayed small and healthy ever since!

Petnas

Side entrance to my yard has come a long way in the past few years.

Pool area

Plumeria "Crazy" living up to its name.

Happy that my Kopper King Hibiscus are starting to bloom! The Adondila is enjoying its 5th summer in my yard!

Love the silvery undersides to my Trachys at night.

Lots of things going well in this picture.

Bees buzzing on the ice plant blooms.

Crape Myrtles starting to do their thing! August is a big month for the crapes.

Check out the banana canna! So small just a few weeks ago and now HUGE!

I started this spaghetti squash as a seed in June from an expensive spaghetti squash from the supermarket. It is fruiting!

Some colocasia pups!

Spiral Ginger (Costus Speciosus)

I received this spiral ginger from a very generous friend about 6 years ago. It has never reproduced, but the singular rhizome has never failed to survive lots of cold and dry times in dormancy. Last year it did not flower because it got a late start. This year it had one of its earliest starts to the season ever and I think it will be blooming in another 2 months!

Here's what it will look like when it's in bloom. 

While digging into my archives I found this beautiful Ice Cream banana that unfortunately did not respond well to overwintering. It would have been massive by now had it survived!

A few rainy day photos

I think that searing heat and sun is a little overrated when it comes to getting fast growth from tropical plants. I find that warm, humid, rainy days can really liven up a landscape. It also makes for some beautiful photos!

Musa Zebrina

Canna Robert Kemp

Hibiscus Robert Fleming, Variegated Shell Ginger, Purple Heart

Heliconia and Cassia 

Close up on the Cassia

Some Spanish Moss on my Yoshino Cherry Tree

Helicona bracts 

And last but not least a caladium, begonia, and potato vine combo!

Thanks for looking!

Blooming this week: Gardenias

Gardenias tend to bloom in flushes in early summer and then sporadically throughout the season. There are some exceptions like "Chuck Hayes" which usually sends out blooms all at once in early summer and then does not bloom again for the season. As far as hardy hibiscus goes it looks like "Summer Snow" has the most spread in its blooming habits which is great! This is my first year with it so it has yet to prove itself in terms of hardiness. But I will say that the very bold leaves and huge blooms has me excited that it could be hardy and very worried that it is not!